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Tabla Girl Tina Sugandh |
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The singing sensation Tina Sugandh seldom flaunts herself
and yet she effortlessly manages to make an impact in
everything she does. Once her debut album TablaGirl hits
the shelves this summer, it is quite likely that the sultry
voiced singer will be able to win the lasting and enduring
devotion of music buffs everywhere. Born in Mumbai
to parents, who happen to be devoted entertainers, and raised in New Jersey, she showed
a strong aptitude for music since
childhood.
The young ingénue was only five
years old, when she surprised her father
by delivering a flawless rendering of a
ghazal. By the time she was seven, she
discovered her keen sense of rhythm by
experimenting on the dholak, and then
went on to master the tabla. During
her childhood, her mother, father,
sister, and Tina would work hard at
their academic and professional careers
during the week, and they would all
travel on the weekends for a “Sugandh
Family” performance. Although she is
well rooted in traditional Indian music,
she is also a big fan of American pop,
hip-hop, and heavy metal music that was
immortalized in the 1980s. |
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| I am immensely excited! I’ve had songs
released on Hollywood movie soundtracks
like Around the World in 80 Days,
Christmas With the Kranks, Ice Princess,
and Raise Your Voice, but I have never
had the opportunity to release my own
solo record yet. I’ve been recording in the
studio for the past three years and have
flown all over with my producer to record
with some of the most renowned Indian
musicians. Although it’s a mainstream pop
album, we wanted this album to have a ton
of live instruments for a more heartfelt,
organic sound. We used everything from
the tumbi, bul bul tarang, ghungaroo,
ghatam, manjira, duffli, to the betterknown
sitar, santoor, harmonium, dhol,
and tabla of course! I am so excited about
sharing the album with everyone! |
| I’ve been performing since I was five, and
when I was around nine or ten, I started
randomly getting fan mail from these little
girls that were addressed to “TablaGirl.”
Now, I feel like it’s the perfect nickname,
as one of my goals is to make the “tabla” as
popular as the congas are today. |
| A lot of ‘Will you marry me?’ type of
mails. I don’t know how to respond to
that. Maybe I should ask them to send their biodata to my parents. We can check our
horoscopes too. |
| My biggest pet peeve is listening to “the eaters.”
Those are people that sit right behind you in a
movie theater and chew popcorn with their mouth
open. That sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me.
When I go to the theater, I always make whoever
I am with change our seats like 3 times before the
movie starts in order to evade “the eaters.” I guess
I’m not a very good movie date! |
| I do nothing but work. Occasionally I do the
club thing with my crazy cousins. Right now I’m
so busy putting the finishing touches on the album
and promoting it. Ask me the same question a year
from now and I’ll give you a much spicier answer. |
| I might try to find a cure for many of the diseases
that destroy us. I know it’s a very “Miss Universe”
kind of an answer, but it would mean the world to
so many people. |
| It turns into more of a comedy night. In
reality though I get most of my inspiration
from family members, because they are such
great entertainers. |
| Um, “an entire race of diverse personalities
that I cannot simply sum up by completing a
‘finish this line’ question?!” Seriously though,
guys in general are difficult to stereotype.
I’ve met some amazingly sweet and sincere
and confident Indian guys, and then there are
those insecure guys that act like they are way
above everyone - you know, the one’s that
feel they need to wear shades in a dark club
and threaten everyone that looks at them the
wrong way? Actually, there are even a couple
of lyrics in my song “Jao” that are dedicated to
those guys! Aside from the tough guys, I really
have met quite a few Indian guys that were
absolute sweethearts. |
| I love every aspect of my career! Singing,
songwriting, dancing, playing guitar, playing
tabla, acting, and hosting! I love being on stage
and being able to switch from choreography to
guitar to tabla to conversing with the audience.
I always have so much fun when I’m on stage
- it feels like home up there. |
| I have actually been performing with my
family, The Sugandh Family, every weekend
since I was five. My, mom, dad, sister Seema
and I all sing in seven different languages and
play instruments, and my dad is a hilarious
mimic and MC as well. Even though I’ve been
performing for this long, nothing extremely
embarrassing has happened yet. Actually, I
don’t really get embarrassed when things go
wrong. I like to have a good time on stage, and
really connect with the audience to the point
where it feels like we’re all hanging out in a
living room somewhere. So if something goes
wrong, I usually just make a joke, or make
fun of myself so that the audience feels free
to openly laugh with me about something that
is blatantly funny. I’d rather have that then
uncomfortable silence, you know? |
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| I am a Bollywood-movie addict! I would gladly watch
any of those actors - Shahrukh, Hrithik, Saif, Akshay -
any of them. Although, I must say, I really like the new
Shahrukh “Om Shanti Om” look with the ponytail and
all. He must be working out like a fiend! |
| I’ve been to lots of places around the world that are
deemed to be the most romantic spots - Paris, Italy,
Hawaii, and many more-but there is no place that I felt
was better suited to do all of the above than India. I went
back to India to perform at the Zee awards after not
having been there for quite a while, and it just felt like
home. It’s really just the little things in India that make
it heavenly for me. For example, there is something
about getting in a cab and hearing a random classic
ghazal from the 60’s that just makes me feel dreamy. |
| I would love to! My dream is to have a home in several
places one day, including India. I would love to be there
at least part time, since I imagine my career will require
me to be in America quite a bit. |
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| Yes, my album. I am deeply, madly, truly, in love with
my album and I have been that way for every single day
for three years. I have been nurturing it and helping it
to be the best that it can be. Point being, I’m pleading
the fifth! |
| I really just like guys that are confident enough to be
themselves. That’s a total turn-on. I love a guy that can
be a total goofball without worrying about how those
around him will perceive him, since I tend to get very
silly myself! I also love warm, sincere, intelligent, openminded
family men. I’m turned off by guys that are
super intense and judgmental. |
| Hmmm, unfortunately, I’m actually pretty boring. No
drug-addictions, gambling debts, or scandals of any
sort yet. Maybe check back with me after I release my
debut album this summer though. For now, I would
have to say that my guiltiest indulgence is chocolate
chip cookies. That’s as bad as I get. I warned you! |
| No way! If I had a time machine to go back and
correct the mistakes I have made, then I would allow
myself to have more regrets. But since I can’t erase the
past, what’s the point of regret? What can you really do
except work very hard to ensure that you won’t make
the same mistakes again? I’m actually grateful for some
of my past mistakes, as I have learned so much from
them. I’m not perfect, but I truly like myself right now,
and I don’t think I would have reached this place of selfcomplacency
without being a bit moronic from time to
time. |
| Food, shelter, and water. Oh, you didn’t mean “in
general?” I would say my family, my managers, and
chocolate chip cookies. Oh wait; I
probably should have said music,
huh? Ok, I guess I could live without
the cookies. No wait; I can’t. Can we
change the question to “four things
you can’t live without?” Please?? |
| personally believe in “balance.” I went
to college and graduated with Honors in
Biology, while recording my demos and shopping them
to record labels, while performing with my family on the
weekends. I believe that having to balance a successful
academic career with a musical career instilled the
discipline, focus, and ambition that I need to achieve
any success in the entertainment industry. You can do
everything you want in life, and you don’t have to give
up on one aspect of life for another. Do it all! Also, if
you are serious about your career, make sure you have
an amazing team. It may take a while to find the right
people - lawyers, business managers, agents, but it is
worth it to be patient, as your team can make or break
you. I was lucky enough to find personal managers that
care about me as an individual, which is a rarity in this
industry, and they have been right beside me through
all the hard times I’ve had in this crazy business! |
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