Bluesman Rudy Wallang’s New Band Rudy & the Kool Kats Perform in Mumbai Tonight

Earlier this year, seasoned Shillong-based guitarist-vocalist Rudy Wallang announced the start of a new band called Rudy & the Kool Kats. Ironically, the band’s name comes from the song “Koolkatstrut” by Wallang’s other blues outfit, Soulmate, off their 2009 sophomore album Moving On.

While things have been quiet from the Soulmate camp, Wallang’s new ensemble includes guitarists Greg Nongrum and Shepherd Najiar as well as keyboardist/percussionist Brian Suting and his longtime rhythm section in bassist Leon Wallang and drummer Vincent Tariang. Wallang says, “I had this idea of forming a band with a two or three guitar set up around the year 2017 and had spoken about it with some of the musicians then. Things did not really materialize all these years as we were all busy with our own bands and daily work schedules.” He adds, “Earlier this year, I called up Greg Nongrum and Shepherd Najiar, both of whom are very active in the music scene in Shillong and asked them if they were on for playing in a band that had three guitar players and they immediately said yes!”

The band has been putting together their set since February this year and has already played a few shows in Shillong. The group is now making their way to Mumbai to perform at the Studio Theatre inside the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) on June 8th.

With Wallang, Nongrum and Najiar all sharing vocal duties, the band is also focused on performing a lot of instrumental music that Wallang has written over the years. He says, “With the Kool Kats, they [the instrumental songs] have now come to fruition and I am glad this has happened.” Talking about their gig at NMACC, the guitarist says, “We will be performing a number of songs and tunes we have written in the blues, blues-rock, funk, soul vein besides covers of blues standards that we all love.” The Kool Kats will also be joined on a few songs by Kolkata musicians Arinjoy Sarkar and Tajdar Junaid.

When asked about the future of his other band Soulmate, Wallang doesn’t comment, however, he does mention that he plans to gig as much as possible with the Kool Kats. “We have an international festival that we are playing later in the year and are working on a tour that should hopefully take place soon,” he says.

Click here to buy tickets for Rudy & the Kool Kats on June 8th at NMACC in Mumbai.