Spade Pirates are more than a Bengaluru-based grunge band; they are a philosophy, a protest, and a deep commitment to the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) ethos that defines punk rock. For songwriter and guitarist Ace, drummer Rohit Oommen, and bassist Anirudh Varma, their raw, aggressive sound is the vehicle for a core mission: inspiring original thought and absolute individual freedom in a world that pressurises people to conform.
Bengaluru-based Abhimanyu Prakash who is known by his stage name Ace, pursues a private teaching career to support himself as an independent artiste, while Anirudh Varma who hails from Kozhikode is a sound engineer. Rohit, who is also from Bengaluru, has a finance background; all three are 26 years old.
Schoolmates, grunge and a long search
The roots of the band begin with the friendship between Ace and Rohit. “Rohit and I were schoolmates, we would jam in my garage when we were in the 11th grade,” says Ace. This early synergy was the spark, with some of the songs performed by the band today having been conceived during those initial high school jams.
Ace’s journey, however, included a period playing in a band in Germany called The Love of Dog, an experience that honed his skills but left him searching for the perfect collective energy back home. The final piece was Anirudh, a certified sound engineer whose technical background proved invaluable.
When they met, Anirudh instantly understood the weight of the band’s mission, and says, “This is the journey I’ve always wanted to be on.” Despite balancing the band with demanding professional careers, their commitment is absolute. Rohit is brutally honest when he says his day job is merely “to fund this passion”, a journey he describes as “hard, fulfilling and time consuming.”
Punk pirate philosophy
While Spade Pirates’ musical engine is primarily grunge, their philosophy, is pure, unadulterated punk. Ace points to Nirvana as the sound that “got me thinking of starting a band,” recognising the foundational link between grunge and punk’s independent spirit.
Spade Pirates drummer Rohit Oommen
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
“Punk is just the opposite of the mainstream, against establishment,” Ace states, adding: “We are all punk.”
Natasha Karan, the ukulele-wielding opening act for the band, also known as Nata Ukku, did not speak in terms of guitar tones or sludgy basslines, but in terms of ideology. “Grunge is a genre, which was created against the conventions,” she explained.
This entire movement, she says, was fundamentally about pushing back against the norm, focusing on what people often ignored. “The whole grunge movement is about the working class,” she says, adding it was driven by a sense of social consciousness.
According to Natasha, the ultimate function of this movement was to provide refuge and identity. “That is how all the misfits of society found a place where they could belong through music and culture.”
For her, the Spade Pirates are doing more than just playing music; they are keeping a critical spirit alive. The real significance, for her, however, is their attempt to forge a “new scene” in a landscape thin on their genre. “There aren’t too many grunge bands out there.”
Hat tip
The band’s show Come As You Are held a few months ago, was a testament to their DIY principles. The night was a self-managed production under Namma Undrgrnd, Ace’s initiative to build a safe, community-driven space for independent artistes.
At Spade Pirates show
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
“Everything was organised by us,” Ace emphasises, highlighting the band’s direct management of the venue partnership, sound vendors, marketing, and design. The financial reality of being fiercely independent — having to pay to secure their stage — was evident in their setlist, which featured the Nirvana cover track ‘Pay to Play’.
Spade Pirates are self-releasing their debut single ‘After Math’ as a part of their upcoming album As A Fact Of Matter which will come out in 2026.
Living the life of free-roaming pirates, the trio are continuing their uncompromising voyage across the city’s stages, giving audiences further opportunities to witness their raw energy and powerful message.
Spade Pirates will next perform on December 24 at The Hard Rock Cafe, Whitefield. Tickets can be found on Skillbox.
Published – December 03, 2025 06:46 pm IST
