Once, there were frequent rock concerts and winners and then there was Rock On, the film. Ever since, rock music has established its unofficial rule over the hearts and minds of the youth of the country. Bringing on the magic of rock music to the campus, Campus Rock Idol series five is all set to rock the college campuses in the city, one more time.

This is Campus Rock Idol's fifth series and the auditions, which start from today, will select only eight out of 25 bands from Mumbai and Pune. And despite the tough competition, the members of the band sound confident and anxious. This yearly event has given a lot of popularity to bands in the past, and thus, every year the number of bands participating is increasing. As per the estimate, 40 new bands have recently come up in Mumbai and Pune, which taking into consideration the rock scene in the two citie, is surely a high number.

While a majority of bands are into metal rock, heavy rock is also in demand but the number of people interested is limited. Auditions are taking place in four zones and the regional winner from each of these zones that is Pune, Calcutta, Delhi and Hyderabad go on to compete against each other at national finals to be held in Hyderabad on February 7. Apart from winning the coveted title Campus Rock Idol of the year and the cash prize, they also get an opportunity to perform with the international rock icons such as Coldplay, Rasum and more.

In spite of the busy schedule the students take out time for their passion and talent which is highly appreciable. ”We are a four member band and are all ready to set the stage on fire. We practise for two- three days in a week ,” says Sidharth Kadadi, lead guitarist of Zygema, a band from Mumbai that will be performing at the event. “We are excited but at the same time also a bit nervous to face a tough competition from the rest. But anyway, we are looking forward to having a good crowd to watch us play. Afterall, isn’t that the most important thing for performers,” smiles he. Afflatus, an all girls band from Shillong were the runners up of 2004 edition of Campus Rock. “ We have been practicing regularly, but with the event coming closer, our practice hours have increased. We are here to give our best and are eagerly looking forward to rock the concert,” adds a band member who does not want to be named. Adhiraj singh, member of the band — Pristine Theorem says, “Music is growing in Pune with a good taste, I feel the crowd will surely appreciate the effort made by our team.”

Bands, though rarely, are also found playing classic rock. Sound System, a band from Pune is there to win the hearts crowd with classic rock. Harsh, the lead guitarist of the four-member band says, “We are expecting a tough competition . The time limit for every band is 20 minutes, and in that much time span is more than enough to play thrre-four songs. We are hoping that our effort pays off well, especially considering the fact that we’ve practiced more.”

Not only the participants but even tmusic lovers are looking forward to this event. “The most interesting part is that the bands have their original compositions. This makes the competition more tough and challenging. Today is surely the D Day for a lot of bands and we are going to be there to experience the rocking competition,” says Anthony Lobo, rock music lover.