It’s Always a Grind for Chepang Axeman to Park in New York

Sangharsha is a Nepalese hardcore band from New York City. While its formation is unusual, its activity isn’t — the band has kept busy putting out records and touring. But Sangharsha’s tours didn’t include playing in Nepal. "It has always been a dream to go back home and do it," emails guitarist Kshitiz Moktan.

So, he started playing in Chepang — also all-Nepalese, a grindcore band that has two vocalists, two drummers and Moktan on guitar — "for maximum velocity and power live." Chepang are planning to play Nepal and tour the rest of Asia in 2018.

Moktan tours in a van that Sangharsha owns, "which has been towed by the city a lot due to classic NYC parking ticket issues." He brings all of his gear on the road because he has a "specific type of sound I have set for practice. So, I want to keep it consistent live as well." He admits that although it’s a pain to haul all of his gear, "I can’t do without it. It’s like a part of me, and I am willing to sacrifice anything to have it with me on tour."

Moktan occasionally borrows speaker cabinets if there’s a transportation issue with getting them to the club, but "I really do not have a preference for guitar cabinets as long as the ohms are right."

He does have some particulars, however. He says he always brings his guitars and pedals, plus my "Science Decolonizer amp as well. This amp has been a mainstay for now, as it has tons of options and can adapt according to the sound of the room easily. In addition, it has the options to choose between 4, 8 and 16 ohms with just a turn of a knob."

At this point, Moktan starts getting more technical. Because Chepang have different sound demands than Sangharsha, "I recently started using a bass amp as power / slave amp, as well [as] a bass cab. I just use the send function of the guitar amp and send the signal to the return of the bass amp into the bass cab ... I am trying to cover all the spectrum of the sound and loudness of the two drummers grinding hard."

We’ll all have another chance to hear that when Chepang plays Maryland Deathfest this year.

Find earlier editions of gear conversations: Triac; Greta Brinkman; At the Gates.