Chai-Town is an all male South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

n a cappella

A cappella

A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

 group based in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

. Chai-Town specializes in mixing India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n and American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 songs and they are especially famous for their Antics on stage.

History

During Fall of 2002, Anish Parikh and Rishi Jain were brought together by their love of music and from them was born, Chai-Town. Since then, Chai-Town has become one of the leading and recognized South Asian a cappella groups in the country.

Shows

November 13, 2010 - Chai-Town placed 3rd at Anahat 2010.

April 10, 2010 - Chai-Town placed 3rd at Gathe Raho 2010.

March 8, 2010 - Chai-Town participated in the Will-TV A Cappella BEATdown with talented A Cappella groups like the Rip Chords, Girls Next Door, Tone Rangers, Blu Bop, Chandani, Femme Forte and Cut Time. Chai-Town was declared the overall winner of this competition by winning the online and phone voting while also being the judges choice.

January 22, 2010 - Chai-Town was featured at the Local Radio Station in Champaign, Illinois on Friday 22 January 2010.
Chai-Town performed at the Krannert Center for Performing Arts at the University of Illinois for Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.

November 7, 2009 - Chai-Town placed 2nd place at Anahat 2009.

October 31, 2009 - Chai-Town won the Homegrown Talent Competition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign while competing with the likes of Rip Chords, Girls Next Door A Cappella, Dance 2XS, 3 Spot and a lot more.

April 13, 2009 - Chai-Town was awarded the Best Organization Award by the Asian American Cultural Center. Spring of 2009 has been very demanding for Chai-Town. They have performed at Marquette University

Marquette University

Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...

, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Illinois State University

Illinois State University

Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...

, University of Missouri

University of Missouri

The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

 and have even taken part in the competition Gathe Raho, hosted by the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

 along with numerous other performances on campus.

Chai-Town has been performing all over the country, from Washington DC to Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 to Berkeley

Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

. One of the major events Chai-Town participates is the South-Asian a cappella competition called Anahat, hosted by University of California at Berkeley. Chai-Town has achieved first place twice in 2004 and 2007.

Chai-Town performs at all major events at UIUC organized by the Indian Students Association like India Night, which regularly attracts a large crowd. Every year Chai-Town also hosts its own show on Campus.

Style

Over the years, Chai-Town has gathered a good repertoire of songs. From Hit Indian movies like Lagaan

Lagaan

Lagaan is a 2001 Bollywood sports film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. Aamir Khan, who was also the producer for the film, stars with Gracy Singh in the lead roles; British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne play the supporting roles...

 and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna commonly known as KANK is a 2006 Bollywood film directed by Karan Johar and produced under the Dharma Productions banner...

, Chai-Town has covered Ghanan Ghanan and Mitwa respectively. Even covering English songs of Western Artists, like Stitched Up by John Mayer

John Mayer

John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...

 and Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...

. One of their most recent songs include Maula Mere Lele Meri Jaan from the Hit Indian movie Chak De India

Chak De India

Chak De! India is a 2007 Indian sports films about field hockey in India. It is directed by Shimit Amin, produced by Yash Raj Films, written by Jaideep Sahni, sports action by ReelSports, and stars Shahrukh Khan as Kabir Khan, the former captain of the Indian hockey team. After a disastrous loss...

. Chai-Town has also done a Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 song Pachchai Nirame, which has been composed by A.R. Rahman. Chai-Town has mixed many Indian songs with English songs. Some among the many are Because of You by Ne-Yo

Ne-Yo

Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...

 and Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai from the movie Woh Lamhe

Woh Lamhe

Woh Lamhe... is a 2006 film starring Shiney Ahuja and Kangna Ranaut and directed by Mohit Suri. The film is a based on the true story of Parveen Babi's life, her battle with schizophrenia and her relationship with Mahesh Bhatt to whom she was a lover as well as a mentor in his struggling days.Bhatt...

, Nachange Saari Raat by Stereo Nation and Tempted To Touch by Rupee

Rupee

The rupee is the common name for the monetary unit of account in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, and formerly in Burma, and Afghanistan. Historically, the first currency called "rupee" was introduced in the 16th century...

, Sexyback by Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake

Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...

 and Jumma Chumma De De from the movie Hum

Hum (film)

Hum is a 1991 Hindi Language film directed by Mukul S. Anand. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Govinda, Kimi Katkar, Shilpa Shirodkar, Deepa Sahi and Danny Denzongpa. This was the last successful film for Bachchan in the early 90s before he announced his temporary retirement immediately...

.

Discography

Chai-Town has also released 2 Albums so far under STTM Productions - Good Till The Last Drop and Arohonam.

Arohonam (2008): Produced by Jaimin Amin, Neal Srivastava & Arjun Venkataswamy

• Arohonam
• Teri Deewani
• Pachchai Nirame
• Maaeri
• Mohabbatein Medley
• Because of You / Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hain
• Mitwa
• Nachange Saari Raat / Tempted To Touch
• Sexyback / Jumma Chumma De De

Good Till The Last Drop (2006) : Produced by Anish Parikh & Rishi Jain

• Yeh Dosti/I'll Be There For You
• Ghanan Ghanan
• Mohabbatein Medley
• Insomniac
• Maine Pyaar Kiya / Kiss the Girl
• Still Haven't Found / Koi Mil Gaya
• Woh Chand Jaisi Ladki (Live)
• In the End
• Kal Ho Na Ho / Right Here Waiting For You
• The Lion Sleeps Tonight / Brown Eyed Girl

Members

The group holds auditions every semester and every semester it is a very grueling process and talent never seems to extinguish. The present Members are Jaison Alexander, Neesh Shah, Arindam Chakravartti, Bijoy Varghese, Vinay Srinivasan, Tejaswy Mallela, Sai Gudimella, Bharat Kusuma, Kevin Thomas, Sunil Thomas, Arun Kousik, Aalok Gandhi, Andy Castillo, Allen Mathew, and Vivek Thyagarajan.

Alumni: Anish Parikh, Rishi Jain, Ashish Shah, Sandip Shah, Aditya Nemlekar, Pritesh Patel, Ashwin Suresh, Rishin Pandya, Rahul Nayak, Paras Mehta, Gaurav Venkateswaran, Vikas Jain, Terrence Modugatham, Eric Jensen, Dome, Sean, Josh Cho, Jaimin Amin, Aditya Mehta, Ravi Jain, Vishal Desai, Harsh Shrivastava, Gaurav Dubey, Bharat Srikishan, Neal Srivastava, Siddhartha Raja, Akash Kushal, Danial Baweja, Suchun Shah, Raghu Kumar, Vikram Raghavan, Ibrahim Mekki, Saurabh Kukreti, Bimel Thomas, Samarth Bhaskar, Arjun Venkataswamy, Prashanth Venkataramanujam, Amandeep Gargi, Amit Vaishampayan, Shazad Ahmed, Gautam Srikishan, Manu Colacot, Eeshaan Roy.