Meet Tosovi Kiso a former musician and the brain child behind Moshfall Headbangers United (MHU) and Lead Entertainment (LE). Tosovi ventured into event management seeking for innovation and to create opportunity for musicians through his management service MHU and Lead LE. Tosovi gets upfront with Rhythm of Love and shares his take on the music scenario in Nagaland.
EASTERN MIRROR: For readers who aren’t familiar with you, can you give us a run-through of who you are, what you are currently doing and how you started?
TOSOVI KISO: You can say a former musician whose passion for art has always innovated and motivated him! Currently working as a Graphic Designer in a company and a Promoter.
Back in 2010/2011 when Kohima had the most bands/artists but very few platforms to perform on and we were out of cash, 5 guys got into a discussion: the topic- the music scene in Nagaland. That was an awkward start for a management team but we did it. On January 2011, Moshfall Headbangers United (MHU) was ready to run permanent with its first official event “The Showdown”.
MHU turns [5] this year and we are proud to announce that we’ve promoted/worked with over 50 bands/artists and managed/organized over 20 events. And for this I would personally like to thank all the bands, the fans, the friends and the families for their support and everything else.
Recently I’ve also launched another event management service, its called “Lead Entertainment” and so far we have organized [3] consecutive events starting from the month of May and we also have a few more events coming up this year.
EASTERN MIRROR: Both Moshfall Headbangers United (MHU) and Lead Entertainment (LE) are event management services. What is the difference between the two?
TOSOVI KISO: They are both into event management; it’s just that MHU is and will be on a break for a while for some reason. Of course it’ll be back and with something big, hopefully! Meantime, Lead Entertainment will do its best to keep things alive!
EASTERN MIRROR: What according to you are some of the essentials for putting on a great show?
TOSOVI KISO: Well, starting from the musicians/artists, the sound system, the venue, the stage gears and everything is equally important. But yes, “money” something which many will never spend for you if you are doing a musical concert here in our state. Sometimes even the music department itself refuses to support.
EASTERN MIRROR: Give us three of your favorite venues in the state. Tell us why?
TOSOVI KISO: Well, I haven’t gone around much but I should say we don’t quite actually have a preferable venue for hosting music event because I don’t prefer watching/enjoying live music sitting on a chair. But so far “The Heritage, Kohima” has been one of the best venues and this is one venue I look for.
Which has been the most satisfying/memorable event you have put up so far? How do you review the success of your events?
Me and my marketing Manager received a call from the head office of Mr. International India (National Event) to manage the entire event, this has been one major milestone we covered. Apart from that if the state is not aware yet, MHU also created history in hosting an indoor Metal SOLD OUT show in the year 2013 under the theme “Psycho Holiday”, which was labeled one of the best annual event ever witnessed in the history of local commercial events in Kohima, Nagaland. The show witnessed a turn-out of about 600-700 anticipated crowd which surprisingly included some groups from different states and cities to support the event.
Coming back to the music scenario of the state, what do you find discouraging in the music industry?
We lack a lot of support and appreciation…I should say!
As an event management expert, what is your opinion on the growing number of singing competitions? Do you think the contests are fair?
I don’t know how they do it…but I hope they don’t disappoint the barely breathing music scenario.
What do you think is the most important thing Naga artists should do to promote themselves better?
Self motivation and dedication is what I will go for. But promoting yourself/your band here in Nagaland is also not that easy…giving up has been one major habit in our music scenario and with the musicians too, but those who are wholly into it, they will do whatever it takes and they will never go home empty handed.
What are the upcoming events lined up for this year?
Well…so far we have a big gig coming up on 20th of August with some of the coolest and heaviest bands from the state. And hopefully an EDM concert on the first week of August itself and another EDM concert in the month of September first week.
You can check our facebook page-Lead Entertainment for more event updates or subscribe to our Youtube channel-Lead Entertainment for after movies of our events.
