Ven Thangaraj

Bassist

Born in India, Ven plays bass in FirstBourne, Mike Kerr Group and guitar in DragChain, a 80s metal project and Hostilian, a progressive metal band based in Hyderabad, India. Influenced by Iron Maiden and hair metal on MTV, Ven started to play guitar on a pawn shop special while in college. After college, music factored very little until Ven joined forces with Mike Kerr in the Mike Kerr Group in 2013. The MKG is an instrumental hard rock band performing regularly around the Boston area. With the addition of Adrienne Cowen in 2015, FirstBourne came into existence. In parallel, monthly business travel to India exposed the lively and growing metal scene in India sparking the formation of Hostilian with an EP set for release in Fall 2016.

Ven has engineering degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. Ven is the CEO of several companies including Radiant Sage, Radiant Data Care, Reserve Dine; Artist Relations/Business Dev for Vivid Amps and serves as an advisor for www.clearight.com, and Radiant Real Estate.

Ven resides in the Boston area. Ven enjoys playing ice hockey, reading biographies, listening to audio books, sleeping very little and living the “Motorbreath” life.

Ven plays Strandberg Guitars, Wing Instrument bass guitars, SantoAngelo cables, Joyo Pedals, BIAS FX Amp/Cab modeling by Positive Grid all running through Vivid amps and cabs.