Bengaluru’s homegrown music bands have always created a buzz. Swarathama, Raghu Dixit Project, Thermal & a Quarter, Galeej Gurus are some of them.
One such young band, which aspires to be big is Solder. Formed in 2009, this band is already riding high with number of shows lined up. They also walked away with the runners up trophy at the NLS Strawberry Fields.
Formed in 2009, this band is already riding high, with a number of shows lined up. Pic: Madhu Shweta.
Within this one year, Solder has had played in venues such as Opus, Kyra, Furtados (along with the band Galeej Gurus), Le Rock and festivals such as National Law School’s Strawberry Fields.
"Playing with Galeej Gurus, was a brilliant experience. They are way more experienced when it comes to playing live, but we have learnt quite a lot since our first show in July 2009, at Opus. We have now become more professional, our stage presence has become better…" chimes the band.
The band was started by two friends Joel Michael Rozario, the drummer and Mark Escottee, the lead guitarist. Rozario works at Yahoo. They said they were looking for a bunch of people who share the same passion they had for music. They teamed up with Akhilesh Kumar, Siddarth Abraham and Samson Philip whom they met through common friends.
Over the year, this band has created 10 original compositions and has five more in the pipeline. "If you ask me to choose one of my best compositions I would not be able to tell which one! I love every bit of our covers," adds the 23 year old music enthusiast Siddarth Abraham.
Unlike the west, the idea of playing in a music band as a full time career, is rare in India. "Music is still considered to be a hobby in India, the idea of music as a means of making money is unusual. But we want to change that we are passionate and serious about the music we make," says Akshath, the manager of the band.
Unlike most parents, the parents of the band members were quite supportive and understanding of their career option, even though initially, the band members had to use their own resources to get the band going. Now, it is different, there are shows and gigs that pay and support the band.
Samson Philip says he had played for a few bands before. He says playing at Opus on the July 25th 2009 was his first show and the most memorable moment. "Playing live has been one of my biggest dreams, I think any musician would dream of playing live to a large audience," says Philip, the newest member of the band and the base guitarist.
It is the love for music that binds the group together. "Music lifts you up, it helps you shift your mind away from stressful situations," says Kumar, who plays the rhythm and backing vocals.
When it comes to writing and creating music and compositions, Solder works as a group. "Most of our songs are heart-felt, inspirational. There is no particular rule to writing our music," adds the band in unison.
After a show on the January 9th at Kyra, Solder had more shows lined up. They also performed at IIT Chennai for their famed fest, Saarang "The best part about Solder is anyone and everyone can enjoy their songs. Some of my friends aren’t rock music fans and yet they loved their songs," says Priyanka, one of the fans.
"Within no time was the crowd enthralled and excited, they connected with the crowd easily. Their passion for music just shows," says Neharika, who was there at Kyra. ⊕