CHENNAI: For a band with roots in church music to start playing alternative jazz and grunge metal may seem like a total turnaround for laypeople — but the members of the band Dwhetstone feel otherwise. “There have been a lot of times when we’ve been mistaken for a gospel band — nothing could be farther from the truth!” they laugh. The grunge-influenced, Chennai-based band released their first album, Breaking Down, this weekend, and they talked to City Express about their milestone why it’s been a long time coming.
Surprisingly, the band has been active since 2004, when vocalist Chris David and his brother Pradeep (guitars) started jamming with their cousin and drummer Vineeth. There isn’t a lack of musical influence in their family – their forefathers were veena manufacturers in the 1960s.
“We started initially playing at church events — we gave the band the name Whetstone after the crude rock used to sharpen knives and tools,” explains Chris. “But we wanted to keep our family name — David — and so we added the D in the beginning!” he laughs. The Initially the band was playing mostly covers and alternative jazz music until in 2010 when bassist Johnny joined them.
“We started writing songs with a more metal-inspired influence after Johnny joined adds Chris. “We did dabble in all genres of music but lean mostly towards progressive metal. The band became successful and performed at various prestigious stages, from BITS-Pilani to Madras Christian College in 2013, and becoming the runner up in IIM Bangalore and Channel V Launchpad, among many others. The limelight brought even more good fortune for Vineeth, who is also a virtuoso drummer in his own right – he is the first Indian drummer to bag a lucrative full sponsorship from the UK-based Liberty Drums.
“We started experimenting with rock-based yet melodic elements which would help us in creating a separate identity for the band on stage,” he says.
However, their plans for an album had to be put on hold because of medical problems encountered by Pradeep — which explains why it’s taken them seven years since going live on stage. “Most of the song writing was managed by Pradeep, so it was a big blow for us, but right now we’ve managed to come out with our album that it’s a milestone!” says Chris.
Their album, was released ith a performance at Museum Theatre, with a roster of 10 songs and a sold-out crowd. “The album has been mixed and mastered by Jochem Jacobs, the guitarist of the Dutch metal band Textures,” adds Vineeth. “We’ve got some amazing people who’ve been helping us with our work, but mostly the album is basically our baby!”
‘Breaking Down’ is now available online.
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