You can’t come to a Tails on Fire show and stand in one place. That’s what this highly energetic band from Chennai promises its fans, with their unique sound that turns every gig into an ‘adrenaline infused mob scene’ as they would like to refer to it.
Formed in 2011, the band members Jitesh Dharmaraj – Bass, Ritesh Dharmaraj – Drums, Sriram TT – Guitar and Karan Nair – Vocals, were all part of different bands such as Skrat, Afterburn, NerveRek and other groups. “We knew each other from music circles for several years before this band started. Our friendship and a series of strange circumstances led to the formation of the band,” says Karan, who adds, “When we came up with the name Tails on Fire, it was just a crazy idea to symbolize the energy the band gave out while performing. That name just stuck and we decided to carry on with ‘Tails on Fire’. Each member has different influences ranging from Classic Rock, Grunge, Funk, Punk and the Blues.”
But unlike most bands these days, college fests and other competitions were never part of their road to fame. In 2011, the band participated and won the Chennai Live 104.8 FM’s Band Hunt Season 2 – a national level competition that had 88 bands participating. “This was the only time we ever competed. We have however, headlined college fests such as Deepwoods (Madras Christian College – Chennai), Revels (Manipal Institute of Technology – Manipal), Pegasus (Christian Medical College – Vellore). We recorded our first album in July 2014. It is a self-titled album and is available for free.”
The band is currently working on their second album, with all of them contributing lyrically to the different songs. Their music has various inspirations from life experiences to ‘surreal visions and alien phenomenon’ and covers a range of subjects. “The dynamic between the four of us starts with things other than music and that tends to blend into the song writing and performances,” says Karan.
With all four members working full time, the band is often slowed down by professional commitments. But that doesn’t stop them from going all out and living their dream - the next one which would be NH7 Weekender in Bangalore this year. “Every show has been life changing but we believe the best is yet to come. If you love making music, let it take you places. There is no room for doubt. There is only one way to find out if you will succeed or fail and that is to go all in,” Karan believes.
Drawing inspiration from bands like Rage against the machine, Audioslave, Biffy Clyro, Foo Fighters, Limp Bizkit to name a few, Tails on Fire’s growth has been steady and riddled with milestones and hurdles at every turn.
“Releasing our first album online and having it played across the world was a special joy. ToF’s high energy live shows stand apart. No breaks. Just non-stop high adrenaline pumping through the stage and every corner and every person at every venue we play at. The band was meant to be much more than just another group. We worked towards creating an experience around every show we played.”