This was not a very routine origin for members of Decibel, a band at Bhavan’s College in Hyderabad. The young college students admit juggling academics and band practice was tough. “It is just not easy! We love playing music. Coping up with our studies and attendance is a big task. Have to do it, though,” they said.
Like any other band, it took a long while to figure out their way to success. “It all started on the last Independence day. We wanted to perform for the college program. Back then, we were just four of us. We did not have any plans to form a band”, says lead guitarist, Nikhilesh Pillai.
Though it was their first attempt, their song received tremendous praise. The two-month- old band started off with just one guitarist, one on the keyboard and two vocalists.
No name and no identity but just one semi- classical song in a simple college event gave their passion the right path. “The appreciation we received that day was tremendous. It encouraged us to get more people and take this group to the next level. That was when Theeran, the drummer, Vaishnavi and Chirag, vocalists, joined us. Decibel was formed and has been celebrating music since then,” explains Christopher, the man on the keys.
Their eyes gleam with pride while they explain how they practiced all day for their first event, where they played Madari, from Coke Studio composed by Vishal Dadlani.“Our first performance as a band was at Aurora College, Hyderabad. We were nervous but our strength was the team. Today, we do better and improve with every event. We play classical, semi-classical and rock music too,” said Vaishnavi.
For them, every performance is a new experience. They decided to try their hand in every competition that came their way, including the Osmania University Fest, 2015. “No shortcuts to success. Determination and passion is the only key we believe in.” they stated.