I've always loved music. And while I could regale you with stories of how I used to sing from the time I was a toddler, this story isn't about me. It's about Waffles and Warfare (WaW). Before you say 'What?', I'll break it down for you. They're a band. And yes, I had the same expression on my face when I heard their name.
First impressions are great. When they trooped in, this is how I sized them up: one tall person, two medium tall persons and one short person. Jokes apart, the five-piece band from Madras Christian College, comprises of Paul David, the lead vocalist, Samuel Cornelius Paul on rhythm guitar, Neil Beeto Jerin, lead guitarist, John Solomon on the bass guitar and Sadok Limma (aka Lucky) on percussion.
As we sat down for a cup of coffee we got chatting just to break the ice. But let's get down business now. They played me a sample of their music and I was nothing short of impressed. So how did this passionate bunch come up with their unique, funky yet catchy name? "Honestly, it was a very random decision I made. I tried my best to get the approval of the rest of the band and none of them really seemed to care. I don't know I decided to classify our acoustic playlist as 'waffle music' but for some reason, it worked out and the word 'Warfare' on the other hand describes the metal side to our band. Waffles and Warfare are just two words that describe the kind of music we compose and perform," says Paul.
Apart from their name, what's interesting about WaW is the story of how they found each other. "I was part of a different band before W&W, but we had to go our separate ways. As days went by, musicians came and musicians went and that is how Sam, John and Lucky signed up. We still were missing a metal head and that's when I met Beeto and now we're complete," adds Paul.
Being someone who has been around musicians all my life I know how challenging song writing can be. So how was the experience for WaW? Samuel steps in boldly to answer this question, "Paul started writing lyrics and I was writing instrumental pieces simultaneously and somehow for the greater good it worked out. Like fitting in pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. After carefully putting together the music and lyrics we would send recordings to the rest of the band." The most difficult part of every song was figuring out percussion that would go with the song. In light of this, Lucky adds, "Every song we've written had odd time signatures and the initial struggle is in getting the basic beat and tempo right, after which it's not as bad as we thought it would be."
Every one has embarrassing first experiences on stage and WaW too has their very own goof-up story. After cackling and reminiscing for a few minutes, Lucky explains, "We decided to cover pop songs for a fest, which was not our style of music and just when we thought everything was going well we messed up. The drumming wasn't loud enough and the guitars were not in sync. But this experience only helped us stay true to our music going forward and we never tried anything funny again."
Though they like softer strains, there lies within each of them a thriving metal head. What are their thoughts on the music scene here, you ask? Beeto explains, "I'm more of an old-school, death metal kind of guy and its sad to see people drifting away from metal as a whole. Metal has its significance and it's and acquired taste but pop and EDM has taken over the music industry and it's kind of sad to see metal fading . But I can only hope that enthusiasm for metal sparks up in this city all over again."
What do you think it will take for Waffles and Warfare to make it work beyond college? They opined, "We think it's the passion and drive to get our music out there is what will keep us together." Two fingers and four frets crossed!
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