Introductions:
Hi, this is Mad Orange Fireworks. We’re an alt rock act right here in Bangalore. We are:
Michael Dias (guitars, lead vocals), Kaushik Kumar (bass, backing vocals), and Shravan Bendapudi (drums, percussion, backing vocals).
Where and how did your band begin?
It all started in Bangalore itself. Michael had a bunch of songs that had piled up from as much as 7 years ago, but they were rough drafts and he was looking for the right people to work the stuff out with. Through a common friend, he met a metal drummer with a soft corner for Dave Matthews Band and hit it off instantly. The final piece of the puzzle fit when Slingshot bassist and long time friend of Michael agreed to become a part of the project, which then became Mad Orange Fireworks. All this was about 7 months ago.
How would you describe your sound?
Our sound is an amalgamation of a large number of genres – classic rock, funk, jazz, pop, blues… the list is quite long. So, we’ve summed it up: Orange rock! That’s our sound.
How do you go about composing music? What inspires you?
It starts with a mood and a guitar line – a lick, an arpeggio, a progression – anything. Everything sort of builds around that core. We’re slowly getting into a groove, though, with songs like ‘Empty Saturday’ where it becomes more about how each instrument complements the other to form that core together. And when you love music, anything can inspire you – turning 25 (the horror! the horror!), dancing (or the inability to do so), or even getting thrown out of class in college. Love and heartbreak are in there as well…
Your musical influences?
Well, Michael comes from a background of playing acoustic to himself in his bedroom. Thermal and a Quarter, John Mayer, and Sting are some of his big current influences. Kaushik’s background is more groovy with a lot of funk including Tower of Power and Marcus Miller. Shravan is more the metal dude with his music leaning towards stuff like Pain of Salvation, Porcupine Tree and Deftones. Overall, as a band, we listen to a lot of stuff that seeps in to our music – from indie bands like St. Vincent and The Magic Numbers, some heavier stuff like Extreme and Red Hot Chili Peppers, to jazz with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Sinatra… it’s basically this huge melting pot…
How do you manage work and music?
You sacrifice on other stuff… sleep included. The thing is, all of us are in fields and jobs that we like – Michael is a full time musician now, teaching guitar and performing all the way. So, in that sense, his work is music and he loves it!! Shravan’s a civil engineer by day and a rockstar by night. He compromises on sleep the most. And Kaushik is finishing up architecture at college and should start practicing soon. He sleeps the most 😉 . So we take it one day at a time and do whatever is necessary.
What is your philosophy on music?
Music is the soundtrack to life. Whatever you’re going through – pleasure or pain – and however trivial it may be, music can express it and let you have a good time doing it. It becomes a conduit through which the band members can open themselves up and the brilliant thing is that then people in the audience reciprocate… So, suddenly we know each other 🙂 . We feel that music keeps us from taking life too seriously sometimes as well. It’s there to tell you that no matter what, it’s all good.
What is the most important thing to you when you are on stage?
Two things – sound dynamics and chemistry. Without both of them, it just isn’t a show – it becomes a group of guys playing a bunch of songs. The audience feeds off the energy on stage – they have to see that we’re having fun. After all, it is that kind of music. Especially dynamics… that’s what gives any band’s music life. It goes from being a bunch of notes to a song.
What advice would you like to give to musicians and fans out there?
Practice. Practice. Practice. There’s so much to make perfect. You have to be tight, play knowing how you’d sound in the mix, jive with each other’s idiosyncrasies and within all that learn how to find moments of magic… moments that will catch anyone’s eye and ear and on a good day even give them goosebumps 🙂
And to the fans, we feed off you. We are a performance act that’s driven by the crowd and the music. Without you there is no magic, and in that sense there is no band. Thank you for being a part of Mad Orange Fireworks.
Where else can we find you online?
You can catch us online here:
Facebook | Reverbnation | Youtube
