DRUMMER WEEK: GAUTAM DEB (NOISEWARE, PMOC)

I've known Deb for a few years now, competing with Chronic Phobia at many gigs with Noiseware! He's one hell of a drummer! Check this long interview I've done with him. :)

Full name and age.
Gautam Deb and just turned 25.
I'm feeling extremely old already.

What is your favourite dish/cuisine?
Indian (home) food any day.

Kindly tell us about all your precious gear! (Sticks, cymbals, kit, skins, gear/bags)
I have a Mapex kit in Pune but will be upgrading it soon, and got a Roland TD 11k  E- kit in Bombay. I've got 15 gorgeous cymbals from Soultone cymbals.
I'm currently in love with them. I've got a mix of dark and bright sets.
As for sticks, I use either a Vic Firth or Vater 5A/5B/7B.
All gig bags and practice pads are sorted, thanks to Alberto. He's a God's gift to all the musicians in Bombay.

How long have you been playing the drums?
I've been playing since nine years. I took drumming up seriously when I was in school in Pune and was very sure that this is what I am going to do.

What got you into playing drums?
Women/girls.
Then I realized there’s more to it….haha!

Have you learned to read music as well, or do you just play by ear?
I use a lethal combination of both.
I got myself into reading a couple of years back but then I developed my own style of reading, thanks to my school/teacher/college ….Noiseware.
I programme what I play so I get a midi chart and I use that chart as my reading sheets.
The advantage is that I can hear what I write and even slow down the tempo if I want to which I’m sure a piece of paper can't do, but then when I'm jamming, I just use my ear and try to create something and then take it to the midi charts.
Reading is an important aspect and helps understand time and every musician should at least know it if not use it.

Loud and pounding| soft and accurate| the normal drummer. What do you prefer?
Is this a sexpert question? haha…but anyway
It depends on what you are playing. Currently I freelance as a drummer and playing different genres needs different styles of playing. So, understanding the physics of dynamics is important.

What thought goes into the composing process?
This one is all about the ear. No amount of charts can help you make a good song unless you are Beethoven.
If it sounds good then it is good. For learning and refining, yes, charts would definitely help you.

What other music projects are you currently a part of?
Currently I’m writing an album with Noiseware (Metchul) and PMOC (Pinnochio's Moment of Clarity) which is sort of a post rock album.
Creatively I’m just involved with these two projects.
Last year I worked on an album with Reverrse polarity with Keshav Dhar producing it and it was a great learning experience for me.

Do you have a day job? What is it that you do?
Not really. I play the drums and I make a living out of it.
I also have a design firm so I switch temporarily during an off-season.
So yeah, two professions as of now but never ever a day fucking job.

Your favorite musicians (Indian)
Guitar: Warren Mendonsa, Prashant Shah (Scribe),Adhiraj (Noiseware), Anurag Shankar (Siddharth Basrur project)
Bass: Sheldon D'silva, Carl Peters, Rushad Mistry, Abhinav Chaudhary (Circus), Adi Mistry
Drums: Jai Row Kavi, Gino Banks, Vinayak Pol, Nishant Hagjer (UndyingInc), Varun Venkit, Ranjit Barot
Vocals: Vishwesh, Siddharth Basrur, Clinton Cerejo, Shashank Bhatnagar
Any other instrument:
Taufiq Qureshi (Percussions) Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia (Bansuri)
Zakhir Hussain(Tabla), V.Selvaganesh

Your favourite musicians (international)
Guitar: Fredrik Thordendal, Tosin Abasi,  John McLaughlin, Andrew Goddard, Wes Borland, Dave Brubeck
Bass: Roy Mitchell (Mutemath), Jon Stockman( Karnivool), Victor Wooten,  Jaco Pastorius, Sam Rivers, Tal Wilkenfeld
Drums: Steve Judd, Darren King, Chris Coleman, Tony Royster Jr, Tomas Haake, Matt Halpern, Vincent Colaiuta, Dave Weckl, Travis Barker, Kerim Krimh Lechner
Vocals: Fin Greenall (Fink), Ian Kenny, Bruce Dickinson, Corey taylor,
Any other instrument:
Daniel Waples - hang drum
Chick Corea- Piano
Hiromi- Piano/Keyboard
Hans zimmer- composer and music producer
Bonobo- composer

Can we expect a release from your band(s) any time soon?
Both the bands Noiseware and PMOC are planning to release their albums by end this year.

Whom do you look up to, as a musician and a band?
There are so many hardworking musicians in the country today.
Some musicians/bands inspire me the most are Sahil Makhija,Rahul Hariharan,Coshish and also people like Nikhil Udupa,Himanshu,Rishu,Shadaab,Bobin james,Uttara Mendonsa who are building the Independent music scene.

A message to all your fans (hello ladies!)
Hello Ladies Call me maybe!? Please.
All guy fans…Only chat online maybe.

Thanks so much for your time! 
Its always a pleasure chatting with you Pratika.
You are awesome!

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Pinocchio's Moment of Clarity on Facebook


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One more interview and lets wrap this up!

GUITAR PLAYER WEEK: ADHIRAJ SINGH (NOISEWARE)

This trollface is guitar player of Pune progressive band Noiseware, Mr. Adhiraj Singh. I've been seeing Noiseware for a few years now and I'm proud to say I grew up with this generation of evolving musicians. Also producer and all those/this/that titles at Refractor studios (Refractor being the name of his solo project as well) Adhiraj is a good guitar player/composer/videographer and all that.

I love this interview for the honest and detailed answers. He's a kind and interesting musician.

Noiseware will be playing alongside other metal giants at the Metal Ctrl Alt Del, so make sure to catch them if you are in Bombay.

Full name and age. :) 
Adhiraj Singh, 23


What is your favourite dish/cuisine?
I’ll go with cuisine and for me, nothing like some well made spicy North Indian food!


Kindly tell us about all your precious gear! (guitars, processors, software)
I’ll go in part –

Guitar: Schecter C8 Hellraiser. I still have my old B.C Rich 6 String Warlock lying around, but I haven’t taken it out in forever and it probably has fungus growing on the fretboard, haha.

Processors: Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II & Line 6 Pod XT Live. I primarily use the Axe-Fx both in studio as well as live, but me switching to the Pod XT live when carrying the Axe-Fx doesn’t make logistical sense. Eitherway, I also use the XTL as a MIDI controller for the Axe-Fx, so it’s a keeper.

Software/Others: This could be a fairly long-boring list, since I have a studio setup, so I’ll mention some main stuff I use – Cubase, sE Munro Eggs, stuff from Shure, RME, Behringer, Beyerdynamic, AKG.


How long have you been playing guitar?
I started tinkering with it when I was about 14, so that’s collectively about 9-10 years. However, I started playing a little more seriously only when I was about 17-18 or so.


What got you into playing guitar?
That’s a tough one. I was always enamored by any musical instrument for as long as I remember. I started with some silly Casio mini keyboard when I was really young. Then, I had a short stint with the flute when I was a little older. Then it was drums, which started with pencils on the school desks and ended at playing a single show in school, haha. My parents refused to get me a kit, because they thought it was too big and it would make a ton of noise(they were right, weren’t they?), so guitar it was!


Have you learned to read music as well, or do you just play by ear?
Nah, all by ear it is. When I started learning guitar, I went to classes for about a month and there was a lotta theory being taught, but I just wanted to play; so I quit and just learnt on my own. I think both approaches are great and people should go wherever they are most comfortable.


Electric vs. acoustic. What do you prefer?
Both in absolute equality. I think I spend pretty much equal time with both instruments. Just the context changes.

What thought goes into riff construction/is there any particular pattern you follow to make riffs? 
None at all. I think a lot of my ideas(for Noiseware), start with drums unfortunately(since I’m a failed drummer). I’ll mostly be trying to write some grooves I like. The other times, it’ll start with something super basic as a chord shape or a sound that I like and build from there. Since I don’t know theory, I keep trying out new/random shapes on the guitar, or some interesting sounds on the computer and try to replicate stuff in my head. But it’s always something very basic which kicks it off.


What music projects are you currently a part of, besides Noiseware?
All the projects I’ve produced! Haha kidding. I’m involved as a bass player for Lotus, co-write some of Anand Bhaskar’s music, write stuff which is commercially inclined(jingles/sound design etc) and when I’m bored, I make random solo music under Refractor.


Do you have a day job? What is it that you do? 
I have a company called Refractor and we are sort of a small production house. We produce audio as well as visual content for all kinds of mediums(you name it!). I guess if you had to put a title to what I do, it’d be Audio Engineer/Producer/Videographer. We also do some small other things here and there as well..whatever sparks any active interest.


Your favourite musicians (Indian)
This entire section will be off the top of my head.
Guitar: Pra & Akshay, Keshav Dhar, Devesh & Arman, Biz, Nikhil Singh, Dhruv Vishvanath

Bass: Reuben Bhattacharya, Krishna Jhaveri, Rushad Mistry, Mohini Dey

Drums: Nishant Hagjer, Gautam, Rahul Hariharan, Gino Banks, Mayank, Jai Row Kavi

Vocals: Shashank, Vishwesh, Siddharth Basrur, Sunny

Any other instrument: My broducer bros – Anupam, Keshav, Kuber, Nikhil. That apart, Dualist Inquiry, Ox7gen.


Your favourite musicians (international)

Guitar: Wes Borland, Tom DeLonge, Andy Mckee, Jon Gomm, Cloudkicker (Ben Sharp), Misha Mansoor, John Butler, Tosin Abasi, Drew Goddard, Ben Weinman

Bass: Jon Stockman, Nolly(prolly for his guitar skills as well!), Mark Hoppus, Amos Williams

Drums: Steve Judd, Thomas Haake, Matt Halpern, Travis Barker, Jay Postones, John Otto

Vocals: Ian Kenny, Phil Bozeman, Spencer Sotelo, Corey Taylor, Myles Kennedy

Any other instrument: This would be a long list haha! Lotta engineers/producers/Film Composers –
Tycho, Seven Lions, The Album Leaf/Jimmy LaValle, Telefon Tel Aviv, Mychael Danna, Ramin Djawadi, Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, BT, Nolly, Mark Lewis, Andy Sneap, Chris Lord Alge, Rick Rubin, Ross Robinson, Forrester Savell, Taylor Larson, David Bendeth……..okay I’m gonna stop. This list list will never end hahaha!


Can we expect a release from your band(s) any time soon?
I prefer to avoid awkward questions like these. Haha! On serious note, this year. Yes. I know we’ve been saying that every year. This year.


Whom do you look up to, as a musician and a band? 
I guess I’ll speak for myself. All the people I mentioned above! I’m inspired a lot by lot of people related to film making as well, who are truly inspiring in every sense – Roger Deakins, Wally Pfister, Salomon Lighthelm, Chris Nolan, Tarantino, Guy Ritchie, Vince Gilligan, Charly friedrichs.


A message to all your fans (hello ladies!)
The album is happening. I promise. Thank you for sticking by!

Ladies? Hi Pratika. Kashi ahes Manasi Tai(Am I saying it right?). Okay bye.

Photo credits: Vijay Kate

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If you haven't checked this out yet, please do. Fucking insane!