I've known Zygnema since I began attending gigs. My first metal gig was at Musician's Mall and these guys were playing. From then on, I knew there was something so powerful and insane about them. I've known Kadads from then too, and besides being a skilled guitar player, he's an awesome person. You better be there for Control Alt Delete: Metal or you'll miss out on some major groove riffage! An interview with none other than Zygnema's Sidharth Kadadi.
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| wala wala lai |
Full name and age.
Sidharth Sudhir Kadadi. I am not that old. I will be turning 29 soon. (psssst! guitar picks, strings, accessories are welcome as birthday gifts)
What is your favourite dish/cuisine?
Indian, of course. Favourite dish has to be PAANI PURI. No wait, Pav bhaji. Both share the same place I guess. Hot Gulab Jamun with Vanila ice cream deserves a special mention and a place in the hall of fame.
Kindly tell us about all your precious gear! (guitars, processors, software)
Dean Dime shadow ML with DiMarzio D activators on the bridge.
Ibanez RG2EX1 with Seymour Duncan Invaders on the bridge.
Pod X3 bean, Dunlop GCB-95 wah wah, Digitech Whammy DT
Use Line6 UX1 as my audio Interface, Cubase for recording. Got shit loads of VST plugins for guitars, bass and drums.
How long have you been playing guitar?
Started when I was 18. I've been playing for 10 years.
What got you into playing guitar?
I genuinely can't remember, but a friend of mine was learning guitar and I loved the sound of an acoustic guitar. So I started off learning a few basic chords and scales from him and then enrolled for proper guitar lessons.
Have you learned to read music as well, or do you just play by ear?
I graduated from Musicians Institute in 2008 and also appeared for Trinity Grade 8. So it is mandatory to know more than basic music reading to get into any music school or to give any exams affiliated with international institutions. My teachers always taught me music theory and application. They also insisted on reading rhythms regularly if not melodies/pieces. Small ideas help A LOT and I still find time to practice sight reading. I am not GREAT at reading, but I can manage.
I do use my ear too but when you know your basic harmonizing theory, it becomes a lot easier to transcribe or to write your own stuff.
Electric vs. acoustic. What do you prefer?
Sigh! Tough call. It's guitar in the end. Love them all. But yes, acoustic guitar sounds beautiful.
I've been spending most of my time with my classical and acoustic guitar.
What thought goes into riff construction/is there any particular pattern you follow to make riffs?
Zilch. It just flows. I don't follow a particular pattern as such. But it's very important to understand the sound of that particular riff or a song. You can't just push in any chords anywhere you feel like just because it's metal music. You have to understand the voicing and tonality of a song. I also emphasize a lot on groovy riffs. Brain-drilling riffs are not my style.
What music projects are you currently a part of, besides ?
I have been trying to work on my Rock trio project for a while now, along with Aditya Kadam and Pratik Kulgod. Very mid 80s instrumental prog rock vibe like Racer X, Paul Gilbert, Vinnie Moore, Van Halen, etc,. We have two tracks and a lot more ideas flowing. We're also hoping to put out an EP this year once I am done with Zygnema's album.
The other one is purely a studio project along with Reuben from Undying Inc. We keep writing and exchanging ideas. We too have two solid tracks and they require a bit of polishing. We have no clue who will track vocals and drums on it. For now I program drums and record stuff at home and mail it to Reuben. A lot of ideas are exchanged and we restructure the parts. I'm hoping for a proper band rehearsal before we finalize and put our material out. I honestly don't know WHEN this will release, but it will happen.
Do you have a day job? What is it that you do?
I have been working with BAJAAO since 2008 as a Guitar product specialist. I also teach guitars, so yep!
Two jobs to pay the bills and to survive as a musician in this third world country.
Your favorite musicians (Indian)
Guitar: Prashant Shah
Bass: Reuben Bhattacharya
Drums: Nishant Hagjer, Mayank, Rahul, Viru etc.
Vocals: Sunneith Revankar, Bruce Mckoy
Your favourite musicians (international)
Guitar: DIMEBAG DARREL. Mattias IA Eklundh, Vogg, Paul Gilbert, Van Halen, Vinnie Moore,
Jason Becker, Marty Friedman, Guthrie Govan, Alex Skolnick, James Hetfield.
Bass: Rex Brown, Stu Ham, Steve Harris, Dick Lovgren, Les Claypool, Alex Webster, Chris Beatie, Michael Anthony
Drums: Vinnie Paul, Tomas Haake, Dave Lombardo, Vitek, Sean Reinert, Gene Hoglan, Bjorn Fryklund, Morgan Agren
Vocals: Phil Anselmo, James Hetfield, Max Cavalera, Jamey Jasta, Jens Kidman, Chuck Schuldiner, Chuck Billy, Tom Araya, Corey Taylor, Sammy Hagar, Glen Benton, Robb Flynn
Can we expect a release from your band(s) any time soon?
Zygnema's 2nd album and ROKKK trio EP hopefully by December 2014.
Whom do you look up to, as a musician and a band?
There are too many musicians and bands that inspire me. It doesn't matter if the band is established or still struggling, they all have great qualities which we learn from. I really really love, respect and look up to Mattias Eklundh simply because he is a living legend and he has no clue how crazy he is. But more importantly, he is a great and humble human being, an ideal Guru and a crazy Swedish viking with zero tolerance towards seriousness. The happiest guitar player on this planet.
A message to all your fans (hello ladies!)
Hey I am no Val Venis. The towel move thing is a little cheesy though. Skip that bit, but yes HELLO LADIES. Howdy doody!
A message to all my browskis and homies. Believe in what you do and never give up.
Catch Zygnema on
Facebook or
Reverbnation
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