No matter how varied your taste in music is, you’re bound to share a common liking for some artists and that’s what got Palmfret together in 2012. Says rhythm guitarist Don Philip, “we met at Suman's (Nandi, former drummer and founding member) place, drank beer and shared music we all liked and we immediately found out that we all like different music so made a list of all the songs we liked and headed to the jam room.” Palmfret, currently comprising Philip, vocalist-guitarist Fredi Lucas, lead guitarist Bipin Nambiar, vocalist Lauren Lopes and bassist Rahul Chidambaram, are a classic and contemporary rock band with a hint of blues.
The story behind the band
Palmfret was formed by Nandi and Lucas. The vocalist explains the story, “Suman visited a retail store to purchase a vacuum cleaner where he met with store manager Sandeep (Lucas’s elder brother).
As the conversation slowly turned casual and general, music came into focus and Suman said he was looking for a vocalist.
The very next day, Suman and I met and jammed for hours with a guitar and djembe.” The band used online resources such as Skillpages to recruit band members. “Down the line we felt we needed to expand the frontline and that's when we found Lauren Lopes who sonically expanded the bands reach even more,” Philip adds.
You guys play music because
Says Lucas, “The main aspect that binds the band and its music is the passion for music”
You’ll still remember the time when
Palmfret notched up appearances at Soul Sante, Phoenix Marketcity and The Humming Tree this year. Lucas counts composing and performing a new song within 24 hours for 100 Pipers Band in a Box series of concerts, where the then-four-piece band performed their song ‘Candy Land’ inside a confined space.
While Lucas considers their first gig as the most memorable, Philip adds, “At Soul Sante, we played alongside Prasad Bidapa's models.”
The toughest part about being a young band
Says Lucas, “Like the music industry in any city/country, producing a unique sound that appeals to a larger audience is the key to the success of any musical artist or band. With regards to being a new band, we strived to build a reputation as a band which provides wholesome entertainment for a wide audience group – from young to old.
The story behind the name
Lucas says: “The band comprises of 4 Mallus (Kerala), One Bengali and a Goan. As the common cultural dish is fish for these coastal areas, Pomfret was suggested which was modified to Palmfret to make it more relevant to the band and sound less fishy.”
Musicians that inspire you
Says Lucas, “Just like any other band, each member of Palmfret has their own individual musical taste and influence. Influences range from The Beatles, Eric Clapton, B.B King, Jaco Pastorius, Guns n Roses, Black Sabbath to more contemporary artist/bands like Alicia Keys & Coldplay.”
Compositions over covers
Palmfret covers everything from The Doors to Daft Punk, according to Lucas. Philip says, “As far as our live shows go, we've only played covers but our take on that was to make them our own, this works for us, the audience relates to the music and are intrigued by our unique renditions.”
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