When did Pipe Dreams first become a band?
Aadithya Sharan: The band's been around for two years, but some dropped out. I'm the only one who was part of the original group. Our current line-up has lasted about eight months now.
In the beginning, we were just a group of guys who happened to have similar musical tastes — Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Pearl Jam, The Beatles, The Doors, etc. Now, we're all into very different things. Arjun's into jazz, I'm into classic rock, David likes funk, the drummer likes metal and the keyboardist is into light music!
What are your songs about?
David Dhas: We write songs on student issues like loathing college, being against teachers, and a general sense of rebellion. We don't really like our colleges!
Do you have any big goals as of late?
AS: Well, with our previous line-up, we were planning to release an EP, but some people lost interest. Now, we're trying to work on our sound first before looking for labels or putting out albums. Right now, playing shows is our goal.
Any embarrassing stories?
AS: We play a lot of cultural shows and the sound engineers are used to setting up for lighter music. They were definitely not prepared for our sound! When we told the sound guys to turn up the bass on the bass guitar, they did it for the guitar.
How many songs have you compiled together as a band?
DD: For now, we barely wrote one song! We play mostly covers when we perform, but it's getting to a point where we don't want to play the same stuff over and over again. It's also really tough to get together for jamming sessions because everyone lives in various parts of Chennai. One says he's free before 7:00 p.m., and another will be free only after 7:00 p.m. But in the rare moments that we do get together, someone usually has a tune in mind, another comes up with a riff. I try to send lyrics.