Back with a Bang

Written by Anjali Jhangiani

October 14, 2012 12:39 AM IST

3 min read

It was in the year 1996,when five enthusiastic youngsters,five students from Malad,Mumbai got together to voice their opinions on life,love,and all the things that mattered to the average teenager through their music. That was the birth of The Wide Side,a rock band that made its way into the hearts of their college mates and was soon listed as one of the more popular bands in the city by performing original compositions in English as well as covers of hits by Led Zepplin,Deep Purple,The Doors,Iron Maiden and The Beatles and more.

However after three years of fame and adulation,the band split up. Music was not really taking us anywhere. Performing as a band was a stress buster for us in our college days. As we graduated we got involved with many other things. I went to Dubai to study photography,the rest of the band members got involved with jobs ,got married,took on responsibilities of a family. In the midst of all this,the band split up, recalls Sheldon Pereira,lead vocalist,who brought the band back together after he came back from Dubai in July 2009,and renamed it to Sheldon and the Wild Side. Nyzel Dlima,producer,Cajetan D’souza and Glen Fernandez on lead guitars,Louis D’souza on drums and a fresh addition,Rolan Fernandez on bass,made up the rest of the band.

Even though the musicians were involved with their corporate and family lives,they always had a pull for music,all they really needed to get back on the stage was a little pep talk and a revival of that ‘rockstar’ feeling. And that was exactly the motive of Pereira’s strategy when he brought his old band members to jam with him at his pad in Malad three months back. Once we picked up the guitar,drumsticks,took our stance on the keyboard and got hold of a microphone,the band came alive again. We have all kept in touch with our music independently,but only Louis was a little rusted. Now he is back into his killer drummer form, says Pereira,who was involved in writing lyrics and composing songs with Dlima whenever he would come home for vacations from Dubai. After the band performed at a local cafe in Malad, they were surprised at the appreciation the got. It was amazing to go to each table and sing. The audience was enjoying our performance and that boost our enthusiasm of keeping this band alive, says the vocalist.

After thorough practise and tireless hours of serious jamming,the band is now ready for their first performance in Pune,at High Spirits on Sunday afternoon. The repertoire for our performance consists a few originals that D’Lima and I have worked on as well as a few popular covers like John Mayer’s version of Crossroads,David Cook’s version of Day Tripper,Green Day’s Time of your life,Train’s Hey Soul Sister and Rocks of Jupiter and more easy listening that compliments a fun brunch, describes Pereira.

(Sheldon and The Wild Side will perform at The High Spirits,Koregaon Park,on October 14,two pm onwards)

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