Rock On!

St John8217;s School in Sector 26 is proud of its band heritage. Michelangelo Francis, the art and music teacher of the school recalls his past and derives the need of a band in a school. 8220;I was always very passionate about music but somehow never had the opportunity to be a part of a school band. When I was in college I was keen to be a band member only to realize that the lack of one in school had an impact on my skills. Upon return to the school, I wanted to set up a band which happened in 2000 with Soaring Eagle and now Wingspan.8221; His opinions regarding studies being affected is contradictory to what almost everyone thinks. 8220;Everyone encourages students to participate in sports. No one understands that this is also precisely the same thing. You have to create time to do anything in life. Music is no different.8221;

The eight-member band 8216;Wingspan8217; is proud of its capabilities. 8220;We were invited to be a part of inter-school competition in a local school. Since we all knew each other as musicians, we decided to put together a band and were fortunate enough to stand first there,8221; informs the lead guitarist Mihir Riana. Nods Vibhav, the backbone of the band who plays the keyboards. 8220;Music was a passion for all of us,8221; he says. The band boasts of custom made limited edition shirts and they hope to stick together for long!

Elsewhere, escaping the teachers8217; eyes, we met Die-bollix, from Bhavan Vidyalaya. Cherish, the lead guitarist and also the founder of the band says, 8220;Our weekend jamming sessions are paying off, and we are evolving.8221; Though pretty new on the rock streets, these lads have high hopes and wish to cut an album soon. 8220;We are holding auditions for a vocalist but nothing has been finalised so far.8221; What about girls since it8217;s a co-ed school? 8220;See when it comes to rock, a female voice won8217;t suit much, In case someone fits the bill, we will be more than happy,8221; tells Shaleen the drummer. 8220;Everyone needs to understand that music is a great platform today and support is needed,8221; adds Vyom, the bass guitarist. 8220;Our compositions are in place and we also plan on buying new equipment by December and hope for the best,8221; informs Shivam, who plays the rhythm guitars.

But the situation is not the same everywhere. Renu Puri, the vice-principal of Vivek High School shares her thoughts, 8220;I feel that any form of music can be extremely distressing for the mind and can stimulate the mind set, which is why we have different activities for the children, music being vital. Our school has an active orchestra which performs at the various school functions and a rock band as well.8221; Neeraj Bakshi, the band manager and the school music teacher further adds, 8220;The band plans to launch an album very soon. Most of the members are bright in academics and are passionate about music, which helps them see a future in music as well.8221; And they are called 8216;Crossbow8217;. 8220;We had won the under-16 category in the inter-school rock competition recently,8221; informs Japreet, the drummer of the band who however rues, 8220;Studies end up taking a lot of time leaving little time for practice.8221; But we hope to hear them all soon.