VAYU: Stormbringers

Split Magazine caught up for an exclusive interview with VAYU frontman Tirthankar “2Blue” Poddar. The Steven Tyler look-alike talks about everything from VAYU’s rise to fame, their best performances and how he wants to die in ultimate rock ‘n’ roll glory — stage-diving to “The Trooper” at the ripe old age of 55!

VAYU has been a part of the Mumbai rock scene for close to nine years now, but the band wasn’t nearly as popular as after you joined. Since your joining in 2003, six years after its inception, there has been a sharp upsurge in the band’s popularity. What do you attribute it to?

Wow, aren’t you kind! Well, to tell you the truth, I’ve just been sleeping with the right kinda people. (Laughs) Okay on a more serious note, I’ve been very passionate about VAYU right from Day One. I won’t let anything in the world get in between VAYU and me. No woman, no stack of cash can lure me away — and I’m dead serious when I say that.

How did you come to be a part of VAYU? Why did the previous vocalist have to leave?

[The previous singer] Chirag Shetty immigrated to New Zealand, and so the band was looking for a new singer. Now, Schubert [D'Souza, bass/keyboards, VAYU] and I had jammed together a coupla’ times in a band called Backlash, with Dean Lazarus [ex-Brahma] on lead guitar, Samir [Zephyr] on rhythm guitar and Ian Enthiado on drums. He obviously liked my singing and hence suggested my name to the VAYU boys. So, the band invited me to a Sunday Jam at the erstwhile ‘Zwiggs’ [a nightclub in Powai]. We jammed on Deep Purple’s “Strange Kind of Woman”. And the rest, as they say, is history.

The jam at Zwiggs – was it more or less an impromptu thing?

No. It was COMPLETELY an impromptu thing! (Laughs) I was taken by surprise when Ravi [Iyer, lead guitar, VAYU] invited me up on stage.

So, let me get this straight. You were just there amongst the audience, and you had no idea you were going to be up on stage singing that night?

Pretty much. I had a terrible sore throat too. It was winter and I rode all the way from Malad to Powai to watch the jam. They had a couple of guest singers performing with them that night. The first was Soumitra Bhatt, a dear friend and a die-hard VAYU fan, and the second was Arjun, Sledgehammer’s then frontman. My jam was towards the close of the show — the grand finale, so to speak. (Winks)

And then they obviously didn’t need any more singers to fill in for them, did they?

Well, no. (Laughs)

That’s quite a story.

Thanks. (Smiles)

Looking back, how would you describe your journey with the band so far?

It’s been very fulfilling. We are great friends and the chemistry between us on stage has been very good. We do have our occasional clashes, but we all understand that that’s because we are four strong, creative individuals, unimaginably passionate about what we’re doing. So, we always try and forge forward with the best in us.

You recently headlined Day One of what was possibly the last Independence Rock festival in 2005. How was that experience for you?

It was a HUGE dream-come-true. Farhad Wadia hugged me after the gig to say we were the best band of the night. I was so touched by that. I sure had waited a very long time to see that day. And the crowd? Man, let me use this interview as a platform to extend my gratitude to the thousands who had come to watch us play that night. Thank you Mumbai for the love and respect, the paper torches and peace signs, the hair whipping and moshpits — thank you for everything!

Mumbai should be thanking you, man. That was a great performance. Of course, for Ravi, it must have been “just another” Independence Rock, having played there before with WitchHammer.

Yes, of course. You may rem’ber Farhad, the big man himself, talking about his fond memories of the WitchHammer days of I-Rock.

I heard that Schubert forgot to bring his keyboard for the show.

(Laughs) Yeah, that’s true! Fatherhood does that to men.

(Laughs) What was his excuse?

No excuse. Just that his ‘big enough’ car didn’t have enough room to accommodate all his gear. Now remember Pinocchio?

(Laughs)

But he’s a great bass player and a keyboardist, so I have great respect for him.

Would you rate Independence Rock 2005 as your best gig ever?

Well, I don’t wanna bang my own drum, but all our recent gigs have been absolute hellraisers — be it at LIVEWIRE — Mood Indigo ‘05, or I-Rock XX or Campus Rock Idols ‘05, Indore. Knock on wood. (Smiles) But, to be very candid with you, the big fight for the winning slot would be between I-Rock and Campus Rock Idols, Indore.

What was the Campus Rock Idols concert in Indore like?

It was unbelievable! Man, we had teenage fans visiting us in our hotel rooms the next morning. Should’ve seen the room service fellas. Oh, these guys must’ve felt we are some kinda mega celebrities! And the fans were so adorable. If I ever get to perform in Indore again, I’d like to meet as many of these kids as possible, ’cause it hurt to see them getting pulled away by the security officers at the venue, when all they wanted was a lousy signature on a cap or an entry pass.

Speaking of your fans, when can they expect a full-length album release by VAYU?

Sometime before this year is over. Inshallah! We’re working on our compositions. We’ve nailed 5 so far — “Tonight”, “Wings of a Dream”, “Carolina�?, an instrumental called “On a Cloud�?, and something we aren’t sure whether to call “Bitch on Heals” or “Daughter of the Devil”.

Let’s make this interview a little more interesting. I’ll name some musicians. You rate them on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best.

Ozzy Osbourne [6 / 10] Great performer, great energy, not-so-great a singer. No offence, Arun. I know how much you love him. The first time we ever chatted online, I rem’ber you telling me that Black Sabbath is the reason you’re alive. I must tell you this — I’m doing this interview right now just because of that statement of yours. Passionate souls like us are few and far between.

Glenn Hughes [9 / 10] Incredible range and articulation, incredible bass playing, great looker (although that’s not really important), and a great song writer. Good showman too. And he was with Deep Purple! (Smiles)

Ronnie James Dio [8.5 / 10] Very talented song writer and singer. Very gothic and dark… almost sinister. Wish he was taller though. (Laughs)

David Lee Roth [7 / 10] Flamboyant performer, awesome ‘blackbelt’ moves, Good singer, too.

Bruce Dickinson [9.5 / 10] I worship him. Period. Let me add — one of my biggest dreams is to play a sold-out stadium concert at the age of 55 and to close the show with “The Trooper”. And when the guitars are going wild in the solo, I would like to stage dive. And I want God to pick me up right then when I’m air-borne. That’s how I want this life to end!

Now, it’s time for the last of 2Blue.

[1] When was the last time you got drunk?
Don’t rem’ber, buddy. I drink very occasionally, mostly to celebrate the success of the band after a show. I drank quite a bit in Indore, understandably — only to be woken up by fans knocking on my hotel room door the next morning! This was last November.

[2] When was the last time you dabbled in suspicious substances?
I tried Hash this one time, and kept staring at a street lamp all night. This was in 2001.

[3] What was the last CD/cassette you purchased?
‘Angel of Retribution’, Judas Priest. You know what? I’ve stopped buying CDs. A certain Mr. Kusnur’s been very kind lately to buy me all the CDs I ask for. (Laughs)

[4] Who was the last rock star you shook hands with?
I think the last was Jonas Hellborg. Shook hands? Man we did more than that! We jammed! We brought the house down! YEAH! I’ve also been fortunate enough to touch Joe Satriani’s feet, and Gary Lawyer’s too. (Smiles)

[5] When was the last time you signed an autograph?
Last night at VES College, Chembur, where we headlined their annual festival.

Finally, do you have anything to say to the people reading this interview?

Follow your heart! If Arun could be interviewing me today, he could very well be interviewing you someday! So believe in yourself and put in your 100% in everything you are passionate about. Keep the faith, my friends! Always!