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Rocking like a hurricane

Launchpad winners Reverrse Polarity

They’re boys in men’s clothing. Their look comprises mohawks and baggy shorts, piercings and funky shoes. Their music is pounding and poetic, if you can stomach the Screamo influence, with a depth that would bring a metalhead to his knees.

But when they start talking, their excited banter and unscripted replies reveal that they’re just a group of college-going boys grappling with the sudden flush of fame.

Mumbai-based band Reverrse Polarity shot into the limelight after they emerged winners in Channel V’s Launchpad 2009, a battle-of-the-bands reality contest. The stakes were high – the winning band lands a record deal, and makes the cover of Rolling Stones – and the competition fierce, with seven finalists fighting it out and living in one house.

Playing in Hyderabad’s Firangi Pani weeks after their victory, Reverrse Polarity is clearly enjoying their newfound status as gurus of metal. “It was meant to happen,” says lead vocalist Gaurav Kataria. “Fame didn’t change us, we’re too happy being ourselves. We’re getting used to the free food though!” Don’t they find it hard to cope with college and family? Lead guitarist Shikhar Manchanda chips in.

“It’s not like we attended college too much anyway,” he says wryly. “But our family was always there for us. And if you love something, you’ll find a way to follow it.”

Reverrse Polarity was named after the powers of a character called Magnus in hit cyber game Warcraft. It’s hard to keep up with the technical details, but it boils down to “how people can look at something in one way while we look at it in another,” claims Gaurav.

As for the double-r in Reverrse, he hastens to explain that they were forced to add an ‘r’ because there was another band called Reverse Polarity registered on the Myspace domain. “It’s not numerology or anything,” he says emphatically.

All four band members have very eclectic musical tastes. Gaurav grooves to hiphop, Shikhar prefers classic rock, bass guitarist Jordan Veigas likes metal and drummer Jonathan Fernandes has a partiality to American rock band Kiss. But metal is “where we found our voice,” says Gaurav.

“It’s our mode of expression.” Reverrse Polarity’s most popular performance was the finale of Launchpad, when they took the stage with the other two finalists, Faridkot and Cassini’s Division.

The concert focussed on the need for civic action and self-driven change.

So did they all vote this year? No, for various reasons, but they intend to in the upcoming assembly elections.

The future is littered with prizes and plans, the most important of which is cutting a new album.

The band doesn’t think the Indian music industry is hostile to English metal bands.

“We plan to make money through our concerts,” says Shikhar.

“We don’t depend on CD sales because downloading is too popular.”

Jordan adds, “It’s tough but we’ve already made a difference. People are listening.”

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