Not long after songwriter/producer/ then-medical student- Gulz Dhanoya started crafting and releasing tunes from his bedroom in Newcastle then soon BBC introducing, local radio and media started to take interest. Gig offers were coming left, right, and center, so Gulz drafted in his closest allies / fellow medical students (Charles Harris, Jordan Poulos, Eliza Lassman, Sam Stonor) to join the live band.
Gulz Dhanoya opens up about when he started releasing music and how he got onto local radio stations. "During medical school, I self-released a few tracks onto Soundcloud that ended up getting local Radio(BBC Intro NE/ Amazing Radio, etc), and then gig offers started coming in. That's when I started recruiting my mates and that's really how the band began...."
The musician opens up about how being a doctor and a musician is hard to juggle with the 12-hour shifts in A&E. "Badly... It's a matter of using days off/ rest days to rehearse and gig. It's incredibly hectic."
The reason for making the band was to create an outlet for joy and a distraction from the seriousness of their jobs as Doctors and how they are diverse from most rock bands. "Most indie bands today make heavy, pessimistic music. The indie band startup kit is four white guys from Surrey complaining about life and it's all quite dark and miserable. We're all from fairly diverse backgrounds and have 'serious jobs', therefore we're quite exposed to a lot of dangerous and sometimes devastating situations in our working lives. Music for us is an outlet for joy."
With the role of Doctor and the role of musician, it's hard to separate the days from commuting to work then travelling to a gig. "Often, we try and separate the two days but sometimes they coincide. On those days, it's a full day on the wards followed by a train/ bus/tube to a music venue. Then a rapid soundcheck and full show and then we pack up, leave the venue, and dinner on the commute home."
With the stress of the current climate of the NHS and an outlet that is needed, the foursome has found that music can often be a free therapy tool that is needed. " Music offers free therapy in the sense that it can guide your emotions without you even knowing, whether you're trying to create something new or you're just passively listening. It can either be the perfect distraction or the very thing that makes you confront whatever it is that's stressing you out..."
They then end the interview with their plans for 2024 with their music. "We're going on tour this March! Birmingham (16/03), Newcastle (29/03), Manchester (30/03) and London (21/03). We're buzzing for it and can't wait to play our new tracks in new places..."
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