Striking a chord: Rock pop sensibilities

 After eight years of being together, brothers Michael and Jay Fullon share a strong bond, one that becomes obvious when they shed their day personas of ad agency executives and don their guitars as the face of local band Sandwash.

Formed in 2002, along with bass guitarist Pavel Dushnikov, Sandwash have built up a sound that's uniquely their own. With music that can be described as good old-fashioned-rock, Sandwash's reputation precedes them. The band have opened for Maximo Park and Simple Plan, played at the Nickleback event last year and have now released their debut album Master Blaster Hole.

Along with new guitarist Kris, Sandwash have fast emerged as the face of Dubai's local music scene.

"What we deliver is rock with pop sensibilities: loud guitars, powerful drums and sing-along melodic choruses," says lead vocalist and guitarist Michael Fullon. Kris, the new member, wasn't recruited during the recording process. But since his arrival two months ago, he has become an important member of the band. "The last couple of months have been awesome," he says. "I'm looking forward to the recording of the second album, the promotions, a Philippines tour and a Sandwash tattoo to announce my arrival."

Sandwash's debut album is proud and powerful. The tracks are an amalgamation of eight years of musical and personal growth. "Our aim is to create an awareness of our sound," says founding member Michael.

A dream

"Our dream isn't to be overly rich or famous. Just famous enough to meet and play for Megan Fox one day," he grins. "Due to the lack of a music industry in Dubai, most bands here struggle to get heard. We don't have record labels that promote local talent." To get their debut CD on the shelves, Sandwash have tied up with Daxar, a local label in charge of the album's distribution. Having produced the album on their own, along with co-producer Kiernan Sequeira, Sandwash are proud of the final result.

The creation process is intricate. "One starts off with a feeling of whether we want a loud, fast or slow song. Once decided, we add the instrumentation, bass and drums. By then we already have a groove going on. I put a melody on top of that. The words flow naturally. In fact, words attach themselves comfortably to the groove," says Michael.

On first listen, the album is reminiscent of the big rock bands of the grunge and rock era. Nirvana and Guns N Roses come to mind immediately.

However, a second, third and fourth listen reveal lyrics consistently on love. "Save Black Gold, every track on this album is about love. These are all love songs with a twist. Some describe the dirty, often sleazy side of love, while others are intense and passionate. A lot of the tracks have a sexual nature to them," admits Michael.

"We started recording the album three years ago," says drummer Jay. "Since we all have full-time jobs [and Michael and Pavel are married], it took us a while to put the album in the market." When it came to promotion, Sandwash decided no one understood them better than themselves. "We realised that an independent release was the best thing we could do. We've put in the money required to get this album off the ground and onto the shelves," he says. However, taking control has its ups and downs. "While Daxar handles distribution for us, we need to sell a certain number of records to break even," Michael says.

From fan reaction at the album launch and after-party, it's a task that seems do-able. With dreams of opening for Gun N' Roses on December 16 in Abu Dhabi before moving on to bigger and better things, Sandwash seem to have positioned themselves right where they've always wanted to be: on the threshold of fame.