What do you get when four of Eastside’s most talented musicians have the opportunity to meet and share their ideas with each other in a town booming with opportunities for new, young musicians? The answer: Sidetable. 

Sidetable is a band formed two months ago by local Gainesville artist Buboy, known here at Eastside as Adriel Bolocon, cofounder of The Monthly Ram. The band is composed of four musicians along with manager Sam Ryals. Lead guitarist Ahmik Paul graduated from Eastside last year and was the creator of the short-lived Eastside band, The Creeks. Bassist Jibril Bachu is a man of many instruments, having played piano for 12 years, bassoon for two, and having joined Eastside’s band this year as part of the drumline. The drummer, Jason Gachette, captain of said drumline and subject of a previous student spotlight article, has years of experience with a variety of percussion instruments and as drummer for local jazz band In Full Swing. Lead singer and rhythm guitarist Adriel has put out a couple songs of his own under the name Buboy and has experience with a variety of instruments to go along with his fantastic vocals.

To learn a little bit more about this budding new band coming out of Eastside, I sat in on one of their practices. After adjusting to the shock of plugged-in instruments and a drum set played in a cramped room, the band’s run-through of Adriel’s song “Too Late” sounded ready to be played live in front of hundreds. As the song ended and the ringing in my ears faded, the members of the band parted with their well-loved instruments to answer a few of my questions.

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Forming a band has been on Adriel’s mind for a while after trying to start a few projects that didn’t go far (shoutout Nerdgoth), and it seemed like all he needed was a push from fellow bandmate Jibril to finally ask a few people to meet up and play on Valentine’s Day. Adriel commented on his mounting desire to just have some friends to play music with saying, “I had been meaning to get a group together just to jam or whatever, so on a whim I made a group chat for us.” Things move quickly with this group and on the same day as their first practice, they already had a band name, inspired by Adriel’s seating arrangement in Mrs. Reynierson’s classroom. Sidetable is somewhat of a controversial name and the band defended their choice saying that they all liked it which is, of course, what’s important. Jibril went on to say “I feel like we need to have a working name because bands without names are not as cohesive… it doesn’t matter if it’s gonna stay like that forever.”

Jibril brought up an important component for the success of a band: cohesiveness. With the exceedingly different musical backgrounds of each member, ranging from self-taught to classically trained, I was curious to see if their ideas and abilities ever clashed with each other. The worry of clashing disagreement within the band was quelled, however, with Adriel saying, “We kinda come together… we don’t talk about it, we just do it.” While in some cases musical differences could lead to a weaker group, the members of Sidetable relish in the unique features each musician is able to bring to the table. Jason, on drums, brings a lot of improvisation to the group, facilitating the birth of new grooves. Jibril, with one of the more developed ears for music theory amongst the band, says that he contributes with “musical curiosity and open-mindedness.” As frontman of the band, Adriel says, “I kinda bring a vibe. As the rhythm guitarist, there’s almost a task to fill the space in the band and set the tone of the speed and the tempo, and the overall style, so I think what I bring is just carrying that energy and bringing balance.” And while Adriel sets the tone and ‘vibe’ of the band, lead guitarist Ahmik says that he “stretches the vibe.” Inspired by a diverse knowledge of genres the other band members aren’t as familiar with such as heavy metal and nu metal, Ahmik is able to spice it up or “add texture” to the music in distinct ways. 

Despite the fact that each member already has years of experience behind them in their respective instruments, finding new ways to improve within the band has been a pivotal part of the experience. “One thing that I’ve loved about being surrounded by people who are so talented is that before, I would complain that I felt stuck because I felt like the musicians I knew at that point weren’t pushing me to be better. So being in the band has pushed me past my places of complacency,” Adriel shared. The other band members echoed this sentiment, with Ahmik adding that “I think for me, [the band] has made me notice so many more weaknesses as a musician. My stage presence is horrendous. I’m so awkward when standing up on a stage because I’m just used to sitting in my room and recording in my chair, so Adriel is a super duper inspiration for me.” Jason says that for him “working together has allowed [him] to experience a new way of learning how to adapt to changing music styles.” 

Changing and experimenting amongst musical styles is a key part of the band’s development at this early stage. Commenting on the band’s spontaneous, play-it-by-ear practice sessions, Adriel reveals, “Right now we’re just getting familiar with each other and our tendencies and cues, and how we can complement each other’s style and eccentricities.” The group’s sound right now is somewhere within the realm of rock, however they’re keeping their options open with mentions of funk, jazz, and even hyperpop floating around.

As the band grows together, so will their impact on Gainesville’s music scene, so be sure to look out for any sign of a show. Excitingly, they have the potential to stay together for a while, and while new music isn’t a big priority for them right now, they do plan on booking some live shows soon. Jason adds that he even hopes they can make some money together.  In the meantime, make sure you check out Buboy and Ahmik on Spotify and catch Jason with In Full Swing or Jibril performing with the Alachua County Youth Orchestra.