Action Reaction - It's all about passion...

Aku tak tau pasal orang lain, tapi aku seronok gila. Crew FNBKL memang pergi mana pun boleh buat tempat tu jadi happening. Kecoh gila especially si Thilaga... suka benor menjerit.

Persembahan malam tu oleh (kalau salah tolong betulkan)

1) Gang busker Bukit Bintang dengan gendangan, kerincing dan digeridoo-nya.

2) Gangan Ensemble - electronically experimental.

3) Reflex Reaction - vocally experimental. Sparred with saxophone.

4) The Garrison - reggae! tapi ada sedikit unsur pop + folk jugak la... time ni everyone gets in the groove.

5) DEP - hmmm.. pop sadis meruntun jiwa... Bem tak boleh datang sebab ada shooting kat UiTM. Diganti oleh Avroco di bahagian kerincing. Boleh tahan jugak Avroco...

6) Wolf - planned as solo act at first, but was accompanied by the 'Dragon' Aziz on trumpet during the performance. Excellent combination. Love that 'do the locomotion' part on the first song.

7) Performance yang last ni aku tak sure siapa. (Sorry. Siapa-siapa boleh tolong?) Aku nampak ada Avroco dan gang Bad Voice on guitar. Vocalist dia ada sikit gaya persembahan macam Henry Rollins, even tengah nyanyi lagu I Will Fondle...oops! Follow You.

8) Aziz - dengan persembahan kemam kerosene dan meniup api. Gila Dragon!... Banyak kali Aziz buat, siapa tak tengok memang rugi (sila rujuk gambar di atas). Kalau pergi Genting tengok tu mau dah melayang 50 ringgit. "Aziz, 31/08 ni buat kat Annexe pulak.OK?" Serious! Lagi gempak dari pertunjukan bunga api.

Lepas tu, kitorang pergi makan kat UpTown. Disajikan dengan lala dan steak yang hebat, tajaan "Boh Mang Catering".

Nota :

1) Thanks heaps to FNBKL crew, Poodien, Thilaga, Farhana, Shahril dan gang lain(aku kenal muka, tak tahu nama), for the invitation.

2) For more info and activities about Food Not Bombs KL, go here.

-acai-

Action-Reaction @ Casa De La FNBKL!

Jumpa di sana!

For map and more info, please click here :
http://ricecooker.kerbau.com/2008/08/21/saturday-23rd-august-2008-action-reaction-casa-de-la-fnbkl/

Koktel Molotov tidak sesuai dihidangkan di majlis perkahwinan...

Peristiwa pada 9 Ogos 2008.

1. Di atas sikap sesetengah kawan aku yang tak begitu internet savvy(saje je bakor! ;P), terpaksalah aku dan bini tersayang mengharungi kesibukan kota metropolitan yang senantiasa berjerebu untuk bertemu mereka bagi sesi temubual yang akan dimuatkan dalam Innerview #2. Temubual yang dimaksudkan adalah bersama Molotov. Sebuah band yang tidak kurang hebatnya dari Kuantan yang masih bertahan dari 1998 hingga ke hari ini. Mereka telah melibatkan diri untuk satu persembahan di MCPA pada hari tu dan aku dah set appointment untuk bertemubual selepas show mereka.

Seperti dijanjikan temubual diadakan di sebuah kedai mamak yang pertama di luar pagar MCPA. Berbekalkan teh tarik yang sangat cair dan boleh nampak Segamat (bak kata si Fikri yang hensem) kami bertemubual secara santai. Diorang memang tak boleh nak di-interview sebab tak serius langsung! Asek buat klakar je. Lagi-lagi si Mamat... muka serius tapi buat klakar. Hish geram betol aku!

Antara soalan yang dikemukakan ialah... OK, sila baca Innerview #2 bila sudah terbit ya!

Selepas sesi interview, sesi ukor gambor (bak kate orang pantai timor) pulak berjalan. Meny dengan sapu tangan menutup hidung dan mulut - ala-ala koboi nak merompak bank lagaknya.

Setelah selesai Molotov, the whole gang photo la pulak, dengan berbagai pose yang anda boleh lihat sendiri.

Sedikit berkenaan Molotov, dianggotai oleh 4 individu yang tak kurang kacaknya (hanya bila memakai busana hari raya), yang juga pernah menganggotai band-band di Kuantan seperti Secret Army, Enslaved Chaos, Hustler Honey dan Mixblood. Band yang jujur dan percaya dengan muzik yang mereka mainkan. Walaupun ada yang chop mereka sebagai rock-kapak sekalipun, langsung tak dipedulikan. Syabas! Molotov memang band bising yang tegar.

Mahukan cerita yang lebih 'panas' tentang Molotov? Sila tunggu Innerview #2. Terima kasih.

2. Ada seorang penyokong kuat DEP telah melangsungkan perkahwinan di rumahnya di Transit Quarters, Kuantan. Saya bagi pihak DEP yang tak dapat hadir untuk merasmikan..sorry... memeriahkan majlis yang gilang-gemilang mengucapkan setinggi-tinggi tahniah. Semoga bahagia berkekalan dan perkahwinan ini bukan secara 'kebetulan'. Dengan ini saya dengan rasa penuh sukacitanya ingin mendendangkan sebuah lagu dengan key A minor ditujukan khas kepada kedua mempelai. Perdengarkan...

Kita semua sepakat

Di kampung hai Pening Lalat

Mengucapkan Selamat... Pengantin Baru...

Sekian. Terima Kasih.

Nota:

1) Gembira sebab bertemu kembali geng lama dari Temerloh, Edi dan Karl. Terima kasih sebab beli CD koi. Steady la ghodong!
2)Juga kepada Zul Lanchang@ Zul Pok Teh, ucapan Selamat Pengantin Baru juga pada 23hb Ogos 2008 ni. Semoga bahagia ke anak cucu. Koi tok boleh gi sebab ade show malam tu. Gambir Sarawak mintak dengan Ya, ok.
3) Kalau ada geng-geng yang lain yang akan berumahtangga tak lama lagi, lagu yang sama di atas ditujukan menggunakan key-key lain yang dirasakan bersesuaian dengan suasana. Terima kasih.

-acai-

CERITA DALAM LAGU…(ala-ala rancangan RTM dengan montaj yang low-tech)

People are moving but you still there
Don’t know what to do
Inject that macho thing into your self
Makes you look like a fool
You know everything that’s what you think
But stupidity still rules you
It still rules you!

Ok ada satu geng kat Kuantan dulu (94-95) yang sungguh punk tak ingat. Sebab mereka pakai Doc Martens, berjaket kulit (mungkin PVC sebab mereka punk yang tulen) hitam, bert-shirt Anti Nowhere League, mengenakan rambut ala Mohawk dan merasakan yang mereka punk yang melampaui batasan punk yang sebenarnya, sangat tidak puas hati dengan geng aku. Aku pun tak tahu kenapa.

Jika diorang jumpa geng aku yang sedang seronok bermain skateboard di belakang Kompleks Mara atau sedang melepak di Kompleks Teruntum sementara menunggu masa untuk jam di studio Lau, mereka akan menghampiri kami dengan pandangan yang sangat punk dengan mulut yang sedikit terjuih (mungkin terpengaruh dengan pose Sid Vicious) dan adakalanya memberi soalan-soalan kuiz berbentuk pengetahuan am punk kepada kawan-kawan aku yang boleh dijadikan mangsa mereka.

Ada sekali kawan aku, seorang yang agak bising mulutnye(haaa…cube teka siapa?) memakai baju Samhain… So ketua kumpulan punk yang merasakan dia ade memegang PHD dalam jurusan Pengetahuan Am Punk dan Sejarah Punk Global, mengajukan soalan kepadanya… “Haaaa ni lagi dahsyat, siap pakai baju Samhain. Kau tau tak apa Samhain ni?” Kawan aku yang biasanya bising tu, tersengih-sengih tak menjawab.

You just love to criticize
But where’s your contribution?
Violent flame is in your eyes
And there’s no solution

Aku tahu yang kawan bising aku pun tahu apa nak jawab, tapi we just sat there silently sebab kalau dapat jawab pun bukan dapat markah dan membuatkan mereka berpuas hati lantas mengambil kami untuk join geng punk dia. Dia pun dengan muka kerek bagitau aku… “Korang ni.. pakai t-shirt je tau!”… Lepas tu dia mulalah bersyarah (dia kan ade PHD punk)… pasal apa itu..pasal apa ni.. sampai masuk cerita lagu Zombies, Cranberries tu la.. bla, bla, bla…

Tapi nasib baik tak lama, lepas tu setelah korum mereka cukup, mereka perlu blah ke tempat lain untuk memperagakan Mohawk mereka. Jika lambat nanti kepala berpeluh dan akan melembikkan pangkal rambut dan menyebabkan Mohawk terlentok dan akan kelihatan mirip balung ayam. Tak punk la kan? So there they went…

Beberapa bulan selepas tu, terdengar desas-desus ketua punk berPHD ditangkap polis kerana terlibat dalam satu pergaduhan yang berakhir dengan siri tikam-menikam dan membabitkan kecederaan yang serius. Wow! Bukan sahaja bijak bercakap tapi terrer jugak bermain senjata. Serba boleh. Dengarnya dia dimasukkan ke dalam lokap dan kemudian dibebaskan… Pada masa yang sama para remaja sedang sibuk dengan kemunculan cerita Romper Stomper… Ye… Ada sesiapa yang boleh meneka sambungan cerita ni??

Spreading lies to all those kids
For your own priority
Misguiding them into your tribe
That is how it’s got to be
You know everything that’s what you think
But stupidity still rules you
It still rules you!

Ya… aku langsung tak terkejut… But I find it rather hilarious then(even now). Ketua punk berPHD tidak lagi mempunyai Mohawk yang sangat dibanggakannya… Kini kepalanya sudah ditarah. Nipis hampir botak. Memakai bomber jacket dan Underground boots. Suspenders yang tidak disangkutkan ke bahu tapi dibiarkan bergayutan di sisi (What’s the point of wearing suspenders in the first place??). Ketika ternampak dia dan geng-gengnya (yang juga telah bertukar mahzab), dia tidak lagi menjuihkan mulut ala Sid Vicious. Well, that’s soooooo….yesterday! Kini lebih kepada renungan yang tajam dan riak muka yang “Know it all!”. Aggro and proud!

Ada beberapa insiden yang melibatkan mereka mengherdik dan mencari pasal untuk bergaduh dengan geng aku yang sedang bermain skateboard. Aku tak tau kenapa. Aggro and proud? Mungkin. Tapi tak mengapa sebab geng aku semua peacepunk. Kami tak percaya pada fist fight! Fist fuck? Itu kena cerita dalam blog yang lain.

So ada di antara geng aku yang pernah jadi mangsa belasahan mereka tanpa sebab. Geng aku juga ada menonton Romper Stomper tapi kami tidak pulak menjadi skinheads dan bertindak ganas dengan bersusah payah mencari sebab untuk terlibat dalam pergaduhan. Tak paham. Mungkin aku dan kawan-kawan lain tak paham dengan mesej dari cerita tersebut. Ahh… cerita sebegitu sangat complicated. Cerita Labu Dan Labi lebih mudah.

You just love to criticize
But where’s your contribution?
Violent flame is in your eyes
And there’s no solution

Sekarang dah tahun 2008, August. Tak lama lagi nak masuk 2009. Aku tak dengar cerita lagi pasal Ketua punk @ skinheads berPHD. Jadi indie ke ape sekarang ni… tak tau la aku. Tak payah nak pikir. Not important at all.

Walaubagaimanapun, attitude ketua punk berPHD, ada dimana-mana. Sekarang ni pun aku masih merasa tempias-tempias syarahan yang ala-ala self-righteous, know it all, I’m holier than thou kinda shit, bila aku menjengah beberapa website untuk mengikuti perkembangan tentang muzik berdikari ini amnya. Kebanyakannya cuba untuk menjadi ‘The’ punk scholar dengan membawa hujah-hujah dari mahzab-mahzab punk sekolah mereka.

Apa tujuannya? Cuma mereka-mereka yang terlibat dalam kancah fahaman punk tulen sahaja bisa mengerti. Memang betul ada yang berpendapat yang punk is not about unity, it’s about conflict. Tapi aku juga percaya yang punk bukan bertujuan untuk mencari conflict and complicate things…

Kepada Ketua punk @ skinheads berPHD Kuantan, semoga tidak lagi terjebak dengan mana-mana krisis identiti yang parah hendaknya…

You just love to criticize
But where’s your contribution?
Violent flame is in your eyes
And there’s no solution


Nota : Lagu dipetik dari Stupidity Rules!(You).


-acai-

MASKARA X – Sharing the experience...

Took off from Tojeng’s place roughly at 8pm after a brief jam session. Still unsure of the location besides the map provided by Zaidi Othman, I rang Pipi to get some directions. After rounding the area for 3 times, we managed to arrive right on schedule. It’s kinda tricky to get there since the lamp post near the turn was out due to road construction hence the reason of missing that one right turn.

When we arrived, there are already many people there. We were greeted by the man, Sinaganaga and few others who are in charge of the show including the MC, Mat Jan. Lest I forget, Pipi was not present since he had to go back to his hometown for some urgent matters. Let’s hope it’s not about durian eating fest. Hehehe.

After a brief discussion on the itinerary of the show with Mat Jan, we prepared our instruments and headed straight to the floor, as we will be the first performer for the night. It was a great place for an acoustic set, accompanied by an excellent PA system and sufficient microphones plus guitar pick-ups. And yes, great lighting too. All these made me a little nervous when one is not used to be right under the spotlight. Hehehe.

As agreed, we played 3 songs for the first set and another 3 later after the interval. Songs played during the first set were – Sweet Lullaby, This One’s Forever and Take The Skinheads Bowling (cover from Camper Van Beethoven). A little shaky during Sweet Lullaby and skipped the 3rd verse of Take The Skinheads Bowling cuz I just couldn’t remember the lyrics. Luckily, the crowd enjoyed it and looking forward for the next set. Phew!

The show continues with performances by: (might not be in correct order)

1) Ajami & Reez – With their rendition of mtv unplugged. Poem read by Ajami, accompanied by an acoustic guitar by Reez. It was a heartfelt declamation by Ajami. Right after that, Reez played his original before they ended their set.

2) Azree Ariffin – Sharing his winning ‘pantun’ (published in Mingguan Malaysia) and ‘syair’ with the audience. Sweet and simple!

3) Alfie & Jonos – Reading poem in duet. First time I encountered such disposition. But the result was hilarious. This is due to the content and the dead pan performances by the two. The second poem has the longest title ever. (Can anybody tell me what’s the title again?) Kudos to Azam Supardi for the poems and Alfie & Jonos for the executions.

4) Dewangga Sakti – Played 3 songs during the first set and I think one of them was – an unrecorded material (forgot the title), followed by Belayar ke Pulau Jauh and a song from the famous black and white movie – Bawang Putih, Bawang Merah. Their performance was really engaging and I’m so impressed with their vision in making their own brand of music with all these traditional instruments.

5) Interval for some refreshments. Food such as fried ‘mee-hoon’, curry puffs and some other kuih were served. But the samosa is totally wicked! I had two. Sorry…hehehe.

6) Republic Theater – I don’t think that they’re influenced by the Republic Of Brickfields or Dream Theater in anyway. This group that consists of 2 actresses and 1 songstress, were accompanied by the soundman on acoustic guitar. Message conveyed here about the conflicts of 2 individuals, one working in an environment which contradicted with her culture and belief. Mostly, felt out of place and her struggles to be true to herself. Another one with a dilemma of ‘family of doctors’. All she wanted is to follow her own direction and becoming a traditional dancer rather than a medical practitioner although she is certified to be one. During these 2 acts, the singer presented 2 songs and I can only recall the last one which was ‘Imagine’, a cover from John Lennon. Sweet.

7) ART – Female blogger wearing a hat. I just repeating what’s written on the flyer. She’s reading some writings from her blog site. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

8) Salman Sulaiman – Reading a passage of An-Nuh from the Holy Quran. A powerful declamation rendered.

9) DEP – Our second set. Less shaky. Another 3 songs. Started off with Soldered by Pain, Noir and ended our set with a cover from Motorpsycho, ‘Waiting For The One’. My guitar plucking on Noir was horrible. Urrgh!

10) Dewangga Sakti – Their second set as expected to be as energetic as the first if not better. They played 4 songs with mixtures of some instrumentals. I joined them on guitar for Rasa Sayang song but my chordings were all over the place. Fortunately, the guitar was unplugged. If it did, then it will definitely be an experimental song. Dig?

Dewangga Sakti ended their set on a high note. They brought the house down on our behalf..hehehe. A group that has established more that 8 years and been playing in countries like Japan and China (to name a few), was no doubt, a reflection of fine individuals who played their instruments with passion and strive to breathe new air of artistry. If you see their photo and you only have Ghazal in mind, kindly erase that as they have more than what Ghazal could offer…

From my honest point of view, the show was very well organised. Everything went smoothly and I trust that everybody had at least received a piece of entertainment that they expected. I’m actually very alien to this medium but it did opened my eyes that all genres of art need each other and such diversity will definitely give some impact for any show.

Our appreciation goes to Sindiket Soljah, Rumah Pena & co-sponsors (on the flyer), the artists/performers, the attendees, people who bought our stuff and of course, Pipi for extending the invitation. Looking forward for our next show there. Till we meet again…

Notes :

1) Bem (drummer) cannot be with us - busy with some shootings.

2) Panther (bassist) cannot be with us due to limited annual leaves.

3) Some names are not hyperlinked due to my laziness.

4) The samosa again, is truly wicked. Where to get them? Please share...

-acai-