Back from the Dead

It has been really ages since I posted anything here. Maybe I was too lazy... Anyway, went through my archive and found this unpublished article on Eyes Adrift. Nothing great but...whatever. Just feel like sharing. If I'm not mistaken, this article was written sometime in 2002, maybe. Anyway...

“They want the next Nirvana, they want the next Sublime and they want something like that. Well. We are not giving them that and we never promised them that.”

APART from all the new bands that made into the headlines last year like The Vines and Nickelback, there are actually three new bands that is really worth to look forward to –Audioslave, Eyes Adrift and Zwan.
And this is simply because these bands are made of people who used to play in legendary 90s bands from the likes of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden (Audioslave); Smashing Pumpkins, Slint and Chavez (Zwan); Nirvana, Sublime and the Meat Puppets (Eyes Adrift).
In short, these bands are what many fans and critics would call as supergroups.
“Yeah we came from super bands and we are some super musicians. But when I hear the word supergroup, I hear a contrive effort.
“You know something that was thought out like ‘Let’s go rip the people off and make a lot of money’. And that’s not what we are. If it was, we’d be at a major label,” explained Bud Gaugh, Eyes Adrift drummer in our chat with him recently.
He’s one third Eyes Adrift, a band that also includes Curt Kirkwood, formerly of the band Meat Puppets and Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic.
Gaugh himself is an alumnus of LA’s ska-punk trio Sublime. Without having to further explain, we are pretty sure that many will agree that the three has a resume that would make any budding musicians turns green.
“You know, it kind of hurt my feelings to hear the word supergroup,” he added.
Okay, we got your point.
Apart from that Gaugh was very talkative and witty. Well, he should as despite the harsh reviews it received for its hard-to-be-pigeonhole brand of music, it didn’t stop the band’s self-titled debut album from shifting copies.
“I seriously think that these people they need to go to the psychiatrist and beg for help. They want the next Nirvana, they want the next Sublime and they want something like that.
“Well. We are not giving them that and we never promised them that [laugh]. So if they want to hear something that they’ve probably heard before, they can listen to all the Nirvana or Sublime or the Meat Puppets cover bands [laugh].”
Which lead us to the band’s music. If Audioslave and most probably Zwan took the easy way (follow what the band’s key person says), Eyes Adrift music direction is more democratic.
There’s a hint of Meat Puppet’s alt-country tinged turns epic jam (Pasted), a bit of straightforward rock (Alaska), a bit of jazz and fusion (Sleight of Hand). Despite the diversities, none of the song sound forced. Everything like Gaugh puts it, “Is working out really cool.”
Having fan base made of three America’s most important modern rock bands also helps according to Gaugh.
“It’s been pretty well mixed. At our shows we see a lot of our previous bands T-shirts out there. We’ll see a lot of old album covers of our previous bands. Probably more Nirvana and Meat Puppets fans cause they sold more albums than Sublime [laugh].
“We’ve done two tours around the US and I’ve seen a lot of similar faces from our first tour at our second time around shows. So the people are staying for the music and they are coming out again and they are buying our albums. I think it’s good as we are getting our point across.”

Funk Soul Brothers: Black Dog Bone

The piece on Black Dog Bone was published in Malay Mail on Jan 3, 2004

ANY music enthusiast can brag that he knows so much about the origin of rock `n roll - like how Jackie Brenston's debut album, Rocket 88 in 1951 is credited as the first rock `n roll record.
But wouldn't it be more credible if you know the fact that Mike Ibrahim dengan the Night Walkers recorded the song Cuk Cuk Kundong; or Indonesia's Guruh Gypsy's self-titled album in 1975 is considered as one of the finest in Asian prog-rock history; or how important Singapore's Black Dog Bone is to the development of the local music industry.
The younger generation might not feel much about this. Perhaps, the closest they would know about Black Dog Bone is the band that first recorded Khayalan, which was recently re-recorded by Ruffedge and became quite a hit a couple of months back.
By the way, did you know that Khayalan is also a cover version of Earth Wind and Fire's Fantasy?
If you didn't know all this (now you do), you might not know what you were missing.
Black Dog Bone's (fondly known as BDB) debut album Sindir-Sindir Sayang in 1976, was one part of the turning point of the development of music-making particularly in Malaysia and Singapore. That's how important BDB is.
The band recently released Reunion, a compilation featuring remakes of its classics like Khayalan, Nasi Goreng, Geram, Joget Bujang Di Rantau and Relax.
And tomorrow night, the band will be performing at Planet Hollywood for a special one-off showcase. This is BDB's first official show in Malaysia since its `retirement' in 1981.
The beginning of the band goes back as far as the early 70s in Singapore (which was in a transition period from being the capital of both the film and music industry then).
At that point, the domestic music industry was in an unproductive period. Most of the radio hits were supplied by imported music from Indonesia (remember Emillia Contessa, Wiwiek Abidin, D'Mercys, D'loyd or even the all-women nasyid band El-Suraya?).
Then, along came a bunch of similar-minded musicians who decided to get together and form a band.
"Honestly, we never planned to become a recording act. When guitarist Izzar Masrom (Razzi M) offered me to join his band our intention was to mainly do the club circuit," Black Dog Bone's drummer and vocalist Jatt (original name Tahir Ali) said during an exclusive phone conversation with Buzz recently.
Together with Masron Ali, (trumpet, valve trombone), Hamid Ahmad (bassist), James Chai (flute and saxophone) and Michael Heng (keyboards), the yet to be named band did their time performing at Chinese clubs, sometimes backing up Hong Kong and Taiwanese singers who came down for a visit.
"We didn't have a specific name during the first year. Only when we hired a manager, the late Sunny Goh, we started to use the name Black Dog Bone. He just decided on it and we just kept it!" Jatt continued.
At the same time, fellow musician and immediate friend S. Atan was offered a job as the artiste and repertoire personnel with Tony Wong Company (Pte) Ltd (S). Atan saw the band's potential and offered them a recording deal.
"Since we were more of a club band, we didn't really have that much time to concentrate on writing our own music. Atan basically did everything for us. We just went to the studio and record. That's why most of the songs on our debut album were mainly covers, while some are Atan's own compositions," Jatt said.
"As for the musical direction of BDB, Atan suggested that since we had a brass section and our major influence was mainly Motown music from bands like Earth Wind and Fire, the Commodores and Tower of Power, maybe we should go for funk."
Despite the lack of originality, such musical style was something totally new for Malaysian and Singaporean ears.
As a result, Sindir Sindir Sayang became a huge hit with catchy songs like Bila Rindu, Bibir and Relax.
"We were astounded when we found out that the album, in a way, ended the domination of Indonesian bands like the Favourite Group and D'Lloyd. Everyone was raving about BDB. The funny thing was, because there was not much exposure in the print media then, no one really knew that BDB was actually a Singaporean band," he laughed.
Beyond the commercial success, Sindir-Sindir Sayang also jump-started the domestic music industry back to life.
"We could see that things started picking up even faster after we released our third album. Still, it was rather a small pool and everyone came from one company - EMI."
He also recalled that during those days, BDB even did the backing vocals for upcoming artistes like the late Sudirman Arshad, Anita Sarawak, Gaya Zakry and Sharifah Aini.
When S. Atan moved to EMI, BDB also followed. With EMI, the band released another six successful albums - Si Gadis Ayu, Khayalan, Dulu dan Sekarang, Diganggu Kenangan, Bahagia dan Derita and their last album Diskorama. The last one was released in 1980.
Songs like Khayalan, Gadis Ayu, Geram, Nasi Goreng and their disco remix of Kwek Mambo are now considered classics, while Cahaya Di Aidil Fitri of course has become one of the Hari Raya staples until today.
What is so significant about Khayalan?
"We were inspired to record Khayalan when were playing at a club in Amsterdam called Moulin Rogue. We played there for about six months and that time Fantasy was a big hit there. So when we got back, we told Atan that we wanted to record the song," he recalled.
After Diskorama, things were no longer the same in the band. With the emergence of disco, and the fact that 70s pop funk was considered passe, the band members were in dispute over their musical direction.
"There were a lot of conflicting ideas. The music scene was changing at that time, and people were heading towards a more disco direction. Some of us did not want to go there. To preserve our friendship, we decided that it would be best if we retired. I'd consider that as the lowest point of our careers," Jatt said.
Band leader, Razzi M was the first to go and Jatt then followed suit to go solo.
Officially the band was disbanded in 1981 but according to Jatt, after he left, the band (which had a new line-up) was still active playing at club circuits.
Jatt also released a solo album, Merpati Putih in 1983 but without the rest of Black Dog Bone, it wasn't as `magical'. That album flunked and Jatt went on hiatus (to the mainstream music fraternity, at least).
He was actually alive and good at the club circuit. He was performing with Hard Attack (70s rock band) up till 1993 before playing another band called Rockerfella up to 1998.
And the most recent, Jatt sang in a band called Black Sweet Hunters (a band which features members of two other big Singapore bands in the 70s - Sweet Charity and Lovehunters).
The rest of the gang were also doing their own thing. Hamid and Masron are still active playing the club circuit, while James is now a sound engineer.
Razzi M currently runs his own music outfit Razzi M Production. The only member who is not involved with the music scene is Michael - he works for a freight company.
BDB's reunion was originally supposed to happen in 1996 but due to Jatt's problems with the religious authority - he was banned for a year by the `music fraternity' following his `tangkap basah' case with an actress, who later became his wife. (They are now divorced, by the way).
"It's the fans. They are the ones who've been persuading us to make a comeback," Jatt said of the band's reunion.
"After all, I also think that it is the right time for a reunion. Since everyone is going retro nowadays, you know, going back to the 70s and 80s, we might as well catch up. We don't know how the trend is going to be in 2005, so we better do it now."
Since BDB's upcoming reunion show and compilation are meant for the band's fans, they hoped for nothing else but the ultimate satisfaction from all sides.
"I think the expectations from our fans for this upcoming performance are very high. I know most of them are quite curious on stuff like `can they still pull it off?' or `Can Jatt sing Khayalan like he did before?'.
"I can tell you now that it's a tough song to sing at this age!" Jatt laughed.
Being in the same form as they were during their peak or not, Jatt however assured that BDB fans would definitely get something from the gang - a `one hell of a down the memory lane show!'.

The Black Dog Bone Discography
1976 Sindir-Sindir Sayang (Tony Wong Company (Pte) Ltd (S))
Notable tracks: Bila Rindu, Bibir and Relaks
1977 Si Gadis Ayu (EMI Music)
Notable tracks: Gadis Ayu and Hatiku Luka Lagi
1978 Khayalan (EMI Music)
Notable tracks: Khayalan
1978 Dulu dan Sekarang (EMI Music)
Notable tracks: Dulu Dan Sekarang
1979 Di Ganggu Kenangan (EMI Music)
Notable tracks: -
1980 Bahagia dan Derita (EMI Music)
Notable tracks: -
1980 Diskorama (EMI Music)
Notable tracks: Kwek Mambo and Minyak Urutan

It Boils Down to Desire: Why do you play in a band?

The piece was published in the Below the Radar column in Malay Mail on June 2, 2004.

HOLD on. Before you decide to pick up an instrument and make music, ask yourself this question - why?
Are you going to do it because of your love for music, or just because you want to be a part of the `allure' of the entertainment industry?
Whatever your reason, if you couldn't find the right answer, you might find yourself (or your band) being plagued by one big complication - the problem of not doing anything - just like what most of our good local acts in the independent music scene are struggling with right now.
Just imagine. We are now reaching the second half of 2004, but how many local releases have we seen so far?
Well, very few. Even when new bands are popping up almost everyday.
Yes, it's a cliche when we talk about how good the independent English music scene was back then compared to now. But seriously, that's the fact.
There was a time where you can easily get at least two releases by local bands in a month.
Back then, pioneering bands like Carburetor Dung, Naked Butterfly and many others had to struggle to put out their music.
With a whole lot more obstacles to go through and an almost non-existent audience, the bands marched on and went against the odds regardless what the outcome was.
Why you ask? Because they knew and understood why they were playing in a band in the first place.
Then look at the independent English music scene today.
A decent demo can be recorded in your bedroom; information on music is just a click away; almost everyone has access to `good music' and most importantly, the masses are more receptive towards this so-called `fringe' music.
Apart from all these privileges, today's independent English music scene is short of two important things - productivity and sad to say, originality.
The local independent music scene is in its 17th year and how far has it progressed? The answer depends on which angle you are looking at.
If you are talking about the level of `reception' from the masses, well, there's a category for Best Local English Album and Best New Local English Artiste in our Anugerah Industri Muzik. That should say a lot.
If you are talking about the number of recording companies that `promote' independent music, there are a lot, right from the major labels to the smallest independent labels.
As for the range of music influences, someone in a place as remote as Batu Pahat or Bukit Kuin are listening to the most unknown band in the UK. So things must be really good.
Gigs? Almost every weekend there'd be one.
Music publications? Well, they have taken over the role of the photocopied pages of fanzine and is now more glossy and `trendy'.
Content? More pictures because editors these days believe that readers prefer to see rather than read.
So, are all this something that the independent English music scene should be proud of?
Now let's ask ourselves a few questions.
Have we seen a band that we can really be proud of?
Do we have a record label that puts out `noteworthy' releases by our local bands regularly?
Do we have a thoughtful music magazine that writes about all these bands?
Do we have a record store where we can purchase all the good albums?
Do we have venues where bands can perform with decent equipment and get paid for it?
The answer for all the questions above would be no and almost.
Seventeen years and it looks like the independent English music scene hasn't learned anything much.
We've complained about how the masses are being exposed to the second-grade imitation of MTV rock music.
But can you blame these `bands' when they actually make the effort to be visible.
While many of those who are `concerned' complain, these bands are actually doing something about themselves.
We are talking about mediocre bands that have songs played on radio or albums reviewed by the print media. Do you think that happened out of the blue? Hell no!
Marketing may be a sinful word in the independent scene but what's the point of forming a band, writing your own songs, investing your hard-earned cash on albums or EPs or demos when it will only be heard by 200 people?
Well-written band biographies and Press releases, decent promo shots and other related materials are essential. Do local bands have all these? Rarely.
Only few local bands are equipped when it comes to all these things. Damn Dirty Apes and LYME are good examples (and how coincidental some of the band members of these groups are not Malaysian).
Despite the lack of commercial value in their music, these bands went out of their way to promote their releases.
It's not mindless fame-seeking or self-promotion but the understanding of the fact that good effort must be put in.
Come to think of it it, the approach taken by our local independent English music bands is more or less the same as how the major labels (yes, the one that they hated for not doing justice to the band they signed) are treating their products.
You could hardly find good independent bands in Malaysia, who talk confidently about themselves and the music they are making. But when an `average' band talks that way, it would be dismissed as an act of self-indulgence. How amusing.
When it comes to this, the local Chinese independent faction deserves a standing ovation.
Despite all the limitations, the bands have an active recording label (Soundscape Production) and they are currently working on their own magazine and have been organising high- profile events.
Would they receive the same kind of acknowledgement as the English independent music-makers would? No.
Then why bother going through all the hassles?
Like what the father figure of the local independent music scene, Joe Kidd wrote in Blasting Concept back in 1995 of his conversation with Ian MacKaye:
"It all boils down to whether you really want to make it happen or to just keep on dreaming about it. It's within your grasp, no excuses."