Tazette: Issue 4

Feature: 

Musicians in Taylor's University

Frontman of Black Light Banquet Adrian Tan has been playing music ever since he was a kid. Adrian picked up the guitar without knowing how to read and play the notes. Now he is a first-year Communications student cum music writer slash performer in a band producing songs of their own distinctive style. Listen to their music at www.myspace.com/blacklightbanquet.

Tazette: Tell us about your band.

Adrian Tan: We started out when we were 16 in Form Four. The five of us are all best friends and one day we just decided to get together and start a band. We are the same five people that I go swimming and to the gym with. We were even in the Scouts together; that’s why we are so tight. However we have arguments too, such as when we talk about music. We take criticisms from inside the band not from outside. We are our own critics.

T: What are your influences?

AT: It’ll take you five pages to list them all. *laughs* When I first started it was Linkin Park, now it’s bands like All Time Low, We The Kinds and Fall Out Boy.

T: What is your band working on now?

AT: We are working on getting our music out further. Our band takes pride in producing our own original songs. We want to get exposed as far as we can. Then probably once it’s well known we want to get recorded, and after that we want to go out to play and at the end we want to get signed.

T: Tell us about your most memorable band performance.

AT: Every show we play at is memorable. Something different happens at every show. Every time the people know the words to your songs and when they sing to your songs, it gives you energy to perform.

T: How do you cope being in a band with your studies?

AT: Being in a band isn’t a hobby, it’s a lifestyle. It’s a daily routine to go home to check the band site. We’re always giving ideas to each other. Personally I don’t have any trouble balancing studies with being in a band.

T: How often does your band perform?

AT: If there is a demand, then we perform. Usually the LEO club in our old high school would ask us to go back and play. If we’re at a birthday party and there’s a guitar, there will definitely be a show.

T: Are there any major plans for the band?

AT: What we’re doing now is keep writing new songs to show people what we are as a band. No two songs of ours sound the same. A unique element which defines our band’s element is the keyboard. We are always trying to make each song different. The goal is to keep putting materials for people to listen.

T: How are you treated by your non-musician peers?

AT: It’s all pretty normal. The only difference is that we’re always mentioned when there’s a need for a band to perform. Sometimes friends come up to me to ask if we can cover any songs.

T: Any advice to give to young musicians out there?

AT: If you have the interest, go for it. Everyone is creative in their own way and we just need to find the proper spark. Don’t let anything hold you back if you believe in it.

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Alia Ali is a final year Communications student and the keyboardist for Furniture, an independent rock band from Kuala Lumpur. Furniture just recently released their sophomore album They Made Me Out Of Dreams You’ve Forgotten (which is a line from Star Trek!) Check out Furniture at http://furniture.bandcamp.com

Tazette: Tell us about your band.

Alia Ali: The band started as Rush in the Chinese indie scene, and somewhere along the lines the name changed, the sound change and finally we’re now called Furniture. Furniture released their first album in 2005 – Twilight Chases The Sun. I joined in playing the keyboardist in 2006

T: What are your personal and your band’s influences?

AA: Stuff I listen to is stuff I listen to; I don’t have any particular influence. I think that when we get together, we bump off each other and sometimes we say ‘I think I heard this somewhere’ then we just replicate that.

T: How long have you been playing the keyboard?

AA: I’ve been playing the piano since I was 6. I took piano lessons, and now I teach.

T: How is it being the only girl in your band?

AA: Yeah I get that a lot. *laughs* It doesn’t feel much different, being the only girl. I have three older brothers, so being in the band is the same like being at home. Only difference is that they are not as mean to me as my brothers are. *laughs*

They try to be nice to me, in couple of big shows we each have to carry our own equipment. My drummer got pissed and said Can you be a girl and let me help you? And I’m like no, I carry my own stuff. They always want to help me but they know I’m going to say no.

T: What is Furniture working on now?

AA: We just released our second album in January. So now we’re just doing shows to promote the album.

T: Tell me about your most memorable band performance.

AA: It was the very first time I performed. Because I wasn’t in from the start, when I came in I didn’t know they were as big as they were. I had no idea that I was in a big show; there were so many people. I thought: ‘Oh, they’re THIS big?’ It was so kelam-kabut. Three people had to help me set up because I didn’t know what I was doing. It got better after that.

T: What other instruments do you play?

AA: I do play the piano and cello. I can play the guitar, sort of. I think that once you’ve got the basics you can play most of the instruments. At the end of the day, the theory is the same, just the techniques are different.

T: How did you produce the album, being an independent band?

AA: Ron set up Stickylight Records which is basically a studio in his house. We self-released the album: we sourced the printers, we got the art work. It’s selling pretty good. Yesterday I got back from Bangkok for a show and we saw the same people who came for our last Bangkok show 4 years ago. We thought that people had forgotten about us!

T: How often does your band perform? And how do you cope with the schedule and your studies?

AA: It depends on how often we can get shows. For example one weekend in Singapore we did three shows in two days. Sometimes we can go several months without performing.

We have set aside Tuesdays as jamming nights. So we set our work schedule around it. It’s not the one priority but it’s in the list. At any point in your life, whether you’re at work or school you have to balance. If you don’t know how to balance it now, who’s to say you’ll be able to balance your work and family later. You’ll really have to get up and just learn how to balance now.

T: Tell us about your fans.

AA: They’re a different kind of crowd from bands like Pop Shuvit. Whenever we have shows, 90% of the crowd are the people who are always there. Those people are our friends, and they are also in the art scene so whenever they have an art show, an exhibition, a performance, we’ll all go for it too.

T: Any major plans for the band?

AA: I don’t know, it took 6 years to come out with our album. I have no idea when we’re coming out with the next album! I’ll get back to you on that. *laughs*

T: How are you treated by your non-musician peers?

AA: I don’t have any friends who aren’t in the art scene. One of my best friend is a poet writer person, another of my friend is a film maker and a lot of my friends are in a band, so we all have our thing. We don’t treat anyone different because we are the same.

T: Any advice for people who want to get into the music scene?

AA: Make friends, go to gigs, go to shows. If you go to a gig, go up to the band, introduce yourself and talk to them. Make friends with the audience. Just put yourself out there. It’s very difficult unless if you’re very able, to just stay in your room and write music then put it up on Youtube. There is a lot of talented people on Youtube, but there’s also a lot of ‘less talented’ people on Youtube. So just put yourself out there.

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Jeffery Wong is a Diploma in Communications student and a guitarist of the young and upcoming indie band Rosevelt. Rosevelt has played in various shows and events such as the Fly FM Campur Chart, Youth ‘10, and Urbanscapes 2010. Find out more about their music at www.roseveltband.com

Tazette: Tell us about your band.

Jeffery: Rosevelt started around end of 2009 as The Randoms. I joined the band last year in 2010. They were looking for a second guitarist and I auditioned. The band’s name is influenced by the American President Franklin Roosevelt. Rosevelt’s logo is inspired by Hoobastank.

T: Tell us more about you and music.

JW: What I love to do is music. Previously my life revolved around basketball. I met a few friends which introduced me to rock music. I picked up the guitar and fell in love with it. I wanted to be a musician since I was 15.

I am inspired by modern rock bands such as The Deftones and Incubus. My favourite guitarist is Tomo from 30 Seconds to Mars.

T: What is Rosevelt working on now?

JW: We’re working on producing a 7-8 track album which might be out somewhere in July. Half the album is done. We are working with JD from Popshuvit, recording in his Studio 21:05.

T: Tell us about your most memorable band performance.

JW: It has to be the Kelantan performance. It was sometime in March called The Attack of the IndiKids. It was good because the crowd was banned from music shows for 3 years, so they were all pumped up and very excited. It was a really good crowd. And my parents were there too, so it was even better.

T: How does performing in a band go with your studies?

JW: The main reason I came to KL is to find a band to perform with. My dad made me stay and work with him for one year, but when he realized that my focus wasn’t there anymore, that’s when he let me live my dreams.

It is pretty hard to cope with my studies. Because at first when I joined it was as a sessionist, so it was still good. Now every night (except weekends) we work on the production stuff such as tracking guitars. Every night we start at 8.30PM, and go home around 3AM.

I think I actually exceeded the absenteeism limit for a subject, but my lecturer was very understanding and allowed me to sit in for the test.

T: How often do you perform?

JW: Previously we perform at least once a month, but now we’re focusing only on producing the album. But it’s really hard to find shows now because all the international bands coming in now are looking only for the big local bands to open for them. A lot of events right now are focusing on bigger local bands, and the smaller bands like us, who are not there yet are finding it hard to compete.

T: Have you been recognized in the streets?

JW: At the cinema once, and once in the toilet. *laughs*

T: How do you cope with your newfound ‘fame’?

JW: Honestly, it’s not much. I still think of myself as a normal human being. My friends always remind me of keeping to my roots. They remind me to stay humble.

But it does get uncomfortable and awkward when people recognize me.

T: What advice do you have for people who want to get into the music scene?

JW: Put your priorities right, there must be sacrifices. And it’s very hard to juggle. If your band is really doing well, it’s harder to keep up because all you think about is your band and how you will promote your band.

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Philip Rom is a second-year Communications student from Kuching and a solo performer who is currently focusing on producing unique sounds for his project Error6ix. Check out his music at http://www.myspace.com/error6ix

Tazette: When did you start playing the guitar and performing?

Philip Rom: I started when I was 12. Somehow I picked it up and started writing songs.

That year I joined my first Battle of The Bands with my band Orange Stain Shirt. My band was the youngest band; in fact the drummer was only 10. We won the competition that year! The next year we came in second. Then the following year I played for Band Fest and opened for Disagree. The last gig with my band was in 2007 when we opened for Juwita Suwito and Jaclyn Victor.

When I came to KL I started as a solo artist. Now I’m focused on my side project error6ix which is more of electro, ambient, instrumental sound.

T: What are your musical influences?

PR: Incubus and Radiohead are some of the bands that inspire many of the things I do. Now that I’m into the indie and electro genre, it’s more to like artists like Baths, fourtet and James Blake.

T: What other instruments do you play?

PR: Drums, bass, keyboard. I used to play the horn in the brass band.

T: Are you working on anything in particular now?

PR: So far I’ve released 2 instrumental songs under error6ix. This time I’m trying to bring in vocals, so it’s a big shift.

I have a bad habit of not finishing songs. I just come out with new ones then when I get bored I get started on another one. So for me to complete a song takes a lot of time.

T: Tell me about your most memorable performance.

PR: It was the Jaclyn Victor performance. We did the opening and there was this song that I had trouble with the beginning rift. I thought I had it fully anchored, and on the day itself I sang off tune. The camera was on my face and I was like ‘Oh my gosh’. To make the matter worse, my guitarist played the wrong chord. It was such a bad introduction that in a way it was funny and memorable.

T: How does it go with your studies?

PR: As for now I’ve not been really performing, the last one was at the ADP event back in February 2011. Currently I’m more focused with the technical aspects of my error6ix project. Hopefully I’ll get to perform sometime this year.

T: Any upcoming major plans music-wise?

PR: Not really, I’m still trying to produce, maybe just fine tune myself in this new genre. Once I get more confident, I’ll probably perform in small gigs. If anything do happens it’s just me and the small crowd *laughs*

I do include vocals of other talents. Like Fight which is a bossa nova-ish song, which is very different. It features my friend’s sister who is only 18 and has great vocals. It was the first song I produced working with someone else.

T: Would performing still play a part in your life in 10 years?

PR: Yes because I’ve been doing this since I was 12, so if I’m going on now I’ll probably still do it when I’m 30. I’m anticipating what I’ll do next. It’s a hobby that I enjoy. Music is an integral part in what I do.

T: Any advice to budding young musicians out there?

PR: There’s no harm in trying. If someone tells you you’re good, there’s a reason why they tell you you’re good. So you have to just go for it.

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