Wildstix cruising life

So the new month arrives, last month was interesting with 2 TV shows and 1 video clip shooting. It was simply cool!

All I can say for the two TV stations, Indosiar and RCTI, is that their professionalism is totally different. While Indosiar only received third best rating in Indonesia, but their staff are pros and never underestimate people. RCTI is holding the highest rating in Indonesia and it has made the staff arrogant. Although the stage people are nice, but the rest are just cocky and deceiving.

This month also the start of Ramadhan, where the muslims must fast from dawn to sunset for a month. While it's part of their belief, but in Indonesia Ramadhan in some way has lost its meaning. It has become more of economy shaker and always causing the prices to rise higher without ever returning to normal. People are seeing the phenomena as normal, but for sane people, it's never normal! Too many people now using Ramadhan as an excuse to get more profit and no one ever stand and fight it.

My next appearance

This August 30, 2008 I will appear as Jever's drummer again on TV. This time on RCTI, a leading private-owned national TV in Indonesia. The show time is 10.30 pm



If you're living in Indonesia, don't miss it!

For those living outside Indonesia, I'll upload the video for you all to watch :)

Appearing on a video clip

I'm also appearing on Jever's latest video clip. Enjoy!!

My first performance on TV

Like I said on my earlier post, this is the video from my performance with my friend, Jever on a TV show, august 13, 2008. Here it is then....(by the way, I'm on drums)

My first ever TV performance!!!

YEEHHHAAAAA!!!!

I'm so happy that my first appearance on national TV (Indosiar), last August 13, went so smooth. I appeared as the drummer for my friend, Jever and over all our performance was flawlessly awesome!

Above is the pic taken while we are waiting at the artist room just before our performance. From left - right: Mr. Ang (eVo), Jever, William (bass), Masha and Pasha (twin child of the local music legend, Chrisye) and me.

Seriously, it was fantastic and I don't even have the right words to tell it here. But as soon as I got the "on action" pictures from Indosiar, I'll post them here so you will be able to feel how it was like.

Thank you Jesus, for guiding my career!

Wildstix in half a week

Woke up early this sunday morning...my body still felt heavy since my energy is drained for the rehearsals in friday and saturday but I got up and went to my studio. There supposed to be a recording schedule at 10 am and I still need to set up something for it. But let's read my life in last week.

The start of the week there was nothing special, we continue our work to promote Jever and so on. One good news came to us on Thursday that according to IMport (the digital music provider in Indonesia), Jever's song got to the top of the download chart! The quantity wasn't much but the point is, with minimal budget and promotion, Jever's song could surpassed 3 Diva's, a well funded famous female trio. For us, the production team, though it's not over yet it is a sweet victory over the difficulties and obstacles we had during the start of this work.

Next day, Friday, I had rehearsal with Jever and the band for our upcoming appearance in Indosiar on next Wednesday. The rehearsal was much more better than the previous one but we started very late, plus our bass player had to leave not long after we start for emergency reason. So we continued without him and surprisingly turned out very satisfying.
On Saturday, again the rehearsal started late because my friend, the producer, had to go to his doctor. But after he came, the rehearsal started smoothly and we also had the chance to do some intermezzo by playing some other songs. It was fun!
The rehearsal ended around 6 pm and gosh...I felt so tired but happy. After everyone went home, my wife and I were still in my studio, cleaning up and setting the wires for recording on Sunday morning. At 12, I left the studio and went straight to sleep.

Sunday, 7 am, I got up and get done with everything else left unfinished the other night. I checked the clock and only 15 minutes left to 10 am. So I just wait, wait and wait, wait again until it was almost 11 am!
Uh well, I guess they just canceled the schedule without even bother telling me. Hahaha...typical indonesian and also negative eastern culture. To think about it, I've even wasted my cell credits to tell them exactly where to look for my studio...sigh...
Having nothing to do, I returned to my room and continued my sleep and woke up around 1 pm, having my lunch and dessert, then wrote this blog....

On course to fame

These past few days has been interesting, but only if you can get over the stresses.

My job interview was terrible since there was an audition too and I didn't really expect that, if it was an exam, I'd failed right away. But after thinking about the whole thing, maybe I shouldn't get the job since I also have one important work before me, that is helping my best friend, Jever rise to existence in national music industry (in other word, FAME!!!). God sure works in a mysterious way.

Getting over the failure of the interview, I now shifted most of my energy and thoughts to Jever's project. I need to do so, as we have a schedule to appear and perform on one national TV, Indosiar this August 13, 2008. I will appear too as the drummer...it'll be my first time appearing on TV, yeah!
We also have schedules for on and off air performance soon, so I'm sure we'll have more things to work on.

Academie of FarSide? Oh my band....yeah, I look for new vocalist and so far no luck (as usual). It'll be sometime before I find the right person, so AOFS will just have to be patient and wait.

Wildstix, about...

I still have this mixed feeling, 6 days after I pulled my band out from sinking. It's hard to forget the people who have been working with you for sometime and it's even harder to forget the sadness of seeing them gradually defunct.
But new days are ahead of my band and I, so this excitement of new experience really fueled me up to look for new formation and personnel. Thankfully my wife and our closest friends really really help me out dealing with it and provided encouragement for times like these.

All of the emotions rushed in me at almost the same time and I felt kind of numb. But I need to get over it quick to face tomorrow.

Other things in recent days...

My youngest niece will be baptized on august 3, 2008. My wife and I are planning to attend the service but suddenly I got text that said I'll be having job interview for part time music teacher on the same date! Imagine that, a job interview on Sunday!
As much as I want to go to my niece's baptize, I also need the job...I'll just see how are things later.

The other interesting thing recently is, I'll be featured in my best friend's video clip. Though I've been a performer for some years, it will be my first experience doing that kind of thing. Judging from the people involved in the production, I'm sure it'll be fun!

Academie of FarSide's new life

July 24, 2008. It’s finally done; I cancelled our gig and I’ve fired my band mates, setting them free to live their own lives. But even so they’re still persisting that they’ve done nothing wrong and as usual, put the blame on me again.
Even it was painful to my heart, I tried one last time to make them think as adults and it was very heartbreaking that they were still unable to reach maturity of their mind. Thus I decided that Academie of FarSide couldn’t move one with spoiled children on the wheel.

To save the band, that my wife and I dear most, I took a painful decision to fire all my band mates. I told them the most important reasons, might as well the facts too, that there is no focus anymore, no improvement and no consistency.
Being fired (or cut off) for the first time in their life, the ego started to kick in. I appreciate my vocalist for being fair at some points but I just laughed at others for firing out blank bullets at the facts. But what else can I do? They’re just kids.

With three brats gone, Academie of FarSide is now looking forward for its bright future. I don’t know how it’s going to be, since I’m still looking for new personnel, but I’m very sure the band will rise as one of the prominent prog bands in the world.

The Great Journey has begun!

July 19, 2008 will be remembered as the start of a great journey of my newly formed band. I thought of it as a great journey because each member (including me) are all the people who dedicated their lives to music and has experienced much pain because our love of music.
The formation is a trio, my best friend plays guitar, guitar synth and synthesizers, my new best friend fill the vocal with his unique and powerful voice and myself, playing drumkit and synthesizers. From our first jamming, power trio will not fit to call this group.

As for the trio's name, we still have yet to choose from several potential names, but whatever name we decided to use, I will love it because my long hoped wish came true.
Still more to come and long way ahead of us, but we're gonna kick some ass along the way! Ready or not, my trio will come right in your face!

As for my own band, Academie of FarSide, it's clear that all hope are lost with current personnel. I would dispose them but we're gonna have two gigs in August and the time is too short to find replacements or additionals. I just need to be more patient until the end of August and then I will make any necessary actions to save Academie of FarSide, one of which is to fire all my band mates!