i don't need a leader

do we really need a leader in a band?

red hot chili peppers don't really have a dominant figure among them. they treat each other as good friends. when john frusciante [the guitarist] had to do a rehab thing to get out of his drug-addiction, they gave time to him. while he's in rehab, RHCP hired dave navarro as an additional guitarist. when anthony kiddies [the vocalist] had to do a rehab thing to get out of his drug-addiction, they all waited for him until he's free.

dhani ahmad is a really dominant figure in dewa. what happened when ari lasso was addicted to drugs? did they wait and give ari lasso second chance? no. what we all know is ari lasso was left out. what happens now? ari lasso is free from drug-addiction and he's a leading-soloist in our country. this man deserves a second-chance, right? but he never got it because it's about one's thought; the dominant figure's or the leader's thought.

i don't need a leader in a band.

me @ java jazz festival 2008

i went to java jazz ALONE last saturday. i actually didn't plan to go there but my manager rang me in the afternoon and told me there's a ticket for me. i was excited but i began to think "will i go there alone?". so i asked my manager, "do you have another ticket for my friend?"

[biasanya orang kan beli 1 gratis 1.. kalo gw: udah gratis 1, minta 1 lagi...]

but, my manager told me, "i only have one.". so i said, "okay, i'll come!". it's JAVA JAZZ, man! i don't give a f**k if i'm there alone...

so i arrived there at 8 P.M. i saw seven great performances from seven great artists! these are the performances i saw [chronologically]:

1. THE JANE PROJECT
this group is from holland. i've never heard of them before but their performance was f**king cool! very soulful...

2. KAZUMI WATANABE
a guitar legend from japan. it's just amazing to see him performing live, especially when tetsuo sakurai joined him on stage!

3. SOULLEH & SOULLEHA
this is a band project created by young and talented indonesian musicians. i didn't recognize all of them but i knew that the drummer is parkdrive drummer. this group really attracted so many people. the java jazz committee only placed their performance at the lobby but this group really made the lobby very crowded. great performance!

4. BIBUS
i saw his performance many times before this event. you know why? because he's my uncle... hehe.. :)

5. RYAN
this singer works together with me under one management and label. he delivered a good performance that night.

6. RAUL MIDON
for me, his performance was spectacular. for a blind man, the way he sang and played his guitar was amazing. he also could make a saxophone sound just by singing. he's really impressive. it's a "wow" performance from him!

7. D'SOUND
one of my favorite artists! so i know you can imagine what i felt when i saw their performance. they performed their hits, like "smooth escape", "tattooed on my mind", etc. they performed on the main stage and they really showed us why they deserved it.

so, it was my java jazz night! i felt happy about it, especially i came there for free... btw, i wasn't really alone there because i met my friends. it's a fun night!

february 29th 2008

* we only experience this day once in four years... so i want to post something in this special day!

today, i feel so lazy to go to college so i skip a class. it's so hard to wake up because i only had two hours of sleep. lately, college life really irritates me. you know, i don't like doing this. i go to college and will get my bachelor degree just for a social status. i'm totally not interested about the study. i don't need the degree actually because i will never do nine-to-five job in my life. i wanna work independently, like being a musician and entrepreneur. that's challenging! and that's what i'm passionate about...

tonight, i will see ronski speed's performance.

i don't really feel good at the moment so i want to drink and party a little bit. i also want to enjoy the music played by one of the best DJs in the world.

message from me:
keep supporting my music by giving your comment to my songs...

question from me [answer this!]:
help me make a concept for my music.
1. do you prefer john mayer or james blunt?
2. what will suit me best: being a soloist with music like john mayer or james blunt? or making a duo with my friend [guitarist] with music like john mayer or james blunt?

thx friends! :)

Tak Ada Batasan untuk Pekerja Seni

i'm a lil' bit tired to write all my entries in english, so i decide to write this entry in indonesian because I'M PROUD TO BE INDONESIAN!!!

[alesan doang... padahal sih emang lagi males mikir aja.. hehe!]

ok, enough for the introduction... :D

ini adalah pandangan gw tentang dunia seni dan siapa aja yang berhak memasukinya. gw sering denger orang bilang begini, "gw sih ga bisa jadi artis. orang tua sampe kakek nenek gw ga ada yang jadi artis. gw ga ada darah seninya." atau "gw ga punya duit buat jadi artis. di dunia ini kan money talks. asal lo punya duit, apa pun yang lo mau pasti terjadi." gw kasih reality check nih:

* Ashton Kutcher adalah tukang sapu di sebuah pabrik penggilingan sebelum menjadi aktor
* Jack Nicholson adalah penyortir surat sebelum menjadi aktor handal
* Mariah Carey adalah tukang periksa topi sebelum menjadi diva dunia
* Jewel adalah seorang pramusaji sebelum menjadi penyanyi
* Brad Pitt adalah petugas pengiriman kulkas sebelum yang kita kenal sekarang ini

yang namanya tukang sapu, pramusaji, petugas pengiriman kulkas pasti ga punya duit dong... iya ga? kalo punya duit sih, ngapain jadi tukang sapu... it's true that money talks, but action talks louder. setuju? kalo orang miskin kayak Mariah Carey aja bisa jadi diva dunia, kenapa kita ngga? ga usah artis dunia lah, artis Indonesia aja pasti bisa kan... yang penting jangan pesimis.
gw juga sering denger gini nih, "gw ngga bisa ngelakuin ini dan itu sekarang karena gw udah ketuaan. kalo gw masih muda sih pasti gw bikin." kita seringkali menggunakan umur sebagai alasan. iya ga? gw kasih reality check lagi ya:

* James Blunt meluncurkan album pertamanya, Back to Bedlam, pada usia 32 tahun; usia yang relatif tua untuk artis pendatang baru
* Tompi meluncurkan album pertamanya bersama Bali Lounge pada usia 25 tahun; usia yang relatif terlambat untuk artis pendatang baru
harusnya contoh-contoh ini menginspirasikan kita untuk terus maju. iya ga? jujur aja, gw termotivasi banget setelah tau fakta-fakta ini, terutama fakta tentang umur James Blunt. gw berkesimpulan bahwa batasan itu adanya cuma di pikiran kita. kita yang seringkali membatasi diri kita. iya kan? padahal fakta berbicara bahwa ngga ada batasan kok untuk pekerja seni, yang penting kita tetap kerja keras aja... setuju?

java jazz 2008 on the move schedule

22 Feb 2008 Friday 20:00-21:30
Location : Kemang Food Festival
Artists : Barry Likumahuwa

23 Feb 2008 Saturday 17:30-20:00
Location : Universitas Binus
Artists : Pasto, RAN

23 Feb 2008 Saturday 19:00-21:00
Location : Museum Sejarah
Artists : Two Triple O, Cindy Bernadette

24 Feb 2008 Sunday 17:00-19:00
Location : Waterbom Jakarta
Artists : Sister Duke, RAN

29 Feb 2008 Friday 20:30-22:00
Location : Soho Citos, Jakarta
Artists : RAN, DREW

01 Mar 2008 Saturday 21:00-23:00
Location : BSD Jajan Jazz, Serpong
Artists : Tiwi, Bibus

01 Mar 2008 Saturday 19:00-21:00
Location : Blitz Megaplex, Jakarta
Artists : Ecoutez, Two Triple O

02 Mar 2008 Sunday 20:00-21:30
Location : Airman Planet Lounge, Hotel
Sultan, Jakarta
Artists : Nicky Manuputty

04 Mar 2008 Tuesday 16:00-19:00
Location : Universitas Pelita Harapan,
Tangerang
Artists : Soulvibe, World Peace Project
feat. Walfredo Rayes, Tollak, Roger Burn

05 Mar 2008 Tuesday 20:00-21:30
Location : Kudus Restaurant, Hotel
Sultan, Jakarta
Artists : Kristin Berardi, James Sherlock

05 Mar 2008 Wednesday 19:00-21:00
Location : Pacific Place Mall, SCBD, Jakarta
Artists : Desti, The Jane Project

05 Mar 2008 Wednesday 19:30-21:30
Location : La Piazza, Kelapa Gading, Jakarta
Artists : Logic, Parkdrive

NOTES FROM ME
i don't know why i put jamie cullum's picture above because he's not coming to java jazz this year, but his performance last year was really kicking everyone's ass! so, i hope java jazz 2008 will be as massive as java jazz 2007...

[kapan gw jadi artis supaya bisa manggung di java jazz... ngimpi lo tang!] :)

coldplay comes to indonesia?!?

this morning, my cousin rang me and spoke to me excitedly. i was actually still sleeping n didn't feel like talking. but he was too excited, so i chose to let him talk. this is my conversation with him:

cousin: bintang, i have a good news for you and all indonesian music lovers!
me : what's that, man?
cousin: this is beyond your expectation! there's a band coming to indonesia in the middle of the year. guess who...

[coldplay was the first name popped out in my head because he said it's beyond my expectation. it seems like almost impossible that coldplay's gonna come here. maybe they don't even know indonesia. hehe.]

me : coldplay!
cousin: yeah! how do u know?
me : your over-excitement told me.
cousin: haha. but it's still a rumour. my friend who works in java musikindo [music event organizer] told me. but he always proves what he says like when he said incubus is gonna come. that's proven, right? he told me that THE POSSIBILITY OF COLDPLAY COMING HERE IS 80%.
me : well, it sounds great! i'm surely gonna come if coldplay performs here.
cousin: me too! I FEEL LIKE I WANNA SELL MY INCUBUS TICKET AND SAVE THE MONEY FOR COLDPLAY CONCERT...
me : haha. you better don't do that 'cause this is still a rumour...

[coldplay, come here. you guys went to singapore last year but forgetted to go here...]

that's what i thought after the conversation. is coldplay gonna come? we'll see...