4 | The Band

THIS Dharma Hoover Street was as congested as ever. Apart from being located in the center of Surabaya City, the Dharma Hoover block was flanked by three giant infrastructures, namely the Dr. Sue Thompson Regional Hospital, Airlangga University, and Dharma Hoover's elite real estate complex. Cars, buses, motorbikes, pedicabs, and students, crowded this area.

Then, my eyes caught something interesting. I saw a black Toyota Avanza parked under a yellow tabebuia tree. Perhaps because of their contrast color,--black and yellow--my attention was drawn to it. But, there were no activities there.

So I started to take a U-turn. After that, I parked my motorbike in the studio yard. From the yard, I could see that black Avanza parked across the street. In front of this building, there was a large neon box that reads INFERNO MUSIC STUDIO. From the outside, I had a group of adults sitting in the waiting room. When I got closer, I could hear them singing.

"All day I dream about sex," a giant man was singing.

Cigarette smoke then rose from his thick black lips. His voice was hoarse, wet like Bryan Adams's. His long hair was rolled back. It was always a funny thing to see him look like that. A giant man with bun hair. His stature just like Gajah Mada, a prime minister of Majapahit-an ancient kingdom.

Next to him, a long-haired man was busy accompanying the obscene chant while thumping the table with a certain rhythm. His head looked back and forth. He seemed to be living his role. And then, a tight and dry sound of acoustic guitar strings also played along to create harmony.

A song titled 'ADIDAS' (All Day I Dream About Sex) by the Californian band Korn encouraged us who were waiting for our turn to enter the studio room. The long-haired man then passed a cigarette to one of the others.

"Skipping lecture?" greeted the giant man to me.

"Home early," I replied.

"Yeah right,” said the table-thumper sarcastically.

I grinned as I grabbed a pack of cigarettes, took one out, and lit it. I put my ass on a long couch, and then I started to sing along too. These three people were my seniors in music; I meant underground music, to be precise. They were also my neighbors at Certajava neighborhood.

Then, I saw a leaflet on a table in front of me. It was the same leaflet Aisha gave to me this morning. It seemed these three fierce men already read it before. I took and read it.

A brothel house complex evictions were always consuming public attention. A pro-contra happens until hell freezes over.

“Campaign,” said the giant vocalist man to me as if he already knows my intention.

The music then stopped.

“What campaign?” I confused.

“The mayor is running for his second period,” answered the guitarist.

“Politricks,” said the table thumper sarcastically again.

Then, the giant vocalist explained that the same pro-contra also happened when the Dolly--former biggest brothel complex in Surabaya--evicted. Yes, I remembered it. Before this, four years ago, to be precise, that notorious brothel complex was already leveled to the ground by the government.

At that time, the same pro-contra also happened. But, the eviction went smooth without any resistance from the villager. Surabaya Government said there was no room for prostitution in this city.

Hundreds of prostitutes then dispersed and spread throughout Indonesia, especially to Saltyville, where Saltyroth lies. With the wave of prostitutes moved there, made the Saltyroth changed the name to Saltyroth-Dolly. That place then grew as the biggest prostitution complex in Indonesia--I believe in Southeast Asia too.

“So, why Saltyville didn't evict at that time?” I asked. “I mean the Saltyroth?”

“You asked a good question, Bro,” said the vocalist.“Truly, 'why' is always being an interesting word. But, it has a complicated circumstance that I can't explain in one sit.”

“As a brief answer,” he added,“ this eviction purpose is to gain citizen's sympathy to skyrocket incumbent electability in the election next year.”

I nodded as if I knew what he is talking about.

"Well!" Another longish figure suddenly appeared out of the toilet while pointing at me.

"Now, here’s the guy who we've been waiting for," this thin tall man added while raising the zipper of his pants.

"What’s up, Brother Gunn," I said while refused to shake his hand.

Brother Gunn's real name was Gunawan. He was the owner of Inferno Music Studio.

"Skipping lecture, huh?" he said, then sitting across from me.

"Home early," I repeated.

Brother Gunn then asked me, could I participate as a member of the main guest star opening band at the Soundrenaline Music Festival next Sunday? The scheduled opening band, Erpid 19th, suddenly canceled their concert.

The problem was, said Gunn, the Erpid 19th frontman, Donnie, was detained by the police. He was reported on a hate speech case against the Indonesia Moslem Defender (IMD).

The principal guest star itself was The Boumerank. Hendryx--a Clofus graduate--played as the bassist.

Soundrenaline itself would be held at West Bank of Clofus, where the Clofus Stadium lies. This stadium seat includes the field, could hold up to fifty thousand people.

I answered Gunn, why should I decide. There were already seniors who have taken over that authority. Gunn then asked do I have any other schedule? I answered I do not.

"If one of us can’t, we all can’t," said the giant man. "So be it.”

"Hell yeah!" I answered excitedly. “Let’s do this!”

"Great, I’ll tell the committee," said Brother Gunn.

Shortly, there were loud sounds of musical instruments behind the studio door. One by one of them then came out from the studio room. The total was nine people. Some of them looked the same age as me. It seems I met them at an underground music community gathering.

All of their hair was long, and they all wearing hardcore black t-shirts. Some wear vests. Any of them dyed their hair blonde. Some dreadlocks, while several others were mohawk. But there was one similarity, tight jeans embroidered with various band names. Some of them pierced their noses and ears with bolt-like objects.

Then, they greeted us one by one as if they had just met their idol. Up close, I could smell the same scent as Mr. P's. Damn! How long had they not been showering? I could see their sparkling eyes. They also seemed shy to us because their walk pace was sloping.

"Big K, Cole, Santos, Lang," they greeted us very kindly. The smell of alcohol blew from their mouths. No wonder! May I have for a little, please?

Indeed, that was not the first time I have been greeted by strangers. But, I had feelings of embarrassment. It felt like, who am I to get a special welcome? Just gone with it. Chill. We also greeted them politely.

Then, there was one of them who approached us. This figure asked about our new song and the schedule for our next gig. He was confident as if he ‘act as you know me’. So friendly that we all raised our eyebrows. Who was this long-haired with both ear and nose pierced young man?

"Bro, may I have a cigarette?" asked him confidently.

How dare he asked for a cigarette! Ah, it might be because of the influence of liquid courage in his brain. The giant man gave him. He was grateful as if he had just received the signature of a famous celebrity.

“What band are you?” asked the table thumper.

“Hi! Mom,” he answered.

What a cute band name.

“What's your name?”

“Jack,” he introduced himself, “I’m from Saltyroth.”

We all nodded as we know, we just talked about his neighborhood.

After that, we said goodbye to Jack and his other band members, then we went into the studio room.

It did not take long for us to adapt to the equipment at Infernos. We often practiced here. Inferno was one of the few music studios in Surabaya that allows underground music bands to rent a room for rehearsals. This one studio does provide equipment designed for the rock genre and other metal genres.

It had become a stigma in common society; underground music could cause kidney failure, heart attacks, impotence, and also damage to musical instruments. The stigma was not completely false, nor is it totally true. If you have a good technique, you would be able to avoid destruction.

"Check, check, one, two, three, drink!" the growling voice of the giant man thundered via the microphone, followed by a distortion sound of guitar effects. It was 'Chandelier' by Sia song, by the way.

The man with the giant body was Big K. He was a vocalist and rhythm guitarist. His real name was Yuri. Tall and large with a distended stomach wrapped in brown skin. His long hair was dyed blonde at the bottom.

Big K's body was full of tattoos with tribal motifs. Despite his fierce stature, Big K was a warm person full of tenderness. Even so, he was an ignorant person. Precisely, I did not know how old Big K is? Just about 30 to 35 years. Seems young, but his face was extravagant. Who cares about a friend's age? To be sure, he was not married.

And then, the sound of the percussions and cymbals beating slashed my ear.

The table thumper then began correcting his throne. His name was Cole. This drummer was as fierce as Big K. What distinguishes Cole was well-built. His hair was long also but not dyed. Cole's ears and nose were pierced. Uniquely, Cole's eyes are one-sided. Even so, he was an aggressive and creative drummer. Cole liked to improvise. I enjoyed his syncope beats.

His real name was Rachmann. He was an indifferent person. He did not care what was going on around him. However, I did not know how Cole got his stage nickname? Cole himself was married but had no children yet.

In the past, there was a well-known underground band called Heretical Spirit. The band consisted of only two members, namely Big K as the guitarist-vocalist, and Cole as the drummer.

Heretical Spirit has been on hiatus for a long time. That because both of them were busy working as a mason on the Suramadu Bridge project. That bridge connects Java Island and Madura Island. They both finally decided to disband the Heretical Spirit and form a new band with new members.

And then, the distortion sound of the guitar effect was back to slashing my ear. Very loud if I did not ready, I would be deaf, for sure.

It was the act of Santos, our lead guitarist. His real name was Sonny, and he was one of the most talented guitarists in Surabaya. He could have played the speed metal guitarist genre a la Yngwie Malmsteen. Santos could also play the heavy metal style, such as Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman, and Kiko. The last three names were guitarists for Megadeth.

However, Santos was idealistic with resistance. As far as I knew, Santos was indeed a former activist or still is. Rage Against the Machine was his favorite band.

He had the same age as Cole and Big K. Santos was a simple person, knowledgeable, and helpful. Daily, this single person had the status of an honorary employee at the Goobank District office. Beyond that, he was a guitar tutor.

Now, we are focused on practice. Because, as Brother Gunn said earlier, we would be the opening band for the main guest star band at Soundrenaline this coming weekend.

Oh yes! I almost forgot. Our band name was Ryg's. Actually, there was no unique story behind that name. Ryg's itself was a composition of the member names. Rachmann, Yuri, Greyson, and Sonny. It was given quotation marks so that it is cool.

Ryg's chosen the thrash metal genre like Sepultura. Of course, songs like Chaos AD, Slave New World, and Propaganda were a must. Sometimes, we also play other hardcore bands like Slipknot, Deftones, and Coal Chamber. Big K really likes screaming.

However, in the last two years, we had a focus on creating our own songs. As a result, Ryg's has released two full albums. The first album was titled Interruption, while the second album was entitled Common Sense.

The one who acted as a bassist was me. I was forced to be a bassist because no one wanted to be a bassist. Being a bassist was still rare in today's millennial era. But, I was very enthusiastic when Big K invited me to join him. That was when I started to persistently learn the four-string guitar by myself.

At home, I had a Prince bass guitar that I stick an Ibanez sticker on. Of course, I wanted the amplifier to be as fierce as Peavey, Messa/Boogie, or Marshall. But, I could only afford Rhoad.

Suddenly …

"Un (o), dos, un (o), dos, tres, quat (tro)!" Big K counts, then the thump and the distortion are resonated at the same time. My energy immediately burst out liked a rage. Go on!

And that was how we started practicing that afternoon. Followed in succession, Orgasmatron, Dead Embryonic Cells, Territory, and other prestissimo tempos. And of course, our own works.

I was so excited that I could not feel it, two full hours of a complete practice. We went out, and just before I started my motorbike engine, Big K invite me.

“Tomorrow noon, there will be a rally refuse the eviction,” he said. “Do you come along?

“No,” I answered, “I have something to do.”

Then, I said goodbye to go home early because it was my turn to run my mother's shop. Actually, I hope I could meet someone fantastic who I just met at Clofus this morning. Gosh! I had already missed her.

But wait, why the hell that same black Avanza still parked at the same place as before--under that tabebuia tree?