Monday June 15, 2009
Bang for your buck
By N. RAMA LOHAN
It’s probably the most anticipated one-day rock festival so far this year, and Rockaway 2009 promises plenty of good music.
WILL the cries for more opportunities for local bands now subside with Rockaway 2009 – a collaboration between Jack ’n Jill Rollercoaster Potato Chips and renowned pop punk outfit One Buck Short?
Well, that’s a question only time can answer, but this nine-hour free rock concert at Cap Square, Kuala Lumpur, on Saturday, is certainly sounding the battle cry against the long-running (too long?) Rock The World.
Modern rock outfit Estranged has steadily shed its radio-friendly music for a moodier edge. This will be a Saturday like no other where a slew of the most popular independent bands in the land take to the stage, many of them debuting new singles from either new albums or EPs.
And who do you get for your troubles of going all the way to this swanky new mall? Try Ipoh’s hottest export Bittersweet, pop punk favourites Bunkface, indie darlings Pesawat, hardcore unit Restraint and post-punk outfit Deng Deng Etc giving the local Chinese scene a boost with a mainstream appearance.
Crowd-pullers like Pop Shuvit, Love Me Butch, Seven Collar T-Shirt, Estranged, Couple and The Times need no introductions. Of course, One Buck Short is also the right pick to turn any venue into a mosh-pit.
Rockaway 2009 marks the first for the local rock act founded in high school, to work with a corporation to produce a full-scale rock festival designed to give the local independent scene a shot in the arm.
“Rockaway 2009 is a music festival catering specifically to rock, and we want to give bands that don’t get a chance to play festivals, to play at one. Secondly, it also serves as a platform for established bands and newer ones to debut new material,” reveals Rahul Kukreja, guitarist and head honcho for One Buck Short.
Rock till you drop: One Buck Short (from left): Rahul Kukreja, Imran Ishak, Mooky and Izal Azlee are set to blow fans away at the Rockaway 2009 fest on Saturday. That doesn’t seem all that accurate though because all of Pop Shuvit, Love Me Butch, Estranged, Couple and One Buck Short, are simply the bands that hog most of the independent rock limelight anyway.
Whether it’s a telco-driven event, or the aforementioned Rock The World, for example, these bands seem to be the ones getting the most exposure over the past few years. It would be perfectly acceptable if the novice concludes that these are all the bands the nation’s indie scene has to offer. Yet, that’s the furthest from the truth.
“The reason why all these bands were chosen is because they are releasing new stuff. Bands like Bunkface are playing almost every other week but Bittersweet has not been for a while … they are completing work on their new album. Pop Shuvit will have a new EP coming out next month, Love Me Butch will have a new album, Seven Collar T-Shirt have a new single … then there are new bands like Restraint, Car Crash Hearts and Cassandra,” argues Rahul.
There again lies the problem – the indie scene continues to display a very slow growth-rate. Even when it comes to new material, it’s generally about these same set of bands. Shouldn’t the net be cast further in searching for fresh talent? Shouldn’t the live venues be trawled for music acts that may offer something different?
The good news here is that this is merely one of the first tentative steps in a collaboration that could yield great results for the indie scene, and with a corporate sponsor of Jack ’n Jill Rollercoaster’s stature, a bright future beckons.
Indie rock group Pesawat. “It’s very encouraging to see comments that support what we’re doing on the Rockaway 2009 website (www.rockaway2009.com). I’d like to think what we are doing is like a public service for the local indie scene,” concedes Chan Wai Keong, marketing director for URC Snack Foods, Jack ’n Jill Rollercoaster’s parent company.
“When we first engaged One Buck Short last year, we wanted to bring Jack ’n Jill to the teenage market. We did our own survey and learnt that people were talking about MySpace, downloading music and such. And the names mentioned were One Buck Short, Pop Shuvit, and the like.
“They are very knowledgeable and educated boys … they went to college and have day jobs, too. It just seems like they perfectly represented the essence of the youth of today, which is what is very relevant to us because our product is fun-based,” chips in William Gnaniah, general manager of The Admine, URC Snack Food’s advertising agency, explaining how One Buck Short earned its stripes as a potential gig organiser.
As gig organisers, One Buck Short has a lot on its plate, but that’s nothing Rahul and his mates won’t be able to handle.
“Apart from people getting to hear new material from the bands, there will also be booths for the sale of merchandise,” says Rahul.
Bands are expected to have package deals of CDs, T-shirts and related paraphernalia. Of course, no outing of rip-roaring fun comes without freebies. Hence, the first 1,000 concert goers will each get a goody bag with snacks, drinks, T-shirt, cap … the whole shebang, really. And don’t fret about food and drinks running out – Jack ’n Jill has that all covered with free snacks and drinks to flow … while stocks last, naturally.
The show itself aside, a tour in support of Rockaway 2009 is also on the cards … kicking off as early as next month.
“Our first show is on July 18 and will kick off in Penang, then we head to Ipoh and conclude the tour in Johor Baru. For the tour, the list of bands will be different, and we are looking at trying to source bands from those regions, too,” shares Rahul enthusiastically.
Rockaway 2009 could be just what the doctor ordered for the local indie rock scene, and if its projected growth is anything to go by, then let the good times roll.
Rockaway 2009 kicks off at 1pm on Saturday. For details, visit www.rockaway2009.com. Check out thestaronline.tv/switchupfor the lowdown on Rockaway 2009.
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