Post-mortem: The Sacred and The Inane

it has been a week already. we were thinking of doing a poll of some description, but then again, a pictorial survey was deemed a better idea. please do bear with the inanity, it's the sangapness creeping in, post-gig!

Guitars
as you can see, fender (and squier) came up tops and ruled the roost. we had ten guys wielding these babies. from the hot-rodded chinese-made to the true blue american beauties, their tones rocked the gig.

there was a rag bag of guitar makes, otherwise. we had one for gibson, one for epiphone, one for ESP (horizon ooo!), three for yamaha (baitak's AES, kamal's APX3 and aboo's EG) , two for ibanez (check out xombie's SZ520QM specs), two for encore, one for stagg, two for crafter and one for tanglewood. we even had a line 6 variax! not too sure what shidi used though, although it looked like a BC rich mockingbird update: shidi used a maxine mockingbird copy. also, a takamine EG530SC would've made it in the gig if it wasn't for its dodgy electronics!

Drums
the TAMA swingstar kit was courtesy of farid from nevermind the hazatsu, fitted with remo clear pinstripe heads. the cymbals were hired, but additional crashes and stands were provided courtesy of kenny (forbidden donut) and fansuri (bantal kekabu).

Sound at The GIG
courtesy of waq and mark, as you all know. we figured 16 channels were used that evening (for the mics covering vocals, amps, drums and DI for the behringer bass amp head and terel brigade's guitars, as well as the two front HK wedge monitors). waq told us he used 1.8kW of power for us that evening (the full complement of 2.4kW would be enough for a venue holding 350 people). for vocals, all of us had the pleasure to use the industry's standard - the shure SM58.

________________________
if you really wanna know, the carpets (apart from the crappy blue one under the drumkit) were from here. hoho.

Coda

"you people are the cleanest gig crowd i've ever seen in my life"

-mark the sound guy, after the gig tear-down, commenting on the event's teetotality

done and dusted. finito. khalas.

the gig was a resounding success, and we have these people to thank.

bleedinggums, terel brigade, lighter fluid, nevermind the hazatsu, bantal kekabu, forbidden donut, from curry to kurma, bandung and some band from sheffield i can't for the life of me remember - for their dedication, their time, their money spent on rehearsals and travel, and the support.

the kick-ass audience - for their support and willingness to attend this humble event of ours, no matter near or far.

waq and mark - for the most excellent aural and visual experience we'd never have expected to hear and see. i hope you guys enjoyed the nottingham ayam!

ROTTW magazine - for wanting to cover the gig. we are not worthy!

this is something we have dreamt of doing for quite some time, and alhamdulillah, everything went like clockwork. a million thanks to the willingness of every single soul who helped with the event, some of whom have come as far as caerdydd. this gig was indeed the culmination of the hard work of all involved, and we can't thank you guys enough.

this is also living proof that gigs aren't within the remit of entertainment for so-called outcasts. everyone had clean, good fun and had a rocking good time. truly a "no sex, no drugs, only rock 'n' roll" experience. it goes to show how far simple, decent and common sense can take you. we'd also like to add, pogo-ing had never been an exotic dance form to any of our knowledge.

a gig next year in the works? take a look at these smiling faces, and you will see the answer.

Tonight's the night

psyched up? break a leg, not in the literal sense. we sincerely hope that everyone's gonna have some fun tonight.

see y'all tonight.

How To Get To The GIG @ Sheffield

the gig @ sheffield will be held at the broomhall community centre in the leafy student suburb of broomhall, which is a few minutes away from the university of sheffield. it holds a capacity of 140 people. the gig is, therefore, pretty much of an up close and personal kind of affair.

for those coming by car, you can use this online route planner from the AA. the address and the post code of the venue is at the bottom of this entry. please have a road atlas handy, though, for easier navigation when you arrive in sheffield itself. there is ample parking around the centre (free on saturdays and sundays).

if you are not driving, the coach (SHEFFIELD INTERCHANGE) and rail station is situated close to the Supertram station (the SHEFFIELD STATION / SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY stop), which is clearly signposted. take the tram to UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD. for directions to the venue from the UNIVERSITY tram stop to the venue, click on the green rectangular icon in the website sidebar on your left.

for anyone wishing to come to the gig from the concorde leisure centre, take the number 47 or 48 bus to the SHEFFIELD INTERCHANGE, where you can walk to the tram station (as mentioned above).

for directions to the centre, please click here. detailed maps are available on streetmap.

broomhall community centre
broomspring lane
broomhall
sheffield S10 2SB

BROOMHALL COMMUNITY CENTRE OPERATES A NO SMOKING POLICY.

FROM CURRY TO KURMA

LIGHTER FLUID

It all started with Zul making frequent, totally non-sexual nap-stops between classes at Dan’s uni accommodation. Borne out of his exasperation with awkward silences, Dan decided to buy a guitar at a car-boot sale. Ironically, Zul played that guitar more than Dan did. In fact, everybody else played that guitar more than Dan did. Being a legend in itself, said guitar’s reputation preceded the owner’s, such that when Dan first met Adi on a bus he had actually heard about the guitar Dan never played rather than Dan himself (although this was made up for by the fact that Dan thought Adi was a mainlander Chinese and didn’t bother initiating the conversation).

Enough about the guitar, for now. Dan did meet Adi on a bus (and he really, definitely, certainly did think Adi was a chinese from the mainland) and they discovered they shared the same crap-tastic taste in music. Despite having only slightly more talent than a TV music reality show contestant, the trio started playing in various Open Mic Nights around the university. Their biggest gig to date being the Uni’s International Student Night last year with Adi and Zul on acoustic guitars and Dan on vocals (because he, as yet, still couldn’t play that guitar responsible for bringing the three of them together). Adi had been playing guitar since he was a pimply-faced adolescent, while Zul (pssst, lagi tua) was taking an overseas-studying break from his band back home in Malaysia, Global Deficiency, in which he played bass. Desperately, they seeked more excuses to perform, as they got cheap kicks (and chicks) through this avenue.

So, when they heard about the Sheffield Gig from a dear friend, Aizat, they decided that it was time to form a full rock ensemble. Aizat, well-known from his WITI times in KTJ, agreed to give it a try, and they found a “decent” drummer in the form of a ‘hazed’ (“form a band? What band? What are you guys talking about?”) genius of a friend, Ayi, by some freak accident, as he keeps insisting he is not really a drummer but a guitarist. Aizat and Ayi already have enough on their musical ‘plates’, as Aizat has WITI and Ayi is still active in his own Super Fajitas, an Ampunk-based punk rawk band back in Malaysia.

With a shared passion for music, the fivesome formed Lighter Fluid and jammed, and jammed, and jammed, to prepare themselves for the gig. Aided by delusions of grandeur, and fuelled by a desire to have a good time, they were ready. So, see you there, and let’s all enjoy it, ignoring the fuck-ups of course!

BANTAL KEKABU

kira band ni ada remaja & golongan old timer. misteri mr. i tu - dia tak nak letak muka sebab dia rasa tak nak s*****r dia nampak. bantal kekabu start dulu dari "selipar hanyut" yg terdiri dari shidi dan fansuri, then terbubar. so ni kira line up baru la mostly. suhaimi ni kira stand in je la, sebab ade sorang tu sibuk buat thesis! suhaimi pemain gitar amatur yang syok sendiri, so dia main rhythm. nazri pulak second rhythm untuk memantapkan lagi overall rhythm bantal kekabu. shidi pemain gitar lead yang hebat - pasti membuat orang terbangun dari lena mereka. mat, the bass player ala-ala flea, while fansuri is the drummer with the double pedal: akan nyanyi one song setelah penat bedal double pedal. nantikan kemunculan bantal kekabu... yeah!

TEREL BRIGADE

FORBIDDEN DONUT

they ain't no krispy creme, nor are they made for dunkin'. from the depths of a filey street basement to a stage a stone's throw away from their front door, these chaps from the steel city have got some fine rawking tunes in store for your entertainment this coming march 18th.

check them out at the gig!