The Silent Room

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Small Talk:
Wow, GPU prices have really crashed over the past year! I bought an nVidia 9600GT 512MB for about RM550, and now the same card with 1GB memory goes for RM240. Well, I need to get this card replaced, anyway.

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During a charity show for the homeless, held at The Curve many aeons past, a drunk bassist grabbed the mic and delivered an epic slur of a speech,

“I have a home! Tonight, I know where I’m going home. But there are people out there who don’t have a home, so tonight, we’re going to play for these people who have no home to go back to!”

Then again, you have to wonder how many homeless people would actually be hanging out at The Curve on any given day. I guess you just throw any logic out the window when you’re drunk, but that shouldn’t stop these guys from making good music. It’s a story related to me over some delicious tosai and a very merry conversation.

Sometime last week I was introduced to a group of musicians by an old friend of mine. If you are familiar with the local indie scene you may have of the merry band who call themselves Seven. I haven’t had the opportunity to see them play live, but I had the pleasure of having a photoshoot and a nice teh tarik session with the guys.

The first thing I should say is that they are very easy-going, humble and love a good laugh. I suppose that’s the difference between genuine musicians and pretty-faced talent show winners – they make music for the sake of music, and it shows in the way they shake your hand, the way they smile and the way they obediently pretend to take a piss, just because this photographer said so.

It was only after the shoot that I managed to find some time to listen to one of their songs, Out for Love. I’m not too versed in music to talk about genre, styles, or influences so I can’t really make some kind of smart-ass comment at the risk of sounding like a pretentious idiot. What I can, and will say, is that the single is a goddamn earworm. Really, I couldn’t get enough of it. In fact, I’m now really interested to see them play live.

After the shoot, I sat down with them for some drinks and fabulous tosai while we chatted about their experiences as a band. I don’t get to chill out with that many musicians very often, so stories of tours and gigs are always fun to listen to. Sitting down with them made me realise that many musicians are often remembered only for what they put up on stage. Who they are, what they are made of, and how they live their lives are nowhere near the spotlight and it’s not uncommon for people to forget that these talented people are still human – and continue treat them like organic music boxes. It gets even worse when they expect to get the music for free!

I asked them quite a number of questions in a very orthodox manner. You know, like where are you guys from, how did you come together, what challenges you faced etc. As I was writing this, listening to the full version of Out for Love, I realised that all these superficial interview questions are irrelevant when you put them next to the people I asked them to. What they really want out of their music is to have fun, and to let other people enjoy the things they love.

When I talked to them about the local indie scene and comparing their experiences abroad, Josh remarked that they still prefer it here. He put it in plain and simple words, too. “We love Malaysia, ’cause Malaysia is home.”

Amen to that, bro.