ROTTWailers ROCK!

I am officially a ROTTWailer as of yesterday. The gig/convention was superb. The bands are all well picked and performed good enough not to embarrass anybody. For sure this is the biggest gig I've been to since for two years in a row I've been wanting to go to Rock the World but something always has to come up.

I'm not going to give an in-depth review on the bands, just want to say some stuff.

SevenCollar T-Shirt is musically remarkable, although there were some technical problems that concerns Ham's guitar. And even though the sound system isn't too mind-blowing, I still think they did a pretty good job. Their opening song was Brand New No.1 and towards the end, Abg Rom, the big guy of ROTTW saw that we (NOTE: I went to the gig with my sister, Jannah) knew the lyrics, grabbed the mic and shove it to us. And we sang but the bummer was that the mic wasn't even on! There goes my chance to sing in a real gig. Next were Boohoorah, The Summary, Chemicals and Drones. I especially like Chemicals, to me it was a powerful live rendition as always since it's all emotional and tends to grab me by the heart in a vise-like grip. Overall, despite the glitches, SevenCollar T-Shirt rocks!

Next on my favorite list is Love Me Butch. They are out with a new album called "This Is The New Pop" and so far it's awesome. (NOTE: Anybody who wants the album can also get it through me, thank you.) They are an amazing band, musically a wonderful combination. This is what my brother, Acat calls Angry Music. I had a wonderful time head banging, but I'm currently suffering from yesterday's exertion through my sore neck. But it was worth it.

Jeopardice are cool, and the drummer still remembers me by the name, which is even cooler. They are currently doing a demo so I'm looking forward to that. Their new song is more "emo" than before, Muse like I guess. But it's still their own. Another cool band to take note of is StoneBay, I like their music as they remind me of Pearl Jam which reminds me of Dishwalla even though they are different musically. I asked the vocalist of the band regarding their demo since I really want to hear their songs some more. He said that since I was the only one who asked for a copy, he's going to give one to me, provided I can mail him my contact details. Yes, sir! That was really nice of him, if I seriously like the band I'm going to support them seriously.

One more band that has caught my eyes is Deja Voodoo. A special note, Mel, the bassist is superb!! I'm adding him to the list of people with fingers that I would love to break. And he's quite soft-spoken as well with a big passion for making music that surpasses the urge in making money. Jannah and me, plus Fidi surprisingly, have enrolled in Mel's "How to Master the Bass" class. He's just amazing. Deja Voodoo will be performing, I'm still thinking of going to support the band.

After the gig, we went to the "kenduri" at Abg Rom's, the food was delicious, and I especially love the "ayam masak merah". Being in the company of the musicians is great. You realize that they are indeed a bunch of good people. I wonder who planted the idea in my head that the underground scene is mean. They are not that at all. In fact, I admire them on the fact that they are staying true to their music and that takes guts. The way that each and everyone of them have one common love for music shows in how tight they are in their bands and among gig friends.

Besides that, I suppose one thing that I've been thinking is that, before I got to know them, there's always this perception that musicians are another race on their own. But the fact is, they are just the same as us mere mortals. This is gonna sound like a cliche but they are just people like us and we should treat them with the same respect that we expect others to give to us. I'm glad that I was able to actually hang out with these talented people with love for music to spread and share. This has made my burning ambition even brighter.

Next time, read the sign.

I was sleeping the whole day. I had two test yesterday, Sociology of Education and Principles of ELT, both required a lot of academic reading, which I'm obviously not keen on. Hehe.. That's why I had to stay up the day before the test just to study. (NOTE: Always be prepared to suffer for your mistake.) Slept sometime before 6, woke up at 7.30, took the test at 8.30, study for the 2.45 exam until 2.45. By that time my head was already wenged (NOTE: Weng is when you're not ok). I think I manage to do the test ok, if I don't pass for the paper, I'm gonna start eating the book for my repeat.

Later that day, had a class with the kids at ILHAM. So great to see them again. Had a lot of fun helping them out with a test, which isn't a test afterall since we were practically giving them answers. I wish I could join them for the movie tomorrow, but I already planned to join the ROTTW convention with my sister. (NOTE: Support your local music scene!) Ha... Too bad. I love kids, they are so refreshing. Makes you realize how far you've gone away from simplicity and how older you're getting.

This reminds me of the incident I had earlier that day in the komuter. I was supposed to meet my cousin in the Subang komuter. I boarded the train in Shah Alam and sat down quietly while listening to Smashing Pumpkins greatest hits. (NOTE: I adore AVA ADORE, beautiful.) And suddenly, there was this little girl, shouting "SUBANG JAYA!! SUBANG JAYA!! SUBANG JAYA!!" over and over again, excitedly. Obviously, I was not the only one heading there. It was amusing to see her so excited. My thoughts were floating. The train stops, I went out briskly very much surprise to see that the little girl wasn't getting off. And then I saw the big sign, BATU TIGA, and there goes the train. WHAT!! It's funny how you manage to fool yourself so easily. I heard someone announcing that the train to PELABUHAN KLANG would be delayed, the next train is due 8.10. Shoot!! I'm suppose to meet my cousin at 8.00. Why do things like this always happen to me? Panicking, I called Kak Jaja, and explained everything in 10 seconds. "Ana, first of all, you're not even heading to Klang." Oh, yeah.. I can be really absent-minded sometimes. Just cannot help it I guess. When you think you know something, doesn't really mean you're right. It's good to be sure. It's just BATU TIGA, I don't want to end up in SEREMBAN next time.