My All Time Favorite Local Bands.

Ive been wanting to log a post of this for quite some time, finally. Ok, just to make it short and sweet (as im doing this.. well, during office hours -- again!), here's few names that you SHOULD check them out. Tell you, they ARE real talents, and they ARE the faces of Malaysian very own music scene. Err, the list aren't in order, just to make it even. Kang kata aku double standard lak. :p :p

Stonebay
- Ever since i saw their first performance in 2006 (at RTW7, yeah, the one that Ojie put them amps on fire.. way to go!) i was truuuuuuly stoked by them. Thumping, fresh, well-sounded band with good prescence onstage. Memang gempak. I've been always a big fan of alt rock, and tell u, these guys ROCKS. Now they're going off again, with new stuffs and direction, but with the same awesomeness. Can't wait for their next release tho.

Auburn
- I still remember, the first time i logged on to their myspace, they really blew me out with "Androgyne". That was somewhere in 2005, after they've made themselves in one of the page in ROTTW. Siap rayau satu KL nak carik CD "Karya", which finally i got one from a music store in CM (i think the store had gone out already). Punya nak dapatkan full relase tu.. heh Rich, crafty, and artsy music. A poetic band, with weird tunings (LOL). But i can guarantee you, they WILL blow you with their live performance, so go and watch them guys.

Brainhead
- I "stole" their raw demo CD from the shelves in ROTTW's office circa 2006. Ala.. CD demo pun mcm tak terlarat nak dengar, berbemban kat belakang tu. Well, i think i still have that CD kot. And yes, even tho it was a raw material, still felt like i was digging a raw diamond out of mud. Bunyi mmg teraburlah.. toksah cakap, but i did stunned by their songs. And thats before i went to RTW7, watching them playing their set before maghrib break. And now, tau² je dah rockstar semua. Hehe. Warm, nice, a bit poppy, and still crunchy. Rock on!

Maximus
- Ok, terus terang, i'm not being biased just because of aku housemate Mijie the guitarist, I've known these guys before Mijie finally broke his chains off with FlopPoppy, and while Maximus is only a project band (which eventually later became a serious band). I can say that Maximus is a statement to the local music scene that says, "Malay pop isn't just about sloppy, leleh love songs, with typical java-scaled solos". They are a badass POP band. Yes, I'm being soooooo selective about pop music, and they aren't cheesy Malay pop which normally you would refer to bands such as Speen, Spun, Span, Spank or whatever.

Hujan
- Noh is a gifted musician. His talents in making music are definitely one of the biggest gifts ever for Malaysian music. And Hujan is one of the bands that, i believe, changed the music scene. Bukti? Aku balik kampung pun.. muka² yang selama ni rock kapak, now already using "Aku Scandal" as their ringtone. Got the whole idea? The vibes are just.. flowing. It's like from the beginning to the end, it keeps "BANG!" all the way. And to hate them is porbably the stupidest thing, except if you're jelous of them being the baddest band in Malaysia.

Love Me Butch
- A hardworking band, they are. Love Me Butch has always been the wonder of local music. To date, i never got bored of seing them performing live onstage (tak ingat berapa kali aku tengok diaorang - i lost count. zounds of times). Shahrul's always in a perfect condition, with great voice which he can scream himself out in anytime. Rare. And now, they're ready to spread their wings once more with their upcoming album. Watchout everyone, Meng's shredding this time with his Gibsons.

The Times
- Aku tak beberapa into diaorang masa first time keluar dulu. Idk why, i just don't. AFTER watching them live (pfft, again) at RTW6, baru aku sedar yang aku ni ketinggalan, just because of i'm not really a huge fan of britrock (tapi dok dengar OCS, Oasis and stuff.. sengal). Especially seeing crowd singing along with their songs that had struck me for the first time. And now they're going out loud with their third release, "Modern Minimalis Glamour", which i might say, one of the best local release so far. What more can i say? Nuff said.

Komplot
- I got the first introduction to them while I was lepaking with Ojie, Zwan (haha.. best la eja camni.. bleh? :p) and friends somewhere in Sunway, after Stonebay's performance in 2007 Merdeka's eve. One guy came, hand me a copy and asked me, "bro nak beli tak bro? Band ni best ni bro..". Without thinking much, i grabbed a ten ringgit note and gave it to him. The next thing i knew, i cannot stop from playing the CD for three days. Imagine those early 80's Jin Shamsuddin's film's? Yeah, that the vibe that you'll get from their musics.

They Will Kill Us All
- I got some troubles to recall their band name dulu.. macam² la keluar whenever somebody asked me about them: They Will Kick Us All la.. They Will Kiss Us All la.. hehe. Sorry! Humble dudes, with good musics. Well crafted, well combined, wise ideas that'll never get you bored. And after MONTHS of bugging them especially Ed and Amir with "Mana CD korang woiiiii..", finally i got one. And yes, it worth a wait, thats all i can say. :) Good job guys!

ROSIN
- Formerly known as Radiostar. Now, my comments won't be empshasising about the vocals, as we all knew (or for those yang tak tahu, take a note), Pot Amir is a guy that can.. LITERALLY sing. His voice is golden, even while he was with Innuendo. But what really makes me like them was their good, matured ideas of creating music. Lirik yang.. puitis.. ahaha. Sayang, masih ramai lagi yang tak tahu pasal diaorang.. and i hope that next time i heard from them, they won't be just a prom night, wedding, nor a function band anymore. They deserve the stage with those spotlights.



Gee, that was fast. Nanti aku sambung. 'Laters. :)