I was, for the first time in my life, “coerced” into doing a
reunion special for Versus in conjunction with Hari Raya. But hey, there’s a first time for everything.
So now that day has arrived I have
decided to dedicate my blog post to a retrospective piece on Versus.
When I was approached by TV9 to discuss judging for a show
called Versus I loved the idea. It was
fresh and exciting but the only thing that was a hesitation for ALL of us was
the SMS vote and how it would affect a band with a fan base that was less likely to
vote. But all in all the idea was
something I believed in otherwise I would not have even considered getting
involved.
Understanding the background from the bands/industry point
of view is very important. Of all the
artistes the bands actually have it the hardest because they are less likely to
get dinner shows and endorsements that fuel an artists career and then there is
NO platform for them to expose their talent, lesser paying shows (no more
expos) or paying concerts, hardly any airplay especially if they are a niche
market (metalcore, punk,)
Our bands HAVE the ability to compete at an international
level but they lack the platform to hone their talent.
Bands need to perform live in order to grow and gain experience. We also do not have the support of the
government that has yet to understand that our pop culture is just as important
and significant to our society as is our mainstream culture.
The community at large still does not understand that liking
a band in NOT enough. The bands and
musicians need affirmative action in the form of buying ORIGINAL CDs, merchandise,
tickets, songs. They are not paid in
advance and MANY of them pay to make their own albums. Imagine they write (song & lyrics), play,
arrange, produce, record themselves; pay a studio, engineers, cover designer, printing,
pressing (CD), packaging, ALL WITH NO payment and NO guarantee of return. So if you hear the song and you like/love it,
you’re entertained by it, the LEAST we can do is pay for an original copy or
original download.
So when Versus came along I saw it as the perfect platform
to provide everyone a learning experience. It would allow the bands the freedom
to create without the thought of having to conform for fear of elimination, yet
they still had to win over the fans. But
if all the band exercised their creativity that would give the fans 5 different
opportunities to see what our bands can do when allowed to think outside the
box.
The other thing, which was very appealing, was that we would
be choosing old songs to be rearranged any way the bands wanted. Many were worried about the purists that
would condemn the new arrangements as “blasphemy “ but to them and everyone I
say - everyone has a right to how they feel.
Some like, other dislike that is the beauty of creativity… to each their
own. This would revive some of the
golden era repertoire that many have been forgotten or otherwise lost to an era
gone-by… I call it “looking back to go forward”.
The special thing about Versus was that ALL five bands that eventually
agreed to do this had different strengths that cannot be denied. From
creativity, musicianship, arrangement expertise, commercial viability,
performance skill each band had a combination of abilities. They all have popularity and they all have
sold respectable albums. It was an
exciting prospect to see what they would do.
For the moment we opened the door with Versus the bands were
out of the starting block with a vengeance with Black Parallax’s – Pada Syurya
Di Wajahmu (Nash), GoGerila’s – Biso Bonar (Hattan), Hujan’s - Lamunan Terhenti
(Aris Ariwatan), Sixth Sense - Kau Lupa Janji (Jamal Abdillah) and Sofazr - Tanya Sama Itu Hud-Hud (M.
Nasir), and as the weeks went by we saw
more and more sensational rearrangements, unique instrumentation ideas, exciting
performances from bands that were drawing inspiration from their talent and
influences. This forward thinking gave
the songs a new lease of life and a new following/fanbase yet still maintaining
a distinct Malaysian flavour.
This was a unique reality program that ended up teaching
everyone something.
For the bands being “forced” to deliver the goods week after
week, performing live in front of an audience, the ability to be creative without
borders and the pressure of competition (although friendly) produced the “best
of the best” from the bands. From this
the bands learnt their own strengths and weaknesses; and understood how far
they could push the creative limits yet still be accepted commercially. TO
BLACK PARALLAX, GOGERILA, HUJAN, 6IXTH SENSE and SOFARZ MY UTMOST RESPECT TO
YOU ALL.
As for the audience, watching the bands in this environment,
they got to see their professionalism, and learn to appreciate the ability,
inventive and edgy ideas that the bands delivered. Hopefully they will continue
to support these bands and their efforts in bringing something new to our
industry and scene.
For me it was a learning experience as to how hard it is
to critique talent especially when they are all good in different ways. I have tried to be as constructive yet honest
in my opinions but I too have been like the audience blown away and humbled by
the talent of all the bands. I have
always respected talent but this program has brought to light something I’ve
always known... that “Competition breeds excellence” and the competitive
environment drives you to do the best you can.
The HARDEST part of Versus is that there could only be one
winner. But in my heart of hearts those
who have followed the progress and development of Versus are all winners in my
eyes… the bands, the audience, TV9, Hotfm, the production crew and the judges…we have
been served a dish of creativity by some of the best cooks in the business.
Salam Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir Batin.
Peace, Love and Respect always
