Pee Wee Gaskins memulai karir sejak belia sampai para personelnya telah menjadi ayah. Bukan perkara mudah mempertahankan karir musik sampai sejauh ini, apalagi menjaga konsistensi untuk terus berkarya.
Album ‘Mixed Feeling’ adalah bukti konsistensi mereka dalam bermusik dan monumen penanda kalau para personelnya telah beranjak dewasa. Tema-tema dewasa dalam arti sebenarnya karena lagu-lagunya didominasi topik-topik setelah mereka menikah.
Dochi PWG
Dalam sebuah kesempatan, Dochi mengiyakan hal itu dan bilang:
“Judulnya tu Mixed Feeling karena selain mixed feelings karena diproduce Erix Soekamti bikin lagunya jad ‘soekamti-ish’ (ada 9 lagu dr 13 yg diproduce erix) pemilihan tema lagu juga yang lebih relate ke post-marriage”
Misalnya ‘Be Brave and Carry On’ adalah lagu untuk anak supaya ia tidak takut menghadapi dunia.
Darling, there’s so much in this world
From down here to the sky
Be brave and carry on
Don’t worry I hate to see your heart breaks
‘Cus life’s not always great
Open your eyes for terrible things
And you will be okay
Lalu kegalauan saat hubungan dalam rumah tangga mulai bermasalah juga dituangkan dalam lagu “Tonight”. Karena memang semua rumah tangga pasti akan ada masalah dan semuanya perlu dipikirkan dengan baik.
Take your time and think about it
Don’t rush to decide
Don’t forget to breath and take it slower
Make it out
Sansan Pee Wee Gaskins
Peran Erix Soekamti memang terasa di beberapa bagian, terutama dari cara bernyanyi Sansan di lagu-lagu berbahasa Indonesia. Hal ini katanya karena kalau lagi ada kumpul-kumpul Dorks (fans PWG) mereka nyanyinya lagu Endang Soekamti, harusnya lagu Pee Wee Gaskins. Album ini kemudian diproduseri Erix Soekamti adalah bentuk ‘kompromi’ mereka supaya Dorks memainkan lagu Pee Wee Gaskins di gathering berikutnya.
Album ini dipacking dengan berbagai merchandise yang perlu ga perlu sehingga ukurannya jadi sebesar kotak pizza. Cukup bagus untuk dipajang di rumah, terutama kalau kamu fans sejati band ini.
Paket album fisik ini kemudian diluncurkan dalam sebuah konser di MBloc. Dibagi dalam tiga babak yang karena kurang konsentrasi, saya lupa alasan dalam pemilihan masing-masing tema. Tapi kemungkinan melambangkan sebuah perjalanan.
Babak 1 mereka menggunakan celana pendek seragam, babak 2 dengan tampilan jas mereka tampil akustik, kemudian babak 3 dengan stelan kasual hitam-hitam. Mungkin celana pendek melambangkan masa belia, jas melambangkan menjadi dewasa sementara setelan kasual itu simbol kalau usia bisa bertambah muda tapi tidak menghalangi mereka untuk tetap bersenang-senang.
Pee Wee Gaskins
Setiap babak ada penampilan tambahan dari musisi-musisi yang rupanya adalah fans mereka sejak dulu. Di babak kedua misalnya ada Gloria Jessica yang penuh semangat nyanyi “Serotonin” lalu Baskara “.Feast” yang ikut di lagu “Satir/Sarkas” keduanya adalah fans Pee Wee Gaskins sejak awal.
Kemudian konser ditutup dengan “Dari Mata Sang Garuda” sebuah single dari tahun 2011.
Semoga bisa berjumpa lagi di panggung di waktu usia kita semua sudah cocok dipanggil opa atau oma. Saat itu mungkin judul lagunya “Dari Mata yang Katarak”
Jika dialbum sebelumnya mereka terdengar seperti remaja tanggung berusaha mencari perhatian dengan suara merengek dan baru punya synthetizer yang dibunyikan keras-keras setiap ada kesempatan. Maka dialbum ini perhatian sudah mereka dapatkan dan berhasil menciptakan berbagai anthem mulai dari yang nasionalis seperti “Dari Mata Sang Garuda” sampai bertema memberi semangat “Melihat Ke Depan”, juga anthem sakit hati karena kecengannya memilih orang laen “Sarkas Satir”. Dan yang terpenting, aransemen mereka sudah mulai tertata dengan lebih baik.
Melalui album ini PWG benar-benar menyuarakan kisah ABG-ABG masa kini yang sedang labil dan butuh sesuatu untuk menyuarakan hati mereka yang galau, sementara band-band cinta mainstream tidak keren. Meskipun bukan contoh yang baik dengan memajang illustrasi sambil merokok, tetapi album ini suka ga suka adalah milestone diribuan anak ABG Indonesia. Karena anthemic, berkarakter juga tema nya pas untuk mereka.
Cuma kalo gue rada bosen aja kalo didengerin berturut-turut beberapa kali, mungkin karena sudah lewat masa nya.
Setelah dua hari kemarin mencari calon pemenang utama yang menjadi wakil Hardrock Cafe Jakarta untuk bertarung di kelas dunia, akhirnya didapat Gugun Blues Shelter, CUTS, Pee Wee Gaskins dan the Changcuters untuk menunjukkan kebolehannya di malam final.
Masing-masing band mempunyai kekuatan karakter yang unik dan menurut saya menarik, mulai dari CUTS dengan electroclashnya yang mengejutkan, the Changcuters yang menghibur, Gugun Blues Shelter yang tehnik dan penjiwaan nya gila-gilaan dan Pee Wee Gaskins yang penuh semangat dan anthemic, semuanya memberi intepretasi baru terhadap lagu Bon Jovi.
Dan akhirnya terpilihlah Gugun Blues Shelter sebagai wakil Jakarta untuk bertarung, dan entah kenapa saya merasa optimis kalau kali ini Indonesia bisa bersuara lebih lantang di event dunia ini… *crossing finger and praying. 🙂
Bulan ini kita mengirimkan Pee Wee Gaskins ke Music Alliance Pact, karena kita kagum dengan perkembangan mereka dalam berbagai hal, terutama dalam hal musik dan banyak band bisa belajar dari mereka tentang pemanfaatan social-media, pengelolaan fans dan manajemen band.
Kalau kamu fans PWG, share postingan ini lewat facebook atau twitter. 🙂
Jika kamu tidak suka lagu PWG, ini masih ada 32 lagu lainnya yang bisa kamu coba dari berbagai negara.
ARGENTINA: Zonaindie Iguana Lovers – Bloqueada
The history of Iguana Lovers goes as far back as 1991 when they released Universo, their first album, which had a limited run in cassette format. Along with big acts such as Babasónicos and El Otro Yo, they managed to create a whole new movement within Argentine rock music, with a post-punk sound influenced by British bands like Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses and New Order. Bloqueada is from their new EP, International Mistery Man, which can be downloaded from their website.
AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They? aBillion – Soldiers
It may not be summer where you are right now, but it’s definitely summer in Australia – and despite the natural disasters there’s still enough sun and surf to make a song like Soldiers really hit the spot. Sydney’s aBillion has burst onto the blog scene riding the proverbial chillwave, engaging many of the micro-genre’s tropes but managing to make them their own. Although, there’s a lot of music like this floating around at the moment, Soldiers has enough of a hook and groove to it to make you tune in.
BRAZIL: Meio Desligado Cabruêra – Visagem
Cabruêra is a band from the north-east of the country who merge typical regional rhythms with contemporary music such as electronic and rock. They’re famous for their insane shows, always full of stage dives and crowd-surfing from the band’s frontman, Arthur Pessoa. Visagem is an instrumental theme that shares its name with their most recent album, which was released last year and is available for free download thanks to Petrobras, the Brazilian oil company that is the biggest sponsor of culture in the country.
CANADA: I(Heart)Music Fire And Neon – Everybody’s Going
Disco never died. It just went into hiding somewhere on the outskirts of Canada’s capital, where it was then discovered by Fire And Neon. They, in turn, nursed it back to health and made a debut EP full of irresistibly dancey anthems.
CHILE: Super 45 Namm – Stellar
Pablo Flores is one of the most iconic Chilean musicians. Aside from founding the experimental music netlabel Jacobino Discos, he takes part in several projects. In Namm, Flores joins Loreto Molina, Pablo Fuentes and Anita Gallardo in exploring synth-pop from an experimental perspective, but elegant nonetheless. Stellar is taken from his latest EP, Saba, offered under a Creative Commons license.
CHINA: Wooozy Re-TROS – Up Next: Bela Lugosi’s Back
Also known as Rebuilding The Rights Of Statues, this post-punk outfit formed in Beijing in 2003. Inspired by the likes of Bauhaus, Gang Of Four, Magazine and Joy Division, Re-TROS have become a mainstay in the Chinese underground scene. Hua Dong has one of the most piercing vocals and his distorted guitar lines add ‘darkness’ to the Re-TROS sound. The band have released two albums to date and have been very well received by fans and critics alike. They have been invited to support Gang Of Four for a one-week Australian tour at the end of February.
COLOMBIA: Colombia Urbana Cris Supra – Este Verano
Under the influence of R&B, Cris Supra gives us Este Verano, his new single for 2011. Supra is a representative exponent of the electro hip-hop scene in Colombia, with the principal base of his music coming from influences such as LMFAO, Pitbull, Lil Jon, David Guetta and Kid Cudi.
DENMARK: All Scandinavian Stupid White Men – Walk And Slaughter
Banjos, dobros, pathos-filled lyrics, dark emotions and a dusty Southern rock feeling. Sounds like a good combo to you? Then you’ll dig quartet Stupid White Men and their excellent debut album It’s A Fine Day To Kill Someone Nice, which was released last month.
ENGLAND: The Guardian Music Blog Star Slinger – Zonked
Darren Williams is a Manchester-based sample-mad musician who uses snippets of old songs, often classic soul and R&B, to create new tracks. Not for nothing has he been compared to the late, great J Dilla in terms of his ability to create amazing fresh sounds from ancient vinyl, while in terms of obsessive crate-digging for sonic gold he’s like a one-man Avalanches. “He takes a fragment, a pop particle, and uses its DNA to construct a brilliant new piece of music,” wrote our New Band Of The Day columnist recently, commenting that Williams’ ethereal, crackly take on sexed-up R&B made him a sort of cerebral R Kelly for bedroom lo-fi nerds.
FINLAND: Glue Moses Hazy – Something You Ate
From the far north of the Finnish Lapland, Moses Hazy deliver the first single from their third album. This is a pretty straightforward rock song with an in-your-face chorus and a bunch of acid notes to add some psychedelia to the mix. Danceable and fun.
GERMANY: Blogpartei Touchy Mob – Atlantic Back
Folk-techno, as Ludwig Plath calls his music produced under the name Touchy Mob, seems to be the natural connection of two currently popular genres that tend to be honest and plain. But as you listen to his songs and remixes you are drawn into hypnotic structures, great arrangements and Plath’s soft, gentle voice. Atlantic Back is just one facet of his talent – check out more songs from this promising Berlin-based artist on Bandcamp and Soundcloud.
GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda Exposed By Observers – Doubt Is Dead
Exposed By Observers frantically blend cheap samples, drum machine sounds, distinctive beats, clicks, bleeps and tightly-coiled guitars riffs with manic electro buzz and raw, squawking vocals. Yet they are less faithfully wed to punk and more interested in dance-derived rhythms. Doubt Is Dead is taken from their digital single, Fake Stories, the first in a series of monthly releases (there will be at least five parts). Visit Soundcloud to check out Fake Stories Never Get Old and their debut EP, Secondhand Youth.
ICELAND: Icelandic Music Maffia Rökkurró – Sólin Mun Skína
Rökkurró’s music is built around Hildur Kristín Stefánsdóttir’s voice and swooping strings. Their debut album Það Kólnar Í Kvöld… (“It’s Getting Colder Tonight…”) was released in 2007. Sólin Mun Skína is taken from their more mature second album, Í Annan Heim (“In Another World”), released last year by Icelandic label 12 Tónar and produced by Alex Somers, partner and music collaborator of Jónsi of Sigur Rós.
INDIA: Indiecision IAFWAY – Unsaturated
New Delhi hardcore act IAFWAY (short for “I Am Fake Who Are You”) are unlikely contenders for Indian metal glory. Still in school, the sextet can’t even legally buy drinks at the clubs where they hope to take their brand of screamo. Yet their videogame-inspired tunes bely a maturity well past their years. On Unsaturated, a track from their free debut EP, they bring together melodramatic hardcore trappings with an almost graphic novel-ish wielding of screamo à la Bring Me The Horizon.
INDONESIA: Deathrockstar Pee Wee Gaskins – Jakarta Is A Mistake
Pee Wee Gaskins divide opinion – lots of people hate them but even more love the five-piece South Jakarta pop-punk boys. Since their music has grown in maturity and their lyrics have become deeper, we should agree about the progress they have made. Put aside the band promotion, public relations and social media consciousness, it’s the music itself that continues to redefine the sound of PWG.
IRELAND: Nialler9 MOTHS – Slow/Down
The definition of ‘one to watch’ is an artist who is clearly adept at making music and impressing but maybe hasn’t gone as far as the album-making cycle. MOTHS aka Jack Colleran has a good excuse. He’s only 17 and still in school in County Kildare but he has already made a couple of standout electronic jams. Definitely keep an eye out for more of this goodness.
ISRAEL: Metal Israel Blank Divinity – In Another Life
Blank Divinity is a metal band from Ashkelon, a seaside city no stranger to rocket attacks. They rightfully boast transcendence over all metal genres into their own sometimes brutal, sometimes melodic and most of the time completely shredding brand just waiting to be picked up by the right record company. Their talent is undeniable (though their occasional female vocalist is not to my taste) and I can definitely see these guys playing the major European festivals one day. Check them out.
ITALY: Polaroid Green Like July – Flying Scud
Green Like July’s second album, Four-Legged Fortune, was recorded at the ARC Studios in Nebraska and produced by A.J. Mogis (Saddle Creek). In fact, it definitely has a Bright Eyes vibe but this song in particular, with its Dylan-esque mood (that organ, that bridge), is a pure folk-rock jewel, intense and fragile at the same time. I love the way it burns out when it reaches the last words, you can totally see the trembling light of the stars, and the night fades away.
MEXICO: Red Bull PanameriKa Marlento – As The World Turns
Marlento is one of those bands with the outstanding ability to stir vivid scenes on their listeners’ minds. This five-piece from Guadalajara sports a deviant mixture of influences within their songs, from Americana to New Wave, ebbing and flowing from furious post-punk to melancholic Mexican folk. As The World Turns is the quite catchy and tight first single from their sophomore album, Ludo, to be released this month.
NETHERLANDS: Unfold Amsterdam Nikoo – Shameless
There’s a real urgency to every sound this noise-pop outfit creates. Tribal drums clatter ferociously, while guitar fuzz emanates through the entire frequency spectrum, at times the mid-range riffs starting punch-ups with harmonic-fried highs. But drawing members from some of the Netherlands’ most underrated alt-pop bands (Foam, The Sugarettes, amongst others), raw and enduring harmonies are rarely far from the surface of the noise. Imagine all the fun and chaos of Baltimore’s Ponytail but with much less banshee.
NEW ZEALAND: Einstein Music Journal Popstrangers – Avenue
Noisy shoegaze collides with angry post-punk in Popstrangers’ songs. They released their second EP, Happy Accidents, in November on Shoot The Freak, and its five distorted pop songs instantly stand out. There’s a real menacing quality to the slacker vocals, drilling rhythm section and rusty guitars. Avenue sounds like a classic Flying Nun track in some regards, all pent-up aggression and hooky choruses dropping off to a sweetly serene bridge.
NORWAY: Birds Sometimes Dance Jonas Alaska – In The Backseat
Jonas Alaska is a 22-year-old up-and-coming singer-songwriter from Åmli. He’s currently living and studying in Liverpool and playing shows solo or with the band Homestead. He’s no doubt walking in the footsteps of Bob Dylan, but don’t be mistaken – he’s not a pale copy, rather a brilliant musician in the same vein. He spent the fall of 2010 recording his debut album and we can all look forward to its release this summer.
PERU: SoTB Kanaku & El Tigre – Bicicleta
Kanaku & El Tigre are a cool group who will revitalize our ears this summer. Bruno Bellatín and Nico Saba’s compositions take in folk melodies and experimental sounds made by any unusual instrument. Their stories talk about vices and selfishness, but also about sweetness and a weird hope. Bicicleta is from their first LP, Caracoles, a real hidden treasure.
PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco? Hipnótica + Unixx – Perfect Betrayer
T(h)ree is the name of a collaborative compilation featuring 33 bands from Portugal, Macau and Hong Kong. Hipnótica, who recorded and produced this track with Hong Kong group Unixx, is one of the most interesting Portuguese alternative bands and have been releasing music since 1997. Twelve-Wired Bird Of Paradise is their critically-acclaimed latest album and came out last year.
ROMANIA: Babylon Noise White Walls – The Lost Art Of Chapeaugraphy Part II
This month we’re presenting you something a bit different. Progressive metal that blends furious riffs with moments of calm, harsh vocals with melodic ones, alternating explosions with restraints. I’m talking about White Walls, from Constanta, four guys becoming ever more appreciated thanks to their live performances and debut album, Mad Man Circus, available for download via their label, Asiluum.
SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop Reverie – Get To Know Me
Reverie is the stage name of Louise Connell, a striking 21-year-old singer with a tempting voice and pop songs with hints of Martha Wainwright. Get To Know Me is such a flawless acoustic strum, it surely can’t be long before daytime radio is all over this. The track is taken from her surprisingly diverse debut album Melodies which you can download for less than the price of a glass of wine at Bandcamp.
SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To… Elektone – Falling Into You
Memories fade in and out of reality when it comes to Elektone’s dreamy brand of electro-pop. Started by Zulfadly Amin, a graduate of our National Arts Council’s Noise Singapore initiative, he and his merry band capture love and light waves as pangs of desire wash over Singapore’s bullet-speed society. Taking a moment to enjoy Elektone’s music is almost like allowing yourself to fall asleep in a mass rapid transit, dreaming of tomorrow as yesterday happens all around you.
SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK Auhm – Hide In The Fog
So far, Youn Sang Hoon is best known as the guitarist in the beyond lovely indie-pop act Donawhale, but with the band on hiatus that may well be about to change. In addition to occasionally supporting former MAP artist Apollo 18 on stage, he’s been making some music under the moniker Auhm. Hide In The Fog is a glorious post-rock track that is far from as shy as the title implies. Hopefully an EP will be out before the summer, but for now we’ll have to be satisfied with Auhm’s wondrous demo recordings.
SPAIN: Musikorner AtletA – Evasión y Victoria
12twelve were one of Spanish post-rock’s top bands. Out of its cinders and spirit, many creative adventures rose, AtletA being one of them. Composed of two former members of the aforementioned Barcelona band, Jaume L. Pantaleón and José Rosselló redefine their sound with a bigger experimental expression. Krautrock, synth loops and free-jazz structures dissolve and pass the baton that Pantaleón already held in Ruizpantaleón, shading the compositions with hypnotic brightness, as Evasión y Victoria shows.
SWEDEN: Swedesplease Stay Hungry – Against The Wall
I guess I should have asked for a couple of more songs from the straight edge hardcore band Stay Hungry since this one clocks in at only 1:27. Still, it’s a perfect use of a minute and 27 seconds – nothing is wasted in this band’s minimalistic aggro punk. I’m not a hardcore expert and am far removed from the scene, but to me these guys have it. Whatever ‘it’ is.
SWITZERLAND: 78s Death Of A Cheerleader – Flesh & Blood
Death Of A Cheerleader is a four-piece from Winterthur. They recently released Flesh & Blood, a forerunner to their debut album, recorded and produced by Magnus Lindberg in Sweden. The track is gloomy and haunting, six-and-a-half minutes full of No Wave in its best manner. If their full-length lives up to the promise, Flesh & Blood shows it’s going to get a cheerful release party.
UNITED STATES: I Guess I’m Floating New Animal – Last Winter
Atlanta duo New Animal command a wide variety of genres and sounds on their self-titled debut LP (available free here), from electro-pop to avant indie-rock. The anthemic and meditative Last Winter is a great example of their songwriting chops, just one of 15 reasons to love this emerging band.
VENEZUELA: Música y Más Rawayana – Bahia
Together since 2007, Rawayana fuse acoustic sounds with genres such as funk and folk to create something unique. Since mid-2009, they have been playing in the main bars of Caracas with bands such as Los Mesoneros, Wahala and Lebronch.
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