Azfar said on a Wednesday that he wants to compete in Battlefest 2008, a band competition by Muzuem Telekom with a 1^st prize of RM2000.00. When asked when it is, he replied that the audition is on Sunday (19^th October 2008) and that gives us 4 days to prepare. “What the heck,” we replied, “let’s do it,” and that was the start of a grueling 2 weeks.

Azfar’s a drummer, and he has been jamming with Andrew (guitar) and Izzah (bass) for some weeks now…but…we have a problem. No singer! Quick thinking brought Marcellus to mind, a vocal student at Rock City for 1 month. A quick call and Marcellus agreed, and so a band was formed. They decided to name it Rock City.

Now for the repertoire. Earlier, Andrew had already composed a riff and a song was written over it, but now with 4 days left, it had to be arranged. That we did, a metal verse that breaks in to a punk chorus. It’s about girlfriends that cheat. The other song that was decided upon was Sweet Child of Mine. However one problem remained, the music sounded thin whenever Andrew soloed so another guitar player was needed. But good thing, Marcellus can play guitar and sing. Solved.

Then came the practice. Only 3 in total (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) and moreover not all band members could make it everyday. On Saturday, the band got a shelling cos everyone was lost. “You all have to remember the flow of the song,” we said, “you know your own parts but you don’t remember where the song goes. Write it down if you can’t remember.” After that they played better.

Sunday 19^th October 2008, the auditions were held in a jamming studio in Ampang. Since it was a studio the band booked 30 minutes to warm up. Not all things worked well when the judges came in, for one Andrew snapped a string while soloing Sweet Child (good thing it was nearing the end) and had to use Marcellus’ guitar for their own composition, which reverted them back to a single guitar band.

The judges liked the song they wrote, though they said Sweet Child didn’t suit their image…whatever that means. I told them that by observation the band will get in to the finals on Saturday, 25^th October 2008. On Tuesday Azfar got the call. They’re in!

I reminded them that I believed they will be in the finals. Now they must play with conviction, with the belief that they can win. They got to play tightly as a band, work on their showmanship and the image they want to portray and Marcellus would need to assert more authority as the frontman. Interestingly he is a Sabahan with a slight punk Scottish accent…haha. I introduced Johnny Rotten of Sex Pistols to him for a point of reference, though Johnny’s English I reckon.

On the day of the finals, they were the second band to play. Admittedly, they were better during practices…a case of nerves on stage in front of an audience. In the end a veteran band with members in their 30s and 40s claimed 1^st prize, and though they came back empty handed, the experience has been rewarding. They learned much. Not bad for less than 2 weeks of rehearsals and playing together to gel as a group.

Next up, we are getting more venues for them to perform, and hopefully we can record that Girlfriend song quick.

Kit