The Indecisive Exposé
I remember the time when I was completely new to bass guitar and had just joined my very first band.
I had almost no stage experience, and absolutely no idea of what it was to be in a band. At first, I was really quiet and awkward as I thought the other bandmates would be really serious when it came to practising and rehearsals. But as time went by, I realised it was very different from how I'd imagined.
First time practising in a studio!
ReVel Fest journey
“Indecisive”
We came up with our band name literally 3 seconds before we went inside the CO room for our audition. Of course, we tried to decide on our band name during our practices, but as “Indecisive” individuals, we were unable to settle on any of the names we proposed, so right before our audition, the following conversation transpired…
“Wait! What’s our band name??!!”
“Hmm...I don’t know... I'm okay with anything.”
“What about Indecisive!? We have to go in soon! Everyone okay with it?”
“Okay!” "YOLO"
That was probably the most decisive moment of our band - deciding our name in 3 seconds before our debut.
Our journey through Revel Fest wasn't completely smooth. There were difficulties along the way: getting criticised by judges during semi-finals, having to make last-minute changes to our song, worrying about the sound system before our performance… it was quite emotionally draining. But, in the end, we learnt and grew together through this journey. I recall that during our first audition, my hands were shaking, and I didn't even dare to look at the crowd! I remember how depressed I felt after the semi-finals when our performance received negative comments. But during the finals, when we were standing on the stage in the auditorium, I realised that we came together as a band not to compete or to win, but to enjoy the moments we shared making music together on stage, to appreciate the cheers of the crowd, and to show our best side during the performance.
“Can you imagine what we will be like on stage?” Min asked us when we first gathered as a band.
“I can't really imagine us on stage... I can't imagine especially myself on the stage.” I said.
“Well, no matter what, we will be there by your side.” I guess that is the best thing about being in a band, to know that your bandmates will always be by your side.
After ReVel Fest
ReVel didn't mark the end of our journey. There were other concerts to prepare for, and we even recorded a backing track for our friend Winnis who was participating in a xinyao competition.
We started to talk more about other stuff, about school life and their journey of music as practices became less stressful. Through these small meetups, I got to know more about my fellow bandmates: Min is always the one who tries to lead our discussions, but gets distracted and starts talking about his ‘love stories’; Vanessa appeared to be quiet at first, but she gets excited when talking about small animals such as cats. Weird things always happen to Chee Wen: Broken slippers, snacks stuck in vending machine… Gerald is always our happy pill and cheers us up with his weird and energetic shenanigans.
Each of us has his or her own talents which diversifies the band dynamics while still keeping the band together: Gerald leads as a front man with his powerful voice, Vanessa keeps everyone in tune while slamming beautiful arpeggios on the keys, Chee Wen keeps an impeccable drumbeat with his years of experience in percussion, and Min always thinks of creative arrangements for the songs while also playing the guitar. As for me, I support the band with my bass lines... I’m not so sure, but Min says I'm the best bassist he has ever seen, so I'll take his word for it.
Chee Wen once said, “I guess music brings people together.” Being in a band is a very different experience from being in a traditional ensemble; there is no right or wrong in what we do, there is no criteria or rubrics for us to strictly follow. We create our own music, stage our own performances, and we have fun together with a free-spirited heart.
Min once said, "I don't care if we win or lose. When you go up there and hear the crowd, you will realise... what an excruciatingly beautiful feeling it is. Just enjoy the stage."
What's next?
It is sad to know that there will come a day when we have our last performance, when we bid goodbye to our seniors who are graduating. But hey, I suppose we can always get together again whenever we feel like playing a song. We started our journey with the simple goal of “Let’s play a song”, and to this day, that has not changed. The joy of being one with music and my bandmates, recalling all the times spent in a little music room in the hostel, experiencing the emotions that hit us like a truck as we faced the crowd on stage... I will never forget them. And I know I can always count on Indecisive to be decisive about one thing: Playing a song together.
...if we can decide which song to play, that is.