Going MAD to make a difference

JUST over six years ago, four young musicians wondered should they continue staying as who they were and where they came from — or just ‘go mad’.

Then one day, it happened. When they felt the timing was right to make a change, they simply went ‘mad’.

Of course, they didn’t go bananas, smashing up their guitars, drums and all that. What actually happened was after each of them split from their original bands, they came together to form a new group they called Mad August.

Why August? Because they made that crucial decision in August in 2011. Coincidentally, the number 8 — August being the eighth month — has a good connotation of success, unity and strength in the Chinese psyche.

Why Mad? Had they gone bonkers? Nothing of that sort actually — just that MAD is an acronym for Make A Difference.

They simply wanted to make a difference to their lives, at the same time, getting the message across that we can make a difference to our lives — and others’ as well — if we want to.

Mad August consists of four members, each with his own musical talent — Jim is on the guitar, Jeff (bass) Kit (drums) and Peter (vocals).

The young musicians are no stranger to the music scene, having done gigs at various nightclubs and pubs around Kuala Lumpur. They knew one another before coming together as a quartet.

Peter, from Kuching, already has 17 years experience singing at nightclubs while his bandmates Jim, Jeff and Kit were formerly with the band called Crossfire. They each have at least 10 years experience in the entertainment business.

According to Peter, Mad August plays Modern Rock and Emo Rock.

“We try to create an icon via music to manifest our ideology — that is to be courageous in pursuing the good things in life and living life to the fullest.”

He said it was Jim who first came to him with the suggestion to form their own band and record the songs they liked.

Peter said okay, why not, they could give it a try.

That was how Mad August was formed but at first, they didn’t let the press know. In fact, they didn’t tell anyone as they were stuck in their home studio every night, making their own songs.

“Eventually, we came up with some 200 songs in four months but chose only five for our first album,” Peter revealed.

The songs in their first album, released in June last year, were of Modern Rock and Emo Rock genre, a mastering album by Big City Recording Studio in LA (USA) and distributed by Warner Music Malaysia. The producer was one Peter Chong.

Getting monotonous

Before this, Mad August had mostly been doing the nightclub-pub circuit. The monotony was getting to them.

“We were starting to feel ‘rather tired’ of doing the same thing night in and night out,” Peter said.

The nagging question was how long were they prepared to be stuck in those places.

They realised they were still young and ‘something inside’ kept telling them there had to be something they could do to advance their career.

Peter explained: “Our goal is to make a difference to our young lives and if we succeeded, we would also like to try to  make a difference to other young lives.

“That’s why to start the ball rolling, we formed this band to make our own music, songs and albums. Our songs were played by the radio stations which also checked the lyrics. The first

album was very challenging because we wasted a lot of time with the lyrics. We kept changing but eventually went back to the first lyrics.”

The group would take about a month or so to come up with one song. The process involved writing the lyrics, recording a demo, rehearsing and editing, mixing and mastering the music.

According to Peter, the demo was quite fast — only half an hour. It was like a rough sketch — the first step — to secure the frame.

After that, all the necessary elements would be added before a second demo was produced from the first demo, he explained.

The demo songs would be played to friends and the people they knew to get feedback or suggestions on how and where to make improvements.

Life experiences

Peter said the lyrics of their first album, promoted mainly via radio stations, were based on their life experiences and knowledge, adding that their songs were generally to motivate young people.

“So far, thank goodness, we haven’t been bombarded with adverse comments,” Peter said before adding with a modest laugh: “There have been compliments and encouragement to date. Even if there were criticisms, we would take them as opportunities to see our own faults and improve ourselves.”

He revealed their second album was released recently and they were planning a promotional tour around the country hopefully next month, covering places like Melaka, Penang, Johor Bahru, Sabah and Sarawak.

The main song in the second album is titled First Instinct, featured in a CSR programme on NTV7.

Besides Mandarin songs, the album also features one Malay song — to reach a wider audience, according to Peter.

During the Malaysian Chinese Music Industry Award (AIM), organised by Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM) in Kuala Lumpur recently, Mad August won the Best Band Award in the Chinese category.

The group went for three categories — Best Music Arrangement, Best Album and Best Band.

“Actually, we didn’t expect to win anything because we were still quite new in this kind of thing,” Peter said, adding that during the awards presentation, they just sat at their table, not paying much attention to what went on around them.

“We arrived at venue around 10am and straightaway rehearsed for the competition. By the nightfall, we were already dead tired.

“So when the name of our band was called out, the four of us were stunned. It was surreal. We didn’t prepare any anything, you know, just in case we won — least of all a speech.

“But somehow, at that dizzy moment, we managed to handle the surprise incredibly well and we thanked everyone.”

Price of success

Peter said success, though exciting to achieve, often comes with a price. For them, it is shouldering the heavy responsibility of living it up to their reputation as an award-winning band.

“We feel the pressure weighing down on us — even today. We not only have to maintain our standard but also try to be better and better. The expectations of our fans are certainly much higher now.”

Mad August will continue to put their best foot forward with a vow from Peter to make their music ‘punchier, rockier and stronger’.

Their next target is the Best Music Arrangement and Best Album Awards.

On how they hoped to impact society with their music, Peter said: “Through the messages in our songs. Hopefully, they can inspire listeners to persevere in pursuit of their goals.”

He challenged young people, who were just stepping into the real world, to think about making a difference to either their own lives or to society.

“Anything at all as long as it’s for the better,” he stressed.

On their future plans, Peter said they were thinking of introducing their songs to Taiwan and China.

In fact, their manager is now making the arrangements. The group was supposed to hold a show in Mongolia on October 8 but had to cancel it because of an earlier commitment in Kuala Lumpur.

On how his family took his choice of music as career, Peter, choking a little, said: “They give me the freedom to do what I want. That’s the best thing about them. They say as long as I don’t do anything bad to spoil the family’s image, they will always support me.

“I have a younger brother and sister. They too give me their whole-hearted support. They respect me as big brother and always keep touch when I’m not in Kuching. I am always in KL. The last time I came back to Kuching was five years ago.”

Asked if he had a message for their fans, Peter said: “Thanks to our supporters from all of us. I hope they will continue supporting us. In return, we will strive to give our best to all.”