KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 — There is almost an unwritten list of guarantees when you get into a rock band in your 20s.
In no particular order, the terms read something like — unyielding energy, give-it-all passion, chemistry, success, failure, fortunate discovery, trial and error, touch of magic, making less money than you deserve and, for extensive periods, not giving a damn.
But then there are the inevitabilities — inflated egos, ideas with your bandmates once in sync now seemed to clash, sparks fly and, the big oh-no, squabbles.
It happens to the best of them. In spite of their reverence as “rock gods” who revolutionised pop music, The Beatles were only in their late 20s when they called it a day.
Did John, Paul, George and Ringo not realise they were creating the greatest albums ever as an unbreakable force, the Fab Four?
It didn’t matter. They were fed up with each other and decided it was better to go their separate ways.
Oasis, Guns N Roses, Sex Pistols, The Clash, Pink Floyd all fell to in-fighting with various dramatic fits of fury.
Malaysia’s LastLogic band members are bucking this trend.
Nick Davis, 30, Jonathan Voo, 32, Syahir Afiq, 28 and Travis Tan, 26, have been in the local music scene mostly in different bands for almost 10 years.
“The thing about being in a band, it must be a democracy,” said Syafir, formerly of alternative rockers The Marquee.
“It doesn’t have to be. But for the band to work and function healthily, decisions must be made democratically.
“We’ve been through conflicts and band fights. We know what happens next,” Davis added.
“Throughout the years we’ve grown as people too.”
LastLogic formed in 2015 with Davis and Voo recognising their respective desires to play in a band and not solo acts.
“I got so used to being in a band and I missed that energy of playing live and writing rock music,” said singer-songwriter Davis, who went solo in 2012 after his group Rosevelt disbanded.
One year earlier the indie five-piece had opened to 2,000 people for Incubus at Stadium Negara.
“I knew Jon from The Marquee, which also disbanded. We got together just to jam.”
Davis and drummer Voo pulled in Syahir as guitarist. Tan, on bass, was recruited online to complete the content quartet.
LastLogic have just finished recording their eponymous debut EP that will be launched later this month at The Bee, Publika.
The five tracks are a musical effort from four guys who have matured and are still hungry for success without the unnecessary drama.
Voo said: “What we’ve learned is we take each other’s opinions into account a lot.
“When you play in a band (difference of opinion) matters as it will show in the music. Being in a band is a matter of dealing with people and the music itself.
We’re more mature. We talk to each other respectfully.”
The opportunity to record the EP came along after a couple of live shows with their own songs.
LastLogic took the chance to record a demo under a Guinness Amplified campaign contest in late 2016.
The group woke up the following day to learn they were the winners.
“We didn’t know there was a prize to be won. The next day we were tagged on Facebook saying ‘Congratulations LastLogic — you’ve won a free EP with Big A Productions’,” said Davis.
The entire project was sponsored, “a blessing we don’t take for granted”, according to Voo, and the project gathered steam as recording began.
The usual cost of recording an EP for independents artistes, even with friends in the industry, is no straightforward task, they added.
“If we were to save up to do five songs in one go, we would not have the quality that we have with this EP or it would take a lot of time.
“We’d have to play shows just to save up,” said Davis.
Then there is the fact the four hold daytime jobs, in addition to having to work around producer Anthony Noel Yap’s schedule.
Some 18 months later, the outcome is a debut EP with sounds influenced by Deftones, Incubus and, unmistakably, 30 Seconds to Mars.
“These were all the bands we were listening to when we first got into music and that we still take inspiration from,” said Davis, who channels the low-ranging vocal style of Muse’s Matt Bellamy as he roars the verses to songs with titles Catalyst, Murderer and Battalion.
“We still look at the latest trends to achieve the modern sound but maintain the rock energy.”
It is a little dark and a little edgy, definitely heavy —Murderer is Voo’s favourite because of the “headbanging vibe” — but with a mixed degree of virtue and advantage, Davis and Co are ready to introduce themselves to Malaysia as LastLogic.
Kent Lee, 31, is temporarily stepping in on bass for Tan.
The group plan to tour the peninsular before heading to Sabah and Sarawak, with more long-term ambition looking north of the continent towards Japan and South Korea.
As Syahir puts it: “We’ve been pouring our hearts into these songs for almost two years. We can’t wait for people hear them.”
Catch the LastLogic EP launch at The Bee, Publika on April 22.
Admission is RM35 with a copy of the EP while stocks last.
