I AM going on tour this month after a long while of false starts due to the pandemic and the random nature of the current variant sneaking into our lives when we least expect it.

I finally popped my positive cherry earlier in the month and, aside from my immediate concern about my family (my wife and kids tested positive too), I had to also cancel two scheduled solo performances at Merdekarya.

On a positive note though (pun intended), the independent and underground live music scene is catching up on lost time with a vengeance.

I had planned to also have Malacca on my tour roster this month or September but all the available venues and jamming studios (yes, jamming studios are alternatively live venues in the underground scene if you didn’t know) were all booked for the two months.

August and September are traditionally very popular months for live music events because of the almost month-long festivities with Merdeka Day on August 31 and Malaysia Day on September 16.

This is the first Merdeka in a very long while that I haven’t had a gig scheduled, even online (I’m attending my cousin’s wedding).

I have one band gig happening on Malaysia Day – a blessed date that I’ve launched two of my recent albums.

This is the alternative Malaysia that most Malaysians have very little knowledge about and this is the Malaysia that is an endless source of faith in our youths and the older “young at heart” (myself included).

Live music gigs are organic sites of diversity most propagandists would have wet dreams about but naturally are unable to emulate because culture always sprouts from the grassroots, not from above. You can’t force culture to happen.

It is easy to get lost in disillusionment in the Klang Valley since the nature of our social lives tend to be disconnected from the others who are closest to us physically – the modern high-rise apartment is a perfect example of this.

There is a tendency to shut ourselves off from others when we are stacked on top of each other in the sky compared to a more terrestrial abode like terrace houses.

I mention this because in between my solo set on Wednesday (the first stop of my tour) at Merdekarya, I had a chat with a journalist fan of mine about how we tend to forget the still very noticeable gap between the Klang Valley with the rest of the country, especially rural Malaysia.

As a journalist, he would be on assignment quite often outside of the capital and often when returning to urban sprawl, he reflected on how drastic the difference can be, especially if one is born and raised outside of the capital.

As a Klang Valley native, I look out to rural Malaysia to reset my own disillusionment and touring is always the best antidote for me.

I don’t necessarily tour just for the sake of performing and earning tips but coming from the underground music scene, it is my way of trading my wares in the form of merchandise – music CDs, cassettes, T-shirts etc – to help fund the journey.

We don’t get rich doing this but our souls are richer because of it. It’s a way of life.

I should be arriving at The Canteen At Chinahouse in Georgetown – a regular venue I play every time I tour and play in Penang – which is the live music section at the back of the larger popular restaurant known as Chinahouse.

The live gigs there usually end with a jam session between the featured bands or performers of the night if the chemistry is right.

I am looking forward to my power trio band Azmyl & the Truly Asia’s debut Penang show here tonight.

Each venue in different towns is different depending on the local scene, the local economy, and especially the primary business that keeps the venue afloat financially.

My last stop on the August tour is Ipoh at Dream Projects Ipoh, a venue that specifically caters to the local music scene and youth culture, a cultural and community centre of sorts.

If you didn’t know (which is the case), Ipoh has a great reputation of producing indie rock bands with a lively and tight community of not only musicians but artists and writers too.

It is on tour outside of the Klang Valley that I keep my network for gigs alive and the most important part is meeting and making new musician friends through which we build empathy as much as solidarity, while also bridging the generational gap.

While the practice of touring in this endemic period is still riddled with uncertain or last-minute changes, one must adapt and adjust to keep musicking alive. – August 19, 2022.

* Azmyl Yunor is a touring underground recording artiste, and an academic in media and cultural studies. He has published articles on pop culture, subcultures and Malaysian cultural politics. He adheres to the three-chords-and-the-truth school of songwriting, and Woody Guthrie’s maxim “All you can write is what you see”. He is @azmyl on Twitter.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.