AFTER about a month back from my band’s US Tour in May, I’m back on the road again for the next 10 days supporting (and helping with the logistics) for Indonesian singer-songwriter Rull Darwis’s Kembali Malaysia Tour 2023.

While my US jaunt with band Azmyl & the Truly Asia might not have been the most extensive – we only covered three cities, playing two back-to-back slots at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, Tennessee – the emotional experience of being there and performing did eventually wear me out when I returned to Malaysia.

I even managed to meet and take a wefie with rock legend Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin backstage.

While the travelling to the US did take a physical toll, the paperwork and visa applications leading up to the tour were most emotionally exhausting.

Imagine being excited but also having to temper the excitement in case we hit some bumps along the way. Being denied entry was a possibility that constantly played in my mind – in spite of having all the necessary travel documents, invitation letters and whatnot.

In hindsight, the entire experience of touring in the US was great one that will forever stay with me. 

I was so emotionally drained by all the excitement of being the frontman-cum-manager that I didn’t pick up my guitar at home until this past Wednesday, when I had a solo gig at Merdekarya in Petaling Jaya (I’m playing there Wednesday nights in June, come by!). It was also my first gig since the tour and a warm-up for the upcoming tour with Darwis which starts tonight in Kulim, probably the last place you’d expect to go to a gig but the independent/underground music circuit is more vibrant now than you think.

While I did feel a bit rusty on Wednesday night, my spirits were up as I had a special guest – a Malaysian volunteer, whom I met in Memphis at the festival and his son who was back to visit his family. They had brought also brough some of their Malaysian friends along.

I couldn’t have asked for a more uplifting night.

So here I am finalising the logistics for not only Darwis and his guitarist Stanly Bactian but also the other local acts joining us for the northern leg of the tour this weekend.

It’s tiring but I enjoy it. I have come to the realisation that as I grow older, the work and family commitments will take a toll on me if I don’t manage my time effectively.

Gone are the carefree days when I could just plan a tour and hit the road on a whim. Admittedly, I had been doing that up until last year, so I’m just being dramatic.

This is a way of life and I don’t intend to ever stop if my health – both mental and physical – permits. 

It’s not a life many can relate to. Even most of my musical peers don’t tour.

It’s a conundrum. Most touring musicians are of the independent/underground type with a day job like myself. That gives us the financial means to actually plan a tour.

A fellow singer-songwriter once said that our ilk have the “privilege” of being middle-class. I say the middle-class have a duty to be interesting.

To me, hell is a life of bingeing on Netflix  and doing the shopping mall routine on weekends.

I wouldn’t change a thing, no matter how tired I get. At least my exhaustion is mine.

So, wish us luck on this tour and I’ll report to you all next week. – June 9, 2023.

* 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.