"So long, it was so long ago"
"But I've still got the blues for you"
Rock fans may be familiar with the above lyrics taken from Gary Moore's Still Got the Blues, which became a universal anthem for rock bands of yesteryear, including Harley Angel -- arguably the best rock band Bali has ever produced.
The song was performed by Harley Angel Junior at Harley Angel's 24th anniversary party at Warung Tresni, Denpasar, on July 24, 2008. The band, legendary in its time, proved it still did "got the blues," even if it had been in a vacuum for more than 10 years.
Reborn with younger members, Harley Angel Junior consisted of four junior high school students; Kevin on keyboard, Gung Harley on guitar, Dadek on bass and Gung Gus on the drums.
Vocalist I Gusti Lanang Ngurah M Danangjaya was borrowed temporarily from the Red Class Band, another aged band from Bali's past.
The younger musicians had no difficulty dealing with the more difficult tones of the aging rock songs which impressed many veteran musicians and rock lovers who packed Warung Tresni that night.
The senior audience may have suffered a mild cardiac arrest if they knew these junior rockers had only rehearsed twice before their performance.
"The members met coincidentally. They were all introduced by members of Harley Angel (senior)," Danangjaya told The Jakarta Post.
While the young band had gathered just for the party, they could form a permanent band if they had a vocalist their age, Danangjaya said.
"I hope they are a success and have better quality music and, ehm, lives, than the older generation of musicians had," he said.
Other young musicians who performed Sunday included Yande, The Wheels and a talented guitarist called Krisna.
After seeing their performance, Putu Indrawan, former bassist of Harley Angel (senior) said the young band were very talented, so he expected its members would go on to play important roles in the music industry.
"We are getting older, but we are still musicians, so we are very pleased to see young talent appearing to replace older musicians like us," Harley Angel (senior) drummer Kabe said.
Established in 1980, the band was initially given the chic name "Primitive Rhythm". It comprised guitarist Manto, keyboardist Dodot, drummer Kabe, bassist Putu Indrawan and vocalist Bambang. The group changed the band's name to Harley Angel in 1982.
The first three members are still in the music business either as teachers in other bands, while the others have focussed on their family businesses.
"This is like a reunion for the older generation of musicians in Bali, because we do not celebrate this every year -- nor do we have a chance to meet each other regularly," Indrawan said.
The event was held to encourage young musicians in Bali to make inroads into the music industry both locally and at a national level, he said.
On the night of the anniversary, Harley Angel also launched a public library at Warung Tresni, with a growing collection of 100 books for children.
"This library is open to the public," Indrawan said, explaining that his friends had donated the books.
"I hope more people donate books," he added.
"Besides regeneration in music, we also hope to promote regeneration in terms of knowledge and education for children in Bali. We hope our children will have more and better ideas and be more creative than us so they can bring fresh ideas to the music in Bali," he said.
The Harley Angel Junior performance that night was proof that Bali's younger musicians are more than ready to continue in the legacy of the founding fathers of Balinese rock and roll.
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