Andi finds his stage habit is hard to break

JAKARTA: A tendency to break microphones during a show has become second nature for the lead singer of rock band /rif, Andi /rif – and it is proving a habit hard to break.

“It is just my stage act with /rif, but I never plan to do anything like that. It happens spontaneously,” Andi told reporters recently.

“So I usually prepare three microphones for every show.”

The 40-year-old singer said although he occasionally indulged his impulse during the band’s own performances, he tried extra hard not to when the band was taking part in musical events.

Not that he always manages it: Once in Malang, Central Java, he broke a microphone belonging to one of the show’s event organizers.

“I thought it was mine. When we got back at the hotel, my crew told me that the people who organized the show had complained that I had broken their expensive microphone. My managers later told me that they had had no time to set up my microphone on the stage,” said Andi, whose real name is Restu Triandy.

“I called them to apologize and offered to pay for the damage but they said it was OK.”

He said he usually gives in to the expensive habit near the end of a show when the emotions are running high. “It just flavors the show,” he said.

Andi and four of his friends formed a rock band called Badai Band in Bandung in 1992, doing occasional gigs at cafes and pubs in Bandung. A year later, they changed the band’s name to R.I.F., which stands for Rhythm In Freedom.

Then in 1995 they adjusted it to /rif for the release of their debut album in 1997, which held their hit “Radja” (King).

The band has released a total of seven albums including Salami, Nikmati Aja (Just Enjoy It) and Duniapun Tersenyum (The World is Smiling). — JP