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Posies founder gets intimate on tour
On Thursday night, Yogyakarta was rocked by storms, with the full complement of thunder, lightning and rain
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n Thursday night, Yogyakarta was rocked by storms, with the full complement of thunder, lightning and rain. But the heavens' performance couldn't drown out the music from Ken Stringfellow.
With just himself in the lead role for the night, the multi-instrumentalist showcased his talents to a small crowd at Teater Garasi, Yogyakarta.
The performance proved a great reward for those who braved the weather to show up, with two hours of good music to warm up the cold night.
A few days before, Stringfellow had performed at Black Studio in Jakarta, in another concert that is part of his Asia Tour. He has also played in Malaysia and Singapore, and is next heading to Taiwan and Vietnam.
So who is Ken Stringfellow?
Back in the 1980s, Stringfellow and Jon Auer formed indie band The Posies. The Posies made quite a name for themselves, with some well-received albums. They're still active today, but members have their solo projects too.
Stringfellow has also worked with the mighty R.E.M - yes, the legendary indie rock band from Athens, Georgia, USA.
Of course, you won't find his name on the band's lineup, but you will find it in their traveling party from the past. He played keyboards and did some harmonies behind Michael Stipe's lead vocals up until late 2007 - he served them for some seven years.
In explaining the separation in a posting on his personal website at the time, Stringfellow stated that the band would be going in another direction and didn't need his help for their stage performances.
Stringfellow's musical career shows his willingness to place freedom above everything else, meaning he can work with anyone and under any conditions. He has also worked with other big names of the 1990s such as Lagwagon or Big Star. Among his various other projects is a band called The Disciplines, for which he is teaming up with three Norwegian musicians.
His solo Asia tour is taking place around The Disciplines' commitments, another remarkable adventure to add to his career.
"I flew from Europe and only made a short stop at home for just few hours. Then I directly went to Malaysia," he said.
Even though his tour comprises small gigs with audiences of about 50, he put in every effort to make each moment matter.
"In Jakarta, I felt a bit tired. That gig was my fourth consecutive night playing. Then I had two days off and performed in Yogyakarta. So I was a bit fresh for the Yogyakarta gig," he told us.
In general, he found Indonesian met his expectations - which was expecting nothing at all.
"Those gigs were awesome. They weren't like normal gigs, you know? Here in Yogyakarta I met stormy weather and in Jakarta I experienced a more formal gig in an outdoor room.
"My show is simple. It just reflects the environment that I'm in while doing the show. It's more like a presentation or workshop than a concert. Tonight, the universe helps me with the sound of rain," he said with a chuckle.
"I just really wanted to come here, and present what I'm doing. The most important thing is that I can really come here and interact with people and make something of it."
His solo works have never been published widely in the region, so, using the language of music, he really wanted to come and say hello to everyone on the other side of the world from where he's living.
With impressive humility, this guy clearly realized that most of the audience at his Asia shows were not familiar with his music. So he always plays with no set list. Usually, it ends up with a two hour or so set.
"I consider everything's done. It's been in this form for years. I really love playing shows like this," he added.
The way he connects with his local colleagues who organize the shows was also interesting.
"I had no idea at all. I can make some assumption with MySpace and things on the Internet, but actually it's not real until you really come to the place," he said. "I really hooked with these people. It gives me a real insight into what's happening in music here."
After all these interesting stories, he pointed out why he has a need to do this kind of thing.
"It's completely direct. It's like not playing for the people," he said. "It's like having a conversation and being close to the people who come to see you."
