Pop rock act /rif begins indie journey after 20 years in music.

'€œWhen a man reaches 20, he is old enough to collect porn, smoke and sleep with anyone he wants [...] After 20 years, we feel reborn as a band and you can expect more fun from us,'€ /rif lead vocalist Andy said to the band'€™s adoring crowd at the Black Cat restaurant in Senayan, South Jakarta, on Monday night.

The band '€” Andi, Teddy on bass, Magi on drums, Jikun and Ovy on guitar '€” and its fans gathered at the restaurant to celebrate the band'€™s 20th anniversary and at the same time launch its newest single, '€œRum'€, which was recorded in Japan.

'€œRum'€, which is only available through digital download, marks the band'€™s faithfulness to its glamrock roots. It was composed by Andi, who said that the song was inspired by what he saw in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

'€œIn the movie, Jack Sparrow'€™s men use rum to boost their fighting spirit. So, I was inspired to write a song about rum because it can raise your spirits high to fight the battles we might face in our lives,'€ Andi said.

'€œWhy did we decide to record the song in Japan? Because it is our birthday and we can do whatever we want,'€ he added.

Doing whatever it wants is indeed what the band does best, as it showed during the 20th anniversary gig, in which its performed its greatest hits and its latest single live for the first time.

During the opening of the show, /rif warmed up the crowd by performing its 2004 single '€œArah'€ (Directions). The band followed up by performing its 1997 hit single '€œRadja'€ (King), a commentary on class envy that catapulted /rif into Indonesia'€™s rock elite.

Starting as café performers in Bandung, the band was one of the best-selling acts in the 1990s. Andi'€™s arch vocal style, flamboyant persona and signature Joker smile are alluring, while the band'€™s genial stage presence seals the deal for its loyal fans '€” calling themselves rakjat /rif '€” who have watched the band issue eight albums over the past 20 years.

Showmanship: Guitarist Ovy (left) on the strings, while Andi belts out a song.
Despite calling their fans '€œrakjat'€, or people, the band is spontaneous and entertaining during its performances, building egalitarian bonds with its audiences. Most of the band'€™s lyrics are conversational, less poetic, delivered with energetic tunes, proving every time that the band '€” more than anything else '€” takes pride in its musicianship, rock glamour and cheering fans.

Such things have been challenged many times. The band'€™s 20-year lifespan has been marked by frequent long hiatus periods. It took three years before it released its latest album 18 Years of Rock last year, while its previous album 7 came four years after Pil Malu (Shame Pill), its sixth issue.

The band members took a break at the midway point of the Monday night gig to interact with their fans.

'€œGive me celebrity names and I will mock them on stage,'€ Andi shouted to the crowd.

The crowd then responded by shouting out names of other rock n roll figures, including a music producer who has been heavily involved in TV talent shows.

He mocked the producer by referring to him as '€œsleazy'€, '€œmoney-oriented'€ and a '€œfake rock n roll superstar'€.

What Andi said about the music producer represents the band'€™s disappointment with recent trends in Indonesia'€™s music scene.

'€œA lot of parents ask me about how to get their children into a rock band so that they can get famous and make a lot of money. This is pathetic. When we started playing music, we did it because we loved it, not because we wanted to get famous or anything,'€ Andi said.

Andi also said that the recent trend of talent shows has played a part in changing the mindset of new musicians.

'€œWe cannot blame the singers who perform in those shows as most of them are properly trained singers, but these shows have somehow set up the mindset that you need to get famous first in order to make music, not the other way around,'€ Andi said.

To show aspiring new musicians how to live through music the right way, the band has written a book titled Mau Jadi Anak Band? (Want to be a band member?), which was launched simultaneously with its latest single.

In the book, /rif stresses that new bands and musicians need to become fully professional and have the guts to hang on to their creative idealism rather succumb to the market, which /rif has embodied by last year quitting the major label that supported its previous albums.

'€œOur most important career point as a band was when we decided to part with the major label to do things our way. It turned out to be the best decision we have ever made because on our own, we can be as creative and free as we want to be in making our music,'€ Jikun said.

To find out more about how to download the band'€™s latest single and book, follow /rif'€™s official website, rif-band.com.