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The joy of talking: Rock stars shift gears as YouTube hosts
Rock stars are turning to YouTube to host their own talk shows. A permanent pivot or a pandemic pastime?
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Hanging out: Superglad front man Lukman “Buluk” Laksmana (left) with The Upstairs singer Jimi Multhazam (center) and actor Ricky H. Malau. Many band front men have started their own YouTube talk shows and garnered a lot of success from it. (JP/Courtesy of Ngobryls)
W
hat is the appeal of watching people having conversations? Scene celebrities Erix Soekamti, Jimi Multhazam, Eka Annash and Lukman “Buluk” Laksmana are so fond of talking with their friends that they believe their fans would love to have a glimpse of what it’s like to hang out with them. With thousands of loyal viewers crowding their personal YouTube channels, it is clear they are not mistaken.
The pioneer
Among the names, Erix Soekamti from the Yogyakarta-based pop punk unit Endank Soekamti has been at it longest. He started his massively popular channel in 2011, with a series titled DOES (Diary of Erix Soekamti). Its popularity and casual quality proved to be inspirational for other front men.
“I started this channel as a personal diary. I always document all of my activities with my band during tours, and at that time I wanted a separate outlet to archive my personal activities to differentiate from that of my band, ” he told The Jakarta Post. “I posted these videos on YouTube and it turns out people like to watch them.”
“Now I have the habit of carrying a camera everywhere and documenting all of my activities. Nothing is staged,” he claimed.
The channel now has over 300,000 subscribers, many of whom are fans of Endank Soekamti. The diary typically contains his daily life with his family as well as his travels around Indonesia sponsored by various enterprises. As the channel grew, Erix expanded his project to building Does University, a school for children who want to learn skills for creative industries, free of charge.
“I said in one of the videos that I wished I could build a school for children who want to learn creative skills, the kind of skills that are not taught at formal schools. In that video I said I wondered if I activate a fundraising platform, would my viewers chip in to help make my dream come true. Turned out they did, enthusiastically,” he said. The DOES University is now admitting its 8th batch of students.
