Adrie stays grounded dealing with the stars<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Music promoter Adrie Subono scratched his balding pate while
\nbrowsing the list of riders -- or requests -- sent by Mariah
\nCarey for her Feb. 15 concert here.<\/p>\n
So what becomes a diva most?<\/p>\n
The long list ranged from detailed requests on specific
\nnibbles, beverages -- Diet Sprite, Diet Snapple and gallons of
\nspring water -- to the types of sofa and pillows that must be
\nprovided.<\/p>\n
"I've been doing this stuff for 10 years ... but, still, I
\nfeel like crying when I see the riders on the contract," sighed
\nAdrie, who turns 50 on Sunday.<\/p>\n
With dense tufts of shoulder-length hair on his otherwise bald
\nhead, craggy features, the muscled body of the fighter he says he
\nis and an earring in his left ear, tears would not make for a
\npretty picture.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, he was speaking rhetorically: Adrie, firmly
\nestablished as a leading entertainment promoter, has learned to
\ntake the idiosyncrasies of the stars in his stride.<\/p>\n
Since establishing Java Musikindo in 1994, he has staged a
\nnumber of concerts for artists such as Mr. Big, Alanis
\nMorissette, The Corrs, Boyzone, the Cranberries and Suede,
\nusually to sold-out crowds.<\/p>\n
The company impresses with its professional handling of
\nsecurity, the audience and the media in a field often populated
\nby those who are learning on the job.<\/p>\n
"Many wonder why I'm willing to waste money and invite around
\n300 reporters to cover my event. But we can't just think of
\nmoney, we have to consider the marketing value when the media
\nwrites about us," said the genial, outgoing man.<\/p>\n
He might not get off on feeding his ego with awards, but his
\nprofessional attitude has paid off. On Thursday, he was ranked
\n13th among the top 50 local entrepreneurs of the year, given by
\nthe Jakarta office of Bermuda-based giant consulting firm
\nAccenture, which cooperated with Swa business magazine and the
\nAssociation of Young Indonesian Entrepreneurs (HIPMI).<\/p>\n
"That means people have started to appreciate the profession
\nof promoter, which is good. I'm really glad," he said.<\/p>\n
Things were very different when he started out 10 years ago by
\norganizing a concert for American rock group Saigon Kick.<\/p>\n
"Hardly anyone wanted to do the job. People thought that being
\na promoter was as simple as hiring an artist and renting a venue.
\nIt's not. It's really complicated and needs extra effort. You can
\nsee it yourself in this," he said, pointing to the copious Carey
\ndemand list.<\/p>\n
"But we manage to do it, because we have a system. Java has
\nonly nine staff, young people, mostly women. But they know their
\njob well. After Mariah, there will be (rock group) Korn on Feb.
\n25. No problem. Why? Because we have the system and we're
\nprofessional."<\/p>\n
The system was fine tuned from his more than 20 years
\nexperience in a wide range of business fields before he made the
\nswitch to showbiz.<\/p>\n
A high school dropout ("I was such a rebel"), he started out
\nas a paper supplier, later branching out into shipping,
\nforwarding, oil and telecommunications.<\/p>\n
"Back in 1978, the economy was thriving. Development was
\neverywhere and this country was rich because of the oil boom.
\nEmployment was abundant and whatever you did, you could earn a
\nprofit from it. So, even though I dropped out of school, I could
\nmanage to do something."<\/p>\n
He also does not deny that it helped that former president
\nB.J. Habibie is his mother's younger brother.<\/p>\n
"Of course I got privileges, I'm not a hypocrite. I couldn't
\nsay no, either, because I had to survive. But I don't think I
\ncrossed the line, because otherwise people would talk, but they
\ndon't. Because I'm not greedy, and I know when to stop."<\/p>\n
Adrie described himself as a fighter, not willing to stop
\nuntil he comes up against a brick wall. He considers this
\nunrelenting drive the key to his success.<\/p>\n
He went into music because he wanted to do what he liked ("I
\nlove blues and I'm crazy about Eric Clapton").<\/p>\n
His philosophy is to work hard and earn money for 20 years,
\nand then enjoy life, right about the point where he is now.<\/p>\n
"Even so, I never work all day and all night. Family is my
\nfirst priority, I always have dinner at home," said Adrie, who
\nplays guitar and has a collection of 35 of the instruments.<\/p>\n
The family man image is not an idle claim: Adrie is always
\nseen about town with his wife, former model Chrisye Subono, 50,
\nand his three children -- Melanie, Christy and Adrian -- also
\nwork with him.<\/p>\n
"What is life if not for family? I love my children so much
\nthat I become overprotective. My son in law was shocked when I
\nchallenged him to a fight before marrying Melanie. It's not about
\nwinning or losing, but I must be satisfied that my children will
\nbe protected and in good hands," he said, saying Chrisye's
\npatience helped defuse his temper.<\/p>\n
He credits his uncle Habibie for teaching him the importance
\nof family. Rebellious Adrie was sent by his father, a military
\nofficer, to Germany at the age of 16, where he stayed for eight
\nyears.<\/p>\n
When his father died four years later, Habibie became a father
\nfigure to him.<\/p>\n
The core strength of Adrie's marriage comes through in the
\nmixed faiths of his family: He and his son are Muslim, while his
\nwife and daughters are Christians.<\/p>\n
"There has never been any problem because of that, as far as I
\nremember. We respect each other's beliefs very much. It's a
\npersonal thing, why we should make a problem out of it?"<\/p>\n
Adrie discovered a greater appreciation of life when he
\nnarrowly escaped injury during the JW Marriott bombing last
\nAugust. His office is in Plaza Mutiara, adjacent to the hotel,
\nand it also suffered damage in the blast.<\/p>\n
"I was in the toilet at the time when the bomb hit the window
\nwhere my desk was," he said, pointing to a slightly shredded
\ncurtain.<\/p>\n
He was traumatized, unable to leave his home or even consider
\ntraveling by plane. He now takes the incident as a sign that he
\nneeds to be more patient and submit to God.<\/p>\n
For now, he said, he will let go and enjoy life.<\/p>\n
"I can work all night, but for what? If I can enjoy it, then
\nwhat more can I enjoy? I don't have anything, I don't have hair
\n-- I'm ugly," he laughed.<\/p>\n
And when I quoted a fellow reporter who considers him as
\nfalling into the category of "sexy ugly," defined in the sleeper
\nhit Kissing Jessica Stein, Adrie only laughed harder.<\/p>",
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