Adrie stays grounded dealing with the stars

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Music promoter Adrie Subono scratched his balding pate while browsing the list of riders -- or requests -- sent by Mariah Carey for her Feb. 15 concert here.

So what becomes a diva most?

The long list ranged from detailed requests on specific nibbles, beverages -- Diet Sprite, Diet Snapple and gallons of spring water -- to the types of sofa and pillows that must be provided.

"I've been doing this stuff for 10 years ... but, still, I feel like crying when I see the riders on the contract," sighed Adrie, who turns 50 on Sunday.

With dense tufts of shoulder-length hair on his otherwise bald head, craggy features, the muscled body of the fighter he says he is and an earring in his left ear, tears would not make for a pretty picture.

Thankfully, he was speaking rhetorically: Adrie, firmly established as a leading entertainment promoter, has learned to take the idiosyncrasies of the stars in his stride.

Since establishing Java Musikindo in 1994, he has staged a number of concerts for artists such as Mr. Big, Alanis Morissette, The Corrs, Boyzone, the Cranberries and Suede, usually to sold-out crowds.

The company impresses with its professional handling of security, the audience and the media in a field often populated by those who are learning on the job.

"Many wonder why I'm willing to waste money and invite around 300 reporters to cover my event. But we can't just think of money, we have to consider the marketing value when the media writes about us," said the genial, outgoing man.

He might not get off on feeding his ego with awards, but his professional attitude has paid off. On Thursday, he was ranked 13th among the top 50 local entrepreneurs of the year, given by the Jakarta office of Bermuda-based giant consulting firm Accenture, which cooperated with Swa business magazine and the Association of Young Indonesian Entrepreneurs (HIPMI).

"That means people have started to appreciate the profession of promoter, which is good. I'm really glad," he said.

Things were very different when he started out 10 years ago by organizing a concert for American rock group Saigon Kick.

"Hardly anyone wanted to do the job. People thought that being a promoter was as simple as hiring an artist and renting a venue. It's not. It's really complicated and needs extra effort. You can see it yourself in this," he said, pointing to the copious Carey demand list.

"But we manage to do it, because we have a system. Java has only nine staff, young people, mostly women. But they know their job well. After Mariah, there will be (rock group) Korn on Feb. 25. No problem. Why? Because we have the system and we're professional."

The system was fine tuned from his more than 20 years experience in a wide range of business fields before he made the switch to showbiz.

A high school dropout ("I was such a rebel"), he started out as a paper supplier, later branching out into shipping, forwarding, oil and telecommunications.

"Back in 1978, the economy was thriving. Development was everywhere and this country was rich because of the oil boom. Employment was abundant and whatever you did, you could earn a profit from it. So, even though I dropped out of school, I could manage to do something."

He also does not deny that it helped that former president B.J. Habibie is his mother's younger brother.

"Of course I got privileges, I'm not a hypocrite. I couldn't say no, either, because I had to survive. But I don't think I crossed the line, because otherwise people would talk, but they don't. Because I'm not greedy, and I know when to stop."

Adrie described himself as a fighter, not willing to stop until he comes up against a brick wall. He considers this unrelenting drive the key to his success.

He went into music because he wanted to do what he liked ("I love blues and I'm crazy about Eric Clapton").

His philosophy is to work hard and earn money for 20 years, and then enjoy life, right about the point where he is now.

"Even so, I never work all day and all night. Family is my first priority, I always have dinner at home," said Adrie, who plays guitar and has a collection of 35 of the instruments.

The family man image is not an idle claim: Adrie is always seen about town with his wife, former model Chrisye Subono, 50, and his three children -- Melanie, Christy and Adrian -- also work with him.

"What is life if not for family? I love my children so much that I become overprotective. My son in law was shocked when I challenged him to a fight before marrying Melanie. It's not about winning or losing, but I must be satisfied that my children will be protected and in good hands," he said, saying Chrisye's patience helped defuse his temper.

He credits his uncle Habibie for teaching him the importance of family. Rebellious Adrie was sent by his father, a military officer, to Germany at the age of 16, where he stayed for eight years.

When his father died four years later, Habibie became a father figure to him.

The core strength of Adrie's marriage comes through in the mixed faiths of his family: He and his son are Muslim, while his wife and daughters are Christians.

"There has never been any problem because of that, as far as I remember. We respect each other's beliefs very much. It's a personal thing, why we should make a problem out of it?"

Adrie discovered a greater appreciation of life when he narrowly escaped injury during the JW Marriott bombing last August. His office is in Plaza Mutiara, adjacent to the hotel, and it also suffered damage in the blast.

"I was in the toilet at the time when the bomb hit the window where my desk was," he said, pointing to a slightly shredded curtain.

He was traumatized, unable to leave his home or even consider traveling by plane. He now takes the incident as a sign that he needs to be more patient and submit to God.

For now, he said, he will let go and enjoy life.

"I can work all night, but for what? If I can enjoy it, then what more can I enjoy? I don't have anything, I don't have hair -- I'm ugly," he laughed.

And when I quoted a fellow reporter who considers him as falling into the category of "sexy ugly," defined in the sleeper hit Kissing Jessica Stein, Adrie only laughed harder.