Rocker Duki Sadikin proves age no reason to stop singing
Rocker Duki Sadikin proves age no reason to stop singing
JAKARTA (JP): How old is Mick Jagger? Fiftythree. And he still
sings.
This is what Duki Sadikin, singer and leader of the Seven Oz
rock band, says every time people urge him to stop singing.
Duki is 48 years old now, and has two children.
He looks younger on stage at the Classic Rock pub, wearing
black denim and boots, making gestures typical of rock singers
while singing songs from such groups as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple
and the Rolling Stones.
And no-one would believe that he is a middle-ranking official
at Jakarta's Treasury Office.
His uncle, Ali Sadikin, Jakarta's former governor, always
scolds him "It's a disgrace for a man of your age to sing rock
songs".
"Mick Jagger is older than me and he still sings," Duki
answers.
Ali usually counters: "Don't compare yourself to Mick Jagger.
He is a singer, you are a governmental official."
So the show must go on. Duki and his group perform every
Monday. His family has no problem with his hobby, but are not
interested in watching his gigs either.
His colleagues and superiors also know about his musical
activities but they don't object since he always comes to the
office on time.
"I sing for fun," he smiles.
For Duki, rock music is a passion.
When Elvis Presley and the Beatles came to shock the
world with their music in the 50's and 60's, Duki and his peers,
like all young people, all over the world, were hooked.
As for Duki and his friends, they thought they had to be
handsome like the Beatles to be rock singers.
"Fortunately, Mick Jagger with his Rolling Stones saved us. We
thought: 'Ugly people can also sing rock songs'.
Duki and some high-school friends formed "Jack Celene" in
Bandung when famous singer-composer Deddy Dores and renowned
drummer Jelly Tobing were just starting their musical careers
there.
But Duki's paradise did not last long. In the middle of the
1960s, Sukarno banned all rock music, dismissing it as poison.
They still played it, but were often caught by the military.
"I was once sent to prison with a shaved head," Duki recalls.
After Sukarno's regime collapsed, the ban on rock songs was
lifted and Duki and friends could sing again. But he dropped out
of Padjadjaran University in Bandung before getting a job at the
Jakarta's treasury office.
"Now I sing rock again. Rock music makes you young, you know.
Thank God, my career hasn't gone very well. If I were a boss now,
I would have no time to sing," he sniggers.
Seven Oz aren't famous. They haven't produced an album yet
and only get Rp 100,000 (US$44.5) each per show.
Except for the singer, Deddy Stanzah, a former member of the
legendary rock group Rollies, the band doesn't have any big names
in Indonesian music.
On guitar is Donny Suhendra, one of the three guitarist in the
country who signed contracts to use Fender products; there is a
bassist, and a keyboard player, Iwan Gajah. The youngest is
Salesadon, 28, who has a voice like Rod Stewart's and is often
hired by local studios to fake Stewart's voice on "own-brand"
recordings.
Although they have yet to make a name for themselves, they are
happy, particularly Duki. (jsk)