Rocking to Jesus at SOF Cafe
Rocking to Jesus at SOF Cafe
By Devi M. Asmarani
JAKARTA (JP): Imagine a smoke-free bar that doesn't serve any
alcohol and stages live music performances that rock to Lord
Jesus.
No, it is neither a health bar nor a church. It's SOF (Souls
of Fire) Recording Cafe, located in the heart of Central
Jakarta's Jl. Thamrin.
Here, instead of a mug of beer, you get a glass of Shakes the
Soul, a mix of banana, vanilla, strawberry and mocha shakes.
Instead of alcoholic cocktails you get their virgin versions
which bear familiar names from the Old Testament: the Noah's Ark
Colada, Holy Sling, Holy Temple and the house-recommended fruit
punch Lion's Den.
But if you expect to find a bunch of religious zealots in
their Sunday dress, you better take a detour to a nearby church.
On the night The Jakarta Post visited, a band called White
Dove was playing a ska Jingle Bells. Its singer Jacqueline Losung
is a self-confessed former junky who now devotes her time to
gospel singing.
SOF's operation manager Hartono Prasetyo Wongsowijoyo, who
prefers to be called Pras, is the person who is working hard to
mold this new cafe into an image he thinks will meld business and
spiritual concerns.
Balancing the worldly and nonearthly factors, he came up with
the concept of a Christian bar that is not all that Christian, or
a secular bar that is not quite secular.
One plus: you can bring your small children to this cafe
without having to fear that they will be corrupted by the sight
of drunken adults, and without having to breathe other people's
obnoxious smoke like in other bars. In addition, you get to
groove to the funky but heavenly music.
"We are characteristically gospel, but we don't want to give
the place a churchy feeling," Pras said.
He has only one good reason: he does not want the bar to go
out of business. Citing the previous cafe before SOF as a
cautionary tale, Pras is determined to make his cafe last "longer
than six months".
Before there was SOF, there was Alleluia Kafe, and before
Alleluia Kafe there was the Jazz and Rock Cafe. Jazz and Rock
Cafe, a purely "secular" cafe which was quite popular in the mid-
1990s, was officially converted on Nov. 1, 1998, into a spiritual
cafe. It was later renamed the Alleluia cafe.
Several months later, Alleluia was bought by a Jakarta
businessman who prefers to remain anonymous. SOF opened on Nov.
5. If Alleluia was designed solely to serve the Christian cause,
SOF makes sure it does not.
"SOF is no charity, this is pure business. I was hired here as
a professional, not as part of a religious service," Pras said.
At Pras' SOF, Christianity is the soul of the establishment,
and this can be as subtle as the lyrics of the performing band's
songs or the offerings on the drink's menu.
But Christianity should not be the reason to come, Pras said.
He wants people to come for the music, for the food, for a great
number of other things. That is why the place is not exclusively
for Christians.
"People from all religions are welcome here. Aside from the
lyrics of the songs we play, this is a cafe. We don't
indoctrinate people," he said.
"Gospel is, after all, only one of music's many genres like
jazz and rock," he said.
As for the food, SOF provides a combination of Japanese and
Western dishes. Prices range from hot wings for Rp 12,500
(US$1.70) to pepper steak for Rp 42,500. It is more expensive
than a modest Jakarta restaurant but definitely cheaper than most
other cafes.
SOF currently stages live bands only on Friday (White Dove)
and Saturday (Be the One). Pras said he plans to have dancing
teachers in January to teach customers different kinds of dances
as another incentive for people to come to his cafe.
Soon, SOF will also sell live taped performances at the cafe
to customers, which is where the name "recording cafe" is
derived.
The cafe, located on the eighth floor of Menara Thamrin, is
open from 11 am to 11 p.m on week nights. On weekends it closes
at midnight. True to the bible, it only opens from 11 am to 3 pm
on Sundays.