“Anyone can play guitar and they won’t be a nothing anymore.”

~ Radiohead

I was a bassist of an amateur band when I was in secondary school but apparently I didn’t succeed at being one because my relatives were against my affiliation to music; they said my life is going to be miserable because a rockstar’s life revolves only during midnight – which judgmentally viewed to be occupied with drugs, sex, and drinking sessions.

Somehow, I remained to be a rockstar in my own world through writing. In fact, my strong affection for music and musicians of any sort remains and my frustration hunts me until now. Why do other people perceive rockstars’ life as gloomy and earsplitting? Is it because they have weird hairdos and always wearing dark clothes with tattoos and piercing all over their body, boisterously talking, smoking cigarettes, and drinking beers everywhere?

For every individual who thinks this way, it’s time to carry out your observation skill and think outside the box. I’m a certified non-alcoholic by nature, for I prefer to drink only on much selected occasions and couldn’t even waste myself in large amount of alcohol. But I am fully aware that rockstars drink beers not just because it’s part of their environment but due to the fact that they need it as much as they need their powerful voice and musical instruments. It serves as their vitamin, like what energy drinks are for athletes and sport enthusiasts.

Rockstars need such liquors as much as dying patients need doctors, medicines or even miracles; as much as celebrities need their talents, good looks, managers, and fans; as much as students need to study in order to pass all the subjects and finish school.

Just as a writer needs a pen, paper, computer or a yellow light bulb above his head and as a president needs the support of his party and majority of the citizens’ votes, rockstars need the messy kind of life they’re living. It’s called a hardcore life. Literally, it may seem hard, but it rocks! [Insert \m/ sign here]

No matter what comparison I make with them to anyone in our society, they are who they are. And they are unique like each one of us. They got their style that may seem strange to you. They like something that you might hate. They look very different to everyone else. They talk as if all they can say is, “Fuck you, this is me!”

But they don’t need to apologize if you don’t like their music or their looks. Behind their actions are their own reasons and purposes of doing such, which makes them “normal” people, neither aliens nor any weird creatures. It’s just a matter of appreciation and all. They were born with blazing energy to create music and an urge to share it to the world. For every strum on the guitar strings, there’s a story they want to tell. For every bass slap, there’s an answer they want to seek. For every rowdy blast of the snares, there’s an anger they want to abolish. For every scream of song lyrics, there’s a conquered fear. And with every performance, there is a dream that’s coming into life.

If you think that rockstars are the guys who are rooted for bad guys in the movies, you are wrong. They perform not only for their own sake, but because they like to convey a message. Music crawls in their veins like blood circulating all over the human’s body. The secret of understanding its message is to listen to it live or through radio, MP3 player, Ipod, or whatever gadgets this modern generation has to offer.

More than being rakistas, they are indeed real passionistas. They fuel their passion and burn it through song compositions. They perform as if it’s the end of the world to express themselves and their feelings so others can engage to it once the situation is equivalent to what they’ve been through.

Yes, they do it for a living and it is the main reason why there’s more to life than just breathing.

Every epic night is significant to their lives and no matter how they deny it, the only thing that rockstars want to do is uplift the music industry and leave a legacy without asking anything huge in return, but just for everyone to listen and enjoy the beat.

Rock In Peace, Karl Roy.