Superman Is Dead
SID, punk rock pioneers of Bali, were born and bred in Kuta Rock City. The band is three chord attitude-heavy young men, by name:
" Bobby Kool (lead vocal, guitar, a dog lover and a graphic designer)
" Eka Rock (low ridin' family man, beer drinker, laid back bass and backing vocal and a warm smilin' Rock 'N Roll bandman)
" Jrx ( low ridin' beer drinking Rock 'N Roll prince charming, drummer and a hairwax junkie)
The name 'Superman is Dead' started its' evolution from Stone Temple Pilot's "Superman Silvergun". The name moved on to "Superman is Dead" cause they like the idea that there's no such thing as a perfect person out there.
SID actually stumbled together in '95, drawn by their common love of Green Day and NOFX. Their influences soon extended to the punk 'n roll genre a la Supersuckers, Living End and Social Distortion, and here they stay. They say what they wanna say, how they wanna say it. In your face, to say it precisely.
SID public image, self described, is "PunkRockaBali" (think raw energy of NOFX vs Social Distortion supersonically fueled with beer-soaked Balinese Rockabilly attitude).
History? SID produced their first three albums independently (the boys worked years of crappy night jobs), with fabulous, small scale indie labels 1997 "Case 15", 1999 "Superman is Dead", 2002 "Bad, Bad, Bad"(mini album, 6 tracks). In March 2003 SID finally signed with Sony-BMG Indonesia after extended negotiations regarding their right to sing the majority of their tracks in English and have full artistic rights over their 'image'!! With that decision they single handedly became the first band from Bali to be invited to sign with a major recording label in Indonesia, the first band in their nation (to my knowledge) to be recording majority of songs in English, AND the first punk band in Indonesia to get the national exposure and promotion that working with a major label in a third world country provides. And so the history of Indonesian Punk Rock begins!
And as for the question that everyone wants to know.the infamous bomb in Bali happened about 75M from their home, hangout center, punkrock boutique, bar and rehearsal studio that is also Jerinx' house, in the heart of Kuta. After panel beating back the rolling doors of the studio, and shifting a little debris, rehearsals continued as usual. Yeah, they saw a lot, it sucked big time, but its' not gonna stop 'em!
And where are they now? At the end of 2002, one of the more respectable music mags here cited SID as "The Next Big Thing" for 2003. With the release of their fourth album, "Kuta Rock City", followed by major airplay nationally and in some countries overseas, coupled with the instantpopularity of their newest filmclip. SID suddenly find themselves touring continuously throughout Indonesia. Last week they were in four major Indonesian cities, on three islands, in 7 days!
Sometimes playing for free at underground scene clubs, sometimes at street skate parties or alternative band festivals, at lots of universities, and even occasionally at "classy" venues who would have probably denied them entrance years ago! Which means more beers for all.
In 2003 SID even got a mention in Time Asia. They also won a few music awards. MTV Awards for Best New Artist 2003, AMI Awards for The Best New Artist 2003. Nominated again in AMI Awards 2007 for Best Rock Album. October 2007 they did an amazing Australian tour, 8 cities, 16 gigs, 33 days with their strong D.I.Y work ethic. SID had share stages with international bands such as NOFX, MXPX and Hoobastank. They remain proud, boys from the streets of Kuta with a love of punk rock, beers and a good time. Ready for whatever comes next, excited about the next gig.
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