About 2 weeks back, as I was busy preparing for my finals, I found out the Loga Aramugam from th Alleycats passed away after he succumbed to lung cancer. Now many of you are wondering who the hell I am talking about, and if you are a Malaysian, shame on you!!!
Alleycats were formed back in the late 70s by brother David and Loga Aramugam. They were pioneers of Malaysian Rock and wrote some really good songs, mainly in Malay. They had a real diverse fan base. Now I rarely listen to Malay songs, at most it's stuff from Sheila Majid, Zainal Abidin, M.Nasir or some P.Ramlee stuff. But the Alleycats wrote such beautiful songs and the brother's had such wonderful voices complimenting each almost as well as Simon and Garfunkel. They are also easily recognised by their huge afros which they still maintain today. They had many variations of their band just like Santana did, but what ever it was, the brothers were always there fronting the band and making magic with every album they came out with. Their music was something all us Malaysians could be proud of. I think every fan can mimic the way David ends a show, 'Terima KASIH!!!!!' You gotta hear it to appreciate it.
I didn't really listen to them when I was younger. I knew the songs and just appreciated it from a distance. Then one faithful day when I was 15 (2000), dad brought the family to Holiday Villa in Subang to watch them live, I was hesitant cos I thought it would be shabby B-grade, shadow-of-their-former-selves kinda performance, but I was fortunately wrong. They played a few malay numbers then they broke into stuff like Black Magic Woman, Whiter Shade of Pale, Smoke on the Water, and my fav, Perfect Strangers, in which their rendition was as good as Deep Purple. They even sang some Mandrin and tamil songs which really got the crowd going. Once again me and my sis were the youngest of the audience members. David was more stationary on stage, sometime mumbling incoherently which was also his trademark I reckon, but Loga was always moving and he really digged the music, you could see he was so into in it. For a man in his early 50s, he looked like he was in his early 40s. During breaks the brothers would go around thanking people for coming to the show and making small talk. That personal touch was there.
We kept going back to watch them on and off. They eventually moved to the Mystery Room at the Curve Shopping centre and played 6 nights a week. Everytime I got home for the summer break, dad would insist we go watch them. It was one of those few times I really connected to my dad. But I am sidetracking. In short Alleycats were an important band to me, they gave me hope for the Malaysian music industry. They were my kind of live band and possibly contributed to parts of my identity in those teen years. Watching them on stage with my family always made me feel safe and comfortable again. I remember watching them one New Year's Eve night and I was standing with my mum, and Loga came out of the club for the countdown and on his way out, he stopped and wished my mum and me happy new year. Mum felt like a little girl at a Beatles concert I think.
During the last break, I brought some friends to check them out and noticed Loga wasn't performing, I asked the bassist and he said Loga is ill but did not elaborate further. I didn't really think much of it, till 2 weeks back when i read the news. It was like a friend passed away man. Just so young, so full of life and he was so confident he would beat the damn disease ,but alas. To date, I ve no news if the band will play on, but I think they should for Loga's sake, though it would be so different but at least he will live on with the music. Thanks alot Loga for the good times. You will be missed.
Song suggestions
Berjuta Batu
Andainya Aku Pergi Dulu (personal fav)
Jika Kau Bercinta Lagi
Sampaikan Salam Cintaku
Kerana Kau
Kisah Kau dan Aku
Also check out You Tube for concerts and Loga's tribute
