This picture might seem “normal’ to you: three young musicians very excited to be in the same frame with their idol. Another fans-meet-their-hero usual story. No, it’s much deeper than that. In fact: it’s historical.
The story goes back to January 2013 when Navicula came to Australia to play at Sydney Festival. That’s when James (pictured on the right) met Dankie, Navicula guitarist, for the first time. James was still a teenager and had a band already with his schoolmates. They playedâwhat’s the genre againâ⦠Djent. Progressive metal type thing. Not your average Bon Jovi cheesy pop rock.
To the best of my recollection, James & co. were just finished recording their demo. James then showed the demo and have it played in front of his “om” (uncles), the Navicula members, including Dankie. James seemed quite proud with his own material. “What do you think, om Dankie? Do you like it?”
Today, in 2020, seven years later, they met again. With an interesting plot twist: Dankie shows Manja (James’ current band) rock-n-roll survival manual. He offered his support, to be the producer of Manja’s debut album, under his buzzworthy new label, Pohon Tua Creatorium. James, now in his twenties and no longer cranking hard & heavy jazz-math shit, couldn’t really believe his luck. The person he greatly admired voluntarily lend a hand. “James, please come to my studio, do some workshops first, and then start recording after that, right away. No goofing around.”
I guess Sarah, James’ mom, is right: miracles are real.
