IN THE BEGINNING….
The Sean Olsens was formed in mid '96, though the band never had a name till later. The band then comprised of Dave, Wan, Rizal and Joe as in the existing line up only it was fronted by a real sad sod named Kelvin at a time which I may add, the band was jamming covers, and going nowhere. The band had a sense of closeness as were all good friends hanging out at nightspots (Boom Boom Room, Modesto's KL, DV8 and Arena) together as well as just 'no-life-ing' anywhere and everywhere.
One fateful night, on November 7 1996 the lot of us, which had been so hyped by news that DC hardcore crew, Fugazi at the then Fire Disco in Kuala Lumpur, enthusiastically packed our sorry asses to see the masters in action. And boy, were we blown away. Their professionalism, prescision and the tightness of their sound was simply amazing, not to mention the raw energy and the vibes that came with the unique stage presence. Meeting Ian Mackaye and the band were simply inspiring, and that night, we adjourned after the show to the nearest 'mamak' stall, and while sipping on our 'milo ais' and 'kopi o peng', we decided to make something of ourselves and go somewhere with our music. So it was agreed that five of us (including Joe as the manager) was to have equal say and responsibility not to mention 1/5th of whatever they earned).
We knew the underground scene would be hard to break into, as new bands seldom got a break unless you were acquainted with someone who either was related to, or was the organiser. So we decided it was high time that bands in the Klang scene was given a break. So hence, the discussion that night ended with the birth of "Splosh" or "KUS#1".
The first gig in Klang organised by the Sean Olsens received tremendous support from the Klang underground scene. And barely a month after the idea was conceived, "Splosh" was born due to the intense effort of the Sean Olsens and thanks to our pitiful no life existence.
"Splosh" was the first installment in the KUS or Klang Underground Scene line of gigs hence the accompanying tag KUS#1. The show, held on 20th December 1996 featured greenhorns with various and diverse musical styles from grunge to hardcore. Bands that played included Pistons, KGT, Dash-Own, Extraterrestrial, Critical Narative as well as seasoned underground campaigners, Oi! crew, Dirty Dog apart from the one and only Sean Olsens. The first show struck a raw vein in lovers of the underground scene in Klang, as well as surrounding areas such as Shah Alam, Subang Jaya as well as Damansara with a crowd of over 400 attending. Not too bad for a show handled by unknown promoters, featuring new bands, in a god forsaken part of the Klang Valley. The show also opened up the MG Roller Disco in Klang Parade as the 'official' Klang gig venue with subsequent shows to follow held there too.
Sean Olsens, in a period of a month after it had decided to buck up and play our first live gig, wrote several embarrassingly sad original numbers which were performed along with several numbers. The name Sean Olsens itself was penned after a Korn song, Sean Olson. We received great response, but were told that our vocals sucked. But sticking to our then vocalist, we brushed the criticisms aside as news of the gig spread far and wide with many parties giving rave reviews on the show. Anyway, we basked in our long awaited glory of success. However, after the gig, some smart ass so-called Klang hard core decided to be smart and went against the agreement that all Klang underground gigs incorporate all forms of the underground sound, and went ahead with an underground gig several months after showcasing hardcore isolating other bands who didn't play hardcore. Thus unity in the Klang underground scene was a thing of the past. Before that though, the Sean Olsens played one more gig in the then line up as a filler along with several other bands at a skateboarding competition at Jaya Jusco Bukit Rajah in Klang organised by Funky Shoppe.
Following which we ceremoniously kicked Kelvin out of the band for his lack of commitment and professionalism. So the band was in a limbo, as we searched high and low for a vocalist before we were finally destined to cross paths with Sam.
Early in '97, after several months of the band trudging on without a vocals, and after numerous disappointments from a couple of auditions held, we finally bumped into Sam at Arena's in Subang Jaya. We had already known him, but never really got the opportunity to talk to him (Dave, Wan and Rizal were acquainted with him while Joe worked with before at Intencity, Bukit Rajah before Sam ceremoniously quit just a few days into the job). Our little chat led on to the band, and finally after a call or two resulting in Sammy jamming with us later.
Our first gig in with the new line up was at the Taylors Battle of the Bands on 24 May 1997. There, for the first time in public we emerged with Sam. We didn't expect to get anything and were duly suprised when we came in second, coming in after Dust Components. There, we affirmed our love for playing live, and with renewed vigor, started scouting around for gigs.
On 19 July, we played at Independent Production's (the Klang hardcore crew's) gig "Mind Your Step" which we were invited to, to appease our anger at the hardcore crew for staging earlier breakaway shows from the KUS. Anyways, we played alongside Roots 'N' Boots, Noise Radical, S.A.D, Nutscracker, S.U.C., Curfew and KGT. Sadly enough to admit, a fight broke out between the Olsens and the organisers when during our performance, we were set up when they started toying with the mixer and turning off our vocals and such things to distract us during our set.. Needless to say, the organisers got their sorry butts kicked by the Olsens and our supporters which were pissed as hell at what happened. The matter was settled amicably, though flyers were pasted around town a short time later labeling us as bastards and sell-outs. Ho-hum…ho-hum…
Sam shone again when we participated in another Klang gig tagged "Sounds of Seattle" where the Sean Olsens invited 18SGG to play their first live gig. Other bands in the line up were either scratch bands or new acts just getting together. In terms of turnout, the show flopped but it was a success musically. 18SGG's performance had the crowd as did..ehem..the Sean Olsens. The show for the night ended with a massive impromptu jamming session with various members from all bands combining to thrash it out. Other bands that performed at the gig included Attack 22, Little Jane, Sour Plum, Johnny Devil, SS Scene, Stoneage and N.I.P.
Somewhere bout this period, we did a crappy six track demo entittled "Read My Mind", not to be confused with Dead Mushroom's song. We never sold it, just passed it around. Olsens tried to get a sponsor, but to cut the long story short, one so called indie producer crapped out on us, and a major production company said we had to go commercial and sell out by doing….MALAY SONGS!!!. PS…Dear Diary, Sean Olsens today wrote a lurrvellyy song called "Liku". We also made a video of one of our jam sessions, which looks…uhm…well you have to see it…
To fill our empty time, we did a two song acoustic jam at the X
Place, formerly known as Ecstacy in Damansara, nothing great, but we got comments from old timers which we'll remember as a source of inspiration.
(Thank you Captain Midnight) After another bout with our insecurities,
and inconsistency, Sean Olsens got a lucky break when Joe
was approached by his colleague at the Sun newspaper, the ultra
-hip schwing-schmeister Sulin Chee. She casually mentioned that a
rave was being organised where a new concept was being experimented, namely an idea for a show featuring live bands as well as live DJs spinning. Sulin then asked if we would be interested to play and shit, hell yeah we were.
It was kinda a moment of glory for us as we got to play alongside names like Republic of Brickfields, Carburetor Dung, Wavefront and
Cyberwerks in the gig titled "Uncut 97". The 20th December
gig last year at the old converted Paragon studios (which was
once a hangar or something) was awesome as we not only enjoyed the
opportunity to jam with the greats (thanks Alex Peters), we also got
SHIT STONED. At least Dave did. Hawhaw...He even puked ehemmm....
BURIAL WHO??!!??!!
About this time, Sean Olsens were like...shadows in the scene..many had heard about us...but not many have heard us...hence to fill a little spare time we entered the Spoons Bands Extravaganza or whatchammacallit 1998. Qualifying for the semi finals stage of one of the fourteen slots of the initial thirty five bands competing, we found out homies 18SGG and Burial Ground aka Dust Components (also known as DC??!!) were in the semis as well. Narrowed down to the last six, 18SGG were eliminated and the last six bands (including us) went into the finals on May 16 1998. Sadly we didn't make the cut for top 3...Burial Ground got first(yo!) while Syndicated Mouthpiece got third. Don't ask who got second...
Judging was less than satisfactory, not like we're being sour pussies or something, but the decision was accepted calmly, and the Sean Olsens are up to now continuing negotiations for an indie compilation, the deal which will include another three bands, with each act dishing out three tracks. Recording is supposed to begin in July, but we don't know if it's gonna be on schedule as everything is kinda delayed.
On June 21, the Sean Olsens played at a guitar and bass clinic at Klang Parade organised by Eclipse Music House. We were kinda honoured, but nevertheless the feeling kinda changed when we realisedhow much we hate playing in our hometown. You see, despite being recognised (a bitlah) elsewhere, we are relatively dislike back home as the hardcore assholes who took over the scene from us, don't exactly support us. Well, hell with those kids...
ANOTHER FREEBIE SHOW??!!...THATS'S US...
Sean Olsens after a long hiatus...two months of silence came together once more for the Charity Lollapalooza '98 organised, once again by our pals at Eclipse Music House on August 23. The gig held at the concourse of Klang Parade featured six bands, all Klang natives. Olsens highlighted the show and spun five tracks out with the help from a friend on tabla. We also had a guest drummer so Wan had a little challenge in bashing the skins on another set. For a little difference to our sound, we also had Sam on the turntables....needless to say....we got the stares as most bands that day were pretty run of the mill. The difference about this show though that it was a real charity do, to collect dough for the unfortunate or something or other...so it felt pretty good..anyways...we'd like to send a special shot out to the Sunset Beat Studio posse who showed up to support us as they endlessly have in the past.
So up to now, there's pretty much what we've done...We'll let you in on Sean Olsens history……as we make it…..
