Gusti Hendy adalah salah satu drummer Indonesia. Dikenal sebagai drummer Gigi. 2015 ini Ia rilis DVD Aku Adalah Drum dan berbagi cerita untuk semua orang agar dapat belajar bermain drum online.
Tak banyak orang dewasa yang menjalani kehidupan yang mereka cita-citakan ketika masih anak-anak. Gusti Erhandy Rakhmatullah, kelahiran 10 Maret 1980 di Banjarmasin, Kalimantan Selatan, Indonesia, adalah salah satu perkecualiannya. Sejak mencoba drum ketika kakaknya mengadakan latihan band di rumah keluarganya di Banjarmasin, Kalimantan Selatan, tampaknya jalan hidup Hendy untuk menjadi salah satu drummer terhebat di Indonesia (menurut Rolling Stone Indonesia) sudah ditentukan sejak usia tujuh tahun. Bahkan di usia belia, bakatnya yang masih mentah langsung terlihat, sampai sering diajak ikut bermain dengan grup idola lokal, Pawakha Band, yang juga beranggotakan saudara-saudaranya, serta membentuk trio Little Pawakha Band bersama anak-anak berbakat lainnya.
Dengan restu orang tuanya, Hendy yang berusia 9 tahun dan kakaknya menghabiskan liburan sekolahnya di Jakarta agar bisa dapat belajar dari musisi-musisi terbaik di negeri ini di Sekolah Musik Farabi. Berhalangan berguru kepada drummer maestro Gilang Ramadhan akibat jadwal yang bentrok, Hendy belajar dari asisten Gilang, Lemmy Ibraham, serta Arie Ayunir, yang paling dikenal sebagai drummer pertama Potret. Sementara itu, Hendy dan bandnya ikut dalam berbagai lomba band di Banjarmasin, dan Hendy sering meraih penghargaan sebagai Drummer Terbaik.
Setelah lulus SMA di tahun 1998, Hendy pindah ke Jakarta untuk meneruskan pendidikan akademik dan musikal, termasuk mewujudkan impian lamanya untuk belajar dari Gilang Ramadhan. Dia juga membentuk band Fresh, yang menyumbang lagu “Terbang” ke album kompilasi Kompilasi Bintang 8 keluaran perusahaan rekaman Indosemar Sakti dan berencana merekam album dengan Gilang sebagai produser. Pada akhirmya, rencana itu tidak terwujud, dan band itu bubar di tahun 2002.
Saat masih di bawah didikan Gilang, Hendy diajak bergabung dengan Big City Blues, di mana dia bermain jazz dan blues bersama musisi-musisi senior Donny Suhendra, A.S. Mates dan Albert Warnerin. Sambil berjuang menyelesaikan studi ilmu komunikasi, Hendy dan Big City Blues rajin tampil di kafe-kafe dan di acara Blues Night di TVRI. Lewat Blues Night, Hendy menarik perhatian Yockie Suryoprayogo, mantan keyboardist God Bless, yang mengontak Hendy secara pribadi dan mengundangnya untuk tampil di acara Rock Opera garapannya. Penampilan ini mendatangkan undangan bermain drum untuk Erwin Gutawa Orchestra, disusul dengan berbagai pekerjaan rekaman di studio untuk Erwin dan juga tampil kembali bersama Yockie untuk konser akbar “Kesaksian 2003” oleh Kantata Takwa, supergroup yang terdiri dari Yockie, Iwan Fals, Setiawan Djody, W.S. Rendra dan Sawung Jabo.
Setelah menyelesaikan studi dan meraih gelar sarjana ilmu komunikasi di tahun 2003, Hendy juga bergabung dengan band Omelette dan melepas satu album sebelum mengundurkan dirinya. Masanya bersama Omelette menarik perhatian Gigi, salah satu band rock terbesar di Indonesia yang juga satu manajemen dengan Omelette di bawah POS Entertainment. Ketika drummer Budhy Haryono berhalangan saat Gigi hendak merekam album soundtrack film Brownies, dia mengusulkan Hendy sebagai pengganti sementara, dan band itu berjalan terus. Setelah merekam Raihlah Kemenangan, yang berisi lagu-lagu orang yang dibawakan ulang serta materi baru orisinil dengan tema religius, dan tampil dalam berbagai pertunjukan, Hendy diangkat menjadi anggota tetap Gigi di pertengahan 2004.
Lagi-lagi, ini adalah impian yang terwujud bagi Hendy, yang telah menggemari band itu – terutama drummer pertama mereka, Ronald Fristianto – sejak mereka baru berdiri, ketika Hendy masih SMP. Dia bahkan sesumbar kepada teman-temannya bahwa suatu hari dia akan bermain drum untuk Gigi, tanpa menyangka bahwa itu akan terwujud. Bergabung dengan Gigi juga menjadi semacam reuni dengan gitaris Dewa Budjana, yang berusia 26 tahun ketika terkesan oleh permainan Hendy yang berusia 9 tahun di sekolah Farabi dan spontan mengajaknya bermain bersama. Belakangan, Budjana juga mengajak Hendy bermain dalam trio proyek sampingannya, yang pada akhirnya membawanya bergabung dengan Gigi tak lama kemudian.
Bersama Hendy, Gigi memasuki periodenya yang paling produktif dengan melepas tak kurang dari 10 album sejak 2004, dengan proyek terbaru yang direkam secara live di Abbey Road Studios yang legendaris di London pada akhir 2013. Hendy juga membantu mempertahankan reputasi band itu sebagai salah satu artis panggung paling memukau di Indonesia, dan bahkan bermain bersama para pendahulunya, Ronald dan Budhy, dalam beberapa konser reuni.
Sementara itu, di sela-sela jadwalnya yang padat bersama Gigi, Hendy juga menemukan waktu untuk mencurahkan energinya kepada Ligro, power trio yang dibentuknya di tahun 2004 bersama gitaris Agam Hamzah dan bassist Adi Darmawan. Dengan memadukan unsur-unsur musik Timur dan Barat, grup jazz rock yang menyebut dirinya “orang gila” ini telah melepas dua album yang banyak dipuji, Dictionary (2008) dan Dictionary 2 (2012), serta benar-benar memamerkan permainan drum dan perkusi eksplosif oleh Hendy, yang juga bertindak sebagai produser eksekutif.
Berdomisili di Jakarta, Hendy meluangkan waktunya di luar Gigi dan Ligro untuk menjadi suami dan ayah yang penyayang bagi Marlyn Augusta dan ketiga putri mereka…serta membayangkan impian masa kecil mana yang akan terwujud berikutnya.
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Not many adults get to do the things they dreamed about when they were children. Gusti Erhandy Rakhmatullah, born on March 10th in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia, is one of the exceptions. Ever since trying out the drum kit when his older brother would have band practice at their family home in Banjarmasin, it seems Hendy’s path to becoming one of Indonesia’s greatest drummers (according to Rolling Stone Indonesia) was set from the tender age of seven years old. Even at such a young age, his raw talent was immediately apparent to the point where he’d often sit in during performances by local heroes Pawakha Band, which featured members of his family, and formed the trio Little Pawakha Band with other talented kids.
With his parents’ blessings, the nine-year-old Hendy and his brother would spend their school holidays in Jakarta so that they could learn from the best musicians in the country at the Farabi Music School. Unable to learn from master drummer Gilang Ramadhan due to scheduling conflicts, Hendy studied from Gilang’s assistant Lemmy Ibrahim and Arie Ayunir, best known as the original drummer for Potret. Meanwhile, Hendy and his band competed in numerous band competitions back home in Banjarmasin, where he would often walk away with the prize for Best Drummer.
Upon graduating high school in 1998, Hendy moved to Jakarta to continue his academic and musical studies, including fulfilling a long-held dream to learn from Gilang Ramadhan. He also formed the band Fresh, which contributed the song “Terbang” to record label Indosemar Sakti’s compilation album Kompilasi Bintang 8, with plans to record a Gilang-produced album that ultimately fell through, and the band split up in 2002.
Under Gilang’s tutelage, Hendy was asked to join Big City Blues, in which he played jazz and blues with veteran musicians Donny Suhendra, A.S. Mates and Albert Warnerin. While trying to keep up his communications degree studies, Hendy and Big City Blues regularly played at cafes and on TVRI’s Blues Night. Through Blues Night, Hendy caught the attention of former God Bless keyboardist Yockie Suryoprayogo, who personally invited Hendy to perform as part of his Rock Opera. In turn, this performance led to an invitation to play drums for the Erwin Gutawa Orchestra, followed by more studio session work for Erwin and also another performance with Yockie for the massive “Kesaksian 2003” concert by Kantata Takwa, the supergroup consisting of Yockie, Iwan Fals, Setiawan Djody, W.S. Rendra and Sawung Jabo.
Around the same time as finishing his studies and getting his communications degree, in 2003 Hendy joined the band Omelette and released one album before resigning. His stint in Omelette brought him to the attention of Gigi, one of Indonesian’s biggest rock bands with whom Omelette shared management under POS Entertainment. When drummer Budhy Haryono was unavailable to record Gigi’s album for the Brownies film soundtrack, he recommended Hendy as his temporary replacement, and the band soldiered on. After recording Raihlah Kemenangan, an album of cover versions and new original songs with a religious theme, and performing numerous shows, Hendy was made a permanent member of Gigi in mid-2004.
This was another dream come true for Hendy, who had been a fan of the band – especially their original drummer, Ronald Fristianto – since their inception when he was still in junior high. He would even brag to his friends that one day he would be playing drums with Gigi, not even realizing it would come true. Joining Gigi also brought a reunion of sorts with guitarist Dewa Budjana, who was 26 years old when he was impressed enough by the nine-year-old Hendy at the Farabi school and offered to have an impromptu jam session. Later on, Budjana also invited Hendy to play in his trio side project, which ultimately led to his membership in Gigi soon after.
With Hendy on board, Gigi entered its most productive period, releasing no less than 10 albums since 2004, with their next project recorded live at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios in late 2013. Hendy has also helped maintain the band’s reputation as one of Indonesia’s most exciting live acts, even playing alongside his predecessors Ronald and Budhy during occasional reunion shows.
Meanwhile, in between his busy schedule with Gigi, Hendy also finds time to devote his energy towards Ligro, the power trio he formed in 2004 with guitarist Agam Hamzah and bassist Ade Darmawan. Fusing Eastern and Western music elements, this self-styled jazz rock group of “crazy people” has released two highly-acclaimed albums, Dictionary (2008) and Dictionary 2 (2012) that fully showcase the explosive drum and percussion work of Hendy, who also serves as executive producer.
Currently residing in Jakarta, Hendy spends his time outside of Gigi and Ligro by being a devoted husband and father to Marlyn Augusta and their three daughters…and wondering which of his childhood dreams will be the next to come true.