FOR a teenager, Arthur Kam sure gets some interesting visitors at his house. During an interview last week with the 19-year-old drummer, renowned Malaysian bassist Andy Peterson dropped by for a visit.

How often do you get elite musicians dropping by your place to borrow CDs, especially when you’re still in your teens? Then again, you probably haven’t been playing with said musicians since you were a kid.

The interview at Arthur’s place in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, was about a farewell concert being put together for him by some of the country’s top musicians, all of whom he has played with, as he prepares to further his studies at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachussetts in the United States.

Andy, who walked in during the interview, joked: “I think it’s terrible. He shouldn’t go. I’ll be losing one of my drummers.”

Even though Andy isn’t happy to lose one of his rhythmic partners-in-crime, he was one of the first to sign up his band, API (Andy Peterson Inc), to perform at the Friends For Arthur Kam concert, taking place on Aug 1 at Bentley Music in Mutiara Damansara, Selangor.

Arthu Kam is a whiz at playing the drums.

So far, Steve Thornton, the Aseana Percussion Unit and the Royale FT Force – Faizal Tahir’s band – are the other acts which have confirmed their attendance to the farewell-cum-fund raising event, and the co-organisers, Rockschool, expect to add a few more names to the list real soon.

Rockschool consultant Rocky Siew said: “We started asking around about five or six months ago, and everybody just said ‘yes’ (to performing at the concert). The thing is, people know Arthur deserves it. Ask anybody in music industry and they’ll tell you that.”

Having been lavished with accolades and awards since he started playing the drums when he was six, Arthur is taking all the compliments in his stride.

When asked about how he felt about all these top musicians coming together to essentially pay tribute to his talent, he said in typically modest fashion: “I’m very honoured and very glad to be given this kind of respect from such great musicians. I guess I must be doing something right, and I feel very blessed.”

Child prodigy
Arthur’s prodigious talent was actually discovered by accident. His mother, a piano teacher, had been rehearsing with a band for a performance, and one day her drummer couldn’t make it, so they decided to practice with a drum machine.

“I don’t know why, but I got on to the drums and started following the beat on the machine. When they stopped the machine, I just kept going but they didn’t know I was playing, so they thought the drum machine was broken!” recalled Arthur.

There was no turning back after that. Arthur’s talent was obvious, and he soon found himself playing drums and percussion for the likes of international stars like Jacky Cheung (Arthur’s sister Genervie had played the keyboard and violin in Cheung’s 50-city world tour previously), Sadao Watanabe and Keiko Lee before he even got to secondary school.

Arthur playing with some of Malaysia's top musicians, as well as his sister, Genervie.

As he progressed into his teens, Arthur cemented his reputation as Malaysia’s best young drummer by playing with, well, pretty much everyone who’s anyone on the local scene, including Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, Jaclyn Victor, Reshmonu, Zainal Abidin, M. Nasir, Mawi, Misha Omar and Camelia, among others.

He’s been a certified star on the local circuit for many years now, but it was only two years ago that he finally received affirmation of his talent on the global stage when he won in the 18 and under category of the Undiscovered Drummer contest by Modern Drummer magazine, known by some as the “drummers’ bible”.

The contest is open to drummers from around the world, and when Arthur took part in 2008 it was the first time YouTube submissions were allowed, which increased the number of participants.

Still, Arthur’s ability came through, with Modern Drummer saying: “Sixteen-year-old Arthur Kam of Malaysia … played a captivating two-minute open solo that twisted and turned through quick full-kit bursts, melodic fills, and ultra-precise Latin/funk grooves. His keen sense of dynamics, control and creativity are something to behold, especially given his young age.”

But Andy believes Arthur has even more to show to the rest of the world, and it’s time for him to take his career to the next level. “There’s just nothing left here in Malaysia for him. He’s done everything he can. For his talent, he has to play on the world stage,” said Andy.

Facing challenges
But it’s not just his drumming ability that convinced all those musicians and artistes to spare their time for his farewell show.

Rocky explained: “It’s not just because he’s good. Anyone who has met Arthur will tell you he’s a very grounded person. We’re doing this because we believe he has the character to be on the world stage. If you can’t handle the success, you might as well not go.”

Arthur has been playing the drums semi-professionally since he was a kid! In this picture, Arthur is on stage with Hong Kong superstar Jacky Cheung, whom the former played for.

Arthur himself promises to to knuckle down and work hard when he gets to the hallowed hallways of Berklee.

“I’ll have to practice a lot, and be very focused. It’s important to be focused because it makes you ask yourself: why am I practising? Is it to show off? Is it for money? For me, I want to use my gift to inspire others to play as well, to practice themselves,” said Arthur.

But though he probably won’t have too many problems with the music side of things, Arthur will have to learn to fend for himself just like any young person studying abroad.

He said: “My biggest challenge there will be learning to survive on my own. I’ll be living on my own there, and I don’t really know what to expect. But I’ll just do what I’ve always done – do my best.

“I might not be the best drummer there, and there’ll probably be someone 10 times more talented than me, but I want to keep being a good person by helping others as much as I can. Hopefully that will shine through.”

For now, Arthur is focused on putting on a good farewell show this Sunday alongside his friends.

He says there will be something for everybody at the concert, and hopes people will turn up and just have a good time.

“It won’t be like a normal concert where there’s only one type of music,” he said.

“I’ll be playing with all the close friends I’ve played with, so there’ll be jazz, rock, fusion ... everything. It’ll be a fun show, and I hope people come to enjoy themselves.”

The Friends For Arthur Kam concert will be held on Aug 1 at 7.30pm at Bentley Music, Mutiara Damansara, Selangor. Passes are available via donations. You can get them from these outlets: JS Music, DoReMi Sound & Light, No Black Tie (Kuala Lumpur); Music Mart, Harmony Music Centre, The Guitar Store Chain, Bentley Music HQ , Waikiki Bar. For details, call Vince Seah at 012-234 1920.