"People thought our Times Square Billboard was photoshopped": Indonesian metal sensations Voice Of Baceprot reflect on their first US tour

Voice Of Baceprot, three metalhead hijabi girls hailing from the tropical archipelago of Indonesia, wrapped their first-ever US tour in August. The 11-date run stretched from coast to coast and back again, and Hammer caught their show in San Diego. Marsya (vocals/guitar), Widi (bass) and Sitti (drums) explain what it was like to celebrate birthdays on the road, and see their faces staring back at them from an iconic Times Square billboard.

We <3 New York

Marsya: “Our absolute favourites were Washington DC and New York. We got to see The White House from afar, and the back side of the Statue Of Liberty! We met a lot of Indonesian people in those cities, and it was a relief to talk in Indonesian language again.

Also, it was funny when we posted the picture of our advertisement at New York’s Times Square. Many people thought it was Photoshopped! But when we take some time to think about it, having our pictures in Times Square is indeed such an impossible feat for people like us. The thought only made us even more proud of what we’ve achieved so far.”

Birthdays are particularly memorable on tour

Widi: “Sitti’s birthday [August 17] fell when we were on the road to Oakland. We surprised her with a cake just after we finished doing laundry! The next day we celebrated again, onstage, with the concert audience.

We ordered yellow rice [traditionally eaten on birthdays] complete with fritters and our favourite smashed chicken. It tasted funny, but the flavour reminded us of home and helped to quench our homesickness. Sitti’s birthday wish was to come back to the US for another tour in the future. We hope this tour will be our first, not our last!”

Hip Hop helps home sickness

Sitti: “The tour lasted for almost one month, and at some point we realised how far away we were from home. Due to the heavy scheduling, we almost had no time to call and talk to our family in Indonesia. The tour was gruelling, and each of us felt lonely in different ways. We spent most of our time on the road, travelling for five to 10 hours from one city to the next. We even lost the sense of time and forgot what date it was. However, we had fun listening to a lot of hip hop like Eminem and Tupac Shakur, because our driver, Dustin, loves rap music!”

Slytherin is the best house

Marsya: “We decided not to buy any gifts from the US for our family, and instead save our tour stipend and bring home cash. My village back home in Garut, West Java, is now suffering from drought and it’s very hard for the villagers to get clean water. I plan to fund a water well with my tour money to help my family there. However, the three of us entertained ourselves by visiting Universal Studios and bought Slytherin necklaces for ourselves!”

The US is so noisy

Marsya: “It’s surprising that in the US we always hear sirens from ambulances or police cars, every minute every day. However, we really appreciate the chance to see how the music industry works, especially because people say it is very hard to make it in the US.

We also have mixed feelings, because it was a farewell tour with 12Wired, our management, as we’ve decided to run independently! Next year, we are recording new music and planning an Indonesian tour. We’re not thinking about touring abroad at the moment, although we’re not dismissing the possibility. We’ll always do our best to play where people want to see us live.”