Talking about Jerry Felix is like talking about Malaysian rock music.

Before he came to public attention in a controversial group of schoolboys called The Falcons, the Malaysian music scene had no one it could refer to as a rock drummer.

Jerry came from a musical family. His mother Marjorie played guitar, while his father Patrick was a multi-instrumentalist who favoured the guitar, violin, trumpet and Hawaiian guitar and also made a name repairing and crafting guitars and violins.

Dad Patrick also performed in a famous Malayan family group called The Hawaiian Rhythmics with brothers Victor, Michael and Joseph on Hawaiian guitar, bass and drums, respectively, and velvet-voiced Gerald Samuel on guitar.

Wanting the boy to follow in his footsteps, Patrick began teaching him guitar when he was nine, but the pots and pans in the Felix kitchen soon bore evidence that he was only interested in becoming a drummer.

Patrick surrendered his dream and, as Jerry remembers it, fashioned him a pair of drumsticks from the branches of a hisbiscus plant which, as an apparent herald of things to come, was the national flower of Malaysia.

MUSIC DEBUT
It was about that time when cousin Brian was making the presence of a second-generation of family musicians felt, ably assisted by Jerry Ventura and Frankie Samuel.

All aged 11, they were schoolmates at La Salle, Peel Road in Kuala Lumpur. Jerry's first attempt at playing on a "real drum kit" was at the audition of this band of musicians which would soon became known as The Little Falcons.

"I was horrified at the debut," Jerry recalled during a recording session for his current solo album. His horror quickly turned to relief when he later heard his Uncle Victor tell his wife, Ruth: "Give that boy a few months and he'll be better than his Uncle Joe."

Music education at that time came from the family and Jerry remembers that the same people who sung the praise of his talents would also render no quarter when it came to perfecting his craft.

Some of the punishment would have put paid to anyone else's enthusiasm and determination, but not in this case. "I suffered through it all because I loved the drums! There would be no other career for me."

THE FALCONS
The sacrifice soon paid off. The Falcons made their first public appearances at events in which the Hawaiian Rhythmics starred, playing whatever they could when the senior Felixes took a break.

Even on these cherished occasions they had to be careful because they knew their elders were paying close attention to the fledgling flagbearers, and any adverse comments from the audience would result in sound admonishing.

It was a sound education because The Falcons soon became the envy of their peers in school and other youngsters in the budding music industry, and beyond their wildest dreams, eventually became the highest-paid, most sought-after band of its time.

The 60s saw the quartet cut its teeth in Malaysian waters and were the first local band to star on television when it was introduced in 1964, cutting their first records with CBS/Life, thus becoming the first Malaysian act to sign a record deal with a major record label.

The Falcons also recorded with EMI and other local private labels.

Their records made quite an impression in the country and two songs – Nightmare and Baby Barefoot Walk (both originals) – stormed the Music City Hit Parade in 1965, taking the top two positions, with Baby Barefoot Walk getting valuable mentions in foreign music magazines.

Baby Barefoot Walk, incidentally, beat hits by international stars like Elvis Presley (You'll Be Gone and Do The Clam), Cliff Richard (The Minute You're Gone), Herman's Hermits (Wonderful World) and The Beatles (Ticket To Ride)!

FALCONS IN FLIGHT
It was just the break The Falcons needed and in 1969 they headed (like Bob Hope, they proudly claim) to Vietnam to entertain American GIs based there.

"It was crazy and frightening, sometimes playing music to ecstatic crowds of soldiers and Vietnamese, then huddling together in underground bunkers with bombs exploding above," Jerry grimaces at the memory.

Those were difficult years; it wasn't easy keeping the group alive and there were times they considered breaking up, especially because of the financial requirements.

When they returned, ardent music lover Yap Cheng Hock came to their rescue and changed everything, providing them with a bungalow (later called the House) to practise in, a car, salaries when they were out of work and even the privilege of decision-making, only offering valuable advice when it was sought.

The "House" was the Falcons practise studio by day and Rock Club by night.

At this time, Jerry was the only local drummer who was playing double bass drums at the behest of the late Terry Thaddeus. Brian Felix and Terry Thaddeus were two of the most talked about guitarists in the local music scene. Brian later opted to find his fortune in Australia.

In the late 60s and 70s, the Falcons in their various line-ups (original: Brian, Jerry, Ventura, Frankie and later Ronnie Felix) played at the best nightspots in Malaysia and Singapore, including the Tin Mine, Tomorrow Disco, Shindig, Pink Pussycat and Tropicana. Some of the musicians that also performed as a Falcon were Gren, Shah, Charles Fong and Aziz.

It was at the Gypsy Caravan in Penang where famous pop orchestra leader James Last saw them perform and suggested they consider furthering their career in Germany.

EUROPE CALLING
In 1978, the Falcons flew to Europe and for the next 10 years made quite a name for themselves. The line-up at this time boasted the talents of Desmond Gomis on keyboards and Andy Peterson on bass, Frankie on guitar, with Jerry Ventura having developed his skills to include horns, woodwind and percussion to the band's rhythm section.

Jerry, by now, was known to everyone as The Animal for his hard-hitting style. The Malaysian band took Europe by storm and soon, the doyens of the continent, playing gigs in the most popular nighclubs.

They were sought after to open for top international artistes like the Chirelles, Chi-Lites, Johnny Tillotson and the Manhattans. The Falcons were also the backing band for The Coasters, The Platters, Sister Sledge and Percy Sledge.

GOING IT ALONE
But bad paymasters got into the picture and because of this Jerry left the band after two years in Europe, choosing to freelance and do sessions with other European outfits, playing rock, reggae and commercial pop hits.

Among the notable bands that Jerry played with during his "solo" years was Rockane and Kris. (An original number from this period "Look, Don't Touch" is featured on Jerry Felix's solo album "Jerry Felix…at last".)

After a hectic 10 years in Europe, Jerry returned and reunited with Jerry Ventura to form The Falcons again and perform at Petaling Jaya's hotspot, Piccadilly, before leaving to form the seminal Made In Malaysia, a truly outstanding R & B outfit that featured Paul, Allen, Sunny and Daniel.

Next came the powerhouse, S.T.O.R.M ( Slight Touch Of Rock Music), a name conjured by Andy Peterson. This hard rocking group featured Andy, Richard, Din "Cikgu", Desi and the unforgettable Connie. S.T.O.R.M brought the house down during their stint at the Hard Rock Café at Bangkok.

More recently he was the leader of Chilli Padi and now currently leads his own band.

Jerry was the lead drummer for the Benson & Hedges Light Tones series of shows and albums that included many local talents (Man Kidal, Jay Jay, Wah Idris) and international stars like Rex Goh (Air Supply), Laurie Wisefield (Wishbone Ash), Chuck Sabo (Elton John) and Victor Rounds (Paul McCartney).

As an endorsee for Yamaha Drums and Sabian Cymbals, he had done drum clinics with Akiro Jimbo and Lewis Pragasam. Jerry plays the Yamaha Recording Custom and Stage Custom series.

AT PRESENT…
The mid-nineties found Jerry and Andy Peterson holding down the resident rhythm section at the X Place. Among the musos that slugged it out with them were Amir Yussof, Julian Mokhtar, Azman Warren, Steve Thornton, Prema Lucas, Jose Thomas and Aubrey Suwito.

He is also a regular guest star on the albums and concerts of several Malaysian artistes, including Ziana Zain, Seha, Shima, Aishah, Amy Mastura, Bala and the Blitz, Leonard Tan, Salamiah Hassan and Search lead vocalist Amy.

With such an awesome amount of experience, it is no wonder that Jerry Felix has made his entry in the Malaysian Book of Records as the Longest Playing Drummer in the Malaysian music industry.

Jerry Felix will be jamming at the finale of the Jairus Anthony Music Festival 2004 on November 17th, 2004 at the Backyard Pub.

(Credit: By Errol de Cruz. Used with kind permission from the cover notes of the "Jerry Felix…at last" album)

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