SxBxT (Surabaya Bawah Tanah) Flea Market, Between Secondhand Merchandise and Its Development

                           

              Honestly, I started drafting this article less than two hours after I joined the meeting about the upcoming Surabaya Bawah Tanah Flea Market in our mutual friend’s house. But, before I come out with what Surabaya Bawah Tanah Flea Market is, let me tell you a short story about how I met these guys who worked so hard (even though they never admit it) and positively contributed for the progress of Surabaya underground scene.

           When I started my English study in 2009, I met this person named Ken Tunggul Adi Negoro who introduced me to what Surabaya underground scene really was and most people who dedicate most of their life on it. With this gentleman, I visited one gig to another, and I met many important people such as Reza who actively plays drums for the Surabaya’s Punk Hardcore band, The Sinners and runs his screenprinting business and also Yoyon, a guitar player of Surabaya Grunge band, Klepto Opera.

           A long story short, I hung out intensively with these guys up to 23^rd of August 2015 ago, when Yoyon, Reza, and other friends conducted Boneka Tanah: Surabaya Bawah Tanah 2, the annual underground event at Monkasel (Submarine Monument), Surabaya, which was postponed for more than 5 years. Therefore, this event also became a huge reunion for the underground musicians and also underground scene activists of Surabaya. At this annual gig, which had many outstanding performances by Surabaya’s talented underground bands and artists such as Bluekuthuq, Klepto Opera, Ska Banton, The Sinners, and many more, we also had this Surabaya Bawah Tanah Flea Market conducted during the gig.

          Flea market itself, is a type of bazaar that rents space to people who want to sell or trade their merchandise. Therefore, back in the days, flea market was very essential for those people who collected CDs, vinyl, and other merchandise of their favorite bands. But, according to Yoyon, as he wrote at Maknyus.com, the development of the flea market itself seems changing especially in big cities to become a secondhand merchandise market. Furthermore, people eventually forget its essential meaning and definition as a market of rare and worth collected merchandise.

          Departing from such phenomena, Surabayan “underground merchants” intended to create monthly event called SxBxT (Surabaya Bawah Tanah) Flea Market, bazaar from and for underground community of Surabaya. Various things and merchandise were available such as CDs, cassettes, clothes, and snacks.

          The first flea market was successfully conducted with many participants. They were, Garasi 337, Grungee Jumping, Good Salad, Es Krazz, WARISAN records and merchandise, Radioactive-Force Record label/local distribution, Dysania Submerch, Seafood Remaja Surabaya, Whatstore, Kandang Xapi record label/store/distribution, Salahcetak Printmaking and Mata Rantai Collective.

            According to Yoyon as he wrote further at Maknyus.com, there was one thing which distinguished SxBxT (Surabaya Bawah Tanah) Flea Market typically from common market or bazaar. “This flea market is more like collective work and cooperation between participants within. Every single thing and detail were carefully discussed before being executed to become a complete program, including its financial resources, venue, target, market segmentation, and everything else. Besides as a collective work, SxBxT (Surabaya Bawah Tanah) Flea Market has a function way more than just a conventional market that depends on buying-selling or trading activity. We don’t want it to be limited as just a conventional bazaar.”

            I admit that it is a smart idea to gather all of people who actively support the development of the underground scene not only by conducting gigs but also providing some mutual opportunity for them who run their small business. At the same time, the opportunity itself was contextually made as a communication “device” for them to share their positive ideas, and contribution for the progress of the underground scene.

           “This flea market provides a space for a new form of market. It has a new and wider definition. It becomes a melting point of various needs, various communities, whether they are directly connected or they are not. Besides that, SxBxT (Surabaya Bawah Tanah) Flea Market is a facility for the creative economy development. Young people with their activities and creative ideas discover a suitable place with an appropriate market segmentation. They create various brands based on their ideas, selling merchandise, cassette, rare records, CDs and vinyl. It is not easy to find those stuffs except in certain places or events. Food and beverage brands were served by them who were determined, especially in underground scene of Surabaya. This flea market also widely supports positive activity by having brand of zine and alternative reading community who provides sidestream reading that is way much more different compare to mainstream information by mainstream media that we absorb daily from various resources. Finally, functions of the market itself can be as a place for us to actively communicate, share knowledge, and it is positively educative,” said Yoyon.

 

             Personally, I’ve learned many things after joining SxBxT (Surabaya Bawah Tanah) Flea Market on 23^rd of August 2015. First, doing small business was still tough.Why? Because I had to make sure that I prepared everything that I needed to run my small business. Since me and my fiance opened Batagor and seafood meatball booth, we had to carry and set all of the equipment such as stove, water gallon, ingredients, frying pan, and everything else by ourselves which was so exhausting. I was almost being so skeptical since we waited for more than an hour from 12.00 pm until we had our first customer, even though it ran pretty well eventually. Second, it was also not an easy task to organize such a big event like SxBxT (Surabaya Bawah Tanah) Flea Market, since the officials had to be sure that the space for the flea market itself was proportional and accessible so the customers could enjoy the gigs and go shopping at the same time.

            Considering that SxBxT (Surabaya Bawah Tanah) Flea Market is good not only as a place to shop and reunite old friends and attract new people in underground scene, but also to stimulate new generation of Surabaya underground scene to get involved, Yoyon, Reza and other friends will have the upcoming SxBxT (Surabaya Bawah Tanah) Flea Market. However, for the upcoming SxBxT (Surabaya Bawah Tanah) Flea Market, they haven’t decided yet regarding where and when it will be conducted, since each of the participants is busy with their own agenda and schedule. According to what they had discussed yesterday, the upcoming SxBxT (Surabaya Bawah Tanah) Flea Market will be certainly conducted on the second week December 2015 if all goes well. I personally believe that this activity will stimulate other people in the underground scene to create a similar activity, because the more we do something for our scene, the more it will develop.