January 2004 Archives

Supposed to post this in the morning but work took over...

Ugh. It sucks to have a hangover on a working Saturday morning. Puked a little last night and but was so high that I slept soundly even with the smell of vomit still in my nose. Now as I'm typing, that same smell still lingers there.

Now I'm locked in this semi-zombie state, still pukey, eyes half-opened, head still aching, and it takes a second to register what people are saying. Shiitty man...Thanks to YOU guys (and you too, lady!)...hahaha...

Actually what happened last night was a 'Post-gig party' organised by the nice people at Esplanade. Buffet style and free flow of wine and beer. Some other bands were there as well (including the Hong Kong all-girls indie band, Dzap Dau Dau ...with a good mixture of people from the performing arts, etc. A while later, Taiwan variety show hosts, Aya and Ah Liang came too (they are doing a play in Esplanade during this Huayi festival). They're very friendly people and we took a few pics with them :) Heh. Too bad Jacky Wu didn't come. We were also briefly introduced to a supposedly renown Hong Kong play/theater director, Stan Lai Sheng Chuan (whose works I'm ignorant of).

It was a rare chance to have every LGF member around, so we took a couple of groups pics and a couple with Dzap Dau Dau.

It was a fun session while it lasted and we're glad that we had a chance to play in Esplanade...let's hope we get bigger gigs in the future and play with overseas bands :)

Last night's performance at the Esplanade Powerhouse stage was fantastic!! Really. Despite the rain and the lack of a big audience.

The weather was still fine during the morning...In fact, it was quite sunny. However, when afternoon came, the skies start to gather clouds and a drizzle started. It was kinda worrying knowing that it had been raining for the past few days since Day 2 of Lunar New Year. I took a cab down to Esplanade for the soundcheck at 4pm. The cab driver kinda amused me when he said 'wah...concert ah?', as he saw me with all my equipment and guitar. So, I told him I've got a performance there. I was pleasantly surprised when he helped me unload my gear and carried my guitar when we reached the destination...kinda made me feel like some celebrity or something...hahahah.

While waiting for the other members to arrive, we were 'treated' to some drums and keyboard combo by the bored sound crew (I think)...which we suspected, caused the rain to fall even harder *lol* After the rest of the band members arrived, we proceeded with the soundcheck. The stage setup was fantastic man...The sweetest thing was that, they had Marshall amps!!! Woot! This is my first ever gig to play with Marshall amps. The rest of the equipment was top-notch...with monitor amps and lighting effects. Wish I could take more pics of the stage. Best of all, the soundmen (and woman) were all really professional and friendly. One of them even ran through with me all my settings for me pedals to get the best balance sound of it.

Once we were done with the soundcheck, we went to a room at the back of the stage to chill out and took some really corny pictures of ourselves (will post up later). We were scheduled to play at 7.30pm, so we had dinner at the nearby Thai restaurant and returned to the site around 7.00pm. Caught the other band's soundcheck and my bassist and I wished someone would cut off our hands cos we were so ashamed of our own skills *lol*

So, more chilling out in the backstage until our set. Finally, an announcement was made and we got up the stage, ready to rock and rumble! Expected, there wasn't much of a crowd (being a weekday and a wet one), but we were still pretty psyched up by everything else...the good equipment, the location, etc. I really enjoyed myself for the 45-min set. We showcased our original songs, both new and old, and included some covers to cater to the crowd. I was particularly surprised that emi (vocalist) was so amazing at bringing on the show with her inpromptu interaction with the audience cos she's usually the quiet one on stage (even though she's the vocalist). I was pretty much entertained myself too.

One instance that touched me was the fact that some people actually stayed on to watch us play even though it started to rain heavily in the middle of our set. Luckily they had their umbrellas! :)

Even though there were a couple of mistakes here and there, we didn't let them bother us and went on to finish the show feeling great.

After the gig ended, some of the members had their appointments and went seperate ways while the bulk of us had a coffee session with Joyz, Heather, DJ Xhin, his girlfriend, Gin, who came down to watch us play.

All in all, the gig is a good one and we really appreciate our friends who came down to support us. I'm also thankful for all the encouragement and compliment smses I received from them. Thanks to Alfie, Stacy (bubblefishy) and Frosty Meiyan who made the effort to come down. Of course, a heartfelt appreciation for those unfamiliar faces who stopped by to watch us play. Not forgetting, the kind organisers and soundcrew who did their part so wonderfully to make it a great experience to play.

Last but not least, kudos to Sehsuan and a few others (sorry I don't know their names) who braved the rain to take ultra cool shots of the band during the performance.

Here are the splendid photos:
http://sehsuan.clubsnap.org/lgf/

More photos to come...

I feel so melancholic right now. At least for tonight. It's been a while since I've felt it so strong. Perhaps, amongst the happy festive mood and the stretch of holidays, silently crept loneliness and yearning.

Was watching the Stephen Chow comedy on tv just now and realised that some supposedly corny parts portrayed my real life's sadness...art imitates life afterall.

It's funny that earlier on, I rediscovered a strange feeling I haven't encountered for a long time...struggle and determination. Reminiscence of my principles which, still lets me down.

Perhaps it doesn't make any sense to any of you, but it has sparked me to do something...even if I'm taking the familiar road to failure and disappointment.

Like the words from Coldplay...

I was lost, I was lost...
Crossed lines I shouldn't have crossed...
I was lost...oh yeah...

Hopefully I'll get back into the New Year's mood tomorrow when I go a-visiting to my relatives' place...

Festive seasons shouldn't end up this way...

Sat's recording ought to spice things up for me.

There are currently 4 things that I'm really excited about:

1) Arrival of my much anticipated left-handed Fender Strat guitar.
Yeah...yeah, guitars and music take up a huge portion of my life (and blog entries as well *lol*). I won the bidding for this baby from Ebay and it's on its way here. Probably will arrive by early next week.

2) Recording
Still waiting to complete the rest of the recordings and press them into cds for distribution, promotion, etc... Of course, I'd like to use my new guitar for recording as well :P

3) Chinese New Year
Who isn't excited about it?! Hahah! With the stretch of holidays, ang baos, family reunions/outings, etc...it's a much-awaited break. Looking foward to catch up times with my cousins and relatives and eating all the goodies :P

4) Huayi Festival gig at Esplanade
Our first gig for the year! And it should be an interesting one. Featuring a whole stretch of chinese arts events ranging from theaters to art of face-changing, etc...our band performance is just a part of the whole act. We never played at the Esplanade before and loving the outdoors, we're sure excited about the performance.

Also, it seems like my band, LGF, has appeared in the media! (hmm...well, sort of *lol*). From what I know, a full-screen pic of our band is used in the tv commercial promoting the event...maybe fer a second or two...I haven't seen it but some of my band members caught it already. And it's kinda a pleasant surprise to have friends smsing/messaging me that they 'saw us on tv' *lol* Finally, if we're lucky, the chinese newspaper, Lian He Zhao Bao, might just mention us a little in their article covering the event :) Not a big hoo-ha but considering the fact that we're only a tiny band who's playing for fun, it's quite an achievement at a personal level :)

And thus, the new year starts off with a bang.

Oh, do catch us our performance on the 28th Jan at the outdoor stage in Esplanade if you're free. We'll be playing a healthy mix of chinese originals and cover songs! From rock to pop to retro to just crazy...and it's free!

I've sold my beloved Fender Strat guitar yesterday. This 'white chocolate' (coined by my vocalist cos it's creamy white in colour) had only been with me for a couple of months but due to my limitations playing it upside down, I had to let it go as I'll be having a left-handed Strat coming my way.

While I had a terrible experience with a buyer days ago, the deal this time was completely the opposite. The buyer came to my place with his girlfriend to test my guitar and they're a pleasant and nice couple. It was pretty funny, and at the same time, heart-warming when she asked him to play a song for her (which, he embaressingly declined) *lol* It was quite sweet of him when he consulted her (even though she doesn't know anything about guitars) before giving the final nod.

Think I may do a 'tribute' layout for my Strat if I have the time :)

Also, spent the rest of the day in town trying to do some shopping. Didn't really manage to find what I want, but I'll try again soon. Was somehow amused by hords of Filipino maids who were cheeky and funny.

Saw this really cool leather jacket/trench-coat like piece from Zara which costs like $200+...whoa...but it sure looked like something out of some blockbuster action movie!

Shopping alone has its perks. No worries about finding seats during lunch/dinner, nor having to bore your friends when looking for your own stuff. But then again, having company is sweet too :)

Nope, no recording for the weekend, but still, I'm excited about my new guitar which I hope will arrive within this week.

*The following are long-winded rants that many probably wouldn't be interested in or cared about. But anyway, what matters is that I expressed it here to let go of a little steam....*

*rant mode ON*

This is yet another entry I talk about work. Or rather, how work gets me down. Today's as hectic as any day. Nearing the of the day, even more urgent stuff were needed to be done, and of course, I ended up doing overtime...was supposed to meet my bassist to check out stuff and to collect my guitar but had to delay it. Was also given the notice that I have to return to work tomorrow (though it's my long weekend off).

As if those things weren't enough to ruin my day (and possibly weekend), I was further agitated by a lousy deal with another person. This guy advertised that he's looking for mini amps and I happened to have one, so I smsed him about it. He called, asked me for details, and immediately haggled my selling price from $50 to $35 and still wanted me to throw in more stuff, like free cables and all...said he'd buy it immediately if it's $30, considering the fact that it's 1 yr old. Then he said he'll call me back as he was still considering between buying a new amp or mine. So, he called again later, asking me for details of the amp. I couldn't recall the details and was in the middle of my OT...and he requested me to check the net for the info. I couldn't find it, and he asked if I can call home to get someone to check out details of my amp (which I reluctantly did). Next, he told me he wanted to look at it and whether he could come over my place. Knowing that I was doing OT and wouldn't be back until 8.00+pm, I suggested he come over later since he's staying quite near. Instead, he wanted to drop by my place immediately and make the payment to one of my family members and collect the amp. I agreed reluctantly again. By this time, this fella's cellphone battery went dead, so he called me on the public phone, telling me he'd prefer to meet at an MRT near my place instead...I was on the verge of blowing my top. But I got my cousin to do me a favour by meeting him at the MRT...yet, another call to help him buy a 9-volt battery to test the amp (and said he'd pay for it), and I got my cousin to do just that. All in all, I thought I had gone thru some shit to get the pathetic 30 bucks but no...he called up again upon meeting my cousin, this time, complained that the condition was not what he had expected, but would only pay $25 for it, and asked if he's not happy with it, whether he can return to me... I got really pissed this time...telling him no way if he's gonna make me meet him up just to return the amp! If he doesn't want to buy it, that's fine with me. For goodness' sakes...It's a $30 item and he made me go through all that shit and still dared to ask for refund and for me to get the amp back from him if he doesn't like it??!!! In the end, he didn't buy it, didn't inform me..and he didn't even pay my cousin the cost of the battery...screw him man...

So at the end of the evening, I met up with my bassist, got my things done, and went home after that...but all the freaking taxis were either 'on call', 'busy' or just wouldn't stop. I ended up reaching home around 11+pm, feeling tired, frustrated, and pissed...just great.

*rant mode Off*

The only thing that lifted my spirits is that there'll be recording tomorrow...
You bet I'll use that session to release my pent-up frustration and stress.

Also, gotta remind myself to jot down some thoughts on the recent happenings in my real-life diary...things that I'd never reveal here...

Blue, hectic Monday ended with a heaved of relief as I'm finally away from all that fast-paced work, jammed pack buses and never-ending swarm of students encountered earlier. Though each day draws the deadlines closer, home is where I retreat and get everything out of my head.

Weekend was pretty alright with the usual jamming. Have to admit that I was pretty happy with the minimal gear I used on that day though it sounded so crappy. Heh. No worries bout stomping on the numerous effect boxes and lugging the case that weighs like bricks around...hahaha...it's no wonder that I dropped by town with my bandmates cos normally I wouldn't do so with my guitar and effects case.

Also won a bid for a left-handed 1995 US Fender Strat with 70s' pickups! Woohoo...Gotta wait for the shipping though...hopefully it'll be fast and if things work out well, I can get it in time for the current recordings :P

Jole came over during the weekend for her guitar 'lesson' *lol* Helped her restring her guitar and recap some chords, etc...ended up taking lots of 'rawkstar' pics too...hahha! Thanks for the card and the gift from Bali too :)