Interview In KLue Magazine #69
2 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Tuesday, March 15, 2005 at 12:02 AM.
Interview by Elina Ismail
1. Why Broken Scar? (Does the name have any connections to your personal life?)
Broken Scar was initially supposed to be my band name. I told myself that I would call my future band Broken Scar. However, when I heard about John Mayer, I was inspired to go ahead and play as a one-man outfit. I re-arranged the songs written originally for a full band setting, mellowed them down, and my Broken Scar material was born.
There is significance in the name Broken Scar and it has to do with how I view things in my life. A scar, to me, represents pain or hurt from the past. Some people are haunted by their past like it’s a curse but it needs to be broken. We can't always have scars hurting and haunting us our whole lives. Hence the name, Broken Scar. I was inspired while reading the Bible.
2. We saw your perform at the KLue & Starbucks Presents HSBC Chill Out Series, and you seemed at ease. What was performing in front of an intimate audience like?
I love performing in front of intimate audiences, especially responsive ones. At an event like the Chill Out Series, I’d just invite my friends, play my heart out, chill out with the audience after the show and get to know more people. I’ve been playing in the circuit for two years now and during this time I’ve learnt to overcome the initial stage fright.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t say that I’m totally at ease either. I get a little nervous sometimes and to ease the nerves, I tend to drink a lot of water which then results in a million and one trips to the washroom. It’s a nice feeling actually – the nervousness – it’s only because I want to play my best every single time. If I stop feeling the butterflies in my stomach, it just means that I’ve gotten jaded and I definitely wouldn’t want that to happen.
3. Describe your style of music
I normally have difficulty describing my style of music. Because I listen to so many genres of music - anything from jazz to metal - my influences and inspirations vary from time to time. My songs vary too, from up tempo alternative rock to mellow ballads with a touch of blues. I’d probably fall into the same category as the Goo Goo Dolls. For lack of a better description, I would say that it is acoustic rock/alternative. Why don’t you be the judge?
4. Do you write all your songs and when do you find time to write music?
I write all of my music and lyrics with the exception of ‘Silence’ which was written with a friend of mine. Since time seems to be something that I’m lacking lately, I write every opportunity I get. My songs tend to start off in various ways. Sometimes an entire song comes together really quickly, other times I will have just bits and pieces of a song with its other parts not quite figured out yet. Recently, a complete song was just playing in my head and I wrote it down in its entirety within a few minutes. That was how “Scratch” was written too. It was just five minutes of quick scratching on a piece of scratch paper and everything just came together. Hence, the title of the song.
The earlier songs I wrote may seem a little negative at a glance but the main intention was to write about how there is always hope in the midst of confusion or sadness.
Lately, anything and everything that’s beautiful seems to inspire me. I guess I’m at a different stage of my life now.
5. You're also one part of John's Mistress. Is it difficult to be in a band, and at the same time on your own? Are there any conflicts of interest going on?
I don’t know if it’s difficult to juggle between being in a band and doing something on your own, but it’s definitely not difficult in my case because the band is John’s Mistress. My bandmates are simply awesome and very supportive. They’re like family to me. I spent my twenty first birthday with the band. They threw me a little party. Chino and Fumi were also there to support me at the Chill Out Series. There is definitely no conflict of interest. It’s all cool.
It’s pretty easy and straightforward to play solo as I don’t have to coordinate practice sessions with other band members and all I do is practice on my own. However, it may be more complicated to arrange jamming sessions when I have my own band as there would be more members involved.
6. Is it a norm for some band members to be part of another band in the music world?
I guess it happens pretty often both here in Malaysia and overseas. Take Corey Taylor for instance, he’s in both Stone Sour and Slipknot. Locally, Ian from Damn Dirty Apes is now playing with John’s Mistress. (Laughs)
7. How would readers be able to hear your music?
To all you readers out there, you could head over to www.jamtank.com/brokenscar to download some of my very rough demo recordings. They were recorded as demos to get gigs so the quality is not fantastic.
You could also leave your emails in the guestbook and receive updates on my upcoming gigs. It would definitely be better if you come catch me live. Then at least I’d get to meet you!
8. Apart from music, are you doing anything else?
I would love to say that music is all I live for, but if my day job counts as “anything else”, then yes. (Laughs)
9. What are your future plans?
Get married, have kids and move to a suburb far, far away? (Laughs)
I would definitely love to produce and record a full-length album as Broken Scar. It may not happen anytime soon as I’m currently recording with John’s Mistress for our upcoming EP that’s due for release really soon (keep a look out for it okay?), but it is definitely on my to-do list.
1. Why Broken Scar? (Does the name have any connections to your personal life?)
Broken Scar was initially supposed to be my band name. I told myself that I would call my future band Broken Scar. However, when I heard about John Mayer, I was inspired to go ahead and play as a one-man outfit. I re-arranged the songs written originally for a full band setting, mellowed them down, and my Broken Scar material was born.
There is significance in the name Broken Scar and it has to do with how I view things in my life. A scar, to me, represents pain or hurt from the past. Some people are haunted by their past like it’s a curse but it needs to be broken. We can't always have scars hurting and haunting us our whole lives. Hence the name, Broken Scar. I was inspired while reading the Bible.
2. We saw your perform at the KLue & Starbucks Presents HSBC Chill Out Series, and you seemed at ease. What was performing in front of an intimate audience like?
I love performing in front of intimate audiences, especially responsive ones. At an event like the Chill Out Series, I’d just invite my friends, play my heart out, chill out with the audience after the show and get to know more people. I’ve been playing in the circuit for two years now and during this time I’ve learnt to overcome the initial stage fright.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t say that I’m totally at ease either. I get a little nervous sometimes and to ease the nerves, I tend to drink a lot of water which then results in a million and one trips to the washroom. It’s a nice feeling actually – the nervousness – it’s only because I want to play my best every single time. If I stop feeling the butterflies in my stomach, it just means that I’ve gotten jaded and I definitely wouldn’t want that to happen.
3. Describe your style of music
I normally have difficulty describing my style of music. Because I listen to so many genres of music - anything from jazz to metal - my influences and inspirations vary from time to time. My songs vary too, from up tempo alternative rock to mellow ballads with a touch of blues. I’d probably fall into the same category as the Goo Goo Dolls. For lack of a better description, I would say that it is acoustic rock/alternative. Why don’t you be the judge?
4. Do you write all your songs and when do you find time to write music?
I write all of my music and lyrics with the exception of ‘Silence’ which was written with a friend of mine. Since time seems to be something that I’m lacking lately, I write every opportunity I get. My songs tend to start off in various ways. Sometimes an entire song comes together really quickly, other times I will have just bits and pieces of a song with its other parts not quite figured out yet. Recently, a complete song was just playing in my head and I wrote it down in its entirety within a few minutes. That was how “Scratch” was written too. It was just five minutes of quick scratching on a piece of scratch paper and everything just came together. Hence, the title of the song.
The earlier songs I wrote may seem a little negative at a glance but the main intention was to write about how there is always hope in the midst of confusion or sadness.
Lately, anything and everything that’s beautiful seems to inspire me. I guess I’m at a different stage of my life now.
5. You're also one part of John's Mistress. Is it difficult to be in a band, and at the same time on your own? Are there any conflicts of interest going on?
I don’t know if it’s difficult to juggle between being in a band and doing something on your own, but it’s definitely not difficult in my case because the band is John’s Mistress. My bandmates are simply awesome and very supportive. They’re like family to me. I spent my twenty first birthday with the band. They threw me a little party. Chino and Fumi were also there to support me at the Chill Out Series. There is definitely no conflict of interest. It’s all cool.
It’s pretty easy and straightforward to play solo as I don’t have to coordinate practice sessions with other band members and all I do is practice on my own. However, it may be more complicated to arrange jamming sessions when I have my own band as there would be more members involved.
6. Is it a norm for some band members to be part of another band in the music world?
I guess it happens pretty often both here in Malaysia and overseas. Take Corey Taylor for instance, he’s in both Stone Sour and Slipknot. Locally, Ian from Damn Dirty Apes is now playing with John’s Mistress. (Laughs)
7. How would readers be able to hear your music?
To all you readers out there, you could head over to www.jamtank.com/brokenscar to download some of my very rough demo recordings. They were recorded as demos to get gigs so the quality is not fantastic.
You could also leave your emails in the guestbook and receive updates on my upcoming gigs. It would definitely be better if you come catch me live. Then at least I’d get to meet you!
8. Apart from music, are you doing anything else?
I would love to say that music is all I live for, but if my day job counts as “anything else”, then yes. (Laughs)
9. What are your future plans?
Get married, have kids and move to a suburb far, far away? (Laughs)
I would definitely love to produce and record a full-length album as Broken Scar. It may not happen anytime soon as I’m currently recording with John’s Mistress for our upcoming EP that’s due for release really soon (keep a look out for it okay?), but it is definitely on my to-do list.
Is this the old interview? Cannot be right? Looks new to me..
It's the old one actually. My fault for not specifying.