More Than Meets The Eye
0 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 at 10:44 PM.
Cosmos
...Autobot Transform
Thanks to Albert, I have now fulfilled a childhood dream, to own Transformers Generation One Toys.
First, there was Hotwheels, now Transformers. What more can a boy ask for?
It started out with the DigiBand Era held in Berjaya Times Square. *Pictures to come*
Then, it was shopping time. I went crazy when I saw my favourite Cosmos and Bumble Bee and four other fellow Autobots in this collectors box set! I knew I wanted it. I fell in love instantly. There was Warpath, the tank as well. *Pictures to come*
Ah, such joy! It brings back the old memories. For a moment there, I was transported to when I was five. Is this the beginning of a new obsession? I hope not as it would burst a hole in my pocket. It's always good to side track from music every now and then, don't you think? Brings out the kid in us.
What more can I say? Let the pictures speak for themselves.
Recording: Day Eight
1 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Saturday, May 28, 2005 at 12:48 AM.
For this session, I went to fix all the problematic vocal lines, those that are not on time or on pitch.
It was quite productive as I managed to touch up Scratch and finished up Hey You. There’s nothing much besides doing take after take to hit a good take.
From now on, I can only wait to be surprised.
Norman B18 Acoustic Guitar.
Black is the way to go.
A close up of the headstock. (No this is not a picture of my B20)
Somehow despite the body of the B18 being black, the headstock is the same color as the B20.
The reason for this addtion is that I needed a second guitar for alternate tunings, a guitar that is strong enough to hold up .12 gauge strings and handle different tunings.
This guitar sounds sweet for the mellow, whole bodied, open chord, open tuning sounds.
Black is the way to go.
A close up of the headstock. (No this is not a picture of my B20)
Somehow despite the body of the B18 being black, the headstock is the same color as the B20.
The reason for this addtion is that I needed a second guitar for alternate tunings, a guitar that is strong enough to hold up .12 gauge strings and handle different tunings.
This guitar sounds sweet for the mellow, whole bodied, open chord, open tuning sounds.
Recording: Day Seven
0 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Thursday, May 19, 2005 at 10:38 PM.
I said that I'd save my thoughts while I was feeling them.
Today was the perfect day to sleep in, enjoy the cold provided by the rain, allow the hypnotic sound of the rain to soothe, hide under the covers, shiver a little, wake up a little and fall back asleep all over again.
However, such luxury is sparse lately as I begin to push myself forward towards recording and getting all the tracks down. Today was planned and scheduled for recording “Hey You” an acoustic number which is going to end up on the CD.
After the drive to the studio in a daze and a delicious lunch, the session began.
Recording the rhythm guitar was rather different this time around as I was using my newly obtained Norman B18 acoustic guitar and it sounded mellower than the other guitar I used, the B20. It sounded as if the guitar was fitted with dead strings.
Kim said that if it didn't sound good he would recommend that I use the old guitar. I liked the mellow and the deep body tone from this new one.
So we went ahead with the B18. After that was done, we recorded the single note lines with the B20.
All in all the guitars sounded good.
Next up was the vocals. It's true what they say, that your voice will be affected if your body is tired. I know it's a whole reaction as everything in our body is connected, but I never knew it was this bad. It was just too difficult to throw my voice and hit the correct pitch. It also didn't help as I was only recovering from a case of flu.
After doing countless takes, we only managed to record two verses and two choruses and I decided to stop. Pushing it will only go no where as I was too tired to continue.
So what was the lesson learnt? Drink loads of water and rest well before sessions.
Today was the perfect day to sleep in, enjoy the cold provided by the rain, allow the hypnotic sound of the rain to soothe, hide under the covers, shiver a little, wake up a little and fall back asleep all over again.
However, such luxury is sparse lately as I begin to push myself forward towards recording and getting all the tracks down. Today was planned and scheduled for recording “Hey You” an acoustic number which is going to end up on the CD.
After the drive to the studio in a daze and a delicious lunch, the session began.
Recording the rhythm guitar was rather different this time around as I was using my newly obtained Norman B18 acoustic guitar and it sounded mellower than the other guitar I used, the B20. It sounded as if the guitar was fitted with dead strings.
Kim said that if it didn't sound good he would recommend that I use the old guitar. I liked the mellow and the deep body tone from this new one.
So we went ahead with the B18. After that was done, we recorded the single note lines with the B20.
All in all the guitars sounded good.
Next up was the vocals. It's true what they say, that your voice will be affected if your body is tired. I know it's a whole reaction as everything in our body is connected, but I never knew it was this bad. It was just too difficult to throw my voice and hit the correct pitch. It also didn't help as I was only recovering from a case of flu.
After doing countless takes, we only managed to record two verses and two choruses and I decided to stop. Pushing it will only go no where as I was too tired to continue.
So what was the lesson learnt? Drink loads of water and rest well before sessions.
I finally picked up the March issue of Guitar Techniques that I bought and neglected for a good two months now.
It's ironic how I call myself a guitarist but I hardly had the time to practice simple licks to increase accuracy and speed.
Today was a beautiful day. Guitar techniques inspired me to run simple licks to keep them speedy and accurate. Somehow, those simple licks provided me the connecting lines to connect the existing licks I have been playing.
So it's going to be practice, practice and practice from now on.
It's ironic how I call myself a guitarist but I hardly had the time to practice simple licks to increase accuracy and speed.
Today was a beautiful day. Guitar techniques inspired me to run simple licks to keep them speedy and accurate. Somehow, those simple licks provided me the connecting lines to connect the existing licks I have been playing.
So it's going to be practice, practice and practice from now on.
Silent Screams And Internal Bleeding
0 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Thursday, May 12, 2005 at 8:51 PM.
I’ve definitely been listening to too much emo and the like, hence the title. There seems to be no way to distinguish genres nowadays, so why bother?
Somehow I feel that this new breed of song-writers have such an excellent and alternative way to communicate their ideas.
“Make a circle square, a rectangle curve”. The Used
Here are some random thoughts.
Feelings are so difficult to describe, but the title above somehow made sense to me. One could be going through turbulence at its peak, sinking deeper, drowning, barely breathing, almost dying and reaching out his hand towards safety that seems ever so vague all inside, yet nobody sees or even senses it. It’s as if one is screaming for help from the inside, yet no one hears the screaming or even understands it because it seems calm and almost perfect from the outside.
It’s like internal bleeding or even a disease that shows not even a single sign on the outward, where one can be suffering yet everyone around thinks it’s nothing. It doesn’t mean that although things may look fine on the outside, everything is just perfect.
“You could stay and watch me fall and of course I'll ask for help”. The Used
I guess what I'm trying to say is that words can be put together in a certain way that does not always mean the literal. Try a different angle, you'll see.
Somehow I feel that this new breed of song-writers have such an excellent and alternative way to communicate their ideas.
“Make a circle square, a rectangle curve”. The Used
Here are some random thoughts.
Feelings are so difficult to describe, but the title above somehow made sense to me. One could be going through turbulence at its peak, sinking deeper, drowning, barely breathing, almost dying and reaching out his hand towards safety that seems ever so vague all inside, yet nobody sees or even senses it. It’s as if one is screaming for help from the inside, yet no one hears the screaming or even understands it because it seems calm and almost perfect from the outside.
It’s like internal bleeding or even a disease that shows not even a single sign on the outward, where one can be suffering yet everyone around thinks it’s nothing. It doesn’t mean that although things may look fine on the outside, everything is just perfect.
“You could stay and watch me fall and of course I'll ask for help”. The Used
I guess what I'm trying to say is that words can be put together in a certain way that does not always mean the literal. Try a different angle, you'll see.
It’s funny how all it takes is to fall sick to finally find a little free time that result to sweet alone time.
Feeling sick isn’t the best feeling in the world, but I guess it is nature’s way of telling me to slow down and take it a little easy. I need not worry about expectations and best of all, work was totally out of my mind. Well, at least for yesterday and today it is. Come tomorrow, it starts all over again.
I have been experiencing a song writing dry spell for some time now and I finally got the momentum going again. Thanks to this slow down in daily routine, I’ve found inspiration and time to be creative.
I’m currently reading Paulo Coelho’s Veronika Decides To Die. The funny thing was I brought that book to the doctor’s to kill time. You know how it is, the long wait. So I may as well read. I can’t really describe why it feels funny because if I do, I may spoil the book for those who intend to read it. Read and you’ll find out.
After months of feeling detached from the things I enjoy doing, today I feel connected to my surroundings, things and myself.
Feeling sick isn’t the best feeling in the world, but I guess it is nature’s way of telling me to slow down and take it a little easy. I need not worry about expectations and best of all, work was totally out of my mind. Well, at least for yesterday and today it is. Come tomorrow, it starts all over again.
I have been experiencing a song writing dry spell for some time now and I finally got the momentum going again. Thanks to this slow down in daily routine, I’ve found inspiration and time to be creative.
I’m currently reading Paulo Coelho’s Veronika Decides To Die. The funny thing was I brought that book to the doctor’s to kill time. You know how it is, the long wait. So I may as well read. I can’t really describe why it feels funny because if I do, I may spoil the book for those who intend to read it. Read and you’ll find out.
After months of feeling detached from the things I enjoy doing, today I feel connected to my surroundings, things and myself.
Days had passed so rapidly lately. I’m not even going to bother to recall, re-count and look back. It’s just too tedious. So here’s a recap of what I remember.
29th April 2005 : Pussy Rock Gig at Paul’s Place. This gig was an excellent display of virtuosity. Cosmic Funk Express, my personal favourite.
1st May 2005 : Levi’s 501 Day Showcase at Tower Records KLCC. Two words, neck breaker!
7th May 2005 : Levi’s 501 Day Battle Of The Bands at Plaza Mont Kiara. Partaaay!
Why was I at the Levi’s events? Not only because they were large events where everyone should have been, but I went because of my brother. He’s a part of the band, Army Of Three that took part in the competition.
They bagged the second place at the battle and I am happy and proud. Congratulations AOT!
My mind’s all over the place. So head on over to, armyofthree.negimaki.com for pictures and to read more about Army Of Three.
29th April 2005 : Pussy Rock Gig at Paul’s Place. This gig was an excellent display of virtuosity. Cosmic Funk Express, my personal favourite.
1st May 2005 : Levi’s 501 Day Showcase at Tower Records KLCC. Two words, neck breaker!
7th May 2005 : Levi’s 501 Day Battle Of The Bands at Plaza Mont Kiara. Partaaay!
Why was I at the Levi’s events? Not only because they were large events where everyone should have been, but I went because of my brother. He’s a part of the band, Army Of Three that took part in the competition.
They bagged the second place at the battle and I am happy and proud. Congratulations AOT!
My mind’s all over the place. So head on over to, armyofthree.negimaki.com for pictures and to read more about Army Of Three.
Dreams came and gone through the course of this journey that I’ve taken. They somehow seem to form like a swell. They appear ever so slowly and subtly. But before you know it, it comes crumbling right before your very eyes, sometimes almost overnight all of a sudden out of the blue and sometimes gradually because you saw it coming and all you could do is slowly watch it diminish painfully into the unknown just like watching a candle burn out.
Either way, chasing a dream is like riding a rollercoaster. There are always the ups and the downs. At a time where many of these dreams present me with downs, I realise that one is emerging somewhere, at the corner of my eye, peeking out of its comfort zone.
There is no point to run after it desperately. The best thing to do now is to let it slowly bloom into its full glory.
See, things aren’t always what they seem to be. Nothing is ever only on the down side and plain negative. There are a million and one angles, means and ways to look at a subject. There’s always something good out of the bad.
Some view me as an overdramatic, but I like it this way. I get to fully embrace the little details in life.
Either way, chasing a dream is like riding a rollercoaster. There are always the ups and the downs. At a time where many of these dreams present me with downs, I realise that one is emerging somewhere, at the corner of my eye, peeking out of its comfort zone.
There is no point to run after it desperately. The best thing to do now is to let it slowly bloom into its full glory.
See, things aren’t always what they seem to be. Nothing is ever only on the down side and plain negative. There are a million and one angles, means and ways to look at a subject. There’s always something good out of the bad.
Some view me as an overdramatic, but I like it this way. I get to fully embrace the little details in life.
05-05-05
Days, months and years may just fly by before our eyes, but I thought that since today will only happen once in a lifetime, I’d point it out.
Days, months and years may just fly by before our eyes, but I thought that since today will only happen once in a lifetime, I’d point it out.
Vocal day again. This time however was more productive than the previous session where I did Scratch. I managed to knock down lead vocal and backup vocal tracks for two songs, Silence and Bleeding.
We first recorded Bleeding and it was a lot easier compared to Scratch. We took about an hour to knock down the vocal tracks for Bleeding.
We then took an hour lunch break.
After the break, we resumed work with the vocal tracks for Silence. Got that all done also in about an hour plus.
With the extra time on our hands, we recorded guitar parts as well for both the songs.
All in all, we've completed three full tracks. The next session would probably be a fine tuning session where I will make necessary adjustments and re-recording some vocal lines if they need repairing.
Let's see what happens next.
We first recorded Bleeding and it was a lot easier compared to Scratch. We took about an hour to knock down the vocal tracks for Bleeding.
We then took an hour lunch break.
After the break, we resumed work with the vocal tracks for Silence. Got that all done also in about an hour plus.
With the extra time on our hands, we recorded guitar parts as well for both the songs.
All in all, we've completed three full tracks. The next session would probably be a fine tuning session where I will make necessary adjustments and re-recording some vocal lines if they need repairing.
Let's see what happens next.
