It’s getting interesting. Jamming today was rather different as there was no fixed setlist to work on as it was pretty much laidback.
We started off running through some of the usual songs and then we moved on to do the “emo” song. It was a fun side-track. It felt like a good night for some emo riffs and singing.
It was a good session. We also attempted to take some band pictures. Well, at least one or two shots turned out okay.
The album plans are also slowly coming into place and it’s all healthy.
Throughout the week, I sometimes wonder why I do certain things and why I’m doing what I’m doing. Sometimes it’s challenging to stay focused in times when the light at the end of the tunnel seems so dim. It’s difficult to comprehend things when concepts and ideas are just in the head. It’s a lot harder to see a clear picture when everything is not concrete. But with perseverance, things slowly fall into place and slowly emerge to be more concrete, a little by little.
Jamming has served me as reminders that each day, we’re just getting closer to the final product. It keeps me going. It gives me a boost and a recharge.
Superficial Archictecture
0 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Thursday, October 27, 2005 at 2:44 AM.
Forget all superficial things.
Forget all material things.
What's the point anyway? What if you just take the last breath right now? Can you take everything with you? You can't, can you? So why bother building a kingdom on earth? You never know when you will depart from dear old earth.
Focus on relationships. Focus on friendships. Focus on God. Why bother with the rest?
Forget all material things.
What's the point anyway? What if you just take the last breath right now? Can you take everything with you? You can't, can you? So why bother building a kingdom on earth? You never know when you will depart from dear old earth.
Focus on relationships. Focus on friendships. Focus on God. Why bother with the rest?
Colour To The Colourless
2 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 at 9:48 PM.
I guess thinking about Taste Of Chaos brings back memories of Melbourne again. Maybe it’s because I want to be at Taste Of Chaos that badly. Maybe I just miss Melbourne that much. Now that I think of it, it’s a bit of both but heavier for the latter. Yes, the line-up for the tour is great. Yes, I miss all the tours and gigs I went to. But it’s definitely one person that I miss the most.
It’s been more than a month now and I still can't bear looking through all the pictures taken in Melbourne carefully. The furthest that I could go is browsing through the folders in thumbnails or clicking on one folder before exiting way too quickly. I could look at the pictures easily when I was still there in Melbourne. But somehow, it just seems too difficult from here. It just feels too heavy.
I couldn’t even bear looking through the August/September archives and the posts made from over there. It’s weird because something like this will only happen if the memories were unpleasant or if one wants to forget the past and never confront it again. But in my case, it is totally the opposite. Everything was perfect despite any imperfections. It was a great trip and I never want to forget a single bit of it, ever!
I guess it’s because I miss Melbourne and what I left behind that has put me into this situation. It’s fine even if I don’t get out of this. I’ll gladly embrace it.
The Cat Empire is echoing in my mind. I can almost feel the salty breeze of St. Kilda. I can almost see the beautiful sunset at Rialto in the background of my mind. I can almost smell the great food at Lygon, Chinatown and the city. I can almost taste the air. I can almost hear the sound of the airport, both touching down and taking off.
Somehow, words cannot describe what this feeling is. Words cannot even describe how beautiful this memory is. Melbourne has engraved this in my heart and mind.
It’s with a heavy heart that I write this.
Recording: Day Fifteen
0 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Monday, October 24, 2005 at 9:52 PM.
A little more done today. It's getting a little clearer now. Be patient.
Taste Of Chaos is around the corner! Wednesday! Too bad I can't be at anyone of them. What better line-up could one ask for?
The Used
Killswitch Engage
Funeral For A Friend
Story Of The Year
Rise Against
Oh well, to celebrate my own "Taste Of Chaos Week", I kicked it off by watching The Used - Maybe Memories DVD and Behind Crimson Eyes. It was inspiring.
They always ask you what your ambition is when you were in school. I should have said:
1. Musician
2. Millionaire
3. Gig Maniac
Maybe if I said all that, they would've come true. Oh well...
The Used
Killswitch Engage
Funeral For A Friend
Story Of The Year
Rise Against
Oh well, to celebrate my own "Taste Of Chaos Week", I kicked it off by watching The Used - Maybe Memories DVD and Behind Crimson Eyes. It was inspiring.
They always ask you what your ambition is when you were in school. I should have said:
1. Musician
2. Millionaire
3. Gig Maniac
Maybe if I said all that, they would've come true. Oh well...
Stickmen vs. Low End Assasins
0 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 9:55 PM.
*Click on the picture for a larger view
You have to go for both these gigs. You don't want to be left out, trust me. I missed one, not on purpose of course and I'll never experience it again. So here's your chance! Mark your calanders!
Oktober Fest? What fest? You call it a fest? No one even really knew about it. RM1 beer? I knew it was too good to be true. It was nothing but a disappointment. No where near a fest. Not the kinda fest I saw in my head. Oh well...
Recording: Day Fourteen - Adrenalin Jam
0 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 1:58 AM.
I wish that everyday would be like today. Well at least the good parts of today and not the little lows.
I drove down to Kim’s place to record vocals again today but I lugged both my Norman guitars anyway just in case we had some extra time to do some guitars. I was going to jam later at night anyway so I may as well just bring it with me.
We managed to nail the vocals for The Happy Song and also the guitars for Midnight In St Kilda. Kim had to leave early for his artist’s promo so we called it a day by 130pm.
The weather was pretty miserable today. It was gloomy and it rained most of the time and occasionally the sun would peek out just for awhile.
This was when I thought the good parts of the day would be ending soon. I bought some lunch home and realized I was super hungry by the time I got home, so I gobbled everything down. I felt sick after that. So I decided to take a nap. I woke up with quite a horrible headache.
But all was cured when jamming started! Today’s jam session with the boys must have been one of the best ever, to me at least. The feel was right, tempo and momentum was right and best of all, we didn’t only nail the usual songs we did, we also tackled two new songs. Again, it was like a breath of fresh air. Jamming for two hours straight can normally drain you, but it was different this time around for me! I was already dead tired before the session but I was recharged right after. It felt really good the whole time from the start till the end. If only I had it recorded on video or so.
As I drove home, adrenalin was still pumping. I knew I had to write about this. This is to Alda and Manshaan, if you guys are reading this. I guess there are just no words to describe the session. It was all good!
I drove down to Kim’s place to record vocals again today but I lugged both my Norman guitars anyway just in case we had some extra time to do some guitars. I was going to jam later at night anyway so I may as well just bring it with me.
We managed to nail the vocals for The Happy Song and also the guitars for Midnight In St Kilda. Kim had to leave early for his artist’s promo so we called it a day by 130pm.
The weather was pretty miserable today. It was gloomy and it rained most of the time and occasionally the sun would peek out just for awhile.
This was when I thought the good parts of the day would be ending soon. I bought some lunch home and realized I was super hungry by the time I got home, so I gobbled everything down. I felt sick after that. So I decided to take a nap. I woke up with quite a horrible headache.
But all was cured when jamming started! Today’s jam session with the boys must have been one of the best ever, to me at least. The feel was right, tempo and momentum was right and best of all, we didn’t only nail the usual songs we did, we also tackled two new songs. Again, it was like a breath of fresh air. Jamming for two hours straight can normally drain you, but it was different this time around for me! I was already dead tired before the session but I was recharged right after. It felt really good the whole time from the start till the end. If only I had it recorded on video or so.
As I drove home, adrenalin was still pumping. I knew I had to write about this. This is to Alda and Manshaan, if you guys are reading this. I guess there are just no words to describe the session. It was all good!
Here’s a rant.
It's been ages since I've attended a class conducted in BM and boy, have I lost touch. I guess it's just the rebel in me that refuses to absorb anything conducted in BM unless I’m forced to. Since SPM, the only other course I attended in BM was the driving lecture. I find it taxing because I have to actively translate to English in my head.
There's no end to learning and learnt knowledge will definitely not be wasted as it could be used somehow, someday. But at this point, I'm just fed up. Why?
It’s simply because of idiots who cannot express ideas fluently and have poor command of a language which causes miscommunication and confusion.
The Asian mentality is such that the students will never ask questions and the lecturer will just go on and on. I can see why. All the while, the students knew nothing but fear because when they ask a question, the teacher would very likely do the following:
1. Laugh at the student
2. Scold the student (Like that also don’t know ah?)
3. Intimidate the student just to show them who's the boss (if the student asks if there’s another method to a math equation)
4. Make fun of the student in front of the class and end up humiliating the poor kid (just because he doesn’t understand something doesn’t mean he isn’t entitled to asking questions)
(Of course, I’m not talking about all teachers. There are teachers who are the brightest of stars and sweetest of gems)
So there's no wonder why Asian students end up keeping questions to themselves and keeping their mouths shut. They're just too afraid of the humiliation.
So just because that's the norm, it doesn't mean there can't be the salmon of the lot, those who swim up stream and not float downstream like the rest. So now what? The teacher/lecturer is stuck because the student has asked a good and thoughtful question that the lecturer couldn't answer. So to cover it up, he goes ahead and makes a fool of the student. Now that is plain stupidity.
If someone asks you a question, and you don't know the answer, simply say, "I'm not too sure about the answer, but I'll look it up. I'll get back to you when I do get an answer". Simple. I know I'd do that. I'd gladly say, "I don't know" rather than bluffing my way through and covering everything up. Why make a victim out of the student?
So I was caught in a similar situation. I got an idiot of a trainer today. So what did I do? I walked out.
(Of course, I didn't make a scene. Why should I? I picked up my stuff and walked out silently. It's a free world. If you don't like something, don't put up with it. Walk out.)
It's been ages since I've attended a class conducted in BM and boy, have I lost touch. I guess it's just the rebel in me that refuses to absorb anything conducted in BM unless I’m forced to. Since SPM, the only other course I attended in BM was the driving lecture. I find it taxing because I have to actively translate to English in my head.
There's no end to learning and learnt knowledge will definitely not be wasted as it could be used somehow, someday. But at this point, I'm just fed up. Why?
It’s simply because of idiots who cannot express ideas fluently and have poor command of a language which causes miscommunication and confusion.
The Asian mentality is such that the students will never ask questions and the lecturer will just go on and on. I can see why. All the while, the students knew nothing but fear because when they ask a question, the teacher would very likely do the following:
1. Laugh at the student
2. Scold the student (Like that also don’t know ah?)
3. Intimidate the student just to show them who's the boss (if the student asks if there’s another method to a math equation)
4. Make fun of the student in front of the class and end up humiliating the poor kid (just because he doesn’t understand something doesn’t mean he isn’t entitled to asking questions)
(Of course, I’m not talking about all teachers. There are teachers who are the brightest of stars and sweetest of gems)
So there's no wonder why Asian students end up keeping questions to themselves and keeping their mouths shut. They're just too afraid of the humiliation.
So just because that's the norm, it doesn't mean there can't be the salmon of the lot, those who swim up stream and not float downstream like the rest. So now what? The teacher/lecturer is stuck because the student has asked a good and thoughtful question that the lecturer couldn't answer. So to cover it up, he goes ahead and makes a fool of the student. Now that is plain stupidity.
If someone asks you a question, and you don't know the answer, simply say, "I'm not too sure about the answer, but I'll look it up. I'll get back to you when I do get an answer". Simple. I know I'd do that. I'd gladly say, "I don't know" rather than bluffing my way through and covering everything up. Why make a victim out of the student?
So I was caught in a similar situation. I got an idiot of a trainer today. So what did I do? I walked out.
(Of course, I didn't make a scene. Why should I? I picked up my stuff and walked out silently. It's a free world. If you don't like something, don't put up with it. Walk out.)
Today’s recording session would probably be the most rushed session so far. It felt like it was rushed, but it still took about an hour and a half to nail the main vocal line for “Down”. Well, at least we got things done despite the lack of time.
We were supposed to start recording at 3pm but due to unforeseen circumstances, we started only about 5 plus. Can’t wait to go back to the studio do finish up the backup vocals and hopefully nail more vocal tracks.
We were supposed to start recording at 3pm but due to unforeseen circumstances, we started only about 5 plus. Can’t wait to go back to the studio do finish up the backup vocals and hopefully nail more vocal tracks.
I guess it was impulsive that I decided to take a drive down to La Bodega in the heart of KL to play open mic at the Troubadours organized by Azmyl Yunor, Tan Sei Hon and Jerome Kugan. I arrived and it felt just like home. I was in the company of singer songwriters like me.
So I went on to play Down and Hey You for open mic. La Bodega is my favourite venue in KL to play in, thanks to the great sound provided by Gerardine and Sasha. The atmosphere is also fantastic with dimmed lights and an attentive and appreciative audience.
Head on over to troubadourskl.blogspot.com to read a review and check out heaps of pictures.
So I went on to play Down and Hey You for open mic. La Bodega is my favourite venue in KL to play in, thanks to the great sound provided by Gerardine and Sasha. The atmosphere is also fantastic with dimmed lights and an attentive and appreciative audience.
Head on over to troubadourskl.blogspot.com to read a review and check out heaps of pictures.
*Banner courtesy of Yi Ming
Take this banner and put it everywhere! Thank you.
Conversations In The Rain
0 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Friday, October 14, 2005 at 1:44 AM.
It’s funny how things work out sometimes. It seems like everything that can go wrong will choose to go wrong all at the same time. It gets worse when things seem to be going very well and all of a sudden this burst of turbulence just occur when there’s not even room for a small stir.
Tossing and turning, trying to shrug things aside just seemed like there’s too much effort put into it. I guess there is no one way to go about difficult situations, no matter how large or how small the scale of the difficulty is. The only way to get out of it is to go right through it. Brave it and hope to get out of it alive. Ignoring facts will just get you no where.
So what’s the solution? What’s the cure? Music, that’s the answer.
Every week, every day I just look forward to jamming and practicing with the band. I’ve grown to love the sound of the band more than my own. It could get a little lonely practicing and singing alone lately.
Jamming keeps me sane.
The rain also helped my sanity. I’ve never stopped being amused by the rain.
The summary: All things went wrong all at once in a perfectly wrong timing but jamming and the rain also fell at a perfect timing that made it all a little better.
On another note, conversations are always treasured. Thanks Alda.
The Tall has tagged me. I can only afford to complete the first one though. It’s kinda cool to take your mind off things to do these kinda things but anything beyond the first seven things in the list is just impossible for me. I guess none of these things are in any sort of order or priority. So here we go…
SEVEN THINGS I WANNA DO BEFORE I DIE
1. Get married
2. Record and release a few albums
3. Win awards for the albums
4. Tour the world as a musician and a tourist
5. See all my friends make it big in life in anything that they pursue
6. Donate as much money as possible to the needy to make the world a better place
7. Retire in Australia
Why stop at seven? There are way too many things to do in this lifetime and seven is simply not enough. Oh well...Instead of taking the time to list the rest down, I'd go right ahead and do those things instead. Later.
SEVEN THINGS I WANNA DO BEFORE I DIE
1. Get married
2. Record and release a few albums
3. Win awards for the albums
4. Tour the world as a musician and a tourist
5. See all my friends make it big in life in anything that they pursue
6. Donate as much money as possible to the needy to make the world a better place
7. Retire in Australia
Why stop at seven? There are way too many things to do in this lifetime and seven is simply not enough. Oh well...Instead of taking the time to list the rest down, I'd go right ahead and do those things instead. Later.
Recording: Day Twelve - Burning Hot
0 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 at 12:14 AM.
Today has been nothing but a crazy day! It’s been insanely hot and traveling in long traffic jams while dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt all day did not help at all. Moving from cold to brain damaging hot environments only adds to the complication. To make things a little worse, I had to be forgetful and leave things behind and end up having to take another long drive through another massive traffic jam to collect what I’ve left behind.
Despite the scorching weather, the recording session for vocals today was productive. I guess it all depends on how one defines “productive”. All the lead and backup vocals are completed for one of the songs, Clocks and the entire feel was kept intact. That was good enough for me.
On another note, the authorities came and did some major fogging in my neighborhood right after dinner. This is due to the Dengue outbreak. Oh well, this was just one of those days where everything had to happen all at once and all at the wrong time.
But then again, I guess it's not that bad. At least I got things done.
Despite the scorching weather, the recording session for vocals today was productive. I guess it all depends on how one defines “productive”. All the lead and backup vocals are completed for one of the songs, Clocks and the entire feel was kept intact. That was good enough for me.
On another note, the authorities came and did some major fogging in my neighborhood right after dinner. This is due to the Dengue outbreak. Oh well, this was just one of those days where everything had to happen all at once and all at the wrong time.
But then again, I guess it's not that bad. At least I got things done.
I guess the novelty of blogging has worn out a little bit. I’ve grown a little lazy and I might have lost the art of blogging. I don’t quite know what to say lately as there has been just too much going on. It’s been quite difficult to organize my thoughts lately but the only prominent thing on my mind right now is the craving to play shows.
There has been much to think about regarding the album such as the album concept as a whole to tie in with the album design, who to design it, the website, the production steps, etc.
The fun just started in the studio as all the backbone tracks are all recorded and the idea of the whole album coming together is much clearer now. The drums, bass and acoustic guitar tracks are recorded. The fun begins with the little things that enhance the song to be more wholesome.
Besides that, I’ve been listening to a lot of The Cat Empire, Armageddon Sky and The Bedroom Philosopher. Three totally different genres you should definitely check out.
Click on the links below:
Armageddon Sky
The Cat Empire
The Bedroom Philosopher
Enjoy!
There has been much to think about regarding the album such as the album concept as a whole to tie in with the album design, who to design it, the website, the production steps, etc.
The fun just started in the studio as all the backbone tracks are all recorded and the idea of the whole album coming together is much clearer now. The drums, bass and acoustic guitar tracks are recorded. The fun begins with the little things that enhance the song to be more wholesome.
Besides that, I’ve been listening to a lot of The Cat Empire, Armageddon Sky and The Bedroom Philosopher. Three totally different genres you should definitely check out.
Click on the links below:
Armageddon Sky
The Cat Empire
The Bedroom Philosopher
Enjoy!
Oxtober Stix Again
0 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Thursday, October 06, 2005 at 7:18 PM.
What can I say? It's Oxtober Stix again. Time no longer flies. It simply disappears. You sleep the night before, you wake up and realise, "Hey, a week, a month, a year has gone by".
I love Oxtober Stix.
I love Oxtober Stix.
Alda
Zack
Imran of One Buck Short on drums.
The fan on the ceiling kinda makes the picture look like we were playing at a house party or some sort.
These pictures were taken at the Xcited Screamers album launch. This is where Emily made her debut. (Emily's that sweet guitar, if you're wondering who she is)
*All pictures taken by Albert
