WE NEED SUPPORT FOR LOCAL MUSICIANS.....

Read on the new about some K group SHINee coming to Singapore. More than a thousand fans thronged a neighbourhood shopping centre causing some disturbance.

More than a thousand for a group that relies on looks? I mean seriously? It begs me to ask this question which probably would have been asked time and time again.

Why not the same type of support of local music?

I got +65 Indie Underground from Darkholme for X'mas 09. One of the best present I got.

It was a 2 CD album that contains songs from Singapore bands past and present. A must buy album I must say

+65 Indie Underground": a 3-CD set of recordings made in Singapore

Singapore music has indeed come a long way. How many of us would remember bands like Corporate Toil, fronted by Joe Ng (Yes that Joe Ng from Meepok Man) who later went on to front The Padres, Pagans, Opposition Party, Stomping Ground, Humback Oak, Concave Scream, The Crowd, The Oddfellows fronted by Patrick Chng who is another legend in Singapore Music. Also not forgetting the recent acts like West Grand Boulevard, Electrico and Ronin (no more already I know.)

 

The Padres (probably the first line-up)

How many of you know names like Ben Harrison, Suhaimi Subandi, Frightful Francis, Kevin Matthews on top of the fore mentioned Joe Ng and Patrick Chng. I do not know them personally, but I respect them in every way for their work done for the local music scene.

Of course there are the recent new acts like up and coming Amanda Tee, Ling Kai among others who were obviously shadowed by the Suns and Hos and Chuas.

Singapore music has been here for along time, so why are we not getting the support. Observations from trips like Thailand, Indonesia and Japan tells me that locals there strongly support their own music. Places like HMV, Tower Records and the big CD stores thrive on their local music scene. They dedicate one whole floor to selling their local products. In Singapore? I don't even see a corner.

Stereo Kinetic Spiral Dreams was the CD by The Pagans. I still have the Cd stored somewhere safe in my house.

Is there a reason there a reason behind this? I once read in a interview done with a fairly famous singer/songwriter in Singapore. He said something along the lines of Singapore music will never be popular if we keep calling it underground. I beg to differ, the reason why we still use the word underground is because of the lack of support.

Is there something we lack? We still have lots of bands out there who play good music comparable to your Kings of Leon or Paramore. The bottomline is we have got what it takes, we just lack the support of our own country.

So the next time you see a local video on youtube whiile surfing or album at any local stores, take sometime to take a listen to them. 

Meanwhile check out this documentary done in Singapore titled "Radio Station Forgot to Play My Favourite Song" The titled is derived from a song from The Padres.

Part 1

Part 2 

Part 3

Also dont forget to purchase the +65 Indie Underground 3 Cd set. You can get it from here and all good music stores.

I hereby leave you with a classic song from the Padres, November'91

might as well leave you with another.. This is Still from Concave Scream.

Disclaimer : Pictures do not belong to me. They were taken off the +65 Indie Underground facebook group. 

Special thanks to Patrick Chng for the photos uploaded there.

For more information on Singapore music. visit:

http://www.walkonmusic.net

This Picture Cannot be Explained

This picture cannot be explained.. you can try . I can't.

Singapore - The Lion City, 1957, A Video Archive.

Then Singapore was already described as unique. See how much has changed then and now..

See how fast check out was at Changi Airport before the whole terrorist hoo hah.

It was a city founded by Sir Stamford Raffles (See modern Singapore was founded by a FT.)

No Tolerance for Stupid People

I may be anal, but I have absolute zero tolerance for stupid people. Its not really that hard to fall into that category of stupid people.

I am not that smart, so if you were to fall into my category of stupid people, you probably ought to feel really really bad.

Things like, since you already asked someone else, ask me for what? How hard is it to go find out for yourself? Don't ask me what to do when you go, Go find out for yourself ass-hat. Your jokes are so lame it makes Jack Neo look like David Letterman (Which reminds me ever noticed how un-funny people always talk the loudest? (Un-funny, is there even such a word? well there should be)). Heck I am not that funny, so if I don't find you funny, your jokes must be really lame.

Or at least make some sense when you talk and not just blabber out from your mouth...

or brag, oh my god, I swear bragging should be a crime.

I totally shut off from people like that. Waste of my time and effort, and really its not hard to see that I don't like you, unless you are blind (then of course if you are blind, I can forgive you.), you can see it from the way I talk to you and expression.

Sooooo bottomline, if you come talk to me and see that I behave as though you are gonna give me herpes or crabs or anything horrible, leave.

Have a good weekend y'all...

Why Yakult is cooler than Vitagen

There are many reasons why Yakult is cooler than Vitagen. Other than the taste, and the cool sounding L Casei Shirota.

It looks cooler when served in a glass with ice.

They got Ken Watanabe to endorse Yakult.

After a hard days work of shooting with a Canon, Ken Watanabe chills with a bottle of Yakult.

Now this is to me way cooler than this stupid one which we see in Singapore.

Who wants Felicia Chin when we got Ken Watanabe.

If Ken Watanabe needs more sugar, then WE need more sugar.

PS : Yes I have utter distaste for her and any ads that try to pass off as sexy.

I am a man of many hats....

Not too long ago, like last year, 24Seven had a Hat-py party at the SAM museum. It was to quote Eevon

" a congregation of bloggers" who wore hats.

This was what I wore.

Yeap thats me, the fatty with the durian hat.

Needless to say I did not win the Best Hat of the Night contest, for reasons I still do not understand and ask myself everyday.

Infact it was so bad I had to see a psychiatrist for it. It got so bad that even Lucy gave up on me.

Now the damage has been done I went on a quest to find the best hat so that I can show the organisers, they made the wrong choice.

I found even more hats and started trying them on....

Possibly the gayest thing evar put on my head

 

Oh lookie here, I fit in just nice with the monsters from Monsters Inc.

 The fiercest pirate ever... I think besides Johnny Depp, 

I am the best candidate for Pirates of the Carribbean 4. 

I tried to steal his hat, but yes I am afraid of the big bad wolf. 

 

Tried stealing it from this pig, but turns out he was fiercer than the big bad wolf

 

 Aliens on my head.

Marty, We are going BACK TO THE FUTURE..(Cue music soundtrack) 

This is one of my fav... I always wanted to be a Fireman when I was a kid.

Minutes after this photo was taken I was arrested for injuring a fireman and trying to pose as him.

They ran out of jail cell and put me in a dog pound. This was the only cell that could fit me.

During my quest for the perfect hats.. I came across this lady whom I hail as the Queen of Hats.

Medusa is nothing compared to her.

Little known, the first tablet for Apple in 1983

Many have anticipated that a Apple will be releasing a tablet for the event on 27th Jan.

The all powerful tablet that runs on Unicorn's tears and a strand of Medusa's hair.

I, for one is not really that interested in a tablet unless its really revolutionary.. I am looking however if new iLife 10 is being announced. I will be interested to see if there will be updates for Garageband and iMovie.

Little known fact is that Apple has been infact toying with a tablet since 1983, with pictures to prove of course..

This product shares the same name with Santa's reindeer

Named Bashful.. It was designed by Frog Design, which also helped create Apple IIc. Needless to say they were the one that leaked out the photos.

I must say this Bashful is really slim for its time, with keyboards and stylus. Infact several versions were toyed alround with featuring phone functionalities and possible disk drives.

Another proof that Apple was way ahead of its time. Speaking of which anyone knows where I can still get a Apple Newton?

Source : Wired

I'm with Coco...

Ladies and gentleman, before we bring this rodeo to a close, I think a couple things should be said. 
There's been a lot of speculation in the press, about what I legally can and can't say about NBC, and, this isn't a joke, to set the record straight, and this is true, tonight I'm allowed to say anything I want. 

Tonight I really am allowed to say anything I want, and what I want to say is this: Between my time at Saturday Night Live, the Late Night show, and my brief run here on The Tonight Show, I've worked with NBC for over twenty years. Yes, we have our differences right now, yes, we're going our seperate ways, but this company has been my home for most of my adult life. 
 

I am enormously proud of the work we have done together, and I want to thank NBC for making it all possible, I really do.
 
A lot of people have been asking me about my state of mind, I'll be honest with you, walking away from The Tonight Show is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Making this choice has been enormously difficult. This is the best job in the world. I absolutely love doing it, and I have the best staff and crew in the history of the medium. I will fight anybody who says I don't but no one would. But despite this sense of loss, I really feel this should be a happy moment. Every comedian, every comedian dreams of hosting The Tonight Show, and for seven months, I got to do it. And, I did it my way, with people I love. I do not regret one second of anything that we've done here.

I encounter people on the street now, who are just sort of give me a sad look; I have had more good fortune than anybody that I know. And if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-11 parking lot, we will find a way to make it fun, I really will, I will have no problems.

Finally, I have something to say to our fans. This massive outpouring of support, and passion from so many people has been overwhelming for me. The rallies, the signs, all this goofy, outrageous creativity on the Internet. The fact that people have travelled long distances, and camped out all night, in the pouring rain to be in our audience.

Here's what all of you have done: you made a sad situation joyous and inspirational. So to all the people watching, I can never, ever thank you enough for the kindness to me, I'll think about it for the rest of my life, and all I ask is one thing, and I’m asking this particularly of young people that watch:

Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality, it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I’m telling you, amazing things will happen.
 ”
—Conan O'Brien, in his final statemement, 22nd Jan 2010.

You can read the full story on the screw up NBC did to the tonight segment here.

"In January 2010, after the show had been on the air for only seven months, it was announced that NBC intended to move Jay Leno from primetime to 11:35 p.m., with O'Brien's show starting shortly after midnight. In response, O'Brien released a press statement saying that he would not continue as host of The Tonight Show, if it was bumped to the next day to accommodate another comedy program. After two weeks of negotiations, NBC announced that they had payed $45 million for O'Brien, and his staff, to walk away from The Tonight Show, and to leave NBC Universal altogether."

Well NBC you did a good job screwing up the Late Night show tradition, and Jay Leno, you are no where near funny....

To quote Kevin Smith, director of Dogma, Clerks and others, "Conan's farewell was really classy. Fare thee well, Coco. Good Luck, Jay. Fuck you dry."


Freebird...

Fantastic Service recovery from Singapore Flyer.

And so the story goes of famous blogger Holly Jean who decided to spend her New Year's eve on the Singapore Flyer.

It was a bad experience for her and she wasn't happy about it. Go read it and you can see why she looks like this on the flyer.

Unhappy on a Flyer

Even the crappy tabloids Shin Min got wind of it and called her for an article. The same photo appeared at a corner of the paper.

Now, my point and I do have one is that, Singapore Flyer could have just ignored her blog post and carry on flying.. or for their case turning.

But no, they recognised the importance and influence of blogosphere and acted upon it. Because this update came before the entry.

Update[5th Jan, 6.45pm]: Just got a response from them. They apologised for the service lack and made a very magnanimous gesture to have their guest chef serve a special menu just for my BF and myself in a private capsule.

That to me was a sincere and great recovery service from the Flyer folks. How many establishments or attractions out there would even bother? The Flyer did, and many others could learn from them.

Hope Holly Jean will have a great experience when she goes up.

There is another story with another blogger.. but shall keep that a secret till I die :) ......

Once again great job Singapore Flyer.

Rock the Musuem 2009 ... with Little Miss Samurai our new Singer

The second gig of Black Diamond Ninjas happened on 30th December 2009 at the Singapore Arts Museum. The event was for Hat-py party. A year end party organised by 24Seven for bloggers in Singapore.

We were one of the 2 bands performing. The other band was Only After Coffee. A few first for us this time.

First was with our new lead singer Kiyoko, who in the Black Diamond Ninjas is known is Little Miss Samurai.( Good thing she not called Poor Miss Samurai otherwise known as PMS)

Not the best pic, but yeah she looks much better in real life

Second first for us was that this was the first time we performing unplugged, stripped and unplugged.

Third first for me was this is the first time I debuted with my Thunderbird hahahha.

So after a last min rehearsal outside the glass house which we were performing.

 Here is an exclusive pic of days before the performance during one rehearsal.

It was before dinner and the pizza was RIGHT INFRONT of ME

 We kicked off the whole party with Stay from Lisa Loeb.



Of course at this point, special thanks to Eevon who despite the last minute request managed to do a good job introducing the band. She also looked like she was dressed for a funeral, which makes us look like a funeral band, but I digress.

Eevon with my thunderbird behind her (Ok that sounded really wrong)

If there is one thing I learnt from this event, it is never to double up as a Emcee when you are performing as a band. I barely had time to practise and warm up.

Wasnt sure of the program was a big no no for me. I did not do enough research to do monologues. The band did well, The Emcee didn't.

So anyway, we went on to our set list at about 8.15pm after games. We kicked off the set with Sweet Child O Mine, originally done by the greatest band in the world Guns and Roses.



Though it wasn't clear but I did a short short solo, improvised on the original bass intro done by Duff Mckagan.. another first for me haha.

We followed the set with My Immortal by Evanescence, Building a Mystery by Sarah Mclachlan, I don't believe you by Pink. Monsoon by Tokio Hotel, a song which we also did at Zouk then we ended the set with Decode by Paramore.



For more videos of the performances, do check out the leaders Youtube page at http://www.youtube.com/adamliau or our Black Diamond Ninjas Facebook page.

Overall it has been a good performance, I would love to have it fully plugged in though, but that will be for next time. For the first time performing with Kiyoko, she has done really well. I think this lead singer will stay, or at least I think so....

Once again thank you to 24Seven for organising this party, special thanks to Only After Coffee, fantastic band. And of course all of you who tweeted and blogged about us. Hope you guys enjoyed yourself.

If there is a new year resolution for the band? I hope to move on to doing originals to share with people.

Here's to more gigs in 2010. Black Diamond Ninjas 2010

Black Diamond Ninjas is

Mark Li - Drums, Percussion, he plays the AWESOME

Adam Liau - Guitars, Band Leader and married to the Manager

Kiyoko Yap - Vocals and Whatever

 

Fabian Tan - Rhythm Guitars and Father of one

Benjamin Loh - Bass Guitar and Meatballs.

Catch us at our Facebook Page