Ready.. AIM.. Fire!!!

No, it's not target practice! Just a nice way to put the AIM acronym in..

Me and Eddie, along with Lilian on trombone, will be working with reknown musical director Aubrey Suwito for the Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) awards show this Saturday night. AIM is like the local Grammy Awards, blah blah blah. I honestly don't really give a hootz about it, but it's a good gig that we can work with Aubrey. We hardly ever get to work with him, and I would personally love to work with him more, especially on the more creative level. But Aubrey hardly ever gig outside like most of us... it would've been really interesting! The last open show, or specifically, a jazz show that featured Aubrey, was at the Sunrise-Mont Kiara Jazz Festival a couple of years back, maybe in 2003, I think.

Tomorrow's a full day rehearsal from afternoon, and a full dress run at night. Saturday's the show itself. If you have the right mind and interest to catch US, and not some of those fellas trying to sing on stage, then watch NTV7 at around 8.30pm, I reckon. I think it'll be shown "live".

Of course, there'll be some good artistes as well, such as Siti, Noryn, Sean Ghazi (good luck Sean!), Aishah, Reshmonu... the rest ahh??? Mmmmmm...

On another note..

I got a letter from Queens College sometime last week.. boy was I excited!! But it turned out a bit of a damper, they received my application, but couldn't fully process it because they didn't have my previous university transcripts!

WHAT??

I thought I had them sent from Curtin? Well, maybe they did, but it could possibly be that I didn't follow up with my application after I made that request to Curtin. So it's possible the Admissions department in Queens might have misplaced it. That was like, a quite few months back. Oh well. I called up Curtin again on Monday, and requested them to send another copy. And they did, as they sent me an email. I hope Queens get it, and process my application fast! I really need to make necessary arrangements to go pretty soon... applying for visa, plane ticket, blah blah blah. I don't want to end up waiting for another semester to go!

Wish me luck...

Breathless...

... that was what Friday night was...

... the band came together really well last night... and we played hard! Really hard!

... the crowd was great!!! It was almost so surreal.. a real jazz crowd... they were listening, and they were appreciative (even if they're not sure how to react to David's original tunes)... not like them poseurs that frequent a nearby restaurant about 5 kilometers away who knows bollocks about music and the people who make them.

... there was BIG crowd too!! My fingers crossed for the Room to really open up and have more people coming in for some good music, and good jazz bands playin'!!

... even with some "boo-boos" (and a disgruntled mate), but overall the band was kickin' butt...

... Mike Vee was there... Jeremy Monteiro was there (and even jammed two songs.. crazy!).. just WOW! Such a pleasure and an experience to jam with Jeremy for the second time. Wonder if I'll ever get to do anything on a more serious level with him, it would be something I will look forward to at some point!!

... it's one of those rare moments... you play your butt off like there's no tomorrow... the presence of awesome musicians on stage... and awesome music..

... I was flat out when I got home. Another satisfied customer.

... I hope we will be ready by 11th May!

MIRI, here we come!

Gig updates - April 2007

**UPDATE:**

If you missed our show last week, don't forget to come to The Top Room this weekend, for one night only, on Friday. This will be the last show before we head to Miri next month.

Admission: RM20 nett (free crackers!)
Time and date: 20 April 2007, Friday, 10.30pm onwards

See you at the TOP! Where everything is swingin'!!

SUPPORT LIVE JAZZ, SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC!!

* * * * *

Hey all,

It's been a while since I really posted any gig updates, but since I do them on Google Calendar, I don't really have to post it like this, especially if I'm really short of time. But anyway, here's a gig update... a one that deserves special mention:

The David Gomes Sextet (Feat. Junji Delfino) @ The Top Room

This Friday the 13th [and next Friday, the 20th] come and bask in the solid good swinging sound of The David Gomes Sextet! Not one to be fazed by superstitious beliefs [touch wood], this hard-bopping, swinging band o' six is ready to show off its mettle as it gears up for The 2nd Miri International Jazz Festival come 11th & 12th May at the Pavilion, Park City Everly Hotel, Sarawak in East Malaysia.

The David Gomes Sextet features David Gomes on piano, Charles Wong on drums, Vincent Ong [not in picture] on bass, Thomas Theseira on tenor sax, Julian Chan on alto sax & Eddie Wen on trumpet.

Founded & led by the one & only David Gomes, The DG Sextet is currently one of the few jazz outfits who actively perform home-grown jazz music, courtesy of DG himself. View a snippet of one of his tunes featuring the horn section here [courtesy of Brian the doinkster] taken during one of their performances in KL.

And to add spice to this already suave ensemble, Ms Junji Delfino joins them for another enchanting evening... only at The Top!

Cover charge is RM 20nett for 3 sets of solid good music. First set starts at 10:30 p.m. The bar closes at 2:00 a.m.

See you at The Top!

visit us at:
http://www.thetoproom.blogspot.com

Welcome back..

... Chee Meng!!

Look forward to hang out and play some music together... saxophones rule!!!

Me on Silky Girl Ad..

No... I'm not *IN* the ad. I recorded for the ad.. I played soprano and tenor sax on this one. I'm kinda proud of this one... I could get a clarinet-ish sound on soprano rather than the oboe-ish Kenny G tone! Ahahha.. yay!!

Thanks to Jinx for this baby!

PS: Don't even bother looking at the vid, unless you're a Sharifah fan.. I am.. but MAH-WEE spoils everything. Listen to the music! Eheheh..

Enjoy.

QUEENS, HERE I COME??

I JUST POSTED MY APPLICATION FORMS TO QUEENS COLLEGE VIA FEDEX (as of time of writing!). (here's to all of you fellas bambu-ing me about when I'm gonna go over there..)

Okayyyy.. now that I've settled down a little bit...

Now, I'll just have to wait for their reply once they get my application and process it. I hope it would not be too troublesome, my application submission date is actually past due. But from what CH told me, they'll still take me in anyway... I pray that is so!

Oh man... the wheels are turnin' and we're gonna start burnin'..

Genting!

Hey all,

I'm typing in from Genting Highlands, in a Starbucks with FREE WiFi connection. The wonders of modern technology. To paraphrase my friend, Jiin Joo, Starbucks Malaysia should be awarded for doing something good for mankind. Anyway, just some accounts from a couple of days...

Missing Pictures!

Two days ago, I accidentally deleted a whole bunch of photos from my Macbook, and my external hard disk!! ARGH!! It wasn't even in the Trash compartment, and it just disappeared. Of course, it wasn't the computer's fault, just that I performed a bad copy and paste procedure which over-written the picture folder that I have, and now I couldn't find any of my pictures.. and I had LOTS of them!! Trauma.. but thanks to Ken, I managed to get a data recovery software, and after many laptop hours, I managed to recover quite a few of them back. Some of them were pretty messed, as all the labels have been replaced by consecutive numbers. Even the data information such as the date, time, etc of those pictures were gone. So now, when I get back home, I have to sit down for another couple of hours to sort those pictures out. Sigh.. I think I may have lost a lot of it already.

Queens College..

My application process to Queens College is already on the way... I've got all the necessary items to send the application. I will be sending it next week.. and I can't wait!! I'm so excited and anxious to get to New York.

Chern Hwei

My good friend, violin nut, Chern Hwei flew back to New York two days ago, after several weeks of holiday since Chinese New Year. He did a couple of gigs while he was here, and I think he was quite happy with it, including the one he did with my band Boplicity, and also with Greg Lyons' Groove Junky at No Black Tie. I'll be joining him in a couple of months in NYC, and hope we can do some crazy sh*t there!! YEAAAHH!!

See you in a couple of months, bro!

PS: CH is coming back for short while in July for a concert in KLPac, so go support him and check out some of his crazy stuff! Get a taste of NYC!

Jonathan Lee @ Genting

I'm really happy, and I've been looking forward to this show for quite a while. Well, ever since getting involved in this concert, it has been nothing but fun, and very educational in many ways, which I'll tell you in person if I see you. The reason, being I'm too lazy to type these days. Go figure. Anyway, doing a Malaysian concert would probably be a big highlight for me. Why? 90% or more of the band members for Jonathan's show are Malaysian! And I feel particularly proud, because it gives me faith that we Malaysians have something to offer to the world, contrary to popular belief! And I'm thankful to Jonathan for choosing us Malaysians to do your thang!

However, this time around, there won't be that many guests compared to the previous shows... only Sylvia Chang and Winnie Hsin this time around. But anyway, it's still Jonathan's show... and he's definitely the main man on stage. It'll still be fun for us. Oh yeah, Jiin Joo's joining us on trombone this time around. Regular Roger is stuck in NSO's Beethoven show at Istana Budaya... don't even get Roger started about it, he's gonna fume!

My family will be here tonight as well.. so they'll get to see the show, a good taste of what we've been doing in our crazy romps in China, since last year!! Ahaha..

Wish us luck for tonight.. it's gonna be fun!! YEE HAA!!!

Loss..

The sudden feeling of loss came over me last night.

It's a loss for the Malaysian jazz scene. I'm glad I learnt with him for as long as I did, and for inculcating the right roots to learn the right way.

We all gotta do what we gotta do... let the less far-sighted ones wallow in their pathetic scope of vision.

You kick butt in Singapore, and everywhere else, man!!

Good luck..!!

Crystal Silence!

If you don't know what that means... it means, I went to see the great jazz duo, Chick Corea and Gary Burton, or the Crystal Silence duo, at the Malaysian Philharmonic Hall!

It was an incredible show, to see two great masters play together as the most known piano-vibes duo in the world. It is basically their reunion tour, and they recorded an album together about 15 over years ago. They're back, and even more kick-butt than ever! Chick and Gary played material from the Crystal Silence album, and some newer materials, such as Crystal Silence, Native Sense, Brazilia, and then some!

It was quite an experience, to see such intense musical interplay between the piano and the vibraphone, weaving through the undercurrent groove that mostly musicians and real music listeners can feel. Their compositions ranged from simple to complex, each with its own set musical challenges. But all-in-all, it's is an intense dialogue between two people, talking about experiences from the past, and relating it with the present!

Despite the breadth of the music, Chick lights up the room with his humor, taking a shot at the pre-recorded pre-show announcements that tells the audience members to switch off their mobiles and pagers, and not taking photos. To add to that, Chick takes another shot at the audience, telling them to treat the show like their living room, and that it's okay to take phone calls, talk when they like, to move around and the like. Sarcasm at its best, but it's just pure humor with a message to respect the music. Chick's a joker.

Favorite quote for the night, after Gary and Chick shows this incredibly long music chart, about 8 - 9 pages long... "We're jazz musicians... but we can read, too, you know??"

'Twas a crazy, amazing (two) night(s)..

.. at the Top Room!!

The last two days at the Top Room @ Top Hat Restaurant was a blast with my band, Boplicity! We had to really good nights, with a fairly enthusiastic, appreciative and attentive crowd. Needless to say, it affected the band so much, we were all kickin' some serious butt (musically speaking) for BOTH nights. We did a mixture of the bop stuff, and some of Chern Hwei's compositions, such as Riders of The Lost Track, Manda's Mood, Chloeitchka, and a haunting version of Geylang (Si Paku Geylang).

Let's just say after both nights, I'm still reeling from the experience. It's really rare to see all the band members playing their hearts out like there's no tomorrow! I'm really glad to see it happen... it was a thrilling experience! It's an indescribable feeling, when you know you got some of the most interesting musicians in town, and musically we're all on the same wavelength (plus minus a few kilohertz)... an unseen connection that happens on and off stage.

Thanks guys!

Back and reelin'..

I'm back from my 3-day trip to Jakarta for the Java Jazz Festival!

One word to describe the whole experience... OVERWHELMING!!

It was simply awesome, to be in the proximity of so many amazing musicians for three whole days... from Richard Bona, Eric Marienthal, Joshua Redman, Miguel Zenon, Kyle Eastwood, Jeff Lorber, Dave Weckl and more. I'm still reeling from the whole experience... so much music!!

Anyway, this is just a pre-cursor... I will try my best to write at least a short report of the festival, and include some pics that I took as well.

Till then..

Java Jazz Fest.. here I come!!

Hey all!

As I'm writing, I'm packing up my stuff right now for the airport. I'm going to Jakarta for about 3 days for the Java Jazz Festival. I'll be playing for Aussie smooth jazz keyboardist Sam McNally, and we're doing the 11.30pm slot.

I'm so excited... I'm able to go see some of the best jazz acts in the world.... SF Jazz Collective, John Scofield, Bobby Hutcherson, Eric Marienthal, and more!! And this is my FIRST ever international jazz festival overseas! And I'm playing in it too!! YAY!!

I'm going to try to catch Eric Marienthal in person. He's always been an inspiration, and saxophone hero for me. I caught him playing in KL a few times way back in the 90s, and his contemporary jazz style of playing influenced me for quite a while. It was so much fresher and more exciting than the Kenny Gs or the Kenny G clones that came out after that. And of course, there was no such thing as "smooth jazz" back then.. just that GRP sound.. yeah!!

Anyway, I've no time to waste, I'll sign off for now. Wish me luck at Jakarta!!

Woo hooo... my first international jazz festival!!

Gong Xi Gong Xi..

It's that time of the year...!!

Don't have to say much... except, I want to wish my family, my dearest friends, and everyone I've ever encountered (even if I didn't like you), a good year ahead.. hopefully a peaceful and healthy New Year!!!

GONG XI! GONG XI!
XIN NIAN KUAI LE... SHEN TI JIAN KANG!!

for the non-chinese fellas...

REJOICE! REJOICE!
MAY THE NEW YEAR BRING PEACE AND HARMONY AND GOOD HEALTH TO ALL!!

I'm on Plan B mag..

Check out February's edition of Plan B mag now on sale on most newsstands. This issue is pretty interesting... it features some of the younger jazz cats of KL, including myself. Hah.. imagine ME, of all people, modelling for a fashion magazine!

I love my job! Ahahah..

Anyway(!)... the concept is pretty interesting (read: funny as in hilarious), as you'll find us dressed up and shot in various interesting (and precarious!) poses! I'm not going to spoil the fun and tell you how I was shot in... go buy the magazine and laugh your butts off!

But it's quite an interesting experience... but I'm no model material.. LOL! It was fun to do it.. not to mention giving everyone else a good hearty laugh at my expense! By the way it also has a nice short interview caption with the pictures, and basically asking each of us about what we do and some of our (concise) views on jazz in Kay-El.

Check it out!

What happened to you lah?

That's probably what you're saying to me right now, aren't ya? ".. why never update your blog wan???" Well, I'm pretty tired of apologizing each time I even post something here. So here's the deal, I'll update when I can lah... you'll just have to deal with that.. hahah!!

Anyway, just some updates of myself for the last couple of weeks since my last post and I would like to share them with you. Suffice to say, the schedule's been pretty hectic before New Year, and even after New Year, as shown by my lack of posts. A lot of stuff happened in January, gig-wise, at least. A lot of interesting gigs that took place. Some of them include:

50 Cents Jazz Club Reunion @ Bangkok Jazz

This is been Hardesh Singh's pet project for several years now. For those who are unaware, Hardesh does a variety of musical and even film projects (he's also a very good sound engineer), including the infamous (and apparently, very controversial) Lelaki Komunis Terakhir. Anyway, 50 Cents Jazz Club (50CJB) is an experimental jazz/world music band, showcasing original material written by Hardesh and Rozhan. Rozhan Razman, bassist extraordinaire (Groove Unction, Metalasia), was back in town for his winter vacation from Berklee, and it was a good opportunity to play with him as well. After all, he was definitely one of the original members of the 50CJB.

The gig went well, for most part, but the sound stage during the show wasn't that great. I was a bit uncomfortable, so I didn't think I played as well as I could have because of it. We did some crazy stuff that night. Hardesh expanded on some of his older material, such as Cool Chews, and played some tunes from the previous repertoire (from our show almost two years ago). There were a lot of odd metered stuff, which we memorized over two nights of heavy rehearsals.

Dayang Nurfaizah @ Planet Hollywood's Sunday Nite Live

This one of the few times I got to play at Planet with a horn section for a mainstream artiste (the last time was with Ning Baizura a few years back). Anyway, Dayang performed two shows, the first on 14 Jan, and the second one on 28 Jan. Musically directed by Jenny Chin, it involved the usual rhythm section (Aji - guitars; Jenny Chin - keys; Sze Wan - 2nd keys; Kelly - bass; Fendi @ Sotong - drums; Ameer - percussions) and the addition of the KL Horny Horns, or now known as KL TOWER (after Tower Of Power), namely me on saxes, Eddie Wen on trumpet, and Roger Chee on trombones! This month was definitely heavy on the horn section gigs involving the three of us! This was definitely another fun gig to do. Eddie and I also recorded two tracks on Dayang's latest album. When it comes out, don't forget to check it out!! Another nice one to add to our musical resumé, don't you think?

I think there'll be another gig coming out in July, so watch out for it!

Btw, Dayang kicks butt!! Her vocal technique is amazing, compared to most local mainstream artistes! She's probably one of the best mainstream pop singers in town, and I feel really glad to be able to work with her! The rest of you half-past-six artistes who think you can even pull a tune properly, could learn a thing or two from her!

Thomson Big Band

I got to play with the Thomson Big Band from Singapore, for the first time, this month. I've heard a lot about over the past several years, probably one of the best amatuer big bands in the Malaysia/Singapore region. Comprising of full-time and part-time musicians, they rehearse every weekend at the Thomson Community Center, and they play various big band repertoire, from the Ellington songbook, Basie, and even some of Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band pieces.

Anyway, my gig with them was for this Negri Sembilan royalty wedding anniversary, or something like that. Didn't really pay attention to it, found it quite skanky for my taste. Anyway, the gig didn't really go down too well. It was okay, for most part, but the stage sound mix was terrible, we couldn't really hear each other properly. The stage was too small, and it was too dark to see the charts to play it properly. Although the theme was "Roaring 20s" or something like that, it didn't really turn out like that at the end. What a drab, this function! But I got to meet some really nice musicians from that band. Cool cats. Hope to play with them again soon.

Jonathan Lee World Tour Concert @ Beijing

Yay! I finally get to travel to Beijing for another edition of Jonathan Lee's Tour concert! This time around, the three of us KL Tower horns flew there a few days earlier, and we got to experience winter chill for the first time. It was around -7°C to 5°C when we were there. It was really cool to get to experience winter like that for the first time. But at the same time, it was a real pain, too... everytime we have to go out we have to wear layers of clothes to protect ourselves from wind chill, and putting lip balm and moisturizers every few hours or so! We did a lot of walking this trip, and we managed to visit places like Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the most spectacular sight of the trip - The Great Wall of China.

Of all the sites we've seen, I was most impressed and taken with the Great Wall. Eddie arranged for us to go to one (of seven) starting points, called Simatai. It wasn't as crowded as Ba Da Ling site (which is the most popular visit for most tourist groups), but it was more fun, too. We managed to climb up about seven stops, or mini-forts. We were literally climbing a mountain! If I have time I'll post some pictures in the next post for you to whet your visual appetite, for those who are curious about our Beijing trip.

The concert itself went well, although towards the end of the concert, I was feeling really flu-ish. I somehow came down with sinus and flu towards the end of the trip and the concert, I couldn't even stay up long enough to enjoy the post-concert party.

This was definitely a good trip. Beijing-ites are generally more friendlier than the Shanghai-ites. Imagine our surprise at the imigration point, after processing our passports, we said "Thank You" in Chinese, and the officer replied "No problem!". How's that for courtesy? In addition, at numerous restaurants and eating houses we went to eat, the waiters were generally more helpful and courteous! Very good service for most part!! Of course, there's still one thing we find really unacceptable in China - the toilets!!! Our trip to the Great Wall involved a two-hour drive. We had a pit stop, and the toilet was one of the most disgusting sights we've ever seen! There are no urinals, no toilet booths. Just watering holes (literally!), and shitting holes. Don't even get us started on the smell! We even heard from Jenny, that the women's toilet is worse... sanitary pads piling up the shit holes!!! Sorry if I just ruined your breakfast/lunch/dinner! Oh well, it was definitely an experience!

Oh one more thing, Jonathan's doing a concert HERE in Malaysia, on March 17 at Genting Arena Of Stars!! YAY!! We can't wait for it!! There's nothing more proud that playing a big concert like that in your own homeground!

And to end January..

Reshmonu's album launch - Superfine @ The Curve

Yeah, our funky, corn-braided hair friend has released his new album, Superfine, with a two-hour concert at The Curve, next to Cineleisure. The concert was fun, lots of happening, funky tunes, and outrageous clothes, sponsored by Key Ng (yes, we had to wear them too!).

Buy the album.. ORIGINAL... support local talents!!

* * * * *

Here are also some upcoming updates to look out for.. some really happening gigs coming up!

March
- Sam McNally @ Java Jazz Fest, Jakarta. I'll be playing with Sam for this three-day festival, with lots of happening jazz and fusion acts happening. Check out http://www.javajazzfestival.com/2007/ for more details.

- Boplicity @ Top Room. We're gonna be playing two nights at the best jazz club in town! Stay tuned... you'll be hearing some kick ass jazz you've never heard before in KL!

- Jonathan Lee World Tour Concert @ Genting Arena Of Stars. Finally, after one year of touring around China region, he's coming over to Malaysia to do his own concert!! I'm really looking forward to that!

April
- Johor Bahru Jazz Festival. I will update when I get more information!!

It's gonna be an exciting year for me. There'll be more things happening, and I will write when it goes through! So stay tuned! Of course, my main goal - to get my sorry a$$ to New York at the middle of the year!!

Later!!

Goodbye and farewell..

.. to 2006!!

Talk about time passing by really fast. And for some strange reason, it was even faster this year. As cliched as it sounds, the end of last year only seemed like yesterday. But in 2006, a lot of things happened, and suffice to say, it was a very, VERY interesting year in more ways than one. A lot of ups and downs in some ways. So just to fill out blog space, despite the drag in internet connection due to the Taiwan quakes, I'm just gonna list down a few of them:

Ups:

- Got involved in the Jonathan Lee World Tour concert. This was really special for me (it's still ongoing), because I really got to travel quite a bit. We went to Taiwan (I love that place!), Hong Kong, and various parts of China (I don't love that place!). But I really love travelling, and this year we really got the chance to do it. Next month, we're going to Beijing, too!

- My new band, BOPLICITY. This is also another plus for me, although it only took place towards the end of the year. In a way, it was a kind of affinity for me. It wouldn't have been possible if I didn't get to meet and play with those guys a lot more this year. Most importantly, meeting our piano player, Cher Siang, who without him, I wouldn't be able to form this band.

- Moved to a new house. We moved to our new place at Taman Bukit Mewah Phase 9 early January 2006, and fianlly I GOT MY OWN ROOM!! After staying in the same room with my brother for 27 years, this will be my first year that I have my own room! My own space and privacy! It is quite gratifying. A queen-sized bed all to myself! People don't disturb me, I don't disturb people!

- Branford Marsalis Quartet. Being able to watch and meet Branford Marsalis and his Quartet when he came to Malaysia to play in April was definitely one of the most inspiring events that has happened this year. Seeing and hearing his band really opened up my eyes and ears, and totally changed my perception of the music I play, and my attitude towards it. In some ways it was almost life-changing. It was definitely the best jazz band I've seen so far!

- David Muehsam. I met this guy sometime in March/April, and he also inspired me musically as well as personally. A yoga instructor, as well as a fantastic saxophone player, he's opened up my mind a little bit more about many other things, from practicing saxophone, yoga, life, music, and then some. A very spiritual person (and a yoga master, too!), we talked about a variety of things that affect us and the world in general, not to mention jamming with our horns out in the open at the side of the street!!

Downs:

- Out of training mode. This year, due to my overseas tour gigs, and a different hosts of gigs, I am out of training mode, and my last race I did in 2006 was the KL International Marathon. Because of the over-eating during my travels and the lack of training, my weight has also gone up. My fitness has gone down. I didn't run as much, or ride my bike as much. I'm definitely not so proud of it.

- (Un)Happy People. This year my 3.5 year old band, Happy People, finally disbanded. Due to some ongoing circumstances, I have had to finish with the band so that I could also move on to other projects and other ventures. It had been good while we lasted, and we did a quite a few good gigs together, such as two years at the Sunrise-Mont Kiara Jazz Festival, and then some. And some of the members also have had to move on to other projects, so there was no reason to continue it. Don't worry though, we're still good friends!

- Politics. Nothing like office politics. There's more and more of it every year, and each year when I'm more aware of things around me, I see it more. There is lack of unity of musicians in KL. This guy hates this guy's guts, that guy hates the other guy, or one fella hating everybody else. What the hell? Get over yourself and see the world around you? Can't we just resolve our petty differences, be a better person, and just work together? You know why the music scene here is bad... it's because of ALL of us. Not the industry only, but the musicians themselves. Self-centred, self-involved, and inconsiderate. Can't think beyond the tip of your nose! All I want to do is just play, make good music. And we're trying to do it not just for our pockets, but for everyone to enjoy and have a good time. Smarten up people, we only life ONE life at a time. Don't ruin it out of your own petty interest. We all can be better.. we're not getting any younger you know... why keep your minds at such childish levels?

***

Anyhow, I definitely have some things to work on this year. I actually have PLANS for this year. In previous years, I never really had any kind of real plans on how to go the year ahead, but this year I do.

1) Prepare myself to go to the US

This includes doing all the necessary arrangement so that I can ACTUALLY go to New York this year! I plan to leave sometime in late July to early August. I'd like to spend some time there before semester starts.

And in no particular order...

2) Practice a whole lot more, and do less unnecessary things

Yes, practice. It's like I haven't done it for a long time, due to inefficient use of time and activities. And I really need to get my sh*t together, if not I'm as good as useless when I go to NYC. I might even turn down gigs which I feel will not be worth my time - society gigs like weddings, etc.

3) Train a whole lot more.

I slacked so much from running, biking, and swimming the last year, due to lack of discipline, and also a lot more work (which involves travelling). Whatever it is, I'm determined to not let it stop me from getting back into a more serious training regime. I want to start doing races again, and also to lose a whole lot more weight!

4) Work more on my band, Boplicity.

I have plans to work this band much more, to tighten up as a band, and also to progress musically. I will try to get more gigs for this band, and play as much as possible, to get better, and who knows... maybe even record. But most importantly, I want to work this band, so that there's a band that can work after I leave for the US, made up of a bunch of dedicated cats, who will have the resolve and the initiative to progress as a band as well as musically. So, in short, Boplicity might be a shortlived band, I'm afraid. But it's one band I'm really proud to work for.

Wish me luck.

PS: Oh by the way...

***HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007!!!!!***

Gig update @ Top Room

Hey everyone!!

Counting down to the new year, means more music and more happening stuff happening! To help countdown to the new year, my new band, BOPLICITY will be playing tonight at The Top Room from 10.30pm onwards. If you missed us the last coupla times, do come down tonight to check us out, enjoy some kick-butt jazz in KL, and celebrate the end of the year with us. We hope we'll be getting more gigs and shows next year, and we'd really appreciate your support for us.. as well as the live jazz music scene. I'll say no more.. I hope to see you at the gig!!

PS: Don't be shy and come say hi to the band (we're not gonna eat you, y'know!)

Julian Chan's BOPLICITY @ Top Room



Date and Time: 29 Dec 2006 (Friday), 10:30pm onwards
Venue: The Top Room @ Top Hat Restaurant, 7 Jln Kia Peng, KL
Admission: RM25++ with one drink

Have Yourself..

........ A MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would like to wish EVERYONE, a Merry Christmas! It's a good time to reflect and be thankful of our blessings, no matter how big or small!

Have a good one, y'all!!

PS: *Happy Hanukah for the Jewish!*

Last minute shopping.. TOEFL scores..

I managed to do my last minute shopping today, believe it or not! Braved the jam and the crowds, etc...

In fact, this was possible because I had to come back from Batu Pahat early this morning, I reached home at about 3.30am, as I drove back after the Chinese musical thing we did. Of course, I didn't manage to wake up until about 12.30pm, and I was still bummed out. Anyway, I managed to drag myself to KLCC where I met up with Greg to get something from him and pass him his Christmas present (which with the help of Eddie, we managed to get). And of course, last minute Christmas shopping. I don't usually get into the habit of buying presents on an annual basis, but this year, I just feel so compelled to get present for people I hold dear. For those who know me well enough, when I get into something bad.. I really get into it bad!! And I'm feeling super-licious happy with it. Never mind the fact I busted out my Christmas gaji (even before getting it by the way.. hahah), but I feel damn glad about it. I guess I'm really feeling all Christmas-ey this year. You guys feelin' it?

Anyway, just a few minutes ago of writing this, I just checked the TOEFL website for my scores, I managed to get 105/120... which is probably not too bad, although I hoped I could've done better with an ACTUAL preparation for it! Better start watching more American TV, then? Ahah... but anyway, the evaluation for the Reading, Listening and Writing section was what I expected I should get. The Speaking section, however, really sucked (although that is expected too, from the way I did it during the test). I don't know what it was, but I really couldn't speak properly during the exam. Maybe I was a little pressured, given only 20 seconds to prepare an answer and 60 seconds to reply, and I'm talking to an inanimate object. I don't really agree with this particular format actually.... too impersonal for me. Give me a real human anyday. At least I know I'm not fast enough with words to deceive and cheat people.. or manipulate them! Aahah..

Okay. Off to bed...

Christmas eve is just 'round the corner!

Good night!

"You better watch out.. you better not cry.."

Can you guys believe it?? It's already near Christmas of 2006 and in a week after that, it'll be 2007!! Where has the time gone??

Well, I'll be working on Christmas eve, and I'm not sure what plans I have yet for Christmas Day itself. I'll be working New Year's eve too... (if you check my Upcoming Performances section, then you'll probably know what I'm talking about.. *tsk tsk*). I've got some invites for open houses and stuff, so I'll probably go for some of those.. nothing like spending Christmas with family and friends.

I'm feeling the Christmas spirit a little more this year, for some strange reason, compared to last year. So that's good I guess. Only wished I had more gigs playing Christmas tunes. I remember the first two or three years out in the business, we had this Christmas gig playing jazzed-up Christmas tunes at Star Hill and Lot 10, and we were playing with some kick-butt players, and it was just so much fun to play. There's something about Christmas songs I really dig.. a certain spirit to it. Always touches my heart and even make me cry tears of joy... it's just beautiful. Beautiful melodies, beautiful lyrics...

Anyway, I just got back from a Christmas function, and I helped to put the band to play some jazz tunes and Christmas tunes, too. I'm heading off tomorrow morning to Batu Pahat, as I'm involved in this Chinese musical show there, "Shanghai Nights", I think. So we're playing old chinese tunes based on that story.

I still haven't finished my Christmas shopping darn it.. I bought some already, but I haven't had time to wrap them and everything.. bugger. Gotta find some time on Saturday to get the rest of the gifts and wrap them too. So busy..

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...."