21st-22nd June- The busiest weekend

Last weekend was one of the busiest weekend in my life. Started on friday night itself.

Friday night : Homes

Saturday morning

10am-11.30am : Drum Class

11.30am : Chee Meng arrives with his Avanza. Transport drums from music school unto his car, then transport into house.

12.00pm: Get ready to go Kuantan for a wedding gig.

1.00pm : Leave Subang for Kuantan.

4.00pm: Reach Kuantan. Headed straight for sound check. Venue was at Teluk Cempedak.

5.00pm : First meal of the day. Mc D's.








Beautiful Teluk Cempedak. One of the few beaches that are highly populated but yet still maintained it's beauty and cleanliness. Just breathing the sea air had me excited for my upcoming Redang trip next month.


5.30-7pm : Headed to a rest house for a snooze and freshen up.

7pm-11pm. : Wedding gig. We played around 20 songs. Highlight of the wedding. The bartender said this : " For musicians, alcohol opens up your creativity gates and stops your mind from thinking when playing."

No wonder the legends of the 80's and 90's were so freakin good!

Out of 24 hours a day most of the time they were either drunk or high on drugs. I saw a clip of how Guns 'n' Roses wrote their songs. They were passed out on the floor, with beer bottles, guitar, and scribbled writings of lyrics and chords on a piece of paper. HAHa...




Pictures taken while on stage. Didn't think it would turn out so cool. ;)

11.30pm-2.30am : Back to Subang. Thank God we reached safely.

Sunday Morning

9.00am : On for subang worship team. Rush off for sound check and practice.

12.45pm : Barely just finished church when got a call saying our new band's first gig at USJ 12 school has been moved forward from 2pm to 1.30pm. Awesome.

1.00pm : Rushed back to house. Packed up drums, head off to school

1.00pm-3.00pm: Presenting Under Headlights. Our new band. It was a really fun experience. At first we didn't really have the mood for this gig cos we thought it'll be just kids. Buthen it they responded so well, that we enjoyed it anyway. :)








4.00pm : Went to sell 2nd hand stuff at the Buy, Trade, Sell shop with Joan. Quite fascinating. Anything that you don't want to use anymore in your house you can sell!! Earn some extra bucks. Lamps, radios, cd's, you can just sell la.

7.00 pm : Movie

11.00pm : Pengsan.


All in all, I kinda enjoyed the business and " hecticness" of the whole weekend. hehe. Thought to myself, what a productive weekend it was.

Maybe next time song writing of jamming, we should try "opening up the creativity gates" . HAHAH...


Ja.

The root of eViL

I know I shouldn't feel so bad about it, but I felt it a lil' bit yesterday when pastor mentioned..." giving drum lessons..." in front of our record-breaking 500 people.

..even right now blogging about this might get me into trouble..

I know that I shouldn't be too bothered and sensitive about what people say about me, or how people view me, but that doesn't mean that I should be quiet about it, not make my stand and let people think and say all they want.

Yea, I can't attend a lot of meetings. Some people even told me " Don't let money control your life." Some would think me materialistic, always chasing after money. Always finding ways to pocket extra cash. Even willing to sell out church time, or even personal taste of music.


I'm not mad or angry about anyone. I'm not pointing a finger at anyone saying " Why you say like that about me?" So don't get me wrong.

I'm just saying, I'm doing the best I can to survive.

Sometimes when business is low, my drum lesson is the only thing that gives me money to buy food and petrol to travel about. It's difficult for people who have a stable income to understand my situation. Extra gigs here and there allows me some breathing space.

I try my best. To save money for the future. To earn extra so that I can provide for my family in the future. I choose to find ways and put in the effort, instead of sitting down, complain and moan when you want something but you can't afford it.

While I still have the physical capability to push myself, I will still try, cos I don't want to come to a place where I look back and wish that I could have done more.

Christian faith. It's controversial when it comes to this doesn't it? Some may think why work extra, just trust in God and He will provide. Well, I believe in that. But I too believe that's a twist in that. I believe you don't sit at home idling and enjoy yourself, and trust that God drops money from heaven. I believe that always give God the priority, work your hardest, and trust in God and He will provide.

I started my drum lesson with 5 students. In 6 months, God has blessed me with 13 students. More than 100% fold. I'm not a professional drummer, not am I another dave weckl.

But, in all things, whatever I know, whatever I have, whatever I can give, I just give my best.

Ja.

Drum Blog!

I love drums.

:)

3 drummers I found on youtube that really inspire me.

First Guy.

Cobus.




I started to flip my drum sticks during play because I watched this guy did it and it looked ssoooooooo cool.

I lurrrrve his kit, his snare sounds reeeally pop-ish and warm and the same time. Like his style, his fast strokes and his creativity.


Next.

Chaserrr.





Awesome fella. More of a metal drummer. His drumming skills is crazy. Left handed. Fast, accurate and defined. Because of this guy I went crazy over the band Saosin. This clip up here, I've been learning to do this cover for ages and still can't get it right. I enjoy his energy and his head banging too.


Both drummers above did "The Great Escape" by Boys like Girls before. Chaserrr did Misery Business by Paramore. But he went into more hardcore stuff like As I Lay Dying and Underoath.

Check out this last fella I like.

He looks like a computer engineer, some sort like bill gates kinda look. Specs, "kuai zai" hair...but then..you just watch him play...





He's a John Otto fan kao kao!! His set has resemblance of the Limpbizkit's drummer's set...max out the cymbals...and his set must have cost a bomb..kekek.. His playing style not really ganas ganas..but it's ganas enough...hahah...chun drummer..

Ja.

Crossroad

I'm going to have to make a VERY VERY important decision in my life in the next few days.

I've learnt the hard way of making crucial decisions without consulting anyone else and weighing out all options.

Lord, I need a confirmation from You.

What's the decision?

Let's just say, it has something to do with my lifelong dream..

and it is within touching distance...

but..should I..

take it?

Updates

Lazy to talk. I'll just let the photos do the talking what's been happening for the past 2 weeks..


We're got a new singer!! Her name's Joni, sister of the drummer of the band Bus Company. Although we're not really 100% confirmed about her status in our band, it's real fun working with her. I liked the way she took up ownership of the band and we had similar taste in songs. We already covered Paramore and Fireflight.




The equipment in the studio we rent has been improved and upgraded after several 'complaints'. haha. I always like chilling out at jamming studios without having to worry that we only have 1, 2 hours to finish up practice. Usually we have the whole night to ourselves, so it's quite fun to sit down, meddle with different tones and music ideas.




Looks like in this photo i caught Joni went like : OMG!! It's superstar Mr Neo!! Haha..




This is Zach. One of Joni's friends we got to help out in our up coming gig this 22nd. It's at a school at USJ 12. It's gonna be exciting and yet scary cos we'll be covered by TV 3 as told by our organisers. How long and how much? Don't ask me. Maybe we'll just get 5 seconds only. HAHa...
5 SECONDS ON NATIONAL TV!! WOHOOOO!!!!!!!




Teens Camp 2008. I went on a last min basis but I know God have something planned for me to come here.


Mention 'Camp' and you'll picture SU campsites, resorts with big fields, e.t.c. Cool thing about this camp was when we came here, we had no idea that we had reached the 'campsite'. Haha. This is the ulterior of the camp. Yep. We had camp at "Puduraya" at Kuala Lipis. haha.


But after going inside and checking out the hall and our bedrooms, it's really quite nice from the inside.



Palace of the Golden Horses. Considered to be one of the most distinguished hotels in our country. I've always heard of this place, but never step foot into it before. And it really is a beautiful hotel.


Was here for a wedding gig. Outdoor at the gardens. I wonder how much you have to pay for a wedding here?





This is the first time I've been to a wedding that has fireworks in it! Yea. Maybe that's why they have it outdoors I reckon..



My little acoustic drums. After playing this baby for so many wedding functions no longer will I sit on it and spread my legs wide open anymore. Figured out the most ' decent' and non obscene way to play it is like this. :p Doesn't it look cool?



Ja.