Being ALL that you can Be

 I was at the #ShoutMovement last Sunday watching people from the film and music industries speaking, and you notice one thing… they are all passionate about their craft.  The hard part is that art is subjective; one man’s Beethoven is another man’s Slipknot.  This uncertainty drives most parents to discourage their children from being involved in it, bless their hearts.  Always remember that they ONLY want what’s BEST.

 So this brings me to Reza Salleh’s comment that most people fall into the arts by mistake, not by design… especially their parent’s design.  This is so true their parents and teachers want them to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants some profession where you can be comfortable, maybe not happy, but comfortable.  

Our education system also doesn't help that it’s academically driven, only caring about how many A1’s you get not if you’re a natural born performer or athlete.  Not everyone is an academic some of us learn better when we’re being creative. Yes, I’m a right brainer…

In more mature communities, school recognize that when you have certain talents/interests they channel you into different specialized classes yet encourage you to score a minimum in regular studies to continue to be “on the team” or “represent your school/country”.  This is a good way of hanging a carrot to keep up in academics but allowing you pursue your talent.

Finally a personal story which I been witness to.  A musician friend (who shall remain nameless) was sent abroad to do business studies but wanted SO much to be a musician so he quit without his parents knowledge and joined a music school. His parents where livid when they found out and withdrew their support, so he had to fund his way through, music school in Berklee.  He graduated and came back and worked his way up, step by step, from the bottom.  His parents did not recognized his ability and talent.   

He worked hard and was recognized for his work as a sessionist, arranger and producer of some of the biggest names in the business.  He had also won a number of prestigious awards but his parents never came to offer support or celebrate his achievements and speaking to him, as I always noticed he came alone to these events, he always brushed it off lightly but I knew that inside it mattered.   

One day after 3-4 years of being one of the best musicians in the business his parents decided to come to one of the award shows.  For the first time I saw how truly happy he was and when I met his parents at the post award press conference (he had won best musical arrangement) and told them that they must be proud of their son, you could see the respect and pride they had for him and as they stood together I thought, “Wow! That’s the first time I had seen a win truly mean something to him".  He worked hard to be the best at what he loved and to finally get his parents support and recognition was his BIGGEST reward.

He still is one of many of us that are professionals in the music business that make a more than decent living, able to look after our families comfortably.  And by the way we DO what we love and someone pays us for it.

This story left a BIG impression on me.  Some people search all their lives, some just know what they were put on this earth for… always follow your heart and be ALL that you can be…

Peace. Love and Respect

P/s :

To my friend Reza Salleh, talented singer, composer, music entrepreneur -  Congratulations on 7 years of  “Moonshine” (An ALL IMPORTANT performance showcase platform for solos/bands/songwriters/experimental music both new and experienced) and on choosing “the musical path” may it reward you and your talent with happiness and security.

Then and Now... It's ALL the same

 

The fight through the generations is always the same you have it easier, I had it harder, things are much better now, you don’t need to do much to make it….  The argument is age old and has never changed.  The older generation says the music is nonsensical, loud, no quality; the younger ones say you don’t understand, I need to express myself, you’re too outdated…the list goes on.

I am lucky I come from within an industry that changes, it is vibrant and constant evolving.  Technology, social and economic factors force evolution in everything and I cannot believe how people forget they were young once.  They had long/short/coloured/punk hair, tried silly things, told white lies not to get into trouble… life is a constant learning process.

I VEHEMENTLY disagree with people that have the need to compare life and situations because YOU CAN’T.  Life is different at the turn of every decade - from the advent of electricity to cars to the telephone and television all of which took years apart to invent and yet nowadays in a blink of an eye your phone is obsolete and another model has taken its place.  The pace of change is phenomenal and can't be stopped.

Therefore to be judgmental of people and their situation is insane.  How can you say life today is better than yesterday or things are easier or of a better quality. No such thing! The platforms and the types of challenges may differ but there will always be problems and hardships no matter what generation you come from.

I have watched artistes in 4 decades in this country and yes the opportunities are different BUT THEN so are the problems. I can name a whole list of good and bad for EVERY decade from more airplay, piracy but still people bought originals, black and white but it didn’t mean lesser quality, reality programs doesn't mean artistes that can’t perform.

Let me just say something… the truth ALWAYS prevails.  If an artiste makes it big via a reality program, I say kudos to them cause it is torture to go through one of those, but whether or not they survive the industry still goes back to the basic talent and the ability to stand the test of time.  Market forces determine that, nobody needs to pass judgment, the people who watch and listen will decide.  If they are good they will prevail.

I talk from a music perspective… in the classical age baroque was frowned upon, classical frowned on pop, pop frowned on rock, rock frowned on hip-hop, everything frowns on metal… even the medium… analog frowns on digital… is it better NO, is it worse NO…. it is evolution.  Like I say embrace change or be run over by it.  No matter what the genre, medium, art, platform, pros or cons our lives are richer by looking back and learning… then looking forward AND LEARNING too.

Peace, Love and Respect through the ages...

Looking back over my shoulder #VersusMY (Raya Restrospective)

I was, for the first time in my life, “coerced” into doing a reunion special for Versus in conjunction with Hari Raya.  But hey, there’s a first time for everything.  So now that day has arrived I have decided to dedicate my blog post to a retrospective piece on Versus.

When I was approached by TV9 to discuss judging for a show called Versus I loved the idea.  It was fresh and exciting but the only thing that was a hesitation for ALL of us was the SMS vote and how it would affect a band with a fan base that was less likely to vote.  But all in all the idea was something I believed in otherwise I would not have even considered getting involved.

Understanding the background from the bands/industry point of view is very important.  Of all the artistes the bands actually have it the hardest because they are less likely to get dinner shows and endorsements that fuel an artists career and then there is NO platform for them to expose their talent, lesser paying shows (no more expos) or paying concerts, hardly any airplay especially if they are a niche market (metalcore, punk,)

Our bands HAVE the ability to compete at an international level but they lack the platform to hone their talent.  Bands need to perform live in order to grow and gain experience.    We also do not have the support of the government that has yet to understand that our pop culture is just as important and significant to our society as is our mainstream culture.  

The community at large still does not understand that liking a band in NOT enough.  The bands and musicians need affirmative action in the form of buying ORIGINAL CDs, merchandise, tickets, songs.  They are not paid in advance and MANY of them pay to make their own albums.  Imagine they write (song & lyrics), play, arrange, produce, record themselves; pay a studio, engineers, cover designer, printing, pressing (CD), packaging, ALL WITH NO payment and NO guarantee of return.  So if you hear the song and you like/love it, you’re entertained by it, the LEAST we can do is pay for an original copy or original download.

So when Versus came along I saw it as the perfect platform to provide everyone a learning experience. It would allow the bands the freedom to create without the thought of having to conform for fear of elimination, yet they still had to win over the fans.  But if all the band exercised their creativity that would give the fans 5 different opportunities to see what our bands can do when allowed to think outside the box.

The other thing, which was very appealing, was that we would be choosing old songs to be rearranged any way the bands wanted.  Many were worried about the purists that would condemn the new arrangements as “blasphemy “ but to them and everyone I say - everyone has a right to how they feel.  Some like, other dislike that is the beauty of creativity… to each their own.  This would revive some of the golden era repertoire that many have been forgotten or otherwise lost to an era gone-by… I call it “looking back to go forward”.

The special thing about Versus was that ALL five bands that eventually agreed to do this had different strengths that cannot be denied. From creativity, musicianship, arrangement expertise, commercial viability, performance skill each band had a combination of abilities.  They all have popularity and they all have sold respectable albums.  It was an exciting prospect to see what they would do.

For the moment we opened the door with Versus the bands were out of the starting block with a vengeance with Black Parallax’s – Pada Syurya Di Wajahmu (Nash), GoGerila’s – Biso Bonar (Hattan), Hujan’s - Lamunan Terhenti (Aris Ariwatan), Sixth Sense - Kau Lupa Janji (Jamal Abdillah) and  Sofazr - Tanya Sama Itu Hud-Hud (M. Nasir),  and as the weeks went by we saw more and more sensational rearrangements, unique instrumentation ideas, exciting performances from bands that were drawing inspiration from their talent and influences.  This forward thinking gave the songs a new lease of life and a new following/fanbase yet still maintaining a distinct Malaysian flavour.

This was a unique reality program that ended up teaching everyone something.

For the bands being “forced” to deliver the goods week after week, performing live in front of an audience, the ability to be creative without borders and the pressure of competition (although friendly) produced the “best of the best” from the bands.  From this the bands learnt their own strengths and weaknesses; and understood how far they could push the creative limits yet still be accepted commercially. TO BLACK PARALLAX, GOGERILA, HUJAN, 6IXTH SENSE and SOFARZ MY UTMOST RESPECT TO YOU ALL.

As for the audience, watching the bands in this environment, they got to see their professionalism, and learn to appreciate the ability, inventive and edgy ideas that the bands delivered. Hopefully they will continue to support these bands and their efforts in bringing something new to our industry and scene.

For me it was a learning experience as to how hard it is to critique talent especially when they are all good in different ways.  I have tried to be as constructive yet honest in my opinions but I too have been like the audience blown away and humbled by the talent of all the bands.  I have always respected talent but this program has brought to light something I’ve always known... that “Competition breeds excellence” and the competitive environment drives you to do the best you can.

The HARDEST part of Versus is that there could only be one winner.  But in my heart of hearts those who have followed the progress and development of Versus are all winners in my eyes… the bands, the audience, TV9, Hotfm, the production crew and the judges…we have been served a dish of creativity by some of the best cooks in the business.

Salam Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir Batin.

Peace, Love and Respect always

#Stop114A

For more information :  http://stop114a.wordpress.com/what-is-section-114a/

Band-it (Tips Pt.3)

In the past couple of months I have been to two amazing gigs called Mull; Debauch to Kuala Lumpur (Actor’s Studio Lot 10) and  the Northern Music Festival (Botanic Gardens, Penang). Watching the bands in action I really admire their passion and their ability to write and play their own music.  Some are veterans of the art of performance but many are still diamonds in the rough (Masih banyak yang perlu di buat untuk mengasah bakat yang sedia ada).  What I saw inspired me to do the 3^rd. Series of Band Tips on twitter.  These are the points that were put forward with slightly more elaboration. This is just from my humble point of view.

The Padangs

1)  Control your stage volume

 Sometimes when bands play live they love to play loud.  The more excited they get the louder and faster they play.  But if you play too loud you will not be able to hear yourself on stage and nothing the engineer does can help u or your vocalist if you are playing louder than your monitors.  So learn to balance yourself on stage not have a loudness competition.  The answer is NOT to play louder.

Pesawat

2)  Step out from behind

As someone who takes official pictures and camera angles for TV I always have a problem with avoiding things that are in the way.  Please learn to move the microphone stand out of your way when you aren't singing or not using it (to the back but don’t block the drummer) and if you are a musician playing a solo step forward, it helps camera pick-up (an others NOT involved learn to step back or join in don't block).  If not all the pictures and videos will have u blocked by things!

Tres Empre

3)  Big intros and anti-climaxes

So many bands do this.  Come on stage launch into some big movie soundtrack opening only to stop TOTALLY to say the bands name and the title of the next song, then pick-up again... ANTICLIMAX!  Either get someone to introduce you properly before you play  (seriously) or play the intro (I know a lot of bands do this to balance themselves/check lines) and segue straight into the next song THEN only stop and talk… watch the internationals they play 2-3 songs before even saying a word.

7 Collar T-Shirt

4) Encouraging crowd reaction

A lot of bands are throwing things into the audience as a habit to encourage crowd reaction, which is fine, but PLEASE don't throw your album into the crowd… that’s your target market, they will buy if you do a good job of performance.  Most Malaysian bands are already selling CDs at ridiculously affordable prices.  If you must throw something - picks, drumsticks, towels, posters, t-shirts are fine.  If they don’t buy your album you better think about  a) doing  better songs or b) performing better!

 

Rosevelt

5)  Special Effects not Defects

What ever you decide to do whether it’s spinning your guitar round your neck, playing guitar with teeth, behind your back, juggle drumsticks, hand confetti, it’s always planning to do something spectacular that the crowd will always remember.  BUT If you want to do something different in your set make sure it’s spectacular not a spectacle.  Practice the move and if you’re not confident don’t try it.

Kyoto Protocol

6)  Teamwork…AGAIN         

A band is a team.. you can't have good midfielders and no finishers.. so the musicians and the vocalist need to make sure they do their jobs equally well!   There are some bands where the music is very tight but have a mediocre vocalist or a fantastic vocalist but weak musician/s.  You are as strong as your weakest link… so whatever that link may be work on strengthening it!  No “tidak apa” attitude allowed.

An Honest Mistake

7) Colour me Concert

There is no right or wrong for concert attire but you don’t want to look lifeless/style-less.  Casual is fine but got to make sure you don’t look like you’re going to the pasar malam… fans look up to you, aspire to be you.  Try to wear a colour that complements your complexion… Do not wear solid white for the camera, it looks lifeless unless you’re on a big production stage and you’re wearing all white and singing like Lionel Ritchie…always where colours like blue, yellow, red or black.

Oh Chentaku

8)  Standing out

Sometimes when genres become a hit, currently/trendy or has a huge following it will spawn a number of bands with the same sound… before it was Rock n’ Roll to Glam Rock then Seattle Sound to now, metalcore.  The problem with this is that after a while all the bands begin to sound alike.. small technicalities do not make a difference to the general music fans' ear… melody, collaborations, different lead instruments, mixing genres do.  So you need to listen to others and learn to differentiate yourself… do something else that will make you standout.

Monoloque

9)  Naming the band

Names are important.. it’s branding for the artist whether solo or group.   A group has the difficult responsibility in finding a name that will project and promote the collective identity of the group and its music.  If you intend to aim for a international market then you need to think about a name that people can remember and pronounce if people can't even say your name properly you have a problem.

Tilu

10)  Arranging the set

When playing sets arranging your songs is the most important.  Don’t play the same set or songs over and over because you WILL have regulars in the crowd.  Try to plan something different every time you go out.  Think about rearranging hit songs, play acoustic versions or medley-ing songs. After working on individual songs then start practicing them as a set so that you can see the flow is and readjust as and when you think it pulls the mood down.

Again these are just humble observations.  I learn a lot from watching the bands, some of you do amazing things during your live performances - amazing arrangements,  crowd handling, gimmicks, singing ability, musicianship... there IS NOTHING like watching a band play live well... it's inspiring. 

P/S :  

Band-Aid (Pt 1) : http://jenntho.blogspot.com/2011/02/over-last-two-months-i-have-been.html

Band-Age (Pt.2) : http://jenntho.blogspot.com/2012/07/band-age-tips-pt2.html

Peace, Love and Respect.

Be Who You Are

 

I understand that everyone has their own opinions and that everyone has a right to feel the way they do, now if only we could just get everyone to understand this we would achieve world peace.  What I don’t get and find downright frustrating is how people want to force their points of view on others.  Be it opinions, religion, beliefs or decisions, people through the ages have insisted that they are  right.

Stop worrying about how people perceive you or what you think.  There are bound to be people who like you and dislike you.  What they feel shouldn’t matter, how you consider other people is all that matters not their consideration of you.  Respect is a two way street and everyone needs to understand this no matter what your lot in life.

Everything is debatable.  Sometimes people offer their opinion so that you may open your eyes and think or choose for yourself.  The opinions become guidance so to speak.  But you have a brain, you choose whether to believe or not, accept or not.  If you want to dispute or disagree it cannot be via emotional outbursts, profanity or blind accusations.  The only way you can get your point across and get people to see your point is by discussion and facts.

We're all imperfect human beings learning and growing all the time.  We all need to stop comparing ourselves to other people, falling prey to peer pressure or bullying.  You are who you are and no one should force you to think otherwise, that is why we’re called individuals.

Peace, Love and Respect.

Band-Age (Tips Pt.2)

Sometime ago I wrote Band Aid (Tips Pt.1) for bands.  After being involved with Versus and going down to a bunch of Gigs I've been inspired to write a few  more Tips and Tricks.  These are only my humble observations as a music and band appreciator for most of my life.  Hope you find them useful :)

1) Get a good promo kit done

A good band bio outlining your music and achievements (properly written) is important.   A picture paints a 1,000 words..so get a good promo picture taken.  It does not need a professional but a nice friend with a nice camera will get the job done

2)  Build an image/personality

Nothing kills good music more than NO personality. Artists say they are serious about their music and are not interest in glamour or fame but that does not mean you do not need an image/personality.

3)  Build a fanbase

You cannot go from zero to hero without support. If you release something and people don't even know you're alive it's pointless.  So work on building a fanbase in the right target market.

4)  Competition is good.

Once in a while competing helps to keeps you ON you toes, gives you a REALITY check and forces you to DO better.  When you compete it pushes you to do better.  Fed up of competitions then perform together with other bands and compete against each other.  Just because you’re on top now doesn’t mean you’ll be there forever.

5) In life you NEVER stop learning.

And neither do bands...technology changes so fast that you NEED to keep up whether it is in  performance or marketing.  Keeping up with the changes pays off.

6) Don’t fall into the Rockstar trap

If you have a group of 50 diehard fans DON'T FORGET you have another 500,000 (or 5,000,000) more to capture. Too many Artistes get carried away in believing that they have fans when actually it’s an entourage of hangers-on.

7) Stay together

When in a room full of artistes/celebrities always stick together if you want to be known as a band and not as individuals. Especially in a room where there are photographers you want to pictured together.

8)  Never-ending Perfection

If you think you’re perfect, you're not…When U have perfected the music/vocal, work on the way you look, work on audience interaction, work on fitness..there's always a lot to do

9)  Achieve Excellence

The difference between mediocre & excellence is sweating the small stuff (& big stuff) "the devil is in the details”.  When you’ve done all the obvious you pay attention to the smallest detail of how you look, practice in front of  mirror, what clothes you going to wear, how clean your equipment is, what you pack for a gig… down to the last detail.

 10) Don’t take your music for granted

Many bands have been performing the same songs for years but NEVER take it for granted…All the more reason u should NOT be making mistakes.  Some play the song with a bored look on their face, some make careless mistakes, sing harmonies out of tune. Fans and audience are smart they can pick-up  these things. Keep practicing and if you’re bored rearrange the popular songs or play different versions.

If Only… What if?...

 I hate good scriptwriters (I mean this in a good way) they are so able to take such normal everyday things that you experience, dramatize it, and then throw it back in your face. Movies, songs, books and comedy are all able to use current issues, events and human emotion to make you relate.  A true art.

I was watching an episode of Grey’s Anatomy (ok, so I am a fan!) which was an "if only" episode, a look at alternative lives for each of the characters in the series, if things had gone differently, what would life be…which got me thinking….

If only and what if’s are dangerous.  Reflecting on how things might have been, should have been, ought to be is a negative emotion.  I have seen many people go through depression, anger, disappointment, frustration and become trapped in those feelings, always repetitively questioning themselves and ruing their situation in life.  But being defeatist is half the battle lost. Pessimism, over-thinking and negativity are a never-ending cycle that begets more of the same.

Believe me you are NEVER alone.  Everyone suffers from seemingly impossible problems, wrong decisions, bad luck and adversity.  I have been through my fair share of problems, life has never been a bed of roses and I’m constantly learning, which I suspect will go on for a long as I live. 

The smile belies the truth but I have never regretted anything and when I’ve looked back those things have always happened for a good reason.  If asked if I would change anything in my life…I wouldn’t.  These are the experiences in life that mold and teach you.  They’re life’s pop quizzes and test that you take and move on. 

The closing monologue by Meredith Grey -  “Your life is a gift. Accept it. No matter how screwed up or painful it seems to be. Some things are going to work out as if they were destined to happen. As if they were just meant to be.” (Grey’s Anatomy Season 8, Episode 13 “If/Then”)

If Only, is only an excuse… it does not mean that the “then” would be positive.   There is no absolute certainty of that or anything else.  Life is always what YOU make it. It’s too short not to live SO keep moving forward…

Peace, Love and Respect