A cynic in progress..

Was it worth it?

2011-12-19T16:02:00.016+08:00

My obsession with Heavy Metal started when I was 15. Before that, I only knew of 'Nu-Metal', which most Metalheads do not consider that particular Sub-Genre, 'Metal'. A few friends of mine then introduced me to the world of; 'Metalcore, Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal '.....and the list goes on....

Later in my Teenage years, I took up the Electric Guitar and started learning how to play it. And of course, most of us aspiring guitar players would want to be as good as our guitar heroes. One of my heroes were; Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert, Matt Heafy, Gary Moore (RIP), Dimebag Darrel (RIP) and the list goes on.

Call me bias, but there is one guitar hero that I find very unique in the Heavy Metal scene...his name is Alexi Laiho. Lead guitarist and vocalist of the band, Children Of Bodom. Why? Maybe in a musical sense, his innovative melodies, monstrous riffs and hooks would most of the time give me the ecstatic sensation of potential 'Eargasms'. Along with his badass yell, "Yeow!" at the intro on a lot of COB's songs. You just knew that hell would break loose in a COB track (in a good way).

In a technical sense, his guitar playing according to a lot of people (including myself) find it very impressive.

To guitar players: How many guitar players that you know, could play very fluid sounding arpeggio sweeps by using a Bridge pickup instead of a neck? I mean, you don't see Paul Gilbert or Joe Satriani switching to their bridge pickups to sweep. Don't get me wrong, both of them are indeed 'Guitar Masters' in their own right. I'm just stating what makes Alexi Laiho, the kind of guitarist that stands out in his own right. There are others who can Sweep with a bridge pickup as good or perhaps, better than Him. But the main focus would be Alexi in this post. Besides that, Alexi just knows how to use the Floating Tremolo...like a boss. If you've not watched his videos (which I'll load up later in this post), please do.

And so, it was on the 15th of November. I was on the Train at night, on my way to the 'Lion City'. And you would have guessed it....Children Of Bodom was going to perform live in Singapore, 2 days later. That was the whole purpose of this trip. As thrilled as I was, I just knew it was going to be a good show. And that proved pretty well on the day of the Concert. From the time, 'COB' came on stage, breaking through the flooding smoke on stage. And then, the mayhem had started...the band started performing what they do best....Heavy "F*cking" Metal..

From explosive riffs, to blistering solos. COB had defined themselves as a band with 'Attitude'. Which had set an impression on me and the 'Hate Crew' (Fans) to be the best 1 1/2 hours spent this year....I believe so...

Meeting and greeting the band was a plus point for me as I was fortunate enough to meet them in person. The ecstatic feeling of being able to meet my idols has never been this awesome. A moment to be cherished, as a 'Metal Head'. Was it worth it? Hell yes it was!

-Alexi Laiho and Janne Warman-

-Meet & Greet session with COB-

From a deep thought...

2011-09-26T15:48:00.021+08:00

Staying alive and well. Despite the hardships that left me to endure, and the bitterness that I've been encountering numerous times by people during the recent months. I must say, that was indeed tough. But that would not stop me from thinking that there will be more tough challenges in the near future.

This was what got me thinking for the past week:

I just don't understand, as to why some bastards love to abuse and mistreat people, attempting to make them lose their sanity and later..rot in the ground. They should learn to keep it to themselves and learn to see 'Black & white'. I don't see why they should always need to give the 'Cold shoulder' whenever they have the chance....stressful. Of course, those who are victims of that treatment would wonder; Are these people not happy with their lives? Do they hunger for 'Authority' to feel much superior? Or maybe these people are just inferior of what they are in general?

Should the mistreated give these people the 'Don't f*ck around with me' attitude an option? Or should we stay silent and walkaway like the typical Chinese school boy/girl mentality that we CAN be? *no offence to Chinese school educated people here*. As much as you may think that it's easy for me to conjure and convey these kind of messages, it also makes me ponder sometimes about my writing just for the sake of thinking out loud. I'm human too, come on :P . Anyways, I'll continue.....

Someone told me this once, quite a while back,"Endure the shit you get from people. Sooner or later, they'll appreciate your tolerance for their displeasure. And they'll treat you better on the long run."

Sorry, I've done that a long time ago and it doesn't work. I guess Phil Anselmo (Pantera) was right from the phrase of their song 'Domination' regarding these 'Animals'

,"Agony is the price

That you'll pay in the end

Domination consumes you

Then calls you a friend

It's a twisted fall"

Always...ALWAYS! Watch your back as much as you can. Even though you would passively get abused by these 'Animals', don't let it reach at the dangerous peak point of 'Havoc'. If it goes out of hand, you have the option of telling them,"Leave me the F*ck alone!."

In Waves, everybody!

2011-08-31T02:18:00.005+08:00

Yesterday was like Christmas morning as my sister woke me up like crazy and told me that there was a parcel delivered to me via DHL. I immediately knew what it was. Got out of my bed with a pair of blurry eyes and rushed downstairs to grab and open my parcel. And there it was...

The 3 over weeks of waiting was finally over....

Can you guys now scream; "IN WAAAVVEESSSS!"?

Indeed, this has got to be one of Trivium's best albums ever produced! A must buy for Trivium fans anywhere! The sweet thing about the special edition package I pre-ordered 3 weeks back was that it includes; a Special Edition CD/DVD pack and a Merchandise T-Shirt.

The DVD features: The making of the album, Live performances of the band in the Chapman studios, 5 extra tracks, and the Official Music Video 'In Waves'.

The tracks in the album are indeed mind blowing! Trivium has finally found their own sound and style that can be heard and identified in this album.

My favourite tracks in the album are; 'In Waves', 'Built to fall', 'Inception of the end', 'Black' and 'Watch the world burn'.

Trivium have indeed outdone themselves very well in this album; both Technically and Musically. Their musicianship from then till now has improved greatly.

What are you waiting for? Get your copy of 'In Waves' now!!! :D

Never knew this day would come..

2011-08-11T13:50:00.005+08:00

The day has come...for the first time in my 21 years...I'm finally wearing glasses!

Well, it ain't so bad. I only need to wear glasses when I'm facing in front of the TV or PC. Other than that, I can do without.

All this while I thought I was the only one in the 'Cheah' family who would never EVER wear glasses and thinking that I would have ; fresh, no-issue, fine eyes for life....I was wrong..

Yes..Mummy, Papa and Krystyn had to wear glasses at some point of time in their life. But today was my turn. *jeng jeng jeng*...

But that's life. You'll never know what to expect. Good thing I can accept my current condition and would want to make an effort in improving my eye sight. Currently dealing with this optical defect called 'Astigmatism'. I guess it takes time, till it could be resolved..maybe...

TAADAA!!

Do I end this all for the world to see?

2011-07-25T23:29:00.008+08:00

Life's a drift..no? When the tides of hardship is so strong, sometimes you wonder why the pace of this world is so fast. It sucks, yes. If only your contemporaries can just shut the hell up and listen and acknowledge your doubts and concerns about the obstacles of your life. Maybe they could end up finding a solution to your problems. Wouldn't life be much easier to live with. No?

I guess some (or perhaps most) of us like the idea of drifting with other people's opinions, without questioning or voicing out opinions of our own. Maybe it is to avoid a bloodbath conflict amongst our family, friends or colleagues? Then whats our purpose in life? To grow to lead people? Or to grow to follow people?

I guess it takes two to tango to understand each and every individual better. But most of us don't like to be on the side of Wrong whilst having a strong sense of justification to put up. That's just screwed up.

Then where's the trust in each other as individuals, if this major flaw persists? A valid opinion then can't be reached out, because some bad listeners tend to have this screwed up habit of saying, "Oh, don't tell me. I don't wanna hear it.". Then fine, you'll never know what the problem is, and the problems just keep coming after you. Screw you..

I guess we're just a bunch of ignorant drifters? I'd rather be a drifting endeavor of life than a drifting couch potato douche. In waves...in waves....

Through Struggle..

2011-04-27T23:01:00.011+08:00

Been a long time since I last posted something on this blog. Either I don't have much to say from my head or I've lost the spirit in blogging. Nevertheless, here's my first post of the year. YAY! -_-"

Now, what have I been up to all this time? Well, for starters, I've been busy dealing with loads of TV commercials during my time as a 'Trainee Sound Editor'....now is my time to work harder and get my brain to work out the 'creative juices' to challenge myself to be a better Sound Engineer

Based on my 'Cynical, Self-degrading/Bashing & Sarcastic' input from the 1st and 2nd Paragraph, it seems that Life hates me, while I'm trying to love 'Life' and bear with some of its incurable quirks. Wonders of the Universe eh? Sometimes, I even question myself, "Why does life suck so bad as I get older?"

Maybe its because, the responsibilities become bigger as I grow older? Or maybe this world is just infested with too many assholes who happen to appear into our lives and never fail to put on a 'clown show' for us to be pissed at. There is just too much to bear.

But for the past 4 years, I believe that I've grown a lot. And of course, there's a lot more to learn ahead. A lot of people have told me this,"Aiya, you're 21 this year. Still young! Go ahead and enjoy your life!". Yeah, and with a blink of an eye...I'll be in my mid-20s! :S

And I'm living inside my head, thinking..

-Will I ever make enough money, so that I can afford my own house by 25?
-Will I ever get married before I'm 30? *Although its not important to me now*
-Will I EVER be financially stable when I'm set off on my own someday?

Sure? Maybe? Dunno..

Some of you may think its a tad early to be thinking about all these things. But whats wrong with having big goals right? Whats the rush? Maybe I realized that I should not take 'Time' for granted?

Ever since I started working... seeing a lot of my peers still studying in college, I sometimes feel that I've missed out a lot on my youth, due to the heavy commitment to my 9-5 job. I actually feel that I'm growing up too fast. I'd hate to say that I'm an 'Upcoming working adult', but seeing myself dealing with my; daily expenses and credit card bills and etc...I think the signs show. But, I should also realize that nobody actually pushed me into this kind of lifestyle, but me.

I struggle with this lifestyle of mine. Yes, I just said it...'Struggle'. But I knew I had to face it someday. If not, then when? But of course, everybody has to face it one day. But I believe I don't regret it. Because each and every one of us has a different road to take....

only through struggle have i found rest
with a piece of me taken away
i begin to understand
hollow out this machine like chest
with its gears that turn to make me feel
and assembled thoughts that fade away

only through struggle have i found rest
only through struggle have i found rest

remove from me
this deception that i called love
that i called love

with its gears that turn to make me feel
and assembled thoughts that fade away

remove from me
this deception that i called love
that i called love

only through struggle have i found rest
with a piece of me taken away
i begin to understand
i begin to understand
i begin to understand

One steep step at a time..

2010-09-11T17:12:00.009+08:00

It's been a while since I've posted something here. Well, my bumming days are over and I'm now working. I have no complaints that I won't be able to laze around because I'm doing something that I love. I'm working as a Sound Editor/Mixing Engineer/etc for a company which I would not state due to some reasons.

On the first day of work, I was pretty stoked for the reason that I finally got a career that I could start building upon and hopefully to be able to bring my mixing and recording skills to the next level. Thus, me being new to the company made me realize that I have to work hard to be as good as the Sound Engineers in the Company.

Surprisingly, I found the company a very nice place to work in; great environment, friendly colleagues and nice facilities. My mentor on the job is a pretty outgoing guy, but I'm trying my best to learn from him on what he does best on the production side of things. I have a long way ahead of me before I could become a great Sound Engineer. Competitive? Yes! Intimidated? Hopefully not. But optimum anxiety might just come in handy for me to perform well in this job. Time to 'Focus'!

Being able to operate on the mixing board and software during work kinda made me feel happy, because it's the kind of work that I might end up doing for the rest of my life. Meanwhile, I'm trying my best to also improve on my musicianship with my upcoming band. Man, lyric writing can be such a pain in the ***, just by finding the right words to fit into the meaning and tune.

Torn Between Nemesis and Lethe (2)

2010-07-03T00:14:00.004+08:00

Lethe;

In Greek mythology, Lethe (Λήθη; Classical Greek [ˈlɛːtʰɛː], modern Greek: [ˈliθi]) was one of the five rivers of Hades. Also known as the Ameles potamos (river of unmindfulness), the Lethe flowed around the cave of Hypnos and through the Underworld, where all those who drank from it experienced complete forgetfulness. Lethe was also the name of the Greek spirit of forgetfulness and oblivion, with whom the river was often identified.

In Classical Greek, the word Lethe literally means "oblivion," "forgetfulness," or "concealment". It is related to the Greek word for "truth", aletheia (αλήθεια), meaning "un-forgetfulness" or "un-concealment".

by Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethe

The post relates to an old classmate back in Secondary school. We were quite close for a couple number of years even after she left for England after form 1. And then, came back in form 3. We suddenly bumped into each other at a tuition center I was attending and we were in the same Economics and Math class. Technically, we were really best friends.

For short, after starting college..she and I kept less in contact due to our busy schedule. A year later, I tried to keep in contact with her. When I sent her a chat message when she was online. She ended asking me who I was and asking whether she knows me or not. I then tried to remind who I was, and adding on details like; She and I were classmates and were really close.

Unfortunately, she replied,"Sorry, I do not remember you nor do I know. I got too many friends"

That reply was indeed pretty saddening, but it's a shame she could forget. Could she be the perfect example of her forgetting what her life was? It's as if she drank from the river of 'Lethe' and had undergone an 'Oblivious' trip in her head? I won't know, and I won't bother. I just need to move on and meet better friends that would serve me well in life...

Torn between Nemesis and Lethe (1)

2010-06-15T02:48:00.013+08:00

Disclaimer:

This post is known to have a slight amount of explicit content. Reading discretion is adviced..thank you

Yes yes, I may have gotten the idea of this title from Trivium's song 'Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis'. But I'm kinda relating Greek mythology with a few stories of mine with this title. So, yeah. :)

nem·e·sis (nm-ss)

n. pl. nem·e·ses (-sz)

1. A source of harm or ruin: Uncritical trust is my nemesis.

2. Retributive justice in its execution or outcome: To follow the proposed course of action is to invite nemesis.

3. An opponent that cannot be beaten or overcome.

4. One that inflicts retribution or vengeance.

5. Nemesis Greek Mythology The goddess of retributive justice or vengeance.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nemesis

In life, there's always an enemy that we'll encounter that would well might be our worst. It could be about the most horrible person you've met, the most terrifying experience, or it could well be a certain type of 'self-hate' in ourselves that it could let us end up in suicide.

But on a personal note, I'm relating this definition towards this person I used to have a strong hatred to. This person could be well described as the most; Malicious, two-faced, manipulative, hypocritical son of a bitch I've ever met in my life. *apologies for the language* In the end, he was considered my own personal 'Nemesis'. Let's refer him as a 'Parasite'

For starters, we used to work in the same hotel industry as butlers. The way we got the job was through his uncle, who was one of the head directors of the hotel. When we started out fresh during our first week of the job, there was one event which took place on one of the days within that week. We were having a morning brief with our supervisor on one of the days during that week. And I kept telling myself,"No matter what, I'll be better than this asshole at anytime!". A little bit of ego there, but it was my only way of realizing that I have to believe in myself, no matter what shit comes in my way..

My supervisor gave me a good feedback on my working performance, till he told this 'Parasite' ,"You know, you could try and learn as much from Cheah." But of course I didn't allow my supervisor to say that, upfront showing my humility as I could've lowered his (parasite) self-esteem if I allowed my supervisor to say such things. Since then the 'Parasite' had gone competitive with me on the job, until he felt needed to prove to people what he was capable of just because he wanted to match up with me. I was being told about this by my colleague. Which explains why he chooses to ignore me whenever I try to talk to him or ask him about work. But, I just rose up to the challenge and just be healthy sport and try to do better than him in many ways as I could. If I'm defeated in certain things that he has flair for, I would accept my defeat.

Although there times where my own personal successes didn't suffice and he was under skyrocketing towards his own successes, I couldn't let the feeling of 'envy' get to me. I know that it can slowly kill me one day. I just learned to stick to what I am good at just to get by, up to a point where the world doesn't matter. My only issue was that I never liked the fact the person I hated so much was doing slightly better than me after our days in the hotel industry. But nevertheless, I choose to build my own successes and confidence, instead of whining and pining over this matter.

The situation between the both of us had gotten worse when he started talking behind my back to other people. I didn't see the need for him to do that, but that's when I decided to walk away from the 'Parasite' and let his own hatred eat him up badly. Now I heard he has weight on his shoulder because of something stupid that he did. I would take this as his bad karma and what was shown were his true colours. At least I now know that he only knows how to live his life with full of escapism with the recreation of his own hatred and guilt.

*next post would be in relation to Lethe, stay tuned*

How 'NOT' To Destroy Angels

2010-06-10T03:15:00.007+08:00

I just took a listen to Trent Reznor's latest work and to be honest....I'm not very impressed with it, no matter how much I love Nine Inch Nails. This could probably be one of his works of downfall (No offense to any NIN fans out there). His side project 'How To Destroy Angels' , which consists of band members featuring; Trent Reznor (himself), Mariqueen Maandig (his wife) and Atticus Ross (producer and programmer for Nine Inch Nails).

First, I'll get down with the things I like from the EP album of 'How To Destroy Angels'. By truth, when I listened to the songs, the distorted beats and synthesizers gave me an immediate shower of ideas that it sounds like Nine Inch Nails, only with a female vocalist singing. The haunting reverb on the pianos just sends chills down my spine, the messy (but creative) Synth effects, end up being groovy riffs and loads of percussion-like beats to keep up the musics' intensity. All that makes it sound like, well...Nine Inch Nails.

Now I'll get down to business and tell you about the things that I don't like about the EP. To me, Mariqueen's vocals sound as if she was mumbling or whispering, mostly throughout the whole song called 'The Space In Between'. Sounded as if the instrument tracks were almost masking her voice or something during the Verse of the song. That, in my humble opinion. I just wish that Trent's vocals were also featured in the EP, I bet it would make a great blend into the songs. Well, it's only the EP album so far. I'll wait for the full-length album to be released in the near future and we'll see how that goes.

Simple steps go a long way...

2010-05-24T22:32:00.005+08:00

I was looking for some tips on screaming over the net, and I found this tip which was pretty hilarious but really useful.

Echoplex

2010-05-04T11:33:00.002+08:00

Been really busy and uptight this semester. Nevertheless I know I've done my best to achieve whatever I wanted to achieve. Last week was a heavy experience for me, being able to mix 3 bands for a college Live Show and being Stage Manager on the same day was pretty much a first time for me. Not to mention, I was being evaluated at the same time! Yes, it was my practical exam for 'Sound Reinforcement' and I'm relieved that it's over now.

Terry, congratulations on winning last week's Friday Performance. May you perform at your best for this week's 'Final Friday Performance'. :)

I've come up to a point where I think my mind is at peace from whatever troubles I've faced. Whether if it's really controversial or not, screw that sh*t. Confidence boost aside, I think I may know my true potential and I shall grow with it. The fewer successes I've made(unexpectedly) this week made me felt as though I was dreaming, but I wasn't! Is this just the beginning for me to grow from here?

I try not to be too cynical about excelling in my performance, but to be more accepting, 'Come what may'. Nevertheless, I've got a long way ahead of me in this Audio Engineering line. And hoping to be as great of a producer/sound engineer as Trent Reznor himself. I shall not doubt myself with things I love doing, I should somehow find ways to escalate my repertoire in whatever interest I take in.

To whom it may concern;

P.S. : Keep growing your hatred and condemnation towards someone and you may see yourself with a bloated face and several pimples in the mirror :)

The unproductive, yet...progressive

2010-03-10T02:48:00.005+08:00

I've done basically nothing for this whole mid term break except to sit my butt down and practice guitar. Play-play-play, till I think I've gotten calluses on my fingers. But that shouldn't bother me. I kinda figured out what my bad playing habit was. It was the problem of getting too tensed while playing. Normally my fingers would loosen up after a half-an-hour warm up session, before I start working on my chops. That's how rough I was.

Till recently, I read some guitar tips via online about alternate picking. I'm sure you guitarists know what 'Alternate picking' is, I would not go into detail with that. One of the tips explained that I had to relax my left-hand fingers. Which true enough, I only bothered about playing faster, and my left hand fingers got screwed because I wasn't relaxed. Which explains a lot of the mistakes I've made in the past which I did not notice before. With that in mind, I decided to lower my Amp's 'Gain' and Guitar 'Tone' knob a little and practice my licks till I've become accustomed to what I think I did was right. I never made regular adjustments on my Amp for these few days because my focus was on my technique. Soon after, I only ended up controlling my guitar 'Tone' knob and my 'Gain' knob on the amp. Honestly, I was too lazy to even hook up my Boss Overdrive pedal to give out some occasional boosts.

I never really had a good bond with my Ibanez because of my struggle with getting used to it until recently. Being with a guitar and playing it is like a 'Husband & Wife' situation. If you argue with the Wife, the Wife would either listen to you, or defy you until she can drive you up against the wall like a mad man. Those things happened on certain days since I first owned my Ibanez. Sometimes, when your fingers don't feel right..both you and the guitar would end up blaming each other. Sometimes, you'll treasure the guitar because you got to achieve the riff or lick you've been working on. Playing guitar to me is like talking to it. When I get to familiarize with the feel of the neck and fretboard, the more predictable it is on how I can apply my techniques correctly in place on the guitar. It's like getting to know your guitar better in a 'Personal' sense. I'm not even sure whether it's the right word, but who cares.

I went to look up on 'Steve Vai' videos and tried to observe his way of playing. True enough, his fingers can get really fast and yet so smooth. It was as if his fingers were gliding over the fretboard rather than running all over it. After that, I tried playing some 'Funk' and a bit of 'Blues'. And I think I knew how I could get to develop that technique. It was the ' feel'. Though, the term 'feel' is a personal perception to a person, because it has many meanings when it comes to 'feel'. I can't explain to you my kind of 'feel' but the 'feel' is there.

What would be the next step in my journey of guitar learning? Time will tell.

Steve Vai-Tender Surrender

Awesome stuff

2010-03-10T00:47:00.002+08:00

This video of Steve Vai featuring Orianthi is awesome...

Kiri sute Gomen

2010-02-20T04:12:00.017+08:00

'Kirisute Gomen '

eg; The phrase "Kirisute Gomen" is of Japanese origin. It means literally, "exemption to cut down and cast aside" a member of the lower orders who has failed to show a member of the samurai military caste proper respect.

In a metaphorical sense, I'd like to relate and apply the meaning of the two Japanese Kanji characters generally towards people and situations that I've encountered and dealt with before.

Sometimes we tend to think some of our friends do not meet our expectations, such as being; reliable, caring, considerate or even understanding enough. However, it take two hands to clap right? So, what happens if we don't have friends who don't know how to reciprocate? Do we start feeling sorry for them for not knowing better and going through their life like "blurred sotongs".

-"I apologise in advance for this one for offering what amounts to an unsympathetic apology." (Kiri sute Gomen)

What else can we do? Do we:

(a) Try to influence the person and give him/her the time to learn to be a good friend?

or

(b) Leave him be and despise him? i.e. "exemption to cut down and cast aside"

Everyone wants to be respected and to be valued, but many of us also forget that 'respect' has to be earned as well rather than to be demanded, or that it is not always given out willingly. For some people, their ways of gaining respect and seeking to be valued is by only doing favors for friends for some people is by only doing favors for friends. They hold their willingness out so obviously but instead of sending out the signals that they can be trusted, they are actually begging to be taken advantage of. I think it's utter bullshit and can be a double whammer because you're not always respected for your 'reliable, caring, considerate and understanding' behavior, but likely you be made use of the person's puppet instead. Whether the person willing to return the deed back to you as well is besides the point.

From a personal experience, I used to have this good friend of mine from secondary school. We always hung out as true Malaysians regardless of race. Till there was a time he felt uncomfortable with me because I do not carry a religious faith around my neck. He kept trying to convince me to walk his religious path and because I resisted , we stopped talking for almost a year. Does that mean, that my goodness as a friend doesn't count if my faith isn't in sync with his faith? *pfft* It is his bloody loss!

Recently, I was hanging out with some friends at a Starbucks. Suddenly, I saw him and his girlfriend at the counter, ordering drinks. After that, they found a place to sit at quite a distance from where I was sitting. At the corner of my eye, I saw him trying to analyze my whole figure and appearance. It was either he recognized me or he was giving me a hard contemptuous look. But for whatever it was, I approached his table and greeted him. There was a certain awkward moment between him and I at that time.

As expected,wes ended up as total strangers. I didn't get the good old vibe I had with this person 2 years ago. After the small talks, he told his girlfriend that I was a good friend of his (He never called me for more than a year, you call that friendship?). And continued, by saying that I got good musical taste. (Urrm yeah, and he discriminates against my kind of music because he thinks it's satanic).

*Hypocrite*

So, the question remains...do I still consider him a friend?

A: "I apologize in advance for striking you down"-Kirisute Gomen

Anyhow, these are just personal thoughts of mine..

He who walks the fire breathes
Unlike the rest
Living by the bloody creed
Kirisute gomen
Air of battle tasting stale
Reeks of deceit
Send the bitter straight to hell
Kirisute gomen
In their wretched guts all they want is to feed
Unending, covetous hunger known as greed
As the last legion makes it's way to the skies
I can see in their eyes
They've already died
Inside, but as for the outside
I'll take their fucking heads
Quake has bred with the storm
Conceiving war
Wicked stampeding hordes
Kirisute gomen
I will never be what they
Want me to
I live by my own path in life
No turning
Back now, I won't be held down
Forced into a shallow grave built upon their empty ways
There's no turning back
There's hell to pay, such disarray
A bloodied mess, flesh masquerade
With all the blood making a flood
You made your path by crossing us
He who spits the fire seethes
All he detests
Decapitating, bloody creed
Kirisute gomen

A message from me

2010-02-14T04:42:00.002+08:00

Here's a special message from me...Happy Chinese New Year/Happy Valentine's day!!!

They don't really care about us+All the right moves

2010-02-05T15:36:00.004+08:00

Somehow, I found this pretty interesting. I was listening to the radio on one fine day and One Republic's 'All The Right Moves' was playing. I found the song kinda similar with Michael Jackson's 'They Don't Really Care About Us'. Probably because of the way the both songs had some slight familiar elements , like the arrangements and such IMHO...this is what I think.

One Republic-All the right moves

Michael Jackson-They don't really care about us

*Constructive criticisms are welcome*

One more time!

2010-01-06T12:22:00.007+08:00

Been a while since I last posted something. Well, I needed a break anyways. Anyhow, this year is gonna be my last semester in college and I want to get it over with ASAP...and embrace the new world....the working world. This year, I wanna experience new things, grow out of my misery and disappointments, endured in regards to last years hectic events. And yes..earn more money. Money has always been my no.1 priority. No two ways about it.

Who knows, maybe one day I'll be able to invest in a land or something. Or, build a company that has not come to my mind yet. Time is ahead of me, the road is long as well. I think I won't 'jump into the wagon' with those plans now. Of course, there would be times where I'll have my break downs sand aggravations regarding my failed attempts on whatever I wanted to achieve. Nevertheless, who said the world was fair? It has never been. Time, place and people can change the route of your destination. I kept asking myself,"I can control me. But why are these 3 things affecting part of my status as an ambitious person (badly)?" Is it because that it was my nature to be placed in this kind of current status in my life? Or is it because I've been nurtured to have my own mind set to be different from alot of people that follow the conventional in terms of; Lifestyle, values, interests and etc.

You know, the kind of people who think that homosexual can be more accepting into society of all age ranges, the kind of people who gives tons of excuses why they lack cash in their pocket like describing themselves as 'Compulsive Buyers' rather than 'Smart Buyers'. But, why would I care..its their matter anyways. Sometimes I feel as though I've gone onto the wrong track, but I do not regret whether if it was the right or wrong path that I walk. It may seem like justification. But at some point, I realized that I have my own 'Conceptual Framework' .

But, this is the world that we live in. The world as I see it today; we live in a world with hypocrisy. Here's why. Back in the days when Michael Jackson was accused of being a perverted-pedophilia child abuser that people claimed he was. When he passed away, people around the world started to worship him like some 'God' and claim remarks like,"Oh, Michael was a pop icon of our time and he inspired us all. His music will live inside us for years to come." Now, what makes out of them accusers? One word, 'Hypocrites'. And the fire starters were the media anyways in 1993.

Ask yourself, why are we even on Earth in the first place? To go through hardship to help us become stronger? Or, to only live in comfort of the lessons in philosophy and religion for so-called truth alone? That means little to me, because it makes life very limiting. To me, it's about expanding my own exposure in whatever is around my environment. What is life for you?

Hard line

2009-12-25T21:15:00.005+08:00

And so Christmas it was. Went to Church (What the?! Jie Juan going to Church?!) as I was invited by a friend to some function on Christmas day. Yes, gone for an early morning preach. As usual, I try to absorb and understand the pastor's preaching but I can honestly say, that I'm far from convinced with Christianity (still).

From what I see, I still don't see the point of people giving too much credit to what-they-call 'God'. To me, I finally come to a conclusion that religion may teach good morality and be comforting to some, but it fails short in terms of the truth about life. Why am I coming towards this bold direction of saying so? Because...

1. If God was so superior and all powerful enough to make the world a better place, the world
wouldn't be in its bad shape it is now

2. Religion may teach you about good life but not the truth about how life came to be.

3. Birth of Christ through virgin mother Mary? Makes me wonder what is REAL in this world anymore.

It makes me question,"How can they not question their faith? Can they see that their 'truth' sounds more fiction than fact?!". If I can't feel 'His' presence, wouldn't it be okay if I ended up being apathetic? What is life without the freedom of 'Choice', 'Will' and 'Self-Belief'? These are the questions that I've come across which I wonder how the Christians could give me either a good answer or a good 'bull'. Enlighten me...

I think that people should remain personal about their religious beliefs instead of hard-selling the same to others with no-religion or of different religions. To me, one must learn to choose and think out rationally before acting. Instead of following like a flock of sheep and live by faith alone. I see that there too much self-justification and it makes me wonder about things like speaking in tongues. I wonder what actually goes on in their conscious minds as they go about using this acquired "gibberish-talking" skill to try convince others that this silly parade is actually a so-called trance. Seems more like like "conscious mass hysteria" oxymoron to me.

Absolute faith does not give much room for choice; it cannot. So it will conflict with others like me with strong 'non-belief'? Christians love to assume and hate questioning. Sorry, Pastor...you have not won my 'soul' yet to claim, game over. Just like I cannot assume without question and reasoning.

As Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) quotes

,"There are just some things that don’t seem very fair in the world, like this f-ing hypocrisy of organized religion. I just don’t understand how people can blindly believe a bunch of the sh*t they’re fed, to believe it so that they don’t think too hard about other issues. ‘Be a good boy and you’ll go to heaven.’ If it works for you, fine, but it doesn’t work for me and that pisses me off because I kind of wish it did."

Urge

2009-12-19T00:47:00.002+08:00

I have this urge to go out and explore more things. But I don't know whats stopping me sometimes. I think it's just time. I feel as though I wanna accomplish everything at one time but I know that's not possible. Feeling pretty bored this week, by just staring at my Mac for hours, mindlessly clicking away links and being pretty unproductive.

I live a pretty boring life, honestly. But, it pays off to slack at the moment. Something tells me, that I gotta get my priorities straight. Have a go? Nah, I'll just slack.

Pull Harder...

2009-12-11T11:18:00.004+08:00

Been working in Apple for 6 days so far. I found the job pretty fun and also tough in terms of maintaining my working performance. For this job; I must learn more, I must excel more and convince more customers to purchase a Mac. Hopefully, I'll stick with this job and fit in nicely. It's pretty tough for customers to buy a Mac in terms of the utility purpose and money issue that gets into their thoughts before considering to purchase a Mac.

One of the worst customers I've encountered were the 'time-wasting' customers who can only tell me what they want to buy from an Apple store and walk off after that, after much effort of convincing the customer to buy. I've had that experience, just yesterday. Business was slow for a few days, maybe that's why I tried my best to close a good deal for the day. But I've learned that customers like these can be cut off immediately and not bother about them.

Anyhow, I have to work hard in this job if I want my holiday trip to Singapore. But in the end, we all have our good days and bad days. But since I'm working for a Mac Reseller, it's time for me to push-push-push! Need to make that extra income. Time for me to believe in myself that I could do well in this field.. time to pull harder!

Trivium-Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr

Dead feet and an awaken thought...

2009-12-03T15:26:00.009+08:00

Yesterday, went around town to look for a job and it seems that Low Yat plaza is pretty busy this time around, because of Christmas being just around the corner. Went to Jln Imbi to check out for job vacancies..non available. Walked to Sungei Wang to see what my options were....non as well, all taken. It was funny, the last place I checked out was the first place that accepted me in. Now, I'm a part-timer in a computer store. How...different. While I'm supposed to be in the audio line or something. But I don't mind. I've always wanted to learn how to assemble computers.

I wish I took Software/Computer Engineering and understood computers under more depth. But being my mathematics so bad, I don't think it could happen. Life I think is not unfair but I think every individual is just unparallel. If not, everybody would be a suicide bomber or something. Like any parent would ask,"What do you wanna be when you grow up?". I once told my parents that I wanted to be a Mechanical Engineer, I was 6 back then. At one time, I wanted to be a comedian and wished to earn 10million US Dollars like Russell Peters.

At one time, I had an interest in cooking. I wanted to become a Chef. But after seeing myself being in the Hotel Management industry for a month. I started to not believe in extreme commitment towards that kind of career. Especially Genting Highlands. Being away from Family, Home and Self-Interest Esteem for long periods of time. Nevertheless, coming across 11 years of Primary/Secondary education, my view with the world changed after that. Bad Economy crisis is now present, I just wanna find a hole to get into and hope my future would be alright.

When I see some of my friends having a financial crisis, it's a scare for me. My folks won't live forever, no one is going to support me but myself at the end of the day. I never thought of a precise blueprint for my life on how it is going to turn out. I thought there was no point planning, because I felt that; time, people and situations affects those plans and then things take on different routes. One of my 'rejected' cousins failed his PMR and dropped out of Secondary school to work as a Mechanic in a workshop. The reason why I labelled 'Rejected' was because I don't consider myself having many close relatives. But I won't go into that.

To me, money is not the root of ALL evil in terms of misuse of money as the only reason. Because I think, it's a sin of not having enough money to be able to put food onto the table. So what is precise 'good' and 'bad'? It's a two way street, just like the Deontology theory. Everybody needs money to survive and live their lives and there are people use money to manipulate situations like bribery and such, which are bad qualities. Money talks eh?

For me, I try to maintain the money in my bank account so that I don't go broke. Whenever I finished my class, I always had a limited number of choices as to where to eat. The common 'Mamak' stall infront of college, or McDonald's beside college. And I never had time to make my own lunch because of rushing to classes. That's when I told myself that I needed a job under flexi-hours to support myself and not to depend on others. There's no such thing as an ∞ amount of money in a person's pocket.

I can never say for most of my life I lacked of freedom, but making use of what I have to make my life better. I do tend to think that 3/4 of my has been drifted away and never had brake pads to stop and think about what I should do to make things better. But I believe that everyone wants to work hard so that they won't starve. And yes, I used to be a hardcore 'wishful thinker'. I was alot more afraid of the 'reality' me than I do now. I used to have dreams where there was a scene that no one were bothered with me at all. With those misplaced thoughts, I guess I've attracted the wrong kind of people that could pierce me. But f*ck the world, whatever that could've been wrong would let me see later and maybe help me grow now. Results of my life, vary all the time. I guess it is the same with everyone.

After Mum's passing, it made me think that 'Death will not kill you, Death will come to you when life makes attempts to kill you, whichever way it can'. What do I mean by that? God was never there to save people's lives. He can't stop a bullet from being struck on a person's chest. Nor can he even stop a car accident. I've accepted the fact that, we have to learn how to take care of ourselves and our families, rather than rely on a 'man-made imaginary superman' that claims to be able to save people from harm. So what's your excuse when you've failed to save a life, God? ,"Everybody has to go someday"? Come on, just say that death can't be escaped and it'll keep chasing after you, man.

I don't need a 'How to move on in life for Dummies' guide book, because I would know what Mum would want me to be in life when she is not around. Because I would know her personally as my own mother. Don't even try and plant the word 'Divine' into my head people.

Milestone..

2009-11-28T02:44:00.007+08:00

Finally, I've started my semester break...Time to look for a job! Of course some of you enjoy sitting at home, watch TV on a fine lazy afternoon and would have thought,"Why do I even wanna get a job now? Couch potato life is so much better!". To me, time is money..time is money...TIME IS MONEY! Of course, in conjunction of getting a job, I never fail to apply for a job that I like. This time around, I'm planning to work for a month or so, to fund for my trip to Singapore, and probably call a few 'kakis' to come along with me.

I think it would be an ideal place to go for a holiday, and to try and get contacts there to get involved with my business in sales. I've taken part-time jobs for at least 3 times in my life since I was 16. 1st job, I was a sales assistant at a 2nd hand goods store. 2nd was a promoter at FOS (Factory Outlet Store). And in my last job, I was a Butler/Kitchen helper/Bartender/Bell Boy at Maxim's 5 star hotel suite in Genting Highlands. Those jobs benefited me alot because it gave me alot of experience in these fields. But I cannot wait to get into the Audio Engineering industry somewhere in the near future.

For now, I'm still surveying for a job and just to see what I could work as, this time. Well, getting a job is somehow good. I don't have to just wait and save up monthly allowances given by my dad. Instead, I could earn a decent salary each month and earn great independence. I was never the type who would ask my parents for things that are costly. Whenever I couldn't afford things that were expensive, I would always strive to look for a job and work for the money. I feel that it is most rewarding at times. Being able to receive that 'hard-earned' money at the end of the month is really uplifting. Highest achievement would be, to be able to go to a store and get something you've been wishing for. That, I call true happiness and satisfaction.

I remember my days in Genting in the past, where I had to sleep well in the afternoon because of my daily working shift which starts from 11pm and ends at 7am. I even had to subsidize my daily spendings because, alot of things were expensive over there. For a month, I've been surviving on Canteen food and cup noodles. It could be a pretty tough life there, if you worked at Genting for the first time. When my 2nd income was banked in, I immediately left my job as a Butler because I was sick of being away from home for too long. But as I looked back at my old job, I still remember the good times where, after work, I used to go to this place called 'Sportsbook club' to watch a live band that plays every night while actually eyeing at the hot waitresses who were working there.

There were some days where I've thought of adventuring into the old hostels around Genting because some people claimed it was haunted. Reason for that, was because I wanted to find out whether ghosts were real or not and also to test my beliefs of the supernatural. To be honest, I was too afraid to go alone. Okay, now this paragraph is beginning to sound like a 'Children's Book'. But yes, I was tempted to visit the place.

Whenever I was in my dorm, I would relax on the top of the double decker bed and listen to alot of Metal music. Keeps me calm and reliefs my stress from work. Some of my colleagues who stayed nearby in one of the rooms, have a thing for techno music. Every night, they would blast Techno music with the door open so that the music can be heard at the whole dorm area. Those were the good old days.

The best position in the job was being at the guest list counter at the lounge. Why? Because I had a 'thing' for a girl (just to clarify that I'm not gay! hahaha) who worked at the front desk of Maxim Suites. What was the benefit you might ask? Staring at her back. YES. It was the only thing that I usually do to make the time pass by very fast. And it works! After a month, I left my job because I grew tired of Genting. After receiving my last payment from there, I went on continuing to save my money and finally got the things that I've always wanted. And when I looked back, I said to myself,"Damn, I got these great things because I had to go through the hard way. But the experience was a bonus." And I've gotten this far...

There is no you..there is ONLY me

2009-11-17T00:52:00.013+08:00

To those who may be concerned.....

*Warning! Explicit content. Read at own risk. The blogger of this post is not responsible for any damage inflicted (Emotionally) to any individual who reads the following post. Those who may find this post offensive upon partial reading would be adviced to leave IMMEDIATELY! *

Finally, I'm done with my last recording submission, which is due tomorrow. And I'm taking great pride in this project. Why? I recorded an NIN (Nine Inch Nails) cover called 'Gave Up' with a special big thanks to Syafiq and Poh Hock for making this recording project possible. Now, I just need to write up my report on the recording and another for my 'Computer Systems' project.

Now, I would like to talk about politics. No, not the one that involves the political parties (PAS, BN, DAP, UNMO, MIC, MCA) but about politics amongst friends and people that we know. The whole 'Bitching-about-other people' kind of matter. I mean, it's not like it's NEVER existed before in our lives but I've gotten loads of those treatments recently and yet, at most times I do not wish to even know what bad shit people say about me. I have had to endure feedback from the rumor mill that certain people are spitefully “laughing” at me for performing on stage although I am a audio production student and not one of them; music majors! I do not understand why they're superiority complex (which is an oxymoron because it is an inferiority complex). They have been making all sorts of sarcastic remarks behind my back and sniggering amongst themselves in my presence like a bunch of pussies! No balls to tell things to my face. I am not as good as them musically per se, but I am better musically as a audio student than they will ever be as music majors. They probably suspect their current music ability is due only to years and years of forced practice and formal instruction. Without that I wonder how they will do as performers? You people know who you are.

As a guest performer on some Fridays, I have the freedom and the guts to go solo. More importantly I do my own thing and enjoy myself out there. The music majors who perform on the day are under pressure for performance grades and some probably hate my guts for the pressure they are under. Jealousy is a very negative emotion. Screw you guys…you people know who you are.

If you're so caught up on judging me, I am assured to think that you're not happy with your own life. I will not take home negative energy from negative assholes with their own constipated lives. I mean, it's okay to draw a conclusion about a person’s musical performance. but to go on and on about it even though that person has done you no wrong is spiteful and malicious. In the end, wouldn't it make you nothing but a sad sadistic bastard? Go conquer your own demons and leave me out of your sordid existence! You people know who you are!

You people know who you are! Your snide remarks about my performances are never about my performances. You people are so scared on how the lecturers would judge upon your performances, you will never make the grade as musicians as music majors. All your years may go down the shithole! As for me, I am comfortable in my own skin and happy just doing what I do…like jamming with former members of the Blues Gang last week!

Only-NIN

Closure (A revisited thought)

2009-11-09T23:35:00.016+08:00

I've always been a irreligious person. An apathetic individual when I was a kid who had no knowledge as to what 'God' was in the mainstream religions, till I finally heard of this 'Jesus', 'Buddha' and etc that they speak of, when I was abit older. A cynical person I am about life, I know that I only live once on Earth. I do not worry about where I am gonna be after I've passed on someday, but I would just wait and see where I go. In my family line, alot of them were non-believers, especially my Grandpa from my dad's side who was an assured Atheist himself. My parents never encouraged me to be in a religion or to be a non-believer. All of this came upon myself about how I wanna live my life.

Without making any immediate assumptions, I went to an 'Assembly Of God' Church called 'Glad Tidings', located in PJ a few months back to feed my brain with knowledge about Christianity. A college friend of mine introduced me to the Church and it's people. I have to say, the place was pretty nice. A good place to settle down and relax and unwind your mind. That's how good the aura of the Church was. I came for their services for a few times to learn about what they believe and what they've been taught about life and the life-after.

This was a great opportunity to meet and mix with commonly good people in the church, and to learn about Christianity. Of all the times when people there prayed for me and tried to convince me that Christianity was the answer, I started to stray away from Sunday services. How? It was during the time when the pastor started preaching to this,"God created you and gave you a freewill life, but you must abide by these rules that he has set". Something like that. It got me questioning,"If God created us and gave us a freewill life. Why do we need to abide by his rules? That's not even freedom. What would be my will and purpose in life then?" It's like trying to maintain a relationship with your landlord, by having to pay your rent every month so that you can enjoy your rented place. And to also make your landlord happy, because he now has money.

Going to Church is like going for a Rock concert. People go to Church to find deeper meaning as to what God is, just like how people go to concerts in search of good music. The vibe of people getting absorbed into getting blessed in a big group, is like an amplification of 4 good 100 watt powered guitar cabinet amplifiers, blasting Rock music helping people to enjoy the music. If you don't believe in God, then stop. Find another path. It's like if you don't believe in the music, stop listening to it, find something else. Do I have a choice? Yes, I have the will to choose.

It was then, I stopped going to Church and only attended the cell meetings that happen every Friday. Knowing myself as a very sociable lad, I only went for cell meetings to mix around with different people and to widen my circle of friends. Till it came a time, when I made a short speech for them to know what I thought about their faith and such. I told my Christian friends who were half stoic, that I was grateful that they've welcome me to their faith and also told them I enjoyed being around them because of how well they treated me. But I came down with a 'Closure' as to what I think, when they asked me whether I would accept Christ as my saviour.

I ended it like this,"I do not know whether this would be the right path for me, but I hope I could still participate with you guys, on your social activities. My life on Earth is my last and I wouldn't want to make any wrong decisions along the way. I am still finding my own ground of beliefs. I may not know what God is, but I think I know what God isn't." I said those things because I felt that I needed to make a stand instead of just following what they say. I felt that I had the right to question. Answers don't come when questions are not asked. So, what is wrong? Questioning or making assumptions about religion? Think that for yourself.

I live by these principles:
-Don't kill

-Don't steal

-Be good people

-Live a good life

I still go for cell meetings. Reason being that I like being around friends, instead of professing to the faith but learn about it. One day, in Moral class...my lecturer was teaching about the benefits of Religion. On how it brings purpose into our lives. She said that Religion is something that teaches us to be good people and to help bring people together.But to me, each religion has different kinds of teachings of conditions. How is that going to bring people together when they have certain contradictions that the religion has taught them, and yet affects society of different backgrounds? Only way, is to respect each others religion and appreciate the good things a person has done for you, rather than to judge based on stereotyping!

I believe death will deliver all answers that we've been wanting to know when we were still living. Everyone has the right to believe or disbelieve whatever they want. If either of them
serves a purpose in your life, go ahead! But I've chosen my path.

Nine Inch Nails-Terrible Lie

Entrance of the conflagration...

2009-11-09T03:30:00.004+08:00

Well, today went pretty well. Finally sold my Vox VT30 amp to some buyer yesterday and I got myself a new amp today =) An Ibanez TBX 30. It's so awesome! The Gain of this amp was so immense, it can blow my brains out of the window! Seriously, compared to the old amp, the Vox didn't have a large amount of gain that I wanted (Even though it was a Valvestate amp). I'll never settle for anything less than 30 watts of power in an amp, that's one thing about me. Unless if it was a 5watt Mesa Boogie, then it's a different story.

Got a bargained price for the stuff I bought from Bentley Music. A DI box and an Amp for a good price indeed. Of course, I won't buy the DI box for no reason, it was supposed to make my guitar recordings give out pretty clean signals and hopefully to preserve and enhance great tone =)
Finally, Bentley has brought in Ibanez 'Made In Japan' RG series(s) into their shop. It was about time they brought in the goodies, but their price is something that I still do not agree. But I don't care much though, being a 'Drop Tuning' nut such as myself, I'm done with Floyd Rose guitars and I wouldn't settle any less for fixed bridge guitars.

I played an Ibanez MIJ RG (RG450 I think) off the rack to test out the amp that I've purchased this afternoon. Surprisingly, it's a pretty well built guitar if you asked me. But I'm a proud owner of my own RG, so to me...most of them don't even come close in terms of sound and feel. The 'J Craft Team' editions are one of the 2nd best batches in making Ibanez guitars from Japan, which I was deeply impressed. Nice neck, great body resonance and awesome fingerboard. For the stock pickups? They sound just fine! I might just wait for one of the Mahogany body RG's to be brought over , hopefully soon *Fingers crossed*

I'll be waiting....

Here is, 'Entrance Of The Conflagration' by Trivium =)

You're a legend!

2009-11-01T11:41:00.006+08:00

On that one Friday morning, I woke up and started thinking about how I'm going to do my vocal recording project which was supposed to be my last chance on that day itself. Because next week's schedule would be hectic. I was still in my T-shirt and jeans as I didn't have any pajamas. (Yes, I stayed over without any extra clothes to change into).

My friends, Glen, Ervin and myself were up late at night in KLCC, watching 2 movies which both were 'Inglorious Bustards' and 'Jennifer's Body' from 9pm-2am. Both movies were not so bad, except that 'Inglorious Bustards' had boring- long-winded dialogue sessions. It was 2am after finished both movies. We took a cab back to Ervin's hostel and I slept over that night.

Woke up the next day, and went back home straight away to take a nice hot bath. After that, went back to college to catch Friday Performance. The performers that day were decent. 6pm, I rushed into the studio and quickly set up. Rowen was recording vocals for my vocal project that day, after his Friday performance. At the end, we did almost everything fine under 1 take with the Verses, bridges and choruses. Rowen, you're a legend!

Came back home at 8pm, and I started mixing carefully that night. Though it went on for a couple of days before my submission. So, is perceiving the only way on getting things done. Or do things sometimes just fall into place like 'Tetris'?

Poetic genius

2009-10-22T23:49:00.004+08:00

One thing great about Heavy Metal music is that, not only can this very genre come up with great riffs and solos that are progressive ever since the early 80's, but also with alot of very well written lyrics. For those, who can appreciate the writings about anger, intolerance, hope, strength and such common writing styles of Heavy Metal. Which means, the tunes of this genere doesn't always have to be heavy, as long as the messages in the song itself can hit your inner gut..

But one of the songs that I favour the most in terms of lyric material, is the song 'Hurt' by Nine Inch Nails. Though the song is very Ballad like, the lyrics in the song was well written by frontman, Trent Reznor himself. The song is about Trent, going through hard times after the passing of his friend a long time ago. It doesn't have a heavy and bashing tune to it, but the lyrics are heavy in a way. Trent is a poetic genius in song writing.

Nine Inch Nails-Hurt

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of shit
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end

You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

The pain and relief..

2009-10-15T18:56:00.005+08:00

Sometimes, I think that life is just too short to be even complaining and whining about unnecessary things. Yes, I've had Trials & Tribulations in my life (and still do). My goals may be too foggy to see it any clearer, but I guess being able to do with a passion does lead to some place else better. As for the following:

-No, I may not be as good a guitarist as I should be by now
-No, I may not have a very sharp ear like a professional sound engineer yet
-No, I may not be a good flirt unlike many people that I know of
-And no, I don't think I would go well with large boots (So random)

But why is it, that I continue mixing, playing guitar and so on? Was it to prove to anybody that I could be greater than them someday? NO! Its because I love doing those things. People always try to find a reason as to why they continue to do the things that made them feel discouraged earlier. But here's the answer,"Passion". I do not give a care in the world as to when my problems strike. Because, the problems come from all angles (but only at different times). There isn't a life without problems.

I think that people complain about their problems because they think that there would be a day where there are no problems. They're DEAD WRONG! A friend of mine,Rowen said to me,"I don't know why people complain about assignments and such since it's a course that they're interested in.".

True, some (Or most) desires don't come too easily. Like losing weight.
You hate the fact that you're overweight, but hey..you gotta work on losing weight, by exercising. Yes, it is tiring and pressuring. But it'll help you get what you want at the end, 'Losing weight'.

Yes, I've failed many times in my life in many things that I wanted to achieve. But the decay left me with a 'lesson' at the end to help me reflect on what mistakes were done and I TRY to assure myself that I wouldn't do it again. Everybody has pressure, because everything we do..pressure needs to be applied. (Unless you have telekinetic abilities).

Everytime, I hear the word 'Emo' by some of my friends. Oh, I wish they could stop misusing that word. To me, it's not a form of excuse about their 'self-pity' acquisition. I think it's a form of self-preservation bullcrap that they put up with to get people's attention most of the time.

Yummy..

2009-10-11T23:49:00.002+08:00

I think Charvel Custom Shop model guitars look and perform better than Fender Custom Shop guitars (No offence to Fender fans). This is the 'yummy'!

Charvel Custom Shop San Dimas guitars!

Get me out of the mass!

2009-09-20T16:47:00.009+08:00

Conventional is never in my books at most of the times. I just cannot accept the general Pop culture around these days in this modern era. There are loads of common things that a lot of people follow today that I do not agree;

Homosexuals

No, I do not support the gay community or the Metro-sexual bullshit that a lot of people can solemnly accept and lightly discuss about these days. And you thought having the PRMC society to ban Heavy Metal in the 70's was bad? Then start thinking about THIS (Gay culture)! When most parents thought that Heavy Metal was bad for their kids. Think about most parents on Earth, who could accept the Gay status approach and thinking that it's fine. What if one fine day, your son gets influenced by these bunch of 'Homos' and comes back to tell you,"Mom...Dad, I think being Gay is THE path in my life".

Yes, it can be very heart breaking to a lot of parents. Gays are now accepted by the media (some of them are TV hosts. For example? Programmes like 'Project Runway', 'Akademi Fantasia' (I think Aznil is a fag), 'America's Top Model'. Then what are the attributes of Man and Woman?! Nothing! Scrapped and thrown into the dustbin like a flick of a switch. BUT, I do wonder..whether it's the mainstream media who gives us this kind of feed of information without a proper survey on this subject, whether society agrees or disagrees on this 'Gay' matter. The main reasons why I'm against Gay-ism are these few points below;

1. They could contract Sexual Transmitted Diseases
2. I think it's un-natural and discriminates both manhood and womanhood
3. I understand that some homosexuals are born with it, but majority of them are under
influenced by the affected.
4. "Be a Man!", Russel Peters

Mainstream Music

Sometimes, I wonder..whether I have a bad taste of music or the large number of people who dig Mainstream Music do. I somehow think, a lot of popular artists these days are just 1 hit wonders. General Pop Music these days, with their cheesy lyrics and simple easy-to-listen-to melodies just can't be as good as music from the old days. If I were to compare between Fal Out Boy and Megadeth, in the end...Megadeth is hands down.

Megadeth's music is more technical, melodic and full of energy. You just can't deny Dave Mustaine for coming up with such good lyrics and guitar solos along with Chris Broderick these days. Sometimes I do wonder how Pete Wentz could get his own Signature bass from Squier Fender when he can't really play bass that well, but only knows how to stare infront of the mirror and putting on eye shadow before playing a show with Fall Out Boy. Fall Out Boy generally loves writing songs emphasizing the greatness of celebrity and fame. Why not write about things that relate to people's issues or problems for once? I wonder if one has lost the true meaning of music. This is why I think Metal bands are more liberal and a lot of them can play music better. Scr*w your MTV or your Channel V today.

LOSTPROPHETS' NEW SINGLE!

2009-09-20T11:29:00.003+08:00

Finally, Lostprophets are back with their new single and upcoming album after 3 long awaited years for the new record to be released! They've once again, innovated their music with hard hitting Indie Rock blending with some Nu-Metal feel to it. It could be Lee Gaze, playing that Fender Telecaster with that sort of Drop D 'Overdriven Twang'. Their written material has gotten better than before. Awesome vocals from Ian Watkins, funky bass lines from Stuart Richardson, awesome keyboard/synth playing from Jamie Oliver, monster lead guitar playing of Lee Gaze and chugging rhythm guitar from Mike Lewis. But of course, the drummer is not the same without Ilan Rubin as he has gone to perform with Nine Inch Nails as their official drummer. Lostprophets' current drummer is Luke Johnson.

Well, it was worth the wait...their new single is AWESOME!

Lostprophets-It's not the end of the world

Mind on the mixing board...

2009-09-19T12:24:00.008+08:00

Everytime I start to record something, there's always expected a mix for every 'Rough Take'. What I mean is, mixing the recorded track, that we mean 'Raw Mix'. Aside from my audio terms, mixing to me needs a lot of patience, especially when it comes to re-recording the same guitar track till it becomes perfect.

Yes, being a perfectionist doesn't give you a good reputation with people, generally. But it is a habit for sound engineers. It is not an onboard ego that we have naturally . And again, being a perfectionist in that field needs patience. You just wanna get the sound right, making sure the levels are well balanced so that they don't reach at peak levels. Compression (Oh I hate this part) makes your mix sound tighter and to touch up the tracks and also to make sure not to lose alot of information of the track.

With many considerations, comes many methods to guess out yourself to innovate practically after what you've read in recording magazines. But yeah, I finally realized that recording, mixing and mastering are long procedures to create a single/album. But I think it depends on the amount of experience that the producer/engineer has to get the job done as soon as possible. Sometimes it makes me wonder, how producers like Rick Rubin, Bruce Swedien or Trent Reznor make the cut on producing damn good albums.

Liar...

2009-09-17T22:49:00.004+08:00

When I see something that separates myself
I go into abyss
When I bleed my eyes out
I see all truth in consequences
Save your prayers
Be careful of what you say
Because soon you'll be in decay
Keep bringing in the bad and throwing out the good
I hope to see you in hell soon
I wasn't meant to go down that road (of fantasy), because of you...
You LIAR in the book!

Something I can never have...

2009-09-09T21:23:00.006+08:00

When I say, wear your earplugs whenever you're attending rock concerts. I mean it, my fellow readers...wear them. I remember going to watch Nine Inch Nails in Singapore recently and came back to KL with ringing ears for more than a WEEK! I stood infront of the speaker at a near distance and exposed myself to too much Bass for 2 hours during the concert. I thought I was suspected of Tinnitus but it turned out to be negative, when the ringing started to fade till non.

It IS depressive when you have tinnitus, some tinnitus patients committed suicide because they couldn't take the ringing any more. There is no definite cure for this symptom. This Tinnitus is not a joke. Once you have it, it sticks with you for LIFE! If you're a Sound Engineer or Musician, don't let this 'Monster' get to you, it's a heartache. Never expose yourself to too much noise/up to a level of 120 dB (causes pain)

Tinnitus

From Wikipedia:

Tinnitus (pronounced /tɪˈnaɪtəs/ or /ˈtɪnɪtəs/,^[1] from the Latin word tinnītus meaning "ringing"^[2]) is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound.

Tinnitus is not a disease but a symptom resulting from a range of underlying causes that can include ear infections, foreign objects or wax in the ear, nose allergies that prevent (or induce) fluid drain and cause wax build-up, and injury from loud noises. Tinnitus can also be caused by hearing impairment and as a side-effect of some medications. Some cases of tinnitus are medically unexplained.^[3]^{[not in citation given]}

Don't let Tinnitus get to YOU!

Here's Nine Inch Nails' 'Something I can never have'. It's a song about Trent Reznor's Tinnitus and Drug problem.

KFC (Killer F*** Chicken)

2009-09-09T12:16:00.006+08:00

I used to be a BIG fan of KFC, until it came a time when their Chickens started to suck (their seasoning are also starting to). I remember during the earlier days, whenever I passed by a KFC outlet..the aroma draws me in to treat myself a 'dinner plate set'. The aroma of their seasoning is a mirage, why? Because the chicken doesn't taste as good as their seasoning. This spoils my mood everytime I eat KFC. This happens to most KFC outlets.

Most of the time, the chicken is uncooked! Most of the time, their chicken could be the left over from 2-3 days back! This is reality people! KFC loves your money and doesn't repay you with customer satisfaction! I'd go with 'Popeye's Chicken' anytime! If Colonel Sanders rose from the dead, he'd know how to Manage KFC and bring back the 'Finger Lickin' Good-ness'!!

But for now, just stay away from KFC till they get better, people!

Chicken: "Bring back the good stuff!"

Scream your heart out!

2009-09-05T10:28:00.008+08:00

Finally, I got my 1 week break from college and also the demanding times in the recording studio. I can just sit back and relax, while I think of plans as to where I wanna go around town or travel to, like Penang or Genting Highlands for a few days. Yesterday, I managed to perform for the first time in my 2nd semester in college. I played 'Rooftops' by LostProphets and dedicated it to Sam (Unfortunately, she was at the washroom when I dedicated the song to her. HAHAHHA!!!). When I was on stage, I was slightly having one of those 'stage fright' moments, along with the stage lights blinding me. I told myself that I should do my best and not mess up like my last performance during my first semester.

Half way through of performing 'Rooftops', Simon and some of my other friends, quickly came up on stage and started playing along on piano, keyboard and a few hits on the drum overheads, snares and floor toms. Misagh also joined in the fun. It was really fun and really unexpected. After the first song, the guys wanted an encore. So, I performed 'Head Like A Hole' by Nine Inch Nails. Overall, I was happy with my performance and had the 'high' sensation through out my whole body.

Maybe, these were one of the reasons why I love performing. It makes me really happy at the end of the day, and erases my troubles and issues that I currently face. When the adrenaline pumps in, the energy is great. I thank the guys for supporting me (even those on stage) and also Mr Vinay and the sound crew who did an amazing job on my sound check :)

I basically performed to have fun...

LostProphets-Rooftops

Nine Inch Nails-Head Like A Hole

The sound of tone and the smell of GAS...

2009-09-02T21:49:00.007+08:00

I used to think that, to be able to get the right guitar tone..you gotta get the right settings from the amp and effect pedals from your pedal board. That, I'll agree to it by 40%. One would always want to emphasize on 'tone-tone-tone'. But the exposure has thought me that those things aren't everything. Yes, they're an enhancement to help look for your signature guitar tone. Although, ever since I swapped my old guitar pickups to Dimarzio pickups..they gave me the capabilities of being able to get a high output and achieve an 'attack' more than up to triple notes. Which was great!

Ah...I crave for the Marshall that this guy has..(JJ! Focus on playing! NO MORE GEAR for now!)

Ah...look at all the pedals...they're impatiently waiting for me to grab them and play them (Practice first! No more ! NO MORE!)

But after watching Joe Satriani playing the guitar on 'Youtube', I realized that the fingers apply 60% to the tone and playability. Why? Because techniques are the mother of all playing. Although, I always hear Mr Frank during Friday Performances saying, "The guitar needs the 'tone' for the song.". He emphasizes a lot on tone, which I agree. But, as far as I know...your feelings and (if) seasoned playing techniques do affect the way the tone sounds. I dunno, if it's true or not..but the way I see Satch (Joe Satriani) playing the guitar, he puts his guitar wisdom and feelings to his playing (and of course a little bit of reverb lah..who doesn't know Satch), he gets to fulfill the 'tone' he wanted to achieve, and we get inspired by that.

Would it also mean that, fingers come first then only fancy gear for enhancement? It's in the end, subjective and debatable . I can't tell you that,"Digital multi-effects are bad, Analog effect pedals only create the 'real' tone". Though, I swear by Analog pedals, I can't force a person to go for what I think is best. Even Line 6 creates digital multi-fx pedal boards that are amazing to my ears now. It's all within YOU!

Go for what you like...follow your own guitar heroes and build your own style and techniques. There's no harm in going for guitar classes to improve on playing. Even I admit, I need to go for classes soon to enhance my playing and get more ideas. Learn from people who are willing to teach you, no matter what standard of playing you're at, not to look for those who look down on your playing and think they can teach you with their much bragging rights. As Andy Timmons once said,"I don't feel like a professional guitarist, but I feel that I'm still learning. In fact, we're all beginners. We're all still learning". And play guitar for the reason that you enjoy and love playing. Here is Joe Satriani's 'Crying'. Enjoy!

The nourishing 'Anti-Headache' drink

2009-08-30T22:42:00.006+08:00

I just came up with a new drink that I think is really healthy. And I think, this drink would be very filling. This drink would help keep you going through out the day.

I call it 'The Anti-Headache' drink. Why? Because I remember making and drinking this and my headache disappeared after a while. HAHAHAHA!!!

And here is the recipe;

1 egg
3 tablespoons of milk powder
1 tablespoon of Honey

Ways of making it;

-Pour in 3 tablespoons of milk powder
-Crack the egg in
-Pour in 1 tablespoon of Honey
-Pour hot water and stir well..

There you go! Your own 'Anti-headache' drink! ENJOY!

A few things being thought out...

2009-08-29T02:44:00.003+08:00

Everyone most likely knows, that the world is a jungle by itself. You may have bosses who are like Gila Monsters; watching out for a major mistake from you, so that they can cut your pay or demote you. OR, you may have fellow colleagues; who work their asses off like Donkeys and won’t likely have a backbone to think on their feet. Have they no life? Can’t blame them, the world is like that if they want it to be. Me being a college student myself, it’s always an issue that I have to always be proactive in like EVERYTHING. Be it; submission, assessments, weekly tasks, and my quest on being a good performer which is still vague in my own vision. Thus, having said that, I honestly feel pissed myself in terms of ‘time’. Time, to make up for the things I’ve missed. Time, to be able to grasp on things sooner than later. Time, to get things straight in my life before I’m told to. Most of my classmates would always want to try and kill each other to try and perform to be the best than the rest. For me personally, I just wanna get my freaking qualification paper and get into the outside world for good.

I do wonder myself, whether my opinion can be relative to others. But I think that is not what’s important, as long as I know what is right and knowing what I want..I’ll fight for it. If a person accepts me for who I am, a friendship like that should always be kept. But I think the main importance of a ‘Relationship’ is Trust. Without ‘Trust’ in life, I don’t think a lot of people would get along with each other, or maybe..EVERYONE! Realizing the fact that friendship does not measure by the number of favours you owe to a friend (or vice versa), but measured by how much you can share with a friend. This could be the reason why I sometimes encounter reliability issues with some of my so-called friends. But anyhow, we just can’t take things for granted. That’s it.

Ember to inferno...

2009-08-24T22:47:00.006+08:00

When it comes to true young talent, I would consider Matt Heafy from Trivium to be one. Forget about the over-rated Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothers for that matter. Matt Heafy is probably one of the most underrated Child Prodigies of our time in Modern Rock. He started playing in Trivium at the age of 17 and then released their debut album 'Ember to inferno'. His guitar skills and raging vocals brought a huge contribution as to what the band wanted to achieve in their music.

In 2004, the band released their 2nd album, 'Ascendancy'. This album was a bit different than their debut, because Matt Heafy started singing a little bit and by most of the time, screaming. But indeed, the single in the album 'Like Light To The Flies' is a definite hit song in my books. With melodic solos, charismatic vocals and monstrous screams. He's proven himself as worthy as James Hetfield, in terms of age in success. James was 18 when Metallica became successful with their debut album 'Kill'Em All'. Matt had 2 successful albums under his belt when he was 17/18. As far as guitar skills go, Matt swears by the 'Rock Discipline' DVD, conducted and directed by John Petrucci, as a source for warming up and practicing modes, scales and etc. To me, his speed and accuracy on hitting notes is very consistent but he had problems with speed, meaning in some songs during Live, he goes a little bit too fast.

At 19, he also was chosen to produce a few songs for 'RoadRunner United'. He managed to get a chance to work with King Diamond, and the guys from Killswitch Engage, Il Nino, Assesino and etc. He was featured as lead vocalist on one of the songs in the album called 'The End'.

In 2006, came the album 'The Crusade'. A lot of critics reviewed this album in a really bad way. Saying that the band was trying to portray Metallica's style of music. Claiming that Matt was trying to sound like James Hetfield on vocals and the guitar and drum patterns were similar to Metallica. But to me, this was a stepping stone for the band to experimenting other genres in the music career. Namely, 'Thrash Metal'.

In 2008, the band released their fourth album 'Shogun'. As for this, I'll let wikipedia do the talking.

"Shogun (将軍 Shōgun) is the fourth studio album by American metal band Trivium. The album was released worldwide on various dates between September 23 and October 1, 2008 through Roadrunner Records. Work on the album is noted to have begun with producer Nick Raskulinecz in October 2007,^[4] with the band stating that they chose not to work with Jason Suecof again due to the fact that they wanted to explore new ideas.^[5] One song from the album, "Into the Mouth of Hell We March", was featured on the soundtrack for the 2008 video game Madden NFL 09."

"Shogun features the return of Matt Heafy's screaming vocals, also the band's first album produced by Nick Raskulinecz, in a interview for About.com, Heafy described the album's musical direction as a combination of various aspects including: "the past, present, and future of Trivium, all on one CD" and that is the "next evolutionary step".^[11] When asked about the change in his singing-style, he said: "It’s the kind of thing that happened naturally."^[11]

The group didn't want to make an album where all songs had the same singing style, like in The Crusade, and decided to just let their music flow naturally and unbiased. Unlike The Crusade which had some songs focusing on famous and controversial murders/crimes, this album has a few songs that deal with ancient Japanese/Greek Mythology. The songs usually have hidden meanings which are to be interpreted by the listener. Themes based on the stories of Prometheus's punishment, Sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis, Kronos eating his children in "He Who Spawned The Furies," and the nymph Callisto are present.", Wikipedia

Here are two of my favourite Trivium tracks that I've been listening to lately..enjoy!

Ember to Inferno

Throes of Perdition

Something..still..

2009-08-23T03:50:00.005+08:00

*I absolutely have no idea what to blog about, but I'll give in some input about...I dunno, we'll see how this goes..

Last Friday, I was supposed to perform as Guest Performer for Friday performance in College. But I didn't at last, because I didn't confirm my performance with Mr. Frank. Which gave me a 'slap' in the face of realization.

Because, I didn't know Guest Performers were also required to seek a Lecturer's permission, this thing never seem to have happened before, during my last performance. But oh well, Mr. Frank postponed my performance to next Friday, and let's see how that goes. I showed him the lyrics of the song that I was going to cover. Mr Frank told me out of worry,"Oh, does this have screaming? We don't want to have any songs that have political or protest messages in it. We'll get into trouble for that." Now, that sort of stunned me. I do not know who made a complaint/remark to such acts like;Screaming, jumping around and etc in my college. But whoever you are, you certainly have no clue what music is and guess upon what music is not. Your remark could even be the reason why one of our Political parties made an attempt to banning Avril Lavigne from coming because of her so-called sexy attire or that sort of rubbish.

Hate to break it to you, but there is no such thing as 'Traditional Malaysian Music'. With much further citing, you'll realize that we have innovated only genres like 'Pop yeh yeh' and 'Dikir barat' (which some claimed it originated from Thailand) and the rest were all takers and claimed that it was our music. For further info, please read this. At least I'm giving options and not wanting to show as if I'm a 'know-it-all'.

I'm writing this for the reason that I love music and I think music shouldn't be contradicted in any way. If anybody wishes to attempt a repeated history of the PRMC era in the US, be my guest. You're gonna make a lot of people unhappy. Here's a little bit of history. Educate yourselves.

*Money has been an issue with my trading business these days, but I'm not financially down (independently), that's a good thing. You bet, dodgy customers calling me up and this particular one, called me one fine day and asked;

Buyer: Hey dude, I saw your post in the forum and I'm interested in your
Stratocaster guitar. How much are you selling?

Me: I'm selling for RMxxx. I modified the pickups and everything. You can test it
out once you're free.

Buyer: Ok bro. I'll call you. I wanna try it so badly!

And of course, the guy didn't call me for more than a week, and that wouldn't be the least of my expectations. I know, times are bad regarding the global economic crisis and all that, but do understand Mr. Buyer, that I'm trying to live a purposeful life and trying to make full use of it. But oh well, people are people..can't really change them for who they are right?

A night to see the god father of Industrial Metal in the Lion City

2009-08-11T11:52:00.011+08:00

Last night, would be one of the most memorable nights of my life.I finally got to catch Nine Inch Nails Live In Singapore! The concert was worth a catch. Their performance was never better if you ask me. I met some really cool NIN fans in the pit before the show. The stage set up was pretty impressive. The band kinda had brought almost all of their gear that they travel with on tour. 30 minutes before the show, I went to their merchandise booth and bought an NIN T-Shirt, pretty sweet stuff. There was also a booth where they were selling beers and all, but I decided not to drink that night because I didn't want to risk passing out and missing out on the whole rocking and headbanging at the concert. HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

Though I can seem to sight the kind of amps they were using. But the guitars and basses were awesome. Robin Finck had 5 Gibson Les Pauls on the guitar stands and a few Fender guitars. Of course, Trent Reznor only used his black Gibson Les Paul since the 'with teeth' days and a Semi Hollow body Gibson model. Ilan Rubin (ex-drummer of Lostprophets) was also there as current member of Nine Inch Nails. But in my opinion, nothing's the same when the band had Josh Freese as the drummer, but Ilan did a pretty good job on stage, that night. The crowd response was pretty good in terms of their energy and cheer for the band. Best part is, they played alot of the old songs which by most of it, turned out to be my favourites..including, 'Wish', 'March Of The Pigs', 'Head Like A Hole' and many more. Their last song was 'Hurt' and it was played as an encore song.

No doubt, I would dare say that Metal/Industrial/Rock concerts always appear to have more hot girl than Boyband concerts. Ain't the Heavy Metal scene sweet or what? I took a lot of photos that night. Will post them up on my next post.

Their showmanship and timing of their performance was unbelieveable. It feels like a dream for me to watch Nine Inch Nails Live for the first time, even though I've started becoming a fan of them last year. In terms of audience satisfaction for myself, I would say it's probably the 'Concert Of The Year' . After the show, I met up with a fan from the crowd who was wearing Trent Reznor's shirt (The shirt that he wore at the beginning of the show and took it off and threw it to the crowd). I asked her (the fan),"May I rub some of Trent's sweaty shirt onto my Adidas jersey?". She allowed me to, and that was the souvenier of the day, for me at least. :). Right now, my Black Adidas jersey is being hung on my clothes hanger, unwashed. And I shall get a glass casing and keep the shirt for display. And that ended the day, and I finally went back home to Malaysia and missed 2 lectures in college. But it was worth it, for an awesome concert.

Here's 'Heresy (Live In Singapore)'

Head Like A Hole (Live In Singapore)

GAS-sy rant and raves!

2009-08-05T03:56:00.009+08:00

Been really caught up with work lately, especially being stuck in the recording studio from morning till night for the past week doing my recording assignment. But it's not so bad so far, at least I get to take the time to learn more about what I love doing..RECORDING! When I first saw the big 44 channel mixer in the studio, I was intimidated by it because of the size and I thought it was gonna be complicating. But it wasn't that bad. And NEVER again, am I gonna work with tape machines. They're just bad and frustrating to work with, thank goodness for digital technology.

"GAS
	Short for Gear Aquisition Syndrome. Used by Guitar Geeks & musician gearheads when they are jonesing for a piece of equipment, usually rare or expensive, while posting in related user forums."

'Credits to Urban Dictionary'

And recently...I just bought 2 new guitar pickups for my Ibanez RG380F! Dimarzios were my primary choice because, it blends well with the body of the RG and I just love the output of Dimarzio pickups. I just got a D-Activator and Air Norton (The one Paul Gilbert uses) model. Finally, I could get rid of my Seymour Duncan Alnico 2 Pro pickups set that came with the guitar, and save the embarrassment. Don't get me wrong, the guitar came with those pickups and it was meant for a Les Paul type of guitar. And yes, many knowledgeable guitarists that I know of, thought I was stupid enough to put them in, but it was from the Boss of the shop (where I bought my Ibanez from) who put those in.

Dimarzio Air Norton

Dimarzio D Activator

Now, with the D Activator...I get to drop tune as low as I like and this pickup holds on its own, in terms of output and tone. It acts as a high output passive pickup under an active circuit and serves it's low ends pretty well. For those who don't know the difference between active and passive.

Well, Passive pickups are magnetic powered while Actives require 9 volt batteries. The reason why I chose the Air Norton for the neck position was because of it's capabilities to be a bit mellow but the attack is sweet as far as I'm concerned. And the output is sweet. Any shredder would choose Dimarzios, EMGs or the-not-so recent Seymour Duncan Blackouts.

My guitar right now is under service, I'm finally gonna block my Floyd Rose System for good. Until I try and get another Floyd Rose System guitar, I would make my current one be under fixed bridge system. I wouldn't mind not being able to do Dime Squeals or any other Whammy trick that is known in guitar domain, not necessary for me at least. Well...at least I get to do 'Dive down' whammy position on my Ibanez.

I wanna try and collect up to three electric guitars with each different tuning like; E standard, Drop C and Drop A. Thank goodness for the Stratocaster copy that I'm keeping as a spare/back up guitar, but I'm selling that off to buy another fixed bridge guitar, any takers? I'll be selling my pair of Seymour Duncan pickups and my SX Stratocaster (modded with Fender pickups). I'll give you guys a good package price if you buy all 3 items and you still get good price if you buy one of them as well. :D (Except for the Seymour Duncans, I'm selling them under 1 pair)

Like Light To The Flies

2009-08-02T23:58:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, I went and watch a protest rally, which was situated at the very few areas around Masjid Jamek and Hang Tuah. This link will explain what happened.

I dedicate this to the citizens of Malaysia. Hope you'll find greater meaning into this song..

Like Light To The Flies

Behold our beloved revels in tragedy (in tragedy)
Self-denying avarice for bloodshed
Behold hypocrite

Those who run will be burned X4

Devoutly wished for blinded eyes
This tragedy's like light to flies
This seems to suit you better bleeding out the eyes (bleeding out the eyes)
hope's left in chain suspension,
Holding onto lies to make the truth

Behold our beloved rebels in tragedy (in tragedy)
Self-denying avarice for bloodshed
Behold hypocrite

Those who run will be burned X4
Devoutly wished for blinded eyes
This tragedy's like light to flies
This seems to suit you better bleeding out the eyes (bleeding out the eyes)
hope's left in chain suspension,
Holding onto lies to make the truth

Devoutly wished for blinded eyes
This tragedy's like light to flies
This seems to suit you better bleeding out the eyes (bleeding out the eyes)
hope'sleft in chain suspension,
Holding onto lies to make the truth
This seems to suit you better bleeding out the eyes (bleeding out the eyes)
hope's left in chain suspension,
Holding onto lies to make the truth

The Synth And The Mixer Prodigy

2009-07-22T01:32:00.006+08:00

I've started working in the studio at college in my 2nd semester and I've been trying to catch up as much as possible with my other subjects. Pouring in ideas for my next submission can be very indecisive in terms of the sections of a song that I'm editing. Whether it has enough room to fit in good beats. And whenever I get into that situation I would always wonder how Trent Reznor presents his work with a lot of detail till he makes up funny 'noises' in his music which can be appreciated by many, time to time.

Trent Reznor

Sound of noise in some of his songs is one thing in the creative process, but it's the details. It's like painting with many colours and making it look muddy if not done nicely. But there's a certain beauty within the 'messyness'. It's not what you're looking at, but how you're looking at it. Just like being a Layman with listening preference. One thing that I admire Reznor for is that, he is an icon in the music industry without a qualification. He was supposedly studying Computer Engineering and dropped out to make a career in music. He was in a few bands one after another, playing Electronica/Avant Garde music. It was then on, MIDI was present and was utilized well during the emergence of the 1980's.

After joining and dropping out of a few bands, he worked as a janitor and assistant engineer in a recording studio. Due to few months of hard work, he asked the owner of the studio, a permission for Reznor to record his own material. It was then, Nine Inch Nails was coming into form before Trent Reznor could find members to complete the band. He played, arranged and recorded all instruments except the drums by himself. He then sent demos to a radio station and was offered to sign with TVT records and started work and released the Nine Inch Nails' debut album 'Pretty Hate Machine' in 1989.

To make the story short, after several successes with the band and a Grammy Award for the song 'Wish', he then was a producer for Marylin Manson and had helped Manson a breakthrough into the music scene. His work is well recognized and admired by other great producers such as Timbaland and Rick Rubin. He is titled 'The Godfather of Industrial Metal'. How does this both great artist and producer influence me so much? His style of music and mixing techniques. The multi tracking of heavy uses of synthesizers, guitars, fuzz effects and intense drum beats that makes his music very unique beyond the memorable influential root of the 'Blues'.

Can't wait to catch Nine Inch Nails Live in Singapore on the 10th of August...

Nine Inch Nails-Wish

Groove or Die

2009-07-19T12:40:00.006+08:00

Tonight was indeed awesome, because I attended Andy Timmons' guitar clinic session at Bentley Music. For those who don't know Andy Timmons can click on this link .

Andy was on a Asian guitar clinic tour and he came to KL to conduct a session. I came for the clinic alongside with my college mates and I enjoyed it! Watching him play and explaining his techniques is like watching God in person but with a guitar of course XD. The way he demonstrated his guitar playing qualifies a valid reason why he is like one of the greats like Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert and John Petrucci.

His legato and alternate picking is very consistent on almost every song. But, the one thing I liked about his show, was that; He knows how to blend chord riffs and lead phrases in between pretty well. He also has proven that finger nails are an important essential of getting a certain 'tone' and enhances playing of the guitar. But I guess it's useful for chicken picking or hybrid picking.

Before the show, I was staring at his guitar rig with envy (Well, what kind of aspiring guitarist doesn't, right?). He has got a Mesa Boogie Lone Star (I've forgotten the other Mesa Boogie amp), his Ibanez AT-100 CL SB and a collection of pedals. I wonder if his maple guitar neck feels as good as an American Fender neck. I won't mind getting the neck for a future guitar project.

The stage with his gear. I really have an eye candy for his Ibanez AT-100 CL SB and his Mesa Boogie amp.

Andy signing autograph for fans

Andy, signing my Ibanez guitar

Waiting in line for Andy's autograph

Me and Andy Timmons

Here's Andy Timmons' 'Groove or Die'. Enjoy!

Angels

2009-07-12T22:44:00.010+08:00

People say that 'Time will heal'. When it comes to losing a loved one, it's pretty hard to say. Some say that it takes a while to reconcile the matter, some say that nothing will ever be the same (in drab ways). Ever since Mummy's passing, I knew the path in my life would change along with the rest of the family. Made me develop a conscience of being afraid of losing another immediate family member. Probably that's what made me care about my priorities even more. I finally realized that Life wasn't considered 'Black and White' but just Grey.

I was glad in ways that I never took things for granted and somehow knew that it's best to cherish something/someone important before they go. Therefore, regret is the worst thing to live with. I used to remember the times when I used to have a 1 to 1 talks with my Mum (even she had sessions with my Sister) alot within the 2 months before her passing, I know that I didn't manifest for the worst but I knew a possibility that she wouldn't make it any longer. That concern triggered the intention of being with her even more. During her passing, I knew myself that I didn't have the right to break down and cry because I needed to feel strong for my Father and Sister. The vivid memory of the 3 minutes of moaning and crying outside the hospital made myself feel like I was 'Dead', I felt that Mum wanted all of us to be the stronghold of each other.

As time went by especially in these 2 years, it gets tougher but at the same time, it's as if the immunity grew, but the remaining scars are still there. I don't think I need religion to teach me that we all have to go someday because it's already an existing fact. I guess I was born to live life and not born to die after life itself. What mum would want is for the family to be good people and live a good life. This isn't an Anniversary of how my Mum left, it's an Anniversary of how my Mum lived life.This is dedicated to you, Mummy.

Nine Inch Nails-Angels

I've tried to take this all just one step at a time,
I'd love to reason but I'll end this waver signed.
'Cause it's so lonely I feel like I have died
I thought angels never learned to say goodbye

Angel

I've felt emotions like I've never felt before
Felt such devotion that it's spilt upon the floor
Now I'm so empty there's nothing left to hide
I thought angels never learned to say goodbye

I've got to find you, and remind you how it is
My life's been shattered but inside I've found love exists
Now I'm so frightened, Im so afraid to die
I thought angels never learned to say goodbye.
Bye bye,
Bye bye.

Angel, Angel.
Now I'm so lonely, I'm so afraid to die.
'Cause I know that all the angels say goodbye
Angel
Angel
Bye bye, Angel.
Bye bye.

A comeback

2009-07-07T23:20:00.001+08:00

It's been a while since I last wrote a post, but I won't take long. Here's a video for my comeback

Enjoy!

A unique axe that I will never forget..

2009-06-17T22:37:00.002+08:00

In guitars, we know that tremolo systems were invented to make the notes ascend or descend (depending on the type of Tremolo system). But if you think that Herman Li was great at making video game kind of sounds, you should check this video out.

Impressive? :D

..............

2009-06-08T00:22:00.005+08:00

Boss OD-3

So far, I haven't done anything productive for the holidays. Except that I've been mindlessly tweaking my guitar amp to find my own signature tones. Drop tuned (Drop: C, Eb and D) on my guitar and putting my creativity into the EQ adjustment (treble, mid and bass) and the amount of gain. But I guess, true overdrive tones can be heard through 20-30 watts of power, depending on how many watts I'm putting into, since I'm using a 30 watt valvestate amp. But of course, 'a spade is a spade'. There's a reason why players use analogue effect pedals, is because of the desired tone they look for. It all involves player's preferences. I just discovered the Boss OD-3 pedal at Yamaha and in my opinion, it really brings out the big low end side of it and it has clarity towards the highs, it is way better than the Boss DS-1 (Sounds thin to me). All I do, is just take my time and,"*tweak...tweak...tweak...* Oooo, I think I just discovered my signature tone :D". It's very therapeutic if you know how to find a good tone for yourself. Hehehehe..

Other than that, I've been keeping myself busy by eating more. Yes, eating. It's as unproductive as it may be, but skinny people like me need to put on more weight -_-. That's just basically it, besides that..I just go ahead and 'Lepak' and jam with my buddies.

Would I say rational or doubt?

2009-05-28T01:36:00.004+08:00

Today, I went to KLCC with my sister and I was loitering around while she was at the gym. I suddenly passed by 'Rock Corner' and I immediately decided to get another album for my
CD collection. I know I know...music CD's here are expensive and ridiculous. But hey, I'm a collector of certain things that interests me. I went to look out for another Nine Inch Nails' album and I saw a few on the shelf. I took a listen of 'The Fragile' album and I admit that I did not like it. I think the 'Broken' EP and 'Pretty Hate Machine' album were way better. Probably because 'The Fragile' had too much synth colliding here and there, though I know Trent Reznor uses a lot of synth in his music, but this one felt like it had 'too much goings on'. So I guess, eventhough Trent Reznor is part of my inspiration in music, some of his songs are not up to my taste. Would I be considered as a rational listener instead of idolizing the artist? I dunno..

*I end up getting the 'Year Zero' album the next day*

Testing my guitar out

2009-05-20T17:51:00.002+08:00

I just recorded a video of my very sloppy improvision and utter bad shreds. I was just having a test run with my Ibanez RG380F. One thing that was funny, was my mouth. Moving back and forth like a fish. I wonder how am I gonna control that kind of expression in my future gigs.

MY new toy..

2009-05-10T10:18:00.011+08:00

Ibanez rules, wherever you go...

Finally, I've gotten my Ibanez RG guitar. Where is it made? Japan! I'm glad to have this guitar in my collection. One of the finest RG guitars that I've tried so far. Probably because of it's versatility and playability feel. A Stratocaster tone like single coil pickup in the middle position, while the both neck and the bridge position are humbuckers. Basswood/Resoncast body, Licensed Floyd Rose Tremolo, gold hardware, double locking tuners, and jumbo frets/flat neck. The pickups are Seymour Duncans, the models are; JB, Jazz and SSL Quarter Pound. It's indeed a sweet guitar because of the sound and feel. The neck is pretty fast, but not as smooth as the Original Wizard I necks from the 80's/90's.

Long have I awaited for a guitar this awesome! Maybe later, I would want to switch to EMG or Seymour Duncan Blackouts pickups, for a much heavier tone. Overall, this guitar I believe would stick with me for a long time, perhaps FOREVER for that matter =)

The shredding machine

*bling-bling* Another owner of the same model but with a different colour

The Ibanez RG380 with it's new master...

Oops!! Wrong chord XD

A band of it's time..

2009-04-23T01:10:00.009+08:00

*Current line up of Lostprophets*

I've been a fan of Lostprophets ever since I was in my secondary school days. And during that time, they were still playing Nu-Metal music (2004). They were well known for their hit songs, such as: 'Last Train Home', 'Wake Up', 'Shinobi vs Dragon Ninja' and 'Burn burn'. The other great thing about them is that, they do know how to blend in a little bit of the Punk Rock vibe into their music alongside with Nu-Metal, which are very obvious to the ears, if we paid attention to the style and key features of their music.

In 2006, came the release of their latest album, 'Liberation Transmission'. The band headed for another direction (musically), from Nu-Metal to Emo-Punk. The reason? Critics were saying that the band were a 'copy' of Linkin Park. But their new direction actually proved themselves worthy with a string of catchy singles in the album, such as; 'Rooftops', 'Can't catch tomorrow (Good shoes won't save you this time)' and 'A town called hypocrisy'. And now fans can wait no more for the band's next album which is said to be released in a few months time (said to be in May). And now they're on tour.

Lostprophets are Ian Watkins, Stu Richardson, Lee Gaze, Jamie Oliver and Mike Lewis. Their drummer (Ilan Rubin) recently left the band to join with Nine Inch Nails.

Skit

2009-04-15T22:57:00.008+08:00

Eclipse (Static Spike)

I live in this prison
Where days go by, along with the seasons
Hiding all of my sins
Are all myself to keep
The future ahead is dark
I wonder if I'm done
What do I have to commit?
Do I have a passion to omit?
Can I grasp onto the hands of Midas?
Or do I end up suffering with the beat of hunger?
At the end of the day
Everyday sums up the same

*Please be reminded, that this is a poem of my own. Not some source that I took from, but all from my head. No plagiarism*

No limits

2009-04-10T23:25:00.002+08:00

Been surveying for a guitar for a week. Knowing me, Ibanez would be a primary target of mine. It's pretty hard to find an RG model that is made in Japan at around RM1000-1400. Most of the RGs are made in either Indonesia or Korea. Although the Indonesian craftmanship is catching up with the Korean mades, I think it's wise to get one with a Mahogany body. Upgrade the pickups, then it'll be a fighting machine. RG321MH? I don't think I need one with a tremolo system. If anybody here has a Japanese RG, please quote me a good price. :)

Hurt

2009-04-03T22:54:00.003+08:00

I just recently did my first gig at ICOM. And for the record, it was absolutely bad. I came in as a guest performer yesterday. Decided to play 'Hurt' by Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash's version). I came up on stage, and I had my guitar cable plugged into the amp and the mic facing in front of me. The feeling? Horrendously nervous. Before the performance, I did a sound check and I had already found my EQ for the vocals and guitars. Coming back to actual performance, I struggled on first attempt, the mic level wasn't high enough and I started panicking while playing. Yes, you may have guessed it..I forgotten my chords and paused for a while. Up to a point that I accidentally cursed in front of the audience for the reason that I was frustrated, but I apologized to everybody and calmed down.

So then, came the 2nd attempt when the mic EQ was back to my preferable settings and I performed well. For a first gig in college, heh...I'll never forget that drastic moment...so scary. But some of the lecturers encouraged me to play more often on stage during friday performances, because they think I got potential???? Sometimes I do wonder whether it's a potential or a duty as a performer to do what I need to do. Lecturer's like Mr Nilesh asked me to form a band in my course and he says he is looking forward. Though with much anxiety after the show, I had to snap out of it and remind myself that I'll do even better.

Some of my friends who were performing yesterday, even had a heavy smoke before their show. But of course, drinking and smoking before a show to calm the nerves down is never my ritual. Meditation? I don't think that helps me a lot. Some of my friends say that I had b*lls to do it as a solo. (I was supposed to have a piano accompaniment but she stepped back by the very last minute). But yeah, to be honest, I was really a nervous wreck and nuff said. Time for me to work on my next performance when I have the time. But it's good for experience to actually see where I stand. To come to think of it, I finally realized why I decided to play that song. It represents well as to what I went through for these couple of years. With the tunes so calm but with powerful words. It had gotten a strong effect on me when I was playing that song. Here are two of the videos of the same song. Listen to it and you'll have a better understanding as to what I'm talking about..

Nine Inch Nails-Hurt

Johnny Cash-Hurt (Nine Inch Nails cover)

Tagged (Part 2)

2009-03-16T22:53:00.005+08:00

Rules to the tag:

1) List these rules on your blog

2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog

3) Tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yours

4) Tag some friends at the end of your blog post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs

Seven facts about me:

1) Love making music

2) I'm 6feet1 tall

3) I'm a metal head (Love metal to the max)

4) I'm nice to everybody. If you like me, I like you, but I make a bad enemy if you step onto
the wrong foot of mine

5) A big fan of anything Japanese

6) I like cheese

Six unspectacular quirks:
1) I have guitar acquiring syndrome
2) I'm stuck to my macbook pro
3) I fascinate the devilock hairstyle a lot
4) I face the mirror whenever I see one
5) A habit of observing acoustics of sound
6) I have a habit of zoning out sometimes....feels good to drift off..

A new form of reality...

2009-03-05T10:31:00.004+08:00

I went to Taman Jaya with a friend of mine after college. While on the LRT, my friend started talking to me about his love life. Well, my friend is a Catholic Christian and the girlfriend (now ex-) is a Hindu. Of course, I believe that love does not have boundaries. We all have the right to love one another. The story went on like this, my friend and the ex-girlfriend were together at one time. But the girl's parents disagreed upon their intimate relationship. Saying that my friend and his family were Catholic Christians and they can never have anything to do with their Hindu religion. His ex-girlfriend then went rebelious against the idea of her parents and then they punished her or something. Parents then forced her to marry her cousin this year.

I'm kinda sad for my friend and the girl for the fact that they have this kind of obligation, which I think it's absurd. Just by judging him for his beliefs is indeed a stupid idea. After hearing my friend's side of the story, I would say it's stupid. What can I learn from this...hmmm...could it be that I would determine a partner judging by how she is brought up? Or the kind of belief system she is in? I would pick the first option. Because, action speaks louder than what he/she reads in the bible.

I believe that we were not born as a child with a religion, but a child in a religious family. At the end of the day, we all have to decide for ourselves on what we wanna believe, because life is short. Let us all be more 'Muhibah', regardless as to whether we're Atheists, freetinkers, secular humanists or whatever.

My stress killer...

2009-03-02T02:07:00.005+08:00

When it comes to stress upon work or whatever, this is my greatest stress killer, Trivium's 'When All Light Dies'. This song is about the realities of life. Chaos, destruction and everything else that condones further violence, and yet there's a little bright side to it. I'm not saying that the world sucks, it's just that sh*t gets in the way at certain times in our daily lives. Whoever said that we live in a world of perfection or imperfection? Neither of it is true nor a necessity to plead for either of those ways in life. You trip, you fall and you pick yourself up once again. That's LIFE. Other than that, this is just one of my favourite singles from Trivium.

Something to think about

2009-02-11T11:42:00.002+08:00

Now that I'm doing audio production in ICOM, I should really focus on what I'm doing. Start improving my grades. Of course, I haven't done badly yet (nor fail). But I wouldn't start to begin with. Besides that, life is pretty hectic. Caught up with mixed situations. Three things that I'm willing to achieve:-

1. Getting my home recording studio to finish (All is left is my MIDI Keyboard, interface and amp)
2. Get through my first semester ( I MUST!)
3, Get a Girlfriend? (That's mandatory)

But overall, at least the things that I face everyday is nothing like my days in school. It's better. Although more pressuring. That's life. Though my blog hasn't been updating THAT often, I wouldn't apologize for the lack of updates, because it's my blog. Either I don't have much idea on what to blog about or I just don't have the time to dig in for ideas on what to write. Time is precious, guess I can't spend that much on writing and get my priorities straight. I'll blog more when I got the time. (wish I had more).

Gave up

2009-02-07T01:56:00.003+08:00

I just love this song that I just discovered. It's a very old song, but it's pretty hip. Nine Inch Nails-Gave up. :D

Chinese New Year and another member in the family

2009-01-30T00:01:00.009+08:00

Chinese New Year has been alright, though I haven't done much for this Chinese New Year, except that I've visited some of my relatives and gotten a Labrador Retriever, all the way from Ipoh. I named the dog 'Shadow', obviously, it's a black labrador. Besides the cliche assignments that I've been trying to focus on, I've been able to occupy my time, jamming with friends at one of the rehearsal rooms in ICOM after class.

Things are mostly shaping up the way I want it to be. But of course; pain, pressure and disappointments never fail to be present (especially on the smaller details). I'm very keen about ICOM's Friday Performance which they have it on every Friday. But I can't do it, because;

1. I haven't gotten enough band members in college

2. I'm too caught up with my work to even have the time to rehearse

3. Still waiting for my guitar

4. Anybody like Industrial Metal?

But so far, I haven't missed any classes (Except the English class which the college misplaced me in there.) and I'm starting to like music theory, back then I didn't like it, for the fact that I wasn't able to understand music notes and trying to be self-taught at it was not easy. But now, my level of understanding on that subject is getting better.

But one thing good about college is that, my schedule is well planned and I could have more time through out the day, doing my own thing. I'm sure not everybody agrees with that, but it works for me. Probably because it would be more packed once I start my second semester? Who knows man. I'll soon to post up pictures of 'Shadow'. Stay tight. =)

In life, you just can't have everything..

2009-01-21T12:00:00.004+08:00

As the title states itself clearly, I've learned that the hard way. And now, I have most of the things I want out of my life currently; A college course that I'm interested in doing, making good friends, finding the inspiration to try and excel in class, and improved skills (Musically and generally).

But it's odd that my desires in other things seem to crave for it at a higher degree. It's just timing. It's just full of parallel and irony for me....timing. But hey, we gotta walk if we want to talk, right? Life doesn't mean you have to attempt every task just to outdo yourself, I guess it's the steps that you can take that gets you farther. But what we have now, we should appreciate the best of it. What's wrong with waiting for some better every time? Even though, it takes a long time to acquire it.

At least, when I wait, I only wait for the best. Chinese New Year is around the corner at least. What more can I ask for? :D

College a so-so?

2009-01-14T23:26:00.003+08:00

First thought in the morning turned out to be,"Hey, first day of college. Going to ICOM, should be great!." When I arrived at ICOM, I was rushing for my music theory class but I needed to head to the office to collect my schedule to be sure that I'll be heading to the right class for 'Introduction to Music Theory'. I asked the lady at the office counter,"Good Morning, I was wondering if I could have my schedule now, please? I need to rush for class". She said,"That, you gotta wait for a while. Please take a seat".

*15 minutes later*

I asked the lady again,"It's been 15 minutes, where's my class schedule? I'm late for class." And the rest of the story goes, that my class schedule came to me an hour later, and by that time, I've missed my 'Introduction to Music Theory' class. But on the brighter note, I received my schedule and I went for two of my other classes after that, which were 'Introduction to Audio Production' and 'Pop Music Survey'. The classes were nice, the lecturers are good, the people I met in class were awesome. And I finally knew college life could be fun. And now, as I'm rushing through my assignments, my coping with it isn't THAT bad. And my form of understanding the teachings of the lecturers had engraved in my head due to interest. And I think, I've met someone 'special' in college (And it was just the 1st day!). Well, I would assume that she was one of the cutest girls around ICOM. :D

A new family member...

2009-01-12T01:02:00.007+08:00

Guys, the moment that you all been waiting for. A new member of the family, I present to you...

CHILI CHEAH DIM SUM!

Mind you, that someone rescued her from a mean lady who owns a restaurant, and we decided to adopt her. She was an abused dog. So, you'd expect her hair to be all tangled up and we decided to shave her hair, crew cut. She'll look fine once she grows back her hair :D

Isn't she adorable? :)

Guys, what should I name my new Female Shih-Tzu?

2009-01-08T19:09:00.002+08:00

bingo Web Poll

YOU!!! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?! GET YOUR BUTT HERE!

2009-01-06T02:21:00.009+08:00

As the title states, yeah..what are you doing? Sitting in front of your computer the whole day to waste? Get your butt off your chair and come on down to Youth '09! From the 9th till 11th of January, enjoy the available activities such as;

-Battle of the bands
-Street Futsal Competition
-3 Vs 3 Basketball Challenge
-Celebrity Sessions
-Cosplay Competition
-1 Vs 1 Caged Futsal
-Youth '09 Foosball Challenge
-Extreme Street Dance Challenge '09
-Career Attack

AND MANY MORE!!!!

Hurry! A fun opportunity not to be missed!!!!
For more info, head down to this website: http://youthmalaysia.com/youth09/index.php

SEE YOU THERE! :D

Life in college

2009-01-05T23:51:00.003+08:00

Today, I went to ICOM with Dad to register for my course (Audio Production) and it was great. I think I did fine on the English Placement Test. Why did I say,"I think?". It's probably because that I haven't sat for a test for quite some time. So, I guess the cold-shivering nerves that I've felt, before sitting for a paper tend to make a come back somehow, but I did fine on the test. Before entering into ICOM, my thoughts were; "I guess I'll be the only guy there who used to study in SMK Wangsa Maju section 5. Hey, making new friends is all that matters right?". I then went up to the 5th floor to sit for my test and then suddenly I saw a friend of mine who used to be my senior of 3 years in school. The other funny thing is that, we are gonna be classmates. He too, took Audio Production (1st term) and was also sitting for the English test. The friends that I've made there were awesome, nice people *grins*

And there was this certain kind of feeling in my gut, which made me feel; Nervous, excited and determined. All at the same time. And I've never had this feeling during my first day in both Primary and Secondary school. I guess that, once you're aware enough of things, you tend to feel more alert and start observing things around, that may appear new to you. And I think the fun feeling kicks in, probably because that I have a sense of belonging into this college and course. New friends made me think of less of my friends from the past who ditched me badly without consent. It's a new reality now. I know, that sounds cheezie and often heard of. But hey, I'm saying this for real. Speaking too soon? I'll be sure not rant on big disappointments but to endure difficult situations.

Christmas And New Year's Day

2009-01-01T23:49:00.012+08:00

Here are some pictures during Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Let's start with the ones during Christmas.

Christmas Tree

My Cheezie Burger

Eyes on the Sundae...

Asyfraff;"I am a pro gamer. Therefore you bow before me *raises eye brow*"

Stef, Asyraff, and Jordy (The one avoiding the candid shot)

Alvin, high on lunch. HAHAHA!!

Michelle and Jordy

The Sundae....

2 blind mice. XD

Pictures of New Year's Day..

Failed attempt of opening the coconuts. Krystyn's SWT face showing. HAHHAHA!!!

Dad's turn on opening the coconut

Hui Sin's thoughts (It's getting embarrassing for me. Till now, I still can't open this coconut up)

Prince, hanging over...

A drastic video...

2009-01-01T23:16:00.006+08:00

I just received the jamming video (30th of December) from Terrence today. It was the improvised song that we wanted to record via the software, but we only got to record on video. The sound was OKAY but far from perfect. I was on the stratocaster on that day as lead guitarist. If you guys can't identify who was playing the rhythm and lead positions, the guitar that was being shred on and sounded really thin was played by me. I hardly did the Rhythm parts because Brendan and Navin had them covered for me (Thanks guys :D). The song still needs some work. The camera was faced down, because we didn't have a camera man, so you can only hear the music..

PS: The feedback that you hear at the beginning of the video, was done by me on purpose for fun sake. :D

The 2nd jam session

2008-12-30T11:57:00.005+08:00

Today, I just went to Navin's house for jamming with the jamming band (Again). So far so good, we managed to cover some songs and we wanted to record our improvised demo but the software failed on us. And the carpet was off the floor for sunning. So, you could expect echoes flying around the room, due to the loud amps reflecting on the concrete walls. But the session was way better than last week, because that day was just to 'break the ice' to enable each and everyone of us to cooperate. But of course I should think twice about getting a Stratocaster guitar, because I can't seem to get that humbucker feel from Navin's Stratocaster, which had a humbucking pickup.

Maybe it's the stock pickup itself that doesn't have enough output? When I compare it with the Fender Deluxes, their humbuckers don't seem to give me that sort of problem, decent output and warm deep tone. Oh well, considering many other factors like wood type and such, I'm sure some of you guitar enthusiasts should get what I mean? Hahaha. Gotta check out those Seymour Duncan single-coil sized humbuckers, I've heard so much about.

After the jam session, I caught a taxi to head to The Curve to meet up with my sister. Once I arrived there, the fare was 'RM3.30'. The taxi driver said

Taxi Driver : "RM4 please".

Me: "It's RM3.30, why should I pay you RM4? You conning me?!".

Taxi Driver:"RM4! Don't you understand?! You people are not "berbudi baik" one! All selfish animals!"

I paid him RM3.30 instead, got out of the taxi, slammed the door and kicked the Taxi. He quickly fled after that. Normally, I don't condone violence in public, but I do it when necessary to stand my own ground at times. Yeah, just because he is some old coot, doesn't mean he should forget his manners and start jerking people around. Always fight for the right reasons, at the same time..try to avoid conflicts, not unless you don't have any other choice..

A wishlist to work out for

2008-12-24T20:13:00.004+08:00

I know I don't celebrate Christmas and I don't expect Santa Claus to give me what I want for Christmas because (obviously) he doesn't exist. But, of course..everybody has their own list of wishes and goals that they want to achieve, no? I sure do and it's all about perceiving it, rather than hanging a sock on the wall of the fire chimney and wait for Santa to put gifts in it. :D

This is my wish list. Not a rant list...

1.
My reserved Handmade Stratocaster, for next year (No, not a Fender :( )

2.
My ambitious will to collect MIJ (Made In Japan) BOSS effect pedals

3. Ibanez TBX65R. A high powered solid state amp at 65wattage power. More than enough for my bedroom to blast the neighbourhood. Best thing is, it has a sweet 'Reverb'.

4. Dimarzio DP100 (Super Distortion) humbucking pickup. Wonder if this would be great on the Stratocaster even after I put a coil-tap setting on it. Great for drop-tunings too for a passive pickup!

The Mic that leaks..

2008-12-20T01:12:00.002+08:00

Went to Navin's house for jamming, alongside with Brendan, Matt and Terrence today. It was awesome for a first jam session but, the only downside was the microphone. The drums and guitars wiped out my vocals and nobody could hear what I was singing (I couldn't even hear myself for that fact). The sound from my 10 watt amp that I used for the Mic wasn't loud enough, even at full volume. But we bared with that problem after 2 songs which were Blink 182's 'All the small things' and ColdPlay's 'Yellow'.

Then we gave up on me, singing due to the Mic leaking problem, and ended up improvising instrumental riffs till we had a piece, soon to be considered as a Song. Few things that we need now are the lyrics and the way I have to sing the song. I just love the vibe we came up with. Frankly, I might consider this group as a jamming band so far. But, I'll decide on that when we have our next jam session (with a proper song list). And yeah, jamming can be really tiring after 2 hours of playing. But the main approach that I'm trying to achieve is having an Industrial metal band. I just feel that the drumming style could be more intense and to just have that 'Variety Mojo'.

One

2008-12-16T12:14:00.004+08:00

1. If someone says, “Is this okay?” … you say?
My Chemical Romance-I'm not okay

2. How would you describe yourself?
In Flames-Crawl through knives

3. What do you like in a girl?
Mr. Big- Be with you

4. How do you feel today?
Slipknot-555 666

5.What is your life’s purpose?
Joe Satriani-If I could fly

6. What is your motto?
Paul Gilbert-Scarified

7. What do your friends think of you?
Scorpions-Rock you like a hurricane

8. What do you think of your parents?
Dio-Holy Diver

9. What do you think about very often?
Trivium-The Anthem (We are the fire)

10. What is 2 + 2?
Sum 41-Still waiting

11. What do you think of your best friend?
Lamb Of God-Blood Of The Scribe

12. What do you think of the person you like?
Mr Big-Be With You

13. What is your life story?
Metallica-Nothing Else Matters

14. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Twisted Sisters-I wanna rock

15. What do you think of when you see the person you like?
Beatles-Yeah yeah yeah

16. What will you dance to at your wedding?
Metallica-Master Of Puppets
(What the? Mosh pit dance?!!!)

17. What will they play at your funeral?
Slipknot-Before I forget

18. What is your hobby/interest?
Pantera-Art Of Shredding
( I love shredding)

19. What is your biggest fear?
Slayer-Angel Of Death

20. What is your biggest secret?
Metallica-Harverster Of Sorrow

21. What do you think of your friends?
Sum 41-Fat lip

22. What will you post this as?
Metallica-One

The mass murder machines to kill tomorrow and yesterday..

2008-12-14T16:50:00.021+08:00

One thing that I will be utterly grateful for in my entire life is that, I live pretty much a free life WITHOUT, religion. I'm meaning this in a good way. To the religious people out there, please don't get offended as I'm only writing this regarding my own personal experience in life, with all due respect. I believe each and everyone of us has the right to believe or disbelieve.

Well, to some (or most) of you people might be wondering about me; "How do you live your life without a religion?". Simple answer, I don't need to have a religion to learn moral values. My faith in god started to fade (Woah, that rhymes) when I was in need of help for my troubles along the way. I asked (so-called) god,"Why can't I be better to fit into society? Help me, I'm feeling anxiety everyday. Feels like hell here". But nope, he didn't answer my prayer. It's always the same problems with the same places, moments and people, everyday in the past.

And it sickened me ever since. That's when I knew, I had to think on my own feet to get things simplified in my life. I didn't care how I would end up after my life on Earth, but I do know that life matters in my own hands depending on how I want to shape it. Sometimes, the work in the future is not as important as the work that we have in the present. And I'm basically saying that, we shouldn't keep on wondering how life is, after death instead, we should be doing our jobs here in this world. Many religious societies can come up with theories on what the afterworld is all about, but what is the ideal afterworld in the end? As I said before in one of my posts:

The Christians find guidance in the Bible. They are told how life should be lived in this world in order to ensure the ideal afterworld. They live in the comfort zone that they have qualified for heaven by just being Christians! I think qualification for heaven (IF the heaven exists) should be more stringent and based on meritocracy rather than mere membership in a church. I think society will be better if each member of society believes he has to EARN his place in heaven. This is the main reason why I have resisted approaches by Christian friends to join their “club”-: 'Burning Orthodox All Is Left Is Pandora's Box'

The main Atheist belief is that, we are all material life forms. We come and go. There is no life after that. I'm indeed very well aware of that, but boldly speaking against that as an
Atheist/partial Agnostic such as myself, I'm asking myself this,"How sure are we, that we have no soul?". Thus, with the counter-argument acquired,"How sure are we that there is Heaven and Hell? Have you even seen it?". Each and everyone of us tries to prove on who is right or wrong on this topic for centuries, but there hasn't been a definite answer between the two, because the debate never ends. (Annoying isn't it?) But what's as clear and evident to me is that, the Earth itself can be Heaven and Hell. Yes, we DO have war, poverty and recession in this world now, isn't that hell enough for you? Yes, we DO have love, compassion and care in this world, isn't that heaven enough for you? I know that some of you might also ask me; "You're an Atheist but you're part Agnostic. Are you somehow confused and lost for that matter?" Well, I got the idea from my dad about it and he told me," We are Atheists in the sense that we don't follow the mainstream religion's belief system."

True enough, things were making sense to me, as I had a past idea about what the Zeitgeist film taught me,"I don't know what God is, but I know what he isn't. So unless you were to seek and perceive the truth, then the truth shall set you free". What dad said had a dotted line connected to it. So, how about it? Why can't we all be concerned for the bigger things in life, like; conserving the planet, help the needy, build a better society to stop racism. And people have to stop misusing ( I call this crap) holy wars such as Violent-Jihad acts to kill people with other religious beliefs just to gain their earning place to heaven. As I've said earlier before, that each and everyone of us has a right of belief and disbelief. And I think respecting both parties is the way to maintain peace on Earth.

Yes, I do know some self-flattering Christians who love being hypocrites or 2-headed snakes within society. So, just because he/she has a religion doesn't always mean that person always turns out to be all good. My conclusion to that is; "There is no use having a religion if you're a lousy human". I know somebody who dropped Christianity because things have been hard for him and faith just didn't cut out for him. I also do know some stupid - assuming -
blasphemous Atheists who discriminate other people's religion. Which is indeed very wrong. As Richard Dawkins quotes,"Atheists don't say that they'll make a suicide bombing attempt for the sake of disbelief. Atheists don't say that they'll kill you because of your beliefs".

So, the next time when somebody asks you this,"What religion are you in and what's your take on it?" . You say,"I think religion is something to be kept personal in our lives and not to be discussed too openly. I can tell you what I believe in, but we shouldn't compare the teachings that we have been taught in our own religion." And judging from the paragraph above, you wouldn't want to start a war would you? Acceptance in other people's culture maintains harmony. That is why I strongly believe in a song that John Lennon wrote a long time ago called 'Imagine'. Read the lyrics and you'll understand where I'm coming from.

Artist: John Lennon
Song: Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

I think it's time that I shall be in for more research by reading two of Dr. Michael Newton's books called Journey Of Souls and Destiny Of Souls. For further research to answers that I want to know (That is, if I got the time. But I'll try). So, if you're an Atheist, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish and etc. Be a good one :D And again, I would like to sincerely apologize if I had offended anybody with a religion. I'm just explaining my point towards it as nicely as I can.

Here's Kill Tomorrow by Mushroomhead

I've gone Indie

2008-12-14T11:22:00.003+08:00

Surprisingly, I've started to like Indie Rock. Back then, I couldn't appreciate the genre but now I do. How? That's when I started listening to Wes Borland's cover of 'Lucretia My Reflection'. Every Metal fan should know who Wes Borland is. He was the former guitarist for Limp Bizkit and now vocalist/guitarist for his founded band, Black Light Burns. He is now touring as Marilyn Manson's guitarist in support of the 'Eat me, drink me' tour which is close to an end, then he's heading back to the studio to begin churning out a new Black Light Burns record. Woo, next Friday, I'm going for a jam session with Brendan and a few other friends. I want to see whether this jamming band can be my potential band. *fingers crossed*

Black Light Burns-Lucretia My Reflection (cover song)

The Gathering

2008-12-10T01:09:00.006+08:00

This week, I've gone for two gatherings. The first was a school reunion, the second was the YouthSays Movie Screening Gathering. For the school reunion, me and my old school buddies from secondary school (Batch 06/07), headed to Hulu Langat for a reunion dinner in a restaurant called ' Hulu Langat Look Out Point Restaurant'. 8 guys attended and no girls. Yes, no chicks. Except for Kevin's girlfriend. (Watch out for your girlfriend Kevy :P) The whole story can be read on MXV's blog.

Now, about the YouthSays Movie Screening Gathering. 2 days before the event, me and one of the YS members were working on the name list, time and place as to where we were going to meet for dinner before the movie at KLCC. I had to pick up a lot of calls regarding the tickets. And it was indeed the most craziest day in my life. First time, getting 100 over phone calls in a day. But it was great that I get to also have met up with Michelle, Reuben, EkLern and the rest of the gang from the previous YouthSays movie gathering. Got to meet a lot of new friends and I'm glad everything turned out alright. We gathered and had out dinner at the food court which was indeed a good choice for the meeting because we had enough space to fit a 100 over people.

Gadiy was indeed a great help for helping me pass out the tickets and taking names along the way while I did the same. The cinema was 85% packed which I'm glad because a majority of them managed to attend and watched the movie. Indeed, in just two days, we got to create such a big crowd for the gathering. And of course, while I was doing this, I wasn't in it for the money. Because, the main purpose of this gathering was to meet and connect with new people. I really hope that YouthSays comes up with another exciting gathering for days to come.

*Gadiy, I would like to have the pictures that you took the other day. May I have them please? :D Much appreciated*

Is the world promoting public image and effeminate traits over pure talent?

2008-12-04T11:17:00.026+08:00

Once you're a global celebrity, you may end up being chased by the paparazzi, appearing in the tabloids often and of course, be a victim of nonsensical rumors My point is, as a star you not only are supposed to shine but the limelight is on you. The question I would like to ask is; how much of the “starshine” is talent and how much is media hype?. I'm mainly talking about over-rated music being played globally in the mainstream scene, and all of these are soon to be just one hit wonders. I'm talking about how crafted lyrics and feminine-like male vocalists can attract girls all over; How is that possible? The more these traits are in vogue, the more girlie boys will be created in society. I can't stand the fact that (maybe) 60% of youths in Malaysia only listen to Mainstream goods on the radio rather than to listen to under promoted music that linger on the internet on sites like Myspace Music. Which a lot of them, are good tunes I must say.

Has modern society reached a point where girls tend to prefer and adore pretty boys with clean faces and who provide self-pitiful mushy lyrics? What is going on? Hope no fan gets offended as I'm labeling these few bands as poseurs. What do these bands have in common? Their vocalists sound likely the same and they sing like a bunch of Yes, I said it...Wimps! Period.

Metro Station:
Tracy Cyrus sounds like a cheerleader when he sings the chorus of 'Shake it'
Seriously, a disgrace to manhood. Wonder why the girls fancy that kind of singing from a guy. *Disgusted* Also known as Miley Cyrus's half-brother. So, I guess you know where all the cheezy entertainment act came from. And yes, guys shouldn't sound like them, otherwise your mom will kill you and start worrying if you're turning gay or not.. :D

Jonas Brothers:
Can't say much about these guys, except that they're a bunch of disposable stock Disney rockers who sound as if they squeeze their noses while singing. Right, they are like a boy band with instruments. Now I see the point. These guys are an 'Image' to me. Surrounded by screaming fan girls saying,"Oh my goodness! Nick, Kevin and Joe Jonas are so cute! Aaaahhh!". Is Disney the real root cause for horrible 'too-decent' music just because of their successful over-rated musical flicks like 'Camp Rock' and High School Musical' for the attraction of kiddies alike? Just like Miley Cyrus, who makes a lot of money but she can't really pull off a good pitch on stage (The evil of pitch correction Softwares). It's like a dogma to care on how they look rather than how they sound. Then, where would true talent shine? And yes, the Jonas Brothers DO sing like wimps as well, sad to say. Idolizing these guys might be considered suicide. Trust me, not every celebrity is an angel. They're also human, that could appear to be; Arrogant, malicious and scandalous too. So, don't ever think of them as being all flawless-perfect-goodie-two-shoes. So kids, never idolize Disney Artiste, but learn to outgrow them at a certain age. Because, once they're 25 or 30 years old or so, they would be playing bigger roles in life when they reach adulthood. And again dudes, don't sound like wimp.

Watch these 2 videos and you'll see what I mean.

Metro Station-Shake it

Jonahs Brothers-Burning up

I wish to add one more bands in to flame at, but I guess I don't want to bore you guys, in case this post has gone too long to describe more. Hope you learn something from what I'm trying to explain to you, my dear readers (dudes)...don't sing like a wimp or be a wimp. Till next time. Here's Linkin Park's 'QWERTY'/Behind Your Lies. Enjoy =)

Linkin Park-QWERTY/Behind Your Lies

Another Tag

2008-12-02T02:30:00.006+08:00

Just another tag...

QA#1

What’s your ambition?
Be a Sound Engineer, Musician (Rockstar someday), professional guitarist (Pain staking work, really)

2. Who is more important to you? Girlfriends or friends?
Depends, on how they treat me. Then I could balance the scales between girlfriends and friends.

3. How often do you think of committing suicide?
Very often during my tough times in school

4. Do you think you have enough confidence?
Depends on which field

5. How many babies do you want?
5, enough said.

6. Do you believe in seeing a rainbow after the rain?
It's been scientifically proven, so yeah...

7. What is your goal for this year?
Getting my custom made Stratocaster electric guitar and proving myself in anything I need to do this year.

8. Do you believe in eternity love?
Well, my love life hasn't really started. So yeah, I'm not too sure about that for now..

9. What’s your favorite television series?
Heroes.

10. What are you really afraid of?
Rats.

11.What are your bad habits?
Digging my nose, who doesn't?

12. Is there anything you wanna tell to the people who hates you?
Well, there's no use wasting all your energy; hating, backstabbing, despising and bitching about me if I don't even have a problem with you..so yeah, get a life.

13. Do you cherish every single friendship of yours?
Only those who cherish me

14. What does flying mean to you?
Fun

15. What do you crave for the most currently?
New guitar and a tube amp

16. Most unexpected gift you received so far and when?
My first guitar from Mum when I was 9

17. Describe the person who tagged you in 5 words:
I stole this tag. LOL

18. What have you done to yourself make yourself happy?
Eating Ramli burgers

19. What will you become in another 10 years to come?
That, I'm not sure. It would depend on what I would do in the future.

20. What have you achieved in life lately to make it better?
Going to college soon? XD

QA #2.

Rule 1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any questions that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

Rule 2 Tag 5 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tag by continuing this game by sending it to other people.

1. Do you have secrets?
Yes, who doesn't

2. Would you fall in love with a girl younger than you?
I just recently did

3. Do you enjoy going to college?
I'm starting college soon..can't wait to see what it's like

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Investment, fund for my future children's college fee, build a recording studio, buy my dream sports car (Nissan Skyline)

5. Will you fall in love with your friend?
I don't even remember falling for any of my friends..

6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?
Love them and they'll love you back. That's just how it works..

7. List 5 current favourite songs
1. Slipknot-Psychosocial
2. Lamb Of God-Blood Of The Scribe
3. Bullet For My Valentine-Tears Don't Fall
4. Metallica-Harvester Of Sorrow
5 Nine Inch Nail-Hand That Feeds

8. If the person you secretly like is already attached, what would you do?
Move on with life

9. List 5 favourite TV shows
1. Heroes
2. The Simpsons
3 Desperate Housewives (yes, I know..shut up LOL)
4. MTV: The Rock Show
5. MTV2: Headbangers Ball (Watch it online)

10. Do you have any regrets?
Nope

11. Would you be the person that you are if you were to be reborn?
I would be the same, but I wish I had more musical talents at the same time..

12. What do you want the most at the moment?
That custom made stratocaster electric guitar I saw at a music store

13. What kind of person do you think the person that tagged you is?
I stole this tag (I've said it once)

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?
single and rich..

15. What is your favourite color?
Bloody Red

16. Would you give all in for a relationship?
No! Not even my guitars! HAHAHA!

17. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, which one would you choose?
Depends which one of them is a better girlfriend. That is just sick, I'll only stick one at a time

18. What are the top 5 bands that you listen to or love?
1. Slipknot (Great band)
2. Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor, the genius)
3 Linkin Park (BRING BACK THE NU-METAL!)
4. Lamb Of God (Randy Blythe is one vocalist you don't wanna mess with. ROCK IT!)
5. Metallica (The god fathers of Heavy Metal, besides Black Sabbath)

19. Name 3 things you would like to do but would never be able to.
1. Play the violin (not motivated to learn. I gotta play something with frets to let me know what note I'm playing)
2. Learn how to skateboard, but too risky..won't want to break my neck
3. Own a Rottweiler?

20. 5 people I have tagged.
1. Alvin
2. Sudhan
3. MXV
4. Shaz
5. Saiful

OWNING!

2008-11-30T01:40:00.006+08:00

Anyone ever played DoTa before? Don't play it! It's addictive! Yeah, it can be. But it's all good and fun when you start to get to be familiar with the game. Getting to kill other players and gain experience to become stronger. Purchasing weapons, items and armors to boost your hero's stats and sit back and enjoy your battle with creeps and opposing heroes. The graphics can be superb with the latest graphic cards to enhance the enjoyment to this game. Gameplay wise, you gotta think fast; when to pull back, kill your enemies and also manage money to buy much more powerful weapons and armors.

Go, get off your blogging mojo for a while and try out DoTa. Enjoy!
MEGA-KILL! OWNING! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Mind-boggling humans dreaming of cotton candy land

2008-11-26T13:10:00.013+08:00

I'm partially sick, the weather is killing me and I'm trying to find why some of my friends are trying so hard convincing me to have/be in a religion, mainly 'Christianity'. I don't know if it's been happening through out the years or it's just these modern times in the youth culture. Tell, me..do I have a need to believe in God to get me up in heaven? Why is that? Because I must BELIEVE that he created me? So...if I don't then I'm defying him? Should I even call him father for bringing me to planet Earth? Those were the things my friend accused me of not believing. HELLO! First of all, I'll give my life to my parents because they created me. Ever studied Evolution? Christians say that God created Man in his image i.e. my face, legs, arms, nose, eyes and everything else is as He is supposed to have too. Man flatters himself! Ever heard of genes? I got my mother's eyes, ears, face and I got my dad's nose, tongue and chin. We evolved! And I told this so-called friend, "Look here, I don't believe in god as my maker. What I disbelieve is my own right, what you believe is your own right, okay?". He then said," God made religion, not man made religion". Haha, yeah..my ass..

And yet, my friend went on and on by telling me that I'm an ignorant sh*t for disbelieving in god's existence or whatsoever. Yeap, he really said those words. I don't see the point of discussing about religion most of the time and why not talk about some other topic like sports, music, food and etc. We should all practice self-responsibility rather than to place hopes on the divine; it makes for weak human beings. And yes, we as humans...for example, it's our duty to conserve this planet than to pray for divine help as we abuse our natural resources. Nobody is coming to you when all you do is keep praying for something good. Act and make it happen! Religion is too complicated and confusing for me. Even people of the same religion cannot even agree on their own religion. You know why? It is because people created religion just like they created their own God. I'm a simple person. I do not need to prove to the world and I do not need to save lost souls like the Christians flatter themselves as they can. I don't care if you say that there is heaven and hell, I asked my friend this, "Have you seen heaven or hell? How sure are you? And he just said it to me, "It EXISTS! I know it must! There has to be!". My answer is, “It does not EXIST! I know it does not! There cannot be!” . So what does all this argument matter anyway? Call me blind faithless to my friends blind faith in God!

Marilyn Manson-Anti-Christ Superstar

GAS VS OCD

2008-11-22T17:29:00.012+08:00

Something which I came up with, the definitions of GAS (Gear/Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) and OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Readers can decide and judge on which symptom is more chronic.

GAS (Gear/Guitar Acquisition Syndrome)

A certain obsession or strong desire for a guitar/gear that appeals to you. This syndrome can absolutely be fatal, if you are an impulsive spender that is (Especially Gears and Guitars). Luckily for me, I only buy guitar related stuff like effect pedals and accessories for my own investment to do a selling job. So yeah, it pays to do so. Basically, the clear examples of GAS could cause these problems;

-Having desires to get a new guitar after another (Vintage guitars, Fenders, Ibanez . Just to name a few)

-You would become a heavy avid guitar collector (Yngwie Malmsteen has 40 over guitars in his own home studio and Michael Schenker has 600 guitars)

-You would start craving for new tech gadgets each year (Iphone, PSP, PS3, laptop, Television and etc)

-GAS can be cured if you're lacking cash. That way, it would make you realize that you should spend more wisely (word to the impulsive spenders). Because we have to focus on what we need, like; Food, clothes, shelter and etc. It's a reality check. GAS can be contemporary between dreams and reality between your desires and needs. But if you have quite a number of good guitars, then there wouldn't be a reason for you to collect too many, if some of them don't have any meaning to you. GAS then, slows your spending down.

-For example, let's say if I have all of my favourite guitar models, I wouldn't want to have more but I would say that I have enough. So yes, GAS is not the most chronic symptom on Earth.

Kudos to Wikipedia, I was digging for more literate details about OCD on Wikipedia. But the GAS concept was definitely my own idea. So yeah, I'm giving credits to Wikipedia for OCD. The wonders of the INTERNET! :D Rest assured that I'm not trying to plagiarize, but hey..how original can we be if we wrote about EVERYTHING, right? Need to gain more knowledge also. Happy reading on this one. *Applause for Wikipedia*

OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)

It's a chronic anxiety disorder characterized by obsessive, distressing, repetitive thoughts and related compulsions.

Obsessions

Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive and that cause marked anxiety or distress.
The thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems.
The person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action.
The person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind, and are not based in reality.

Compulsions

Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.
The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts are not actually connected to the issue, or they are excessive.

So, which do you think is worse? You be the judge (I think OCD is the worst, judging from the fact that it CAN affect your life regarding; places, people and situations.)

Are....you craving for some more?

2008-11-21T09:36:00.005+08:00

Last night was a blast, headed down to The Curve at 9:00pm to catch Dragon Red's gig at Laundry Bar. And suddenly, I bumped into Adam Lobo (Dragon Red-Vocalist) with his girlfriend *Forgotten her name, sorry >.<* while I was having my dinner there. To keep the story short, the gig lasted till 12am or so. Featuring bands like Dragon Red, The Times and many more. I was more keen on watching Dragon Red's gig probably because of my favour for metal. And this has got to be my 2nd time watching a local heavy metal gig. Dragon Red played a few of their singles from the Holocaust album such as 'Whicked Queen','Child's Play'(My personal
favourite), 'Holocaust' and a few of their new singles. They did a good cover of Killswitch Engage's 'My Curse'. My friend Eklern Tan, was there to support his brother, who plays the bass for Dragon Red, what a coincidence, because I just met Eklern at the Youth Says gathering last week. Wish I could have captured some pictures of the gig, but my camera is still in the storage. Boohoo. Well, always a next time I guess. Story ain't so short after all eh? Well, I would really recommend you guys to go for at least 1 Dragon Red gig, you might end up going to more of their shows. They are that good!

Linkin Park's new album to be 'Conceptual'

2008-11-20T10:33:00.003+08:00

Taken from 'Spin Magazine Online'.

Linkin Park: New Album Is "Conceptual"

By Larry Fitzmaurice

Genre-fusing rockers Linkin Park are notorious for taking their time recording albums -- the group labored three years on their sophomore record, Meteora, and four years on 2007's Minutes to Midnight. But now the six-piece is already working on Midnight's yet-to-be-titled follow-up, which co-frontman Chester Bennington describes as "a concept record."

Speaking to Billboard.com, Bennington remained mum on what that "concept" might entail ("I'm not sure I'm allowed to say what the big plan is," he said), but hinted that the record would signal a new direction for Linkin Park. "[We] never envisioned ourselves doing a concept record, but we see an opportunity to do something really cool so we jumped on it, and we'll see how it comes out. I think it's a challenge and we'll see if we can rise to the occasion."

In addition, Bennington has been finishing up work on his debut solo album, which he plans to release in spring or summer of 2009. "[It's] a lot more straightforward rock, with a little bit of an electronic element to it, lots of keys and synths and stuff like that," Bennington said. "And there are a few elements where I think you'll be able to see what my influence on (Linkin Park) is."

My name is Ramli....Ramli Burger James Bond music theme playing

2008-11-19T11:37:00.008+08:00

Whoever has not have the knowledge about a famous burger in the heart of Malaysia, must know Ramly Burgers. Created by a guy named Ramly Moknin, who's been popular in Malaysia and Singapore for his renowned Ramli hamburger branding, throughout the years. In my opinion, they absolutely beat McDonald's hamburgers. The winning recipe has attracted many Malaysians with this scrumptious hamburger, with the likes of; Maggie seasoning, white pepper,Lea & Perrin's worchestershire sauce, soy sauce, tomatoes, cabbage, tomato ketchup, onions and egg (for the burger special).

You may not believe me, but I would always have a double-double burger special (4 patties in 1 burger) when I have the chance to satisfy my taste buds on burgers. Try it, and you'll end up saying,"Yum!"

Pedal for sale!

2008-11-18T16:38:00.005+08:00

Hey guys, just wanna fill in a bit about this pedal that I'm selling. It's an Aria Pro VP-10 Volume Pedal (Made in Japan). It's also a discounted model. And of course, the idea you'll get would probably be *Oh my goodness! It's rare!*. Yes, that is true. Aria is a Japanese company. You can't get it anywhere else because they don't produce it anymore, so here's your chance! You don't have to look at those Made in Taiwan or Made in Indonesia copies, this is the original! For just RM260 (negotiable), this baby is already yours :) The early bird catches the worm...

Aria VP-10 Volume Pedal (MIJ)

A mistake that retarded college students can make..

2008-11-17T12:09:00.005+08:00

I was just reading through my friend's blog and he posted this video about TAR college students attempting a stupid stunt which could've lost their lives. People, don't ever try to attempt this stunt.

College students doing the most stupid thing in their lives. Don't be any of these monkeys..

To assume or not to assume?

2008-11-16T10:58:00.009+08:00

Hey guys, I'm pretty sure that most of you fellow gig goers still remember about the incident which took place at Paul's Place, 2 years ago on New Year's eve (2005). Yes, about 3/4 of the youths being arrested during an unwarranted police raid at Paul's Place. A conference was being held in Paul's Place the following day with 300+ people including musicians, politicians, activists and journalists, along with a panel of 8 made up of Azmyl Yunor (musician, lecturer) , Amir Hamzah (lawyer), Rafil Elyas (musician, engineer), Julian Mokhtar (musician), Paul Milott (musician, owner of Paul's Place), Jaclyn SM Kee (activist) and two other musicians whose names I can't quite recall.

One of the panels said that the raid was tantamount to a gross violation of basic human rights, that the police's cited reason of "suspicion of black metal activities" was not acceptable for their dramatic arrests. Okay, let me ask you big heavy metal fans out there. Does black metal activity include; drinking beer, listening to loud punk rock music, wearing gory t-shirts and shiny Bling-bling? Someone must've reported this gig to the cops and made a whole issue about it. Fussy sour grapes.

Do the police even know the culture of Black Metal? We were taught well by our parents and our moral teachers in school, not to simply put fault on somebody and to be more optimistic and rational in any situation. While, the police thought the crowd in Paul's Place were worshiping the devil, they had no idea what they were talking about. Basically, if you want to worship Satan
(Even though I don't believe in Satan), it's very easy;

-Drink the blood of a goat's head
-Start drawing satanic images or the Star of Satan
-Have a despicable hatred against the Christians
-Bury yourself alive in a grave
-Burning a church down
-And many many more

Do these steps and you're in the club. But what was stated in the news about this incident really cracked me up, because they seriously had a wrong idea of what Black Metal was about. Worshiping the devil with Punk Rock music? The devil will run away and cry all the way home! HAHAHA!! I can bet you a 100%, that if the Norwegians read about the whole 'Black Metal' issue in Malaysia, they'll laugh their seats off. Because the Norwegians were the originators of 'Black Metal'. And yes, this news has been spread to Australia as well, even they found it silly.

My dear brothers and sisters of Malaysia, please PLEASE be more positive than to be a bunch of these 'mangkuk hayuns' (The police). This would be my 2cents for this article. But yeah, I believe I know more (and a lot of other people do too) and I'm still learning about the cultures of Heavy Metal. Keen on learning? Read this book. Expand your knowledge. It'll do you guys a big favour than to just 'ASSUME' at first hand.

Heavy Metal:Sound Of The Beast (Ian Christe)

Here's Slipknot's 'Surfacing'

Slipknot-Surfacing

Head Like A Hole

2008-11-14T23:04:00.008+08:00

Just came back from Low Yat Plaza. Dad bought a laptop for my sister as a birthday present in advance (Her birthday is just 13 days away). It was a Compaq laptop *grins*. For me, I'm still thinking of what to get for her birthday. I had dinner at Mr. Teppanyaki which was located at the low ground floor of Low Yat. As I was waiting for my food to be cooked 'done', a girl came to me with a string of key chains under her belt, I knew it had something to do with charity.

And as she approached me and showed sign languages to me, I just out of heart, gave a donation of RM5 and she gave me a key chain (Widow key chain okay. Don't play play XD). And to be honest, I don't really do charity because at first, I know that charity mostly begins at home (most of the time). So yeah, this had enough merits for me to actually donate to a needy society. Don't get me wrong here. Because, there is absolutely no use of being good to others if you can't be good to your own family.

It made me feel great giving that donation. I don't know how. But it makes me more satisfied and glad than having a new a guitar each time. I guess it's the good will and conscience that opens our minds way wider than we can possibly imagine. And of course, everybody should know that even though charity is a good thing, just be sure that it's not some hoax to some money stealing parade. Be sure to check which charity organization they belong to. That girl may be part of the syndicate of the hoax, but at the end of the day, it's the intention of giving that counts. Hey, me being an Atheist doesn't mean I don't do good.

Boy oh boy, I can't wait for my MacBook Pro to come next year. I need to use Apple hardwares and softwares in college.

Apple Macbook Pro

Here's Nine Inch Nails' 'Head Like A Hole'

Nine Inch Nails-Head Like A Hole

I'm bored

2008-11-14T00:32:00.002+08:00

I'm bored, I love money, I just love to make more (It's never enough, it's true), I want a 1 month job from now till December. Where can I find one? People, give me ideas.

The joy of manga

2008-11-11T11:51:00.005+08:00

I'm an avid collector of manga comics. What is manga?;

Manga, literally translated, means "whimsical pictures". The word first came into common usage in the late 18th century with the publication of such works as Santō Kyōden's picturebook "Shiji no yukikai" (1798), and in the early 19th century with such works as Aikawa Minwa's "Manga hyakujo" (1814) and the celebrated Hokusai manga containing assorted drawings from the sketchbook of the famous ukiyo-e artist Hokusai.^[25] The first user of the word "manga" as its modern usage is Rakuten Kitazawa.

So, basically manga's are like the 'Marvel Comics' of Japan. Only with an Anime twist.

I find the comics themselves very interesting. Especially with the intriguing drawings and illustrations done by the Japanese, throughout the years. I've bought my first manga when I was 13. And yes, we all know that manga comics are expensive in Malaysia. Say...RM34.90? Yes, that's the kind of price that you will get in Kinokuniya (KLCC). But yesterday, those manga comics were retailed at RM13.90 at Popular Bookstore in Sunway Pyramid. No, I'm not lying. It was not under promotion. See the massive price difference between Kinokuniya and Popular? Not that surprised, even music stores are like that.

So far, I've only gotten these. And I wish to collect more. Don't be shy, be proud to be a manga reader. :D

Have you started your manga comic collection yet??

Amazing

2008-11-08T12:56:00.006+08:00

Went to ICOM with my sister yesterday to inquire more about my course 'Audio Production', and it was great, the office people are known to be very nice chaps I must say. Inside ICOM felt like 'Land Of Music'. Guys with leather and jeans (The typical heavy metal attire) and some of the girls looked 'fine' if you know what I mean. Did I just rhymed? Hehehe. The college itself was great, they have over 30 rehearsal rooms, a Synthesizer room, a Mixer room, a Recording room and much much more. My future assignments would mostly take place in the Recording room. Great, now I have isolation in my own work. Just kidding. :D But looking at the course and college itself from a certain point of view, it seems like I'll enjoy college life.

My interest would definitely take action in this college. The college would have performance day, every Friday at 4pm. On that day, they would have ICOM students (in a band) to take center stage and perform on that day. It does suit the theme and the education system, as it IS a music college. What would college life be in for me? Only way to find out is to attend my first semester in January next year.

There's not much I could say on this because it's been only my first visit into the college so far, but hopefully that I'll be able to explain more in detail when I start studying there I guess. But I can say one thing though; The college has been around since 1996, so I guess it's pretty much established through out the years. I'll see it for myself, it's too early to judge.

Here's Lamb Of God's '11th Hour'. Wonderful riffs that Mark Morton & Willy Adler came up with for this song and gruesome vocals that Randy Blythe pulled off.

Lamb Of God-11th Hour

I know it's coming..

2008-11-03T03:50:00.011+08:00

(10th of October 2008)

I remember having my hair cut on the 30th of May (with long hair back then). From really long hair back to short and spiky hair. Started the hair growing course once again, from the 1st of June till the 27th of September of this year. Yes dear readers, it took me 4-pain staking months to grow back my semi-long hair. And I had it cut and reshaped again on the 28th of September.

Hair growth of around 3 months (26th of August, 2008)

Hair growth of almost 4 months (28th of September, 2008)

(30th of September, 2008) *Missing out a lot of my fringe and long hair at the back that I used to have*

Growth of 12/13 days after haircut (10th of October, 2008) *Things began to speed up*

Watch the picture closely. Notice how long the parting of the fringe and the hair at the back of my head was?

Soon after till now, the back of my hair has grown almost up to 3 inches long. The secret? Regular head massage, consumption of Soya Bean drinks and meat. And of course, regular shampoo wash. Hopefully my hair would grow as long as it was, like 'September 28th 2008' by the 25th of December 2008 (Christmas Day). Soon, when the day comes, I want to rebond my hair and start headbanging like the pros. XD

Coward..

2008-11-03T02:32:00.006+08:00

The new guitar strings did not fit well into my guitar. The tension was too high for the saddle to handle. It's for sale, it's still under 9.9/10 mint condition. The gauge of the strings were a bit too thick for my guitar to handle. Bought it for RM24. Looking at around Rm10 (For my careless mistake). I'm definitely angry about what happened the other day.

The guy who sold the strings to me, told me that the strings were meant for low action saddles like mine. And I asked him twice to affirm whether if it really were meant for my guitar, and he said,"Yes". The custom light gauge strings it seems. But I failed to string the guitar with the new strings as it had too much pressure that it can possibly ruin my bridge saddle and the saddle bone itself. As far as I know, musical accessories are never refundable.

Neither can it be exchanged once opened. But since that I still have the receipt with me, I might be able to argue out my case with it. I first went home and tried it out today. I started getting a bad reaction from the tuners as I kept tuning (Like a massive pressure as if it were about to break apart). It refused to turn anymore, because the strings were a bit too thick. Either, I want to head back to the shop and start complaining or sell it to one of my good friends who are interested.

That's it, this would be the last time that I'm ever going to trust sales assistants in music shops about accessories. It's best to do my own research to be sure on what to get next time. Even the idiot people at Bentley Music told me that Carnauba wax was meant for polishing up the frets. How wrong they were, as it was meant for polishing up the body. I've made myself clear. Time to learn and do things the DIY way. Yeah, if anybody ever told you that music was an expensive hobby. Think about maintaining your instruments! IT'S EVEN MORE TROUBLESOME!

Here's Black Light Burn's song 'Coward'

The Uber Suck..

2008-11-01T21:06:00.011+08:00

I enjoyed myself during Halloween yesterday, even though my friends turned down on the invites by the last minute which sucked a little. But it was alright. I went for the Sunway Lagoon Scream' Halloween gig party. I got there early and managed to hang out with Adam Lobo (Dragon Red) and a few of the members from Y2k. Though I didn't get to chit-chat with Saiful (Y2k) much it was ok; he was busy with other company after Y2k's set.

Decided to move around, make new friends and enjoy the party. It was kind of funny, watching these guys on TV almost everyday and there I was; joking and laughing with them while having cold beers and cocktails (the cocktail wasn't good though).

Bands such as Y2k and Beat The System gave a great performance during that night. Adam Lobo did the vocals for Y2k. It's kind of sad that 80% of the crowd were more into Techno music than Rock Music. I am a Metalhead but I guess it shows that the partying Malaysian youths are attracted mainly to dancing and DJ spins. The more senior crowd who hang out at the pubs are into band music most of the time. Well, now I know what it's like in a gig party and for the experience, at least I can say, I'VE BEEN TO ONE!

The party ended at 1am, as the rude Sunway Lagoon security guards started closing down proceedings. The organizer went through enough trouble applying for MPSJ and Subang Police permits, and PPM & MACP approval to organize SCREAM! and the party was supposed to end at 3am. I had felt that Sunway Lagoon is never a good place to organize such a big event. This early ending proved me right. Another thing I'm not happy about the gig is that the bands were playing on the elevated big balcony while the crowd was on the ground; having to looking up at the bands play was no fun.

Not only we couldn't see the bands properly, we couldn't see most of the band members who were playing because the partitions at the balcony were blocking them. What is this?! I came all the way to Sunway to watch their gig, despite the party itself and they gave us horse manure. I didn't get to take pictures with the people in their costumes because my digital camera was in the storage, and of course that my phone camera wasn't good enough. But it was all fun, having people to take my pictures because I dressed up as the guy from 'Scream'. All in all, it was a good experience. Don't ever attend Sunway Lagoon parties, they suck big time! The worst thing is, One Buck Short was supposed to play during that night and they didn't. One of the band members didn't make it. And they didn't have the courtesy to apologize for the inconvenience of not performing. Instead, they were partying on. Yes, I do support local music, but this is not the way One Buck Short should do things, They lack professionalism and morally they owe it to supporters like me to be more responsible.

I've got nothing to say...

2008-10-30T17:28:00.003+08:00

Today, I phoned somebody (Who used to be special to me) while she was in college, right after she finished her class. It was rather cold and 'silent' the response. I asked her how she is doing and all that. And there follows the usual answer 'I'm fine, busy as usual. You?". And I told her the same thing. I told her that she sounded busy and she said she had to go soon. I actually wanted to ask her out to a gig party tomorrow on Halloween. But since the conversation between us was rather odd. I put my foot down first and just told her,"We'll talk later?". Then she said,"Okay". She never even bother to ask me how am I doing so far with life or how long we haven't spoken. Not savvy of her right? Yeah, I'll go with that.

I think I already know enough that she is avoiding me, besides the term, 'Busy'. If she can't carry out a certain standard to be polite during a conversation, then it is already a successful 'acid-test'. She just doesn't know how to create a good image for herself. But what the heck anyway, if she and I can't be friends, then it's out of my hands and move on to new friends. Sounds familiar? It came from this post right here. I mean, it's her choice to mix with whoever she wants to. But being obnoxious? That would totally be out of the question. That's why I had nothing to say. Just be grateful that I don't simply put out people's names for the sake of emphasizing bad situations. That's how well I could take care of a girl's dignity, no matter how wrongful they can be, even if they don't realize it. Don't see me putting any of their names.

Well, 'One man's rubbish is the next man's treasure'. At least I still have my life and I'm meant to learn from my mistakes. Nah, I don't think it was my mistake but hers. But I would always know that these issues won't corrode with the things I like to do in my precious daily life. We all have to MOVE ON. If you are reading this, I would like to let you know that, I really did like you. But it seems that you've thrown our friendship away without knowing (Or maybe you do). You know who you are. No turning back for me, I have to move on. I'm not really putting you down with your regrets, but it's a mistake that you could learn from.

It's kind of funny that my posts these days show a deeper side of me, whereas my posts has most of the time, been portrayed only upon the surface. Well readers, now you know. Expect the unexpected.

Now, I've posted a song by Slipknot called 'Dead Memories' for you guys before. Now, here is the official video of the song. Enjoy. This is dedicated to 'you'. It isn't much of a love song. Listen and you'll know.

Slipknot-Dead Memories

Ready to come out and play?~ Muahahaha!!

2008-10-29T10:12:00.011+08:00

I just rented a costume for Halloween this Friday. I'm not going to TGIF's party but I'll be going for the Sunway Lagoon Halloween gig party, featuring One Buck Short, Y2k (my buddy, Saiful!) and many others. People there with spooky costumes are ready to come out and play. Muahahahaha!!!

Speaking of gigs, there's a January gig organized by Leo (The guys who organized last year's gig on December 21st at TTDI hall). That was the first time I met Alvin and Edwin personally, it was great fun. I'm eager to go for this gig as rhythm guitarist and vocalist. Any takers? I'm looking for a bassist, lead guitarist, drummer and a keyboardist. Playing Industrial Metal or something unique. Those who are into Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot, Marilyn Manson and etc. Auditions are in early December. If you're keen, then let's have practice sessions early before the gig. The gig is around January..

Here are a few of my funny poses while fooling around with the costume.

Into the light...

2008-10-28T09:16:00.003+08:00

Well, things have been going great for me. I'm finally going to start college next year, after a year's break to settle down. I'm still in the mids of shifting into the new house, but that will be done with in no time. Hope that we're having an open house once we move in. See who are the lucky friends of mine who get to be invited *Jeng-Jeng-Jeng*. I'm going to start my January term in Sound Engineering at ICOM (International College Of Music). Well, it took me sometime to think over about my courses, it was either Culinary Arts at Taylor's College or Sound Engineering at ICOM.

But Since I have a strong interest in music over cooking, I guess Sound Engineering was the pick. I can't wait for the term to start. Though there are some subjects I should watch out for in the syllabus itself, like; Moral Studies, Malaysian Studies and Maths *My worst subject*. But I guess studying Mathematics over again COULD refresh my mind and hopefully understand the subject better (If they teach the topics that I'm used to doing). Then I'll have to study Music Theory which frankly, I cannot read music notes well, but I'm willing to learn.

But I shouldn't cry over it at all, it'll be useless. Almost everyone I know who's gone to college had or is having to dread over those subjects. So, I would make the best out of it, for the sake of wanting to become a Sound Engineer. But I find the other subjects pretty interesting. And hopefully after ICOM, I would want to further my studies somewhere abroad or locally like OCEAN or SAE (The overseas campus) after a year's work in the media/music industry once I complete my 18 month course in ICOM.

I can't wait to see what college life is all about. And since I'll be attending a Music College, maybe I could improve my musicianship by meeting other aspiring musicians and find potential band mates. That's what ICOM is mainly about right? But whichever college I'm in, there's always going to be assignments and all of the following tasks that college students face everyday. Thus, I will not be those who like to complain over their 2000-3000 word essay assignment or their 3-4 piles of assignment work to do. That's college life, not honeymoon life. HAHAHAHA!!

Here's Apocalyptica's cover of 'Nothing Else Matters' (Metallica). Amazing Cello band.