27th June 2014: v3: A Nite Jam Project, at BullsEye Pub & Restaurant, Publika!
This pub has been around since I was working in Solaris Dutamas, before Publika’s construction in the middle of Solaris Dutamas was complete. I remember coming with colleagues, but without the live music back then.
Velan, on drums!
The first time I saw V3 was at KL Jamasia’s Anniversary, 24th March 2007. It had a different lineup then, with Velan on drums, Ojie of Stonebay on vocals, the late Alda Tan on bass, and a guitarist I can’t identify. (Ironically, Velan would also play drums for Stonebay.)
Jocelyn Wong on vocals, doing all out good ol’ rock, ranging from Bon Jovi and The Beatles. Here’s a video of them covering The Beatles – Come Together!
Roni on bass, also from Stonebay.
Chot on rhythm guitar. Awesome T-shirt!
Kamal on lead guitar. Peak beard!
BullsEye is owned by C.S. Nathan, Velan’s father, who also owned KL Jamasia!
Nathan on the far right, and Velan on the far left, with their friends.
A clearer shot.
I tend to get asked to take pictures.
Jo in leather in this weather.
I’d seen her from other scenes, but this was a first in this admittedly older scene.
Then again, as clumped as the music scene in the Klang Valley is, I know there is still so much I haven’t seen, such that I’d only been to the legendary Waikiki this year, and I don’t have any pictures of it with a proper camera.
I then took a walk around Publika (I had come from The Bee earlier) to see what else was going on, on a Friday night.
Some Tamil music, I think.
I came back, and bumped into Rudy, an old friend from the scene, who I also met at Jamasia. As we sat at the table catching up, I then spotted a particular, familiar Epiphone SG…
No way, flashback! (Reza Salleh’s new Feedback series, without the Open Mic suffix, 12th January 2007.)
Could it be? So we asked to see the back of the guitar, and viola!
It was the same guitar that stood on the speaker! (From A Night Of Magic & Music with Auburn, 29th April 2007.)
Rudy then picked it up and played with it a bit. This guitar used to belong to Ian of Milla, who smashed it on stage.
Nathan then got his workers to glue it back together. (This picture from 12th January 2007.)
But wait! That was not its original location! It was originally hung from the ceiling! (This picture from the Xcited Screamers album launch, 24th September 2005, and this wasn’t even with a SLR, but my second ever camera, the Canon Powershot A400!)
I remember this epic wall, too. There were actual strings on that guitar. (Not metal nor nylon ones, though.) Also, spot Rudy! (This from the 29th of April 2007.)
From the same gig, you can see where the guitars were.
Fadhil was the emcee for the night. So you know what the doors look like.
Speaking of the epic wall, there were quite a few signatures that were etched in my mind, like this one from Emmett of Butterfingers. (From 12th January 2007.) The full quote is from their live performance of Faculties Of The Mind off the album Butter Late Than Never, and it goes like this:
“Like I said, if I could only see your faces. The like, the hate, I don’t know but just enjoy the music. I hate the lights. I hate the lights… it makes me a star. I’m no better than anybody else.”
From Fireflies And Something Something: Hey Man, Nice Shoes, 27th July 2007. The scene was tight, as we all crammed into a upper storey shoplot.
Same gig. Jamasia was on the first floor, and the smoking section was outside. Cool idea, this!
The last time I was there was for Khai’s birthday, 25th July 2008. The red guitar had been painted over as a seafoam green Stratocaster! Signatures, autographs all gone!
So back to that time I only had a Canon Powershot A400… I camwhored, as we’d call it before it was renamed a selfie, with a mirror in the toilet of Jamasia. I decided to not have any blade touch my hair at all, and this is how long it was on the 24th of September 2005 (last cut on the 11th of October 2004!)