An Ode To Cosmic Funk Express, Part 2


A glaring omission to my previous Cosmic Funk Express post would be, of course, super double-tapping guitar-shredding clean-sweeping orgasm-face-making Korean boy, Zack Kim!


His (new) Ibanez Paul Gilbert Model is set up with low action and a fixed bridge instead of the default double-locking Floyd Rose bridge to do plenty of right-hand tapping…


…as well as left-hand tapping. Alda often jokes that he wanted to be a piano player.


So what happened to his previous guitar? Why, he mounted it and placed a hairband (to mute open strings).


The previous guitar, also an Ibanez Paul Gilbert Model, had its Floyd Rose cavities filled up, and the back springs completely removed!


Broken Scar looks like he is shooing Zack off stage.

It’s sad to hear that he will have to go back to Korea. The next he comes back he better be doing his world tour. And I better be getting in backstage to see his groupies flash him.


And now, for a technical note on taking pictures at more formal-like concerts like these; don’t use flash (spotlights give nice color), use a fast shutter speed and higher ISO, underexpose by setting the EV to -1 or -2. The camera, be it point-and-shoot digicam or digital SLR, will still try to expose the background so it is brighter. Screw the background! Let it be underexposed so it does not distract from the performer. It’s better that you lose detail in shadows while getting dramatic lighting. In this picture, it is not underexposed, but the problem with this picture is that there is no detail in highlights; on the right, the same picture was put through Photoshop, Image – Adjustments – Levels, Input Levels – 0, 0.10, 255. As you can see the frets are barely there. In case you’re wondering, the left settings were: 1/160s, F4, ISO 200, EV 0. It should’ve been 1/640s, F4, ISO 200, EV -2.

Oh, and all the shots were photographed with my Canon Powershot A520, or a friend’s Panasonic DMC FZ20, both on ISO 200, and mostly in Shutter Priority mode, 1/60 to 1/100 seconds exposure, EV -1. You have no idea how frustrated I was when my frustrated Nikon D70s owning-friends were going “so blur lah have to use flash!” and I told them off for using ISO 200 on this dSLR. I also went, “Underexpose! Underexpose!” which may audibly make its way to the bootleg videos I will post up.

Yes I sound elitist, but I strongly believe that one should learn up the science of exposure before getting a dSLR.

And now, for less technical things.

After their performance, I bumped into Alda.
Me: After all your calling and promoting the very single Zack, is Zack a virgin?
Alda: Uh gee, I don’t know… is he?
Me: Well, if he is, as band leader you have failed! Failed to give Zack the rock star dream!

Okay, so the conversation was exaggerated, on my part. But hey girls-who-fall-for-guys-in-rock-bands, Zack is as hot as they get, because he’s Korean (aren’t you girls crazy over Koreans now?) and he’s good with his hands. Very good with his hands. You can even bring him over and get him to teach you guitar! He also becomes immensely funnier (and red) with a few beers. Uh. A few beers. Very few, last I remember.

7 thoughts on “An Ode To Cosmic Funk Express, Part 2

  1. Silencers Post author

    Aiyoh, SLRs shouldn’t worry about going over ISO400 lah. I even managed to pull off nice shots at ISO200 [but that’s probably because I’m using an L-like lens, lol].

    Reply
  2. Pinkfrog Post author

    yeah.. Agree, screw the background! I was working with iso 80 (which is real bad) and 1/30. It got me the same brightness as your pictures, but thanks to my lousy weird version of photoshop, the pictures turn out a tad too dark…

    Reply

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