(Edited, thanks Cheryl!) Izza & Michelle. Everybody’s in purple, or rather what my infrared-modded Sony Alpha NEX-5 thinks is purple but is actually infrared. The flare is from the infrared pass filter, which blocks visible light from reaching the sensor but introduces this funky flare. My Sony Alpha 7S was malfunctioning and was left at home; my Sony Alpha 99 was not with me at the time. Thus I had to make do with this and the Mitakon/Zhong Yi Speedmaster 50mm F0.95 Dark Knight Pro edition.
So awesome, he got Liyana Fizi to sing a song with him, Fantastic Adventure. That story is documented in the digital download version of his album, Yesterday Is A Distant Dream. When I first bought it, I was amazed by the bonus digital content – the vocal-only outtakes, the demos, the early versions, the PDF that explains how each song came to be with lyrics… and OJ Law’s version of Only One, which appears in Liyana Fizi’s album, Between The Lines.
That, I thought, was the way to go with digital albums. It is a superb example that sticks in my head till today. The digital album no longer comes with all these bonus things, sadly, but what he plans to do with it, I shall leave to him to publicize.
Also, Liyana Fizi said I was mysterious. I’m… just putting this out there.
Back when we both had long hair, we were often mistaken for each other.
Awesome groove rock. Some riffs remind me of Marilyn Manson.
Simmy noted how interesting they were, musically, turning a drum beat around.
The frontwoman was full of energy.
Then came a thousand notes per second, thanks to Kelvyn Yeang.
He pimps his CDs with emcee Scott.
Another technically adept band was next – Black Lightbulb!
Simmy!
Simthesizer.
Ash. Yes, there’s a patch on Simmy’s laptop called Ashrock, another called Samsong, and Stars And Waves (which is her famed Celtic Wave song.) I also spotted Overture – Ethereal Mallets.
Hameer sings along.
Raja Farouque, king of the speaker stack.
Go ahead and jump!
Last band of the night.
The grungy Nervedeless!
That seems like a grungy guitar, too.
The mosh.
Ah, to have my hair long again for maximum rocking out.
1st March 2015: Busk Stop returns again, this time at Quill City Mall! This Busk Stop was curated by Hameer Zawawi.
This would be my first time at this new mall.
I was there for Herman Ramanado!
Ryan David Gomes on djembe.
Dean Sim on guitar.
Awesome bokeh thanks to the Chinese New Year season!
It was an open area, so it was easy to work with a telephoto…
…like my Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 135mm F1.8 ZA.
A camwhore spot, from the wrong angle.
The band.
The poster I was there to photograph as well, since a photograph I took of Herman was used. Sadly, the poster was not applied to a metal standee throughout the entire run of this poster.
Jared Lim of Jumero also came on to sing a song.
He’s the Ju of Jumero, while djembe player Ryan is the Ro.
Fast-forward to the 14th of March 2015…
Crinkle Cut!
Same place.
Grace and her makeshift keyboard seat, an amp! Gotta love her keyboard stand, too!
Ashley tilts the world. That’s how powerful her percussive slaps are.
Frances the checkered!
Students of Universiti Kuala Lumpur on assignment.
I find it funny how the legs of the table and Grace cross the same way!
Emcee and organizer Darren Teh of An Honest Mistake Records!
He introduced the next band, which had one very cool, desirable Korg RK-100S keytar.
The band?
Nightcat.
This is another cool instrument – a neck-through Dean guitar in Classic White. I’d never seen one so pure in whiteness – Dean’s brand for me is all about Dimebag Darrell. I had to look it up before remembering Dave Mustaine also shreds on Dean guitars.
I finally got to see Jie Er’s other band!
Jo-Ling and her 37 keys of coolness.
I made the mistake of looking up how much this costed – it seemed quite affordable to me, for someone who doesn’t know how to read sheet music. I know the theory but I can’t read it quickly, and I don’t know my scales when not in C major/A minor.
I then looked up the price of the Roland AX-Synth and found it to be twice the price for 12 more keys, or one more octave! The KORG, however, has smaller than normal keys, which might help. I also considered that a 24-fret 6-string guitar has the equivalent of a 49-key keyboard in range, but it’s not as if keytars don’t have an octave shifter. How practical this is in use however, I don’t know.
I’d been toying with the idea, since I love the sound of a synthesizer with a big fat 80s tone, and I also love the idea of creating chords using the keyboard layout (as opposed to a guitar). My guitar and bass hang on a double-neck guitar stand to the side of my computer, and I’d love to be able to just pull up a keytar from the side and jam on it out of boredom, without it taking up space permanently on the table. Heck, I could even play it strapped around my neck!
And now, for a video.
Ray Cheong, blues/soul/fingerstyle extraordinaire.
His acoustic guitar sat there regally.
Bo Amir Iqram joined for a song and a tasty jam!
The final act of the night…
Joey Tong! She jumps and dances all over the stage.
So I finally got to see her in an electric setup with a full band.
