Just a little bit

Hmm.

Just a little bit more.

A couple more renders and maybe a few more complementary sketches.

Overcome the fever and sore throat perhaps.

Buy or probably make the components and finish off the mechanism model.

Difficult? Incapable? I think not.

It's just one week left anyway, and time is running out too soon.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Hello there, final-week-before-final-presentation!

Hmm.

Next week, confirm I would have to either hang this around my neck or simply stick it to my forehead.

Oh yeah.. bring it on babes...

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Noobs (part 2) and illness

Hmm.

Well I'm going to be real brief about NYP Open House Day 2... in essence there were fewer (if not none at all) dumb question, and far more sensible and intelligent ones. I guess the people who walk about in uniforms really need to start looking at their graduating seniors who are far more serious about their future.

On the other hand, Friday was an incredibly busy and tiring day. On top of guiding the noobs and poly-student-wannabes, I had to do more rendering tweaks for my bicycle (OMG.. being colour-blind is such a drag now), help my classmates with their 3D modelling (sigh.. not that I wanna be BHB but being somewhat of a Rhino software expert sure has its pitfalls), and to top it off, I fell ill towards to afternoon.

Saturday arrived in a haze of wooziness, I called in sick for work, and my boss gave me the weekend off (thank God, and well... my boss). I spent most of the day shivering due to a fever and a cough. However, oddly enough I was still functioning at 90% when it came to playing guitar. Singing-wise it goes without saying that my voice suffered immensely.

Well at least today I feel somewhat better - I'm in the runny-nose stage of a cold, which hopefully heralds the ending of my illness. I've got a jam session in the afternoon and my brother has taken my EZ link card!!! He has yet to reply my sms regarding when he will come back (he's involved in a sport called lawn bowls, which equates to an activity that somehow appeals to the older generation due to a lack of need for dramatic physical action) and hence return my EZ link card.

I spend $45 on that card due to MRT concession every month leh. It's not cheap and it certainly isn't amusing when your sms goes unanswered.

Anyways.

To all the graduating batch of NYP IDC P5 and P6 students both in school and on attachment, as your peer, I wish you all the best in the final stages of our semester / attachment period and may God bless us all with grace and perserverence. May we not falter as the finish line approaches.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Noobs (part 1)

Hmm.

Righty-oh. Today involved a long render of my bicycle in flamingo (clocked in about 3-4 hours total time), and a major feature of the late morning-to-late afternoon was the Open House guidance tours.

Yes, you read that right. NYP is currently having its Open House for future Poly Grad-wannabes. Or you can also say cannot-make-it- / refuse-to-go-to-JC-hence-therefore-go-poly wannabes. Short form is noobs.

They love to ask questions, don't they? Yeah I don't mind giving answers on topics like how come 3rd year students look so stressed, or why the 2nd year students seem even more stressed.

What peeved me off was the best question I've heard since the last time a huge bunch of kids from the secondary schools visited NYP.

"Where is Tammy ar?"

Wah lau, do I look like the kind of guy who has friends, who sends their friends videos of a teenage girl getting it on with her boyfriend? Has that issue not been forgotten yet? Has your "little brother" been frozen in that state of boneness since you excitedly watched that few minutes of teenage lust?

My answer: "In your dreams"

I actually forgot to add "wanker!".

Seriously lah. When you come to an institution of tertiary education, kindly do not ask the guides such questions. It is only reflective of how quickly your little fella spasms into fullness at the sight of a half-ball. Pardon my french.

But on hindsight, I'll admit that I was, on the whole, kinda "fierce" to that group of students (as Jessie pointed it out to me rather gingerly) and I asked for no quarter. My perspective is that if you ask half-assed questions be prepared for an ass-busting answer.

By the time I was done with 5 rounds of students, I gave up and went back to doing my own work while my classmates and Alvin plodded on with batch after batch of impatient kids. However I must say that I have made plenty of headway for my bicycle and all that remains is colour choice and final renderings for the presentation boards.

I can't imagine what tomorrow will bring. Open house is 3 days, remember?


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

who's that girl?

Hmm.

Didn't I catch your eye the other day,
Or was it just simply meant to slip away?
The slight smile that was on your face,
which disappeared without a trace.

Would I ever dare to ask you something,
a question that always has been lingering.
Would now be the right time my dear,
because time is not on my side, I fear.

Will there be a time for the need of hope,
hoping you would see my point of view.
would this weight be too heavy to cope,
since the strings of my heart are few.

Maybe it was just another passing glance,
not the beginnings of some simple chance.
For now I have no such plans for myself
since my feelings are left up on the shelf.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Money!

Hmm.

I need cash folks... hopefully once I regain possession of my atm card (cannot give specifics as to why I don't have it now), I'll feel less constrained.

Jam on Sunday wasn't the best.. Tobias was ill and his sms to me apparently didn't get through so I kind of spent the whole hour jamming with Mervyn and we decided to call it a day after one hour and 4 failed phone calls to Tobias's handphone.

Even weirder is that I scheduled to purchase a pedalbag off a guy today but I somehow could not get through to his handphone. A phone call from him an hour after the scheduled meeting time revealed that we were both waiting for each other (I had no idea how he dressed like) and that his phone had crapped out on him and he had only realised it just before he called me.

Sheesh.

Could it be a *curse* with the Dhoby Ghaut area? Or is it just my phone? I realised that the Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station has very poor mobile phone reception. I had to seriously wander about the station to try and find that particular 'sweet spot' just to make a phone call... only to be rejected -____-.

Oh wells, hope the deal goes through tomorrow (meeting up with the same guy only now at City Hall MRT.. which has much better mobile phone reception) and I'll pray that Tobias gets well soon.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Jam was gooood

Hmm.

Today marks a turning point for me. I've shed of the skin of my old band, and started afresh to a healthy start.

I met the drummer slightly earlier and we jammed in the studio before our bassist rolled along. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the drummer basically nailed all of the 3 intended jamming songs plus one more which I had not planned in advance to jam, but had asked him casually if he knew how to play it (and he said yes).

So bassist came in and we nailed 2 out of 4 of the songs... bassist had some trouble learning the bassline of the song because apparently his stereo system had a very low bass output and he could not hear the bottom end properly. However, me did managed to play each song well, and only one song was left 90% done right.

Overall a very satisfying jam session, will be jamming again next week.

Any band name suggestions? This invitation does not extend to fools who tag indiscriminately.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Aww, how sad

Hmm.

Dear Poo Head,

how sad that a working relationship that spanned no more than a year should come to a close in such a manner. I don't feel sore about the way you tagged my board. Do you feel sore that I chose to leave your band and start anew?

Allow me start from the beginning for the benefit for anyone who might be reading this.

When I first joined your band, I had already played in several bands which didn't last long due to the individual members' inability to set aside their time for a jam once a week. So when Fabian put up an advert on the forums looking for a singer, I chose to take my chances.

However, prior to auditioning for you guys, one of my old jamming pals who had apparently jammed with you before warned me about you in particular. He told me that you had an ego issue and you were somewhat selfish. Choosing to believe the best in people in general, I decided to see what you were like in person before passing any judgement.

The audition seemed to go well. Which brings me to one point in your tag on my tagboard: that my vocals do not suit rock music. By what definition is a vocal "good for rock music"? Or is that statement just an attempt to save your ego? You told me that you guys auditioned 15 people before me and yet in the end I was the one whom you chose as a band. I would no lying about this would I?

So tell me since The Exxit is a rock band, if my vocals didn't suit the band's style why did you choose me in the first place? I do recall one of your ex-girlfriends telling me that you told her that I was one of the best vocalists you came across. I therefore believe your tagboard statement is purely out of spite. And you should know better.

Along the way, I got to know everyone better, and I even met your girlfriend who I believe is a very nice girl. To be honest, you never treated her well, you abused her trust and devotion and in the end you broke up with her over a whim. Did you even bother when she cried her heart out? No, you were so isolated in your own world that you were immune to everyone else's sickened disbelief that such a thing could arise.

Next, the issue of Covers versus Originals. Granted, you wrote some nice riffs, but I have a sneaking suspicion that you are running dry after only 4 songs? You barely had the drive to write new songs, and for some weird reason or another your idea of a 'good song' was to make it as complicated and with as many guitar and keyboard solos as possible.

You seem to cite Dream Theatre as an influence on the forums. Let me tell you something, if you do not have the technical ability to play in such progressive structures, kindly do not have the belief that shifting and modifying a song's structure once every week would improve a band's productivity, much less your ability to play guitar. Oh and you're telling me that a band won't get anywhere by doing covers?

Contrary to your belief, there are countless top 40s bands out there making the rounds on the singapore pub and bar circuit and making big cash along the way.. and oh well, what songs do they play? COVERS. During the audition, we did only 2 covers before you handed me a set of horrendously-written lyrics to your original song, which I had to modify in such a way that the lyrics could be set to it in a listener-friendly manner.

In the many months I was in the Exxit doing YOUR originals, ever wondered why it was such a breath of fresh air for the rest of the band when I decided to contribute one of my best-written songs? I wonder if you even paid attention to the approach with which I presented the song to the band. In case you were too intoxicated with cigarette smoke at that point in time, here's how I did it:

1. I presented the band with a complete song structure complete with chords and lyrics.
2. I played the entire song out to let everyone have a listen (and guess what you decided to go out and have a smoking break during my demo)
3. I asked everyone for their opinion as to what can be improved and if they wished for anything to be added or removed with regards to the song structure and lyrics.

I don't know how you viewed my song and I even gave you the chance to do the solo, but you were unable to decipher out a way to do the solo, much less learn the solo the way I did it. It only goes to show how willing you are to learn another person's song and that your ego only deflated when it was embraced by everyone else. Gosh, until the very last day when we jammed in that studio you could not even play the chords correctly.

And you have to admit that I tried my best to learn your compositions. But what for? I was only supposed to be a singer.

During the asianbeats, we somewhat breezed through the 1st round but when it came to the 2nd round, your idealogy regarding originals reared its ugly head once more. Choosing to vote between a complex song and a straight-forward rocker you and Anup voted for Six Shooter while me and the rest voted for Midnight Rock Show.

Needless to say the 2nd round was a disaster. To be honest, who the fuck plays 2 consecutive rounds in a competition with both songs having extended guitar and drum solos??? I was tired of the fact that you overrode a band majority vote for a crap song structure. And why was that? Because of your fucking ego.

On to another topic. Band etiquette. Face it. You play too fucking loud. In case you're suffering from a listening disorder, your worst crime is pluging into an amp before standing right in front of the amp which I had plugged into. How in the world would I be able to hear myself? Not to mention that your amp would be right in my face and I'd have to struggle to hear my guitar.

Even worse is when you call for a jam and we have no new covers to do and all we keep doing is going around in circles playing YOUR songs YOUR way and yet you have the cheek to proclaim that the band has no official leader? That's some serious cocked-up thinking.

And on a final note, if I'm not a good rock vocalist, allow me to say that I believe I sing better with songs that do not require me to strain my vocal cords. And who are you to judge my singing ability when:

1. you can't sing
2. you're song-writing is mediocre and confusing at best (even your dad said so)


So the next time you choose to find a member of your band, maybe you should find someone who is not as capable as you are so as to bolster your fledging ego and your need to assert your presence. So good luck to anyone who chooses to stick around with you.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

PS: in the event you intend to audition for a band, kindly do your homework and know if their former guitar player was one of the most phenomenal guitarists in Singapore. They did leave a lasting impression during the asian beats for a very good reason after all.

Bands and bands.

Hmm.

I'm starting up a new band, and hopefully it's going to be more "happening" than my current outfit, which is still on a hiatus due to our bassist being in Indonesia. It seems that we're not exactly doing covers as I hoped we could be, and that's certainly disapointing because we're kind of dead-locked in our cycle of recording and re-recording our songs without moving forward.

This new band's direction I guess would be to have loads of covers, preferably AC/DC and Led Zeppelin and maybe some ZZ Top and Cream / Eric Clapton stuff thrown in for good measure. I'll also probably steer clear of any Deep Purple because I'm frankly tired of that group's stuff.

It promises to be an exciting affair because I'm teaming up with two of my old jamming buddies and they're not too bad in their respective instruments (Bass and Drums). I chose to stick to a 'Power Trio' format because:

1. less people to contact when confirming a jam date and time.
2. less people to worry about in terms of availability.
3. not too little nor too many opinions when it comes to choosing songs and exchanging ideas.
4. in jam bands, there's usually only 1 guitar because in the event that both guitarist's styles are too similar, it could lead to both players' solos sounding the same.
5. Jam studio prices are usually in denominations of 3, and although it would be more costly per person...
6. fewer people = simpler instrumentation = less learning time.
7. I guess a smaller group means stronger inter-personal relationships? More friendship to go around? That's just a thought.

In any case, I'm looking forward to the jam and I hope everything works out fine.

Oh yes, I'm also having another performance at East Coast Marine Cove on Saturday evening.. timing should be about 7pm onwards.


Cheers,


Crawldaddy

Some pictures for the forums

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

So it's here at last

Hmm.

Well. 2007. Here at last.

Am I happy about it? I dunno... it's the year I'm entering NS and finishing up my Diploma course. Hopefully it's also the year in which I can accomplish the following:

1. Gain better personal fitness.
2. Finish recording all of the songs Alvin and myself had intended to do since 2005.
3. Get my diploma with top honours. At least that's what I hope I can achieve.
4. Sell off any useless guitar gear lying around the house doing nothing.
5. Get a new part-time job. Hopefully something that involves music.

People are such fascinating individuals. Last night I met so many wonderful people during the NYE countdown party at East Coast Marine Cove. I had plenty of fun and the people who were involved with the organisation and execution were fantastic as well. It was pretty much one of the best parties I've had in a while.

So what are your resolutions?


Cheers,

Crawldaddy