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.