Sentosa Jazz by the Beach 2012

Excited to be performing for Sentosa Jazz by the beach

this coming Friday!

The Sparkle Team! 

It is going to be an awesome show with a great band,
namely guitar maestro Daniel Purmono,
and Jeremy, Matthew and James affectionately known as the "David Choi Band" (they were David Choi Asia tour kakis)

It was sounding great at the rehearsal just ytd night at Jeremy's music school,
The Music Academy!

Introducing the band

with their half dead faces during our rehearsal at 1am in the morning..

James on bass (left) and Jeremy on drums! 

Matt on keys (matt also plays Quarubar with me every Friday!) 

and Daniel Purnomo on guitar!

Check out daniel p's cool guitar, he designed and created the guitar himself!! 

And lastly, the singers for the night, myself & 

Alfred (my partner every Thursday at Switch) giving the smouldering look

Rehearsed and ready to roll! 

Come join us as our team brings you a palatable array of classics, bossa nova & pop-jazz!

Date: 27 Jul, Friday

Time: 3 sets of 45mins
815-9pm
930-1015pm
1045-1130pm

Venue: Coastes Sandbar @ Siloso Beach



























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Post-show updates

I had such a blast at the Sentosa Jazz by the Beach 2012!
Thanks to all who came and supported me/us, it really meant a lot to me (:

A group shot during soundcheck

Coastes Sandbar before the show

 Soundcheck time!

During dinner by the beach, 

I felt absolutely blessed to be able to make music by the sunset (:

It was a nervous feeling, 

not knowing how the turnout will  be like..

But came showtime, 

Coastes was buzzing with people and there was even a long queue to get in!

Showtime!

 It was a pity i didn't have a professional photographer to capture the crazy dancers 

jumping and dancing around right in front of me during the last set!

This photo just doesn't do it justice! 

They seem like professional dancers from USS 

and they were so sporting that they got the whole crowd from Coastes going! (:

 Sentosa Jazz by the Beach 2012, SUCCESS!

And i owed it all to the wonderful band (: From left to right - 

Matthew Siew on keys, James Yeo on bass, Kexin on vocals, 

Kewei ardent supporter!, Daniel P on guitar, 

Alfred Sim on vocals & Jeremy Yeo on drums!

 Amazing experience, 

i will definitely fight for more chances to perform! (:

PARTY TIME!

Sincere thanks again to all who dropped by (: 

More of such shows to come! 

Go Beach Bintan, Indonesia!

When the going gets rough, the tough goes for a getaway!

alright that's not exactly the best advice,

in fact i agree with Jason Mraz's saying, that
"you don't need a vacation when there's nothing to escape from",

unfortunately, i think we all need a lil' break from time to time,

explore a little outside of our country,

bond a little with our favourite girlfriends (:

It seems like the older i get,

the harder it is to make true, long-lasting friends.

And because of that, i cherish my favourite girls so!

From our crazy jc days till today,
these are the girls who stuck by,
they watched me grow from my first time on stage to what i am today,
always quietly supporting me in my music career,
they accompanied me through make ups and breakups,
and share the same travelling passion as i do (we've been to taiwan, italy, france, spain, scotland etc.),
And i'm proud to say, they are a very entrepreneurial bunch!
Read my other blog entry on what my friends do!

Finally a year after our backpacking trip to europe,
we managed to find time within our busy schedule for a short weekend getaway!
Nothing fancy, but good time spent bonding on the boring island, Bintan!

finding inspiration within sickness..

I have a theory,
that when one person is sick,
she/he is in fact eyes wide open,
senses better tuned to higher levels of the maslow's hierarchies of needs.

Even though our sense of smell is dulled,
taste becomes bland,
our consciousness is in fact paying attention to the more important things in life.

I sometimes think i'm not made to be a musician,
i don't have the patience nor the ability to make myself stay put in front of an instrument,
and PRACTICE.

I only have one voice,
so when this one voice is down,
i have nothing.
No regular gigs, no money, no audience to sing to, no opportunities to improve,
nothing.

Just a lonely soul at home trying my best to recuperate
so that i can wake up the next day and continue singing.

I had been so caught up with everyday emailing, business,
and i knowingly neglected the very thing i quit my job for - my EP.

So today,
after 4 days of loneliness at home due to a debilitating cough/flu,
i picked up my ipad (yes, not an instrument but an ipad),
and i wrote a song about passion,
with tissue paper strewn all around my tabletop no less.

I was inspired by this quote,

"I set myself on fire, and people come watch me burn."   

- Christian theologian, John Wesley. 

I know this quote is supposed to be religious in meaning,
as he was describing his passion for Christ.
I'm not a Christian, so my interpretation is slightly different.

I do believe that with passion,
it shows, and it shines to attract others',
be it like-minded people, or audience who appreciates what you have created.

I wanted to write a song about relationship with passion,
with lyrics that can also mean a passionate relationship with another person.

So here goes, my 2nd attempt at song-writing,
this time it was not as easy as my first eureka moment,
but i came up with a slightly better recording courtesy of my trusty ipad (:

Listen to my phelgm-filled croacky-voiced version here of "Burn in Fire" here http://soundcloud.com/taypipi/burn-in-fire-11jul

Burn in Fire 

Let us burn, burn in fire.

Let us dance around in flames, like children in summer.

We can pretend we're not, star-crossed lovers, 

melt into each other, unshield, un-covered. 

Disappear in smoke, like a fizzling candle. 

Let me burn, burn in fire.

Let me set myself ablaze, 

pull over, come watch me dazzle. 

I can pretend i'm still, entwined in your embrace, 

ignited, illuminated, brighter than yesterday, 

an amoured warrior, bleeding with pride, no shame. 

tbc.. 

Be a Toshiba Satellite Star! Submission closes on 31 Aug !

The Search is on for the next Toshiba Satellite Star! 

In my previous post, i shared about my experience filming with Toshiba.

I was one of the privileged 3 to have our journey towards our passions

filmed and produced. 

Thailand - The Art of Giving

Watch Ong, an art teacher from Chiang Mai, as he gives back to people who inspired his art (:

Sometimes giving can be as simple as this (: 

  

Indonesia - Show it to the World

Watch how Adina goes against all odds, 

in preserving and passing down the art of ancient dance to the younger generations (:

Singapore - Finding my Own Voice (: 

Finally my personal story, on overcoming the odds 

and embarking on a journey of self-fulfillment

Each of us had one thing in common, 

and that's our relentless pursuit for our passions. 

We hope people will be inspired by our stories, 

to live their passions, be it rain or shine (:

For those who are already living it up, 

here's a chance to join me and share your stories! 

In line with the launch of the new M840 Toshiba laptop, 

Toshiba is out to find the next Satellite Star in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, M'sia & Philippines! 

How to join?

Simply click on this link http://58.65.23.50/contest/ and submit your stories and details! 

OR 

You can like Toshiba's facebook page - Toshiba Notebook Computers

and click "Do you have a story to share" to reach the same page (: 


The winning entry will have his/her story produced and filmed by Toshiba,
just like how our videos were done (: 

BURN AWAY FOLKS! 

Submission closes on 31 Aug 2012! 

The Making-of Toshiba Satellite Star Video

Just last month, I was told to submit my personal story to a PR company, 

about my road to pursuing my passion. 

So i did, 

and I'm proud to say that i've been selected as Singapore's representative 

for Toshiba's Satellite Star Campaign! 

Some of you might already have seen this video on my facebook (:

Finding my Voice - Be a Satellite Star 

BE A SATELLITE STAR CAMPAIGN

This clip was launched together with the all-new Toshiba Satellite M840
(as can be seen, my gleaming gold blaze laptop on the right-hand lower corner of the youtube still),
with the aim of reaching out to youths in the South East Asia (:

"Be a Satellite Star" campaign encourages youths to share their stories,
and gives them an opportunity to celebrate and showcase their passions, interests & inspirations!

My story was the first to launch, 

followed by story of Adina, a traditional Indonesian dancer, 

and lastly Nattaphon, an art teacher in Chiang Mai who draws to touch lives of the less fortunate. 

From now till 31 July, anyone can submit their stories to http://58.65.23.50/contest/,
Selected entries will have their stories produced and featured, just like mine!

More on how to enter the contest in my next blogpost (: 

THE MAKING-OF 

I had a blast filming with the professional crew from Upside Down concepts, 

they did a great job in ensuring that my filming goes well, 

i was afterall an onscreen virgin! 

Everything in the video is a true reflection of what i've been doing during the past few months, 

they shot at places where i perform/compose music,

even at my humble abode! 

One fine morning, 

the crew came to house for some scenes..

Nathan the director/producer giving me a lowdown on 

what i'm supposed to do in this scene.

Giving myself a look of conviction/reassurance 

while dressed in "on my way to gig" outfit. 

Conviction to me meant, just SMILE (:

Here's a shot of me typing my lyrics in on the toshiba laptop,

which btw was really the lyrics of my new English original "One-Way Train". 

Zoom a little further out and here's nathan hard at work, 

shining the light on me. 

Now you know that what you get on screen didn't come easy..

Salute to behind-the-scenes heroes!

 The upward shot 

 Hanging with the filming crew & folks from Sparkfury in my living room.

Here i was supposed to pack my stuff up 

(shown during the ending of video), 

with a "i'm-going-out-for-a-gig happy face" *quote nathan lol

 Featuring my sponsored Tocco Tenero brown bag! 

 Typing my "resignation letter" in my corporate outfit. 

I dare say the real-life resignation was more daunting than this, 

and a disclaimer i don't usually look so made-up at work.

My ex-colleagues would know how wretched i look with my specs

in the wee hours of the morning. 

i'm just not a morning person!

We had a couple more outdoor scenes at the CBD area, 

CD shop at Great World City and even at Switch where i perform every Thurs with alfred (: 

The last scene ended off with a shoot at Thunder Rock School, 

my usual song-writing hideout with Deon. 

For weeks, we actually hung out in one of the rooms, 

writing hooks and melodies,

I swear Deon is a songwriting saviour! 

So i decided to rope him in the shoot, 

to let people better understand how we usually do it. 

Preparing for shoot at Thunder Rock School

 A mock scene of how we usually song-write, 

minus all the crap/nonsense/burps that Deon usually spouts during our songwriting session, 

i was definitely not used to his seriousness during the shoot, 

thus the smirk. lol.

Yay it's a wrap! 

Deon looks like a girl here, you're so pretty!  

The day ended with me recording the voice-over for the video,
yes that was my voice!

A few shoutouts/thankyous i would like to make..

To folks at Sparkfury, thank you
Lizhen for being so patient and tolerant with my requests. You're really nice to work with and not to mention completely understanding (:
Felicia for being the cutest thing, and also for being similarly patient with my requests!
Alf, Mabel, Dave & Frankie for ensuring that all goes well and that i'm comfortable with the content of the shoot,
ex-jc mate kerrin kua, for the awesome recommendation!

To the folks at Upside Down Concepts, thank you
Nathan for your guidance during the shoot
Huiwen for all the coordination work and chats we had about music, diving etc.
Lawrence also for being ever so accommodating, and being the senior i never had back at in nanhua secondary! (:

To Toshiba, 
thank you for the awesome opportunity to help share my story with others!



Time to share you stories people!
Stay tuned on how to join the contest (: 

nights like these..

There are nights like these where i get my panic-attacks,

wondering if i made the right choice in life,
feeling crappy and insecure about my abilities,
thinking about what others might say about me being a singer,
worrying that my debut EP will be a flop,
anxious about the lack of progress in my EP..

there are nights like these all the time,
that makes me want to give up on music and lead a normal life,
because i'm afraid of failing.

I hate nights like these :(