All Them Guitars in Tokyo!

This is as much as the man's vacation as it is mine. I got to chill out in Seoul and did some shopping. In Tokyo, I had better not even begin to shop because I would buy back whole shops. It's too dangerous. I'll come back to Tokyo on my own to shop and ship back things that can't go into my suitcase. On this trip, the man ought to be able to check out what he wants more than what I want. And he got it. I like guitars, but not as keen on them as he is. He can probably spend all day wandering about in these shops.

The man wanted to see if he meets a decent Ibanez dunno-what-model and maybe finally succumb to a custom-shop Fender. LOLOLOL No, no more PRS or Gibson. He doesn't feel anything for those guitars. Not in the sounds or the touch. He's more of a Fender and Suhr player. I'll stick to my trusty Tele. 

We went to Ishibashi at Shinjuku, and the indie guitar stores at Ochanomizu; the 'Guitar Street' is just two streets from the train station, including the not-so-small BigBoss. Of course we had to go pay homage to huge four-storey the Fender flagship store at Harajuku/Omotesando that opened in June 2023.

The Fender flagship store is GORGEOUS lah. The man spent so much time mulling over the Made in Japan pieces that I was almost tempted to just buy a tote bag and a bamboo cutting board in the shape of a Tele or a Strat, just to justify my time spent here. (Our own Swee Lee CQ carries the cutting boards and doesn't overprice them.)

The man was totally stoked. Since we didn't get to catch any gigs we wanted, this wandering in and out of music shops was really satisfying. He managed to find tuning pegs and other stuff at the accessories sections. As for the guitars, they would definitely be over the shopping limits set by our Customs. As a dutiful Singaporean, I had to sternly remind him to declare and pay GST before we get home. 

House of Png :: Dinner at K’s Private Kitchen

We shamelessly turned up at K’s, whose usual crazy traveling schedule has grounded to a halt for now, because COVID-19. He invited us to the House of Png’s private kitchen. Hurhurhur. We all found a common date and merrily turned up with beers and such. No dessert. Nobody at the table was interested in sweets.

I knew K could cook. But I wasn’t expecting him to cook this well! I was floored. His food is superb. He churned out a pot of beef rendang, a giant claypot of ikan kurau curry, jiu hu char istimewa, and fried chicken! To top all of that, he also made sambal belachan. It was a feast! Luckily I had allocated stomach space for dinner. The curry and rendang rempah were perfect. I ate three servings of basmati rice. K didn’t allow us in the kitchen to help with anything, and refused to let us wash up the dishes after. Wow.

We spent so much time admiring K’s breathtaking synth set-up. It was crazy awesome. The man was so thrilled to be strumming K’s numerous vintage guitars. K's a Gibson Les Paul guy but he also collects many other guitars that suit his playing styles. The man went straight for the Strandberg 7-string headless, because he’s thinking of buying one. Hahaha. It was really nice to catch up, jam, fiddle with strings, knobs and keys, and talk about music. We’ve all missed that. The man has definitely missed that loads. Work has been so hectic that he haven’t been able to get together with friends for regular jam sessions. It was good to see K and the rest and know they’re still into the music, writing melodies and marching to their own beat. Tonight was salve for our souls.

Potluck and A Jam Session

Potluck is always such a good idea for gatherings. Less stress for the host and guests feel slightly less 'pai-seh' for crashing a pad. Best if the hosts have a dishwasher. Even less guilt about cleaning up. Heh. We hit up J and L's for dinner. Everyone brought something, homecooked chicken curry and vegetarian lasagna, as well as store-bought awesome deep-fried prawn-paste chicken wings, braised duck and tofu. The hosts did a tasty lor bak with quail eggs (Teochew braised pork belly in dark soy sauce).

The man and I had just gotten back; he had papers to review and couldn't do food prep. That left me to sort out the dishes to contribute to the potluck. *GULP* I did the easiest items. Marinated pieces of chicken in curry powder, spices and yoghurt. Then threw them into the oven. Tandoori-inspired chicken. A total no-brainer. Didn't even use any recipes. Hahaha. The second dish was even more champion- Asian fried rice. Didn't even need to think! 750grams of brown rice had been cooked a day earlier. I only had to wok-fry them with silver fish, eggs and onions. LOL. I assure you it was edible. #impieCooks2016

That night at J and L's lovely space that's seriously sound-proofed, we stayed till 2am. The guys were creating such a racket on the guitars. It's almost a given that the hosts of any potluck in our group owns many guitars, amps and thingamajigs. Took turns to head out to check the noise volume. Couldn't hear a thing. Whewwww. Luckily the singing wasn't off-key because the drinking was fairly moderate. By and by, N finished her whisky, swopped out to water, eyeballed me and whispered, "It's 1.30am and these guys don't seem to want to leave!!!" Tsk. We rounded up everyone and kicked them (and ourselves) home.

OMG. Poor J and L must be so exhausted by these guests who refused to get out and kick up such a ruckus with three guitars and two amps. We roundly terrorized the dog. It was a beautiful night of food, friendship and songs. Happy memories made and kept. #TheWeekOurChildhoodMusicHeroesAndSnapeDied

Refretting the '74 Tele Deluxe

I'll never be in a band. Don't have what it takes to play nice with other people and remember everyone's parts or my parts without a score. So I play little bits of random things here and there. Not going to put out any originals. Long past that. I just appreciate what other musicians have done, listen to their music and buy their albums. We've plenty of good songs across all genres nowadays, compared to that sad dry soulless period when we were growing up and that era where the government had a crazy distrust of musicians and discriminated against men with long hair.

My choice of musical instrument has always been the piano, as long as it doesn't involve classical pieces. The guitar is not something I'm great at, but will do for easy three-chord songs. I have slowly and insidiously appropriated all the man's Teles. Noticed that he doesn't use a Tele for his usual music which now leans towards progressive, post and ambient rock. Somehow I like the feel and sound on a Tele, especially when piped through a Mesa. I don't need a crazy pedal set-up like what the man has. I only need four standard pedals. Call it old-fashioned; I still like the combination of a wah, a chorus and a reverb. If need be, I'll steal borrow a distortion or an overdrive. Also, TC Electronics' Flashback Delay is a fun thingamajig.

The 1974 Tele Deluxe is uhhh just a bit older than me. The only Tele that doesn't sound like one. Beyond swopping out strings, we haven't done anything to it since the man bought it off a good pal in 2008. By now, after a fair bit of usage, it needed refretting. Of course we're not doing it ourselves. Goose, the good man and tech-whizz extraordinaire at gooseoniqueworx sorted that out beautifully. The man and I trust him with any guitar and all amps. This Tele now plays better than before. It sounds so rich and velvety all over again.

Putting The Guitar Away

The only time I play the guitar in earnest is during the Seventh and Eighth months in the Chinese lunar calendar. These are months when there's a hive of activities for the old folks at the casual Chinese restaurants and community clubs. Often, there's entertainment in the form of singing and dancing, then karaoke. Sometimes, the old folks would want to perform. That's always fun. Often, to save on costs of hiring performers, we'll take care of the entertainment on our own. Luckily, we haven't been boo-ed off the stage yet.

Figuring out the chords to new songs doesn't come easy to me. The guitar isn't my natural instrument, and I've got very little talent in this area. I'm no good with songs that require more than 3 chords. Kekkekeke. I don't play the guitar as regularly as the man. It takes some effort to brush off cobwebs and get down to practise being smooth on the neck.

The good thing is, the man has an extensive hoard of guitars, so I've a variety to choose from, trying to pick one with the best sound to cover up my misses. I've gotta say that these old Chinese and Cantonese songs are very easy to play and the tunes aren't hard. Similar chords and in a variation of keys, they don't require too much effort to memorize. It has been almost fun. The guitar is now put away till next July (through September). Or perhaps brought out at Chinese New Year if I'm not in a grouchy mood about it. :)

The Man

I've no professional qualifications to critique this photo. What I can tell you, is the emotions this shot stirred within.

I love this photo of the man. The photographer (credited above) has captured him in the full expression of his passion.

It depicts the essence of the man. Aside from his many talents, this gift of music and guitars is a huge explanation of why I fell in love with him. His intellect and ardent pursuit of his passion are also major reasons why I'm still in love with him.

Remove all the (gold) trappings from the man, and at the base, he retains his talents. He is still the man who loves music with a fierce focus. I pursue my separate passions with equal determination and intensity. This shared understanding and inner fire also fan our love and commitment to each other. We are bound by something that goes deep into our souls.

And this photo has captured the quintessential nature of the man I love.

Talisker 57° North

Picked up a bottle of whisky at DFS. The nose drew me in. It held spicy notes characteristic of Talisker.

Upon tasting, there's the usual light peat, sea salt and dryness. It isn't too spicy. It's almost sweet, rather aytpical of cask strength single malts. The Talisker 57° North is quite a winner.

Opened the bottle on an evening after a long day. We tried it straight. I thought it went better with a dash of water. I preferred it with a chip of ice. I like my whisky cold.

Talisker, is the favorite single malt of choice of KT Tunstall. :D She has a custom guitar cut from the wood at the Talisker distillery and gifted by the owners. I like KT Tunstall's Paper Aeroplane quite a lot.

Singing Sappy Songs

With all his indie cred, obviously the man doesn't know a single sappy song on the guitars. Well, if given a proper tab, he'd be able to play it for you. But he hasn't been able to play by heart all the easy campfire songs because he doesn't like them! Hummmpf.

Now, there're a couple of sappy songs I commit to memory and try to practise it once in a bit. For those occasions when I do need to sing, then at least I have a repertoire to pick from.

I'm quite a pain in his ass. I'm too lazy to go play it on the piano. I'm not talented that way. I can't sing and play at the same time. It takes enormous effort. The easy way out is to make the man play the guitar for the songs I want to sing. Like tonight.

The man's playing with his PRS SE Custom. It sounded pretty much like an acoustic because its semi-hollow. When he's done with the jazz licks, I made him play Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are".

The man tsk-ed at the online tabs. Although the tabs are in the original D, they don't sound right. D is too low for me anyway. He had to transpose it to F and put a capo on it. Yay! At least I get to sing the song in a proper key! Now, I must remember that this is the key most comfortable for me. :)

Then the man got bored and told me my singing sucks. Then he went back to play very complicated non pentatonic progression chords. Boo.

Another PRS!

The close friends read the man's mind and got him a beautiful PRS SE Custom Semi-Hollow. Had awesome makan and drinks with the friends when they sprung the surprise on him. The man had no idea! He was overjoyed.

The moment we got home, no matter than it was already 1am and he would be having an early day at the office, he rushed into the music room to set up the new toy to check it out. I thought it to have a beautiful tone. But I think he'd need to change the strings to something else. It sounded a little thin.

He's totally in love with his new toy. The grain on the guitar is really unique. What can I say? He really loves guitars!

On The Guitar!

We had to run away from the Mamma Mia movie and Celine Dion concert playing on the plasma in the living room.

Hid away for some indie rock and roll. Had a mini jam session. No drums. Worked out the chords to 'A Movie Script Ending'.

The cousin looks so hot on the Strat. Yes. She plays it well.

Jens Lekman

Late on a weary Monday evening, we dragged our tired selves over to The White Rabbit for the Jens Lekman's stripped-down gig. Because we were so hungry and looking forward to eating at the gig, we forgot that The White Rabbit's kitchen didn't open on Mondays. ARRRRRRRRRGH. Dammit. No fear. We ordered burgers from McDonald's. They delivered!!! Right to the doorstep. We couldn't eat inside though. It was alright. There was food! Wooohoooo.

D, do you remember the bad techno dj set he did at BBBC the year before? You went with the man and were both starving through techno beats. Deja vu for the man this time round. ;p Except that the dj set was after the stripped-down gig tonight.

Jens Lekman played a grand total of 50 minutes. He used an Epiphone Sheraton on a (I think) Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier. It just wasn't the right treatment. The Swedish indie-pop singer wryly admitted that he didn't bother with the backing tracks because it sounded terrible during the soundcheck earlier. The White Rabbit's high ceiling contributed to this weird echo. It really wasn't suited for fancy gigs. It'd be better for straightforward acoustic gigs. It was ironic that when we ate our burgers outside, the filtered sound came through so much better.

It was a pity that his samples couldn't come through cleaner. The lyrics were very enjoyable. Most of the set came from Night Falls Over Kortedala. I couldn't bear to stay and listen to Swedish techno. I knew it was going to be bad when the other dude (Viktor Sjöberg) opened the dj set with 'Domino Dancing'. Ya, I'm going to Mambo on Wednesday. But this is 2 days too early!!! Who told him Singapore loves Mambo?!

Anyway, I had trouble keeping my eyes open. Imagine this- I had only ice lemon tea all evening. So off I went to bed like all good little imps do.

DCFC @ Esplanade

We didn't have the fun of making a summer pasta to take to the Death Cab For Cutie gig the way the friends did at Merriweather in June. But we saw the band!!! 
There was no Narrow Stairs banner backdrop. They had black drapes. I wanted a band tee. I had no time to grab it before the gig and the merchandise booth was closed after! Growl. The good thing about friends taking up the whole row of seats at the concert hall - I could zip up and down across them to grab photos at different angles! 
The band opened on time with "Bixby Canyon Bridge" and brought us through more than a trip down memory lane for the next 2 hours. The entire hall stood. Feel and see the power of a sold-out-within-a-day gig. The encore set had four songs. None of us knew the first song. So terrible!! One of our favorite bands and we didn't know what that first encore song was! It was probably from Something About Airplanes. We didn't hunt it down. Then it went on to "No Sunlight", "Tiny Vessels" and a rousing end to the evening with "Trasatlanticism". It was a very measured gig. Not electrifying rock. Pretty mellow. Emo even. Everybody recorded videos and cameras flashed by the second. Ben Gibbard looked almost gaunt! He lost so much weight. Goodness. Of course he did "I Will Possess Your Heart". :) 
But my attention was fixated on Chris Walla. He's arguably a superbly nimble guitarist. He only has 4 pedals. (Take that boys! 25 is passe!) He creates all those sounds with just 4 pedals. Can you beat that? The band used G & L guitars. Chris Walla used a Vox guitar for some pieces as well. Hmmmm. I don't know why but the boys picked out the TU-2 tuners used by the band. Doh! Gear! 
We were silly-billies for bringing the cd covers! (In case there was a chance to get them signed) But the autograph queue was horrendous. So we didn't bother. We were starving and needed food. The band was damn tight. Heart to heart. The evening rocked.

One To The Collection

Came home this huge box leaning against the door. It was addressed to the man. Rolled my eyes. What else could it be?

The man's mad acquisition of certain guitars is comparable, I suppose, to some my mad acquisitions of various items. There're similarities in the way we go for boutique-made stuff, details and love anything lovingly handmade and we sorta look for the same traits when we pick out something.

A beautiful Suhr. It came in a stunning flame-topped maple over a basswood body adorned with a maple neck and indian rosewood fretboard. How beautiful! Even I wanted to fiddle with it to hear the sound. But he gets first dibs of course.

The man pronounced that it's got a great balance and a versatile round tone.

Surprising S with a Guitar

The birthday boy wasn't all that surprised. He already discovered his present earlier. And he didn't seem shocked at the surprise party we arranged for him. He fancies himself as the 'King of Surprises'. So he decides that "no one surprises the Surprise King".

Whatever. But he was really excited over his pressie. We bundled together and got him the guitar he desired. He definitely loved caressing his Fender American Strat in olympic white.

The Guitar

A dear friend's birthday is coming up in two months. We want to surprise him with a gift that he really wants. We're quietly rounding up everyone to get him THE guitar.

Since this guitar isn't available in the shops here, it is quite a narrow circle of boutiqe suppliers who could bring this in. We went through great lengths, co-opted many humans and laid a ruse for him. So whenever he put in an enquiry, the model that he wanted was out of stock everywhere. Yet that silly dude is so persistent.

Imagine our horror when the peeps alerted us asap that the dude, at 6am, searched some online forum to find that the exact guitar he wanted was up for grabs again. We resorted to all sorts of strange behind-the-scenes phone calls to make that particular guitar not available to him for purchase.

Considering that we can't monitor his activities 24/7 for the next 2 months, we have to abandon the surprise element. We don't have a Jack Bauer on our side. The length of time is just too long and too dangerous to let him bash his way into all the shops and forums. He's very likely to get his hands on something.

So. Over lunch, freshly squeezed OJ and mint juleps, we called him up. We woke him from his slumber and threatened bodily harm if he so much so as think about buying a guitar these couple of weeks. And we had him know that we knew what he was up to at 6am that day.

For The Quiet Evenings

One evening, it was nice to hear the man not practising licks, scales and progression chords. For a change, he was holed up in the music room, tabbing out all the pieces from singer-songwriters.

He picked up the accoustic and strummed my favorite ones from Daniel Pearson and The Frames. After a long day at work, it was very soothing just listening to him play.

I'm reminded that on the 'off' days, I've the luxury to stay at home to listen to the man or the friends instead of hanging out at the noisy bars.

What A Fun Question!

At a formal work lunch, in the middle of a most polite conversation with a work visitor, he suddenly asked me where he could buy an electric guitar in Singapore. I blinked. I couldn't believe what I was hearing from the guy in a staid grey business suit and solemn visage.

"Electric guitar?" I repeated. "What kind?"

"Just an electric guitar. You have many shops in Singapore, yes?" He nodded.

"Ummm....I mean the brand, the label. What model?" I couldn't stop the questions!

"Ah. Well, I want a PRS. You know? A PRS. The ones made-in-USA." He affirmed.

My jaw dropped. He didn't ask about a Strat or anything Fender. He didn't ask about a Samick or an Ibanez. He asked about a made-in-USA PRS, not those made-in-Korea! "Oh. And your budget?"

"About S$3000 or so." He probably thought I was dumb.

Then I grinned. "You're buying for yourself? You play the guitar? Rock?" By now, he had this slightly puzzled frown. "Yes. I play. Alternative. Do you have a shop that sells PRS guitars in Singapore?"

I couldn't stop grinning. This is certainly the most interesting question asked by the most unlikely of work visitors. Recovered my composure. So I finally replied to his question.

Yes. There is a sole distributor in Singapore. (I gave him the address and retail hours) They have both SE and CE. The CE 24 might suit your needs. The maple top designs are lovely. Do you want to consider the McCarty?

He digested the information and sneaked a downward glance at my manicured nails. It was his turn to blink. Hee heee heee. He made my day lah.

Half and Half

I clicked on this video over at DK's. This is the first time I'm listening to it proper. I think I'm a bit slow. But this song is quite lovely.

A thought crept into my mind. It wouldn't be too difficult to sing and play it. I suddenly decided that I ought to learn one Chinese song on the guitar. So I sat down all afternoon trying to figure out the chords. About 3 chords only. Can lah.

When the friends read this, they're so going to die laughing. One already did. He was on msn. So I made him listen to a song he couldn't understand just so he could confirm the chords for me. He wanted to look for the tabs to send over. But I reminded him that I couldn't read tabs. -_- So I think he might just go look for someone to teach me how to play it properly. HEeeHeeee.

I'm not whiz. But I can play this song okay! I'm not a total potato. And I sing Chinese songs better than I can ever do the English ones. Ummm...the Tele isn't the best guitar to play this song on. I'm not sure if the man will let me play with his precious babies. But I've gotta dig out the Martin. When the man comes home to see me try to string the chords together, he'll laugh his indie socks off.

update @ 11.20pm: The man came back, listened to the song and played it almost flawlessly in 10min. *crushed*

Here Comes The New Baby!

The man's 1974 Fender Telecaster Deluxe has arrived.

This is a real vintage man. Not a re-issue. Its previous owner is a friend (he's playing at SXSW now!) who took care of it really well. For a 30+ year-old guitar, it's in a pretty good condition. It has a couple of nicks and scratches. Otherwise, it's perfect.

So the man lovingly polished the guitar, re-stringed it and gave it another lease of life. He's played it. He has piped the sound through the Mesa Boogie F50, a Vox AC30 and a Ceriatone JTM45. He loves the sound on all 3 amps.

It's got such a different sound that isn't distinctly Telecaster. Since it is first made to compete with Gibson's humbuckers, it's got this thicker twang but it's not as deep as a Les Paul's. The sound lies somewhere in between I'd say. It kinda completes the collection between a Jazzmaster, a Telecaster and a Les Paul.

Omigawwd! I don't believe I actually wrote this post. I'm not a guitar bimbo afterall!

Nels Cline's Solo - Impossible Germany

I just have to gush about Nels Cline's solo in Impossible Germany.

He is simply amazing. I know that he's good. He's got great solo works. But it wasn't till he played with Wilco that I sat up and really noticed him. And his vintage '59 Fender Jazzmaster.

And it wasn't till Impossible Germany that I so heart this guitarist. His solo made me drift into this alternative world where music and only complex guitar harmonies rule.

(Well, I do have this thing for guitarists anyway. The really good ones. Yes. The man and the friends can do a cover of this song. Very very well.)

You know indie music is not about punk, death or metal. Indie is not all characterized by progressive, shoegazer and emo rock.

If Wilco and Nels Cline don't give you a new appreciation of indie music, I don't know what will.