TJAMC @ Esplanade

If your music revolved round the alternative genre back in the mid-'80s or so, The Jesus & Mary Chain would be a familiar name. Notable others in this era include Sonic Youth & Cocteau Twins, among others. TJAMC will be performing here in April for those interested.

Pic: Esplanade

Out

Back when I was still having chemo, I would hang out at the coffee joint at Esplanade on my off days. I often bought a drink & sat by the waters to look at the sea. I would be sitting near these two bronze kids & that's how the interest to place objects here to be photographed started. My chemo days are well over now (but not my post-chemo meds) but I would drop by to say hi to these kids whenever I am having coffee here. Today, I was at Beez's to get the input jack sorted out & managed to drop by to let the kids see my guitar.

I have Olympia 9s in this one & you'd see more Olympia in my posts in days to come to give you a hint of how much money I have left to keep my interests going. In this country, working to see the days through is not an option. It's downright difficult for sick people like me to just chill, focus on recovering & not think about bills, food, housing loan, etc. This is simply not the place to be if you have plans to take a long term break from work (unpaid leave) to focus on other priorities. It's documented in the media that we are the happiest country in Asia (CNBC, March 2024). Quite possibly, those who were rich & not sick took part in this report. 

Home Grooves

Managed to drop by this mini exhibition at the Esplanade before heading for coffee. 

It's basically documenting local music through the decades. 

Of course, I spent the most time reading up on the showcased guitars:

1. Suhaimi's Yamaha. Suhaimi is the guitarist of Stomping Ground, one of the foremost hardcore bands here. I used to watch them perform at Harbour Front when it was still known as the World Trade Center. On weekends, bands performed at the amphitheater for free. 
2. Partick's Fender. Patrick Chng is a member of the Oddfellows, a well-known indie act. The Fender decal is a replacement so this may / may not be a Fender. Might be a partcaster of sorts.
3. Francis' Washburn. The initiated among us know him as Francis Frightful of the band Opposition Party. This band had some of the best punk vibes & a strong following.

If you are interested to know more, do drop by Esplanade's concourse area (where the indoor live stage is). There should be more efforts to document music developments here & this one gets my thumbs up.

S-Series spotted

Was at Marina Bay some days ago, saw someone doing sound check at the Esplanade outdoor stage; S-Series spotted.

Hot head

The (Marshall) JCM900 head, making its presence felt at the Esplanade outdoor performance venue. If you wanna know how much heat your amp dissipates say after an hour of play, just place a bottle of water there, you'd be surprised.
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Obiter dictum: Just realised we are now into the second quarter of the year...

Power of three

Which three? Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White, to perform here (@ Esplanade) on 5th Dec- part of the MOSAIC programme. Looking forward to this...

PS: Darling you are game for it, ya?

Sco @ Esplanade

Watched John Scofield play last night, much to be learnt from this performance:

• Sco's live tone was his recording tone- the man knows tone acquisition despite the different amp (live amp: VOX) used in both circumstances
• There was effective use of pickups switching & volume management; the master manipulates his Ibanez first & foremost before messing with his pedals
• The upholding of jazz elements was unmistakable but Sco is one jazz cat who EMBRACES technology rather than seeing it as an intrusion. There were countless moments when his phrase sampler was put to good use, often leaving Joe Lovano in exhiliration limbo
• The bass/ drum lads were exceptional! They promote band chemistry & were not relegated as mere accompaniments- bass & drum solos were fine touches to the overall performance

On a personal note, I was kinda down because no Uber Jam numbers got on the playlist; I was looking forward to see how technological implements were sequenced in Sco's playing but knowing Lovano's presence in the line-up meant no such tracks were to be heard (note: Uber Jam is Sco's solo effort) but one heck of a show anyway.

Em... half the audience were Caucasians...