Monday, August 22, 2005

The Live
Oh hello. I'm back. Pardon the lateness of this post but I've had little time on the PC since the live. And man, it was a great freakin' day. How great? You know when you enjoy something so much it never leaves your mind and you start to lose sleep and fade out of reality just trying to relive it again and again in your head?

I haven't had a decent rest for days...

Let's begin, shall we? You might wanna have a snack while reading this and play an optional rock tune while reading. It's a neat effect. So first off, this was quite an important live. Our past lives were local and not as big. So basically we performed in a public (and widely-known) livehouse for the first time. El Mocambo was it's name and the band was nervous as all hell.

The night (or early morning) before the day of the live, I blogged pretty late yet I still managed to stay up an extra few hours just lying there and wondering about what would happen during this performance. It was a battle of the bands and I just knew that we couldn't win. And no, not because I lack confidence, but because the winners are decided by whoever brings the most people. One band (A fairly awesome band, I might add) sold more than 100 tickets so they automatically had more fans screaming their name. Therefore, they win. I wasn't going for a win that night anyway. We just wanted experience and hopefully a few more fans. I finally got some sleep. The plan was to meet at Mr. Guitarist's house for a pre show meeting.

10:00am - I woke up pretty early to my surprise. I took a nice long shower and had enough time to do my hair (Brush it down and headbang for 15 seconds), choose what to wear (I had decided wear my green tee on the way there then during actually performance time, I'd wear my kick-ass Japanese dress shirt. We wanted a dress shirt kinda theme for the live so that's what I chose.) I chose not to eat just yet.

12:00pm - Mr. Rhythm (Guitarist) came to my place for a ride to Mr. Guitarist's house. But first, we needed to rent the guy an amp. Yeah, we had to bring our own stuffs. This wasn't the worst of it yet. So off to the local music store for an amp.

1:15pm - We got there and he zoomed straight to the rental section while I browsed for some sticks. I decided to get the dollar sticks. 10 of them to be exact. It took awhile for Mr. Rhythm to choose his damned amp so I played the pianos on display for a good while. Good ol' Yoshiki from X Japan got me back into playing the keys. But drums first. Always and forever.

1:30pm - When Mr. Rhythm got his ass in gear, we were off. Since we walked to the music store and had no transport for the amp, my mom gave us a ride to Mr. Guitarist's place and told us she'd drop off the amp at the livehouse later on because she needed the van. Anyway, we drove to Mr. Guitarist's house around 2pm and I took my cymbals and throne along on wheels (Drummers were asked to provide their own cymbals and other stuff. I hadn't known about the other stuff until later that day. It sucked for a bit.) Mr. Bassist and Wuzie (Magical Nerd Bassist/Second Vocalist) were already there and Mr. Vocalist came just a bit later. For a bit of inspiration, I brought over my DVD of X Japan's Last Live. If you haven't seen it, I swear you are completely missing out. As a drummer and music fan, I have to admit I cried watching the show. To put that much effort and feeling into one's performance is just in-friggin'-credible. I love it. Check it out. Now.

4:30pm - After watching for a bit, the band asked me if they looked alright in what
they were wearing. The dress-shirt and jeans look was alright but they wanted ties. Ties are too much these days so I said scrap it. After fixing ourselves up, we were on our way to the livehouse. Nobody had a car to use that day (Dammit) so we took public transit. It was all that bad though. While walking through the streets with our instruments, we looked pretty cool. Haha.

5:36pm - We met with Mr. Vocalist's friend at the subway station. They're weird and one dude was a complete clone of Mr. Guitarist. He was a nerd so we knew the difference. The subway ride was very quiet. Almost too quiet. Then a girl farted and the car roared with laughter. That did it...

6:15pm - We arrived at the livehouse just after the sound check. We received green X's on our hands if we weren't drinking and a B to notify staff we were part of the band. It didn't matter for me really. They recognized the hat, the hair and the maniac laugh. A few of the people who came to see us were there already. I suppose they wanted to see the other band because we still had about 6 hours before we were up. Since nerves overcame most of us, we decided not to stick around and watch the other bands and go for something to eat. We left our equipment with some people because if we just left our stuff lying around, it'd be stolen in and instant.

6:17pm - Just before leaving I had learned I needed more than just my cymbals and throne. I needed my damn stands, my damn snare drum, and my damn pedal. Thank goodness for mother. She managed to pick up my stuff before dropping off the amp. So I was set. It wasn't all that bad though. One guy from White Ashley (The carrot top guy's band) said he'd lend us their drummer's stuff if I didn't have it by showtime. But we pulled through in any case.

6:38pm - We went to a Pho place for the 3rd time as a band (and the 4th time for me, personally). None of us can ever get sick of it's soupy filly goodness. Except Mr. Guitarist. We all ordered Xtra Large special bowls and he ordered pork on rice. He used to be able to finish an xtra large but because he eats it like an idiot (He puts an extra big blob of hoisin sauce for every bit. No wonder he's sick of it.) We spent
a good hour and a half in there just chatting away about what we heard from the livehouse so far. The other bands all sounded the same. Screamo this and screamo that. Only four other bands stood out for us. One band played a ska-ish set and was generally pretty happy, the headliner band was insanely good (or so I heard), the band after them were really catchy but quite screamo and lastly, White Ashley who were just rockin' like badasses. Good stage presence but unfortunately they sounded pretty alike too.

8:00pm - We walked back to the livehouse and stayed outside with Wuzie's sister, her boyfriend and friend. Since entry was only allowed once for audience, they chose to stay outside until it was near time for us. That and I had to wait for our equipment to be dropped off. We had a good time standing outside. Wuzie's sis took some pic of us messing around and such and I got to know her friend, Peter. He's a cool guy, we made a lot of sexual comments and advances towards him. Occasionally he'd play along so it was all good. While standing outside, we saw alot of the various fans who came to see other bands. Man, a majority of them looked the same too.

9:26pm - You're probably wondering why I'm sometimes so precise with these times. I happened to look at my cell for the time alot that night. Anyway, the amp and my stuff arrived via the van and so we continued to stand outside, chatting up and having fun only with some additional pieces of equipment. I saw my cousins and sister arrive and so they stood with us. So there we were. A circle of fans and the band laughing the summer night away, almost completely forgetting about the live ahead. We heard a few bands from outside and they were pretty good. Instrumental wise though. Some vocals were just noisy. In my opinion. Mr. Guitarist and Wuzie ran back and forth to tell us how they sounded up close. See, as band members we can waltz in and out of the club as we please. Others can only go in once and never leave. Unless they really want to leave.

10:30pm - We decided to head in and lug all the stuff up to the livehouse. Yeah. I forgot to mention this was a couple floors up. But it was all good. We managed to catch White Ashley's performance. There was this one moment that almost killed them. "If we sound, just fucking tell us! If not, tell us anyway!" A loud booming voice from the back said "Okay! You fucking suck!". It was Mr. Bassists's cousin. I didn't tell them though. They still did great. And they had the fans to prove it.

11:00pm - Our fans started to arrive, and the band greeted them with smiles and handshakes. A friend of mine said she had a bottle of Bailey's for me. I thought it'd be best to save it for a better day. My friend (remember the girl I saved from Mr. Bassist's corruption? That's the one) was sitting with her boyfriend and Mr. Bassist saw them and he told me it just hurts to see her with a guy. I was the one who invited them and that was my plan all along. Serves the ass right. White Ashley finished up and we gave them enough high-fives to last them a lifetime. Their fans started to leave but a big majority of the crowd consisted of our fans. There were two more bands then us. Yeah. They were totally running late. The band after White Ashley kinda sucked. It's not only my opinion but it showed because the people who were close to the stage proceeded to sit down as far as they could. It was kinda embarrassing but not as embarrassing as what was about to happen. Almost everyone who was invited was already there. Showtime was nearing.

11:25pm - The band before us started their set. So it was time to prepare. I brought my cymbals and stuff to the side stage and prepared it so that I could easily throw them where needed. I also changed my shirt from the green tee to the white Japanese dress shirt. It was sexified (or so I was told). I also let down my hair. Why?
1) It waves around when I walk really fast
2) Headbanging behind a kit just looks oh so much more fun when you've two feet of hair flying in all directions
3) It's fun to confuse the nearsighted into thinking our band has a chick for a drummer.

11:38pm - The Hoarmoans were the band before us. And it was a sad sight. The club had about 60 something people left and only FOUR were standing near the stage. That's right. Four. Everyone else was waiting for us and the two bands after. They tried cracking jokes and fooling around but the place was still quiet. So with four people standing up, they did their screamo thing and then they ended. The staff guy told us to stand by with our stuff because they were going to cut the other bands set short because they sucked. I felt bad. Just a bit though. I really wanted to play. When their set ended, nobody cheered. There were only a few faint claps here and there. You're supposed to CHEER for a band! CHEER dammit! Their faces were red as cherries.

11:52pm - Two random band members from earlier started talking to me about X Japan, wondering if I was Korean. I then told them our setlist and they were pretty stoked about us covering Weezer. They told me they'd stick around for it even though the rest of their band was waiting outside.

11:55pm - We were set to go. My cymbals were in place. The amps were cranked. Guitars were tuned and the crowd gathered around the stage. Here we go.

11:57pm - We started with Meister's "My World Down" and the intro just went wicked. Oh yeah! I forgot to mentions that this is the first time I played a miked drumkit. The sound was superb. Those of you who know the song should be familiar with the opening chord then the big crash of the rest of the instruments coming in. Yeah. We owned.

Our next song was "Buddy Holly" by Weezer. The two guys from earlier jumped on the stage and started cheering in front of Mr. Bassist, pretty much scaring the crap out of him. It was too funny. Oh yeah. This was Wuzie's first song ever sung live. He did awesome. He even did a humourous intro by saying the artist and title in a very VERY strong Chinese accent. It was great.

We then played our the first original song we've ever done. It's called "All I Really Need Isn't You". It was incredibly fast-paced so the crowd flowed with rockin' heads and jumping around. It was the greatest feeling in the world. It was OUR music that was doing this. All because of us! I couldn't help but smile. And good that I did because enough people were taking flash photos of us on stage. The main chorus got the whole place laughing. I'll save the lyrics for your ears for when I ACTUALLY get a digital recording of the song. It's very us, though.

Next was another cover. A fave amoung the band and apparently, the crowd as well. "Supersonic" by Oasis. It was a good rest song because the next three were pretty much non stop. The heads bobbed as we played this very melodic piece. Wuzie sang it incredibly but at some point our instrumental overpowered him. It went great in any case.

The crowd did a good long cheer because we nailed "Supersonic" right on the noggin. "99 Red Balloons" was next and we fucking kicked ass with it. People actually started jumping. Not necessarily moshing because that's too violent for our happy songs. Mr. Vocalist did really well with the German bit that I coached him with. I really nailed the drumrolls. I get kinda sloppy when I'm in the spotlight but I did fairly well. Just for kick, when my drumming part was over, I stood on my throne and conducted the vocals with my drumstick. People seemed to love it. I perched myself on top of my throne and breathed heavily. That song was tiring!

Our latest original song was next. It's called "Lotus Floating Down A River", however it has nothing to do with floating, rivers or even lotuses. But the riff is f*cking catchy and it definitely showed with the crowd. We would've played it again if it weren't for the time restrictions. It's a great song and we're very proud of it.

12:45am - The crowd made a collective "Aww" when we said this was our last song. We always go out with a bang. This bang is called "Haruka Kanata". You all know it. Thankfully, many recognized the song because we really didn't want to explain it all. If rocking the place was a meal, our audience was more than full.

This was the first time I played drums without my earplugs for about a month. So I obviously lost a bit of hearing. I did have enough left to hear people screaming our name. We were slowly starting to clean up our stuff when the club guy said the last two bands dropped out. They DROPPED OUT!! We didn't make any assumptions but the thought of them dropping out because of us is a good feeling. It kinda sucked though because had we known earlier, we would've extended our set.

1:00am - We can officially now say we've been rockin' out since yesterday. Talkin' with friends and fans was fun. The best part was getting compliments from complete strangers. "Teach me your technique!" one guy said. I'd no clue what he was talking about. I just drummed what I could. The club owner gave me a nice firm handshake and said our set was awesome and was nice for a change. He too thought all the other band sounded the same. And I successfully confused someone into thinking I was a chick behind the kit. Well, sorta. He knows me but he still thought otherwise.

The sponsor for the event offered us and another band another gig on the 30th of September at a larger, less trashy club. We inquired why only two bands. Only the good ones were chosen they told us. F*ckin ace! So not only did we kick ass, but we've been invited to kick some more ass in the future.

2:00am - Most of the people have left and the club closed up. We felt like celebrating at our favourite bubble tea shop. After Mr. Guitarist's friend picked up all our junk, we were off to the bubble tea place. Unfortunately, the fastest public transit lines there were closed. So we had to take a longer alternate route.

3:00am - Mr. Guitarist got in shit with his mom and had to go straight home. Mr. Vocalist wanted to stay with us but his tiredness was near death so we let him go. Only four of us remained. Mr. Bassist, Mr. Rhythm, Wuzie and myself. By the time we got to the tea shop, it would be closed so we decided to go somewhere else. After trudging our tired asses to Mr. Bassist's house, he took the car and we drove around the city looking for a bite to eat. You're probably wondering why we didn't stay close-by to the club. It was in CHINATOWN after all. Well, we were tired and thinking wasn't on the to-do list, okay?

4:23am - Good ol' 24 hours Dim Sum restaurant saved our hungry selves. Yes. There's a 24 hour Dim Sum Restaurant. And boy did we eat. I was mostly thirsty but I had my fair share. I had two pitchers of water! Anyways, we had a toast to our great night with tea drank up and paid the bill. Then headed home.

6:00am - Washed up and stayed awake thinking about the night. Boy was it great. There's more than enough missing in this post but I can't just tell you all. It's more of a "You had to be there" thing.



And now for a few piccies!


On The Street
Dancing like fools on the street outside El Mocambo.
Left To Right: Mr. Rhythm, Mr. Bassist, Me, And Mr. Vocalist

The Hats
Me and Mr. Vocalist
These pics were taken by Wuzies sister. She named us the hat duo. Pretty lame but she's crazy anyway.

Never Leave My Side, Guitars.
The incredibly nervous Mr. Guitarist

Loose jeans
Wuzie's Sis thought this was amusing. She has a thing for my ass. These jeans do nothing for me. They're only my B grade ones. I've a pair that are fitted beyond reality. She'd go mad if she saw those.

Oooo. Pretty!
A blurry pic of the lighting inside the club. It looks pretty...

Aaaahh. Pretty!
Another random pic of inside the club. It's not the greatest venue in the world but it's a start.

WE're on next? Shit...
The bandboys just before goin' up. They're pretty nervous.

Moment of Thought
Anxiously waiting for the damn crap band to finish up. I haven't changed yet.

Live 1
The live! This is Mr. Vocalist singing away while Mr. Guitarist tried to stay alive. There's me in the back.

Live 2
Wuzie! Greatest Chinese Vocalist ever. He looks like a nerd but plays bass like a god and sings like a madman. I love him to death.

Live 3
The whole band shot. Mr. Bassist with his attempt at looking cute with stickers all over his guitar. Mr Guitarist lost in space. Me drumming. Mr. Vocalist "feeling" the music. And last but not least, Mr. Rhythm strumming away.


Something Else!!!

Ahh... Right. That's the first time you've seen my band. I told you we're nothing like the rest. Now I can't wait for you to hear us.

I'm working on website stuffs with Wuzie's sister and as for MP3 recordings, we'll see.

I'll try my f*cking hardest to get back on MyO track with the visits and stuffs. It's 7:19am and I should be asleep so give me a break for now. I hope you enjoyed the loooooong post. That was the live. Thanks. Rock the f*ck on.

Cheers.

- enin -
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