Sexy Couch

a real short one.

if you want a nice, solid guitar strap, check out couchguitarstraps.com.  unless you’re looking for leather straps, because Dan Couch and his cohorts believe in ‘vegan straps’, in which they use vinyl and everything else under the sun besides leather, to make their straps.

solid feel, beautifully made, looks fcukin’ cool and  some are made from NOS vintage vinyl.  which means that once they’re gone, they’re gone.  just like nkt-275 transistors, or SAD1024 BBD chips…  well, not really.  but you get the idea.

also, if you’re from Malaysia, just write them an email, because our country isn’t listed in the drop down menu during checkout.  but Dan’s an ultra-cool guy.  and he will hook you up with some good vintage vinyl.

EDIT:  i have been receiving a few ‘complaints’ about my pyjama bottoms.  okay, so my jammies are a bit colourful.  but what’s the point of having black jammies?  i mean, if you’re going to wear jammies, make it extravagant.  like Hugh Hefner.  next time i’ll wear the matching top as well.

The SPRINGboard

the above smells of ‘freedom’.

i’ve been round the block a few times in this game of GAS, which in not so many words, was the equivalent to me pulling down my pants and screaming, ‘My dick is bigger than yours!’ despite the salient truth behind that statement, i lack the competitive gene because i hate confrontation.  if you wanna compete, you usually have to talk big, and talking big requires some level of comfort in confronting someone in whatever that you’re competing in.  i’ve tried that a few times, and it usually ends with me being smacked down hard.

i was so deep into this game of GAS that i once got on the waiting list for an Analogman King of Tone, just so that when stingcartney asks me ‘Where’d you get that from?’, i’d be able to reply, ‘The question is not where, old friend.  The question is when.’ in a deep buddhist monk-type voice (btw, the waiting list for a KoT is almost 2-years long).

so i repeatedly bought and sold gear.  tried this and that out.  went for the more rare, or obscure pedals, with the subconscious objective of trying to be unique.  if you’re reading this, and a guitar player, c’mon…  i know your game.  don’t judge me as if you’re any different.  :-P

having completed my ultra-cool pedalboard, i was so intrigued as to why i was still discontented.  i started looking at other people’s rigs and tried to see beyond the gear of rich kids with trust funds in their name.  i analyzed what people who play clubs and gigs were using.  i picked the minds of players who could effortlessly blow me out of the water (which is almost everyone, if you think about it) and the recurring theme i met was, “if you’re good, you don’t need extraordinary gear.”  you need good gear, yes.  but you don’t need a handmade overdrive pedal which came out of a custom shop in Scion, infused with angel’s breath and peppered with unicorn dust, with a waiting list as long as the time it took noah to build his ark, to sound good.

and funnily enough, i feel happier now.  anyone interested in a KR Mega Vibe and an Analogman-modded Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress?  drop me a line.  :-)

Pure Class

with reference to the previous post entitled ‘TCBB’, please find attached the official appointment letter for your inspection (click for larger image).

above and beyond the technical prowess (or lack thereof) of the individuals in any band you play in, i think the most important element that should be in place is the ability to get along with each other (ask Andy Summers).  i’d like to take this opportunity to express the privilege that is all mine to play in a band with such passionate, witty, calm and easy-going blokes; who know when to take the piss and when to take the music seriously.  and kick-ass musicians to boot, if i may add.

cheers, mates.  you’re making me look like a whiny bicth for complaining about my status in the band through my previous post.

well played, boys.  well played.  ;-)

TCBB

played a gig at this really swanky, post-modern, fusion-istic, chillout restaurant & bar last tuesday called Daikanyama along Jalan Changkat Bukit Bintang. i have nothing but good things to say about the establishment, its owner and personnel there. check ‘em out if you can!

but this isn’t a food blog.

last tuesday was just something me and Asrif put together particularly for that gig – a duo called Flattops. it was an acoustic set as part of their ‘RAW’ series which saw us cover a lot of material that we spliced into three sets. the first one consisted of new, fresh-ier material from the likes of John Mayer, Coldplay et al. the second set was a walk down memory lane for us, in which we performed (acoustically, no less) songs which we grew up listening to – the Oasises and Soundgardens and Nirvanas and such. the final set was when we came round full circle and played the stuff we actually play now and was more rooted in the blues from the likes of Claptone, SRV, Hendrix, The Beatles, etc. we even had the privilege of having KRW (Kenny Ray Wong) who jammed with us on Pride & Joy from his seat in amongst the crowd. i can’t believe that crazy fella because he outplayed us both, with his guitar um-mic’ed. yes, read that again. and weep. the man broke a string on the guitar as well. what heavy touch. what a monster.

now this week, i’ll be playing again on wednesday with the band i’m currently in (in all honesty, i haven’t actually received an official letter saying that i’m in the band, and i kinda substituted the old guitar player, so i don’t know if my spot is permanent. but anyway…). this post is sort of to whore the performance around in hopes that the lot of you (yes, all three of you) would come and if not to watch us play, just chillout and drink. bring along some mates and use this as an excuse to catch up. meanwhile, we’ll entertain you with some blues and assorted love songs while you have a ball with the people you love. that’s what happened last week, and i don’t imagine it’d be any different this time around.

so Upper Deck at Daikanyama, along Jalan Changkat Bukit Bintang, on the 4th of November, first song at about 9pm. owh, and if you have the itch to come up and jam with us, or alone, feel free.

hope to see you there!

We ask for too much…

i was trawling YouTube tonight, trying to cop some of the more eclectic phrasing ideas by the millions of YouTube guitarists the world over.  but everytime i hear the word ‘phrasing’, i find myself gravitating towards Robben Ford.  yeahhh, say what you will – he ain’t traditional blues (“correct”), he sometimes gets lost and gets ’shreddy’ (“true that”), his saturated, compressed tone is nothing to shout about (“yep”) and he will never be big enough to start a fashion following with that fabulously appalling ponytail of his (“and thank god for that!”).  but when it comes to ‘phrasing’ and ‘colour’ (not in terms of tone, but in terms of sound) you’d be hard pressed to find another guitarist that could hold a candle next to this man.

let us be clear that i aint a great guitarist.  heck, i’m barely even good.  so i won’t insult you by talking out of my behind on how he achieves his phrasing by utilising those exotic scales that only him and probably two other people in the world have knowledge of.  he’s the kind of guitarist i put on just to watch and be blown away by.  the thought of never being impressed by any other guitarist sends chills down my spine.  that’s like, spending a weekend at The Playboy Mansion and returning to your siht job on the Monday.  i don’t even wanna think about it.

now, this is the point i’m trying to make.

maybe i have low expectations thus easily impressed, but i don’t understand how out of 25 votes, his cumulative rating on this particular video is ‘4.5′-ish stars out of a maximum ‘5′.

that means, and wait for it, there are some guitarists on YouTube who rated him a ‘4′ or less.  i bet Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Eric Johnson are too busy playing guitar to find time to stumble upon this obscure clip.  Larry Carlton, Joe Pass and Pat Metheny are jazzcats, so i doubt they know how to work the internet altogether.  and the last time i checked, Jimi Hendrix and SRV are still dead.

so who in hell is rating this dude a ‘4′?!! people like me?  i shudder to even think of the possibility.

for what it’s worth, Mr. Ford, you can come on YouTube and strum a G, C and D in the first position.  i’d still rate you a ‘5′ and that’s a promise.  brilliant, brilliant musician.