I hereby declare under the direct order of myself that my blog is now in partnership with my partner in a partner-ed blog www.dan-cass.blogspot.com
This site however will still continue to exist and previous posts may still be accessible. Inconveniences are truly regretted and have a nice freaking day.
Is this world, there are always good ppl and bad ppl; honest ppl and dishonest ppl… Well, there’s good in everybody but some just choose to be bad. This is my disclaimer…every other next sentence in this post is going to be very very blunt.
Westerners are DUMB…at least for the ones that are here. Malaysians are DUMBER.
Here’s why: Notice Malaysians look highly to Westerners. A friend of mine once confessed that his Western friend could just enter a condominium without getting stopped by security or being checked-in first just because he was a Mat Salleh. Familiar scenario? Well there’s more. In our musician’s circle…there a a mixture of foreigners and locals…And somehow..Malaysians always think that foreigners especially Mat Sallehs are better.
Recently, i had a rehearsal for a gig…there was an awkward conversation with the guy(A) who called me a few days earlier
A :Daniel…we’re not having a drummer…cuz our’s pulled out last minute.
Me: ok..so u want me to get u a drummer?..
A: No its ok….my keyboardist (Mat Salleh) is really good.
Me: ( wat the hell has that got to do with my question bout a drummer) U mean he’s gonna play drums on keyboards?
A: No…he’s just really good.
Well guess wat…our pot-belly beer drinking Mat Salleh plays keyboards with the root note to every chord. To those stupid Malaysians; u don’t freaking play the root note because thats the bass player’s department you freaking retard. So I casually asked:
Me: Hey *** , did u use to play the organ?
Mat Salleh: Yes i did. why?
Me: Cuz i noticed u’re playing the root all the time.
Mat Salleh : oh yea…but i’m just doing it for now for my sake. I won’t do it during the gig.
Bloody excuses… *tsk tsk tsk*. Shame on u and your Western countrymen. He doesn’t even know the changes to Fly Me To The Moon!!! My juniors in college can nail that song anytime man!!! Wat the hell!!!!…. And they have the nerve to brag bout how some of the Chinese girls were blushing away while the Mat Salleh was talking to them. Shame on you Chinese-heritage girls with so few dignity.
There was another gig I had with a vocalist from the States. It was my worst gig ever up to date. Even though I was just a session player…i took in more than wat a band leader could swallow. Can you imagine that bloke stopped the band more than a dozen times in the midst of the show>??? Talk bout professionalism. Its really common for vocalists to be slightly confused and loose track of where they’re suppose to start the song…hence, he’s trying to save his black ass by blaming it on the band. I mean…WAT THE FREAKING HELL!!! The bass amp was going on and off (NOTE: the clubs bass amp….not mine) but the DI was still working and we had bass in the monitors and in the house….BUt guess wat???? He stops the band every time the bass amp goes off or crackles, looks at me and makes a sarcastic statement. OK ok..so i’m chinese and i’m suppose to know kung fu but i don’t do magic and fix the bass amp on the spot man…PLus if u guys aren’t getting the point by now: IT’S NOT MY FREAKING FAULT!!! Am i turning the bass amp on and off while i’m playing just to mess things up???? NO. Is my body projecting some weird radiation that causes the cables to go berserk??? I definitely don’t think so.
In another situation…we shared a night with a Mat Salleh acoustic guitarist; we played 1 and a half sets and he did one set on his own…. FOR CRYING OUT LOUD OH HEAVEN….that guy can’t even play in time and he’s here as a clinician for a very notable local music school/store. My keyboardist was like:
" Wat the hell….we trying to learn from them (Westerners) and be like them and this guy comes here and messes things up. Now we have to teach him how to play. F**ked-up. " HAHAHAHA…I mean…c’mon man..he was playing a US5000 dollars acoustic guitar…thats like RM15,000 . u could buy a kancil, drive to the Klang River and push the kancil into the river!!! For u stupid Westerners…a Kancil is our local car made by Perodua and we’re freaking proud of it!!!!!!!! Some clinician for some music school…he needs to go our Chinese clinic and get his rhythm acupuncture-d.
My fellow countrymen…pls stop assuming that Westerners are definitely better than us ( us meaning u me and everybody Asian). Use your ears and not your eyes. There are hotels, companies and cooperations that are earning hundreds of thousands and millions by the months; and there are always demands for foreign musicians because it would appear to be more glamorous. As musicians/entertainers, it is up to us to secure our market because it is OUR future. It’s not bout discrimination nor racism…its bout making the right judgments. I for one love to play with as many musicians possible whether local or not. And i love listening to music from that part of the world; learning as much as i can bout groove and vocabulary. But when sharing the stage with a Westerner…i do not wish that audiences would listen with double standards.
ps: for those insulted…pls refer to my disclaimer at top of post.
In previous months during my absence from blogging, i’ve discovered:
Driving in the Smart tunnel feels like being in a computer game. :p
This is the WORST pizza ever….cheap tomato pasta from tin cans (u can taste ‘em), pastry that taste like ready made bread from carrefour, and chicken ham sliced into tiny pieces. Why do they even bother? Might as well call it naan.
Friends+alcohol = very good amusement.
Steam eggs or as we call it in Cantonese ’sui tan’ comes in blue color ,….???!!!
Breaking my left thumb nail doesn’t hurt bass playing …or maybe i’m a bit of a sadist ;p
I’m thinking,
I’m reasoning,
My mind is allowing its veins to paint,
I’m feeling,
I’m experiencing,
My heart is allowing its muscles to breath.
Do I not feel pain?
Do I not feel shame?
Do I not feel hurt?
Do I not regret?
Am I not human?
Are we not human?
I have no right,
After what I’ve done,
I have no say,
Because I caused harm,
Then again I had to sway,
For who hasn’t in many or a few sum,
Made mistakes and wronged their way?
But I made a choice,
And I am happy,
Though it may not mean a lot,
But it means the world to me.
Just a year ago I just wasn’t,
Though with company of others,
I tried not to think about you,
But somehow I couldn’t,
Loyal as I was,
And I stand corrected,
Innocent as I was,
I treated myself being rejected.
Just 2 years ago I was ignorant,
Being somebody else,
I tried not to be angry all the time,
But somehow I just gave in,
Succumb to doubtful behavior,
In no warnings,
Looking for a savior,
To mend my longings.
Just 3 years ago i walked away,
A long walk away from you,
Made plenty of mistakes,
Hurt many and made ‘em feel blue,
Lose many friends ,
Made many unnecessary decisions,
Risking my many chances,
Placed myself in uncertain conditions.
Now that I’ve made a choice,
I do not know whether right or wrong,
But it is still a choice,
To be with you for long,
To once n for all bury my hatchet,
Though I cannot say the same,
Bout others who are still bitter n filled with hatred.
Now that I’ve made a choice,
To make amends in ways that I can,
To carry the judgmental critiques with my own hands,
To be just and faithful in amounts more than I can,
To live life with you through straights and bends,
To be grateful for you who is God sent.
Perhaps this is for the better or for the worst,
That I’ve wasted years in searching,
For something I actually had,
And without you I have nothing.
I will tell others if they ask,
Perhaps this is for the better or for the worst,
But the risk is my own to bear,
With you alone to share.
Even if I think of people that have been dear to me,
That have been close to me in the past,
Perhaps this is for the better or for the worst,
But their forgiveness I dare not ask.
And if my dear you would to ask,
If I am sure of giving my heart to you,
There can never be something I’m more certain of,
Even if this is for the better or for the worst.
Happy 22th Birthday Cassiemarie Yang Yin Yee…
Lots of love,
Dan
Reached Hilton Kl around 4pm n lepak-ed in room watching
42" tv. T.K. the keyboardist playing command n counquer.
When we’re bored with the TV, we watch whoever’s taking a shower.
I got a Ampeg cab as tall as I am.
Me, Jose Thomas n the idol.
HAHAhAHAHA!!!!
The sweetest thing:
The dork-iest thing (’sorry boss!’ :p) :
At putrajaya changing room:
Vienna bagels from (not italy) klcc:
the BOSS (..gf actually) :
the monster :
Gotta sound tight….gotta sound grounded….gotta sound good…..gotta sound good…….must…
Constitutional rights, humane activities, unions, whatever the world stands for..sometimes it seems that the truth ain’t the truth and the purpose ain’t the purpose.
The sentence has been mentioned so many many times in different generations. "we live in difficult times”….but hell everyone just wants to get through each day …
Does anyone ever thought that even one small deed might change the course of the future?
just like holding a note a bit longer or shorter…it makes a whole lot if difference , just listen.
Soulless gig at Top Room…1st night crowd=groupies (waiters & waitress and bandmates girlfriends)
2nd night crowd= ………..
a peculiar conversation with a half an hour table of customer before we started playing that night.
(Group of mat sallehs, 2 asian women and 1 local man)
Asian woman 1 : so there is a band tonight?
Me : Yes… (smiling …. can’t u see the pno gtr and bass all set up..for exhibition is it??!!)
Asian woman 1 : Who’s playing are u guys playing?
Me: Yes we are.
Asian woman 2: ( flirting with mat salleh 1)
Asian woman 1 : U all look so young….wat’s ur band called?
Me : (young?…ok so are u into pedophilia?) hehe…yea. We’re currently known as the Giant Timeline and have been playing around in functions and events.
Asian woman 2 : ( continues flirting with mat salleh 1)
Mat Salleh 2 : (Stares and smiles with dignified body posture)
Asian woman 1 : It’s so interesting to see young ppl playing jazz.
Me: hehe…thank you.
(See? playing? we’re about to start in 30mins so make ur comments then).
Mat Salleh 2 : She didn’t say good…she said interesting.
Me: Ok enjoy the night. (you numbskulls…)
That table 7 pax left 5 mins prior to our drummer done setting up the cymbals after approx. 4 pints of beer.
Moral of the story: young ppl should stick to Click 5, Kelly Clarkson and ….hell i don’t even know who’s hot in the pop market lately.
This either means we’re old or too old for our looks or too young for our brains or too confused about musical genre classification. Did i mention that they asked if we’re below 20 yrs old….oh such compliment……
