SINGAPORE 60's: ANDY's POP MUSIC INFLUENCE IS A PERSONAL MUSIC, MEMORY TRAIL. BLOGGER DOES NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO VIDEOS, AUDIO TRACKS AND IMAGES. THEY ARE UPLOADED FOR FUN, EDUCATIONAL, ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES AND HAVE BEEN CREDITED. BLOG IS NOT SPONSORED NOR ADVERTORIAL IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. INFORM BLOGGER OF COPYRIGHT ISSUES AND POST WILL BE DELETED IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT COPY THE POSTS; GET PERMISSION N CREDIT ME IF YOU DO. ANDY LIM LA (NOVEMBER, 2008) -
(新加坡六十年代安迪的流行音乐影响力), SUDI MAMPIR !
Showing posts with label ConnectionMusic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ConnectionMusic. Show all posts
I had just joined Larry Lai's 'Music Lovers' chat group created on WhatsApp. After introducing me to the group I thanked him and the group with this reply:
Hello all,
Thank you Larry for the welcoming introduction and for letting me taste a bit of group chatting. Never been in one before... I'm no musician, only a bystander and would love to learn the intricacies and designs of social musicianship.
Cheers.
[2] What is 'social musicianship'?
I wasn't sure myself if I had used the right phrase, 'social musicianship' so I decided to ask my mentor Meta AI on WhatsApp. Here's my question and the reply I received:
What is 'social musicianship'?
Meta AI's reply:
What a fascinating question! Yes, there is such a term as 'social musicianship'. Social musicianship refers to the social and interpersonal aspects of music-making, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, communication, and community in musical performance and learning.
It encompasses skills like:
` Ensemble playing
` Improvisation
` Active listening
` Empathy
` Nonverbal communication
` Conflict resolution
Social musicianship recognises that music is often a collective and social activity, and that developing these social skills is essential for successful music-making.
I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.
Thank you Meta AI.
And thank you folks for reading the explanation.
"Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty. What would life be, Without a song or dance, what are we? So I say thank you for the music, For giving it to me. [Abba.]"
Comments are welcome.
Andy with Larry Lai and young MediaCorp producer
HH Tang, while discussing a television project
we were supposed to participate in some years ago.
Hiroshi Deguchi [from Japan/Spain], is an old FB friend who wrote about his own 60s music experience in Singapore and at the places he studied and visited.
Now read another one of his letters about his Tokyo University music club personality, Makoto Kuboto who produced, in collaboration, two of Dick Lee's well-known musicals.
Hiroshi, Arigatou gozaimasu – ありがとう ございます
Makoto Kubota
Producer, Engineer, Musician, Writer.
Hiroshi Deguchi mentioned:
"I fondly remember a long time ago my wife and I went up to Fukuoka from Kumamoto where we lived those days, to see Dick Lee's Asia Major tour. It was almost full house although I didn't think he was so well known in Fukuoka. It was in 1991, a few months before our first daughter was born.
Dick Lee: Asia Major
[1990]
Orientalism
[1991]
Two of the productions, with Makoto Kubota, by
Singapore's Dick Lee in the early 90's.
I have many things to remember about his show. One of the things I found was his album, Asia Major was produced by the guy who was in the same music club at the same university in Kyoto as myself. His name is Kubota Makoto, one year senior to me and the most musical. I remember!
He could play any instrument; he was often asked to help other groups. He specialized in Bossa Nova, at the time playing flute but also a wood-bass player for a Peter, Paul and Mary type band. Sometimes he's a keyboardist for a jazz group. I hadn't seen or heard about him since graduation. But his name came back to me suddenly when I went to see the concert. By the way I belonged to the group which specialized in playing Shadows numbers at the time..."
Nojiri Lake @ Nagano Prefecture [1968]
[I found this picture taken at the club camp in the summer of 1968 at Nojiri Lake in Nagano prefecture. I am just behind Kubota [yellow], standing slightly shorter.
I called some people who had belonged to the club named "Lilac Rainbows" intending to get more information about Kubota but so far no success. I can see faces who had played Bossa Nova with him and who played the bass. I did some of the Shadows and Ventures numbers.]
This piece was written by
Hiroshi Deguchi in 2022.
With his wife & pet dog.
Andy's Japan trip from Tokyo < South-Eastwards to
< Osaka < Hiroshima <Fukuoka in 2007.
Andy replied:
"Gee. thanks Hiroshi for the story. it's a very interesting tale indeed. My wife and I were in Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka [image] in 2007 and enjoyed our stay in these cities. The trains we travelled in were fabulous.
You have revived an interest in me regarding Kubota Makoto, who also produced Dick Lee's other musical, Orientalism. Hiroshi has other articles written on this blog. Check his name under Labels below."
Makoto Kubota & The Sunset Gang – Dixie Fever (1977)
You Tube Video from: Terminal Passage.
Dick Lee: Asia Major [1990]
YouTube Video By: Famous or Forgotten Music
If you take information from this article for your own use,
at least credit the blog and me because copying is stealing.
Looks like there's still some interest in the article as new comments keep trickling in? Thought I'd add some comments regarding the Copicat Echo Unit.
Vacuum Tubes Or Valves:
1. The electronics in use then was based on vacuum tube technology. This was followed by transistor (solid state) technology. There are several vacuum tubes (also known as "valves") used in the electronic circuit and one of which is the 6BR8A as depicted in the picture below.
2. Due to wear and tear, these tapes would sometimes burst whilst in operation. As replacement tapes were quite costly I had also resorted to make spare ones [like what Cedric Cork, the Vietnam War drummer, did], that is, cutting appropriate lengths from open reeled 1/4" magnetic tapes and splicing them.
3) As for the Schaller, it's true that the magnetic coated drum does get hot as mentioned by Michael Lee. Not only that. The magnetic coating on the drum would get worn out after sometime and a replacement drum is costly. What my dad did was to cut short pieces of open reeled magnetic tape and dissolved them in a solvent (acetone) and brush painted it over the worn part/s of the drum. Another cost saving measure.
Separately, a reader who's close to my heart commented that the article was an interesting read but kind of ended abruptly. I had indeed shortened the article by omitting a small part about DECIBELS' performing at hungry ghost festivals - i.e. Getai. Appended below is the part I omitted.
An example of a getai performance with the
guitar group accompanying a-go-go girls and singer.
Getai [歌台] is a Chinese term which literally means, song tower, stage or street concert. It is one of many activities to entertain the Chinese gods, with a related 'officer' from Hell and people who donated funds for the annual Hungry Ghost Festival celebration. It falls during the seventh month of the Chinese lunar year; around August.
From the recesses of my fading memory cells, I could recollect that our very first Getai performance was at Strathmore Avenue. The stage was on the open space between a row of SIT (Singapore Improvement Trust) flats facing the QSTS (Queenstown Secondary Technical School) school field.
On another occasion, we played somewhere in Kampong Bahru. And on the third occasion I played (as stand-in drummer for the Wong family who were all professional musicians) somewhere off Bencoolen Street. I felt truly honoured to be invited to play alongside them.
DECIBELS (L to R - Jimmy, Charles, Patrick, Steven)
Ⓒ Copyrights Reserved.
UP TO 2,400 VIEWS,
20 CHATS, COMMENTS.
My thanks again to Jimmy Chng, one of the best drummers during the Singapore 60s pop music era, for this article:
Hi Andy,
A decade back, after contributing the article on DECIBELS pop band to your blog, you had generously invited me to join you as a team writer. I replied that I wasn't up to it but added this comment - “Nevertheless should I recollect any interesting stories pertaining to the 60s pop scene, I’ll let you know.” And to that, your response was - “I shall always be waiting for your next tale pertaining to the 60s pop scene.”
Ten years is a pretty long wait by any measure. However, as the saying goes - " Patience is bitter but the fruit is sweet." And so here's my next tale pertaining to the 60s pop scene.
With the year of the Rabbit, here's wishing you good health and happiness in the coming lunar new year and the years ahead. Gong Xi Fa Cai.
Best regards,
Jimmy.
With the lunar new year fast approaching, I willed myself to tidy up the little store room of my HDB unit. It has been filled to the brim over the years (think hoarder?). Sifting through the clutter in the tiny storeroom, I was pleasantly surprised to find a remnant of DECIBELS pop band’s musical instruments - a WATKINS COPICAT ECHO unit!
Apart from two Hofner guitars (a bass and a lead) which I had passed to my elder brother a long time back, the rest of the other instruments had either been discarded/damaged or given away. I remember that I sold the drum set to the Foo Chow Methodist Church in Race Course Road through a colleague of mine who’s a member of the church. This was way back in the mid 70s.
Watkins Copicat Tape Echo
YouTube video from: blondegraemey
In the early years of our local pop band history, the WATKINS COPICAT Echo Unit was a sought after add-on to the basic guitar amplifiers that most aspiring bands could only afford. Before the introduction of echo effects producing equipment, guitar amplifiers had only the tremolo/vibrato effect feature built-in. Guitar amplifiers with built-in reverb feature soon followed.
Arguably, it was the Shadows that popularized the echo effects in pop music with their iconic recording of APACHE although the tape echo unit used by Hank Marvin for the recording wasn’t the Watkins Copicat Echo Unit.
DECIBELS’ first Echo Unit - a pre-owned
WATKINS COPICAT ECHO UNIT.
Two other brands of echo units were also available in Singapore. One was the Schaller and the other, the Swissecho. I do not remember which of these two brands was more popular but most fledgling bands would start off with the Copicat and later “upgrade” to one of these. So too did DECIBELS, as our band subsequently “upgraded” to a pre-owned Schaller unit like the one pictured below:
DECIBELS was the main band in attendance for a concert held at the Dunearn Secondary Technical School sometime in the mid 60s. I cannot remember if the concert was held to mark the school’s opening or for some other event. I had received a call from a school teacher by the name of Mr. Lai (can’t remember his full name) asking if our band would like to perform at the concert. Incidentally, he (Mr. Lai) had participated in one of the RTS talentime contests singing his very own rendition of “Isle Of Singapura” to the tune of "Isle Of Capri".
If there are readers out there who are former students or teachers of DSTS and had attended the concert, hopefully some of them would be able to provide additional information about the concert.
The guest band for the concert was Willy Jokers. Up to that point in time, our band did not have any echo unit. We only relied on the tremolo and reverb effects that came with the Fender amplifier. The COPICAT Echo unit which the DECIBELS band eventually owned was acquired from Willy Jokers.
As in any article, this post deserves comments. Please...
[Latest: 12 comments within 2 hours of posting. Thanks guys.]
I only heard Jose Mari Chan with Beautiful Girl in the early 90s. This carrier single from his album Constant Change sold very well and became a regional hit especially in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. 250,000 Copies: But not many people know it's written by a Filipino. It exceeded 10 times 'Platinum' status, more than 250,000 copies, so the Philippines music industry had to come up with the 'Diamond' Record Award for JMC. By now, and so many years later, it has probably exceeded the number of copies mentioned. Lea Salonga: Beautiful Girl was even covered by Asian stars like Aaron Kwok, Paula Tsui, Sally Yee, Sandy Lam, Kamahl, Tomomi Akimoto and Yasuo T while other JMC romantic favorites by countrymate diva, Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon.) Christmas In Our Hearts:
Jose sings with: JULIE ANNE SAN JOSE
Again and again, his songs have rebounded as hits for other artistes. So when I asked some Filipino musicians working in Singapore about Jose Mari Chan, they exclaimed, "Christmas In Our Hearts!" because it is the industry's biggest selling Christmas album in history.
He even sang it with Asia's Limitless Star, Julie Ann San Jose [images], the beauteous Filipino actress, singer and entrepreneur. Blessed with a great voice, good looks, a talented mind and rapturous fans, it looks as if JMC has got them all. (A recent email from MusicMeister Larry Lai about JMC woke me up as I realized that he is one Filipino pop singer that I had to include in my list of musical influences. Beautiful Girl by Jose Mari Chan Beautiful girl, wherever you are/I knew when I saw you, you had opened the door/I knew that I'd love again after a long, long while/I'd love again. You said "hello" and I turned to go/But something in your eyes left my heart beating so/I just knew that I'd love again after a long, long while/I'd love again. Chorus: It was destiny's game/For when love finally came on/I rushed in line only to find/That you were gone. Wherever you are, I fear that I might/Have lost you forever like a song in the night/Now that I've loved again after a long, long while/I've loved again. Beautiful girl, I'll search on for you/'Til all of your loveliness in my arms come true/You've made me love again after a long, long while/In love again/And I'm glad that it's you/Hmm, beautiful girl. Image: http://girl-xinhonline.blogspot.com/ Information: Wikipedia, other Websites. Original article: Andy Lim.
Jose Marie Chan
Christmas In Our Hearts. It's around the corner!
JULIE ANNE SAN JOSE
Christmas In Our Hearts:
YouTube Video from: MYX Global
JOSE MARI CHAN FT. JULIE ANNE SAN JOSE -
(MYX Live! Performance)
Beautiful Girl is dedicated to good friend, John Lim,
The best story is from this posting where I met a true blue lady who knows about these supernatural beings. Check her out...
Indeed a very mysterious woman. Her revelation of being able to see dead people walking around her and hearing the dead screaming at the crematorium is scary. She could have been asked to leave because of the chills she gave to customers.
It is a good write-up and I think she was telling the truth. Careful of bewitching eyes. I once told someone off who laughed when I told her what I had told you about my chilling, scary, experiences. She thought I made it up. Unbelievers are those who never had these encounters.
Singapore has by and large eradicated the rather nasty habit of smoking. This has not been easy, as nicotine is highly addictive both physiologically and psychologically. For the older generation it was the only thing to take their minds off their woes. But alas, many found that years of puffing away only brought them health woes in their later years.
Smoking is social norm in my younger days. It was seen as glamorous and even a macho thing to do. Many young man picked up a cigarette to look tough. We see celebrities with a “ciggy” in hand, looking handsome and thoughtful into the distance. Yes, they even had a cute name! How can an impressionable youngster resist!
Songs that reference smoking or cigarettes didn’t help either. Songs like:
1) “King of the Road” (Roger Miller) and
2) “Promise Me” (Beverly Craven) are among some of the better know ones.
Other lesser known ones are:
3) “Cigarettes and Coffee” (Otis Redding),
4) “You Just Can’t Win” (Van Morrison),
5) "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette" (Tex Williams), among many others.
Cigarette and smoking feature prominently in these songs, as a symbol of grit and a fashionable way to pout. Over the years, anti-smoking efforts had helped many diehard smokers quit the habit, and measures were put in place to discourage the young ones from ever picking the habit up.
Although we have been successful in preventing new addiction, it seems that the young are still very much into this nasty habit. As the older generation breaks away from the nicotine addiction, the younger generation is puffing away as if their lives depended on it. And, I’m not being sexists but just stating a fact here - there seems to be more woman smokers these days.
Both young and old, we see these ladies - someone’s mum, sister, girlfriend or wife; proudly hanging around smoking corners puffing away. They look quite out of place, in my opinion; with their high heels and office wears and their cigarettes dangling from their fingers. Quite a liberating sight to behold, some may argue.
A friend was particularly incensed by such a sight, and was so passionate about it that he challenged me to write a song about this developing phenomenon. Well I’m not one who would walk away from a challenge - a song writing challenge at that; so I agreed.
So here’s my take on the situation, entitled “Smoke”:
(1) Standing in a cloud of smoke Getting stares and curious looks But with a cigarette in her hand She didn’t give a damn She takes a drag tries to look glam
(2) Standing out on the street At the corner where they meet In her heels and dress of lace She looks quite out of place A flower wilting in a smoky haze
(Chorus) Smoke in the air in her hair in her elegant wear Smoke in her eyes she wants to cry for being there Smoke to impress to de-stress to be like the rest Smoke on the run in the sun is no fun She tells herself she could stop When the time comes
(3) With a cigarette between her fingers She really didn’t want to linger It’s the usual sad crowd Acting tough talking loud Feeling a little foolish hanging out *****
This set of lyrics is still looking for a melody, so if there’s a virtuoso reading this and is feeling up for the challenge - let your creative juices flow and put some crotchets and quavers down to accompany these words.
And ladies - you know you already look glamorous without the cigarette in your hand right? Speaking as an ex-smoker, I can assure you that you’ll never look more beautiful than when you’re not holding that stick of cancer between your fingers.
.png)
