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 Matt Tan Fried Ice (Canada). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Tan Fried Ice (Canada). Show all posts
Matt Tan, who writes from Canada, was with Fried Ice in the 1960s in Singapore. He is now on a music website called FANDALISM. He is known now as mattJSLtan. Influenced greatly by Jimmi Hendrix and Tommy Bolin, Matt has written many times for this blog. You can check him out with his Singapore stories by clicking the Labels connection below this post. Congratulations Matt.
Below is the connection to fandalism where Matt iswith his rock guitar music. He's got plenty of followers, as you can see below, with more to come.
Images: Matt Tan Collection. A very dedicated man to his music, Matt has spent years with his guitars and has been living in Canada since he left Singapore a long time ago. Join him on his music site and be part of his nearly 200 fans (image below). It's a new connection. If you knew him earlier when he was in Singapore, you can write to him directly on Fandalism.
Matt Tan comes on again, strong and clear. "The test of a musician is... to jam spontaneously take a risk." I agree. Lots of us in Singapore play canned music, copied from the tombs of time. Note for note? But is it true? Matt was the original Fried Ice bassist from Singapore 60's and writes from Canada. It's time we listen to what he has to say again. Thanks, Matt.
*Old article, but I wasn't around at that time you wrote this. So I will tune in on my opinion. Music is like food... each has its own audience. This one is pure showmanship, nothing musical? No doubt I agree with Dr Tony S (Australia), who says, "Really? This is exhibition drumming and there are loads of them on YouTube." The test of a musician is not in playing to a record, it's to jam spontaneously take risk, like Ritchie Blackmore also said of Satriani... "No mistakes, no risk, no magic". We, risk takers are just that, like jazz or experimental rock, we live for that momentarily manifestation of magic... Jeff Beck, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, all do that. they don't play the same song the same way twice. But on both sides of the spectrum of music, like food, we have audiences to say, "total disaster, all noise", "wow, she nailed it perfectly, note for note". It's cordeau bleu or brand fast food. Like the chef when given a burger from the super serving millions , spat out the burger. Yet, they serve millions like those rote, copy note for note playing to a record, get millions of view.
We live in world of manicured gardens where lots of ppl adore these trees looking like well-coiffed heads and rose bushes like paint by numbers. And we also live in a world where, like me, and Ritchie Blackmore, and Miles, see beauty in trees, flowers, mushrooms, creatures, etc.. all in disarray and seemingly haphazard. But like Wayne Shorter says of Coltrane's music.."it's not in disarray; it's scrambled eggs, only the eggs unscramblers know how to unscramble the music!" Finally, to quote your favourite, I am sure, Andy... "You can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself." Long Live Rock and Roll ... caprice or paint by numbers.. music or repertory! Whatever turns you on, dude!!! Just do it because it's your song, "Take it or leave it!"
RITCHIE BLACKMORE SATRIANI JEFF BECK
Mick Jagger, when the Stones were new and fresh-faced, played at the Badminton Stadium, was later interviewed by a magazine or wherever, when critics called Stones music total garbage or something to the effect , to which Mick casually responded, "I am the musician. When I play, it's mine. Take It Or Leave It. " Actually, Mick said something entirely different and less diplomatic... 😉 Comment anyone? Written by Matt Tan. (the last sentence, edited).
When he was in Singapore 60's Matt Tan was with Fried Ice and active with performances.
Here's Matt Tan, who was with Fried Ice in Singapore 60's, writing from Canada. He has posted some videos of his playing on YouTube. Thanks, Matt. Appreciate your contribution to this blog:
"I never had a reason to pick up a guitar till today!" (Frank Zappa)... Do you remember the days when we were playing in a band, as young kids just starting out, the only time we hear about the loss of a famous musician is when an accident happened eg. plane crash... and we lost Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, Richie Havens... and much later SRV. Or in the sour events, we hear of them dying on drug overdose, for those who were unfortunate to think that drugs actually could make them play much better... wrong, and shame, we lost Janis, Brian Jones, Lenny Breau... And yet another cause would be illness, we lost Ollie Halsall, Wes Montgomery, two of my favourite guitarists, from different genres, Wes was already great, but Ollie was one whom I think would have been as great as Jimi or Jeff or Eric, had he lived.
Stormy Monday Blues Gregg Allman: R.I.P. A Canadian Guitarist Tribute
Today, it's different, we are losing them to old age... every month we hear someone who once influenced us to play the guitar or play music has left for the big sky. Who else is left? The ones gone include:
Chuck Berry (March 18, 2017) B B King (May 14, 2015) Alan Holdsworth (April 15, 2017) Al Jarreau (February, 2017) John Wetton (January 31, 2017) Prince (April 21, 2106) Leonard Cohen (November 10, 2016) Jack Bruce (25 October, 2015) Chris Squire (January 28, 2015) Jon Lord (July 16, 2012), Keith Emerson (March 11, 2016) Greg Lake (December 7, 2016) Michael Jackson (June 25, 2009) Luciano Paarotti (September 6, 2007) Frank Zappa (December 4, 1993) Another one bites the dust Another one bites the dust And another one gone and another one gone Another one bites the dust... (Freddie Mercury (24 November, 1991)
These stars left a long time ago: Charlie Mingus, Thelonius Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, Larry Carlton; And even further back in time: Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon, Billie Holliday.
There's not many of them left, huh??? that is why I am back to playing the guitar. (Feb 27,2017). Someone has to carry those axes.
"Hope I die before I get old" (My Generation, 13 October 1965). I would rephrase that to, "Hope I die before I get too old to play my guitar !"
Talkin' about my generation.
Well, people try to put us down. Just because we get around. The things they do look awful cold I hope I die before I get old. Why don't you all just fade away? And don't try to dig what we all say I'm not trying to cause a big sensation... Ironic, things hasn't changed that much, only this time "people" could be referring to us "older generation" John Sebastian – Younger Generation Why must every generation think their folks are square? And hey pop, my girlfriend's only three. She's got her own videophone, And she's taking LSD And now that were best friends, she wants to give a bit to me. But what's the matter daddy? How come you're turning green? Can it be that you can't live up to your dreams?
But some things do not change:
Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance won't come again And don't speak too soon For the wheel's still in spin And there's no telling who that it's naming For the loser now will be later to win Cause the times they are a-changing... Contributor: Matt Tan.
Matt Tan (left) with his friend Horace Wee in the 60's, also a frequent contributor to this blog. Check out Matt's music on Youtube and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZBM7bwzrnI&list=UU2F8PQIFCi5HyWM7OvcPI I'd Rather Go Blind, Hey Joe, Red House, Sleepwalk, Supernatural, Castles Made of Sand, House Burning Down, May This Be Love, Little Wing, Burning Of The Midnight Lamp.
Matt Tan, former bassist for local band Fried Ice left for overseas to study. That was in the 60's and 70's. He read my blog a few years ago and we corresponded but lost touch. After an absence, Matt Tan and I got together again on email. Here he is to retell his story. He lives in Canada today. Thank you Matt. Life after Fried Ice by Matt Tan. By now, I had left Fried Ice to go to London to see the bands that started to interest me other than just playing Jethro Tull, Hendrix, Cream, TYA, Deep Purple. The one that influenced me most were Focus (Jan Akkerman) and Yes (Peter Bank). In London I had also discovered T2 at the Cafe LesArtistes who were playing there during the nights I went there after the regular nights at the Mitre Pub in Paddington where I lived. It was at Paddington while coming home with my Shepherd's Pie and chicken from my friend's takeout owned by a lovely Italian woman, that I chanced to meet Jeff Beck, the man who scared the hell of me so much that I decided not to play lead guitar and kept to bass.
I had heard Truth after graduating from John Mayall's Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, etc. when I heard Jeff playing I Ain't Superstitious... that got me to wonder, "What is this dude playing?" and threw my guitar aside. Mind you, I was brought up on Julian Bream which explained why I naturally got to play Yes music, when Steve Howe replaced the greater Pete Banks. Banks, in an interview with Melody Maker and NME, was also the one who got me to listen to the "greatest band in the world" at that time, Focus, with the "fastest guitarist in the world" Jan Akkerman. I believed Banks at that time for his claim, but later on realised that Jan, although responsible for my first taste of fusion, was not the "fastest" nor was his band the "greatest", ie. Django Reinhart, Paco de Lucia, Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, ... were. (LOL) Anyway, back to Beck. I was waiting to cross at the zebra crossing beacon (thus, the monicker I took for my "band" when I first signed with mp3 dot com in 93... zbraXingwith Matt Tan, the title of my first indie cassette released locally in Ottawa and later on mp3 CD )... when then came a bloke in a flashy blood red Corvette. I was impressed; no, not by the bloke, but the Corvette. But as soon as I look at the driver, I realised that bloke was none other than the scary Jeff Beck.
I ran up to his side and went , "Holy smoke, you are Jeff Beck?" And he blushed and shyly said softly, "Ya!" The lights changed and he said, "Let me pull over the curb and we can chat on". Cut to the chase, I told him what an incredible day that was, after watching (Yes, Rory Gallagher, ya Elton John too... zzz) at Crystal Palace, Albert Lee (HHF), Mark Farner, Peter Frampton an Steve Marriot (Humble Pie) at the GFR Hyde Park free concert.
I now meet the man himself who both made me switch to lead guitar (Yardbirds) and quit playing lead (Truth), to stick with Jack Bruce (bass and vocals). I asked who he got to replace Rod, for which he said, he was in fact on his way right then to try a bloke named Bob Tench. He had also wanted I think he said the guy who sang in Jesus Christ Superstar (no, not Ian Gillan, but Ted Neeley), before Bob Tench and I think Alex Ligertwood... all great vocals. Anyway, I finally told him I shouldn't keep him, and asked for his autograph. We could not find a piece of paper, nor was his ballpoint working, so he told me to run across to the corner shop to get a pen, and he waited for me to return. He signed my cheque book. In 1998 I gave that autograph to a colleague, an Irish boy, who swore he was a staunch Jeff Beck fan, so since I was already "retired" from music, I gave him the autograph of Jeff's. By this time, I had also sold my recording studio's equipment, and all my guitars Gibsons (Les Paul, SG, EBO, 330,SD175), Fenders (Stratocaster, Telecaster) guitars which I had bought with my earning playing with pub night bands like Winterfield and my own band Ceberus.
Finally, the man who had the greatest band in the world? No, it wasn't Jimi Hendrix nor Cream, it was Mahavishnu Orchestra who played the National Arts Centre, at Regina, Saskatchewan, when I first arrived in Canada. I went to the concert with my flat-mates Pinky and Gordon and their wives, who owned the house, and sitting beside me was Diane Fay, who was the first beautiful Canadian that made me pay more attention to, instead of my Gibson SD175. That night in 1973, I sat there dazed and confused even more than Jeff Beck did me, as I witnessed Micheal Waldren and Jean Luc Ponty interplay with the great John McLaughlin with his gorgeous double axe. After the concert, Diane asked me if she could drive me home since it was late, and it was on the way to her flat. I told her, "No, just let me down at the park in Scarth Street." It opposite the Saskachewan Hotel where we usually drank at the pub. I sat there in the deserted park until 3 am, before walking home to my parents' Cameron Street house. I was at that time, deciding again to give up playing lead guitar. The 3rd time... the first hearing Jeff, the second hearing Django, the 3rd, Mahavishnu.
Later the next year, Jeff did also come to Regina to play at the Exhibition Park in an arena smelling of horse manure... He blew us away too, with Jan Hammer and his band Fernando Sanders and Tony Smith, who also later became John McLaughlin's other super sidekicks, worst", Kiss, at a concert with Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Savoy Brown. I met the great Joe Pass too at a jazz clinic in Fort C'appelle, where he told us that joke about how after he asked some heavy metal or grunge band if they wanted to tune up first, and the guitarist said, "Oh, no need for that, our equipment were tuned at the factory." Last but not least, in Saskatoon, the next year, we also got to watch, "The world's best..." I was very much "way done gone" and left Hendrix, Cream... and Fried Ice at the crossroads.
This article and 2 photographs of Matt Tan are copyrighted. Copyrights Reserved by Matt Tan. Video 2:
Published on Apr 9, 2017
matt tan solo guitarist from canada performs his tribute to jimi hendrix. one guitar alone . please enjoy and send encouragement to the artist by visiting his music site, ( see intro / credit to videos for details). this is a non-profit musical project, all in the name of music. cheers,
matt J.S. tan (MJST zbraXing).
Why This Blog: My profile page explains it all. "This blog is written to (a) relive my missing music years, (b) keep interested seniors posted about our local music scene, (c) encourage music stories from them and (d) keep our younger generation, especially my *3J's, aware of our pop music heritage. Although I have lived the age and participated in the music I am neither a music guru nor historian. No showing off past glories." Today is November 22nd and this blog will be into its eighth year. My eldest grandson First Jay is nine and I remember he was two years young when I first thought about writing a blog. And it all started at Vivo City. That was when I went on stage to offer a non-professional voice backing to the Silver Strings on 8th November 2008 and First Jay was there with my folks. Although he was still so young, I felt he was enthralled by the event, definitely by the loud guitar noise.
Friends And Readers Who Assisted With Blog:
Here is my list of friends who started me off with the blog:
1. Roger Poh 2. Victor Koo 3. Friends of Yesteryear (FOYERS) Group, Singapore 4. Larry Lai
Very kind blog readers contributed their stories to help boost its authenticity. The list includes writers, photographers and their country of residence:
1. Allan Thompson: Norfolk England UK
2. Barry Walker: England UK
3. John Harper: York England UK 4. Dino Martin Peters: USA
5. Happy Tay: Vancouver BC Canada
6. Matt Tan: Montreal Quebec Canada
7. Byrt Mallanyk: Sydney Australia
8. Mag Jnne: Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
9. Peter Chan: Singapore
10. CYLin: Singapore
11. Mun Chor Seng: Singapore
12. John Cher: Singapore. 13. Michael Bangar 14. Stephen Han 15. Horace Wee 16. Henri Gann 17. SPYeo 18. Dr Steven Farram 19. Winston Koh 20. Richard Seah 21. Charlie Yap 22. Joe Woon And many more...
Regular Commentators from Singapore include:
1. FL 2. Ronnie See 3. Rickie Chng 4. Audie Ng 5. Jerry Fernandez 6. Merlin Lim 7. Dato Dr YS Lee: Penang Malaysia. 8. Jimmy Chng 9. Randy Lee 10. Erwin Maisch 11. James Seah 12. Dino Martin Peters: USA 13. BC Teoh: KL Malaysia 14. Dr Steven Farram: Charles Darwin University, Darwin Australia.
Translators for Mandarin: 1. Lim Kuan Min 2. SPYeo. Observations on Pop Yeh Yeh and Malay cultural matters: 1. Yusnor Ef. Media for introducing the blog: 1. Majorie Chiew: STAR newspaper Malaysia 2. Brigitte Rozario: 3age Malaysia Website 3. Christopher Toh: TODAY newspaper 4. Singapore Chinese newspapers Media Corp Singapore for telecast documentaries about blog and local pops: 1. Channel News Asia 2. Channel 5 3. Octo Channel
There are many regular contributors, so excuse me if I have not included your name. It is a long list and more will be added as the days go by. Apologies.
Helping Tertiary Students And Lost Friends:
Glad this blog has kept its pace and, most importantly, helped students at tertiary level who need to write papers about our 1960's music heritage for their media studies. Still meeting them at a Mall for interviews. This blog has also got long lost band members and friends together. Some of them have either migrated to far off lands or had never been in touch since their last band practice :-) Glad this blog has put some folks together again. With other books, blogs available in the market and websites, our youth have easier access to information about Singapore's Golden Years of Music and its western influence. Thank you all for support. Yours Sincerely, Andy. *3 grandchildren. Images: Google.
