Sunday, April 20, 2008

Diplomats Rocking it out at Akedemi Fantasia.

Diplomats set foot at the Akedemi Fantasia Concert!!

Not knowing what to expect, we went with open minds, and lo and behold, it was a freaking great show!! They treated us with respect, looked after us like we were big time charlies (we are, actually!!) and met all of our sound requirements, plus the MPPJ Civic hall acoustics were world class, so it made our 4 drums sound like 100!!

The crowd went berserker when we did our final soundcheck, and went over the top when we played live!!

Even all the celebrities like Sarimah Ibrahim, Ramli MS, Hetty Koes Hendang, Ogy Ahmad Daud, and Adam went gaga over the dhol drums!! haha.... great great great show, i'm still feeling it.... warmth all over!! haha....

Special mention to the host AC Mizal!! He got the Dance spot on!! He got the words "BALLE BALLE, SHAVA SHAVA, Bruahhhhhhhhhhhh" all right!! Brilliant!!

Here's the clip, Enjoy!!:

Friday, April 11, 2008

Good Stuff

Been a bit stressed up lately, lots of things to do... papers to study for, festivals to prepare for, practices, reharsals....

But I found a good way to release everything that was pent up... COMEDY COURT!! Our very own Allen Pererra and Indi Nadarajah and their hilarious antics!!

Got have a looksy... well worth it!

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Across D' Universe

Woits!

The gang will be putting up a set at the latest acoustic jam event to pop up in KL, called Across d' Universe.

The event is organized by the group called Sikhs with a Mission and the main intention of doing the event is to inspire young kids out there to reach for the stars. It is by no means a religious event, purely inspirational!!

Here's some posters to the event:



So, come one come all, its not restricted to Sikhs only, everyone is invited to come, plus, if you play an instrument, bring it along, there will be a massive jam session at the end of the nite!! woohoo....

Here's a map to the venue:

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Lighter Side of Things

Good ol' Lat... trust him to brighten up your day!! It amazes me that Lat never fails to see the lighter side of things when everyone else will be yelling doomsday!! haha... good on him!!


I came back yesterday after being stuck in a jam for 4 hours and was quite agitated and frustated and irritable, but one glance at this drawing brought a wide smile to my face and i started laughing like a hyhena for a good 20 mins...



So there you go, hope it brightens up your day just like it did mine!!

Monday, March 31, 2008

the illusion of speed...

this image was taken using an old school, low mpx VGA camera; it was supposed to give an illusion of speed og my hands when i played the dhol drum,



but the whole thing was so blurry, that kate commented that, in the end, it DID give and illusion of speed, that when i played the drum, my whole body jiggled and wiggled about so furiously, so it was speed la... speed of the fats jumping around... hahaha

of ego and its consequenses

EGO... oh god!! where do i even start? EGO... my god!!

it's way worse then the green eyed monster of jealousy, its way worse then having a short fuse... its way worse!!



it consumes a person from within and slowly eats away at what goodness and warmth that is left in him/her. its gives the ego-maniac a false sense of confidence and to the person, elevates them to a place in THEIR mind that FEELS like the top of the world, but in all honesty, ego only serves to alienate you from others, cause others to loathe you, make people hate you and feel like running a garbage truck over you over and over again....

I know this for a fact, as I was once a person that HAD a massive ego(to add to my already massive frame!!). My ego was so massive that not one other person could stand being in the same room with me, even for 2 mins!! it was so bad that even family members were keeping their distance, for fear of my backlash when they tried to bring me down to earth!!

i thought i was the best around and god's gift to humanity! nothing anyone said had any bearing on my self being, it was like I was god himself!!

it applied to everything that i did, be it in my studies, be it in my music, be it in my relationships.

in an ideal world, it would have been great to say that i saw the light one day, that god saved me... but the truth is, he didn't, i guess he couldn't be bothered about what i was doing, since i was so self consumed!

i have my good buddies satpal and jaggu to thank for that... they showed me a mirror of myself, and i didn't like what i saw, they tied my feet ball and chain to ground me, and the ran the truck over me over and over again... until i can to my senses....

i was crushed, defeated, humbled, ashamed, torn apart in pieces, rotting... for i saw me for who i was... nothing much at all... that all my life i had amounted to nothing!! not even a speck of dust... i thought i was the best musician there ever lived, but i had barely achieved anything of recognition... and so on and so forth... all my short comings were exposed and shown for what they were... just layers of lies and more lies... that i had build around myself... because deep down inside, subconsciously, i knew that i was nothing much... and that i feared of being ridiculed... so i created this persona of myself.... just to keep me happy...

anyways, many moons have passed and i am much changed!! i made right of all my wrongs when i was mr. EGO, and it has served me better....

and here, i give credit to GOD... many people were shocked when i took amrit(for the non-Sikh's, baptism) out of the blue in 2000. i did this not to find god or to look for a purpose in life, but, in all honesty, i need HIM to help me stay grounded... and by being a SIKH, i remain grounded... never has my ego popped up again... and it has done me a lot of good!

i put in a lot of work to improve my self in all aspects, being guided by the invisible hand of the GURU... and i have a lot to show for it now... and i will keep on working for fear of going back to my old self, and disappointing everyone that i love.

i can talk openly about it now, it wasn't easy back then, but i cant talk about it now as i have suppressed the ego and it will never rear its ugly head again....

my memories were triggered by a recent incident between two dear friends, both with ego's the size of a football field and both oblivious to it!! when push came to shove, and they were both exposed... it hurt them, more so one party then the other, some snide comments were made and both clashed... and when i say clash, i mean clash of the titans!!

needless to say, both parties have since drifted apart, and i can only hope that time will heal their wounded self being, and kill off their ego's... for the sake of everyone else around them, and more importantly, for themselves!!

so i you guys are reading this, please do not make the same mistakes that i made, do not take the same path that i took, for it is a path that will crush the weak... and at this moment, i dunno if your fragile self being can take such a massive blow!!

but, guys, no matter what, you are family, and family helps each other, and i will do everything in my power to repair the damage done to you first, and then between the two of you!! THIS IS A PROMISE OF AN ELDER BROTHER.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

CONGRAT's...BAO's piping works!!

Congrats are in order!! My good friend and former schoolmate at Victoria Institute is now a father....we were worried for a while that his piping might be faulty, but he sure as hell proved us wrong!! Mohd Khairil Amir Nordin (Alut/Bao) is now a dad!!

His wife gave birth to a beautful baby girl, Khaireen Afreena Bt. Mohd. Khairil on the 9th of March 2008 jam 2.42 pm (3.5kg).


Well done, I know it was hard work, (not that Bao didn't enjoy it!!), here's to hoping that you make great parents... the adage is really true then... "you reap what you sow"!!

Gigs... and a tad bit on attitude.

The band went for a gig yesterday, specifically for the Heineken UEFA Champions League Super Draw.

Lotsa rude buggers around, lotsa tardy buggers around, and lotsa perasan buggers around.

But all was not lost, bumped into my good mate, Joey G (yes, from Channel V!!, im his percussionist!), Jaime Yeoh, Jien, Daphne Iking, and these guys were super nice and friendly. Event was hosted by Joey and Marion(also of Channel V fame, but i knew her way back from when she did makeup for me on Latte@8, so i guess she owed her fame to me!! and her face changed when i reminded her!! haha ;P), and it was to celebrate Heinekens partnership with the champions league!!

The band played a short piece for the event launch and left soonest possible. Couldnt stand the people around us... so many posers and fakers around.

Highlight of the day:



Jien posing for a pic with me, but with a message for my brother Jaggu!! He still isn't over THAT bet!! And guess what? I'm Gonna get him to commit to another daring bet!! haha...

Saturday, March 08, 2008

FIREWATER - The Golden Hour World Tour

received an email recently, it was to audition for a band that needed a percussionist for their upcoming tour. before i could even say yes or no, they contacted me and told me that the job had been taken!! their new percussionist is none other that my good friend and master drummer Johnny Kalsi!!

The band is called FIREWATER, they've got their own myspace page, you can hear some of their stuff by clicking here .

here's the confirmed tour schedule for the upcoming weeks:

8.04 FRA RENNES L'Antipode
9.04 FRA PARIS TBC
10.04 FRA LYON (FEYZIN) L'épicerie Moderne
11.04 TUR ISTANBUL Babylon
12.04 SWI GENEVE L'Usine Ptr & Soyouz
13.04 GER off -
14.04 CZ.REP PRAGUE Rock Café
15.04 GER DRESDEN Beatpol
16.04 GER BERLIN Tacheles
17.04 SWI ST-GALLEN Palace
18.04 SWI BERN Reitschule
19.04 AUS STEYR Röda
20.04 AUS WIEN B 72
21.04 GER off -
22.04 GER HAMBURG Logo
23.04 GER LEIPZIG Nato
24.04 GER BIELEFELD Forum
25.04 GER HANNOVER Glocsee
26.04 AUS DORNBIRN TBC
27.04 GER FREIBURG Cafe Atlantic
28.04 FRA off -
29.04 FRA TOULOUSE Garorock
30.04 FRA LIMOGES Woodstock Boogie Bar
1.05 FRA PONT STE.MAXENCE La Manekine
2.05 FRA CHALON S/SAONE La Péniche
3.05 BEL ANTWERPEN 5 voor 12

go ahead and check them out, they're great!!! you'll be guarenteed to have a great time!! will update this page with the latest gig dates soon i as i get em!!

its music from the HEART, with words that mean SOMETHING, and music that we ENDURE!!

viva la liberation...

i did something today... which will never be known to the masses, but i must say it IS/WAS the single most liberating thing that i've done... and it took away all the stress, anger, and agony that has been building up in me over the past week since the demise of a dear friend.

i have to say a massive THANK YOU to Christy for pushing me to do it (although it took helluva long to get to this point) and for being there while it happened!!


this is what liberation does....

ask me personally and i will tell you what i've done and how good it makes me feel... simply fantabulous!!