wohoho… these are totally awesome. throughout the year of 2007 gonna bring us some terrific events and festivals in conjunction with VISIT MALAYSIA YEAR 2007. i am extremely excited of what's gonna happen for the next few months. listen to this guys: WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL gonna be held here in PENANG!!! and there's gonna be WORLD DRUMS FESTIVAL at port dickson. i'm sure gonna be at these two places.

here's some of the cool events that are special and exciting:

Rainforest World Music Festival 2007
13 July 2007 Until 15 July 2007
In the interior of mystical Borneo, amidst a living museum known as the Sarawak Cultural Village, the world's musicians gather to celebrate a fusion of nature, culture and ethnic music. Incorporating workshops, ethno-musical lectures, jam sessions and mesmerising evening performances, this magical event is set to thrill music aficionados. Held for the tenth time in 2007, the festival brings together ardent fans from throughout the world.

Venue:
Sarawak
Phone: 6082-423600
Fax: 6082-416700
Email: stb@sarawaktourism.com
Website: www.rainforestmusic-borneo.com

World Music Festival 2007 – Botanical Garden, Penang
20 July 2007 Until 22 July 2007
The air in Penang will be filled with enchanting melodies that originate from various parts of the world. Be there as tthe world's renowned musicians showcase the best music from their countries and cultures. Superb performances and unforgetable activities will keep music lovers delighted

Venue:
Botanical Garden
Penang
Phone: +603-2693 7111
Fax: +603-2694 1146
Email: info@motour.gov.my
Website: www.motour.gov.my

50 Years of Nationhood – World Lion Dance Invitation
3 August 2007 Until 5 August 2007
Enjoy spectacular performances by the best lion dance troupes invited from all over the world, held especially in conjunction with Malaysia's 50th Anniversary and for the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign.

Venue:
Genting Highlands
Pahang
Phone: 603-61052143
Fax: 603-61052521
Email: Veron.loo@genting.com
Website: www.genting.com.my

Malaysia International Fireworks Competition
15 August 2007 Until 30 August 2007
Watch the sky being lit up with impressive firework displays! The competition will feature various countries vying to create brilliant displays. Each country will present unique and spectacular firework formations. Splendid splashes of flaming red, bright orange and other vivid colours transform the sky into a grand theatre of pyrotechnics. Be part of this magical, glittering evening!

Venue:
Putrajaya
Phone: 603-2693 7111
Fax: 603-2694 1146
Email: info@motour.gov.my
Website: www.motour.gov.my

KL International Tattoo Show
7 September 2007 Until 9 September 2007
The tattoo show aims to bring together foreign groups such as military forces to congregate harmoniously in Kuala Lumpur. The three-night event features displays of precision marching and military demonstrations for four hours every night. This is an opportunity for major armies of the world to converge and to participate in this spectacular show.

Venue:
Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur
Phone: 603-26937111
Fax: 603-26932399
Website: www.motour.gov.my

Penang International Lantern Festival
15 September 2007 Until 14 October 2007

Lanterns of various shapes and colours bring on an air of festivity to this beautiful island. The Lantern Festival is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, usually celebrated in the eight month of the Chinese lunar calendar. It marks the succesful rebellion against the Mongol rulers of the Yuan Dynasty in the 14th century China. Children and adults rejoice by walking around with lanterns in various colours. At nightfall, the procession of lanterns is a sight to behold.

Venue:
Penang
Phone: 604-262 0202
Fax: 604-263 1020
Email: enquiry@tourismpenang.gov.my
Website: www.tourismpenang.gov.my

World Drums Festival
3 November 2007 Until 10 November 2007
A cultural event showcasing a variety of percussion and drum music from the four corners of the globe. This event will feature ten groups of drummers from around the world. Come and enjoy its rhythms and sounds.

Venue:
Port Dickson
Negeri Sembilan
Phone: 606-7676793
Fax: 606-7634417

KL International Buskers Festival
1 December 2007 Until 9 December 2007
Enjoy nine days of pure fun in this delightful festival, featuring performances by acrobats, knife-eaters, creative dancers, comedians and jugglers. Busking is the art of street performing, done with absolutely no rehearsals, scripts or routines. Watch wacky performers from various countries as they liven up the town with their antics. Great entertainment for the whole family!

Venue:
Kuala Lumpur
Phone: 603-26981033
Fax: 603-2691 6122
Email: info@malaysiabuskers.com
Website: www.malaysiabuskers.com

you can get to see other cool events throughout the country here.

We are the Champions!

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the National Finals of Yamaha Asian Beat Malaysia 2006 at RUM JUNGLE!

Today, seven bands from all over Malaysia come together at the grand finale to cross-swords. Only one winner for the big show down, and they will represent Malaysia in next year's Asia Grand Final, which will be held in Sunway Lagoon. (P/S: host country will be represented by two bands, which means the runner-up of today's event also get the chance to show their colour in the Asia Grand Final)

Before we get to the main show and stories of our journey, lets have a peep at all the band details in appearance order:

1) Red Series from Kedah
2) Krammat from Pahang
3) Ocean of Fire from Penang
4) Simple 7 from Johor
5) Two-Four from KL
6) Poetical Kingdom from KL
7) Settlemen from Johor

Here are some stories on our journey~
After my final music lesson at 6pm Saturday 2nd December 2006, i flew off to Penang at 6.35pm, yes, flew off at lightning speed. Unfortunately, this was the same day Queensbay (Jaya Jusco) was openning in Bayan Lepas, Penang. That darn traffic jam strecthed all the way from Bayan Lepas, accross the entire Penang Bridge, and to the place where i was stucked even before reaching the Penang Bridge toll. I thought Suan will be fuming because i promised to be at his place at 7.30pm but then was already 7.45pm.

Finally arrived at 8.30pm after the heavy jam. We left Penang at about 9.15pm. Eventually reaching KL at 1.35am. Ric the arh arh guy was waiting for us to have supper and i was anticipating the match between Midboro vs MU.

Italian food, Wan Tan Mee, Sausage, Barbecued Chiken, what else?

We ate quite a lot of food and guess what, after eating, straight go back to zzz, so healthy our life style. haha…

The next day, we woke up quite late at 10am and missed the sound check at Rum Jungle #$%^&*()#$%^&*(. On our way to the venue, we also got lost for a while by bumping into a protected residential area, where the hell was that anyway?

With some luck, we managed to reach Rum Jungle by 11.25am. And with a lot of luck, we found an ideal parking place at the venue wahaha (later to find out that it costs us RM20, what the ….)

So, u wonder why is it called Jungle~
Axl Rose: Welcome To The Jungle! We got fun and games~

Donkey Kong welcomes you~

Dining beside some bushes~

Yamaha Asian Beat, The best music in Asia starts here~

So, the first thing we did is to locate our friends from Penang ~ Oceans of Fire, “Contestant Waiting Area” this way please~

There you are Oceans~

Shawn was busy orchestrating the stage coordination, while ah hooi was very idle but trying to make himself looked very busy~

Two-Four on stage sound-checking~

Asian Beat banner hanging from above~

Thirsty? Check out the Amazon Bar~

After sound check, Oceans and us went of to have lunch and relaxed for approx 45 minutes.

And here comes Uglymen's jemming studio owner in Penang ~ Ah Yong.

Guest tags ~ Thanks to Shawn and Yamaha Music~

Yamaha new guitars and basses endorsee poster~

Note the T-shirt, blue-screen error, what to do? Control Alternate Delete la!

Caught red-handed, Ah Yong being molested by Suan~

Also met many Yamaha dealers there, Mr Thomas from Johor, Mr Lim from Penang, Mr Ng from Alor Star off course.

Tang Tang Tang, its about time.

Spotlights on please, welcome to Yamaha Asian Beat National Finals of Malaysia 2006, and Lets Get Serious!

Introducing our panel of judges today, from Left to Right~
Jennifer Thomson (General Manager of  AIM, also a well-known producer), Eric Kok (graduated from ASK and also a famous musician in the music scene), Teoh Ka Joo (Senior Manager of the Education Department of Yamaha Music Malaysia),King Shah (Winner of AIM best producer award and also guitarist for local metal band Metalasia), Hillary Ang (Guitarist for famous rock outfit Search, Cromok, and also endorsee for Yamaha guitars)

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1st Band to Perform:
Red Series (FLY)

The champion from Kedah performed a powerful number, with slight improvement from just a few days back in Alor Star. It was a shame that they did not have a chance to jam because after they won in Alor Star on 28th November, one of their members had to go to Johor and they only get to meet again on competition day! To perform a metal / rap-core number, one of the most important things you have to do is to play tightly, since you would have a lot of punctuations, sudden stoppages, hit-drop attacks, you have to be VERY PRECISE, and this was what Red Series lacked of. Besides, the vocals were still not soundly delivered and they lacked the cutting edge of metal voicing. And the weakest point of the band was sound balancing, the two guitars were too powerful, you can hear clear overtones (humming) whenever they stopped for even a single beat. Drum and bass were partly covered by the guitars, and therefore the guitars also made the vocals sounded not agressive. On the bright side, Red Series had put a lot of effort into bringing the best to the National Final audience. They wore full costumes (as in Alor Star Final), and they also slightly re-designed their choreography to make a better visual effect. Considering the effort they have put in, they deserved a standing ovation. Syabas!

2nd Band to perform:
Krammat (Penjuru Kota)

AS i know, the first thing musically about the band, the drummer was really tight, even thought he did not change the beat from start to end. The band wore a uniform, which really reflected the style of music they play (Rock Metal), this is an effort which they put in (though a small one). Song wise was normal, nothing really stood out but it showed something ~ this kind of 80's rock is an ever-present in every year's National Finals. It means there is really limited new stuff to see at present. Since the breakout of metal in the 80s, this style is repeated every year. Oh Ya, i actually not only looked into their attire but down to their shoes, they wore all white shoes (3 adidias, and 1 nike), though it was not a big thing, but it looked well-matched nonetheless. They sounded tight , because of the drummer.

3rd Band to perform:
Ocean of Fire (CTRL-ALT-DEL)

Even without a vocal in their song (instrumental), they played something different from the other finalist. A well-arranged number which was well executed in most part of the song. This is the only band of the seven finalists which the crowd could groove with. (in case you duno about grooving, it means that you can shake or move your body parts in accordance to the music you are listening to). The song was made up of different parts (musical style) knitted together. The song shone due to its dynamic moods and funky appearace which was musically beautiful. They were the cleanest band which i could hear from the hi-hats of the drums, to the chik-ka-wik of the rhythm guitar. Areas of improvement: Lead guitar should be slightly louder. Bassist was still lack of touch and timing, Drummer should work on his strokes as some parts were quite messy especailly the hats, and the tone of the toms, besides, he also has to work on his wrist snap. The most improved of the lot was the rhythm guitarist, which i could really hear what he plays for the first time since the Penang Final, however, his time was still not perfect and if he can do it more precisely, the band will sound even tigher. Scully, your drum solo is still too long la, because the whole stretch of solo sounded flat. If too flat, it means judges will feel bored if it went on too long.

4th Band to perform:
Simple 7 (Dia, Kau, Dan Aku)

Simple 7 is the champion from Johor (C & M), they played the same song with almost no modification from the Johor finals. Their progressive number was nothing special, though they played well. They sounded like just any pub bands. I chose them to be the Johor champion earlier because of their tightness and cleanliness. But today, the judges were choosing a band to REPRESENT the country, which will high-light its unique colour in the Asia Grand Final. I was a little upset to see that they did not change anything to make the song sound nicer in terms of variations and dynamic ranges. The guitarist (blue guitar) was one of the cleanest among all guitarist today. The overall expression of the vocalist was a bit inappropriate with the song.

5th Band to perform:
Two-Four (Instinct)

The champion of KL, delieverd a fusion number with 2 guitarist, bassist, lead vocalist, drummer, and one violinist cum backing vocal. They were like Simple 7 but much tighter. Surprisingly the musicians were not giving much thoughts on their appearance. Some wore nicely and some just put on a singlet, this might be the image they opted for but it was not appropriate to the song. The song has nice arrangement, but not exciting enough for them to gain more points from the judges. They gave a little of bit of creativity sparks by blending in the violin. Though i must say that the only time i heard the violin clearly was when the song went into an intersection where other instruments toned down. The violinist backed the lead vocal nicely too. It was a top-three finishing performance from Two Four.

6th Band to perform:
Poetical Kingdom (Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup)

The runner-up (a punk-band) from KL finals was disqualified from the National Finals because they had a non-Malaysian member, which is prohibited in the rules and regulations of Yamaha Asian Beat Band Competition. 2nd Runner-Up of KL Finals ~ Poetical Kingdom then gained a free-access to the competition. They did a nice intro before entering the main theme of the song. It was a heavy metal piece. Very tight and very strong metal approach in the overall arrangement. One extra-ordinary element in their performance was positioning of their musicians, i dont know whether this was considered as showmanship. First, the vocal and guitarist came out stood down a step from the main stage, then, the guitarist went back on stage, the bassist came down, later the vocalsist went up and the guitarist came down again. I wonder if they thought of asking the drummer to come out from behind his drum and walk around the stage and go back to the drum. They were tight and precise execution of riffing. I monitored carefully both guitarist's right hand strokes, very nice and tight.

7th Band to perform:
Settlemen (Bebaskan)

Another champion from Johor (Masai), played a funky number (nice bass lines). The songs were divided into many parts but the intersections in between parts were not really smooth. I could hear some sudden changes in mood and feel, the change of sections could be arranged more fluently. The vocalist was always smiling kekeke… The guitarist played very clean, many parts of ad-libs and a lot of funky strumming, but, the tone was ear-piercing and i had to close my left ear almost the whole song through. Bassist hung his bass lowly but still played with very minor mistakes only. Drummer was ok but not impressive. Keyboardist was playing a brass section which nicely supported the rhythm section (drum and bass)
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phew! there goes all the seven finalists.

And two guest bands performed while the judges choose the best candidate to represent Malaysia in Sunway Lagoon for the Asia Grand Final next March.

Guest bands in action~

and the results for Yamaha Asian Beat National Finals 2006:
Finalist Awards in random orders~
-Red Series
-Krammat
-Simple 7
-Settlemen

3rd place goes to~
-Two-Four

2nd place goes to (representing Malaysia)~
-Poetical Kingdom

and the Champions of 2006 are (representing Malaysia)~
OCEAN OF FIRE

and Ocean of Fire forgot to take their cheque, so Uglymen will help them keep and use it

I posted the results on uglymen.net  via my phone once they were announced.

There were no individual musicians award given out today, but if i had to pick, these are my favourites:

Best Vocalist~ Two Four
Best Guitarist~ Kelvyn Yeang (Ocean of Fire)
Best Bassist~ Settlemen
Best Drummer~ Krammat
Best Keyboardist~ Simple 7
Best Performance~ Red Series

After the show, our studio owner Ah Yong ko spent us a wonderful meal near the venue~

We ate until about 7pm and went back to the venue to see what we could kepo about Asian Beat. We talked for about 45 minutes with Amelia and Jo, sharing opinions of Yamaha Asian Beat competition and the local music scene. We had some nice time chatting all the way to almost 8pm and bidded farewell to them.

Off we go…. back to Penang.

See you in 2007 March 10th, Sunway Lagoon, Asia Grand Finals!

misc photos:

Its all about the music, Say No To Drugs~

Photo with JD (Pop Shuvit guitarist, producer, sound engineer)

Excuse me, can i have the un-openned food please?

Uglymen with Mr Chiam of Yamaha Music Malaysia

MC for the Big Day was Sally Goh~

Once again, Congralutations to Yamaha Music Malaysia on striving to the limit to bring the Asian Beat competition to live, and helped moving forward the local music industry by discovering new talents!

Syabas to all!

 

Welcome to AsianHeat Kedah / Perlis Finals 2006

P/S: To all bands, please visit the link below to download full size (over 1Mb each photo) individual band photos in Gallery page.

http://www.michael-one.com

If you are interested to know about the other Regional Finals, pls click below:

Johor Finals 2006 Part I

Johor Finals 2006 Part II

Johor Finals 2006 Part III

Penang Finals 2006

KL Finals 2006

KL Finals 2006 photos

And here goes the final round of Regional Finals in Kedah. It was a very warm night and I think changing from Asianbeat to Asian heat is not wrong at all. The atmosphere was very good, tension was high, and the bands were certainly kicking asses. I must say the overall performances of the 12 bands here definitely was the best compared to Johor, Penang, and KL (according to Shawn of Yamaha). So, let's join me to the Yamaha Asian Heat Kedah / Perlis 2006 Finals!

Time: Tuesday noon 12.40pm

I was driving back from Penang BJ to Alor Setar, then approaching the Penang bridge, the %^&* police was mending two road blocks just about 1 km apart. What the tut? It was rush hour during lunch man, what a brilliant time to make me jam for more than 30 minutes. I was in a rush since I would be going to Jitra airport to pick up Shawn and Pop Shuvit drummer Rudy.

Time: Tuesday noon 2.15pm

Reached my house finally. Took a quick bath then drove to airport. Shawn and Rudy arrived at 2.55pm. At first sight, I recognised Rudy as I wacthed him play very often. Huh, you must be thinking how i watch. I watch football nearly every week, and the Celcom commercial features him banging the drum, woh oh oh oh, oh, woh oh oh oh…..

Rudy is really a cool and down-to-earth guy, we talked for a few minutes and in no time, we started to talk cock. Really humble guy in such a cool band

Our man in action

The Celcom Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSCmTPPEkqs

About Pop Shuvit:
One line sums it all, they sold MORE CDs then Linkin Park in Japan.
Official website: Pop Shuvit

So… off we went to the venue, and checked into Hotel Holiday Villa. It was still pretty early and Rudy did some tunings on the drum.

Since we have 4 hours more to kick-off time, we went to Telikom Tower for a clearer look of Alor Star

Shawn and Rudy couldnt resist to take a photo with this charming signboard (read the words guys)

The tallest buidling is Holiday Villa, which both of them put up at.
 

In the lift… coming down

Rudy and the tower, cool pic

After been tortured and burnt by the Alor Star heat, its Tom Yam time at Star Parade

And after food, we still had some time to shop for a while

Ok ok… i know, you must be wondering is this a report on Asianbeat or a journal on day out. Now let's get to the serious stuff.

At 6.45pm. This is the display area at the venue (City Plaza, Ground Floor)

Before the show started, every contestant, yes, i mean EVERY contestant was treated to a free dinner at City One Cafe (one of the cool sponsors). Not eating rice box or nasi lemak, but full course dinner with soup, chicken, vege, curry, orange juice, rice, not enough? just take one more plate la. I bet NO other regional finals venue offered this. Big applause to City One Cafe. 

No need to ciak ka ki, all contestant ciak City One Cafe

All RIGHT!! Its 8.15pm tang tang… show about to start liao.

this is the main stage

Crowd increasing, temperature warming up, its the AsianHeat finals!

And introducing our honourable judges of the day Left to Right: me, Shawn, Rudy, Cikgu Badrul

Let's Roll!

First Band: The Beerz
Song: Its Black Too Bad (self composed)

First, i must again tell you that, among the Regional finals i have been this year, Alor Star was the best in terms of overall band quality and presentation (Shawn confirmed my statement). The Beerz played quite well with a brass section (keyboard), although they said it was their own song, but too bad there was an Extreme fan in the panel of judges. I would say they copied EXACTLY almost 50% of “Cupids Dead” music section. If i am not wrong, they did the same thing back in 2004 when they took part in Yamaha Asianbeat (Mutiara Karaoke). That time, they copied much of “Get The Funk Out” and “Suzie”. Gezzz… i know all of Extreme songs as i am a Nuno freak. Please dont do that again la, have already told you lads back in 2004. You wanna copy the style, not sebiji bulat-bulat la… Cikgu Badrul thought the chorus part was like Michael Jackson's 1987 epic “Bad”, and i must agree he got a point.
Balancing was bad, the keyboard was way over the mountain, bass and guitar made to suffer from dynamic lost. Vocal and drummer was not bad. I picked the guitarist as the best among the contesting bands at the end of the show, but he has a long long way to catch the winner in Johor (The Blaze)

Second Band: Rampage
Song: Siapa Kamu (Self-composed)

I was really happy to see that most bands in Alor Star now started to compete with their own songs. Rampage was very loose and never really did any rampage at all. Guitar was very muddy and tone was like scratching your nail on the black board. As I said before, I cant really blame contestant completely on tone because it involved many factors, still, the tone is very bad. I lost count in the hit and miss high notes of the vocalist.

Third Band: The Xilens
Song: Lumrah (Self-composed)

The band consists of the only chick competing in the competition ~ the vocalist as you can see above. The band should be better without the vocal. She has abysmal picthing problem, and her key was always floating. The guitar was out tuned (a little) and the drummer was smacking the drum so hard like this was the last time he had a chance to play drum. Good thing about this band is the intro was nice and the build up to the song was quite smooth.

Forth Band: Red Series
Song: FLY (Self-composed)

This band is from Langkawi and they were also the champion in Kedah last term (with different band name). They have cool uniform with each member's name printed on their shirt, with matching pants and serious hair do. I said many times before, dont overlook your attire, as appearance plays a part in your total marks too. Their style was part Slipknot, part rap-core type. Full of showmanship and corresponding vocals (two vocals). Balancing was ok. Every instrument could be heard and some good contrasting dynamic parts in the song (it could be better). They looked like heading to KL again this year. Now the bad side, the lead vocalist was not agressive in accordance to the song, way to feminine, infact, the rapper sounded more like the lead vocalist. Messy choreographing, some members was head-down, some went up, it did not look grand. They HAVE to practise infront of a mirror, some friends or record it to see. After the show, i had a lengthy talk with them and hope they become tigther, both in terms of music, and showmanship.

Fifth Band: The Line Is Engaged
Song: You Are The One (Self-composed)

Just formed not long ago, these lads drove from Kampar to compete the show, and, DROVE back to kampar the same night. Clap Clap Clap! Let's get to the good points first: It was definitely very good for a debut band show performance. I was a little surprised to see they play quite well. Song styled like J-Rock with driven guitars. Well dressed (ah, i dont think the cowboy hat matched the song). Each member has this small little toy animals tied to their instruments. I saw a tortoise hanging from the bass, and Mr Bean's bear was resting in the vocalist's pocket. Balancing was good. Two guitarist backed the lead vocalist. The minus part: drum and bass needs polishing, esp drummer. Backing vocal should have been sung in harmony, not doubling (same pitch), or unison. As this was a commercial number, a 3-voicing harmony would have done a good trick on the song. They have a lot to learn to deliver a top-notch pop rock showing. Impressive at first take!

Sixth Band: Unicorn
Song: Perjuangan (cover)

“Halo, i cannot hear the bass”. This was my comment in the marking form. The tempo was so inconsistent and the double pedaling of the drummer sounded like flamming (correct spelling?) of the kick drum. Instead of four 16th notes in a beat, i heard 2 pair of grace notes (acciacatura) in a beat. Get what i mean? like he shuould have played “tng tng tng tng” but it sounded “tng-tng   tng-tng”. I cannot comment on the bass becuase i did not hear anything. Guitarist was one word: LOUD.

Seventh band: Karisma
Song: Telaga (cover)

This pub-band played beautifully ~ a Zainal Abidin number. Clearly veterans. Song genre was R&B with some light fusion. Overall was very good, bassist full of showmanship, he jumped down the stage long before the song ended and i was thinking how the hell he would go up again (eventually he stayed on the ground til the end of song). They have a good backing vocalist hitting a cow bell too. Keyboardist was good and drummer was the most consistent through out the night. Guitarist played well, but the solo he improvised does not fit the song. It seemed he intentionally tapped, dived-bomb to gain marks for guitar section, however, that also pulled down the overall marks because it spoilt the mood and flow of the song. Very nice to watch though the whole band. The lead and backing vocalist danced at some point. Entertaining.

Eight band: Contra
Song: Seruan (cover)

 

The vocalist was shocking but entertaining to watch. First he was always off pitch, his stage ethnic was very funny, at one point he removed his vest and threw to the floor, eh… he was like half William Hung half ?????? I certainly enjoyed watching him though. Guitar again too loud and bass has flat tone (please refer to my Johor 1, 2, 3 reviews for my definition of good bass tone) They performed a “Lefthanded” number and overall was just average. It seemed most guitarist like to turn guitar way loud over brokeback mountain and then everything else start to feel they sounded too soft and would eventually cracking up thier instruments too. At the end, you hear nothing but noice. Balancing is the most most most important thing you have to be sure of even before you start your song. That's why sound-check is so IMPORTANT!

Have a read on what one of my friends says about the band:

“their vocalist really made me roll on the floor. He was singing heavy metal style(i wonder why 90% of them can just sing like they have sorethroat and can't sing like normal, any idea?), and then he went “wao wao miaomiao mao mao”, i couldnt hear any human language in the lyric…..he could just ask anybody to replace him n just shout mao mao mao miaomiaomiao if u know what i mean.”  Wen Hen

Ninth Band: Klosa
Song: Mimpi (Self-composed)

Same story, band not tight, guitar too loud, bass too soft… good attemp thought. And i alwyas respect those band who can really come out with their own GOOD seld-composed song. I wish Klosa all the best for next time.

Tenth Band: Eleventh Hour
Song: Fist In The Air (Self-composed)

Performed a song in rap-core style with melodus chorus part, sounded like limp bizkit and post linkin park stuff. Guitar overpowered the band (Again!!) or else it should have been so much better for the band. The turn-tablist was almost muted the whole song until about the last section of the song when guitar slowed down and i could really hear him then. Vocalist was the most in-pitch (not really impressive), still miss some high-notes, but I could see he tried his best and his effort later paid off. Tempo overall was ok. Good band!

Eleventh Band: The Dreadful Ardent
Song: Lake Bodom (cover)

Good intro (but this is a cover song) and they did not change much. There was some good dynamic change in the song but the band was too loose. Drum and bass could not coordinate well and guitar was too loud (Again again!!)

Phew… there goes all the 11 bands (band number 12 pulled out)

While all judges went on for discussions and calculations, here comes the guest band POSEIDON!!!!

Loud and Tight, no doubt about it!

Poseidon Rawwks!

The cool bassist!

They played Audio Slave

Poseidon heat up the atmosphere just before the result announcement

The MC for tonight was sponsored by DIGI

Proud moment for individual musicians winners:
Best Drummer / Bassist : Karisma
Best Guitarist: The Beerz
Best Vocalist: Eleventh Hour

Third place goes to “Eleventh Hour”

Second place goes to “Karisma”

and the new champion from Kedah / Perlis: “Red Series”
 

Congratulations to all winners, great thank-you to all sponsors, organisers, contestants, audience and all staff in making one of the most happenning regional finals this year, and to Yamaha Music, for making sleepy Alor Star town alive again with music!

After the show, Poseidon, Rudy, Shawn, Cikgu Badrul, and all staff went to have supper. It was a night to be remembered, we talked all the way beyond 1.30am, i was drainned out as i have been going here there every where for the past weeks. I certainly hope you enjoyed reading this report as i did in more than 3 hours writing it. All band photos courteosy of Silver_Isle.

See you guys in Malaysia Finals 3rd December 2006

Zzzzzzzzzzz….. 

It was certainly more entertaining in Penang compared to the Johor version of this years' finals.

This time, I have all the band details, (thanks to Miss Lim and Shawn, who allowed me to capture some band documents on my camera) so, no messing up with names and positions like what i screwed up in Johor.

I will keep this shorter than the Johor report as I noticed i talked too much in the previous 27 pages report, you dont believe it? Try copy all the 3 reports from Johor including the photos and paste them in your Microsoft Word, you will get 27 pages, thats the total number of pages i submitted to Yamaha.

in terms of excitement, Johor still offered more, but in terms of entertainment and comedy, Penang certainly stood out.

OK, let me start my engine… 2 of the 3 Uglyboyz followed me to Penang

In my CLK at 4.15pm, was going to be late

Reached Bukit Jambul just in time at 6pm, attended briefing and went straight to choose my Yamaha acoustic guitar for the openning act.

Introducing the 3 judges for the big showdown, (L-R) me, Jerry Felix, Michael Kay.

Jerry Felix is one of the best drummer in Malaysia and also holds several records on the drums. We knew each other some time ago and he has his own drum solo album, and played and recorded for countless artistes. Did i mention he support Manchester United? ha, I brought a MU key chain gift for him too.

Michael Kay, is very well known for his contributions in the keyboard instruments, music publishing, and also music education. He is from Malaysia's biggest music press publisher Rhythm Music Publishing.

Crowds feeling up the venue fast

Even sitting on the floor, can you spot some guys wearing Uglymen T-shirts?

I was first up and the Yamaha i picked certainly sounded very nice to me on stage, and the neck profile just glued to my fingers, must get this model!

And here comes the heavyweights!

It was so nice jemming with them!

Our MC for the day Chia, well-versed in English, Malay, Mandarin and can joke some more, where else you can find this type of MC, and he is good looking too.

Before and during the show, i also met Leow, Bobby, James, Ah Soon, Suan and family, and off course the Uglyboyz and my friend Bong Sze Rin tagged along. During the first few bands, Gnap suddenly pop up and say hi to me. Nice to finally meet you Gnap!

First Band ~ Ocean of Fire

They played a self-composed number called “Control Alternate Delete”, the guitarist Kelvyn (ah you know him already, he is every where in Uglymen.net now) He told me they have some new songs coming up, one is about having safe sex called “Safe Mode”, another about positioning called “Shift + Enter”, and a global song about help in Africa called “F1″.
Ocean sounded times better than what i heard in Alor Setar few weeks back. The song was fine with intentional stoppages for individual solos (which i not quite like) because that will break the feel of the band. The drum solos was way too long (thanks to some big head), bass solo already shortened, but i still felt too long. Rhythm guitarist was almost annoymous (i later found out most bands using the amp he was using also no sound one, so cant blame fully on him la). Kelvyn was no longer a mirror of Yngwie, where he used to fry the notes from beginning to the end. I suggest they put in more gimmicks in the song. The gimmick when the drummer came out to hit everything he could reach actually did not work well. The ending where the three front players saling-goreng on one another's guitar was also needless. Still, after just watching the first band, i had a feel they were already in the top 3. They were clearly clean and listenable but not too impressive. Some simple routines in the songs could be modified and they could sound easily twice better than tonight. Another thing i want to stress is Oceans dressed well, not too glaring and nice to watch, you can see the effort was there. Good job Oceans.

2nd band ~ Reaching Horizon

In a band competition, sometimes you are unlucky to be placed at the first to perform, some judges may reserve marks to see how the later bands perform, and normally if you are the first, you probably will have that feeling of the atmosphere not “warmed-up” yet, or not settled down yet, very floating, and you may perform below par. But for tonight, this theory went the other way, because Reaching Horizon was surely unfortunate to be placed after Ocean. The class between this two were miles apart. Balancing bad, almost zero showmanship, and the vocal's picthing was bad, and t shirts and jeans.
After just watching the 2nd band, I thought they were heading for the last 3 (sorry for that, i am just trying to be frank so that you guys dont repeat the same mistakes. Hope to see these guys do better other times) They played a cover.

3rd band ~ Masterpiece

This band was cool at first sight. Vocalist, guitarist, bassist wore vests, looks cooler like a band, and they were squarting down before the song starts (hmm…. its becoming a norm for bands in Asianbeat always squart down before the song start..keke) Masterpiece played their own song called “Penaklukan”. The eerie intro certainly sounded like alien invading earth ala War of the World. (I thought Tom Cruise wore a vest too in the beginning of the movie). Then, all hell broke loose. It was a heavy-metal song, but Jerry and I were certainly going heavy-mental, we turned our heads looking at each other and open mouth big big… The musicians were below average but a big chunk of blame must go to the vocals. He was daring, i like that a lot, but he was singing on-off pitch, was that a song or a scream, he tried to woo the crowd by saying welcome blah blah… 1,2,3,4! Which ended up nothing. Normally if you wanna do something to get respond from the crowd, you should do according to your song, like have a break from the melody, only the drum groove moving on, then u shout 1,2,3,4 then the band jem in…. but this one after 1,2,3,4… then nothing happen. Still, I am happy to see a band playing their own songs, and very daring. This band has potential, only if they do it the correct way. They had fans holding a Maxis banner (wrting Masterpiece, You are the Champion! or something)  That was cool though. The guitarist's solo was like muted, either the balancing was bad or he already being kidnapped by the aliens (other members over-powering him). The judges were shaking banging their heads at the end.

4th Band ~ Paradise

Just before Paradise went on stage, Jerry was asking me, hey, tonight's band no chick one ah? and there you go, here comes the eye-satisfying band. For your information, some of my friends went there asked me after the show, hey mike, you got take a photo for the keyboardist ah, let me see la, i want see (no need to click the above photo, its not a thumbnail dude, cannot enlarge, kwa kwa kwa…) but you can browse michael-one few days later when i have time to upload some of the over 100 photos taken during this trip. Suan told me Paradise sang an FIR's number, i am not sure, because lately i did not have chance to listen many songs (song name is Between You and The Sky) The song started slow and quiet, and I could hardly hear what the vocal was singing, because the monkeys crowd behind me shouting turun la! we want rock!, apa le! and making monkey chants, they shouted louder than the vocalist's microphone. The song slowly build up and it was an average showing from each member. Vocal slightly better than the others. Bassist off tempo, drummer poor strokes and timing, guitarist trying to impress (good) but can you explain why you play a mid-tempo melodious guitar solo with all down strokes? You spoil the flowing feel of the melody, spoil your notes, spoil your articulations. Keyboardist brought a full-length Yamaha digital Keyboard… to play a few notes and chords ?? I think the keyboard supplied on stage was more powerful than the one she brought along, unless there were certain voices in your keyboard which you need to use in your songs, else i dont see the necessity. In addition, the large kayboard blocked most part of you (dismay to many of my friends…. kekeke…) This band is young, dressed well, suited the song but a lot of home work need to be done. Kesimpulannya: A little better than band number two and three.

5th Band ~ Soo Zone Red

Well, here's the first of the Soo Zone trilogy on stage. They played a song called Janji. I promised to write all the details I remembered, but unfortunately, this was another average band that I could not recall any special or x factors which can make me write something. They played 3-piece and not really bad but nothing special really. Once again, from what i have stressed so many times in my previous reivews for Johor, judges want to see somthing that make them say “WOW”, not watching a band practising or jem on stage. Better luck next time Soo Zone Red

6th Band ~ Soo Zone Green

For some reason, i missed the photo for this band, really sorry. Finally, a good band to watch after some misadventures, some what funny for the passed 45 minutes. Soo Zone Green had the best vocals for tonight no doubt, the vocal was better (not perfect) but still better than all vocalist before. He was backed up by two backing voclist, nice harmony. All other members also played well and with nice arrangment (it was a cover song though). It was quite pleasing to watch Soo Zone Green, but nothing really stood out from the song. Since there were only just two bands to go, i also thought there was also high possibility Soo Zone Green was closing in on a place in the top 3.

7th Band ~ Soo Zone Blue

The last of the Soo Zone brothers to appear on stage. I must say this is the first time i saw a drummer hammering the drums with no sound. He hit or banged the hi-hat using the neck of his drum sticks (not head) and crashed it on the snare, toms, and cymbals like the only chance he could play drum on stage was tonight, after tonight, no more, but no matter how hard he hammered (wrong strokes) so light sound came out.. In fact, i was wondering how he did that, so much energy with so little output. The guitarist was too loud, the other was too soft, bassist and vocals also below par. Jerry was saying the drummer looked like he just took lessons for few weeks. Well, that summed up the band. Better luck next time.

8th Band ~ Susnine

How could i forget this band, the vocal shook like eh… …. (no idea what to write), he was very brave in doing some feminine movements, so soft and loose and at one point, he flipped open his pouch cover (located in front of his eh… look photo above). The guitarist was not bad, and his tone was nice. Bassist and drums gelled well and keyboardist I wouldnt say he was really impressive, but he certainly played more notes, and more complexity than the other previous bands, the best bet for Best Keyboardist award.

all bands perfromed and off we go….

Calculations and discussions… I should not disclose the details here but the top two and the bottom two were like miles planets apart. This really summed up the contrast of quality and standards between the bands for tonight. It was much closer in Johor.

Well, as i told you, i am not gonna write too long this time. Here are the results, with no surprise. The best team won and each best musicians won their individual awards, the winners were almost obvious.

Best Guitarist: Kelvyn Yeang (Oceans of Fire)
Best Bassist: Jonathan Chen (Oceans of Fire)
Best Drummer: Jonathan Scully (Oceans of Fire)
Best Vocalist: Arman Md Isa (Soo Zone Green)
Best Keyboardist: Mohd Nurshuhairie (Susnine)

Best of the lot (L-R) Poly Shoe (sponsor) Ms Ooi, Kelvyn, Jonathan Scully, Mohd, Arman, Jonathan Chen, Mr Lim

Champions: Oceans of Fire
2nd place: Soo Zone Green
3rd place: Susnine

Oceans of Happiness

All winners  Hooray……………

Its a happy ending, a great show from Music World Penang, (L-R: me, Mr Lim, Miss Lim)

Misc photos 花絮:

my good pal ~ Shawn Wong from Yamaha

Jerry Felix, the first Malaysian drummer to use the double pedal, 42 years as a drummer and still going strong stronger

Happy for now, tougher challenges ahead in the national finals.

Paradise. Work harder and come back stronger. (are you guys zooming in on the keyboardist)

Its dinner / supper time. I had some good nice chats with Shawn, Mr Lim, Miss Lim, Oceans, Bong, Uglyboyz, Beh, Leow, Tai Suan & Mrs, Yang Yang the cute noti girl and staff of Music World. 

Where to get free room, bath, food, watch DVD (many movies to choose from) in Penang?
Suan: my place la..

I wonder what will you think if i did not put a caption here. Left is me, right is yoyo koay. Because of him, you guys get to see so many charming photos above, he lended his digi cam to me, at midnight 1.30am, he brought his laptop down from his apartment and trasnferred the photos to my MMC card. Thank you very much yoyo.

Taking the BOyz to breakfast Monday morning

joining us was ah Beh

The Boyz insisted me to take a shot of them wearing the coolest T-Shirts

We had some expensive coffee at Coffee Bean in Gurney Plaza with Miss Lim for an hour. I have to used the word expensive because this was the first time I spent over RM65 for coffees for 5 (including beh, not in photo) but worth the feeling there la, very relaxing, not a single chance in Band Raya alor setak

Beh went to pay parking tickets to the Penang Council workers, so they have more money to install CCTV at “strategic” places during meeting with reporters.

Night time 11.30pm Monday, after Ugly weekly jem…. i wanted to stay longer but had to drive another 2 hours.

good bye and off went home….

Thank you Yamaha Asianbeat Penang. And Thanks to Mr Lim for his hospitality and the Hot Link MusicWorld T Shirts.

See you in Yamaha Asianbeat Kedah Finals 28th November Tuesday, 6pm, City Plaza (Setak Walk)

congrats to OCEAN OF FIRE for winning the competition. they will be representing PENANG state to the NATIONAL finals on 3rd DECEMBER 2006. clap! clap! clap! they were doing great last nite… literally burning the stage.
on top of winning the coveted competition, they have won individual instrumental awards as well:

- drums – johnathan scully

- bass – johnathan chen

- electric guitar – kelvyn yeang

i can't recall the other bands who won 2nd and 3rd, congrats to them too.

uglymen would like to take this opportunity to wish ocean of fire all the best, work hard and good luck. i am trying to make myself available to watch the national finals in KL. i am their official roadie who carries their guitar bags, cables and equipments, alright!!! kekeke…

* update * a message from our friend, uncle beh beh:

I juz got back from AsianBeat final compitition at Penang's. 8 bands….