we have enabled user registration back to readers of uglymen. we received many spam comments and we spent a lot of time clearing them. in order for us to eliminate spam comments, readers need to login to uglymen dot net before you can write comments.
for new user, you just need to create a new user to write comments here.
well, it isnt that bad actually… uglymen is a wonderful band (at least to me) and it is the place, the time, the act, which let me forget all of my problems, my work pressure, and also self-inflict death sentences. i am writing this post while my laptop this downloading over 70 songs, to be performed next week.
ok, to make things clearer, here’s the story, as i said, teaching music in alor star wont earn you a good living, yes, you could survive by it, but only just. many friends kept on asking me about when to jump the ship since last year when i said i was cutting down students intake. my total number of students standns at 48 at present, compared to 62 same time last year, and the number will decrease further starting from 16th march 2008. i simply have to look for other options, and those options come with a price…. uglymen
since February 2003, i have been travelling to penang weekly from alor star to jam with uglymen, from just a hobby, to a vision, with an objective, took part in competitions, winnning several important titles down the road, releasing ugly CD, touring, going overseas, meeting so many wonderful musicians aroud the world. my passion of music, the fire burning within with uglymen is always in my soul. however, as i moved on, my objectives has slightly changed. my reason of playing with uglymen was simple: entertain the crowd, share our music, release tension, and get helluva fun on gigs and tours. at later stage, i started to focus more on music criticizm, judging music competitions, a music forum article contributer and speaker in music seminars. then, my biggest aim in band scene changed: to help new-comers, contestants to succeed in music or competitions, forming new bands (both students and non-students), create their own music and perform infront of the general public, from itosii, storm, uglyboyz, x-malaysia, eclipse to many other great bands… i found satisfaction when i see they feel confident, happy, and believe in what they can do with music, helping them to achieve their little dreams in the process. although the time and effort spent in developing new bands is really tiring and not justified (from income point of view), i see it as a very important milestone in my music career. organising music festivals such as the ghost show festival last year, and chinese new year carnival were also important experienced printed in my musical adventures.
last year, a very good friend / student of mine, recommended me to a local university and i have started lecturing in local u since. it was another big step for me in my career, although it does not relate to the music lessons i teach. it is a very tough job but when it is done, you can breathe huge relief and look back at what you have achieved. wow, talking about all the tough preparations, credits must go to my good friend ah leow, silverisle, yuna for help, and most importantly, to the person who recommended me to the university ~ pro dr pn zahyah.
ok, get back to the story… after engaging in the lecturing job, i already started kiss-goodbye to some students, at this point, i am not afraid to write here that, i do not treat all my students the same. there is NOT one teacher in the world who treats ALL of his / her students the same. let’s face it, no matter how dedicated a teacher is (i consider myself one of the most dedicated, ok, you can say me si ai bin, but that’s my song any way), there will be super nice, nice, neutral, so-so, waste-time, better-dont-come students, and the effort you put into each individual student will be different, bcos some students you know they will strive, best is better than me one day; and the other category, you will know his / her parents are just too rich by dropping him by for baby-sitting… so, the first ones to go are those who are in the lower category. for those who are good but unfortunately i still have to drop, i will recommend a VERY good teacher too, which i will also announce here when the time is right.
in penning the contract of my new job, not only i will be sacrificing uglymen, but also playing guitar, as i wil not play guitar anymore for the time being. the new jobs are, playing 6-day a week shows in a local pub, plus, probably an early evening music show in a local hotel. i will be playing piano and keyboard in both places.. as ah leow says…. my guitar era might just halted and the keys taking over. i still prefer playing guitar A LOT compared to piano….sigh…
meanwhile, i am also planning to venture into some non-music related stuff later this year, if i can over come time and financial constraints…
i’ve talked to tai suan and metal and suggest uglymen to bring in a new vocalist and guitarist to replace me, though i doubt they can find some one ugly and fat in size as me, so probably the next time you see uglymen perform, it might not be so ugly anymore liao… i am still writing uglymen’s second album songs though….
the new jobs i will undertake also mean that i no longer can travel to penang weekly to teach one of my best friends in penang, ah meng, plus two really cool bros ah yu and ah pao, i wil miss them a lot.. sob sob… one thing for sure is good…to the folks at jelutong factory, finally they can stay-in-peace… hohoho, if you know what i mean.
to all friends, supporters, band scene co-warriors, musicians, everyone who likes uglymen, thank you very much for all these years’ endless support.
p/s: the show taisuan mentioned on 22nd june is in kampar, perak, not in penang. and my work is 7-day per week, not 6 day la, thursday night has to teach too.
Zzzzzzzzzz….. i hope most songs are done downloaded by now.
5.28am,
in air-cond-off studio with heavy running nose and sneezings
mike
our guitarist and lead vocalist, michael has accepted a contract to work in alor setar, kedah. his time will be occupied and the only time that he will be free is thursday night. as a result, he is not able to spend time with us. hooi and i are sad but we support michael in what he’s doing because this is a good career move for him. we wish him all the best and kick ass in alor setar, kedah. good thing is he’s still teaching music. sad thing is, you guys won’t be able to see us perform. i’ll let michael share with you what contract he’s engaged in.
this is NOT the end yet. we have booked to play a gig on 22-JUNE this year in penang. i’m not sure what is the name of the gig but according to michael, OCEAN OF FIRE will be playing as well.
in the meantime, hooi and i will think of what we’ll do next. probably we’ll become a duo group like pet shop boys or air supply or ukulele.
we are happy and grateful to all the support and love given to us. we’ll be back. when will we be back? we don’t know.
good bye tan sri koh tsu koon. you’ve been good to us. let’s greet the new govt!
anyway, uglymen is going to go slow at this moment. we will be inactive for a while. michael got a new project in PAS-led Kedah. good for him but it also means that he’ll be spending less time with us in penang. its actually good for his career and future. michael will be out of action from uglymen for about 6 months, according to his contract.
so what will happen to me and hooi. i guess ah hooi still gonna stuck at his work. i’m still stucked at my work… but i’ll need to travel often due to work.
currently, there’s no gig/show for us in this coming weeks/months. we can at least take a short rest.
let me plagarize edison chen famous line “there’s no timeframe of when we will be back to the music industry“.
well well well…. time to change… who do you think should be the next prime minister, or president as you prefer… here are some very GOOD LOOKING candidates for you to consider…\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nYour candidate: Ong Tua Suan (in hokkien means election)\r\nNick name: huan chu suan\r\nEducation: Oxfuck University, Degree in Ladies\’ Social Science\r\nDescription: handsome, friendly and veeeeery attractive\r\nIf i am elected~\r\n-ladies above 30 years old ride bus, mrt, taxi all free\r\n-one year will have 365 days of durian festivals\r\n-every housing estate will have at least one kai see mee shop\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nYour candidate: Metal Sot (means metal gone crazy)\r\nNick name: the chairman (see pic)\r\nEducation: CampBitch University, Doc. in Public Entertainment\r\nDescription: aggresive, serious and mean business\r\nIf i am elected~\r\n-at least one disco will be set up in every taman\r\n-all beer price will be slashed by 70% (weekend free) \r\n-all clubs will open 24 hour\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nYour candidate: Maiko Lee (means he aint playing no more)\r\nNick name: cocoNUTZ\r\nEducation: NUS National University of Saiko\r\nDescription: Gorgeous (see above), nice hair cut, helpfool\r\nIf i am elected~\r\n-no tax on musical instruments and all handphones PDAs…\r\n-there will be only one subject in school - Rock Music\r\n-ALL HP COMPUTERS FACTORIES & RETAILERS WILL BE SHUT DOWN
jan 3rd - ordered HP laptop
25th jan - arrived at my house
25th jan - after 10 mins usage, mother board burnt, RAM gone…
25th jan - f*ck*ng HP refused to replace a new one
27th jan -send to HP service centre
19th feb - go collect, they replace mother board and RAM
25th feb - no screen no power NOTHING again~!~~!!!
please go and burn down the factory…
fcku fkcu fkuc…. NEVER trust HP again, i am going to sell off my HP printer too and change Canon, although its not giving me problem, but the word HP just STINKS and SUCKS…
Sorry guys, busy, no additional updates but result. Congrats.
Guitar:
1) Tan Chin Sing
2) Chan Qi Sheng
3) Ng Kae Vin
4) Tan Ming Hou / Tan Jia Wei
5) Seow Lim Seng
6) George Hong
7) Ung Chuin Ling / Liong Khim Yun Tiau Wei Loon
9) Tan Boon Hoo / Ang Weddy
10) Teoh Shou Wei
Piano:
1) Zoe Wong
2) Muhd Taufik
3) Chan Qi Sheng
4) Lim Seok Joe
5) Ong Su Lian
6) Chia Kok Chew
7) Mohd Harith Woon Zuyi
9) Ung Chuin Ling
10) Teoh Siew Yen
i had a great birthday yesterday… well, 2 days ago to be exact. never had so many people wishing me. felt so happy. i got a dozen yellow and oranges flowers sent to me when i was servicing a customer at their site. the girls were jealous because i got the flowers. anway, i haven’t posted in a while. i guess we have burnt out a bit.
work has gotten the best of us. michael got new projects coming in and its a life changing experience for him which i think will do him lots of good. i encouraged him to focus on it because if it goes well long term, he will be successful.
hooi has been busy as usual. we have more breaks in our band rehearsals due to work commitment. work hasn’t been treating me well. i was sleep deprived.
things haven’t been smooth for me too. my family of 5 has 4 members falling ill within a week. suck.
the only thing that interests me most… is not the recent limited edison photos, or our general elections but the american presidential election which caught my attention. to be honest, i have been following the US presidential campaign more often than i did for our locals one. having watch their campaign, it gives us so much hope and inspiration that positive change will come to america.
Yoyo, a very hardworkding and dedicated piano / guitar student (2004-2006), performs “Tears” by XJAPAN, his all-time favourite Japanese band. Yoyo no longer learn the piano nor guitar since he moved to Penang, but his passion on piano remains and he wished to share this video online.
let’s greet the new govt!
Tiau Wei Loon
anway, i haven’t posted in a while. i guess we have burnt out a bit.
