There's a ton of stuff to say, but everytime i wanna blog, something else crops up, and then i forget what i wanna say already. Damn, lost thoughts. Life's pretty hectic as always, with mid-term tests coming up in like 2 days? Yea, lotsa stuff to mug over.

Anyways, was talking to Johnson a few days back, about his fledging band and stuff. And he said something like "Now i know y u wanna go solo already, cos everything within your control.." Kinda hit me with tt phrase though, cos i've never thought in that way. But everything makes sense now. Going solo was the ideal choice for me: I can decide when i want to jam, what songs i want to play, how the songs are going to turn out, how each instrument is going to sound, how the drums shld be played etc etc. Everything is at my whim and fancy.

I reckon all Scorpios are like that, loving to be in the driver's seat and steer their own life. This is also probably one of the biggest reasons y i left OpenEnded within just 1 week, for i cannot feel that i have any control over my guitar playing. It's going to be "Chang, u play this and this." It's not going to work out for me. Unless i form my own band, like in the case with Xiang and Biao. But that's another story.

Just had a morning jam with Xiang and Biao. Banged out some covers, tho they were all scrappy, cos none of us learnt the songs beforehand haha. Yea must have annoyed the neighbours a hell lot, but heck. Then we did some spacey music, using one of my originals as a template. Glad to see Biao is able to improvise abit now. He does not lack the technique, he just lacks the adventurous-ness and creativity i feel. But it's good, at least there's some improvement. Xiang is still as crappy, a very slight improvement, tho nothing much to cheer about. In in all, it's still good fun. I just love to whack nonsense with my nonsense band. No commitments, no requirements, no ego, nothing. Just whack.

Still lurking around in OMS, not joining them for 90% of the gigs, no band, no commitee. Ultra passive member. Tho i'm setting my sights on being the nxt Band I/C. Yea boss the bands ard and whip them into shape. But i lack credibility la haha. Damn, it's gonna be hard trying to run for tt position. We'll see.

Well to keep up with Nick's post.... This is Chang's 5 chosen guitarists that you should check out!!!

(i'll try to list ppl tt havent been listed by Nick)

(This doesnt mean they are my favourite 5 tho.)

In no particular order....

5. John 5 - Highly underrated ex-guitarist of Marilyn Manson. Interestingly, he's a bloody good bluegrass guitarist! Solid country licks, and a quirky sense of composition humour. A metal guitarist tt plays a Tele! How cool is that? Albums: Vertigo, Songs for Sanity. Favourite Song: Sugarfoot Rag.

4. Eric Johnson - King of Tone in my opinion. And he has an immaculate picking style which makes all his songs damn bloody hard to learn. It's hybrid they say, using pick and fingers simultaneously. And he takes years to make a record, super anal dude. But it's definitely good stuff. Album: Ah Via Musicom. Favourite Songs: Cliffs of Dover, Manhattan

3. Mattias Ia Eklundh - The legendary Freak Guitar. Yes, the stuff he plays is freaky, ie extremely weird. Genius when it comes to the use of harmonics. As and when he likes. And he makes helluva funny sounds from just his guitar and amp. Note: He uses NO EFFECTS. Steve Vai can't come close when it comes to whammy bar tricks. This guy is the real deal. Album: The Road Less Travelled. Favourite Song: Smoke on the water (yes a wacko cover of Deep Purple!)

2. Neil Zaza - Melodic Instrumental Rock is what they call his works. Very very beautiful rock instrumentals, and his playing style evokes so much emotion, that it brings a tear to the eye at times. Nothing too fancy, but it's the choice of notes we are talking about here. It's never mindless shred for Neil Zaza, everything is there for a reason. It's as though the guitar is singing to you :D. Album: Melodica. Favourite Song: Purple Rain

1. Michael Romeo - Yes i have to sneak in some progressive metal don't i hahaha. Michael Romeo and Symphony X is the best thing since.... Dream Theater (sorry dan). Yes if u like Dream Theater's polyrhythmic style, and cheesy dragon-metal lyrics from Power Metal bands (did i get the sentence structure right this time?), then Symphony X is the band for u. Michael Romeo plays some really mean rhythm guitar, and i could say for once that THE RHYTHM GUITAR IS HARDER THAN THE LEAD. Yea mindblowing stuff. And he has a very unique soloing style as well, not confined to just the harmonic minor unlike our dear mr Yngwie "I Am Your God" Malmsteen. Brilliant stuff. Album: The Divine Wings of Tragedy, The Odyssey. Favourite Songs: Sea of Lies, King of Terrors, Of Sin and Shadows.

But of course i din list my perennial favourites like John Petrucci, John Frusciante, Kurt Cobain, Slash, Ritchie Blackmore, Edge, Hendrix, SRV blah blah. I figured there will be more than enough reviews out there for them. Time to listen to more obscure stuff ;)