My tribute to Dream Theater and Symphony X, from where i draw the most influences from to compose this piece of music. This also goes out to all the power metal that i've listened to over the years.

Into the Storm

Story of the song goes like this: A grp of shipwrecked sailors were out at sea drifting. A while later, they caught sight of land so they rowed as fast as they could to shore. Upon reaching the shore, they discovered something awkward about that place... (and the song unfolds)

Purely instrumental, quite a number to changes, odd time signatures, tempo shifts. Not easy on the ears definitely.

Enjoy

Something meaningful and heartwarming for the visitors of my site:




I want to hug this guy.

Kinda caught a bubblegum pop rush lately, so yea been "sampling pop music via technological means". Must be politically correct here.. *ahem* Yea, i guess most pple dun know that i used to listen to alot of pop music, and some alternative rock here and there. The usual radio top 40 stuff la. So all along i've been hiding behind this masquerade of rock and metal and shred music, but deep down inside.... i'm a teeny bopper!! Haha ok, this sugar rush is really getting to me.

So here's some finds i "sampled" lately:

S Club 7 - Actually i only and really like the song "I Really Miss You" cos it's sung by one of my favourite gal Rachel Stevens. Yea she's damn hot, and this song is damn sweet. Makes u wanna go and give her a hug. Something like that.

Michelle Branch - Favourite gal number 2 haha. I like her voice, and i like the song "Goodbye To You" alot as well. Great catchy song, and a brilliant acoustic number if i can pull it off.

Avril Lavigne - No no no, not my favourite gal number 3. But i like her songs in the album, like Tomorrow and Nobody's Home. Pretty good pop-rock stuff actually.

Lifehouse - Ah.. one of my favourite alternative rock bands. Too bad i can't really find their very first album, which actually contains most of the songs i liked. But still good stuff too, like Spin, Sky Is Falling.

Goo Goo Dolls - Classic stuff, everybody knows Iris, but i like Name more. The line "I just want to know your name~" fierce la! Sing that to ur gal and she'll melt definitely. Albums includes more of better stuff like Broadway, Slide and Black Balloon

Angels and Airwaves - This is actually highly recommended by Joel. I chanced upon this band somehow so decided to "sample" it. And it's actually great stuff. The way they build up every song with delays and more delays. It's like taking off in a fighter planes. The feeling of liberation. But Tom Delonge's vocals are a tad bit turn off la, and always reminds u of the Blink 182 feel abt everything.

Yup ok, some of u might go like "WTF is wrong with Chang? Y does he listen to all these crap!?" But yea truth is i like some of these stuff. Listening to rock and metal all day is quite draining btw. Like 100 million notes in a day can kill off like 10% of ur brain cells? I dunno. Some pop is good to keep me in a sane condition. And yea, my songs are getting poppier by the moment. It's the sign of times to come.... *sinister music behind*

Alright who's got the 2nd album of S Club 7, pls kindly rip it into mp3 format and send it over for "sampling".

Ah! I finally realise! That my passion is not in the guitar! No no no, all along i was wrong.

My passion? It's in composing. Learning and practising hard on the guitar is just a required step for me to be able to compose better.

Life feels easier now.

Finally, i've completed "Nobody's Going Home". *phew* Took me quite a while to get the mix right. Anyways this time ard, there's no more MIDI drums, cos i'm using BFD right now. Can say the drum sounds is way much better now, though i feel i can do better in programming the drum dynamics nxt time. This is also the first time i'm mixing via the non-destructive way, which is definitely a good thing, because in any case tt i want to edit the song again, i have the original copy of the song still.

Oh btw, Shirui is singing on this track!! U guys gotta check out her vocals. I feel she has a lot of potential, in terms of voice quality. With more practice she can surely sing v v well. In fact she sings pretty well for now, at least it's like 100 times better than i sing. Yea this time ard u guys wun cringe already. It's beautiful music i assure u.

Here's the link : Nobody's Going Home

With the introduction of BFD in my recording setup, there will be a major change in all the future songs in terms of drum sounds. I like this step up in my progress, even though it is quite a hassle to record from now on. It's worth it i guess. I think i will embark on re-recording everything with BFD, and also to re-record via the non-destructive method. Right now i can't change anything abt my old tracks, or get back the original sounds at all. It's quite a pity. But some sound really shitty right now, so maybe it isnt a bad thing after all. We'll see.

Anyways, just sit back and relax, and enjoy the song.

*EDIT forgot the lyrics!*

Verse
Sailing along the ocean of our love

Embrace the waves of passion
From the horizon, where your ship's coming in

Tonight i want you, to stay, to stay forever

Chorus
Sing a song for me tonight

Feel your gentle kisses beneath the moonlight

Nobody's going home tonight

Verse
Savor this moment of your wonderful return

Tease me with tales of adventure
When the night falls, under the blanket of the stars

We'll be together, we'll be, we'll be with each other

This time around, i'll use a bigger font. Cos my dear gal says the small fonts is straining on her eyes. You've already got small eyes dear, dun squint anymore.

Currently discussing on the topic of whether to keep your dayjob, or do music/ art/ acting/ photography or whatever full time, with Nick. My take? Keep your dayjob. Hmm maybe shldnt say it in that way. My preference, if i were to choose, is to keep my dayjob.

I like the notion of working actually. (i hear gasps) There's an objective, a target, a goal or basically a required task, which occupies the mind for abt half the day. After work, ur mind is free. Dun have to think about work. Leave it for the next day. U can't really say that for school though. Homework, tests, projects, blah. These sorta things just carry forward the stress after school. I enjoyed my working stint during the hols. I do not really enjoy school THAT much cept for the chicks in sch. Then again, working chicks at Dhoby Ghaut are wayyyy hotter la.

Time after work is reserved specially for myself. To do whatever i want. Play guitar, keep my girl company, a round of coffee with my kakis, stone in front of the comp. Yea, my time. I'm in control. This is where being a full time musician sucks in a way. Cos there's a need to write songs, a need to write good songs, a need to write good songs that SELLS. U'll be thinking music 24/7 la. Tt's hell lot of stress. The artistic ego is at stake too... "Why pple dun like my songs? Why is it not charting up high in the charts?". And then i'll be controlled by the music. Not the other way ard.

Anyways im blabbering irregular stuff again. I can't keep coherent thoughts lately. Mind's drifting here and there.

Stuff i need to buy: A pair of havianas and a new wallet. Y havianas? Cos my old mat-rock slippers (those with little pimples on the sole) is completely flat. I have difficulty moving around during rainy days due to slippage (if there's such a word). Havianas are not so rubberish and made of a harder material so i guess they wun go flat so easily, and also have a better grip on the floor.

Wallet cos the old one which my gf bought for me a few years back has finally met it's maker(did i use the phrase correctly?) Oh ya tt sounds like a pun! Hmm, ok not that funny after all. Anyways yea good old wallet has a giant asscrack at the part where u put ur notes, but it's cracked at the secondary compartment, so right now my money is still safe. But i guess it's time to change and move on. Asscracks generally do not serve well in anyone's life.

Nick says i shld brighten up my blog. Maybe add a little flowers here and there? What do u guys think?

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 ;)

Just a short fun song which i wrote in MIDI last night. Supposed use this song for my Science of Music project, but right now i'm still holding out after hearing some mixed comments. Well, u guys just listen, and enjoy! A cross mix between Stevie Ray Vaughn, Led Zeppelin, Paul Gilbert runs, and slide blues. Pretty wild track.

Enjoy ;)

Rock'it Science

1 week after i joined OpenEnded.... i quit!! haha. Quite a sudden decision, but i felt they were really unsuitable for me. Lotsa reasons like:

• The drummer is entering NS soon, so the band will continue to float for a while. I dun like floating bands tt linger ard becos they are missing 1 member. Anyways they've already floated for abt 1 yr without a permanent guitarist, so yea... already quite off.
• The style of music is very pop + post-rock, and somehow the roles of the keyboardist and the guitarist have been changed, with the guitarist required to do more ambient stuff and chords and keyboards being the lead instrument. And in fact the keyboards have covered so much ground tt it makes the guitarist redundant really.
• Style of compositions are really boring imo, 2 ballads and 1 jumpy song. What's lacking and makes the songs hard to remember is tt they have no hooks in the song. Or maybe really subtle hooks. Doesnt get the crowd going at all i feel.

Anyways, they are a brilliant band, just not suited for me i guess. Wish them all the best in finding their ideal guitarist. I'll still hide in my bedroom haha.

So right now i'm lobo-ing in OMS. Not in any band, not in the Stasis committee. Just lurking around in the shadows.

Re-recorded "Nobody's Going Home" again, this time with TUNED guitars. Apparently my guitar wasn't in tune the last time round, so this time i made sure it's perfectly tuned. And if it still sounds off then it will be the problem of the MIDI bass. That, i cant do shit abt it.

Keep ur fingers crossed ;)

So I've already done my part for recording Christina's song. Finally it's done, and i'm pretty pleased with the entire process. Got to know a few new people in the scene. Singer Janus (really good pop singer), Kelvin (multi-instrumentalist, i think he's way better than me in guitar but he likes to play bass) and Hassim (solid and steady drummer with very funky grooves for someone his age!). And last but not least, Foo who's the happy go lucky recording engineer. I have a demo of the song which me and Janus recorded only, but i guess it's best that i wait for the final product then upload it for u all to hear.

And yea, i'm the new guitarist for the OMS senior band OpenEnded. Fronted by Michelle (pretty + good voice), Hanes (band leader, first guy i know that plays the keyboards as the keyboards), Jai (bassist tt plays like a guitarist) and Pires (havent met him yet). We play pop, and more pop. Such a 180 degrees from my usual rock and metal and blast beats.

Alright my girl just called.