Why the local scene sucks...
- Thread starter bobby
- Start date
Jerseystar
New member
Yea , at the same time malaysians are coming over to record with me because * ACCORDING TO THEM* the engineers there arent' that good.
You're probably talking about the small time studios there and of course there are those self taught home studio gear type of studios, but its a very broad statement to say all engineers there aren't good. There are also engineers there that won't work with a band if the band ain't up to standard, you know like a pecking order type of thing. But seriously if your rates are lower than the standard KL rates then there are some things I might wanna track at your place.
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Hmmm.. come on..
be rational.. everybody got their own interest..
everybody like diffrent genre..
u cant force people to listen to music..
u cant blame on ppl who listen to top 40s only though..
thats their interest..
its like asking a death metal fan listening to blues.. lol..
no offense.. but..
if ur into that genre.. than ppl who are into that genre will support ur band..
so stop blaming local..
some may say Electrico sound nice.. some may not..
cause different genre.. diffrent perspective..
so cant blame people.. people have their own opinions too though..
local scene sucks? i dont think so..
they need to expose.. needed to be weeded out..
especially underground bands..
thats hw i feel..
peace..
be rational.. everybody got their own interest..
everybody like diffrent genre..
u cant force people to listen to music..
u cant blame on ppl who listen to top 40s only though..
thats their interest..
its like asking a death metal fan listening to blues.. lol..
no offense.. but..
if ur into that genre.. than ppl who are into that genre will support ur band..
so stop blaming local..
some may say Electrico sound nice.. some may not..
cause different genre.. diffrent perspective..
so cant blame people.. people have their own opinions too though..
local scene sucks? i dont think so..
they need to expose.. needed to be weeded out..
especially underground bands..
thats hw i feel..
peace..
hecklerkoch
New member
Well, I think that there are gems in our local scene.
Just that people don't give a
about this scene in general.
:mrgreen:
Just that people don't give a
about this scene in general.
:mrgreen:
visa
New member
i don't know what you are talking about TRA LA LA
recklessnick
New member
^ yes there is. www.habbohotel.com
sage
New member
Curiously,
are local bands more passionate about having profits from their music (music being a business),
or are they more passionate about exposure and gain satisfaction in knowing their music has reached out to the masses (is okay with relying on a day job)?
I don't know, but I seem to see two groups of musicians stating their reasons for "support" under two very different constructs. Anyone else notice this?
If there's two groups of interests here with regards to the local band's decision to make music, then shouldn't both efforts of fan support (whether by merch-route or gig-route) be GOOD support, depending on the band's intentions on doing music in the first place?
Maybe we should ask a band which mode of support they prefer if we enjoy their music / sets. I don't think it's up to the fans to decide it. Just my opinion.
are local bands more passionate about having profits from their music (music being a business),
or are they more passionate about exposure and gain satisfaction in knowing their music has reached out to the masses (is okay with relying on a day job)?
I don't know, but I seem to see two groups of musicians stating their reasons for "support" under two very different constructs. Anyone else notice this?
If there's two groups of interests here with regards to the local band's decision to make music, then shouldn't both efforts of fan support (whether by merch-route or gig-route) be GOOD support, depending on the band's intentions on doing music in the first place?
Maybe we should ask a band which mode of support they prefer if we enjoy their music / sets. I don't think it's up to the fans to decide it. Just my opinion.
Revelt
New member
I think all the blab about getting a day job and juggling it with music is nonsense. If anyone wants Singapore to progress in music and arts AT ALL, someone better start paying the artists good money.
No matter how good you are, or how much you love what you do, you need money for equipment, food, lodging, etc. etc. No one is going to be able to survive on solely playing music for a living in Singapore. So when bands don't have the time and energy to keep juggling the two, they close shop.
No matter how good you are, or how much you love what you do, you need money for equipment, food, lodging, etc. etc. No one is going to be able to survive on solely playing music for a living in Singapore. So when bands don't have the time and energy to keep juggling the two, they close shop.
serialninja
New member
hi jesse_adams, i haven't been on the forum for a long time but i thought maybe i could offer up my opinion on this and hopefully it'll maybe help provide a bit of insight.
music is a passion, but the music industry is a business, and therein lies a conflict for bands who rely on limited self-funding.
in my band's case, it's like this:
- we are passionate about making and performing music. our primary goal has always been to share our music with the widest possible audience.
- our approach was to record and put some music up on myspace, because you can share music more effectively if you have EPs/LPs and the internet, rather than purely from gigging.
- as our song repertoire increased, we decided to record a full album so that we could release a set of songs that we thought will best represent us. we also thought recording an album will be an achievement that we can be proud of, that we released something that we're proud to share with you.
- the recording/mixing/mastering/printing process is expensive, and since we are self funded, all money earned in our shows has gone into this project, as well as savings and money we earn in our jobs.
- when we release the album, we hope that people will buy it to support us, in the understanding that even though they can download it for free, they're willing to purchase it to demonstrate their appreciation for the work and money we've put into it. even if 2 or 3 people get together to split the cost of buying a cd, it's this act of support that we really appreciate.
i understand that some people will download the music, and this won't surprise me. nevertheless, we would greatly appreciate if people buy the album to help us recoup some of the 5-digit thousands of dollars that we have invested in giving them an album that we hope they will enjoy. i don't know if we'll make a profit, it's not something we expect out of the Singapore market, and even if we do i know that whatever profit there is will inevitably go into recording the next album.
that's where the music business part comes into play. the music industry is an expensive one. it's extremely time consuming and pricey to record, mix, master, and print CDs. if i were a millionaire and could easily fund album recording, i'd happily release albums online for free, just to get the music out in maximum distribution. being that my whole band has invested so much money in this album, though, i'm hoping that people will at least buy enough albums so that we're able to break even.
cheers!
- dharma
[wgb]
FrancescaAnn
New member
<posted in the wrong forum. DELETE DELETE DELETE>
+1000 points to Bobby who tells it like it is (aka the truth)
btw nobody here (including gov) supports local / local music / local wat this/that; they support $$$$$$$$ , fame & success
think about going into music (aka music idustry) better study hard b a doctor: pays better haha
SUCKS: its just gravity
btw nobody here (including gov) supports local / local music / local wat this/that; they support $$$$$$$$ , fame & success
think about going into music (aka music idustry) better study hard b a doctor: pays better haha
SUCKS: its just gravity
noojoo
New member
How to fix it all
1) The thing about music is the honesty involved. If your music is crap then no-one will support you; however if it's good youll get lots of support.
So we need to improve our music.
2) Secondly even though the market is small in Singapore 5 million people, we can reach out to other markets using the Internet. Ie the 2 billion people who use it... Post your music on Youtube and Myspace;
It's really sad how Singaporean musicians don't tap into the Youtube audience; I think every band should post their songs on Youtube. Forget about people downloading them for free, being better known is much better because you can sell more tickets and merchandise and other stuff.
And plus, we play music cause we like it. Well bite through the suffering if we have to in order to play the music =]
1) The thing about music is the honesty involved. If your music is crap then no-one will support you; however if it's good youll get lots of support.
So we need to improve our music.
2) Secondly even though the market is small in Singapore 5 million people, we can reach out to other markets using the Internet. Ie the 2 billion people who use it... Post your music on Youtube and Myspace;
It's really sad how Singaporean musicians don't tap into the Youtube audience; I think every band should post their songs on Youtube. Forget about people downloading them for free, being better known is much better because you can sell more tickets and merchandise and other stuff.
And plus, we play music cause we like it. Well bite through the suffering if we have to in order to play the music =]
PatheinRaindropMoe
New member
heh, funny that we can be so bitter but yet not finding ways to make money to fund the so call music passion.
anyway, iam just a outsider of what ever industry some mentioned in here. I guess it must be tough for those who mentioned bout the industry and being in it.
....
anyway, iam just a outsider of what ever industry some mentioned in here. I guess it must be tough for those who mentioned bout the industry and being in it.
....
normally I hardly browse soft because like a friend of mine says, you gotta sift through alot of dirt before actually finding good discussions; but this thread was actually interesting enough for me to register and give out my 2 cent's worth.
anyway, I think bobby and some other posters here have touched on some very good points, and what I think about the situation is that it all ultimately boils down to the musicians themselves, and that means ALOT of things. I think bobby's got it spot on when he said it's down to singaporeans themselves. it's not just about music; music was NEVER about just music. music in culture has always been a reflection of it's society and that's where all the cracks start coming from.
when most people say that singaporeans by nature are an apathetic lot, they're mostly right. music is but ONE of the things people here are apathetic to. how many people in your social circle do you know still buy and listen to albums simply because they love the idea of an album being a proper art form? not many I presume, unless you're already in the industry, just damn lucky, or old enough in the head. too many singaporeans still view albums as a collection of songs to pick out favorites and listen to as background music on repeat, and that's a crying shame.
and also from an (amateur) engineer's point of view, I think the complaint of not having enough money to make decent recordings in a studio is a silly argument stemming from laziness. any band or musician these days who aspires to be professional should be proficient in some kind of recording software, pro tools, garageband, logic, whatever. the modern computer as we know it is a good enough studio by itself. imo, bands who say that money is a problem are just making excuses. money is a problem EVERYWHERE in life. the keyword here is damage limitation, and being proficient in recording software can save ALOT of it. I've always held the belief that given today's technology, a musician can make believable, convincing recordings with just a laptop, electric guitar, midi controller, and an effects pedal with an audio interface, as long as he or she has the knowledge and is willing to work at it...
... and I know I'm definitely not alone. I'm sure there are many songwriters out there who are also engineers in their own right and are pushing the limits in terms of direct-home recording that you can take anywhere, hotels, parks, wherever. but the problem is that there aren't enough in singapore. the best musicians are the ones who take things into their own hands, the ones who spot the problem and deal with it. I admit a certain amount of luck is always needed... but to me that's no reason not to be the best YOU can be, do everything YOU can do, and to just hope for the best.
the last thing I'd like to bring up that no one's said already is music education. there's this ridiculous perception in singapore that music education is for the upper class, the rich, and the well-off, like it's some sort of status symbol (like maids wtf) and that's also bullshit to me and has to change. living in a globalized world, it's all too easy to feel like a number, to lose individuality, creativity, a sense of self-worth (I know it looks like I'm drawing links from everywhere at the moment, but bear with me) and ultimately, insignificance and a sense of apathy ("that's not my business", or, "thank god that person wasn't me"), as we look on in the news on television and in the papers. as adults we all know how it feels, but I'm pretty damn sure the children of today and the adults of tomorrow feel that too, and I think an extended focus on music and arts education would help tremendously, even if it has a 1% chance of ever happening. to quote Jose Antonio Abreu, a venezuelan pianist and activist:
"The idea is that the families join with pride and joy in the activities of the orchestras and the choirs their children belong to. The huge spiritual world that music produces in itself, which also lies within itself, ends up overcoming material poverty. From the minute a child's taught how to play an instrument, he's no longer poor. He becomes a child in progress heading for a professional level, who'll later become a full citizen. Needless to say that music is the number one prevention against prostitution, violence, bad habits, and everything degrading in the life of a child."
... and I tend to agree. it's never just about music. it's about being a better person, something many singaporean know-it-alls will surely scoff at. to me, it's nothing if a parent sends their kid to piano class while they show him off to their friends. when a parent also shares a true passion for music and the arts and surrounds his or her kid's life with it, well then that's definitely something. and throughout the world that's always been the case; music in the streets, in the parks, in the homes, anywhere. music is people is music, to put it extremely bluntly. you can always draw parallels between music and society, and the writing's on the wall with local music.
I don't know whether it's bad music or bad musicians or how it started, and I don't see how blaming anyone would help, but I think as with most things in life local musicians need to take a good hard look at themselves from time to time and reassess their ambitions and whether they're prepared to see them through to the end. good music is good music whether or not it's local.
that was a long post, and I don't claim to know alot because I'm still horribly young (20 this year and finishing up my last 8 months of national slavery), but these are just my opinions and you can tear them apart or critique them or whatever you guys wish. there are probably some more points I'd have liked to bring up but forgotten... blame that on how scatter-brained NS has made me -.-'
btw, here's the link to the talk by Jose Antonio Abreu on Ted.com on how music can transform kids for the better. it's one of my favorite websites, very inspiring videos of talks by some very good people. check it out if you can. and dear gawd I hope this thread isn't dead.
anyway, I think bobby and some other posters here have touched on some very good points, and what I think about the situation is that it all ultimately boils down to the musicians themselves, and that means ALOT of things. I think bobby's got it spot on when he said it's down to singaporeans themselves. it's not just about music; music was NEVER about just music. music in culture has always been a reflection of it's society and that's where all the cracks start coming from.
when most people say that singaporeans by nature are an apathetic lot, they're mostly right. music is but ONE of the things people here are apathetic to. how many people in your social circle do you know still buy and listen to albums simply because they love the idea of an album being a proper art form? not many I presume, unless you're already in the industry, just damn lucky, or old enough in the head. too many singaporeans still view albums as a collection of songs to pick out favorites and listen to as background music on repeat, and that's a crying shame.
and also from an (amateur) engineer's point of view, I think the complaint of not having enough money to make decent recordings in a studio is a silly argument stemming from laziness. any band or musician these days who aspires to be professional should be proficient in some kind of recording software, pro tools, garageband, logic, whatever. the modern computer as we know it is a good enough studio by itself. imo, bands who say that money is a problem are just making excuses. money is a problem EVERYWHERE in life. the keyword here is damage limitation, and being proficient in recording software can save ALOT of it. I've always held the belief that given today's technology, a musician can make believable, convincing recordings with just a laptop, electric guitar, midi controller, and an effects pedal with an audio interface, as long as he or she has the knowledge and is willing to work at it...
... and I know I'm definitely not alone. I'm sure there are many songwriters out there who are also engineers in their own right and are pushing the limits in terms of direct-home recording that you can take anywhere, hotels, parks, wherever. but the problem is that there aren't enough in singapore. the best musicians are the ones who take things into their own hands, the ones who spot the problem and deal with it. I admit a certain amount of luck is always needed... but to me that's no reason not to be the best YOU can be, do everything YOU can do, and to just hope for the best.
the last thing I'd like to bring up that no one's said already is music education. there's this ridiculous perception in singapore that music education is for the upper class, the rich, and the well-off, like it's some sort of status symbol (like maids wtf) and that's also bullshit to me and has to change. living in a globalized world, it's all too easy to feel like a number, to lose individuality, creativity, a sense of self-worth (I know it looks like I'm drawing links from everywhere at the moment, but bear with me) and ultimately, insignificance and a sense of apathy ("that's not my business", or, "thank god that person wasn't me"), as we look on in the news on television and in the papers. as adults we all know how it feels, but I'm pretty damn sure the children of today and the adults of tomorrow feel that too, and I think an extended focus on music and arts education would help tremendously, even if it has a 1% chance of ever happening. to quote Jose Antonio Abreu, a venezuelan pianist and activist:
"The idea is that the families join with pride and joy in the activities of the orchestras and the choirs their children belong to. The huge spiritual world that music produces in itself, which also lies within itself, ends up overcoming material poverty. From the minute a child's taught how to play an instrument, he's no longer poor. He becomes a child in progress heading for a professional level, who'll later become a full citizen. Needless to say that music is the number one prevention against prostitution, violence, bad habits, and everything degrading in the life of a child."
... and I tend to agree. it's never just about music. it's about being a better person, something many singaporean know-it-alls will surely scoff at. to me, it's nothing if a parent sends their kid to piano class while they show him off to their friends. when a parent also shares a true passion for music and the arts and surrounds his or her kid's life with it, well then that's definitely something. and throughout the world that's always been the case; music in the streets, in the parks, in the homes, anywhere. music is people is music, to put it extremely bluntly. you can always draw parallels between music and society, and the writing's on the wall with local music.
I don't know whether it's bad music or bad musicians or how it started, and I don't see how blaming anyone would help, but I think as with most things in life local musicians need to take a good hard look at themselves from time to time and reassess their ambitions and whether they're prepared to see them through to the end. good music is good music whether or not it's local.
that was a long post, and I don't claim to know alot because I'm still horribly young (20 this year and finishing up my last 8 months of national slavery), but these are just my opinions and you can tear them apart or critique them or whatever you guys wish. there are probably some more points I'd have liked to bring up but forgotten... blame that on how scatter-brained NS has made me -.-'
btw, here's the link to the talk by Jose Antonio Abreu on Ted.com on how music can transform kids for the better. it's one of my favorite websites, very inspiring videos of talks by some very good people. check it out if you can. and dear gawd I hope this thread isn't dead.
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Honestly, I don't feel that many people are going to get anywhere because the culture stifles creativity and promotes apathy - and to be honest, trying to appeal to 'locals' immediately drives a stake through any listener base in the greater part of the world given the insular nature and nuances of our cultural in-jokes and whatnot. We're not the US, we can't write witty songs about our political system or vulgar hokkien jokes and expect most people, if any, in the rest of the world to get it. At least, I hope that isn't that much of a common practice.
And to be frank, most local bands, no matter where you go, well, leave something to be desired. That's the nature of the music scene, after all - for every successful band there're at least ten, twenty or more crappy ones behind them, or good ones that just failed to promote or market themselves well. The entertainment industry is a harsh mistress. It's just a lot easier to make a name for yourselves if you're located in somewhere more conducive to music, that's just what I'm saying.
And to be frank, most local bands, no matter where you go, well, leave something to be desired. That's the nature of the music scene, after all - for every successful band there're at least ten, twenty or more crappy ones behind them, or good ones that just failed to promote or market themselves well. The entertainment industry is a harsh mistress. It's just a lot easier to make a name for yourselves if you're located in somewhere more conducive to music, that's just what I'm saying.
serialninja
New member
deadwing + Extant:
good and relevant points.
1) home recording/self-recording vs professional engineer:
you're right, it's worth learning to record on your own, and every band is better off having at least one member who's proficient at recording. my bandmate has a degree in audio engineering and is very proficient. that said, when it came down to recording an album to release publicly, we've decided to go to our favorite studio because of the equipment, experience and proficiency of our selected engineers. they have equipment geared towards commercial production, which is something none of us have.
3 of us in the band have basic home recording setups which we make use of to write music though, and it has helped immensely in our songwriting process. in my own experience, our home recording setups have been primarily benificial as a songwriting tool, rather than as a setup for releasing something of commercial quality.
however, if you have already invested in equipment that will allow you to produce something of commercial quality in the comfort of your home, and if you are a very good audio engineer, then more power to you. i don't believe the majority of local bands are in this position, and i don't think i've heard anything of commercial quality from home-recorded bands in singapore yet. if you have found some, i would love to check them out and find out what gear they are using and what the production quality is like, to see if it would be cost effective for me to take that route.
2) i don't think singapore is culturally that restrictive. there is plenty of support for artists, bands, thespians, etc. i don't really see creative people complaining that they can't be creative. i have the freedom to write whatever music i want, just as many other bands. i think they key though, is the difference between creativity and popularity.
being creative alone isn't enough reason for people to support you. you don't need to sacrifice creativity or integrity to be get support, but you should be aware that people only support what they enjoy, and you shouldn't expect people to support what they don't enjoy. (this should really be obvious, i mean when was the last time you bought tickets to see a band whose music you hate, just because they were being creative?)
the reality is people don't care if you're creative. they only care if you produce something they like. you can't blame a country or a culture, it's just tough luck if someone enjoys producing stuff other people don't appreciate.
also, yes, we're not the US and we can't expect the rest of the world to catch our references and jokes if we write songs in hokkien or about our politics. that's like someone whining "i can't write songs about quantum physics because non-quantum physicists won't get it". i mean, let's be realistic - if you're writing about something many people don't understand, then you can't expect them to understand it. there's no point whining that they don't understand it, maybe you should choose a topic that's more universal to write about.
and on that note (no pun intended), what's stopping you from writing about things that are universal to all of us?
many of the greatest songs are about the human condition, because that's something all of us relate to. life, hardship, hope, love, etc. John Lennon's "Imagine", for example. sure it has elements of politics to it, but it's very much a song about hope for a better future, and it's something everyone from every culture can appreciate.
so in closing, i'm going to say that yes, it's tough being a musician. but trust me, it's tough everywhere. it was much tougher when i was in a band in the US. it's tough in Japan. it's tough in the Philippines. musicians never have it easy.*
but just because it's tough doesn't mean i'm going to whine about how it's too hard or too restrictive or that there isn't enough freedom to be a musician, because i know that being a musician is hard work. i know nobody's gonna throw money and flowers and thongs at me just because i want to be creative.
if there's any reason the music scene sucks, i think it's because people are whining more than they are being productive. stop whining on internet forums and suck it up. be brutal and grow big balls, be a man. face the challenges and do your best and don't give up, and maybe if all of us do that things will get better.
-------------
*ps generally being in a band is tough, except in Singapore where being in a band is so easy. if you do a high quality production recording of some music, the radio stations will play you and the tv stations will put you on Live N Loaded and the newspapers and magazines will do articles on you. nowhere else in the world is it SO EASY for new bands to get gigs and get newspaper and media coverage and even government support and funding.
here we've had magazines hosting big music festivals, and the Esplanade holding big music festivals, featuring primarily local bands. we have tons of organizations like the National Youth Centre, youth.sg, the Arts House, the National Arts Council, etc and they hold gigs and organize campaigns and get local bands and artists and film directors involved.
in Singapore we have ministers as guests of honor at band competitions and MPs giving concerts with their bands and stuff. when i was in the US, we never got Congressmen or Senators supporting gigs. all we got was an empty space. no PA system, no drums or equipment, no microphone stands, not even cables. we bought, brought, and set up EVERYTHING ourselves. in Singapore almost everything is provided, all you need to bring is your drumsticks, guitars, pedals and picks. singers don't even need to own microphones! bands are really pampered here, we're very lucky.
so honestly, if someone says to me that Singapore doesn't have enough support for local acts, i don't believe it, and it tells me one of two things, either:
- you're completely clueless and can't be bothered, and therefore you don't deserve any help, or
- you're not working hard enough and therefore you don't deserve any success.
good and relevant points.
1) home recording/self-recording vs professional engineer:
you're right, it's worth learning to record on your own, and every band is better off having at least one member who's proficient at recording. my bandmate has a degree in audio engineering and is very proficient. that said, when it came down to recording an album to release publicly, we've decided to go to our favorite studio because of the equipment, experience and proficiency of our selected engineers. they have equipment geared towards commercial production, which is something none of us have.
3 of us in the band have basic home recording setups which we make use of to write music though, and it has helped immensely in our songwriting process. in my own experience, our home recording setups have been primarily benificial as a songwriting tool, rather than as a setup for releasing something of commercial quality.
however, if you have already invested in equipment that will allow you to produce something of commercial quality in the comfort of your home, and if you are a very good audio engineer, then more power to you. i don't believe the majority of local bands are in this position, and i don't think i've heard anything of commercial quality from home-recorded bands in singapore yet. if you have found some, i would love to check them out and find out what gear they are using and what the production quality is like, to see if it would be cost effective for me to take that route.
2) i don't think singapore is culturally that restrictive. there is plenty of support for artists, bands, thespians, etc. i don't really see creative people complaining that they can't be creative. i have the freedom to write whatever music i want, just as many other bands. i think they key though, is the difference between creativity and popularity.
being creative alone isn't enough reason for people to support you. you don't need to sacrifice creativity or integrity to be get support, but you should be aware that people only support what they enjoy, and you shouldn't expect people to support what they don't enjoy. (this should really be obvious, i mean when was the last time you bought tickets to see a band whose music you hate, just because they were being creative?)
the reality is people don't care if you're creative. they only care if you produce something they like. you can't blame a country or a culture, it's just tough luck if someone enjoys producing stuff other people don't appreciate.
also, yes, we're not the US and we can't expect the rest of the world to catch our references and jokes if we write songs in hokkien or about our politics. that's like someone whining "i can't write songs about quantum physics because non-quantum physicists won't get it". i mean, let's be realistic - if you're writing about something many people don't understand, then you can't expect them to understand it. there's no point whining that they don't understand it, maybe you should choose a topic that's more universal to write about.
and on that note (no pun intended), what's stopping you from writing about things that are universal to all of us?
many of the greatest songs are about the human condition, because that's something all of us relate to. life, hardship, hope, love, etc. John Lennon's "Imagine", for example. sure it has elements of politics to it, but it's very much a song about hope for a better future, and it's something everyone from every culture can appreciate.
so in closing, i'm going to say that yes, it's tough being a musician. but trust me, it's tough everywhere. it was much tougher when i was in a band in the US. it's tough in Japan. it's tough in the Philippines. musicians never have it easy.*
but just because it's tough doesn't mean i'm going to whine about how it's too hard or too restrictive or that there isn't enough freedom to be a musician, because i know that being a musician is hard work. i know nobody's gonna throw money and flowers and thongs at me just because i want to be creative.
if there's any reason the music scene sucks, i think it's because people are whining more than they are being productive. stop whining on internet forums and suck it up. be brutal and grow big balls, be a man. face the challenges and do your best and don't give up, and maybe if all of us do that things will get better.
-------------
*ps generally being in a band is tough, except in Singapore where being in a band is so easy. if you do a high quality production recording of some music, the radio stations will play you and the tv stations will put you on Live N Loaded and the newspapers and magazines will do articles on you. nowhere else in the world is it SO EASY for new bands to get gigs and get newspaper and media coverage and even government support and funding.
here we've had magazines hosting big music festivals, and the Esplanade holding big music festivals, featuring primarily local bands. we have tons of organizations like the National Youth Centre, youth.sg, the Arts House, the National Arts Council, etc and they hold gigs and organize campaigns and get local bands and artists and film directors involved.
in Singapore we have ministers as guests of honor at band competitions and MPs giving concerts with their bands and stuff. when i was in the US, we never got Congressmen or Senators supporting gigs. all we got was an empty space. no PA system, no drums or equipment, no microphone stands, not even cables. we bought, brought, and set up EVERYTHING ourselves. in Singapore almost everything is provided, all you need to bring is your drumsticks, guitars, pedals and picks. singers don't even need to own microphones! bands are really pampered here, we're very lucky.
so honestly, if someone says to me that Singapore doesn't have enough support for local acts, i don't believe it, and it tells me one of two things, either:
- you're completely clueless and can't be bothered, and therefore you don't deserve any help, or
- you're not working hard enough and therefore you don't deserve any success.
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AbeCunninghamWannabe
New member
wondering......
is Bobby actually this Ronin guy???????
is Bobby actually this Ronin guy???????
growlingsoulpup
New member
Whoever Bobby is, he's no mindless sheep that's for sure. Heheheheh.
shinobi
New member
there is no joy. absolutely no joy, no dedication and no sacrifice towards playing music.
you can adjust your expectation of the scene to your the capability of others instead of your own.
you can blame every dissatisfaction you hold on factors that are exogenous, systemic, which you know you cannot control; that's what makes it such a convenient excuse.
i also don't believe that the society is oppressed and that people are passive. for any cause that exists, singaporeans will amazingly spite it even at their own cost, out of tremendous self-importance. it is romantic to imagine individuals as victims of a design, but we are in fact the villains of our own misery. not only is that pathetic, but it is also pure hypocrisy.
what exactly is the scene? if the scene is to be defined as the collective action of the people with which it is associated, then the scene sucks because the people in it are shit.
there seems to be a overriding presumption that we are not deserving of the state in which we find ourselves. never did it occur to anyone that perhaps we are more than deserving of the way things are.
i know that there are very few genuine musicians in these forums, but as far as a musician is concerned, the scene means nothing. a musician plays music. whatever people make of his music is none of his concern and honestly, nothing he can control. all he can do is play. if people support him, then he is truly deserving.
fortune is a dividend of sweat or a residue of design. you will get your reward only if you deserve it. if you don't get whatever reward you seek, then you don't deserve it. it ends there. it has nothing to do with external factors.
better this than if a celebrated bunch of losers were to make a mockery of a 'scene'. let's keep realistic.
you can adjust your expectation of the scene to your the capability of others instead of your own.
you can blame every dissatisfaction you hold on factors that are exogenous, systemic, which you know you cannot control; that's what makes it such a convenient excuse.
i also don't believe that the society is oppressed and that people are passive. for any cause that exists, singaporeans will amazingly spite it even at their own cost, out of tremendous self-importance. it is romantic to imagine individuals as victims of a design, but we are in fact the villains of our own misery. not only is that pathetic, but it is also pure hypocrisy.
what exactly is the scene? if the scene is to be defined as the collective action of the people with which it is associated, then the scene sucks because the people in it are shit.
there seems to be a overriding presumption that we are not deserving of the state in which we find ourselves. never did it occur to anyone that perhaps we are more than deserving of the way things are.
i know that there are very few genuine musicians in these forums, but as far as a musician is concerned, the scene means nothing. a musician plays music. whatever people make of his music is none of his concern and honestly, nothing he can control. all he can do is play. if people support him, then he is truly deserving.
fortune is a dividend of sweat or a residue of design. you will get your reward only if you deserve it. if you don't get whatever reward you seek, then you don't deserve it. it ends there. it has nothing to do with external factors.
better this than if a celebrated bunch of losers were to make a mockery of a 'scene'. let's keep realistic.
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