Guitar/Songwriting Lessons in Singapore! (JB, at a stretch -- or anywhere else in the world if you're paying through your nose)

Thinking of picking up the guitar as a hobby? Have you been playing the guitar for years, and seem to be stuck at the same level of playing? Look no further! (Look here!)

I can teach you theory and technique, or if you're the lazy type, we can do the pop-song-in-4-lessons thing.

For guitar students, the following topics will be covered:
- chords
- strumming patterns
- fingerpicking
- scales/modes
- chord construction

For songwriting students:
- writing a melody
- writing lyrics
- arrangement

For a sample of my teaching style, watch this YouTube video I did as a response to someone who went "POST A VIDEO LESSON OF DAT SONG PLZ" at me.

Leave me an email at popchess@gmail.com or get me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kevin.ghosty.9 if you're interested!  =)

Exciting days ahead!

Exciting days ahead!! Where do I start? Chronological order good for everyone? I'm the boss of my blog, so I say yes ;)

Fantastic thing #1
On the 23rd of December 2012, I WON A SONGWRITING COMPETITION/SHOWCASE oh yeah oh yeah, with this little song right here. (The competition was organized by COMPASS and Dezz Moey, my new music publisher.)


Those of you who know me will know that I swing between humility ("I know I suck, I need to practice more") and some amount of pride ("Yes, I'm really really good, innit?"). Well, this gives me the opportunity to boast, BWAHAHAHAA. What makes it feel really good is that the rest of the performers/competitors pretty awesome as well (the bunch of us were the top 12 from all the entries).

I've said it before, I'll say it again: I don't think music should be about competitions. Music is more akin to spirituality, than it is to an Olympic event. A different panel of judges would have picked another winner -- I just happened to win this one because I managed to connect with them on some level. [Disclaimer: no bribery was involved! Some handsomeness might have been involved, I'm not sure]

Pictures here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.515020685198060.128282.216995028333962&type=1

Fantastic thing #2
As you may have noticed, I finished a nice shiny track with producer Joel C.

It's now getting played on several online radio stations, which is fantastic, right? One of the shows I'm being played on is the Justin Sane Show, which as far as I can tell, is syndicated on seven (SEVEN! 7!) other radio stations. I was doing army things (reservist training, grr) while my track was being played live in the US of A, but Justin was kind enough to upload the show my track was on, so here it is for you! My track comes in at about 43 seconds into the file, and Justin gives me a shout out at about the 15.50 mark. So cool! :D

I have to say, Justin Sane's selection of music is awesome (teehee) -- I'm listening to his show even as I type this. Thank God for the internet.

Fantastic thing #3
Last night, I signed the first music publishing deal of my life. I signed it with Dezz Moey's company (see  Fantastic thing #1), one of the organizers of the competition I won. (I WON!!! :D) What does it mean exactly? Well, we'll see in the coming months. Part of the job of a music publisher is to fight for a songwriter (me), so that everyone can make some money.

So if Dezz does his job (ahem ahem), you might be hearing my song(s) in various cafes, pubs, and who knows, even one or two toilets in public spaces near you ;)


Final words (for now)
 In case it wasn't already obvious, I guess we all can treat this as another proclamation from me: I AM IN THIS FOR THE LONG HAUL. I WILL NEVER GIVE UP. Okey, universe? And thanks for all your help.

Without the people who are orbiting me now, I'd be less than nothing.

I know I'm small fry, but in a sense it doesn't really bother me. What I really want is for my music to touch people, deep down inside in their secret parts (innuendo totally intended). So help me spread my music OK? Shiny track up top is pretty cool. I like touching people, help me touch more people! (again, intended....)

Thanks for reading!

Follow me into the dark, we'll play with fire

Bedroom demo = where i pretend that recording technology hasn't advanced since the 1900s. One take, no overdubs, no cutting-pasting.

(If this is not your kind of thing, there's still that nice shiny track at the top of this page! =D)

Different Shores -- NEW SHINY TRACK GETTING AIRPLAY ON RADIO STATIONS WORLDWIDE (literally)

So I've added my nice, shiny track that's been kindly and lovingly produced by Joel C at http://joelcmix.es/. Feel free to click play while you read this blogpost.



The track will be getting airplay on Back Roads Radio, Z99, Liveo, and hopefully other radio stations soon. Of course, it all means zilch if people don't LIKE the thing, so let me know what you think, okay? :) Facebook me here! --> https://www.facebook.com/kevinghosty

Think on your feet! A gig with a scared bunch of good kids and a rowdy, crazy drunk.

The scene: the Circle of Fifths Open Mic Night at the POW (Little India). We were having a nice comfy time, really a bunch of guys playing for each other and a few tourist/backpacker types, when a pair of DRUNK AS HELL Australians walk into the bar.

(Sounds like a bad joke. A pair of drunk Aussies walk into a bar...)

One of them starts shouting something incoherent at Chris Brassington, but none of us could really hear whether he was saying something like "you rock" or "you f**k*". Things like that really sound quite similar when they are slurred out with a heavy, heavy Australian accent (remove all the consonants and you'll get an idea of what we were hearing). At that point, I think a few of us were worried that one of them would get violent.

Chris was already on one of his last songs, so he finished up, and it was my turn to play. Chris, being quite familiar with the ways of the drunk, whispered to me: "you have to go up fast, don't let it be quiet for too long. Not good to have it too quiet." In the few short minutes between Chris's set and mine, one of the drunks had found himself up on the stage, swaying about menacingly/hilariously (not sure which one to use at the moment). What was he shouting about up there? Hmm..

Have a look for yourself.

Yeah, you can laugh ;)

There's something to be said about playing music in some kind of community, even if it's as transient as the bunch of people at an open mic. If there was some kinda tension in the room (WHAT'S THE DRUNK GONNA DO), I felt safer knowing that my fellow musicians were around me. That's Jon Ashley's voice I can distinctly hear going "GET OFF THE STAGE!"...

Ok yes, I feel quite proud of myself for thinking up that song in the nanosecond I was up there and figuring out how to get him off the stage without things getting unpleasant. But without the bunch of guys in the room, I'm not sure I would've dared to do what I did. Truth.

The drunk, the support, and my brilliant (ahem) reactions continued through the set, some of which you can watch here (warning, some NC16 language)

(Apologies for destroying the Bob Dylan song........)

All considered, it was a pretty fun night. The drunk dude was going on and on and on and on about how I had a nice voice, the most commercial sound of the night (reeeally now), and how he would get "his people" to contact me if I gave him my number. SO I DID GIVE HIM MY NUMBER, AND TWO MONTHS ON, HE STILL HASN'T CONTACTED ME. Oh, the heartbreak..

New track, bunch ov gigs

Hello internet!

I've got a new track w00t w00t w00t.. And hopefully more to come. Please pray that my muse will come and visit me again. And here's the track!

http://kevinakaghost.bandcamp.com/track/the-distance-between
(bandcamp seems to have removed the embedded player thingy, so here's a button you can click instead :P

As of now (10.49pm, 24 November 2012 in Hougang), I see 12 (wah so many) likes on the bandcamp track, 4 likes on my own facebook, and 1 like on my artist facebook page (thanks, Rachel). That confuses me a bit. Should I delete my artist facebook page? I dunno.

Ok, rant time.

I'm jealous of people who have 10,000 likes on their page. There, I said it. But here's the rant. I think musicians should be, first and foremost, people who are good at TOUCHING PEOPLE'S HEARTS. They should not be focused on being good at Facebook/MySpace/YouTube/LikeAggregator (don't worry, I made the last one up, it doesn't exist.. I think). It PISSES ME OFF when I see someone with bad music, but with 10,000 likes.


Then I see someone like Daniel Mustard whose music is absolutely brilliant and who has a sizeable Facebook following, and I think to myself: goddddamnnn, I need to get better at what I do. Fast. I need to write better songs, record them, and then... get good at Facebook. Eeks.

Rant over.


Ok, so, bunch ov gigs.

2 Dec: The Diarist Sessions and Open Mic at Viking Coffee #02
6 Dec: Circle of Fifths Songwriters Showcase @ The Prince of Wales
24 Dec: Ngee Ann City.... dunno where. Also no Facebook info... But I confirm playing! 7.30-8pm.

J's story

So let’s get this out of the way.

Yes, I am a musician who would like to get world famous, and I'd like your attention. But this blogpost is not going to be about me. It's going to be about a serendipitous meeting with a former Boys' Home resident, who somehow made enough money to send his parents and his sisters to the US of A -- by the time he was 17. And, umm, his parents said no.

But first, to the meeting. I met J playing an MMOFPS, and he started asking me if I remembered him. Well, I didn't. But we were two of the weakest players in the team, and our team was winning.... soooo.... I guess we slacked off and started chatting.

And that's when the mind-fuckery started.

He told me that this (at 3am) was his last day in Singapore. (Why?) He was going to the US. (For what?) He was going to the US to study, A-levels. (Oh, ok, parents?) No, going alone. (What, how? Why? Wtf?) I paid my own way. (And your parents?) <too complicated to redact>

My mind is still reeling from J's story, so let me just recount the salient facts that are making me stay up at 5.04am (WHAT) in the morning.

1. He was labelled BEYOND PARENTAL CONTROL when he was 12. (That's what happens when you're so fucked as a kid that your parents cry daddy and ask the government for help.)

2. From 12 to 14 years' of age, he was in the Boys' Home. (As good as jail, in Singapore.)

3. He promised his parents he would take the A-levels in the USA. (OK, this nugget I may have gotten wrong -- but the promise was something to this effect.)

4. He MADE enough money to finance his way to the US, working the Gong Kuan and Sai Kuan circuit, plus the SG Conrad and a donut shop. (J calls them "stress days". My reply: "So that's how you made all that money. J: "I even grow white hair, lol.")

5. He MADE enough money to pay for his parents AND sisters to go to the US with him.

6. He offered his parents a chance to start a new life.

7. His parents rejected the offer.

At this point, his story becomes mythical (academia speak for FUCKING AWESOME). Look, I know that this guy could be fucking with me (if he is, WHAT a liar). This guy could be having a laugh at my expense. But let's look at the story. Any of those components could be true, and they fit together as a beautiful story.

Boys' Home? -- Yes, that's definitely realistic. Too realistic.

Working as underaged labor? Fine, that's a bit iffy. But if you've been to the Boys' Home, I'm sure that working an honest job for honest cash is FINE.

Saving up enough for his parents and sisters? -- Realistic. Keep a rein on your spending.

Look, I'm not saying that this guy is a saint or a hero. It's just that the story he told me tonight smacks of everything I SHOULD BE.

Take a look.

J: aim for a diploma then only i relax and would really want to know more about computer C++ language
J: kinda good in comps hacking things
J: then if i can do it i would work in garena or asiasoft or gameguard companies earn big money though

Me: well, you've made enough for yourself so far, i'm sure that whatever comes, you'll be able to hande it
Me: C++ is very, very, very hard.

J: lol... just need to know the concept and anything can be easy
J: if u really want to do something and really put the effort in it, it will come true :)

Me: yeah... i hope that's true

J: that is true la lol this sentence i learn it from some old uncles
J: they told me if u work hard for the things u want , and no matter what u face, u never give up, one day it will come true


Christ, can you feel me rooting for this kid? He's learning lessons that I learnt when I was way past my 21st birthday.


From the exchange we had on the MMOFPS game, I asked him to add me on facebook (I really wanted to know if he was bullshitting me). His facebook profile seemed to support his story so far. My blogpost probably doesn't reflect how powerful his story is. Somewhere in J's story there's a girlfriend that he broke up with because he thought that he couldn't take care of her, and parental rejection, a shitload of hardwork, and an appreciation for the simple things of life (games are just to make us happy la!).


Another nugget:

 J: if u got read the bible
J: Every single one of us came to the world for a mission. For a reason. Find out your mission and fulfill it!

---



My message to J:

Thank you for your story, bro. Your story is just beginning, and it could end in tears and tragedy (debt, drug addiction, laziness). But I have a feeling you will be just about as successful as you want to be. You have already conquered so many mountains -- and you are only SEVENTEEN.

I mean this with all my heart. J, keep on working hard, and please enjoy the good moments.



----------------------


You may have noticed that J asked me if I remembered him. Well, I think I do. We used to curse and swear at each other while playing the MMOFPS, for stupid and sundry reasons. I guess we managed to surpass that (insignificant) barrier and talk to each other as human beings.

And that's what we all want, isn't it?

Take a look at the person next to you on the MRT, and realise that they have a beautiful story too.

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Mark 12:28-34
28And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 32And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 33And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.