United We Stand!!!

United Live!!

Alright, it's been a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnngggggg time since I have updated here. Oh well, for that matter, I haven't even been online in ages. I guess you can say that this is my first time since exam period. Finals been really hectic and tiring, but I'm glad I finally have my long-awaited break. *grins widely*

So yea, finally after a week or so I have set foot in my home. But will be going Singapore tomorrow. After that, OBS camp by Petronas (I have no idea why they keep stuffing our faces with camp after camp). My whole week has been spent in Penang and KL. Right after finals, made a rush to pack bags and rushed off with girlfriend to Penang, after a few days then off to KL.

Why did I go to KL? *gleeful look* Why, of course, Hillsongs United Live in KL "ONE NIGHT ONLY" concert. Yeap, they came to Glad Tidings PJ and thanks to Pastor Clement and Pastor Elijah, I managed to obtain 2 tickets to the concert (one of which is now my bookmark)!!

I haven't seen Hillsongs since 2004 in Singapore and this was my first Hillsongs concert, since the last one was actually a conference cum workshop. This was quite the experience. If I'm not wrong, majority of the crew was there, as in JD and the gang. But I didn't see the "Hosanna" lady though (whatever her name is, lol). The band played almost the entire catalog of all-time-favorites and really worked the crowd well while managing to bring us all into a really great experience of worshiping God. Like JD said, "It's not about singing the songs and feeling good and jumping all around, it's about worshiping Him (God)"

Was really happy as I got to bring girlfriend to her first ever Hillsongs concert though. Really nice to see her enjoy herself so so much. We were dancing and jumping and just praising God until we all had almost no more energy after that. Haha. But the amazing thing about worshiping God is that even though you feel so tired after giving your all, He miraculously just makes all the fatigue disappear almost instantly. =)

The band started out with one of their all-time favorite songs "The Time Has Come" and then went on to play songs like "Break Free", "Take It All", "Salvation Is Here", "Tell The World" and "What The World Will Never Take Away". The time of worship that was to follow was simply fantastic. I remember we started it with "Mighty To Save" and ended on a very high note with "Saviour King". Well, at least I thought that was a good ending but I never expected that we were just beginning.

After another round of quick numbers, the band concluded and went off-stage. But when they came back for an encore, they made a nice ending to the while concert with "One Way" and "Solution".


To sum it all up, I think it was fantastic and a really fun time for us. I would strongly recommend anyone to go and see Hillsongs live in concert. God will really work wonders and stir a new song in your heart.

Oh yea, and I would probably be avoiding Unagi Rice for quite a while though =P

It's Official!

Some of you know, I have been working on Project: Invictus lately. So after actually posting want ads and the efforts of several people in attempts to hire people to fill in the vacancies, I can now say that it is official. We have finally formed our band. *grins* (Watch out, Shortz... here we come! =P)

After consulting several opinions, it has actually come down to 4 logo designs, namely number 1, 2, 4 and 6. The band members had a vote and we are now going to use logo number 6 (van Helsing). So I guess now we will be searching for gigs around and practicing every week while trying not to clash with our examinations and studies.

The lineup is currently comprising of a few members from the former Confusion and a new vocalist (thanks to Adonis' smart move). Hopefully, this time, the search will really be over. Gotta really practice hard and improve my skills from now on though if we want to get somewhere with this band.

Just one problem. If our keyboardist leaves and goes back to Indonesia, we'll need to search for people all over again. *sigh* On the bright side, we have to choose some nice songs to practice now. *grins*

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY:

1. Which songs should we play? Any suggestions are welcome, preferably suiting a female vocalist.
2. Why does UTP have such bad internet connection lately, but such fantastic LAN all of a sudden (sending files on gtalk has been ridiculously fast)?
   

The Black Post 2: [INVICTUS]

This is the second of the series on BLACK POSTS. As you can see here, I've even modified my theme here to suit the black atmosphere. *grins widely* Now to the main point. I have been planning on forming a band called "INVICTUS" for a long time (Just for your information, Invictus means unconquered in latin). So finally I have found a few talented individuals game enough and skillful enough to form the nucleus of the band.

I have no idea how wide my viewer base is, but I'm gonna make full use of this space to ask for opinions. I've made a few little possible logos to choose from with my limited skills in paint software So please please do give me your feedback. I really need it. But if you have an even better design or even better idea, you are most welcome to contact me. =)








As of now, our priority is hiring a lead guitarist, able to play Dream Theater songs and a flexible vocalist of good vocal range and pitching. more updates to come soon.

Some Photos (The Forgotten Band)

I have mentioned a lot about my band "Confusion" in the previous posts. But then it seems that this band has been a forgotten band after the preliminary rounds. There's even no recording of our band done by the IT Media people who came the other day available on DC++. But anyways, here are some photos that came from the camera of a band member.

The whole band together onstage

The band from another side

The other 3 pics are self-explanatory =P

As The Bands Go Marching On...

We suddenly have a huge banner That displays the message "Say No To Euphonious". I have no idea what is happening to UTP nowadays. It seems that certain parties in UTP would see this competition as something against their religious convictions. But this has not been the first event being labeled as tidak halal and it certainly would not be the last.

I'm not going to criticize any parties here, but there is a very thin line between being religious and spirituality. The intentions may be good, but when we cross over the line from being spiritual to being religious, it completely turns sour and our efforts are not being appreciated by the people we are trying to help, nor does it bring benefit any longer as our efforts would only turn them against us.

I have no idea how much making that banner costs, but think about it. If so much resources are being put into this effort, you need to be very sure that the effort is worth every cent, or else the money would be better channeled into efforts like helping people learn more about God or improving spirituality constructively.

Well, that's just my own view. But from my observation, people seem to be having an adverse reaction towards this banner and may be even more determined to go for Euphonious. Well, if you can't beat them, join them. =P

Adding To The Noise

Have been busy for the past few weeks staying up late at night just to jam and practice for the Euphonious 2008 preliminary round. Finally got a load off my shoulders after today's performances. But come to think of it, I'll probably miss performing on stage just to entertain the crowd. *grins*

To be playing in Euphonious is not what I expected to be doing this year, let alone playing in 2 bands. Initially I only expected to be playing in the jazz band we formed since last year, comprising of me (vocals), Dhany (keyboard- he's brilliant and if he doesn't win best keyboardist, the judges are tone-deaf), Dr. Bambang (yes, the lecturer plays bass. And really really well), Hann (drums), Sherman (saxophone) and a string of guitarists which never really worked out. But because the thought Dr. Bambang was going to be one of the judges and due to Hann's withdrawal, we had to find replacements or just scrap the band.

Just when I almost cold storage-ed the idea of performing this year, Kee Hui came knocking. So I ended up having 2 bands after Dhany found the replacements. The band with Kee Hui was called "Project Summer" and Dhany's band was called "Confusion" (which I am, until now, confused about why it is called that).

Before prelims, I already knew what to expect as the previous year champions were joining again and many bands I knew of were very strong. But I kinda thought we stood a chance to impress at least.

Some facts you must at least know to have a clue in this post:

1. I played drums for Confusion.
2. I played rhythm guitar and did lead vocals for Project Summer.
3. Both bands really rocked the stage (seriously).
   
4. I thought the judges would at least say something good after the rocking performance we (Confusion) did instead of just saying "not too bad".
5. NONE of us in Project Summer expected to actually make an impact with the audience, let alone the judges (Or even be in the Top 7!).

Thank You's:

To the band members of Confusion:-

Dhany- Brilliant. If I could describe you in 1 word that would be it. You are the fulcrum of the band and if it wasn't for you, all this wouldn't have happened. Thanks a lot. I'm gonna have lots of trouble finding a new keyboardist when u leave UTP. =D

Ofi- My new staple bassist. Hehe. After this year, we gonna have to find new band members from scratch, if Rizki and Sherman aren't interested in joining us. Enjoy grooving with you. Remember, next time we play Dream Theater. So practice harder. Our next band's name's Invictus (unconquered).

Rizki- My Hydraulics lab demonstrator. You play good guitar man. It's just a pity the sound settings went off when you were playing. or else everyone would have known how well you can play. The next Santana.

Sherman- You have some serious skills there you know that? You just have to realize how good you really are, then you'll be able to apply your skills very much more easily and be more spontaneous. Without your saxophone, our band really doesn't sound as good.

Adonis- Although you made a mistake, but that was a good performance. I'm impressed. I believe this is your first time? Well, trust me. You will get better and better with experience. Btw, enjoyed that acoustic jam session with you.

Fauzan- Even though some people didn't hear your voice clearly, I think you were good man. Thanks for being there when the band needed you.


To the band members of Project Summer:

That was really really fun. I loved the whole performance. Everyone was getting bored when they heard we were gonna sing Oasis' Don't Look Back In Anger, but we showed them. *cheeky grin* All of you did well. Especially for that Oasis song. I bet this is the first time anyone did such a punk cover. Too bad the bassist couldn't jump as his cable was too short. LOL


To Hui Lyng:

Thank you so so so so so so much for being so understanding and so so so so so so supportive throughout this entire arc of practices and jamming sessions right up to the prelims. You didn't even complain when things didn't go the way we planned it to be. To me it doesn't even matter if the judges didn't think much of us. All that matters is that I have done the best I can and that you are proud of me and that I can use the talents God blessed me with. =D So proud to have you. Really appreciate you a lot a lot.


To all the bands that performed, kudos for the courage to do what many other people would not dare to do and it was fun to be adding to the noise with all of you. Congratulations to Sebastian, Stella and Vinod for going through to the final. Proud of you guys.

N.B. To those who are completely clueless, Euphonious is the name of the band competition in UTP