Owner: Alternative Music URL:http://my-alternative-music.blogspot.com Join Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 03:22:56 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: News on KICKSPACE, a Kuching-based alternative-rock band. The band's jam sessions, musical inclinations, individual idiosyncrasies, songs composed, played, recycled, buried and regurgitated.
News on SKYE MUSIC CENTRE, Kuching City's most spacious jammi Site statistics:Click here
Club Foot 2008-03-05 21:00:00 When I first heard this song back in 2004 I thought it was Nine Inch Nails'. Little did I realise it was from a Leicester-based band, English-bred. A Kasabian classic.This live performance at David Letterman manages to capture the high level of intensity of the song. Brilliant bass lines.
There's no explanation to this amazing phenomenon 2008-02-15 20:26:00 Scatting is an art, I believe. When done live with a piano accompanyment, it goes beyond the virtually invisible boundary of art to becoming unexplainable. Unexplainable to me at least.Chick Corea and Bobby McFerrin. Read more:explanation
Craftsmanship of Al Di Meola - Solo 2008-02-15 20:06:00 The best thing about guitar-playing in the 70's is that back then you don't really have a lot of high-tech gizmos to help you create unusual sounds, so you really have to work on developing your skills and nurture creativity in your bloodstream to conjure some magical melodies from your axe.Al Di Meola.
Stanley Jordan: Jazz Fusion Virtuoso in David Letterman (old archives) 2008-02-12 02:41:00 Stanley Jordan
shares the same birth date with me by the way, except that he's a good 14 years older.It's simply amazing to see this guy tapping effortlessly with all ten fingers simultaneously. Enjoy the video and accept the fact that God created some men with enormous talent so that most of us could emulate and admire them. And hopefully become like them too. Read more:Stanley
, David
, Letterman
, David Letterman
Some SRV licks with great tone 2008-02-03 11:30:00 I'm not really an SRV follower but blues has always been my style of playing. The licks in this video is simplicity played at an admirable speed and accuracy.Give me 2 months.
Song 2: Is It Really You? 2008-02-03 10:56:00 I wrote this one about 6 months back, while in a state of utter pensiveness after my fishing trip in August 2007. As usual, my lyrics don't make much sense if you just read it off the shelf like a novel or a menu (sometimes I do wish I could write like Chris Daughtry). This song tells about how one should be who they think they ought to and could be, and not to just confine themselves to being who they are at this very moment of their existence. It describes how one is truly free in one's mind, to be whoever one thinks one could be, and by believing so one could actually accomplish what one wants to become.I had a very tumultuous time in the last couple of years trying to figure out what the flying fairies I really wanted to be. Well I think I'm getting closer to finding the answer, th
Now this is what I call smooth fretwork! 2008-01-28 10:19:00 This is what i would describe as effortless fretboard surfing!I wished I could slide like this. Maybe I could, if I practised more often.Awesome stuff. Jazz just hits it right where it should. Read more:smooth
Song 1: I Had You (performed by Kickspace) 2008-01-21 10:17:00 I wrote this song way, way back in end of 1995 while still in London trying to survive my final year in Imperial. I remembered working halfway through the chorus and thought, what the fuck am I writing a love song for when I'm not in love with this person anymore? So I turned everything around and changed the lyrics so that it seemed I never regretted that it ever ended. Even though I did. What a sad git I was. Oh well, such is the plight of the artist talking of unrequited love. And all poets share the same sentiment I would like to believe. Enough crock, here are the lyrics as of 2005, written by yours truly and performed exclusively by Kickspace:When you went your own way there were tears left insideAs I remembered saying "You know how I tried"To be the only one, who could live ben
New jamming studio SKYE Music Centre in Kuching, Sarawak 2008-01-20 10:04:00 It's been centuries since I last updated this joint. Obviously I've got something very important to say today after months of silence, so listen up: Good news to all musicians in Kuching
City, Sarawak
, Malaysia and the nearby areas. There is now a new music centre / jamming studio called SKYE MusicCentre
which has just opened in the city. It is strategically and conveniently located on the 2nd floor, corner lot of one of the new shoplot buildings along Jalan Tun Jugah, Simpang Tiga. The address is Lot 11868, 2nd Floor, Block 16, KCLD Sublot 1, No. 109, Jalan Tun Jugah, 93300 Kuching. What makes SKYE Music Centre / jamming studio different from the rest? Size does matter – We do not boast to be the best in terms of musical instruments we provide nor the technology we use, but we do
Finding Our Roots 2007-06-20 09:12:00 We've been playing together for, nearly two years now, and the guys were talking the other day, why don't we find out what our roots are? What kind of music do we really dig? It turns out all of us really liked Maroon 5's latest single, Makes Me Wonder. Funky up-beat, 80s retro, disco drumbeat and a mellowish but nevertheless catchy tune. I'm gonna look for the tabs, we're gonna try this song.In the meantime, Jane was almost a success in the last jamming session. Almost.
Diary of Jane - We Almost Played It 2007-06-13 04:34:00 Yep, we almsot played the song, almost being the operative word here. Dom the drummer was the key person, by ensuring we could actually listen AND follow the 4/4/ beat, we were well in the way of actually playing an audible version of the song.Next week we shall try again. Read more:Diary
, Almost
, Played
Trying to play Jane 2007-06-10 23:39:00 We've been trying to play Breaking Benjamin's Diary of Jane for the past few weeks, but have been failing miserably every time. I think we're trying to outdo each other's noise levels and playing skills, hence contributing to much disdain in our efforts. Tonight, unlike other Monday nights for the last few weeks where we've spent almost the entire hour trashing about hoping to get it right, we will do things on a quieter scale so that we can actually hear each other playing. Which should have been the way right from the start. Too ambitious, Dom said. We'll still play it with the drop A# tuning as per Benjamin's way of playing.No indication of us trying to finish our recording anytime soon for the last 2 songs. Damn, it's middle of the year already, things have to move faster.
Kickspace in the Jamming studio 2007-02-22 18:50:00 It's been quite a while since I last posted anything. Rather busy lately, the guys too. This photo was actually taken sometime middle of last year, at the studion where we alwys jam (ground floor Medan Pelita). L to R: Clement (bass), Alvin (vocals, guitars), Henry - that's me - (guitars), Dominic (drums). Alvin's using a nice mahogany Washburn N2 copy, I'm just using a Squier Tele. OK we haven't really finished recording all of our 5 songs. 2 more to go, have to finish it very soon. Updates on this later.
Download & Listen to our Songs at www.betarecords.com/kickspace 2006-12-13 03:01:00 You can now download and listen to our songs at our hosted website at www.betarecords.com/kickspace. We've put the first 3 songs that we recorded, i.e. Be Thankful (2 versions, the first one and 2nd more improved one), I Had You and Mighty Hand. However, I Had You and Mighty Hand had some editing problems towards the last few seconds of each song, it got cut off abruptly. Our producer Mr. Morgan is currently fixing this little problem. We'll upload the fixed versions sometime next week. Comments are most welcome! Read more:Download
, Listen
We got All Alone sorted out 2006-12-06 19:38:00 We finally got I'll Never Leave You All Alone sorted out, the music sequence and parts for all instruments plus vocals. It sounded different from the other four songs we've done because I tried to add some grunge feel to the intro and chorus parts while maintaining the mellowish verses. I decided to retain the instrumental bridge part to add more flavour to the whole song. Tonight I planned to have a recording session with Morgan, don't know if our drummer is available or not. We were gonna do Falling Sun.
Doing our own recording 2006-11-27 22:33:00 We're gonna try and do our own recording after this. Alvin has downloaded a well-known music producing software so we'll be experimenting with it very soon. Supposed to be user-friendly, you don't have to be Einstein to use it. Only need to get a MIDI interface cable so we can record our instruments directly into the pc. This'll be good for doing experiments since none of us have any good experience with music editing, recording or mixing. Trial and error's the way to go.
Next is Beneath the Falling Sun 2006-11-26 12:07:00 Right, we will have to finish the last two songs before Xmas since we're all gonna be too busy to do it after that. On Monday I plan to bring the guys for a final jam session to do Beneath
the Falling Sun and do work on All Alone before we finalise that one. Beneath is more or less there, I just need to sort out all the guitar parts. We got comments from some listeners who gave us their honest opinion on the 3 songs we've recorded. Basically the tunes are OK but the musica arrangement needs to be more solid and full, at the moment it's rather "empty" they say. OK I know what to do in the next 2 recordings. Vocal-wise, there is an apparent lack of emotion involved in delivering the song. Apart from slight pitching errors at some parts, the most important aspect would be the songs' inability
3 songs mixed 2006-11-14 23:07:00 I got the cd of the 3 songs
from Morgan last night. However 2 of the songs had abrupt sound cut off at the very end, just before the songs end. Morgan is gonna re-record it into the cd again and fix this minor problem. Other than that, Dominic and I are generally happy with the work output and quality so far. Nothing wrong with the recording really, it's our playing that needs major improvement.
Name for the EP 2006-11-08 23:26:00 We are going to decide on a name for our soon-to-be-completed EP. Since we're having a jam session tonight then it'd be the best time to decide on one, one that all of us would have to unanimously agree on. It's been a while since we jammed, ever since we started recording the songs in August. I told Clement the other day about calling the album "Cheap and Nasty". No real reason behind the name. He suggested "Saints and sinners". We'll see how it goes tonight.
3 down, 2 to go 2006-11-04 13:23:00 We finished recording our 3rd song on Fri 3/11. So far this song, Be Thankful, is the one taking the least time to complete. It's the best one so far I think, music arrangement-wise. This coming Monday we'll be doing the harmonies for Mighty Hand, since Dominic and the rest think the song would sound better if 2nd voices were added to it. That now leaves us with 2 more songs to go, as per the contract agreed with Morgan. I'm thinking of giving our next song recorded a harder, heavier sound, modern ballad-rock kind of arrangement. Something Creed would've come up with.
Supposed to go for a Beach Festival 2006-11-01 06:44:00 A couple of weeks ago we were invited to perform in a beach festival at Sematan, Lundu, a small seaside town northwest of Kuching City (about 40 km away). If we were to join, we would be categorised as a novice band together with another new band (I've forgotten the name). There are supposed to be about 20 bands playing in the festival. It starts on 24th Nov if I'm not mistaken and lasts over the weekend. One of us couldn't make it on the dates so we're out. Plus I think we all want to concentrate on getting the recordings done for the rest of our songs, 3 left now. Read more:Beach
, Festival
List of songs for the upcoming EP 2006-10-31 01:41:00 The deadline is December 2006, we have to finish it by then. Five songs
altogether, the titles are:I Had YouMighty HandBe ThankfulWalk AloneBeneath the Falling SunOne more song I've just done but haven't tried it with the guys, it's called (at the moment) Is It Really You.
This Friday's the Day 2006-10-30 11:29:00 We just had a recording session tonight over at Morgan's place for our third song. The first two songs were done a couple of weeks ago (I Had You and Mighty Hand), now it's just the mixing that's pending. This third one is entitled Be Thankful. One of my favourites since it's a fast number. What is it about is self-explanatory in the lyrics, which I will eventually upload for all to view. Nuff said. Rock on! Read more:Friday
It's all about music 2006-10-28 14:20:00 It's all about the music my band, KICKSPACE, has been working on since we got together a year and a half ago. Kickspace is a 4-piece band and we play alternative music. I myself, Henry, am the lead guitarist and main songwriter, our frontman/guitarist Alvin, bassist Clement and drummer Dominic. We've always had this childhood dream of being in a band and playing our own materials. Not really aiming to be famous but just want to see how far we can go as part time musicians in this industry. We've composed 6 original songs to date and currently recording our third one; we've just finished two, more or less (still needs some massive mixing to make it sound more refined).I'll be giving updates on current activites of the band.Rock on!
Song 3: I'll Never Leave You All Alone 2008-03-13 00:50:00 I wrote this while in Bintulu, north of Sarawak. I was there for a site visit up the Tatau river. I was watching CNN I remembered in the hotel room, and the usual CNN news was on. The words just flowed out like water as I was visualising all these things in my head and wondering how it felt like if I was left alone in a battlefield not knowing what was in store for me next. This song has a war/genocide theme to it, or rather, the aftermath of war/genocide theme.The papers said it’s safe to breathe today No body counts in large amounts Just little sorrowed talks to pass around The cable news had some light comedy Of terrorists in suits and ties Living in self-made pseudo paradise I heard the radio speak of a name The man’s insane, out of his mind But if he is then why ar Read more:Leave
Kickspace needs space 2008-04-06 10:51:00 The band's been repetitively playing Is It Really You in the last few jam sessions. See my post of 4 Feb 2008 for details of the song. It's actually one of my own favourites. The song was written out of spite for one's own inability to accept one's own true self, true personality. The lyrics don't make much sense but I feel the melody tells the listener that whoever sings this song, wants to let out a buried realisation that he or she has not discovered, or rather refused to admit, about himself or herself until too late.So much for self-indulgence. I guess all songwriters at some point feel very pathetic about having to explain themselves to the listener or whoever is out there the reason why they write what they write. I mean, for myself, it's always a strange and invigorating feeling
I'm packed and I'm holding 2008-05-03 11:47:00 I memorised the entire lyrics of this song back then just so I could play it in front of my buddies and impress them with my singing and guitar-playing skills. It was easy though, coz the song had only 3 or 4 chords which were painfully repeated over and over again. Loved the tunes and the lyrics. A classic in my list.Semi-charmed life. Read more:holding
The Best in Satellite TV 2008-05-08 22:40:00 Satellite TV, a phenomenon that's continuously improving as technology in broadcasting and media communications improves by the day. Today it's almost impossible to live without satellite TV at home or at your workplace.In order to get the best of satellite TV, you can check out DirecTV which offers some of the very best packages I've seen on the net for satellite TV channels. Direct TV also offers several system options for you to choose from, i.e. systems with DVR, HD or both DVR and HD.The part I like most about Direct TV is the promotions and free offers which come with their subscription, depending on the packages you're opting for of course. I'm a great movie fan, so naturally I'd go for packages which include HBO, Cinemax and the likes. All the packages are offered at a very reas Read more:Satellite
The Stare / I Beat You competition 2008-05-16 18:25:00 I came across this The Stare
/ I Beat You competition
in YouTube with Jessica Alba trying her luck in it. Rather dumb I think. Anyway here it is.
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