Penat

I had the longest weekend ever.



My morning overslumber was cut short. Me and the siblings headed off to Arwah Ayah's grave for the occasional visit as early as 8 in the a.m. Things looked pretty at the graveyard as the municipal council workers were busy clearing the place off overgrown wild shrubs and unattended bunch of trees. It gave the place a facelift. A much needed one if I should say so. We left as soon as we're done reciting the Yasin, but something in me is still there. Maybe a mountain of regret or perhaps a sea of doubts or probably a sky of grief. I know I've never been the good son I am obliged to be. I've been blessed with so many wonderful findings in my life that not even one of it reminded me to be thankful of it. To be thankful to Him. Day by day I seem to be neglecting what was once my only faith. My pillar of devotion. Forgive me, Ayah.

I sent my Jagmaster a fortnight ago to Amir for servicing. He gave me a great discount but I still have to fork out RM55 for it. Then I left it at Music Walk for a few hours for string replacement. That's another RM30. Geez.

Azhar, Bono and Bob arrived at my place around 1 and we zipped to KLIA instantly. Mimi's leaving for Dublin. Naturally I wanted to get something for her as a token of good luck, but I came empty handed. She on the other hand, gave me my advance birthday present. A cool cocoa-grey-striped shirt. I was speechless. Maybe the whole airport wondered why this boy looked like he had a hanger in his mouth. I was so ecstatic. Thanks Dids! I'm working on something for you. It'll be in your mailbox soon god-willing.

Bono and me were in disbelief as we saw Mimi dissapeared from our sight as she made her way through the immigration counter. It's difficult to accept the fact that she's gone. No more random SMSes, no more William's, no more Mango's, no more Salmon Steak's, no more movies. Well, at least for a year. So you go work your ass off and do us proud ya hear?! Heh.



Hmm. Someone better tell me for good that the expressway is not a speedway. Not. A. Speedway. Normally by average it'll take you 30-45 minutes to get to USJ from KLIA but somehow I did it in 15.

The only reason I pulled that stunt was that we were behind schedule for the band's recording session. So that also explains why I splurged a wad of my cash on the guitar without hesitance. It was Azhar's idea for us to make a live recording of the new songs. He thinks that it should be put up at the band's Myspace page. I thought it was a brilliant move on his part since we can treat it as a pre-production phase before we hit the studio again late this year for a proper EP. It took us 2 hours just to lay down the basic guitar-bass-drums part alone. Tiring as hell. Shah and Azhar were done with theirs in less than an hour.

The Overture Of Dollah Tiger & Mat Chicago is missing something. Maybe it really need vocals. We're seriously considering Syamil for that guest slot. His grindcore days are far from over. He still has the chops for it. Eversince the day we wrote Aviation Spirit, I had my own qualms about it not being 'Telephony Delivery' enough. But after a few adjustments and a clever improvisation from Azhar, it turned out to be our biggest sounding song to date. Slightly majestic, sparsely euphoric. I've always had a soft spot for Faux Fiancee Foe Pt. 2. Not because I came up with it, not because it was my first string section composition but what striked my fancy was how it was shaped to be the breathtaking beast it is. Each and everyone had their mark on it. But that song took me, Bob and Adib countless of takes to call it a wrap. The 'grindcore' part proved to be too off-kilter for our own good. I think in the end we chose to go ahead with the 1st take. Too much of not enough? Maybe.

Although overall we did well -considering the last time we played/practiced was at/for JamAsia- I've got to hand the 'men of the match' award to Shah and Azhar. Shah was magnificent with his acute sense of handling the inticrate duties of audio effects. His timing was impeccable, his application was sufficient and his instinct was right on the dollar. Azhar's playing has expanded greatly and it'll be interesting to see his future maenderings. I'm happy to say that the band's first ever (unofficial) pre-production went mighty fine.



Then came Sunday.

I turned 21.


Ibu felt that it was the best time to hold a birthday bash-cum-open house. I felt weird. I can't really remember when was the last time my birthday was celebrated with people other than my parents and siblings. I felt even weirder when Ibu told me to go and get the birthday cake from Secret Recipe myself. So much for a surprise. I had to act surprised when the time came for the ceremonial cake-cutting Kodak moment. Actually, I got 2 cakes. Thanks to Auntie Ani. She always make a point to bring something to the table even when we're running out of table space. God bless her. Akak, Pojam, Li, Azhar, Bob, Izzat and Adam made my day. Awesome company. My nieces and nephew were running around the house like it was their birthday. But then again, everyday is a birthday to them. Heh.

Nonetheless, the whole event was superb. A convergence of friends and families? What more could I possibly ask for? I couldn't even be bothered about gifts in any form by then.


But a Proton Wira?


Damn son, a 6-year old 2nd hand it may be (an under-utilised company car to boot) but it still serves the purpose. I was more than thankful. My worries were put to rest. Walking back home from campus during Ramadhan is a big no-no. After I'm done packing, I had to leave for Perak soon before it gets dark. It was my first PLUS highway journey so I had to take every necessary precaution hence leaving early.

Someone must really, really remind me that the highway is really, really not a speedway. I reached the Gopeng exit in an hour and 15 minutes. Ayah don't seem to be joyful about it. But then again I seriously think he's responsible for rubbing the speedy needy flu on me.




So maybe you had a longer, more meaningful weekend than me but nothing can beat what I got out of it. No, not the Wira. Not the neat shirt nor the satisfying recording session. Not even the barrage of birthday wishes from unexpected acquaintences.



I have the best, most understanding and most loving parents one could ever, ever ask for.

Now beat that.

An evening of peril

So yesterday was a pivotal moment for the band. We were about to introduce ourselves properly to the masses (Arty Party doen't quite count, if you catch my drift). Everything was on the line.

I came early for soundchecks. Polarised blew me off, Ferns was their usual self, Priceless Stupid Box reminded me why I love/miss Cesspit so much, Mr. Sterile's too solid for a show of that calibre, Go Vertical was klutzy at first and Akta remained anonymously secretive by refusing to do one.

But why was Telephony Delivery denied a soundcheck slot?

Spontaneously the answer would be there isn't enough time to afford one slot for us. I can accept that, but I'm still quite bitter about it. Thank god at least Shah got to test his EMX before our set or his whole part would sound like an army of crickets buzzing to kill mankind. It was Adib's gig so we save it all to ourselves. He's been under monstrous pressure handling the gig itself and we wouldn't want to spoil his mood.


We got swept off the opening slot by Go Vertical. I'm very fond of this band already. The perfect fit of what I dreamt of achieving. They brilliantly combined my love for brooding, dynamics instrumentals with what Telephony's doing right now- fast/fast rock. Acid (prn: a-cheit) rocked the drum kit like it was the last thing he'd do before kicking the bucket. I expect to see them gigging around nearby soon.

Then it was us. Suddenly I felt everything went mute. As if we were on stage just moving things and packing stuff. Was it our lack of PR? Probably. I had to act as the band's spokesperson by default since Azmir's no longer with us and the others won't do it. So I mumbled and crap-talked my way as Azhar and Shah set up their equipments and then we were ok to go. All Was Lost was way below par I reckon. Thanks to my singing voice. Must find a solution to that. Everything went quite ok until we played Faux Fiancee Foe Pt. 2 where Bob slipped his solo bass break and one of the guitar strings snapped (it's Adib's. so sorry bro). I gave a shout-out to the bands playing that day wheather I could loan their guitar for just one more song but my plea was to no avail. I felt stupid then. Really. Stupid. So we decided to continue with The Overture Of Dollah Tiger & Mat Chicago with it and by then I don't give a rat's ass what'll happen. We played, done, packed and left. Playing a set like that after Go Vertical, surefire suicide I tell you.

My head was full of negativity as me, Azhar, Efry, Bono and Li went to Agros (Argos?) for drinks. Our set was morale-y disastrous for me personally. I had to rush to Pudu since my bus's departing by 7:30. Then all the while I was in the bus, I reflected on the gig. Did we just make a fool of ourselves? Would that be our last show before surfacing with another slot for another half a year? Then it hit me. That was our 1st show with Shah and Bob. The band's 2nd gig since it's inception.

I am to hard on myself I guess.


As I was lounging at my bach. pad's living room, Akak texted a well-done message. At least someone genuinely thinks we were decently ok. Then I popped the vidcam and reviewed our slot and I thought, "Hey, it was not that bad". Then today I checked tha band's Myspace. People actually liked Dollah Tiger and we sold 7-8/10 of our reissued demo.

But was I discouraged? No. The thought of us playing again in a very, very long while is strangely a motivation. We'll be hogging the drawing board, charting a better path and attacking a greater goal. We will be heard. Watch out.



Hmm. I am to hard on myself.

Making our parents proud

I must be starking mad for exerting myself this week.


That's why at times I hate being on holiday. It's more of a labour these days. I think my financials are way better when I'm back in campus. More manageable.

The band had it's 1st official photoshoot on Thursday. We chose a back alley at the old LICT campus and a nearby playground as a venue. Passer-bys were intrigued by what we were doing, as if we're smoking crack or something to that effect. It was kinda tiring with all the poses and positioning we had to endure. The weather was very London-ish. Grey skies, chilling gusts. The best part must be the playground shot. While Adib and Shah were busy with the camera, Azhar, Bob and me hopped giddily on the see-saw and laugh our heads off. The heavy drops of rain signalled the end of the session so we head to Pelita for drinks. Sup Ayam. Yumm.

Later that night, what was suppose to be a final practice jamming turned out to be a mini-concert. Thanks to Myo and his posse for filling up the studio space, cheering us on. We played 3 exhausting rounds of Sunday's setlist. It felt like taking on a raging bull, twice. We then zipped to Mango for the customary Banana Shake 1 ltr while getting wasted with rounds of Bullshit and heavy doses of laughter before splitting. It was 4 in the a.m.

I woke up kinda early the next day. Friday's calling I guess. But then something happened. My right wrist was somewhat sprained, and the tip of my index finger hurt like hell. I was driving with my left arm the whole day, let alone picking up the guitar (was supppose to record a tracking track for Azhar). Dang.

Mimi asked a few days prior for a meet up at William's. I miss their Beef Lasagna. Awesomeness in a plate. By around 1, the gang left and now here I am. Tired. As. Hell.


*here's some of the photos of Thursday







...and this is my edited version for my Lappie's wallpaper.



Head over to here and drop by your feedbacks. It's not everyday you see us pose for you. Heh.



See you on Sunday.

Bam Bang

My first trip to MMU was noteworthy. No, not because I was there for a gig. And no, not because of the chicks I bumped into. It was more about the crowd I'm with, the overall mood we had. That's what a good night out was meant to be. A night of goodness with friends. Oh and paying only 5 bucks to see another awesome TWKUA set? I'd pay ten-fold.


So today was almost similarly brilliant. It rained around noon. The kind of rain which sends a chill that seeps into your bones, messing up beautifully with your senses in a way you thought impossible. Yes, like that. It helps a great deal when you're driving with Sigur Ros playing on the car stereo. For a moment there, I was in Reykjavik.

Azhar came by around 4 so we could further tweak the songs. That was a smooth sail. Tomorrow night is the last jamm session before the show on Sunday. Yeah, we should practice more but everyone's kinda caught up with other things. We'll see how it goes.


I guess I'll stop here. I might've sprained my right wrist. And my left is feeling funny too. Not good. Here's Sunday's flyer:




Make yourself available, and do come over if you're itching to know how exactly pressure is dealt with on-stage, first-hand and out-loud (the other bands are sooooo damn good. tatutt).