May 13, 2009

Strolling 'round your city, strolling 'round your town ...

Thanks to one we only know as "Anyonymous" this blog is from now on, going to focus on live bands, rather than live nighspots. Why? Because the people who make the nighspots happen are the performers. And to start your balls rolling, why not pick on what is arguably Malaysia's most famous recording band of the 70s - THE STROLLERS!

WOW! Did you ever think you'd hear that name again? The Strollers! They rocked the scene way back when Woodstock was a name we were familiar with. The band, formed in the mid-60s then comprised suave Michael Magness (vocals, organ), wild Nand Kumar (vocals, congas), quiet Billy Chang (bass guitar), not-so-quiet Hassan Idris (lead guitar) and Ramli, later replaced by Hussein Idris (drums) who would storm away on a wide drum set, regardless of his height. One remembers him at Stadium Negara concert at which he stood and stretched to crash his cymbals.

After hits like Silly Joke, Do What You Gotta Do, Just As I Am, Midday Sun and a much-awaited album, aptly entitled Waiting Is ..., the band broke up, leaving a multitude of fans in limbo, and over the years, Billy especially tried hard to keep the name alive and took a lineup that featured legendary Terry Thaddeus on guitar, along with singer Azman Warren and keyboardsman Richard Gomes all the way to Johore Baru.

After Terry passed away (but not because of it) the group disbanded again, and after quite a hiatus, we now have a lineup going by the name of The Strollers2, featuring only one old Stroller, namely Hussein idris on drums, Casper Tan on bass, Lord on keyboards, Desi on vocals and Nan on lead guitar.

Career-wise and Strollers aside, the members come from such revered names as Memories (Desi and Casper), Grim Preachers (Nan) and The Boys (Lord).

The big bonus in this quintet is that they all sing and thanks to this, the singing never gets stale. Where repertoire is concerned, you just have to hand it to them as they have more than 150 songs from the post-60s era on their list and this includes songs from the Beatles, Rolling Stones, CCR, Santana, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Elvis Presley, Santana, Rod Stewart, Bee Gees, Drifters, Van Morrison, Los Bravos, Animals and more.

With these guys playing five days a week, it really doesn't matter where you are; they're easy to find. For the moment, you can catch The Strollers2 at La Venue Cafe (42, Jalan USJ 1/1C, Subang Jaya) on Wednesday, Ol' Skool Bistro (Jalan Gasing, PJ) on Thursday, Backyard Pub (Jalan Sri Hartamas, Taman Sri Hartamas) on Saturday and Hard Rock Cafe (Jalan Sultan Ismail, KL) on Sunday. All shows start after 9.30pm.

For more info, you can visit the band's website at www.thestroller2.com.

Keep it live and flowing! To contact us, email themusicdetective@gmail.com

April 16, 2009

Well, its-a 1 for the money, 2 for the show, 3 to get ready ... now, go, CJ, go!

WHAT would you get if you put one of KL's hottest deejays, Sasi the Don, Malaysia's top country group Os Pombos and groovy latin rock specialist La Viva together? Why, the opening night of PJ's latest oasis - Ceejay's Place - located at 27-29 Jalan 11/2, its entrance just opposite University Hospital, Petaling Jaya, of course.
CeeJay's Place opens tomorrow (that's Friday April 17, 2009) and we hear that the action begins at whatever time you get there after work and the opening offer is three jugs of beer for the price of two at RM33 per jug, making it a cold RM66 for three jugs of the frothy and some pretty hot vindaloo to go with it.
Christopher Joseph who jukes the joint says that he's going to give every pubowner in PJ one for the money, two for the show once things get going.
The new joint will showcase live entertainment every night and so far, CeeJay's lights are on Carlsberg Top of the Pubs winners Pieces of April with Tom Rizal Jones on Sunday, Colin Jansen (Monday), Alvin Fletcher (Tuesday), Jason Noa’s Retro Edge (Wednesday), wild rockers Bala and and Jerry Felix (Thursday), Os Pombos (Friday), and a new setup called Jay’s Cee Band with Alvin (guitar), Clinton Fernandez (keyboards), Matthew Charles (bass) and Sivam (drums) on Saturday nights.
Other featured acts would include Lil’G from Raga Club Mix on Wednesdays and Thursdays, every week, and DJ Skeletor from the Hits FM Music division on Saturdays.
Pass the word around and stay tuned for more. If you need help for your gigs, email themusicdetective@gmail.com. Keep the music live!

April 15, 2009

Bards At The Yard

Malaysia's hottest Babba publican Jerry Chong was taken aback, some time ago, when he got an email from an Australian guitarist named Peter Dickson. Dickson, who was on his way to perform in India, had google-searced "live music pubs in Malaysia" and found the Backyard website (www.backyardpub.com) at the top of the list!
"Was just wondering if you have onstage for night on my way back to OzzieLand," was Dickson's humble request. Before he could 'Rolf Harris', the Backyard honchos - Jerry Chong and his entertainment director Edmund Anthony - said yes and had a band, spearheaded by Farid 'Mr Gambus' Ali formed to accompany him.
A well-placed notice in The Malay Mail got everyone's attention and the Backyard in Sri Hartamas was packed and rocking that night with quite an eclectic crowd.
That superb show will be repeated a little after nine, tonight, when Peter Dickson and Farid Ali are joined by just-back-from-Berklee bassist Rozhan Raman and wife Rie Tsuji on keyboards and Steve Jordan on drums.
That's quite a lineup. Rozhan was a highly sought-after bassist who cut his callouses and played some really great, high-chemistry gigs with drums doyen John thomas at high-flying jazz joints like Nishi's Place at Pantai Plaza, KL), Bangkok Jazz at Chulan Square, KL, and Groove Junction in Desa Sri Hartamas.
Steve Jordan on drums is the son of Malaysia's 'George Benson', Ananda Jordan Rivers, and he's been for some really rabble-rosuing solos.
Backyard Pub is located at Jalan Sri Hartamas 8, Taman Sri Hartamas, KL. The other acts during the week here are Raymond Cheah (Sunday), Mark Renesh (Monday), Gerard Singh and Simon Justin Leo (of Carefree fame, Tuesday), Amizan, Mark Felix and Simon (Wednesday), The Strollerz2 (Friday) and Bonga Bonga (Mark, Sherman Tan and Arab, Saturday).
Now, how's that for a live music lineup at what everyone says is Malaysia's most happening live music pub. For more info and reservations, call (03) 6201-0318, (012) 201-6333 or (017) 368-0644 or visit www.backyardpub.com
Keep the music live!

April 2, 2009

Talking about monsters! Try CeeJay's for size!

Well, apparently, it's gonna happen at 9.30pm, next Thursday, that's the 9th of April, at not-so-brand new CeeJay's, the nightspot formerly known as Crown Crystal Cafe on Jln 11/2, the road directly opposite University Hospital, Jalan University, PJ.

Waddya get when you take one really black bird always known as Bala (recogisable by his sparkling smile) and marry him to one bald wildman (or should that be a wild baldman) called Jerry Felix, this one recognisable by his worn and weary drumskins.

Why, a full-scale thunderstorm by an standards, of course. Call it by any name you like - whirlwind, tornado, tsunami, hurricane, earthquake, general election! - but what you get (for the price of a few beers or black drafts, mind you) at CeeJay's next Thursday is a band led by these dark-eyed, fire-breathing monsters.

Jerry and Bala are storm legends, each in own right. Jerry, who hails from from whoknowswhen, began his career drumming with The Falcons with bassist and conguero Jerry Ventura and some other young Indian fellows. After blowing Malaysia away, they headed west and conquered Europe where they stayed for many years and finally even sold the rights to the Falcons name before they returned and started performing here again for a few years.

Jerry then went on to further heights forming Made In Malaysia with Paul Ponnudorai and Allan Perera. Jerry also spearheaded a band that backed a high-spirited, precocious imp called Jac who went on to become Malaysian Idol Jaclyn Victor.

Bala, on the other hand, started his jig at an infamous hideout called Streets Connection before he was spotted by the Balachandran brothers who thought it would be a great idea to invest in a pub for the blackbird. It was and the said nightspot called Online still stands on Jln SS20/10, Damansara Kim, PJ.

After cashing in his chips, way back when, Bala flew to the Maldives and spent some years there entertaining everyone he could in his own, inimitable style, before making his kampung kumback.

CeeJay's, owned by Christopher Joseph, opened its doors last Friday, the 27th of March with young, upcoming rockstars Shoelace Untied, led by brothers Christopher Ross and Brendan James (sons of New Straits Times journalist Errol de Cruz) and Mark Poh on drums and Som Semm on guitars. Pretty mean, this group is, what with a repertoire that includes the Beatles, Coldplay, Creed, Elvis Presley, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joan Jett and Don McLean. Now, we're told that a singer named Amanda may soon turn this quart into a quintet.

Other featured acts are Pieces of April with Tom Rizal Jones (Sunday), Colin Janssen (Monday), Alvin Fletcher (Tuesday), Retro Edge (Wednesday), Os Pombos (Friday), and a new setup called Jay's Cee Band with Alvin (guitar), Clinton Fernandez (keyboards), Matthew Charles (bass) and Sivam (drums).

With this new nightspot up and running, the places that face stiff competition are Talking Heads (a few doors away) and CJ's old haunt, Ol' Skool Bistro (down the road across the highway on Jalan Gasing). Peeped into Talking Heads, some nights ago, and saw a lonely waiter practising pool and waiting for his apllication to CeeJay's to be processed.

Calvin Guneratne at the Jln Gasing hotspot is beefing up his lineup with top club circuit trio Albert, Vijay and Badar on Friday nights, replacing Os Pombos who're now relegated to the Wednesday slot, something CJ quickly took advantage of.

Albert is the consummate guitarist who, having developed his own style of playing bass, rhythm and lead guitar simultaneously, is also a great original vocalist. Vijay topped the Carlsberg pub contest, some years ago, with his soul-stirring vocals and not looked back since. Hism latest feather is a double-stint with ethnic fusion group AkashA at Backyard Pub and KLPaC, last month.

Badar is the long-standing percussionist who after some decades of honing his art is now AkashA's multi-percussionist and aspiring konnakoleiro.

Other acts at Ol' Skool Bistro are Vernon and Fats (Monday), Southerners (Tuesday), Strollers (Thursday), Zarsadeus Brothers (Saturday) and Small Stones (Sunday). The interesting here is that the Sunday band also has a veritable Tom Jones specialist in Thomas William who, besides gyrating like idol, also does some really great covers of the Eagles, Elvis, Engelbert and Frank Sinatra.

If you have interesting to add, please post your comments here or email themusicdetective@gmail.com.

February 24, 2009

Cats In Love

Trudging on and taking their cause further, Cats In Love will be unleashing its sound and fury of no holes-barred vintage rock n’ roll at Groove Junction (behind the Balai Bomba) in Desa Sri Hartamas tonight, Tuesday night (Feb 24). Show starts at 9pm. Admission: Free.

I caught this act not so long ago at a cosy little nightspot called VR1, where the management provides indie bands with a platform to strut their stuff.

Free live entertainment for the management since they didn't pay the bands anything. What the musicians earned came from the RM25 cover that they charged per head; no free drinks with that. How sad. They bands do this once a month at the same venue, located on the ground floor of Damansara Intan, across the Sprint Highway from Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

The crowd was made up of regulars, the band's friends and a couple of journalists, namely Ann Marie Chandy from The Star and Errol de Cruz from NST.

The bands in the spotlight that night were Square Circles, Cats In Love and Soft Touch, all of whom played sets of original compositions and then covered various hits and popular numbers in the last set.

Square Circles, led by Sujesh Pavithran, was very innovative with Sujesh on acoustic guitar, accompanied by Rama Lohan on lead guitar and two friends on tabla and acoustic bass guitar.

A nice set with commentary songs on what's been happening since the March 8 general election. Square Circles, currently producing their debut album, is using such gigs as a long warmup before releasing and touring the album.

Rama Lohan's Cats In Love followed and it was really great to see how this axeman had incorporated his fave Lynyrd Skynyrd and southern rock and blues guitar riffs into his fretwork, complemented very ably by some fiery Deep Purple-inspired keyboard work froma very young girl named Catherine (I think).

Followibg that was Peter Hassan Brown and Markiza's Soft Touch who did some very poppish stuff, again original, but their's was focused on more global issues like global warming and such, their most memorable effort being a very catchy piece called Song for the Polar Bear.

So, I'm going to post this now. amd hope that you all pass this to your friends.

February 23, 2009

Gren's friends remember him.

Late musician Grenville Pereira, who played keyboards for famous groups like the Falcons and Alleycats will be honoured by a multitude of friends on March 8.
The list of acts scheduled to perform at this tribute includes his old buddies from the Alleycats and Falcons, plus Antonio (Sweet September, methinks), Alphonse Jerome (La Viva), Heavy Machine, Bala, SWV, Fredo (Flinstones), Vijay David, NRG, Havoc, Extract 7, Hydra, Cash Band and probably more.
The music marathon kicks off at noon on March 8 and should go on until 1am at the Armada Hotel's Wharf. The hotel is located just off the Federal Highway at the PJ Hilton turnoff. If you're heading there from KL, then PJ Hilton's on your left and Armada is on the right. If you're coming from the other end, well, go do your math.
Cold beer at RM10 and food at RM10 per serving.
Call Armada (03-7954-6888), Syam Nair (o12-257-5595) or Pius Benezi (017-884-2414).
ALL proceeds will be donated to the St Nicholas Home for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Penang, where Gren first kicked off his music career with a bunch of blind boys.

February 19, 2009

The Ol' Skool/CJ's Saga

Whoops. That was a long break, wasn't it? We had quite a bit happening actually and it looks like the smoke has somewhat cleared in the PJ area.
At Jalan Gasing's Ol' Skool Bistro, there was a management hustle going on over the last few months, but it hit the 'selesai' factor a week ago and CalvinG (who's been away in Sabah, opening another nightspot apparently) is back managing Ol' Skool.
His managing partner (the vindaloo chef, no less) is moving out, lock, stock and barrel, and (Insyallah) should be headlining at what has so far been Talking Heads.
The new name - either CJ's or CeeJay's, depending on what the numbers man says.
CJ, who celebrated his birthday and farewell last Tuesday, says that his new nightspot (located in Section 11, PJ, opposite Univeristy Hospital) will also feature live music everynight.
For the record, while CalvinJ was over in Sandakan getting his new place organised, CJ took overv the reins at Ol' Skool Bistro which was kinda running out of steam and got things rocking and rolling again.
Working on feedback from the patrons and musicians, he got things sorted out and well, Ol' Skool Bistro's getting packed again.
It's a formula he will be using again at his new outlet in Section 11.
Well, stay tuned to this and we'll keep you posted on what the music package is gonna be at both Ol' Skool and CJ's new lock, stock and two smoking barrels.
Take care.