I've heard so often from so many quarters about women throwing underwear at Dudley Nones.
I think I know why. They want to bong sway.
Hi everyone, welcome back to the Chris Hansen Conversation.
This is the episode that I've been waiting for for some time
and it's also part of the series that I call A Tribute to SG Musicians.
As you can see, as a matter of fact, it's not rolling up there right now.
Kai, you gotta put that icon up to me, man. Come on.
I'm giving you a second because I want everyone to know that this is,
we're really making this official,
it's one of my few series right now that we're dedicating to musicians.
Here we go. There you go. Look at that. Look at that, man.
It's nice and spinning and it looks like a 12-incher record, that is.
Get your head out of the gutter.
And it's my series that is the tribute to SG's music icons.
And with me in the studio today, I've got two people.
Put them together, I think we've got about a hundred years worth of music.
Quite cool.
I'm not that far, right? Quite cool.
I have with me two veterans in the music scene,
people who are also very much contributory to how music has been established
as an institution here in Singapore.
And I'm very honored and very proud to have my friends here with me.
Dudley, known as On My Left, and Leonard Rizal, On My Right.
Leonard Rizal Dazzle, that's what we call him.
Dudley is just dud.
Welcome to the studio, guys.
Good afternoon, Chris.
I really... Say hello.
Hi.
Excuse me. I'm fine, thanks.
I'm glad you are.
You're looking like a pineapple today.
Thank you.
Have you seen durian?
I tell you, Eurasian fellas must come dressed like pineapple.
Thanks for being on the show, guys.
In case you guys don't know,
Leonard and Dudley, both of them are still playing to this day.
They've been in the same band together as well.
How long has it been, man?
Playing together, the two of you.
Okay, that's life have been around...
Oh, Dudley's been around with me for I think about 20 years.
Correct.
20 years, yeah.
Holy crap!
I didn't realize that long ago.
And the strange thing,
34 years ago, I was in his band.
It was called Mervyn, Dudley, and Leonard.
Oh, really?
That was in 1993?
1991, I joined you all.
1993, I was in his band.
And then in 2003 or 2004, Dudley joined.
I formed That's Life and he joined me.
Okay, so the band's name is That's Life.
Okay, you can catch them.
You can catch these guys where again? What days and where?
Okay, presently, Wednesdays,
we are playing at the Singapore Recreation Club.
Thursdays at the Tanglin Club.
And Fridays at Union Square 2, run by NTUC.
So three different venues in a week.
Oh, wow, you guys are busy.
Busy, busy, busy.
So Dudley, known as a vocalist,
he also plays a very, very mean keyboard.
And Razzle Dazzle, dear Leonard, plays a mean six-string.
I tell you, do not F around with these guys
because these guys are absolutely amazing.
I want to start the show this way
because you guys have been around, combined together, seriously,
combined together, how many years have you guys been playing?
For me, now it's 46 years.
Okay.
For me, it's 40.
40 and 40, almost 100 years?
No, 86 years.
86 years, okay, wowee.
Wowee.
Mine was in 1983, my first band, Bandwagon.
Dudley's was?
1976.
What band was that?
Well, before Gingerbread, we had Cold Sweat.
So, and then when Cold Sweat really melted,
then we became Gingerbread after that.
When I had Jason in there,
they told me Jason mentioned Cold Sweat,
and I laughed and I laughed and I laughed.
He was started by Gabriel, right?
The handsome guy.
Hey Gabriel, yes, you're handsome.
I know, I know you are.
We're not making fun of you, okay?
And the last time we had the show,
he actually messaged me, I'm not ugly.
I know.
Okay.
Oh, you know.
I called Dudley and said,
Gabriel's not ugly.
Gabriel is a very good-looking guy.
Oh, that's Jason for you.
Okay.
Jason, but Cold Sweat, man.
There is something I still cannot understand.
Okay, so your first band was Cold Sweat.
Cold Sweat, 1976.
Oh God, I was six years old.
I wasn't born.
You're right.
When you started, I was 13 years old.
So, in 1976 you went Cold Sweat,
then after that, where did you go?
Okay, 1976.
Well, I started piano playing when I was 12.
So, school band, drums, and move on.
You played drums?
Yeah.
Wow.
So, that's where I picked up percussion.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's right.
You played a mean percussion.
I forgot all about that, man.
Oh, Oye Komova.
Yeah, man.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Black magic woman, man.
Yeah, so from there we started playing
for weddings, functions,
and I was still in school.
And then, cut story short, by the time 1976,
1st of May, 1976.
Oh, here we go.
I'm hearing that again.
Same, it's because Jason and myself built up the band.
76 was our first signed black and white contract
with the Dennis Cocktail Lounge
at the Indonesian Embassy, Orchard Road, opposite Siketang.
Hmm, that one you didn't say.
Yeah.
So, the contract was signed with?
We had an agent who came up to us,
his name was KB John.
Right.
So, he signed up the contract, he said,
okay guys, three months, and I still remember
we were getting about $350 each for that time.
But in those days, that was big money, right?
So, our band was six piece,
there was Jason, myself, Moses, Gabriel,
and we had two horn players, six of us at the time.
But let me just go back and rewind a little bit.
I'll get back to you soon, Leonard.
Let me just rewind back a little bit.
When did you actually pick up any instrument?
When I was 11, I started tinkling on the drums,
but actually on biscuit tins.
So, I built my own drums on biscuit tins.
We can still open the can and eat the biscuit,
and take the chopsticks, you know,
two chopsticks each, left and right,
and started playing the drums.
So, the more biscuits you ate,
the greater the resonance coming out from those drums, right?
100%.
So, advice to drummers who want to tune their snare,
get a biscuit tin.
Eat more biscuits.
Empty the damn tin.
Correct.
Okay, so you started with, no kidding, right?
You started with the biscuit tins,
which is when I learned to tune the snare drums.
I learned to read drum music, you know, playing in a school band.
And also, I mustn't forget, with the help of Rufino Soliano.
He was the instructor for the school band at that time.
Wow, lucky you guys. What school is this?
St. Gabriel's Secondary School.
So, very lucky, yes, St. Gabriel's.
Yeah, so that's how I started playing the drums.
And by the time I was 12,
my thought was to be a politician or a lawyer.
Law-logist.
So, I call that a lawyer buruk.
Then what happened? What happened to that?
Then I was amazed that my brother Melvin,
you know, Melvin was already playing,
and I said, wow, this guy, not bad.
When I grew up, I want to play and be like him.
So, 12 took up piano, had piano lessons,
picked it up from there, and Melvin, I think, was a good inspiration.
He took me to Barbrella, he was playing at this Barbrella,
it was Minkhort Hotel.
Okay, Minkhort Hotel, Barbrella.
That was 1975.
And Jason told me the same thing about Barbrella as well.
There was one spot where every musician would go and say,
wow, you know, I want to play like that.
But during that time, it was difficult because
if you're not careful, you're going to drugs at that time.
And because of that, long hair, drugs,
and I think the government had to shut down all the clubs,
like Pink Pussycat, Barbrella.
Did the government shut these clubs down?
They did eventually in 71, 72, around there.
Fuck you know, it sounds like what's happening today,
in Orchard Towers, right?
They're shutting down Orchard Towers, man, I mean, the four floors of...
Yeah.
So, I normally go to the fifth floor.
It's got the rooftop.
Okay, so you started playing that way.
Also, starting from a school band,
fortunate enough to have Rufino Soliano as your band conductor, is it?
Right.
He was teaching us how to hold the sticks and do all the drums,
rolls, and how to read drum music at that time.
So, I was fortunate.
So, from there, I picked up more rhythm,
and cold sweat was emerging at that time.
Because Gabriel, myself, and Moses were from St. Gabriel, except Jason.
So, what happened to cold sweat eventually?
Ran out of sweat? Got hot?
I think with cold sweat, they died.
It was like a stroke coming on, you know?
Yeah, because we had another drummer named Reggie Campbell.
He was from St. Gabriel School also,
and when he was done with his secondary four,
he and his family migrated to Australia.
So, we were lost without a drummer,
and then somebody said, we were looking for a drummer,
and somebody said, there's one guy selling cameras.
You know?
Why are you huckering?
Have you heard this before?
Right, where the guy selling the camera was seated,
right where you are sitting now.
Yeah, correct.
Telling me about him selling cameras,
and I laughed my ass off.
So, somebody said, there's one guy.
The guy from Tanglin Shopping Centre selling cameras.
No, no, he was at Mohantz.
Oh, Mohantz.
Orchard Road.
Oh, yeah, okay. So, that's where he met.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. He couldn't remember the place.
Mohantz. Then, Gabriel went to Reggie,
and see who this bloke is.
So, Gabriel went to see this guy, tall,
long hair, covered the ears, so you got to lift up the head,
and speak otherwise you can't hear.
Jason Shahul. That's for you.
Jason Shahul.
So, Jason said he can play, but he never tried playing with the band,
but he wouldn't mind giving it a try.
So, we got him together, and we started to rehearse
at this Kampong Java studio or something.
I can't remember what it was.
Kampong Java, okay.
And then the four of us started to practice there,
and that's when Gingerbread had started the small embryo of that.
And we were still cold sweat.
Then, across the glass, there was this guy who runs the studio, Alfonso.
Alfonso Sousa.
So, he pipped, and he said, this guy's not bad, you know.
So, he spoke to us, and said, maybe get us a name for the band.
What was the name of the band? I said, Cold Sweat.
Ay-yo, you know.
So, I think the next few days or the next day, he called,
I don't know who he was, maybe he was very close to,
I don't know how come he was so close to Jason,
so he called Jason and said, how about Gingerbread?
And that's how Gingerbread was born.
Yeah, I was wondering about how come your call is all like roti, right?
We're earlier.
Mmm, roti earlier.
So, that's how everything started for you.
And you were with Gingerbread for how long?
Good 25 years, actually.
Oh, wow.
Because I've been in and out of Gingerbread for a while, for certain reasons.
Where was I, in 19, it was in the 80s, I think, or 78, 78, 79,
we went up to Kota Kinabalu, the six of us with two horn players.
So, we were there for about a year,
and then that took us one year, then we came back,
then we went to Sarawak for another few months,
and I had to leave the band in 81, I think I had something else to do.
But before I left, we had to get a new guitar player because Gabriel wanted to go on his own,
I think he wanted to do a duet with a girl or something like that,
and the horn players wanted to leave, and so that left me, Jason, and Moses.
And Jason was saying, why don't we get a girl singer?
And I normally don't really, I don't appreciate, but I like to have a girl singer, but...
Don't appreciate the girl, huh?
I wouldn't mind if she could play an instrument.
So, fortunately, this lovely lady, somebody mentioned,
because she was doing this Talent Time thing, and she was a winner, and said, why don't we get...
And we said, not bad, because she can play keyboard now, two keyboard players,
and then we had to get a guitar player, and we had Bani Farouk, the late Bani Farouk.
Fantastic.
So when Bani Farouk joined the band, the whole scene of the music was uplifted to more of like jazz,
fusion of style, which I also learned to pick up from him,
and by the time Anne got together and she had good skills of chords, chords playing,
which I also picked up from her, you know.
So the band was really solid with Moses, he had his own iPad in his brain,
he didn't have to write any lyrics or anything like that, so the band was really good at that time.
When we were at the Cockpit Hotel, that was in 81, I think, when she joined the band.
Right. Careful, there you go. You can't try to do it.
Yeah. Okay, so at that time, we were offered to go into the Malay music market,
and we said, why don't you guys go and do this, maybe, you know, it's much...
The market is bigger, because Singapore, Malaysia, you've got Indonesia, and whatever.
Record sales would be a lot better.
Yeah.
So with Moses looking like one of the alley cats, you know,
and somebody come up and say, hey, we do two songs.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, just in case you have younger viewers out there,
and people from the rest of the world watch, because it's going to be online, right?
Okay.
Can you please tell everyone, what do you mean, looking like one of the alley cats?
Okay, alley cats is a very popular Malaysian band.
They got the two brothers who are frontline, who had the afro bigger than the mop, you know.
So Moses' hair was like touching the ceiling.
So I remember when Moses had to comb his hair, he didn't use a comb, he used a fork.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So it was a fork.
And so, because Moses had that kind of look and identity,
and then the producer said, why don't we do two originals, which was written by...
I'm not sure who wrote the song, but we recorded it.
I think it was Kucari Damai Di Hati and Bukan Kerada De Dam, if I'm not mistaken.
And fortunately, it was a hit.
With Moses and Anne, I think they really zoom up the song so well.
And after we recorded that, then I had to leave, not because I did not agree.
I think I didn't want to travel too much to promote the album or something.
But you know something, Dali, I want to ask you,
and try and jog your memory a little bit, because I've just jogged mine.
A long, long time ago, after you left Gingerbread,
I remember I was cycling down East Coast Park.
I think that was likely in the late 80s, somewhere in the late early 90s.
And I saw you.
And a group of people, I figured you guys were all from the same band, all dressed in white,
taking shots on the beach.
But that wasn't Gingerbread.
You guys were taking a shot for your band.
I was right, right? You remember that?
I do.
Okay. I was on the beach, you know, I saw you. You remember that?
Yeah, out of $355,000,000, we made $0.3 in there.
And I was wondering, well, these guys all dressed in white, man.
Did I take the picture for you?
No.
No, right? It was another guy.
Maybe, I don't know.
Just once I took a picture of you and your new band.
I think so. Were you in East Coast at the time?
Jarrad Kisperi.
I think Leonard was the one.
Okay, we'll hang on a second. Yeah, Jarrad Kisperi was there as well, together with you.
Yeah.
So, but it wasn't Gingerbread.
No.
What's the name of the band?
It was...
Dudley and Friends?
No, no. It was COE Included.
Oh, yes.
COE Included.
So, okay, so after Gingerbread, you ended up with that man.
No. That was much later because when I left Gingerbread, for some reason, because I didn't want to travel and follow up.
Not because I was not in good terms or I didn't agree with it.
Right, so it was an inimical building.
Yeah, so they agreed. So, when I very fast forward, when I left, they got good Gavin Kudosa to take my place.
Yeah, yeah, Gavin.
Right.
Oh, Gavin took over you.
Yeah, so it was good. So, the band still moved on without me. So, on Gingerbread's album in the Malay market, you can see either my photo there or Gavin's photo, somebody else, right?
Right.
What I did was, I joined the experiment when they came back from Europe. That was in 18...
You were part of the experiment.
...for five years. So, it was just, the timing was good. I left, the experiment came back, then Mervyn asked me, you know, the four of us, so we have you.
Okay, so basically, you went to the experiment simply because they were not traveling.
They were traveling too much and I didn't want to do that.
No, but experiments were not here.
No, no, sorry. When experiments came back from Europe, I think they were there about four years. So, they wanted to come back for good.
So, it suited you.
Yeah, so we said, Mervyn said, okay, can we join? But these are the conditions. We're going to make our keyboards all in white. We're going to dress up all in white. Remember?
So, that was, I think, in 1983. And for a start, to get the band going, we played a two-month gig at the Shangri-La to replace Matthew in the Mandarin.
Okay.
Okay, so after two months, we built up more repertoire. Then we went to C.V. Hotel for a good four years. And then we went to Peppermint Park at the Parkway Parade.
Wow, Dennis Foo's.
Dennis Foo, yeah. So, that was in and out. And when that whole ordeal was complete, five years, I think, with experiments, it was a good experience because I picked up a lot of singing with that band.
Because I think Joe Chandler let me do some of some, not only him singing. So, besides Mervyn, Joe and myself did more singing than the rest of the guys.
Okay.
When that ordeal was done for five years, I think Gingerbread was, you know, Jason said, hey, come back, come back. I said, I will only come back if experiments is going to be disbanded.
And just in time, the bass player Robert wanted to go back to Germany. Joe Chandler wanted to do all the gospel songs. And Mervyn looked at me and said, yeah, he'll do solo. You go play alone.
And I said, okay. Then I told Jason, I will come back.
Okay.
So, that's how we joined Gingerbread, I think in 87, 88.
Okay.
And then who's the COE included?
Oh, the COE included was a temporary getaway for me because I didn't know what to do when I can't remember where I left off. And I said, okay, I got some guys, myself, Farid, Ewan and some boys just for a while at the Peranakan place.
Yeah, Bibis and Baba.
No, it's another name for that. It was Bibis.
Bibis. Bibis.
Peranakan place should be Bibis.
Was a DJ at the time this fat guy named John?
I think so.
Okay, then it was Bibis.
So, that was DJ, COE included. I think about a year plus and then we all had to go our own ways and I was back with Gingerbread. I didn't know.
No, you went to Plaza Hotel.
Ah, right.
See, I remember.
Right.
That day in France?
We went to Plaza Hotel at Beech Road and it was called Club 5.
Club 5. And then he was playing all the cha-cha-cha.
That's right. That's where I learned all the ballroom dance music and the customers would tell me if you do cha-cha, it must be 120 beat per minute and then rumba 98 and walls.
I don't even believe why the fuck I was there, man. Why was I doing there, man?
You were around watching every move we made silently.
You were like Mr. Colombo.
You caught me out there. As much as I've told Jason and Ann how much I admired Gingerbread way back when I was 14 years old and I always wild my way into Tavern of the Square to watch these guys play, I've watched this man perform since I was a kid.
Okay? And whenever I hear who's playing where Dudley Nones is there, I will go.
Then when I and when you guys started playing together, right? And I've never been at that time. I heard so much about the place called 57 Chevy, which we'll talk about later on.
But you know, I went there because someone told me Dudley Nones is playing there and I went, no fucking way. So that's how we started. It was because I heard his name.
Wow.
Okay. So frankly, I've been watching you, man. When you were in Club 5, I mean, come on man. Me fucking Club 5 watching people doing cha-chas and shit.
You know, the strangest thing about what you say, been watching me, you know, I, when you saw me taking the photograph at the East Coast beach, suddenly you popped up from nowhere.
What is this guy doing here? Okay. Every time I perform, whether it's in a Chevy, 57 Chevy or Club 5, I could always feel a pair of eyes looking at me.
Don't make me sound like a stalker, man.
It's a real CH.
No, but you have to understand, man. I mean, for some of, me, how I work and how I used to learn stuff is I go around and I watch people. It's been like, it's been my habit all my life.
I used to skip school before and you know, and if I hear someone from TMF, the music force, is going to be hosting something like a live satellite show in Parkway Parade.
And I'll end up there. That was my lesson for the day. I'll be on the second floor looking down from the managers and learning from whoever was behind the microphone.
And every which way I could learn, even if it's going to be on Radio 1, the old 90.5 now is called Gold, right? I would listen in the mornings, I'd wait in the mornings and listen to Roger Cool.
And I'd listen to Victor Cool, you know, and in those days you had Force 255 and let's see, the player came on as a corporal, right?
And I would listen to these guys, you know, and I'll mimic and I'll mimic and I'll mimic and I'll mimic until I get something.
Then when it comes to music, when it came to music, I mean, you guys, I told Ann and I told Jason this, I gave him my tribute really and I'm giving you guys my tribute as well.
That there's always something to learn, something to pick up, right? So, and Doug, wherever you went, man, as far as I could, as far as I could, through the years, I go.
You're not the only one, there was also Dougie, when he was a culture shock playing in Ming Arcade, right? At Rainbow.
And then after that, when he moved over to Sparks, or Fire and Sparks of Energy, right? Culture Shock was at Rainbow.
Then after that, I went over to Energy. I went to watch. I just wanted to watch. I just wanted to soak it all in, you know?
This is how I learned stuff. No one's going to reach out and teach you. So you got to go there and watch. So I followed to learn. Right? So you're one of those guys too.
Thank you.
You know, I just want to go and see how you guys do it. But I want to address the elephant in the room.
You just call him elephant.
I want to ask you something, man.
Hey, Kai, this is a wonderful picture of Dudley. Could you put it up, please?
Oh, Dios.
There's this wonderful picture I put in there.
Yeah, that's the one.
Wow.
That's Dudley known as, ladies and gentlemen. Check this dude out, man.
He was one of those really, one of those gorgeous men who would appear on stage. And I swear I've heard rumors. I've not seen it personally myself through the years.
Women used to throw underwear at you. Is that true?
I can't remember.
What I wish they did.
They used to throw G-strings before. But now they throw the parachute.
I swear.
The parachute.
Parachute underwear.
I know that time with Gingerbread, we used to play at the university, what do you call it, the campus. And those girls up there used to throw underwear.
No. Crush the newspaper and they put a phone number and call.
Really? When no one threw underwear at you?
I think they did.
Come on, speak the truth, man. Please, please, please. Once and for all. I really want to know the truth.
Who told you that anyway?
I tell you, I've been hearing it for every circle, man, through the years.
I think they are mentioning it.
I tell you something, there was one particular time. You don't know this, I will share this with you guys. You don't know this either, okay?
Do you remember there was a time somewhere in the early 90s, about 93, 94, around there, this man visited me in my office.
Oh yeah?
Yeah. And then the ladies in my office were like gawking.
No lah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. After you left, my god, I was ambushed by all these women, which was a good thing, because you were there and then at least they ambushed me.
How old were they?
No, they were all about my age.
How old were you then?
In my 20s, man. And then these girls were like, oh my god, who was that guy? Who was that guy?
I mean, dude, you were like, you know, not that you're not today, but back then you were like, whoa, dude, talk about good looking, man, like freaking Brad freaking Pitt, man.
Tom Cruise.
Tom Cruise. And they were gawking over you. Really. So tell me once and for all, get this off my freaking chest.
This is a spectre over my head, one of the many spectres over my head, and that would be, did women throw underwear at Dudley known as On Stage?
No.
Balls.
Maybe they did, I can't remember. Maybe they threw it at Jason.
Jason cannot be seen, he's behind the drums.
He would have caught it. I mean, maybe for your sake, I would say yes.
Come on. No, the truth, the truth. Really, really.
I can't remember.
Seriously?
Yeah, I can't remember.
Anne said something like, I wouldn't be surprised. Yeah, you know? Yeah, even she said she wouldn't be surprised, but I've heard so often from so many quarters about women throwing underwear at Dudley known as Goodness.
I think I know why. They want to bonk away.
Okay. I've heard your story. Now I'm going to pay my attention to Mr. Razzle Dazzle.
Good.
Yeah. So, Leonard.
How did you start, man?
Playing in the band or playing music?
Music, music per se. Let's start with that.
Okay. I, in 1971.
Holy shit, I was a year old.
1971, I was in sec two, I passed my exam.
Holy shit, you were 14 and I was just born, about a year.
And then my dad said, I'll buy you something since you passed your exams pretty well.
So it was like end of the year and my brother, Edmund came to my house and he said, what are you going to ask dad for? So I said, I want to buy a projector.
Edmund's your brother, right?
Edmund Razzle.
Okay.
Yeah. I said I wanted those projector, battery operated projector.
Then he says, no, ask dad for guitar. I said, guitar.
He said, yeah. So Edmund, Edmund came to, Edmund doesn't stay with my family. He's brought up by my auntie.
So during Christmas time, he will come and stay with us.
So he said, you know, you play guitar, a lot of girls will come for you.
So I followed him. I remember I followed him. We went to Bras Bassa Road. We went to Catholics and Catholic center.
Bras Bassa complex?
The old Bras Bassa next to SGI. They had like a...
Oh, yeah. The one along Waterloo street.
Yes. Then we went there and he brought his guitar.
It's still there. The Catholic center. Yeah. Something like that.
He brought his guitar. So he had some CHIJ girls.
And also he played the guitar. I still remember. I'd rather be a sparrow.
Simon and Garfunkel.
At that time it was a popular song.
So I sat with him and then some of the girls came and said, can you play the song? Can you play that song?
He just only knew a couple of songs only, you know.
So I said, wow, not bad. Play the guitar.
And then the girls were coming.
So my dad said, so what do you want? I said, I want a guitar.
I said, I want a guitar.
So he followed me and we got a cheap... I forgot what brand guitar it was.
It was a popular brand at that time. Very cheap.
But it wasn't electric guitar.
It wasn't. No, it was a nylon string.
So he taught me.
I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail.
E minor, G, E minor, G, chorus, go C.
I was just learning. That was Christmas 1971.
So came Christmas 1972. My brother came to my house.
Because every year he comes and stays during Christmas time.
He was still playing, I'd rather be a sparrow.
But I was playing Reflections of My Life.
How did that happen? Let's rewind that a little bit.
So he started with Simon and Garfunkel.
What's the title of that song, man?
I'd rather be a sparrow.
El Condo Pasa.
El Condo Pasa, that's it.
From El Condo Pasa, did he end up learning a lot more songs?
How did that happen?
Because when I went to Sect 3, I sat next to this guy called Colin Oliveiro.
His father was a musician.
And he plays guitar very well.
He came from St. Pets.
You know, he joined ATSI.
In Britain, people usually come from St. Pets.
Oh, yeah.
And St. Gabriel's.
And St. Gabriel's, yeah.
Okay, I wouldn't get away from you.
He sat next to me and we became friends.
When I went to his house, I said, wow, this guy can play grand funk.
And he can play all these really far ahead of me songs.
So I mixed around with him and he taught me a few things.
And by the time end of 1972, I could play many more songs.
So your repertoire grew.
Yeah, my repertoire expanded.
My brother came and said, no.
Instead of him teaching me, I'm teaching him now, you know.
Every year when he comes, I'm teaching him more new songs.
Okay.
So you end up at the Catholic Centre playing again.
No, but I never went down.
I'm a very shy guy.
Back then, I was very, very, very shy.
Yeah, fellow just said he's shy.
Back then, I was very, very, very shy.
Shy of girls, really.
Oh, fuck.
I tell you, he's very shy.
I even said when he come here, you talk more, I talk less.
I say you very shy.
You know, when girls hold my hand, my hand all shaking.
Everything shakes.
So I am takut of girls.
And then eventually...
Now not takut.
Thank God for that, okay.
And then 1973, after Sec 4 in 1974, we formed a church band.
Gravity.
The band's name is Gravity.
Heavy, boy.
And then...
Cold sweat and Gravity.
Then I went...
Then after that, 1974, 75, I went to the army.
I went to the Navy.
And BMT, who was the corporal?
It was Mel Ferdinand's brother, Dennis Ferdinand.
Dennis Ferdinand was my corporal.
And he came and said, okay, how many of you can play guitar?
So I put out my hand.
Suddenly I became his buddy.
We all became buddies.
Every night, he would come over, we bring guitar, and we would play.
So we picked up.
As we were going, I was picking up guitar.
And then eventually I met some guys who can play solo.
And they were showing me a little bit how they do solo.
And then...
Then fast forward to 1982.
That time I could play some country songs.
And I used to watch this band, 4 Plus 1, which eventually became Bandwagon.
And then the guitar player...
I used to go there.
Whenever I finished work, I'd rush over.
They would play during happy hours, or sometimes they'd play from 8 o'clock to the inn.
They had two bands, the alternate.
Where?
At Payton Place.
Okay, Payton Place, boy.
That name.
You were on the fifth floor, but he was on the other floor.
Correct.
And then I met this guy, Philip De Silva.
Well-known guitar player.
I think he played with Dadi before.
And he was...
He was playing smoke on the water.
And I said to myself, I still remember that night.
I said, wow, even if 20 years, I can't play smoke on the water.
You know, you give me 20 years, there's no way I can play it.
But Leonard, that's basic to you now.
Of course.
Super basic.
When I first started, when I saw these guys playing, I said, wow, there's no way.
There was a little admiration.
Okay, okay, okay.
So he saw me and he said, wow.
I said, I like to play guitar.
Can you teach me?
He said, yeah, yeah, yeah.
He taught me some licks.
And then eventually he came to my house.
He says, okay, he said, I'll teach you guitar, but you buy me lunch.
You know?
I said, okay, I'll get my mom to cook for you lunch.
You come over.
So he came over for lunch and then he would teach me.
And then eventually he says, I'll give you next week.
You learn this song.
Whatever.
I forgot it was a country song.
I think it was Working Man Blues, if I'm not wrong.
Working Man Blues.
There was a nice guitar solo there.
And he says, next week I will call you on stage.
You have to learn this solo, like that.
And I'll call you on stage.
So I went and I called all my friends from the Navy at the time.
We went down to see him.
And he called me.
I tell you, I still remember the day he called me up on stage.
I went up and my legs were shivering and shaking.
It's your first time on TV?
I never played on stage.
Wow, okay.
I never played on stage and played with a professional band where now the guitar player took out his guitar and says,
You play this song and you're going to walk down.
So I sat on a stool, I remember.
I sat on a stool and my legs couldn't just stop moving.
It was just...
And I played Working Man Blues.
And I was so nervous and I came down.
My brother Mervin was there.
He said, wow.
And all my friends, no bad, no bad, no bad.
They gave me confidence.
I still followed the band.
And then in 1983, that was in 1991, right?
1981, now 1983.
They offered me to play in the band.
Wow.
They had a manager, CJ Frederick.
He was an American guy.
And he says, because at that time, Matthew and the Mandarin had a steel guitar player.
Michael Peng.
And then Don Lunis and the Mavericks who were playing at Genevieve had a steel guitar player, Peng Koon.
So they said they also wanted a steel guitar player.
So this guy, CJ Frederick said, I'll buy you a steel guitar on one condition that you play with this band and this band only.
Bandwagon.
So I said, of course.
That's 1983. No internet, nothing.
So we found out Ivor Lesler had a steel guitar.
Ivor Lesler calling out to you, man.
Yes, Ivor Lesler had a steel guitar.
And Philip and I went over to his house.
He sold it to us for $2,000.
I still remember $2,000.
But CJ Frederick paid for it.
I had money at that time, you know?
So CJ Frederick was an American oil rigger.
And he paid the $2,000.
And I brought the steel guitar at home.
And I didn't know a damn thing about steel guitar.
Let alone I'm just a guitar player.
I could play chords and a little bit of solo.
At that time I could play some solo, but not until really, really that good.
So they took me in the band as a rhythm guitar player and a steel guitar player.
You know what the band told me?
They said, even if you can't play the steel guitar, just for show, we just want to show that we have a steel guitar.
Because you know, Beth Queen and Mandarin's number one band, number one country band, had a steel guitar player.
And the number two band was Don Nunes and the Mavericks, and they had a steel guitar band.
And at that time they had a few other country, like Black Gold, some other country bands.
Country music was quite big in the early 80s because of the oil rigors in Singapore.
So the selling point was having a steel guitar player, more people would come.
Because you know, steel guitars, wow, you're way atas lah from the rest of the country bands.
So I had the steel guitar and I didn't know how to play.
So they gave me six months to learn the steel guitar before I played in the band.
So I approached Michael Peng, I approached Peng Koon to teach me, but they had their own band set, their own practices.
But Peng Koon gave me a book, you know, it's just a basic how to tune the steel guitar, how to play simple chords.
And I learned by myself actually, basically from day one until I could play something.
It was just trial and error, it was just trial and error.
And the band, Ben Wagonwood, gave me a song, they said, okay, just this one song.
Every night, you just, this one song you can feature you, but the rest of the night you just turn off your steel guitar
because you can move around, but as long as you got no sound, you just beat it, beat it.
But this one song will feature you, so the chords are so so and so and so, you go in and learn.
So I played all my year, you know, I used to rush, early in the morning at 9 o'clock,
I rushed to Payton Place when they opened the door, just with my headphones and everything and my Walkman,
just to learn that one song, play, play until afternoon and I rushed back home to bathe in the evening, early, come back,
just to wait for that one song, I'll play that song, you know, the action.
And then one night, my Matthew and the Mandarin's, they heard about, oh, Ben Wagon had a steel guitar player.
Oh, that night, Matthew and the Mandarin's and all the musicians came down to see me because they said,
there's a new steel guitar player, a young boy, I was 26 years old then, playing the steel guitar.
So they came down to check me out, I said, oh my God, I was peeing my pants, I said, what the?
Just to see Matthew.
A recording artist got records and whatever, I came to see me play, I panicked like hell, boy.
So I learned and learned. So eventually, I did this for months and I was learning and I learned the steel guitar just by,
there's no internet, there's no YouTube, there's no nothing, there's nobody to teach you.
Everything I learned is just by trial and error.
On that note, Kai, now it's time to put up Sleepwalk, just a little bit of it, let's put it up.
This is Leonard Rizzo on a steel guitar.
Oh, guaranteed to put you to sleep too.
No, no, no, no, in a good way, man, in a good way.
In a good way.
This is gorgeous, isn't it?
Okay.
That's Leonard Rizzo on the steel guitar.
All right, Kai, thank you so much.
Wow, good stuff, man.
It's a beautiful song, I love that song. As a matter of fact, I picked that one when I was looking out for music that you posted online
and I really, really love Sleepwalk and you learned all that all by yourself.
Okay, this Sleepwalk, I...
You know the steel guitar, as you mentioned.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I played it all, I learned it all by myself.
And then you went this band, Bandwagon, and you moved anywhere else after that?
I was with Bandwagon from 1983 to... until 1986, I think.
Okay.
In 1986, I joined... actually I started my own band, it's called Framework, and eventually Farida Dola joined me.
That's a nice name.
What?
Framework.
Yeah.
Koh Sweat, what, what, what, what, I don't know what, then what, Bandwagon, okay, okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
And with Farida Dola, we played at the ION.
Oh, Farida Dola, hear her name again.
She was the Shakakan of Singapore.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So she joined us.
And basically the band members were part of Bandwagon and Thunderstorm, was it?
Thunderstorm, Edmund Fernandez on drum.
Thunderbirds, oh, no, Thunderstorm.
Thunderstorm.
Thunderbirds.
They were playing at Yoke Hotel.
Yoke Hotel.
Oh Thunder...
Yoke Hotel.
Carriage, carriage bus.
Carriage bus, Thunderbirds.
Thunderbirds, okay.
You know how I know that?
In Carriage Bar, where the Thunderbirds were.
The drummer was...
I was like, happy hour is it?
Yeah.
The drummer is Edmund, Edmund Fernandez.
And at that time, I think that we finished the contract, so he joined us, yeah.
And we played at ION Bar, 1986.
And then we played there for about, yeah, nearly a year.
And then eventually I joined, after that I joined Los Pintos in late 1986 with Stephen
Gomez and Stephen DeSouza.
We were doing mariachi music at the Orchard.
Mariachi.
We were playing in, oh, I forgot the name of the coffee house where we go from table
to table and we just play, yeah.
And people would throw tips into our, you know, the f-hole inside, the guitar f-hole.
They would just throw money inside, yeah.
And end of the month, we would just like, you know, the tabong, all the money and count.
And we shared three ways.
It was Stephen Gomez, Stephen DeSouza and myself.
Los Pintos.
Los Pintos, yeah.
Okay.
I really enjoyed it, yeah.
And then in 1989.
It was basically stroller music, right?
Yes.
Yeah, yeah.
I love the strolling and all the Spanish songs that we used to do.
Although I didn't understand anything Spanish, but Stephen Gomez sang most of the songs.
And we did all the harmony in Spanish and I didn't even understand the words.
We were just like parroting out whatever.
Yeah.
We wrote down things in phonetically, you know.
Yeah, of course.
Yeah.
And then I still remember one day with this Spanish girl, you know.
It was a real Spanish lady who sat there and we were saying, like, kukaracha and whatever.
And she clapped and she called us over to the table and she was talking to us in Spanish.
No hablan, no comprende.
And Stephen Gomez said, I, sorry, we don't speak.
Then she said, what you sang just now, I understood every word you said.
You don't speak Spanish?
We said, no, we don't speak Spanish.
We just sing Spanish, but we don't speak Spanish.
She couldn't understand.
What's the song you guys always play?
Yeah, sure.
When you don't speak Spanish and something.
He drinks tequila.
Oh yes.
Yeah.
And then that was in 1989 with Los Pintos.
Then Stephen Gomez, myself, Mel Ferdinand, Ivor Lesler, we formed up.
Broad Saut.
Oh, you work with Broad Saut.
Yeah, Broad Saut.
Broad Saut until we played a few venues all around.
Even Happy Days.
I remember there was a place called Happy Days at the bowling alley.
You know the bowling, the old Orchard Theatre?
Yeah.
We started at Club 392 first.
Yeah, Vern Cornelius is singing there in Happy Days before.
Yes, we were side by side with Vern Cornelius.
Ah, that means I must have seen you.
Yes.
Yeah.
I must have seen you then.
We started up at Club 392 at Orchard Hotel.
Club 392 at Orchard Hotel?
No, no, no.
Orchard Towers.
Orchard Towers, okay.
And then eventually we played that Club 392, the one in the bowling alley, above the bowling alley.
Yeah, Happy Days.
Happy Days.
And then we went to Orchard Inn.
And that was, we played from 1989 to 1991.
That's when I joined Dart Lee and Mervyn.
Okay.
Okay, how I met Dart Lee and this one we have to tell you.
If you see Leonard, you've seen Dart Lee.
Yes.
Those days, a lot of people mistook Dart Lee for me and me for Dart Lee.
Yeah.
And I haven't met Dart Lee at all.
I've never formally met Dart Lee.
I heard of Dart Lee, Nudist playing with Gingerbread and things like that.
So when I was playing with Lost Pintos, I still remember I lost playing, I came out with my mariachi guitar and all.
I came out and then this lady came, husband and wife, and this lady said,
Wow, you're so talented.
Just last night I saw you playing keyboards at Tavern on the Square.
And now you're playing guitar with this band.
I said, Tavern on the Square?
I don't play at Tavern on the Square.
I saw you.
And then the husband also said,
Yeah, it was you, you playing at Tavern on the Square.
You play keyboard.
I said, no.
I play guitar.
And then they said, oh, in that band, Tavern on Gingerbread, that's the keyboard player, Dart Lee Nudist.
So I said, oh.
And Dart Lee, tell them whether it happened to you or anybody came with it.
Yeah, they boxed my face.
You learned that wrestler, poof, kena.
He kena hantam because of me and I kena hantam because of him.
No la.
No, seriously, did that kind of shit really happen?
No la.
I can all be.
Then in the best part, 1991, we took a course in sound engineering.
It's a diploma course in sound engineering.
In SAE.
SAE.
So we were the first batch.
And then that's where I met, formally met Dart Lee.
Hello, hello.
So you're Dart Lee.
And he said, so you're Leonard?
He said, a lot of people thought it was me.
I said, I get the same thing.
I thought, you know, they thought I was him and he was me.
And then eventually he invited me to join his band.
Right, Broadside.
No, no, no.
Mervin, Dart Lee and Leonard.
From SAE, sound engineering, we became good friends.
I think from there it started.
Yeah, it's just, we jelled.
When we became friends, we just jelled.
But how is it?
I'm just curious, you know, I mean, you guys,
over that generation of musicians, of musos,
Jason Shahoo also went to SAE.
Yes.
To get his sound engineering.
Same year, same class.
Why is it all of you guys want to go and do this?
What was the reason?
He wanted to do, he eventually, I mean, what he's doing today,
in Gingerbread Studios, right?
I mean, he's a sound engineer, but the two of you guys,
I mean, why did you go?
I, because for me, I like doing sound,
because most of the bands that I am with,
I'm the sound man.
You're the guy that does the EQ.
I do the EQ for the band.
So I wanted to do more, so I took this diploma course in sound engineering,
so I wanted to know the fundamentals behind sound engineering.
So it's just an added skill for you, for what you do on a daily full-time basis.
Yes.
How about you, Dart?
Well, it helped me now for SAE.
I fixed up the microphones and stuff.
Put the mic in and learned it.
Which channel you want this to go in?
I didn't know you need a diploma to set up a bloody mic and mic stand.
Excuse me, you cannot put a mic anywhere, you know.
So I see the skill.
Look, my studio, I set up myself.
I'm a damn genius, man.
You know, in this course, at the end of the course,
you have to do a mix-down of the band,
and then it goes into your scores for your final exam, you know.
Oh, really? Wow.
I'd leave myself and my team, basically.
We had 98 upon 100 for recording a band.
Because eventually, we have to get a band to come in,
and we record them, and then we do the mix-down and send it up for assessment.
The complete master demo.
To see how well we can mix a band.
Eventually, Dudley played keyboard, I played guitar, I played steel guitar.
I put things like the band also that came down, we got them to come down,
but I replaced the guitar player, he replaced the keyboard player,
and then we added in and used the band, the girl singer to sing and the bass guitar player.
And we had 98 upon 100.
The guy, I still remember, he was an Ang Mo guy.
I think he was an Australian guy, right?
And he says, wow, during the assessment, he had a one-to-one aural thing.
He said, oh, I heard it's almost CD quality, he says.
You know, he said the mix-down is very good.
Yeah, he said, because I had the steel guitar, we put in the steel guitar.
It was the song called Blue Bayou.
Remember Blue Bayou?
Yeah, we played Blue Bayou, and I played the steel guitar, and I played the nylon string guitar.
And I just put it in, and he says, wow, it sounds...
CD quality.
Yeah, he said CD quality.
He says, very good, he said the marks.
He said, yo, we had the highest in that school that year for recording.
On that note, now that you talk about this,
the ability to be able to mix down music, you know,
you guys have come a long way together.
You've been playing for 20 years?
Together, yeah.
That's life is 20 years.
That's life has been 20 years.
I'm fast-forwarding a little bit, because my goodness, you know, time flies,
and there's so many things I want to ask you.
So let me just take this direction.
You've been playing 20 years together, old friends, good friends, okay?
Great musicians, full of experience, been down the block,
played so many genres of music, one can, until Ballroom Standard, until Mariachi, my goodness.
So, that being said, I'm going to ask, why the fuck has that life,
that's life, not written original stuff, and recorded it, and distributed?
Wow, because you can't write stuff.
Dudley, I know for a fact, Dudley writes music.
I know for a fact that you guys are tight as a band, right?
If you want to get session musicians in to help you out with an album or a single even, it can be done.
You've done it before with Gingerbread, and I'm not going to talk so much about that anymore,
because we've done a lot of that.
Rose's is a beautiful song written by Moses Badham, right?
Until this day, it's still being played more often than most other local music.
I don't even hear anything from Sam Willow's being played.
I hear Rose's. It's amazing, you know?
I mean, for all that hoo-ha about the younger bands that came along, right, like Sam Willow,
no disrespect to Sam Willow's, they're great.
But I'm saying the longevity of music, what stays, what goes on, that evergreen wonder,
that value continues through decades, that is what makes a good song.
Or that's what a good song really becomes, right?
How is it you two guys have not got down and dirty to do something like that?
Well, that's a good question.
I know.
It's not that we don't have, we do have, but Leonard, myself, we are so,
actually caught up with so much of his business, we have 57 Chevy.
At the time.
Actually, it comes to now that we have more time with each other, you know?
We can really sit down and, hey, what do you want to do this or that?
Last time, it was just the press button auto, everything's going on.
So we don't have time to say, hey, Leonard or Dudley, want to do our own song or something like that.
So maybe, maybe tomorrow might start something,
and say, hey, Leonard, I got this tune, do you want to do something about this?
Dudley just said tomorrow. Leonard, what are you going to say about that?
I mean, now, Dudley's so right, now we have a little bit more time on our hands.
Recently, I just helped Dudley with a project of his where his brother wrote the songs,
he did the arrangement, he did everything, and I helped him to do the guitar,
and my experience with recording, I did the vocal recording for him.
He was a sound engineer.
I was a sound engineer, the guy who makes down, I did some tracks for him on the guitar, you know, to put in.
So this is a new album by you, Dudley Nones.
Okay, it's a long story, 14 songs was written by my brother, Mervin.
I got to send it out now because it's the truth, it's all Mervin's composition, which he has given it to me as a gift.
So I said, what do you want to do with it?
And even though it hits a million dollars or whatever comes out of it, it's all yours.
So I said, okay, instead of lying these songs under the bed and not doing anything, I will try and do something.
So I told Leonard, I'm going to do this, and I'll need your help.
I'll do this in studio time, because there is no other better sound engineer than you.
I program, I will bring this to your studio.
He's got a studio, it's called Vets Live Studio.
So he agreed, he agreed.
He never spoke about money or anything like that because Leonard and me go a long way.
So, okay, got all the songs done, go to his studio, record it.
And I got a friend who said, you can do this at Tune Core or something.
I said, what's Tune Core?
So I said, you go there and then you can submit all the songs and blah, blah, blah.
His name is Chris Hansen.
Okay.
No hardcore.
I wonder who that fellow is.
It's you.
So I'm very grateful to you for giving me a start to where to go, which channel.
So I got the songs done, Leonard done a fabulous soundtrack, everything.
He took time and he calls me and says, is this all right?
This time you sent me, does this seem to be louder than that?
I said, it's anything.
I'll give it to your hands.
I think you're about the best guy who can do this.
And he got it done.
And what's the title of the album?
Tranquility.
Okay.
And when is this going to be released and where?
Tune Core and Spotify, I think September 3rd, 2023.
September 3rd, 2023, Dudley Nones' new album will be released on these platforms, Tune
Core and Spotify.
And it's called Tranquility.
Check it out guys.
But I'm going to say this one time to the both of you.
Dudley Nones, Leonard Rizzo.
Write something.
Write some things, record them together and launch.
Why?
Why am I asking you guys?
Because it's very simple.
I think there's a need for music to be really, really this time, once and for all, resurrected
in this country.
I really think so because we haven't had anything that good for a long time.
And you know, I, I, I, and, and unfortunately, even if you're planning for retirement, I
just tell you, I don't think you should because you need to lead, you know, be one of those
guys to lead the way.
And in my mind is what I think.
Yeah.
You know, 57 Chevy, man.
That's, you want to talk about?
Oh yeah, man.
I mean, you know, it's an institution.
Oh hell yeah.
You know, it's 57 Chevy.
Can I, can you put that one up please?
Wow.
There you go.
And then credit to the new paper that was, this article was put up on that last night,
that last fateful night.
Oh, I remember that night.
So, so do I.
I mean, I was there too.
And you know, it became a place that we chanced upon because of the name of that, you know,
we went over that one Friday night and then we said, the hell, where have we been?
And then it became every Friday night.
Yeah.
And then it became a date night.
Every Friday night was a date night for my wife and I.
I would go at 6.30 just to get a table, you know.
I have my dinner there just to book a table, you know.
Right.
And then my wife will come after work with another friend, right.
And they will come, Alanis, you know.
And then we would party the whole night away until we, until you guys close.
57 Chevy was an institution simply because it was a place for people of all ages.
It wasn't just for the older people.
Yes.
The younger people loved it too.
It was, it became a community.
It became an East Coast and Khartong community.
And became a safe place for people to go and have fun knowing they're safe.
And everyone got to know each other.
Yes.
And until this day, just today, just today, I was in Tampines 1 with a family.
And one of the regulars was there.
And he bought two bottles of tea.
And he saw me, hey, hi.
And we went, hey, hi.
57 Chevy.
Chevy, yes.
Yeah.
He said, do me a favor.
I said, yeah.
Take one.
I said, seriously?
Yeah, take one.
Have a drink.
It was a tea, a bottle of tea, you know.
And it was really nice.
And you see, it's a community of people.
Yeah.
I want to understand this.
And I want this to be aired.
Leonard Resl is one of the owners of the 57 Chevy.
Besides the band that's life playing there.
Yes.
Can we tell everyone why the hell did it have to shut?
Okay.
We closed in February 2014.
Two years before that, actually two years, the government did send us a letter and said
that they are going to sell off the land.
And we probably will have to move out by the end of that year.
And that year came and they extended another year.
You know, so in 2013, I still remember I was out with my friends and then I had a call
from one of my partners and said that, hey, we got a letter from the government saying
that we have to move out by 2014 on the 22nd of February.
Yeah.
So, and we had to hand over the keys by the 28th, which is my mom's birthday, 28th February.
We have to return back because they sold the land to a developer who's going to be the
hotel at that exact spot where we were, which is Katung Village.
Yeah.
Katung Village, where you guys were today.
I don't even care what it's called.
It's a hotel now.
Yeah, it's a hotel.
Holiday Inn, I think.
Yeah.
And then there's a mall that's absolutely not making any business.
The current bar, restaurant thing at the outside also just recently shut.
It's, you know, for a place outside of the hotel business, of course, right?
That was really doing something for community of all races, of all ages, of all genders
and really good clean fun.
You know, I don't think you guys had much trouble there anyway.
Yeah.
In place of this.
Yeah.
You know, I mean, to me it was like the last bastion of Katung because Katung is right
now not Katung anymore.
I'm saying it.
I don't give a flying fuck.
I'm saying it.
Yeah.
There's got to be some kind of, in my mind, in my opinion, there's got to be some kind
of, some things must be kept sacred, you know?
And now when we look at music, music, and like nobody gives a shit about music anymore.
Nobody gives a shit about people going out there having a nice night out, not just for
dinner.
You know, it's sad because if you've seen, well, you're going to be watching the episode
before you guys came today.
I had Afwan from Supersonic with me last night.
And in recent times he actually had a show for a community, for a sort of a, you know,
for a particular district.
Yeah.
Let's put it that way.
And people complained, some people complained about why are you bringing nightclub music
to our town area?
And I said, you know, honest to goodness, I mean, what's wrong with people today?
What's wrong with them?
These are places you don't have to say, oh, they're drunks, they're just because people
drink alcohol.
Come on, stop being such prudes, you know?
The point is that music keeps people together.
Music builds friendship too.
Don't just look at it from the dark side of things.
And when 57 Chevy shut down, do you know, honest to God, I shed a tear.
Not only you, so many people.
I'm pretty sure.
But right now, if I ask you guys, man, take a look anywhere else in Singapore.
I'm talking about five piece bands and above.
Where are the places that in your minds and in your opinions you feel have got great music
from five piece bands and above in Singapore today?
Big sound, I'm talking about big sound.
Don't have.
No disrespect to Supersonic.
Supersonic is really good.
I went to see them, they were really good.
Supersonic is really good.
Yeah.
Kudos to Alphon and the guys from Supersonic at Timber Plus.
Kudos to you guys.
And I never heard of 53A, but a lot of friends say they are very, very good.
Okay, but when we look back, see back in the day, I hear the stories from the time we started
this episode.
You guys are talking about Peyton Place, you're talking about Barbarella, which was also shut
down.
Yeah.
Carriage Bar, Club Five, gosh, okay.
Tavern in the Square.
Everywhere you go, Shangri-La, everywhere you go, you know for a fact that there's going
to be something good playing there.
There's going to be music, right?
There's going to be something that makes you feel, something for the soul, man, besides
church, that is.
Part of your Saturday, go to church on Sunday, that's all fine.
You know?
Right, right, so you know, and at the end of it all, we don't have that anymore, do we?
The last bastion, Jive Talking, where every day play, well done, Rafi and the rest of
the guys from Jive.
Then, where else?
This is what I mean.
How do you think nightlife is today?
What's the night scene like?
Are bar owners, club owners really doing something for music in Singapore?
Things are so different now.
My nightlife is my band.
Yeah, sure, great.
I'm glad, man.
But see where you're playing.
See where you're playing.
You are playing in places where there are members.
Yeah.
You are playing in places where it's not going to be easy to open the door for people to
just walk in.
Right.
It is no longer open for people like me to just walk in.
I mean, we can, I know that, okay?
But what I'm saying here is not as if it isn't a public establishment, it's there.
You open the door, you walk in and you get, you seek.
You don't have that, do you?
I mean, you're not playing in places like that anymore.
So, what does it show you?
It is only meant for people who can still appreciate music and they are members of an
establishment, right?
Yeah.
But we're talking about the general public today.
You're not open to the general public.
And then, and for the life of me, because Afwan said to me yesterday as well, when I
asked him about the same question, and he said, which one are you referring to, Chris?
Are you referring to the night music band or are you referring to the recording band?
I said, you mean there's a startling difference today?
Because way back when, we have Gingerbread, recording artists and night music band, whatever
that's called.
It's sad to have differentiation and segregation and stereotyped.
It is sad.
You mean there has to be a segregation between, say for example, again, no disrespect to these
guys, Sam Willows and you guys.
I mean, hey, they make music, you make music and that's about the size of it.
And you guys make music, you can still go to the recording studio like what you did.
What I'm saying here is that there is, it seems to me, and I'm asking a lot of musicians
the same question, do you think we are deteriorating when music is concerned in this country because
our nightlife is just about dead?
That's a good question.
I don't know much to say, but I only speak for myself here.
Please do.
Back then, I remember when we were playing in the 70s.
We get picked, you know, wherever we play, there are big crowds that will come and follow.
We had fans like that, you know.
Followings, yeah.
We have followings wherever we go.
Followings.
And club owners would like headhunt for us, you know.
Before your contract ends, they will come and ask you, when's your contract ending?
Okay, your contract ends, they pull you, but now it's no.
Now it's you like, we like begging to, you got opening for this place, you know.
But it seems that for us now, we became a little bit more popular with clubs.
The clubs that we play and then some other members from other clubs when they come in,
it's you must come and play at my club.
You know, we are now a headhunter because this club member comes to this club and he
sees us playing and he sees the crowd, wow, your contract, can you play at my club?
So they pull us.
So now we're going from club to club to club.
But the small establishments, well, sometimes I don't blame them because rent is so high
and they can only afford this budget for the band.
It became so small and you know, and it seems that everybody's pay goes up,
but musicians' pay don't go up at all.
Ten years ago, we were earning this much.
Now ten years later, they still want to offer us this much, you know.
But clubs can pay.
Members' club, they got members.
Yeah, so they collect.
They can pay us.
They got money to pay you guys.
But you see Leonard, if that's the case, do you think musicians who have been entertaining
Singaporeans for decades, who have brought so much life and joy to people through their music
and your entertainment, do you think you have been appreciated in some form or other?
Or have musicians been forgotten?
Or musicians just considered to be a means to an end and that is just about earning a living.
Yeah, it's just that they are entertainers, but maybe we got other entertainers as well.
And we are not so much appreciated as we once were.
Yeah.
Okay, last question before, because we have been talking for more than an hour, man.
It's amazing.
Last two questions, okay guys.
Daddy has been very, very quiet.
I need to hear your input seriously.
You both are still performing to this day.
Is it because of your love for music or are there any other reasons?
Do you think, because there is a context to this, yeah?
Do you think musicians today can do this full time and live sufficiently?
Who wants to be?
Up to you.
The floor is open, man.
I wouldn't say to do this full time, to earn a living for now at this stage of where we are.
I would not recommend my children to do what I do.
Really?
Yeah, you do.
Okay, musicians don't have CPF, they don't have anything.
They don't have medical benefits, they have nothing.
So whatever they pay us, we have to put aside for the rainy day, we have to put aside for if we are sick.
It all comes out from our own pocket.
It's not the management or whoever is going to pay for it.
But didn't you guys realize that this, you know, like say 20 years ago, not necessarily a new thing, isn't it?
Okay, we're talking about CPF.
I knew that.
So, don't mind if it's for me.
When I was playing at that time, I knew that because my father used to tell me, you know, musicians are poppers, you know.
They don't have anything.
You don't have CPF, nothing.
So it's always stuck in my...
So I always put aside some money.
I took insurance on my own.
I took a few insurance.
This is like my CPF, you know, like, yeah.
So I covered my medical, my whatever through insurance and my some policies that I took that when I reach a certain age, I get my money back, you know.
So it became like my CPF.
So I don't drink.
I used to smoke, but I don't smoke anymore.
So now, so I, for me, I'm lucky.
There's some musicians who spend all their money on whatever I earn, I took.
But I saved, I do diligence on my own.
I saved on my own.
And eventually, I had enough money to open up a pub with my friends and partners.
So that was a plus move for me when I opened Chevy in 2005.
Yeah, 57 Chevy.
What was the question again?
You said you will not advise your children to take up music.
Because the music industry is so different now, you know.
Even the new musicians don't even, I think, lift up a microphone stand to set it up or amplifier, what we have been through, you know.
So for me, it's come like a musician has no expiry date.
Okay.
We can go on as much as we can as long as we are healthy and our throat and body can move.
That is a blessing.
So I learned it myself and some of the musicians out there who has played the same amount of years as we have,
I think they have the same feeling about being healthy and being able to do the best of the music career, this last lap of all the songs they do.
And money is important, but I think it's the love of music that brings people together.
Yeah.
I agree with Dudley because for us, music has to expiry date.
It's not, oh you reach 62, time for you to retire.
No. For us, until the very last day that I can't even climb up the stage, then I know that's it.
But I'll still keep on playing music until then.
I mean, guys, I really hope I can still continue to hear your music, that's the one.
The other thing is, what are your plans, both of you?
Continue to play or plan to retire?
I will continue to play.
Continue to play.
For me, although I'm doing three nights a week, I look forward to these three nights.
It's not like some people who is a chore, oh I got to go to work on Monday, oh my God.
For us, I look forward to the Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays that I'm playing or maybe even some Saturdays that we do for private functions.
I look forward to that.
Although I know it can be tiring at the end of the night, but it's the fun, the joy in watching people enjoy and appreciate your music.
That is the reward for us when we're on stage, when I see people's faces smile and they come and say,
wow, I haven't heard this song for years, it brought back a lot of memories for me.
It's a joy for us to, it's a compliment.
How about you Dudley, do you feel the same way as Leonard?
Yeah, why? To have a band, two piece, three piece, even an orchestra, the relationship is important.
If I don't have a good relationship with him, it won't be magic.
You cannot produce something...
Something that people can go gaga over, if you guys are not tight as friends, the band will not be tight.
We need each other, we're a team. I need him, he needs me.
Together, we can make ourselves happy, we can make people happy, we can make the business for the club.
Look at us, wow, that's life.
What keeps Leonard and myself young and we have no expiry date is when we go home, we sleep in the fridge.
Dudley, Dudley.
Cryonics, cryonics.
Cryogenics, cryogenics man.
Yeah, you're another UFO buff I tell you.
Okay everyone, you've been watching the Chris Hansen Conversation and my tribute to these guys as our icons of music in Singapore.
The band, That's Life, consisting of Dudley Nonis and Leonard Rizl Dazzle.
And we're going to end the show.
Before we say goodbye for this episode, we have two videos to play for you.
One that is of Mr. Dudley Nonis.
I just got to do this.
So we're going to play this little thing that he did. God knows why he did it, but he did.
Dudley does the strangest things.
And after that video, you will be watching That's Life, the band that is Dudley Nonis, Leonard Rizl Dazzle,
the two of them together with lead vocalist they had many years ago, for one of my favorite songs called Baby Come Back.
Enjoy that one.
And until next time, this is Chris Hansen saying, I'll see you again, okay?
Whenever you have and whenever you hear or see or watch a musician entertaining you, give him a smile and say thank you.
Don't be an idiot. Bye bye.
We could shake our hands, give a hug to our friends,
and we could sing a song that we all love.
We could shake our hands, give a hug to our friends,
and we could sing a song that we all love.
We could shake our hands, give a hug to our friends,
and we could sing a song that we all love.
We just want life to be free,
that's all we're thinking of.
When you are in a crowd,
don't be talking about love, you must softly say.
Ask you me, can't you see, you're just close to me,
one beat the baller.
We could walk out the door,
wear our masks to the store, now that only.
We could go on a holiday,
to Batam and Bali, now that only.
In the street, you're in a hurry, you're quarantined,
so boring, what to do love?
Hard to say, when you're awake, everybody pray,
night and day, but you're so sad.
We could shake our hands, give a hug to our friends,
now that only.
We just want life to be free,
that's all we're thinking of.
When you are in a crowd,
don't be talking about love, you must softly say.
Ask you me, can't you see, you're just close to me,
who meet the baller.
Last time balling, now the balling.
Hey, stop the meter!
I tell you, only Eurasian people get on Eurasian.
But all my life, all my money gone out without,
who am I to get you on my mind?
You're the one who come back when I start again,
trying to forget you just to wait until time.
Baby goodnight,
you're the girl who fool the scene,
well it's something,
you can't even imagine.
Baby goodnight,
you've been in love with all of me,
I was small,
as I just didn't like you.
Holding on,
when all my soul falls in the water,
trying to keep up the smile that had to kill you.
But I was so blown out, that I'm still feeling the pain,
how did the guy that you were here?
Baby goodnight,
you've been the girl who fool the scene,
well it's something,
you can't even imagine.
Baby goodnight,
you've been in love with all of me,
I was small,
as I just didn't like you.
Nothing to prove it all together,
giving a chance to make you see,
that you used up all your love in your heart.
Nothing left for me,
you left nothing left for me.
Baby goodnight,
you've been the girl who fool the scene,
well it's something,
you can't even imagine.
Baby goodnight,
you've been in love with all of me,
I was small,
as I just didn't like you.
I was small,
as I just didn't like you.
Yeah, baby goodnight,
you've been the girl who fool the scene,
mmmm.