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You know the song from Michael Jackson, Don't Stop Till Again?

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You know the opening percussions before the song started?

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Is she the E?

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Really?

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And you know how he found her?

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Because she proved it with just emptying glass, water out of certain bottles

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and then she was...

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She was hitting it huh?

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She was hitting it.

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Okay, so let's start the gig.

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This is how we're gonna do it.

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We're gonna start with you.

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You have a video.

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Oh yes.

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Okay, Kai, let it rip.

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Oh man, oh man, oh man.

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Wow, that was a warm up actually.

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That was a warm up?

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Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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It was in US.

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That was in the US?

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Yeah.

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What were you playing for?

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When?

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When and for what?

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I can't remember that outlet, that state.

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It was for George Lam concert.

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Oh for George Lam in the US?

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Yeah.

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There's a demand for George...

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Sorry George.

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There's a demand for George Lam in the US.

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There's always a demand because of the Chinese community over there.

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Oh wow.

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Yeah.

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I didn't expect that.

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Yes, we were touring for George Lam that time.

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That was just before Covid I think.

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Before Covid?

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Just before Covid.

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And which part of the US was this?

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Good question.

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New York?

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We went to Reno.

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Oh wow.

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I think SF.

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I can't remember man.

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Yeah, it's something...

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San Fran?

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I know definitely Reno.

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I remember.

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Yeah.

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Wow, George Lam in Reno and San Francisco.

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Yeah, yeah.

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I traveled to US to play for them quite a bit actually.

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Wow.

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Okay everybody, switch to my cam.

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Thank you very much Kai.

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Hi everyone.

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Welcome back to the Chris Hansen Conversation.

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It's my tribute to Singapore's music icons.

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And I have a real icon here with me.

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He's a dynamite drummer.

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And please help me welcome Jimmy Lee.

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Hi everybody.

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Welcome to the show man.

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Thanks for being here.

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Thanks Chris.

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Thanks for inviting me.

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No, my pleasure.

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My pleasure.

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It's my tribute to you.

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And as I mentioned before we started filming that, you know Jimmy,

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I want to make sure that Singaporeans and people within the region,

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because I don't care about anywhere else,

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this show goes out to a lot of people within our...

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You know, our close proximity to Singapore,

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that this man has got to be recognized.

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I mean just listen to that drumming.

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Come on, come on, come on.

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And before the new top drummers we've got now in this country,

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there was you.

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Oh, thank you.

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Okay.

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You and I can think of one or two more.

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Okay.

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Which eventually I will have them on this show,

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maybe next season and I will pay tribute to them.

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But definitely you're one of those that has left a mark man.

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As you said, you were playing for George Lam on tour in the US.

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And I also know, because I have to do my due diligence right,

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and check you out.

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You played for Ame.

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Yes, yes, yes.

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You played for Jackie Chung, you played for Sally Yeh,

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you played for Aaron Kwok, you played for Lobo,

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you played for Stephanie Sun and the list can go on and on and on.

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Pretty long actually.

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Yeah.

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Yeah. You want to add on to the list?

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Because I've, okay, those Hong Kong artists and those like Lam

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and some of the Hong Kong artists, which is the older names,

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they Paula Choi and all these people,

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they actually find me up there to play for them.

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Wow. How did he get to know you?

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That's a good question.

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Actually, many years ago, okay, when I was touring Ame,

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we went to Hong Kong

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and it was, if I remember, the concert was in Kai Tak Airport.

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In the airport?

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Yeah, because they changed the airport to a new airport.

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So the Kai Tak runway, we did a concert there.

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Isn't that where the houses and all that,

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you can see the homes and apartments and so on.

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So we were actually on the runway, we did the concert.

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Oh man.

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Fantastic.

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Oh wow.

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The sound was really good because no slap back,

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you just throw out.

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Wow.

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Okay, so from there, the music director for Josh Lam and Sally,

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at that time, spotted me.

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And then out of a sudden, when I finished the tour with Ame,

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they called me.

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Okay.

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They somehow called me to go with them to Connecticut.

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Connecticut.

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Mohegan Sons for Josh Lam and Sally.

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Wow.

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So from then onwards, you know.

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And they were singing Chinese songs?

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Chinese songs.

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Only one or two English songs.

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Wow.

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All Cantonese, yeah.

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Cantonese and Mandarin.

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Oh wow.

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So from then on, the Hong Kong people heard about me.

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Abbie heard about me, Kenny B.

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Kenny B?

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Abbie?

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Yeah, yeah, I call him Abbie, nice guy.

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You know what I mean?

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Hey Abbie, Kenny B.

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Yeah, Alan Tom and everybody.

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So then they need a drummer, then they called me up to play.

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And you played for Jackie Cheung as well.

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Yeah, I did with him in Guangzhou, yes.

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Wow, wow.

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Nice man.

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And of all the list of names I saw,

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all the Cantonese, Hong Kong superstars, they appeared,

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there's one name, Lobo.

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Yeah, okay.

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I don't know how it happened that Lobo was brought in by,

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I cannot remember this person's name.

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Singapore.

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Singapore.

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Yeah, okay.

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And he did a show here.

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We did it in Vietnam actually, Ho Chi Minh City.

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This guy was doing shows at that time.

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And he said, okay, I need a drummer, I need a band.

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So it was just a four piece.

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And then with Lobo's manager playing the guitar.

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His manager played the guitar.

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Yeah, and sing well too, harmonize with him.

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And then from there, we rehearsed and we went to Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh.

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After that, when Lobo came back again one more time,

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and it was myself and a different band, just a few of us.

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We played for him at this club called Psychedelic.

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Okay.

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Yeah.

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And that was...

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He played in a small club.

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Yeah, just a...

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Okay, wow.

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But nice guy, easy to work with.

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Yeah, I mean you met some people.

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Okay, I'll be fair, I have to be fair here.

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I have met...

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I have sung George Lam's part with Sally Yeh in 1993 when I was 23 years old.

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George Lam part, that song, nothing is going to stop us now?

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No, Shen Ze.

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Oh, wow.

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That's their famous song.

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Yeah, yeah.

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So by chance, that was completely unplanned.

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I was a host for the show and I met Jackie Cheung over drinks actually.

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Over drink?

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Yeah, yeah, because I hosted another event that he was...

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Sometimes they do come down to give private gigs.

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Yes, they do.

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And I get hired to host some private gigs, so I didn't manage to at least have a drink with Jackie Cheung.

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That's nice.

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Okay, if you look at it carefully, most of the artists that I have played for are Chinese ones.

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Yes.

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Somehow, but I did some English ones which is not many because they come with their own band and everything.

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Can you name some?

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I only have a few, it's like the crystals, have you ever had crystals?

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No, man.

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Crystals, like three girls, three ladies.

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We did a show, I did a show for them at the S Planet.

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Okay.

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And then the Three Degrees.

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Oh wow, were you Diana Ross?

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No, the Three Degrees is the latest Three Degrees.

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I think there's only one original inside.

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Is that right?

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I don't know her name.

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So they kept changing, I didn't know that.

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Yeah, the Three Degrees, so the original, only one left, the other one they just quit or whatever.

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We did explain it as well.

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Right.

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That was a few years ago only.

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Okay, hang on, I got my facts wrong, didn't I?

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Diana Ross was not with the Three Degrees, man.

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She was with the Supremes.

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Supremes.

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I'm sorry.

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Yeah.

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See, me, my discography gone out the window.

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So Jimmy, you know, you're a guy, have we seen the way you drum?

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I've seen the way you drum.

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I have not seen you perform, man.

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I've seen you perform several times.

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Oh, that's nice.

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Thank you.

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I have, I have, definitely for sure.

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And if I hadn't, you wouldn't be here.

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At the same time, you know, I've heard, we just talked about how you've gone on tours

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and how you worked with these legends, right?

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Now I'm going to ask you this question I ask of most, not all, most of my guests.

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Now I like you to think deeply when I ask you this question, okay?

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I try.

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In your own words, who is Jiminy?

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How to describe myself, right?

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Well, yeah, it is most intimate detail.

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Actually, I'm a very private person.

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I can tell.

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Yeah, seriously, I'm a very, I just do my work, I exercise at least three times a week.

243
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Okay.

244
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And then I don't, I don't really drink.

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Yeah, I don't really drink.

246
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Yeah, I really don't.

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I'm a very simple person.

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That's me.

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And, and I just go to work.

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I teach, right?

251
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I teach students and I want them to be good.

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I, I like to share.

253
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That's me.

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I don't keep it to myself.

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Right.

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Why do you like to share?

257
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Because I feel that if somebody wants to learn, why not?

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Because I wanted to learn, right?

259
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At the time when I started drumming.

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I wanted to learn and I had teacher and then I went to US to study and I come back.

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If somebody wanted to learn from you and just share.

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No harm.

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Now that you've mentioned it, you've got a teacher.

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When you think back, what, let's go way back, okay?

265
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That very first spark, like being struck by lightning.

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That interest, the initial interest in drumming at US,

267
00:11:10,420 --> 00:11:12,420
in drumming at age 17.

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What's that moment like that you realized drumming was your calling?

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Is it your calling?

270
00:11:19,940 --> 00:11:20,500
It is, right?

271
00:11:20,500 --> 00:11:20,980
It is.

272
00:11:20,980 --> 00:11:21,540
For sure.

273
00:11:21,540 --> 00:11:22,260
It is a calling.

274
00:11:22,260 --> 00:11:27,620
What happened was, okay, when I was young, okay, this has got to go back to really when I was young.

275
00:11:27,620 --> 00:11:28,340
Sure, please.

276
00:11:28,340 --> 00:11:30,100
So those days we had ready fusion, you know.

277
00:11:30,100 --> 00:11:32,020
Oh, everyone talks about ready fusion.

278
00:11:32,020 --> 00:11:34,420
Ready fusion is like a box.

279
00:11:34,420 --> 00:11:35,220
Cable radio.

280
00:11:35,220 --> 00:11:35,700
Yeah.

281
00:11:35,700 --> 00:11:38,980
And then I was listening to music all the time, right?

282
00:11:38,980 --> 00:11:39,780
Yeah.

283
00:11:39,780 --> 00:11:45,780
And then Tom Jones, those days, and I would just tap my hand to the groove.

284
00:11:45,780 --> 00:11:48,340
How old were you then when you were tapping your hands listening to ready fusion?

285
00:11:49,380 --> 00:11:52,500
I was like primary school, primary six.

286
00:11:52,500 --> 00:11:53,000
Okay.

287
00:11:53,700 --> 00:11:54,260
12 years old?

288
00:11:54,260 --> 00:11:56,340
Yeah, 12 years old, then second four.

289
00:11:56,340 --> 00:11:59,380
In fact, most of the time I tap on is when I was in primary school.

290
00:12:00,100 --> 00:12:03,380
Because when I went to secondary school, it was a really different story.

291
00:12:03,380 --> 00:12:04,100
Okay.

292
00:12:04,100 --> 00:12:04,500
Yeah.

293
00:12:04,500 --> 00:12:10,340
So at that primary school time, I was listening to all those, you know, Tom Jones and tapping

294
00:12:10,900 --> 00:12:11,620
the rhythm.

295
00:12:11,620 --> 00:12:15,780
And I had that rhythm together with, I could go with the music, my hand.

296
00:12:15,780 --> 00:12:17,700
Like this is the bass drum and this is the...

297
00:12:17,700 --> 00:12:18,660
Could you show it to me?

298
00:12:18,660 --> 00:12:19,220
How is it?

299
00:12:21,380 --> 00:12:22,180
You were doing that.

300
00:12:22,180 --> 00:12:23,140
I was doing all this.

301
00:12:23,700 --> 00:12:25,620
And somehow I had that with me.

302
00:12:27,060 --> 00:12:31,060
Then from then on, I went to secondary school.

303
00:12:31,060 --> 00:12:36,340
And this friend of mine, very nice boy, friend, classmate, he just want to form a band.

304
00:12:37,220 --> 00:12:39,620
And he asked me, Jimmy, do you play drums?

305
00:12:39,620 --> 00:12:40,740
I just say, yes.

306
00:12:42,100 --> 00:12:44,580
But you didn't, you have not had any formal training?

307
00:12:44,580 --> 00:12:45,060
No.

308
00:12:45,060 --> 00:12:45,540
Okay.

309
00:12:45,540 --> 00:12:46,580
I just say yes.

310
00:12:46,580 --> 00:12:47,220
Okay.

311
00:12:47,220 --> 00:12:47,780
Okay.

312
00:12:47,780 --> 00:12:50,340
We need a second drummer, you know, those school days.

313
00:12:50,340 --> 00:12:50,900
Right, right.

314
00:12:50,900 --> 00:12:51,700
Second drummer.

315
00:12:51,700 --> 00:12:52,660
I'm not the main one.

316
00:12:52,660 --> 00:12:54,740
They need a relief drummer.

317
00:12:54,740 --> 00:12:55,380
Okay.

318
00:12:56,020 --> 00:12:59,620
Then I just went there, I could just groove, play a simple groove.

319
00:12:59,620 --> 00:13:01,620
Play a simple groove.

320
00:13:01,620 --> 00:13:02,020
Wait.

321
00:13:02,020 --> 00:13:03,140
I'm not kidding you.

322
00:13:03,140 --> 00:13:04,580
You had no formal training.

323
00:13:04,580 --> 00:13:05,140
No formal training.

324
00:13:05,140 --> 00:13:06,340
You were holding sticks.

325
00:13:06,340 --> 00:13:06,820
Yes.

326
00:13:06,820 --> 00:13:09,300
And there was a snare in front of you and a hi-hat there.

327
00:13:09,300 --> 00:13:10,820
And you knew what to do.

328
00:13:10,820 --> 00:13:13,300
Including with the kick and the...

329
00:13:13,300 --> 00:13:14,660
Yeah, of course simple rock beat.

330
00:13:14,660 --> 00:13:15,620
They are not that complicated.

331
00:13:15,620 --> 00:13:16,340
But how did you do?

332
00:13:16,340 --> 00:13:17,940
How did that happen?

333
00:13:17,940 --> 00:13:20,740
I mean, you see the same thing I asked Stephen Francis.

334
00:13:21,300 --> 00:13:22,100
He's a prodigy.

335
00:13:22,100 --> 00:13:23,780
He can pick up a freaking instrument now.

336
00:13:23,780 --> 00:13:25,460
This has never touched it before.

337
00:13:25,460 --> 00:13:26,900
And he could play the damn thing.

338
00:13:26,900 --> 00:13:29,140
And all he could tell me was, I don't know, I'm just gifted.

339
00:13:29,140 --> 00:13:29,940
I mean, that's...

340
00:13:29,940 --> 00:13:30,900
I'm trying to...

341
00:13:30,900 --> 00:13:32,020
It's a...

342
00:13:32,020 --> 00:13:33,780
No, it's a true thing.

343
00:13:33,780 --> 00:13:34,420
It's a gifted...

344
00:13:34,420 --> 00:13:35,140
No, I know, I know.

345
00:13:35,140 --> 00:13:35,620
I understand that.

346
00:13:35,620 --> 00:13:37,940
I'm just trying to understand the psychology behind it.

347
00:13:37,940 --> 00:13:39,620
In layman's terms.

348
00:13:39,620 --> 00:13:41,300
Because he couldn't explain it to me.

349
00:13:41,300 --> 00:13:47,380
But now since Jimmy Lee has mentioned to me that I got on the damn drums and I could get a beat.

350
00:13:47,380 --> 00:13:51,780
And I'm trying to understand how did that happen?

351
00:13:51,780 --> 00:13:53,220
I mean, what was going through you, man?

352
00:13:53,220 --> 00:13:56,340
When you must have told yourself, I had no formal training.

353
00:13:56,340 --> 00:13:57,940
And I said, yes, I can play.

354
00:13:57,940 --> 00:14:01,620
And now I'm rehearsing, I'm playing, I'm jamming in the band.

355
00:14:01,620 --> 00:14:03,460
And then I could do this.

356
00:14:03,460 --> 00:14:10,740
Didn't it occur to you that asking yourself maybe, how did I manage to do that?

357
00:14:10,740 --> 00:14:12,180
Oh, I never did ask myself.

358
00:14:12,180 --> 00:14:12,660
What?

359
00:14:12,660 --> 00:14:13,300
I don't...

360
00:14:13,300 --> 00:14:13,860
I never...

361
00:14:13,860 --> 00:14:19,780
I just go there and then I remember with all those songs like CCR songs.

362
00:14:19,780 --> 00:14:20,340
Yeah, yeah.

363
00:14:20,340 --> 00:14:22,100
All those simple ones.

364
00:14:22,100 --> 00:14:22,740
Simple.

365
00:14:22,740 --> 00:14:24,340
Yeah, I mean, just to...

366
00:14:24,340 --> 00:14:26,420
To Jimmy Lee, it's simple.

367
00:14:26,420 --> 00:14:30,420
I mean, I just play a simple straight groove and that was it.

368
00:14:30,420 --> 00:14:31,940
I could just coordinate.

369
00:14:31,940 --> 00:14:37,940
But how did you know that what you had to do with the bass drum, the kick, and then with the hi-hat?

370
00:14:37,940 --> 00:14:39,540
No, it's in the head.

371
00:14:39,540 --> 00:14:40,180
Serious?

372
00:14:40,180 --> 00:14:41,140
Yeah, it's in the head.

373
00:14:41,140 --> 00:14:44,180
Because you see, when you do this, you know it's a bass drum.

374
00:14:44,180 --> 00:14:46,180
You know that it's a low sound, right?

375
00:14:46,180 --> 00:14:48,180
You see on the drum set.

376
00:14:48,180 --> 00:14:50,180
So to you, it's logical.

377
00:14:50,180 --> 00:14:51,460
To you, it was logical.

378
00:14:51,460 --> 00:14:52,660
Yeah, it's just like that.

379
00:14:52,660 --> 00:14:54,660
Then you just go and coordinate.

380
00:14:54,660 --> 00:14:57,940
I never had problem coordinating at all to be honest with you.

381
00:14:57,940 --> 00:14:58,740
Seriously.

382
00:14:58,740 --> 00:15:01,300
I have a lot of problems coordinating, man.

383
00:15:01,300 --> 00:15:02,340
Never had.

384
00:15:02,340 --> 00:15:03,540
I never had that.

385
00:15:03,540 --> 00:15:04,340
Never had that.

386
00:15:04,340 --> 00:15:14,660
Even then, you know, many years ago, my brother, he had some friends, you know, some guys play

387
00:15:14,660 --> 00:15:16,340
some guitar, whatever.

388
00:15:16,340 --> 00:15:17,620
They came to my...

389
00:15:17,620 --> 00:15:19,540
We were staying in a flat at the time.

390
00:15:19,540 --> 00:15:23,700
I just hit it with them on the thing.

391
00:15:23,700 --> 00:15:24,820
That's it.

392
00:15:24,820 --> 00:15:26,820
I could just do it.

393
00:15:26,820 --> 00:15:29,620
Okay, okay.

394
00:15:29,620 --> 00:15:32,100
Now, which secondary school was that?

395
00:15:32,100 --> 00:15:33,620
SGI.

396
00:15:33,620 --> 00:15:35,620
Another SGI boy.

397
00:15:35,620 --> 00:15:37,620
The brass bassa one, okay?

398
00:15:37,620 --> 00:15:41,620
I had to qualify that one.

399
00:15:41,620 --> 00:15:42,820
Okay, okay, okay.

400
00:15:42,820 --> 00:15:48,500
Since you mentioned brass bassa, the one in brass bassa, you mentioned the brass bassa

401
00:15:48,500 --> 00:15:50,820
one in brass bassa, the one in town.

402
00:15:50,820 --> 00:15:52,420
There's not one museum.

403
00:15:52,420 --> 00:15:53,940
There's no longer a museum.

404
00:15:53,940 --> 00:15:56,260
Don't know what they're going to do with that building, but never mind.

405
00:15:56,260 --> 00:15:57,940
I'm not updated on that.

406
00:15:57,940 --> 00:16:08,340
But I dare say, for the guys in music and in media, in entertainment, or from your era,

407
00:16:08,340 --> 00:16:16,180
if they say they come from SGI town, brass bassa, then yeah, the talents came from that era

408
00:16:16,180 --> 00:16:18,180
in town.

409
00:16:18,180 --> 00:16:20,180
I don't know about the new ones after that.

410
00:16:20,180 --> 00:16:22,180
I don't know about the new ones.

411
00:16:22,180 --> 00:16:24,180
After that, they all came from my school, man.

412
00:16:24,180 --> 00:16:26,180
Which is?

413
00:16:26,180 --> 00:16:28,180
St. Pat's.

414
00:16:28,180 --> 00:16:30,180
That is brother school.

415
00:16:30,180 --> 00:16:32,180
This is how I slided in.

416
00:16:32,180 --> 00:16:34,180
Brother school.

417
00:16:34,180 --> 00:16:36,180
Yeah, Christian brother school.

418
00:16:36,180 --> 00:16:38,180
Now, it's interesting, man.

419
00:16:38,180 --> 00:16:40,180
Thanks for sharing that.

420
00:16:40,180 --> 00:16:44,180
But I'd just like to ask, since you say...

421
00:16:44,180 --> 00:16:52,180
Okay, I think we can confirm this, that Jimmy Lee's drumming, and how you've journeyed your

422
00:16:52,180 --> 00:16:58,180
entire life in the world of drumming, is actually an innate thing.

423
00:16:58,180 --> 00:17:00,180
It is talent.

424
00:17:00,180 --> 00:17:02,180
It is prodigious.

425
00:17:02,180 --> 00:17:04,180
You are a prodigy in drumming.

426
00:17:04,180 --> 00:17:06,180
You have this natural talent, right?

427
00:17:06,180 --> 00:17:08,180
But those days, they don't talk about it.

428
00:17:08,180 --> 00:17:12,180
Yeah, because you mentioned it before in a previous interview.

429
00:17:12,180 --> 00:17:14,180
You talked about nature and nurture in drumming.

430
00:17:14,180 --> 00:17:16,180
And you believe that...

431
00:17:16,180 --> 00:17:20,180
You believe... I'm not going to quote verbatim because I didn't put it down to be...

432
00:17:20,180 --> 00:17:22,180
I'm going to be a real nice guy and not quote verbatim.

433
00:17:22,180 --> 00:17:28,180
You said that it's more nature than it is nurture.

434
00:17:28,180 --> 00:17:30,180
Do you still believe in that today?

435
00:17:30,180 --> 00:17:32,180
Now that you've got students in your teaching.

436
00:17:32,180 --> 00:17:34,180
I do, I do.

437
00:17:34,180 --> 00:17:40,180
So, do you have students that don't have it in nature, but love to play the drums,

438
00:17:40,180 --> 00:17:42,180
and you nurtured them to play?

439
00:17:42,180 --> 00:17:44,180
Yes, I do.

440
00:17:44,180 --> 00:17:50,180
So, can you actually tell me now that those guys, that category of drummers that you've trained,

441
00:17:50,180 --> 00:17:54,180
they were not natural, but they've been nurtured by you,

442
00:17:54,180 --> 00:18:00,180
can play as well as those that are natural and trained by you?

443
00:18:00,180 --> 00:18:02,180
Or is there a difference?

444
00:18:02,180 --> 00:18:04,180
Okay.

445
00:18:04,180 --> 00:18:06,180
Somehow in music...

446
00:18:06,180 --> 00:18:08,180
Let me see.

447
00:18:08,180 --> 00:18:10,180
The feeling of it, the feel.

448
00:18:10,180 --> 00:18:12,180
Right.

449
00:18:12,180 --> 00:18:22,180
So, if a student, okay, if I make him to teach him how to play to a certain level that he can come and gig,

450
00:18:22,180 --> 00:18:24,180
it will sound good too.

451
00:18:24,180 --> 00:18:26,180
But what...

452
00:18:26,180 --> 00:18:32,180
The element there, the little thing there, the missing thing might be the FEEL I'm talking about.

453
00:18:32,180 --> 00:18:34,180
When you say feel, you mean the groove.

454
00:18:34,180 --> 00:18:36,180
To feel the music.

455
00:18:36,180 --> 00:18:38,180
I learned this term.

456
00:18:38,180 --> 00:18:40,180
That is...

457
00:18:40,180 --> 00:18:42,180
Akin to what you've just said about feel.

458
00:18:42,180 --> 00:18:44,180
Because I know you mentioned that in another interview.

459
00:18:44,180 --> 00:18:46,180
It's got to be very natural feeling.

460
00:18:46,180 --> 00:18:52,180
Okay, what I listen to, say, my favorite drummer, Steve Gat,

461
00:18:52,180 --> 00:18:56,180
I could feel it from him when he plays.

462
00:18:56,180 --> 00:18:58,180
When I listen to him.

463
00:18:58,180 --> 00:19:04,180
But some people are so technical that I think it's very good, but I cannot feel it.

464
00:19:04,180 --> 00:19:08,180
I think I've come to a point now that I've spoken to a lot of musos about Aaliyah, I spoke to her about this as well.

465
00:19:08,180 --> 00:19:10,180
I think I spoke to Owen Lee about this, right?

466
00:19:10,180 --> 00:19:12,180
Kai, I think I did.

467
00:19:12,180 --> 00:19:14,180
I think so, yes.

468
00:19:14,180 --> 00:19:18,180
Between the difference between a technical player and a musical player.

469
00:19:18,180 --> 00:19:20,180
Right.

470
00:19:20,180 --> 00:19:24,180
So, you're saying the feel is about whether or not you're musical or technical.

471
00:19:24,180 --> 00:19:26,180
Can't a person have both?

472
00:19:26,180 --> 00:19:28,180
You can.

473
00:19:28,180 --> 00:19:30,180
Of course.

474
00:19:30,180 --> 00:19:32,180
I mean, if you're born naturally, you can.

475
00:19:32,180 --> 00:19:34,180
You really went to the New York Drummers Collective.

476
00:19:34,180 --> 00:19:38,180
Jimmy Lee is talented, which is why I'm paying tribute to you.

477
00:19:38,180 --> 00:19:40,180
Thank you again.

478
00:19:40,180 --> 00:19:44,180
And you went to the prestigious New York Drummers Collective.

479
00:19:44,180 --> 00:19:46,180
You went there to learn.

480
00:19:46,180 --> 00:19:52,180
Why did Jimmy Lee find a need to learn, even though you're so talented already?

481
00:19:52,180 --> 00:19:54,180
Because, okay, very simple.

482
00:19:54,180 --> 00:20:03,180
Now, the Singapore music scene was, all those days, it was just with this old pioneer people who you learn from, right?

483
00:20:03,180 --> 00:20:08,180
And at the same time, my genre, I like to listen to those fusion.

484
00:20:08,180 --> 00:20:10,180
Jazz fusion.

485
00:20:10,180 --> 00:20:12,180
Jazz fusion.

486
00:20:12,180 --> 00:20:17,180
And like I say, my favourite drummers are like Steve Gadd, this Dave Becker, Oveir Neogra.

487
00:20:17,180 --> 00:20:18,180
All this kind of thing.

488
00:20:18,180 --> 00:20:20,180
Nobody could change.

489
00:20:20,180 --> 00:20:22,180
We don't have that.

490
00:20:22,180 --> 00:20:26,180
We didn't have the videos.

491
00:20:26,180 --> 00:20:28,180
We couldn't access videos those days.

492
00:20:28,180 --> 00:20:30,180
Pardon me for asking.

493
00:20:30,180 --> 00:20:32,180
I'm sorry to interject here.

494
00:20:32,180 --> 00:20:34,180
But what year was that?

495
00:20:34,180 --> 00:20:36,180
The 70s, 80s?

496
00:20:36,180 --> 00:20:40,180
I went to US in 89.

497
00:20:40,180 --> 00:20:42,180
89? That was a little later already.

498
00:20:42,180 --> 00:20:44,180
Before that.

499
00:20:44,180 --> 00:20:48,180
So I was studying, I was drumming from 1974.

500
00:20:48,180 --> 00:20:50,180
Okay.

501
00:20:50,180 --> 00:20:53,180
Between 70 something to 80.

502
00:20:53,180 --> 00:20:56,180
There was no educational videos.

503
00:20:56,180 --> 00:20:57,180
There wasn't?

504
00:20:57,180 --> 00:20:59,180
There wasn't.

505
00:20:59,180 --> 00:21:07,180
And the materials, when I went to the US, then you open your eyes to see, there are a lot of materials over there.

506
00:21:07,180 --> 00:21:08,180
Right.

507
00:21:08,180 --> 00:21:09,180
So I listened.

508
00:21:09,180 --> 00:21:15,180
And those days, I listened to, like I say, Gadd, and Chick Corea, with all these people.

509
00:21:15,180 --> 00:21:19,180
And that kind of drumming really enticed me.

510
00:21:19,180 --> 00:21:23,180
It really gave me the inspiration to want to learn how to play those kind of stuff.

511
00:21:23,180 --> 00:21:29,180
And then what I did was, every time I go to the record shop.

512
00:21:29,180 --> 00:21:33,180
You know, I was at Plaza Singapura those days.

513
00:21:33,180 --> 00:21:35,180
Record shop.

514
00:21:35,180 --> 00:21:41,180
You know, last time, I would just, I would buy the record and see, oh, is this drummer Steve Gadd playing?

515
00:21:41,180 --> 00:21:42,180
That kind of thing.

516
00:21:42,180 --> 00:21:44,180
And then I'll just go back and listen.

517
00:21:44,180 --> 00:21:47,180
And I'll buy the cassette tape, you know, cassette tape.

518
00:21:47,180 --> 00:21:50,180
I'm not that young, don't worry about it.

519
00:21:50,180 --> 00:21:54,180
Cassette tape, and I borrowed a player from my friend.

520
00:21:54,180 --> 00:21:57,180
He had a player that he could slow down the tape.

521
00:21:57,180 --> 00:21:58,180
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

522
00:21:58,180 --> 00:21:59,180
Right?

523
00:21:59,180 --> 00:22:00,180
Yeah, yeah.

524
00:22:00,180 --> 00:22:02,180
And I had catch the links to how they play from there.

525
00:22:02,180 --> 00:22:04,180
Oh, okay.

526
00:22:04,180 --> 00:22:12,180
And so from then, I told myself that I would like to go and learn properly this kind of stuff.

527
00:22:12,180 --> 00:22:14,180
Because there are formulas.

528
00:22:14,180 --> 00:22:16,180
So you wanted to sharpen the axe.

529
00:22:16,180 --> 00:22:17,180
Yeah.

530
00:22:17,180 --> 00:22:20,180
There are formulas on how to do it.

531
00:22:20,180 --> 00:22:21,180
There are formulas.

532
00:22:21,180 --> 00:22:25,180
There are ways of, like a fundamental way to come into, leading to that, right?

533
00:22:25,180 --> 00:22:26,180
That's why I decided to go.

534
00:22:26,180 --> 00:22:31,180
But was it really helpful for you, you know, being in the drummer's collective in New York?

535
00:22:31,180 --> 00:22:32,180
Of course, of course.

536
00:22:32,180 --> 00:22:33,180
It really did help you out.

537
00:22:33,180 --> 00:22:35,180
It, different world altogether.

538
00:22:35,180 --> 00:22:37,180
Okay, so back to my previous question then.

539
00:22:37,180 --> 00:22:44,180
A guy who's, say for example, hypothetically, like you, went to the New York drummer's collective,

540
00:22:44,180 --> 00:22:47,180
came back, whoa, I've learned all that.

541
00:22:47,180 --> 00:22:48,180
It's all the technical stuff, huh?

542
00:22:48,180 --> 00:22:49,180
And he's musical.

543
00:22:49,180 --> 00:22:50,180
Right?

544
00:22:50,180 --> 00:22:51,180
Right.

545
00:22:51,180 --> 00:22:54,180
I mean, that's going to be a monster, isn't he?

546
00:22:54,180 --> 00:22:57,180
I'm not a monster.

547
00:22:57,180 --> 00:22:59,180
I don't think in that way.

548
00:22:59,180 --> 00:23:06,180
So, which is where I was saying, your students, you know, those guys who were born innate with that natural talent,

549
00:23:06,180 --> 00:23:09,180
they've got the musicality, they've got the feel.

550
00:23:09,180 --> 00:23:13,180
And then you add that with Jimmy Lee's instructions, you know?

551
00:23:13,180 --> 00:23:15,180
Yeah, they'll go somewhere.

552
00:23:15,180 --> 00:23:17,180
They become monsters too.

553
00:23:17,180 --> 00:23:21,180
But the guys who don't have that feel, can they become monsters?

554
00:23:21,180 --> 00:23:22,180
They can.

555
00:23:22,180 --> 00:23:23,180
They just have to work harder.

556
00:23:23,180 --> 00:23:24,180
To work harder at what?

557
00:23:24,180 --> 00:23:25,180
To get the feel?

558
00:23:25,180 --> 00:23:26,180
To practice.

559
00:23:26,180 --> 00:23:28,180
Feeling of the music, you cannot teach.

560
00:23:28,180 --> 00:23:29,180
You can't cultivate that.

561
00:23:29,180 --> 00:23:30,180
You cannot teach.

562
00:23:30,180 --> 00:23:31,180
I have to say that.

563
00:23:31,180 --> 00:23:32,180
Really?

564
00:23:32,180 --> 00:23:35,180
There's no way you can cultivate someone to, he wants badly to do it.

565
00:23:35,180 --> 00:23:37,180
Let's say he wants badly to do it.

566
00:23:37,180 --> 00:23:38,180
I don't think you can.

567
00:23:38,180 --> 00:23:44,180
I think maybe to a little bit only to try to imitate or emulate or whatever.

568
00:23:44,180 --> 00:23:46,180
So the guy's a num nut.

569
00:23:46,180 --> 00:23:48,180
He plays music but he's a num nut.

570
00:23:48,180 --> 00:23:50,180
The feeling is different.

571
00:23:50,180 --> 00:23:52,180
The feeling is from the heart.

572
00:23:52,180 --> 00:23:54,180
The insight.

573
00:23:54,180 --> 00:23:55,180
Okay.

574
00:23:55,180 --> 00:23:57,180
I'm trying to ask myself whether I'm a num nut.

575
00:23:57,180 --> 00:24:09,180
So your drumming influences, were there anyone here in maybe in your own personal life other

576
00:24:09,180 --> 00:24:14,180
than Steve Gatz and all these guys that you grew up listening to and loving their music,

577
00:24:14,180 --> 00:24:21,180
were there any personal influences in your life that helped you shape your style?

578
00:24:21,180 --> 00:24:23,180
Yeah.

579
00:24:23,180 --> 00:24:28,180
Actually, when I, okay, my teacher, my first teacher was Tony Zee.

580
00:24:28,180 --> 00:24:29,180
Wow.

581
00:24:29,180 --> 00:24:30,180
Okay.

582
00:24:30,180 --> 00:24:32,180
Great, great person.

583
00:24:32,180 --> 00:24:34,180
From Jaramzie, right?

584
00:24:34,180 --> 00:24:35,180
Was he part of Jaramzie?

585
00:24:35,180 --> 00:24:36,180
Yeah.

586
00:24:36,180 --> 00:24:37,180
Jeremy and Romney.

587
00:24:37,180 --> 00:24:38,180
Yeah, I learned from him.

588
00:24:38,180 --> 00:24:45,180
Then actually he was my only teacher here and he was the one who actually led me to the

589
00:24:45,180 --> 00:24:46,180
music scene.

590
00:24:46,180 --> 00:24:52,180
So in a sense, like, you know, mentioned about me to the people and then, you know,

591
00:24:52,180 --> 00:24:53,180
I got into the scene.

592
00:24:53,180 --> 00:24:55,180
Is Tony Zee still playing?

593
00:24:55,180 --> 00:24:56,180
I think so.

594
00:24:56,180 --> 00:24:57,180
I think he's still playing.

595
00:24:57,180 --> 00:24:59,180
Haven't heard about him in a long time.

596
00:24:59,180 --> 00:25:03,180
Yeah, he's still doing, he's still playing, I think.

597
00:25:03,180 --> 00:25:05,180
And so that was from him.

598
00:25:05,180 --> 00:25:07,180
In Singapore, it's only him.

599
00:25:07,180 --> 00:25:13,180
And I've seen people like Louis Suliano, great jazz drummer.

600
00:25:13,180 --> 00:25:18,180
I would say he's really one of the best jazz drummer here.

601
00:25:18,180 --> 00:25:24,180
I told Stephen and Rob the last time they were here during for this show and I did mention

602
00:25:24,180 --> 00:25:30,180
that I did send an invite to pay tribute to Louis Suliano and Louis doesn't remember me.

603
00:25:30,180 --> 00:25:33,180
I called him and said, what do you mean you don't remember me?

604
00:25:33,180 --> 00:25:36,180
It's very hard for people to forget who I am, man.

605
00:25:36,180 --> 00:25:41,180
But then again, you know, the guy's 85, you know, and he actually very nicely said that,

606
00:25:41,180 --> 00:25:43,180
Chris, I'm too old for this.

607
00:25:43,180 --> 00:25:45,180
Talk to the younger guys.

608
00:25:45,180 --> 00:25:46,180
Yeah, okay.

609
00:25:46,180 --> 00:25:50,180
I mean, I used to watch him play almost every night.

610
00:25:50,180 --> 00:25:51,180
It's a great drummer.

611
00:25:51,180 --> 00:25:57,180
Yeah, when he was at the Ritz-Carlton together with Mervyn Donis and, you know, and wow,

612
00:25:57,180 --> 00:26:00,180
and Kenny, the man, scat.

613
00:26:00,180 --> 00:26:05,180
And then the other jazz drummer passed on, Sanib, his mom.

614
00:26:05,180 --> 00:26:07,180
Oh, I played the Sanib.

615
00:26:07,180 --> 00:26:08,180
Great drummer.

616
00:26:08,180 --> 00:26:11,180
His son now is playing.

617
00:26:11,180 --> 00:26:13,180
So these are the three of them.

618
00:26:13,180 --> 00:26:16,180
Ah, Sanib was one of them.

619
00:26:16,180 --> 00:26:17,180
Sanib was a monster, man.

620
00:26:17,180 --> 00:26:18,180
Those days, yeah.

621
00:26:18,180 --> 00:26:19,180
And then I came in.

622
00:26:19,180 --> 00:26:20,180
Yeah.

623
00:26:20,180 --> 00:26:23,180
I had Bonnie, Bonnie Face and Wendy on the show.

624
00:26:23,180 --> 00:26:24,180
I paid tribute to them.

625
00:26:24,180 --> 00:26:32,180
And, you know, and I actually mentioned Sanib because I had, I was so fortunate to have

626
00:26:32,180 --> 00:26:34,180
had played with Sanib.

627
00:26:34,180 --> 00:26:36,180
Oh my goodness, that guy.

628
00:26:36,180 --> 00:26:37,180
Very good.

629
00:26:37,180 --> 00:26:38,180
Fluid, man.

630
00:26:38,180 --> 00:26:39,180
He's so fluid.

631
00:26:39,180 --> 00:26:40,180
Oh, yeah.

632
00:26:40,180 --> 00:26:43,180
So these are the three of them.

633
00:26:43,180 --> 00:26:44,180
The three of them, huh?

634
00:26:44,180 --> 00:26:45,180
Yeah.

635
00:26:45,180 --> 00:26:48,180
But the educational side was from Tony Moore.

636
00:26:48,180 --> 00:26:49,180
Okay.

637
00:26:49,180 --> 00:26:55,180
And then for someone, let's talk about the art of drumming, okay?

638
00:26:55,180 --> 00:27:01,180
For someone just starting out, what would you look out for?

639
00:27:01,180 --> 00:27:08,180
What are the essential rudiments they, well, rather, what should they at least have for

640
00:27:08,180 --> 00:27:11,180
you to be able to say to them, okay, I'll teach you.

641
00:27:11,180 --> 00:27:12,180
I think you can.

642
00:27:12,180 --> 00:27:14,180
What should they have in them?

643
00:27:14,180 --> 00:27:17,180
The attitude must be right.

644
00:27:17,180 --> 00:27:18,180
Yeah.

645
00:27:18,180 --> 00:27:25,180
Because some of them, they, you see, but like currently I'm teaching still at Kawai Music

646
00:27:25,180 --> 00:27:26,180
School.

647
00:27:26,180 --> 00:27:27,180
Okay.

648
00:27:27,180 --> 00:27:28,180
Yeah.

649
00:27:28,180 --> 00:27:29,180
I'm at Kawai now.

650
00:27:29,180 --> 00:27:30,180
Okay.

651
00:27:30,180 --> 00:27:35,180
And when they come in, let's say if a new student come in, I will sit down with them

652
00:27:35,180 --> 00:27:41,180
and then listen to how he or she play, whatever.

653
00:27:41,180 --> 00:27:44,180
Sometimes it's, they can't, they know zero.

654
00:27:44,180 --> 00:27:45,180
Yeah.

655
00:27:45,180 --> 00:27:47,180
Then I will just have to talk to them.

656
00:27:47,180 --> 00:27:50,180
And if they were introduced to the course to them, and if they really want to learn,

657
00:27:50,180 --> 00:27:52,180
they have to go through it.

658
00:27:52,180 --> 00:27:53,180
Okay.

659
00:27:53,180 --> 00:27:54,180
From scratch.

660
00:27:54,180 --> 00:27:55,180
Right.

661
00:27:55,180 --> 00:27:56,180
Yeah.

662
00:27:56,180 --> 00:27:58,180
But there are some people who already learn.

663
00:27:58,180 --> 00:28:03,180
But if I feel that they're missing a lot of fundamentals, then I will explain and say

664
00:28:03,180 --> 00:28:05,180
you need to go back to base.

665
00:28:05,180 --> 00:28:06,180
Do that.

666
00:28:06,180 --> 00:28:07,180
Before I will take you.

667
00:28:07,180 --> 00:28:08,180
Okay.

668
00:28:08,180 --> 00:28:09,180
If not, I will not.

669
00:28:09,180 --> 00:28:11,180
Because you have to accept that.

670
00:28:11,180 --> 00:28:12,180
Right.

671
00:28:12,180 --> 00:28:14,180
You're just not built for it, is it?

672
00:28:14,180 --> 00:28:15,180
Yeah.

673
00:28:15,180 --> 00:28:16,180
Not say not built, not ready for it.

674
00:28:16,180 --> 00:28:22,180
It's like, I'm not saying other people's education are not right or whatever, but

675
00:28:22,180 --> 00:28:27,180
some of them, the students don't practice the whatever the teacher asks them to do.

676
00:28:27,180 --> 00:28:28,180
Right.

677
00:28:28,180 --> 00:28:31,180
And then if they feel that that teacher is not happening, you don't come to me, you

678
00:28:31,180 --> 00:28:33,180
know, I think it's not fair.

679
00:28:33,180 --> 00:28:34,180
Okay.

680
00:28:34,180 --> 00:28:35,180
Right.

681
00:28:35,180 --> 00:28:36,180
Okay.

682
00:28:36,180 --> 00:28:39,180
It's a boils down to that person learning.

683
00:28:39,180 --> 00:28:40,180
What was that?

684
00:28:40,180 --> 00:28:43,180
So it boils down to the person who's going to learn, right?

685
00:28:43,180 --> 00:28:49,180
If you never work on all these kinds of fundamentals, then I will have to make sure that you do

686
00:28:49,180 --> 00:28:50,180
it.

687
00:28:50,180 --> 00:28:54,180
And if you want to do it, then I'll take you.

688
00:28:54,180 --> 00:29:01,180
If a person shows that basically they don't have it at all, not just by fundamentals,

689
00:29:01,180 --> 00:29:06,180
let's say I come and I have a coordination problem, but I want to badly learn the drums.

690
00:29:06,180 --> 00:29:07,180
Okay.

691
00:29:07,180 --> 00:29:09,180
So I shouldn't really attempt it, should I?

692
00:29:09,180 --> 00:29:11,180
No, you can attempt.

693
00:29:11,180 --> 00:29:14,180
Because like I say, that's a method.

694
00:29:14,180 --> 00:29:15,180
Okay.

695
00:29:15,180 --> 00:29:16,180
Right.

696
00:29:16,180 --> 00:29:17,180
That's a method.

697
00:29:17,180 --> 00:29:20,180
Like say some people, the coordination is not there.

698
00:29:20,180 --> 00:29:21,180
Right.

699
00:29:21,180 --> 00:29:22,180
Playing drums is not.

700
00:29:22,180 --> 00:29:23,180
Okay.

701
00:29:23,180 --> 00:29:24,180
So I have a question.

702
00:29:24,180 --> 00:29:25,180
How many limbs do you play drums?

703
00:29:25,180 --> 00:29:26,180
Four.

704
00:29:26,180 --> 00:29:27,180
Four.

705
00:29:27,180 --> 00:29:28,180
Yeah.

706
00:29:28,180 --> 00:29:29,180
Then you can be a drummer.

707
00:29:29,180 --> 00:29:32,180
I mean, it's obvious it's four.

708
00:29:32,180 --> 00:29:33,180
Yeah.

709
00:29:33,180 --> 00:29:34,180
Okay.

710
00:29:34,180 --> 00:29:40,180
So the method, right, you just need to slowly, you can have patience as a teacher, right,

711
00:29:40,180 --> 00:29:42,180
to train the student.

712
00:29:42,180 --> 00:29:44,180
The patience is the number one key.

713
00:29:44,180 --> 00:29:45,180
Right.

714
00:29:45,180 --> 00:29:46,180
Okay.

715
00:29:46,180 --> 00:29:48,180
But not kids here for me.

716
00:29:48,180 --> 00:29:49,180
Not kids.

717
00:29:49,180 --> 00:29:50,180
For me it's difficult.

718
00:29:50,180 --> 00:29:51,180
The kids, I can't.

719
00:29:51,180 --> 00:29:52,180
To a certain age, yes.

720
00:29:52,180 --> 00:29:54,180
But you just have to get them to coordinate.

721
00:29:54,180 --> 00:29:55,180
Yeah.

722
00:29:55,180 --> 00:29:56,180
By reading.

723
00:29:56,180 --> 00:29:57,180
Okay.

724
00:29:57,180 --> 00:29:58,180
It will be a good start.

725
00:29:58,180 --> 00:29:59,180
Right.

726
00:29:59,180 --> 00:30:00,180
Just play what you see.

727
00:30:00,180 --> 00:30:02,180
So drum, the drum notes.

728
00:30:02,180 --> 00:30:03,180
The drum notes.

729
00:30:03,180 --> 00:30:04,180
Okay.

730
00:30:04,180 --> 00:30:05,180
Play what you see.

731
00:30:05,180 --> 00:30:09,180
If I write, say for example, write eight of them with your right hand, you just play right

732
00:30:09,180 --> 00:30:10,180
hand.

733
00:30:10,180 --> 00:30:13,180
And then if that part you need to, you need to hit it together, you just hit it together.

734
00:30:13,180 --> 00:30:15,180
That's how you create coordination, right?

735
00:30:15,180 --> 00:30:16,180
Correct.

736
00:30:16,180 --> 00:30:18,180
You make it sound so easy.

737
00:30:18,180 --> 00:30:19,180
Yes, it's so easy.

738
00:30:19,180 --> 00:30:22,180
You know why I ask you this question?

739
00:30:22,180 --> 00:30:24,180
Many, not many, my son is still young.

740
00:30:24,180 --> 00:30:26,180
My son is turning 16 this year.

741
00:30:26,180 --> 00:30:31,180
Several years back when he was in primary school, he said to the both of us that he

742
00:30:31,180 --> 00:30:33,180
would like to learn to play the drums.

743
00:30:33,180 --> 00:30:36,180
Without mentioning it is the name of the establishment.

744
00:30:36,180 --> 00:30:39,180
I brought him there for a trial.

745
00:30:39,180 --> 00:30:40,180
Okay.

746
00:30:40,180 --> 00:30:41,180
Okay.

747
00:30:41,180 --> 00:30:44,180
And this drum teacher or this drum coach was there.

748
00:30:44,180 --> 00:30:48,180
And the way I saw him handle my son, now don't get me wrong, I'm not a helicopter parent.

749
00:30:48,180 --> 00:30:49,180
Right.

750
00:30:49,180 --> 00:30:50,180
Okay.

751
00:30:50,180 --> 00:30:53,180
I understand the need to be, to sometimes be firm.

752
00:30:53,180 --> 00:30:54,180
Yeah.

753
00:30:54,180 --> 00:30:58,180
But there is a right kind of firmness and there's a wrong kind of firmness.

754
00:30:58,180 --> 00:30:59,180
And I teach as well.

755
00:30:59,180 --> 00:31:02,180
As you can see, I got a white board in my studio, right?

756
00:31:02,180 --> 00:31:04,180
So I teach public speaking.

757
00:31:04,180 --> 00:31:05,180
I teach voice.

758
00:31:05,180 --> 00:31:11,180
Now, when I was there watching this guy go through stuff with my, I think he was 10 or

759
00:31:11,180 --> 00:31:13,180
11 only at the time.

760
00:31:13,180 --> 00:31:14,180
Okay.

761
00:31:14,180 --> 00:31:17,180
And the way he was talking to my son, the impatience.

762
00:31:17,180 --> 00:31:21,180
I swear he would have taken a drumstick to knock him on his knuckles.

763
00:31:21,180 --> 00:31:27,180
I just think that that is a wrong kind of education, especially for music.

764
00:31:27,180 --> 00:31:31,180
You're really going to turn people off, especially at a young age from music.

765
00:31:31,180 --> 00:31:34,180
And there's one guy I won't, I will never pay tribute to.

766
00:31:34,180 --> 00:31:37,180
I'll take tomatoes, the rotten ones and throw it in.

767
00:31:37,180 --> 00:31:40,180
I think he's a bollocks man.

768
00:31:40,180 --> 00:31:46,180
No, really in order to, you want to instruct students, you want to be a teacher or a teacher

769
00:31:46,180 --> 00:31:49,180
or train, you got to be patient.

770
00:31:49,180 --> 00:31:55,180
You know, you got to be patient and get them to play and explain to them.

771
00:31:55,180 --> 00:31:56,180
Yeah.

772
00:31:56,180 --> 00:31:57,180
Then they'll understand.

773
00:31:57,180 --> 00:31:58,180
Right.

774
00:31:58,180 --> 00:32:02,180
Of course, I, I, I, that's something I completely concur with.

775
00:32:02,180 --> 00:32:04,180
But Jimmy, is it true?

776
00:32:04,180 --> 00:32:06,180
Because I've heard this since I was in school.

777
00:32:06,180 --> 00:32:07,180
Let me tell you something, man.

778
00:32:07,180 --> 00:32:08,180
Why I said earlier-

779
00:32:08,180 --> 00:32:09,180
You're talking about in school, St. Pat's.

780
00:32:09,180 --> 00:32:10,180
St. Pat's.

781
00:32:10,180 --> 00:32:11,180
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

782
00:32:11,180 --> 00:32:13,180
I'm going to go with this now.

783
00:32:13,180 --> 00:32:16,180
And now that you, I wanted to say that.

784
00:32:16,180 --> 00:32:17,180
Okay.

785
00:32:17,180 --> 00:32:18,180
St. Pat's when I was in school.

786
00:32:18,180 --> 00:32:19,180
Yeah.

787
00:32:19,180 --> 00:32:20,180
We had a lot of great guys, man.

788
00:32:20,180 --> 00:32:21,180
We had Boon Chye.

789
00:32:21,180 --> 00:32:22,180
Oh, Boon Chye?

790
00:32:22,180 --> 00:32:23,180
Oh yeah.

791
00:32:23,180 --> 00:32:24,180
I don't know.

792
00:32:24,180 --> 00:32:25,180
Bong?

793
00:32:25,180 --> 00:32:26,180
Yeah, Bong I know.

794
00:32:26,180 --> 00:32:27,180
Yeah.

795
00:32:27,180 --> 00:32:28,180
These guys are just a year of my senior.

796
00:32:28,180 --> 00:32:29,180
Right.

797
00:32:29,180 --> 00:32:30,180
There was this drummer, man.

798
00:32:30,180 --> 00:32:31,180
The late Edmund Branson.

799
00:32:31,180 --> 00:32:32,180
Oh, Edmund Branson.

800
00:32:32,180 --> 00:32:33,180
Also from St. Pat's.

801
00:32:33,180 --> 00:32:34,180
Yes.

802
00:32:34,180 --> 00:32:35,180
But he's good drummer.

803
00:32:35,180 --> 00:32:36,180
Oh man.

804
00:32:36,180 --> 00:32:38,180
These guys were playing jazz fusion in school.

805
00:32:38,180 --> 00:32:39,180
Yeah.

806
00:32:39,180 --> 00:32:40,180
We were playing Shack Attack.

807
00:32:40,180 --> 00:32:41,180
You know, you-

808
00:32:41,180 --> 00:32:42,180
Oh ho ho.

809
00:32:42,180 --> 00:32:43,180
Oh my goodness me.

810
00:32:43,180 --> 00:32:44,180
Good drummer.

811
00:32:44,180 --> 00:32:45,180
Bong, Boon Chye, Edmund Branson.

812
00:32:45,180 --> 00:32:46,180
You see, my generation of St. Pat's.

813
00:32:46,180 --> 00:32:47,180
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

814
00:32:47,180 --> 00:32:48,180
Yeah.

815
00:32:48,180 --> 00:32:49,180
And they were playing jazz fusion.

816
00:32:49,180 --> 00:32:58,180
Then from that time, I've always heard this from then to now.

817
00:32:58,180 --> 00:32:59,180
I don't know.

818
00:32:59,180 --> 00:33:00,180
I want to confirm it with you.

819
00:33:00,180 --> 00:33:01,180
Yeah.

820
00:33:01,180 --> 00:33:09,060
Is it true that once a drummer can play jazz, he can play any genre?

821
00:33:09,060 --> 00:33:13,060
I would say yes and a little bit no.

822
00:33:13,060 --> 00:33:15,060
Okay, that's a bit-

823
00:33:15,060 --> 00:33:19,740
Yeah, you see, on drumming, my point is this.

824
00:33:19,740 --> 00:33:23,180
Now jazz music, right, when you talk about jazz, it depends on what you talk about.

825
00:33:23,180 --> 00:33:25,660
You talk about swing or you talk about fusion or what?

826
00:33:25,660 --> 00:33:26,660
I don't know.

827
00:33:26,660 --> 00:33:27,660
I mean, jazz, I don't know.

828
00:33:27,660 --> 00:33:28,660
That's all I heard, jazz.

829
00:33:28,660 --> 00:33:29,660
In school, me now.

830
00:33:29,660 --> 00:33:30,660
Yeah.

831
00:33:30,660 --> 00:33:32,660
So, now pop is different.

832
00:33:32,660 --> 00:33:33,660
Yeah, okay.

833
00:33:33,660 --> 00:33:34,660
Pop, you need to be in the pocket.

834
00:33:34,660 --> 00:33:36,980
What do you mean by pocket?

835
00:33:36,980 --> 00:33:40,220
It's spot on to the tempo.

836
00:33:40,220 --> 00:33:44,820
You cannot, you can afford to run or drag a very slight-

837
00:33:44,820 --> 00:33:46,420
You mean improvise?

838
00:33:46,420 --> 00:33:47,420
No, tempo.

839
00:33:47,420 --> 00:33:48,420
Okay.

840
00:33:48,420 --> 00:33:52,620
It's all about tempo, you know, because the singer needs to sing, especially for example,

841
00:33:52,620 --> 00:33:55,500
my case, I play for all these artists, right?

842
00:33:55,500 --> 00:34:03,420
I need to be very steady in my tempo so that the singer can deliver the lyrics, you know,

843
00:34:03,420 --> 00:34:04,740
the phrasing and everything.

844
00:34:04,740 --> 00:34:09,420
But if you fluctuate a lot, then it's very difficult for them.

845
00:34:09,420 --> 00:34:10,420
Sure.

846
00:34:10,420 --> 00:34:11,420
Correct?

847
00:34:11,420 --> 00:34:12,420
Yes.

848
00:34:12,420 --> 00:34:15,820
Now, when you play all those funk and all those good, it needs to be like that.

849
00:34:15,820 --> 00:34:21,140
But if it's swing, which is straight ahead swing, it's usually ahead in tempo.

850
00:34:21,140 --> 00:34:22,140
Yeah.

851
00:34:22,140 --> 00:34:30,460
So, as a drummer, for example, if you want to be an all-rounder, you must really listen

852
00:34:30,460 --> 00:34:33,540
to all the different genres.

853
00:34:33,540 --> 00:34:34,540
Right.

854
00:34:34,540 --> 00:34:35,540
So, you can play them.

855
00:34:35,540 --> 00:34:36,540
Okay.

856
00:34:36,540 --> 00:34:41,460
So, what you're saying is that if you can play jazz, swing specifically?

857
00:34:41,460 --> 00:34:46,860
Swing has, for drummer, it could be independence.

858
00:34:46,860 --> 00:34:47,860
Yeah.

859
00:34:47,860 --> 00:34:48,980
So, you should be able to play-

860
00:34:48,980 --> 00:34:49,980
It's more expressive.

861
00:34:49,980 --> 00:34:50,980
Yeah, more expressive.

862
00:34:50,980 --> 00:34:52,540
So, you can play pop, everything.

863
00:34:52,540 --> 00:34:59,140
You can play, but whether your groove will be in the pocket is a question mark.

864
00:34:59,140 --> 00:35:00,140
Right.

865
00:35:00,140 --> 00:35:01,140
Yeah.

866
00:35:01,140 --> 00:35:02,140
Okay.

867
00:35:02,140 --> 00:35:03,140
Wow, that's interesting.

868
00:35:03,140 --> 00:35:06,300
You cannot, you see, jazz is very free.

869
00:35:06,300 --> 00:35:07,300
Yeah.

870
00:35:07,300 --> 00:35:09,380
When you play pop, you cannot be too free.

871
00:35:09,380 --> 00:35:10,380
Yeah.

872
00:35:10,380 --> 00:35:11,380
Because everything is so formatted.

873
00:35:11,380 --> 00:35:12,380
Yeah.

874
00:35:12,380 --> 00:35:13,380
Like you said, pocket, right?

875
00:35:13,380 --> 00:35:14,380
Yeah, pocket.

876
00:35:14,380 --> 00:35:15,380
It's more format.

877
00:35:15,380 --> 00:35:17,380
When to feel and what suits the music too.

878
00:35:17,380 --> 00:35:25,740
Now, can I then assume that Jimmy Lee can play anywhere from jazz, jazz fusion, swing,

879
00:35:25,740 --> 00:35:28,900
funk up to pop, up to rock even?

880
00:35:28,900 --> 00:35:31,740
Yes, I do.

881
00:35:31,740 --> 00:35:33,060
I play different genres.

882
00:35:33,060 --> 00:35:34,060
Yeah.

883
00:35:34,060 --> 00:35:35,060
So-

884
00:35:35,060 --> 00:35:36,060
I played them.

885
00:35:36,060 --> 00:35:38,620
So, when you, you had to learn this or is it in you also?

886
00:35:38,620 --> 00:35:39,620
I studied them.

887
00:35:39,620 --> 00:35:40,620
You studied them?

888
00:35:40,620 --> 00:35:41,620
Yes.

889
00:35:41,620 --> 00:35:47,100
Because when I went to, I mean, I studied swing, I studied Latin and pop and all.

890
00:35:47,100 --> 00:35:52,460
When I went to US, I took up different, different courses in collective itself.

891
00:35:52,460 --> 00:35:58,300
Plus, I paid an extra advanced course in it as well so that I can learn different, different

892
00:35:58,300 --> 00:35:59,300
stuff.

893
00:35:59,300 --> 00:36:00,300
Was it, was that experience for you?

894
00:36:00,300 --> 00:36:02,300
You know, paying money, yes, is one thing.

895
00:36:02,300 --> 00:36:04,860
But you obviously, the passion is there.

896
00:36:04,860 --> 00:36:08,100
Did it feel, every day is a joy just learning this?

897
00:36:08,100 --> 00:36:09,100
Oh yeah.

898
00:36:09,100 --> 00:36:12,700
I mean, learning something new is always nice for me.

899
00:36:12,700 --> 00:36:13,700
Okay, that's cool.

900
00:36:13,700 --> 00:36:14,700
I enjoy learning.

901
00:36:14,700 --> 00:36:19,260
And I was a trainee for Singapore Symphony Orchestra before.

902
00:36:19,260 --> 00:36:20,260
Who is it?

903
00:36:20,260 --> 00:36:21,260
Yeah, a short one.

904
00:36:21,260 --> 00:36:22,260
Wow.

905
00:36:22,260 --> 00:36:23,260
Yeah, but that's classical, you see.

906
00:36:23,260 --> 00:36:27,780
So, and I think I cannot make, I cannot do it.

907
00:36:27,780 --> 00:36:31,980
I can't because there's no drum set.

908
00:36:31,980 --> 00:36:34,940
And a good drummer, drum on just about anything.

909
00:36:34,940 --> 00:36:38,740
Unconventional instruments, bottles, like Sheila E, you know?

910
00:36:38,740 --> 00:36:39,740
Yeah, I know.

911
00:36:39,740 --> 00:36:41,820
But I have not thought about that yet.

912
00:36:41,820 --> 00:36:43,460
You know the story about Sheila E?

913
00:36:43,460 --> 00:36:44,460
No, I don't.

914
00:36:44,460 --> 00:36:45,460
I don't know.

915
00:36:45,460 --> 00:36:46,460
I'm married to Santana.

916
00:36:46,460 --> 00:36:48,460
Is she still married to Santana?

917
00:36:48,460 --> 00:36:49,460
I don't know.

918
00:36:49,460 --> 00:36:50,460
But a great drummer.

919
00:36:50,460 --> 00:36:51,460
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

920
00:36:51,460 --> 00:36:52,460
Percussionist, right?

921
00:36:52,460 --> 00:36:56,340
You know the song from Michael Jackson, Don't Stop Till Again Enough?

922
00:36:56,340 --> 00:37:02,300
You know the opening, the opening percussions before the song started, is Sheila E.

923
00:37:02,300 --> 00:37:03,300
Really?

924
00:37:03,300 --> 00:37:05,620
And you know how he found her?

925
00:37:05,620 --> 00:37:12,340
Because she proved it with just emptying water out of some bottles and then she was hitting

926
00:37:12,340 --> 00:37:13,340
it.

927
00:37:13,340 --> 00:37:14,340
She was hitting it.

928
00:37:14,340 --> 00:37:17,620
And that was, can I say riff?

929
00:37:17,620 --> 00:37:24,820
That is a riff for the starting strains before the song proper starts.

930
00:37:24,820 --> 00:37:26,580
Okay, that was Sheila E.

931
00:37:26,580 --> 00:37:27,580
That is interesting.

932
00:37:27,580 --> 00:37:33,540
So I was just wondering, do you think if any good drummer, given anything like Pails, Buckets,

933
00:37:33,540 --> 00:37:34,540
stuff...

934
00:37:34,540 --> 00:37:35,540
Probably can, yeah.

935
00:37:35,540 --> 00:37:39,820
Yeah, you can maybe, as long as it's a different tone or whatever, you can probably create

936
00:37:39,820 --> 00:37:40,820
a rhythm out of it.

937
00:37:40,820 --> 00:37:41,820
Okay.

938
00:37:41,820 --> 00:37:42,820
Yeah, because it's all about rhythm.

939
00:37:42,820 --> 00:37:44,540
So that's a fantastic thing about drumming, huh?

940
00:37:44,540 --> 00:37:45,540
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

941
00:37:45,540 --> 00:37:46,780
It's just about anything you can get.

942
00:37:46,780 --> 00:37:49,940
That's why these days there are so many drummers now.

943
00:37:49,940 --> 00:37:50,940
So many.

944
00:37:50,940 --> 00:37:51,940
Yeah.

945
00:37:51,940 --> 00:37:54,780
Yeah, kids, girls, come to the school.

946
00:37:54,780 --> 00:38:00,060
And these days, even despite the fact that the evolution of drumming from acoustic kits

947
00:38:00,060 --> 00:38:04,420
to electronic drums and the use of technology in music, there's still people learning how

948
00:38:04,420 --> 00:38:05,860
to play on skins.

949
00:38:05,860 --> 00:38:08,660
Okay, I have to say this.

950
00:38:08,660 --> 00:38:10,060
I really have to say.

951
00:38:10,060 --> 00:38:11,060
Please do.

952
00:38:11,060 --> 00:38:15,300
Because, okay, learning an instrument, especially drums, right?

953
00:38:15,300 --> 00:38:18,180
It's always best to learn on the acoustic kit.

954
00:38:18,180 --> 00:38:19,220
Okay.

955
00:38:19,220 --> 00:38:25,940
Because the acoustic kit is like an acoustic piano, right?

956
00:38:25,940 --> 00:38:30,140
Acoustic piano, if you are a classical player, if you learn something on acoustic piano,

957
00:38:30,140 --> 00:38:32,460
you need to have a nice piano touch.

958
00:38:32,460 --> 00:38:38,620
If you go on an organ or a keyboard, for example, the difference are really very little.

959
00:38:38,620 --> 00:38:39,620
I knew.

960
00:38:39,620 --> 00:38:40,620
Right.

961
00:38:40,620 --> 00:38:41,620
Acoustic drum is the same thing.

962
00:38:41,620 --> 00:38:47,660
When you hit the snare or hit the tom, you have a right swing and a nice touch.

963
00:38:47,660 --> 00:38:49,860
The tone will be very nice.

964
00:38:49,860 --> 00:38:51,860
That's why you need that movement.

965
00:38:51,860 --> 00:38:53,900
That's why we play on acoustic drum.

966
00:38:53,900 --> 00:38:58,060
But electronic drum, when you hit on it, it's there.

967
00:38:58,060 --> 00:38:59,060
It's synthetic.

968
00:38:59,060 --> 00:39:00,540
Yeah, you don't need to hit.

969
00:39:00,540 --> 00:39:05,060
So my students kept asking me, how come when I come to the studio, I can't play when I

970
00:39:05,060 --> 00:39:06,060
at home, I can play?

971
00:39:06,060 --> 00:39:08,020
Because at home, it's electronic kit.

972
00:39:08,020 --> 00:39:09,660
It make it easier for them to play.

973
00:39:09,660 --> 00:39:10,660
Right.

974
00:39:10,660 --> 00:39:13,660
And when I come to the studio, it's acoustic kit, they have problem.

975
00:39:13,660 --> 00:39:16,140
So the skill sets is different.

976
00:39:16,140 --> 00:39:17,860
Totally different.

977
00:39:17,860 --> 00:39:23,020
Now with the advent, not advent, I can't even say advent these days, man, because even our

978
00:39:23,020 --> 00:39:26,380
government budget giving money for this AI.

979
00:39:26,380 --> 00:39:31,980
Now with AI, isn't that a threat to good drummers like yourself?

980
00:39:31,980 --> 00:39:35,460
I don't know, but the threat has always been there really for a long time, even before

981
00:39:35,460 --> 00:39:36,460
AI.

982
00:39:36,460 --> 00:39:37,460
You have your drum machines and stuff.

983
00:39:37,460 --> 00:39:40,740
Yeah, all the plugins, all the loops and everything.

984
00:39:40,740 --> 00:39:41,740
Sure.

985
00:39:41,740 --> 00:39:47,740
But you think the AI, the sound might sound so authentic to an acoustic drum.

986
00:39:47,740 --> 00:39:49,980
It's already has been there even before AI.

987
00:39:49,980 --> 00:39:50,980
Right.

988
00:39:50,980 --> 00:39:52,460
And has it ever been a threat to guys like you?

989
00:39:52,460 --> 00:39:59,340
It has taken a lot of jobs for recordings, but not life.

990
00:39:59,340 --> 00:40:00,340
Okay.

991
00:40:00,340 --> 00:40:03,300
Because life, you still need a real player to play.

992
00:40:03,300 --> 00:40:06,980
Not unless they just go on program music, right?

993
00:40:06,980 --> 00:40:10,940
But in recording, those days we were recording like nearly every day.

994
00:40:10,940 --> 00:40:13,380
You know, now there's zero recording.

995
00:40:13,380 --> 00:40:14,380
Really?

996
00:40:14,380 --> 00:40:15,380
Zero.

997
00:40:15,380 --> 00:40:17,380
Once in a what?

998
00:40:17,380 --> 00:40:20,380
Blue moon, I would say.

999
00:40:20,380 --> 00:40:21,380
Really?

1000
00:40:21,380 --> 00:40:22,380
Wow.

1001
00:40:22,380 --> 00:40:28,540
Because the arrangers are having all the plugins and having all these things and they just

1002
00:40:28,540 --> 00:40:31,340
program even though they're not drummers, they program as such, the groove is there,

1003
00:40:31,340 --> 00:40:32,340
right?

1004
00:40:32,340 --> 00:40:33,340
Yeah.

1005
00:40:33,340 --> 00:40:34,340
So what do you think about this revolution?

1006
00:40:34,340 --> 00:40:39,780
I won't even call it a revolution because the revolution is too good a freaking word

1007
00:40:39,780 --> 00:40:40,780
for that.

1008
00:40:40,780 --> 00:40:43,540
I don't like AI too, you know, to be honest.

1009
00:40:43,540 --> 00:40:49,420
Only damn thing I like is to use my AI to help me come up with good stuff, you know,

1010
00:40:49,420 --> 00:40:50,420
in terms of drafts.

1011
00:40:50,420 --> 00:40:51,420
Ah, okay.

1012
00:40:51,420 --> 00:40:52,420
Yeah, yeah.

1013
00:40:52,420 --> 00:40:58,380
You know, the written word, you know, not for replacing a talent, you know, that's something

1014
00:40:58,380 --> 00:40:59,380
that I don't appreciate.

1015
00:40:59,380 --> 00:41:02,540
I think, yeah, to replace a talent is really a painful thing.

1016
00:41:02,540 --> 00:41:03,540
Yeah.

1017
00:41:03,540 --> 00:41:06,740
I don't really like it.

1018
00:41:06,740 --> 00:41:07,740
You don't like it either.

1019
00:41:07,740 --> 00:41:08,740
I don't like it.

1020
00:41:08,740 --> 00:41:12,580
Is there anything that it can replace guys like you?

1021
00:41:12,580 --> 00:41:18,740
To a certain point, but if it's a live performance, you cannot replace them.

1022
00:41:18,740 --> 00:41:21,620
For recording, yeah, they can replace or whatever.

1023
00:41:21,620 --> 00:41:28,060
I mean, we have been replaced already, no doubt, but for live, you see, when you go

1024
00:41:28,060 --> 00:41:33,180
for a concert or you go and go to a club, like these days, the club, sometimes you don't

1025
00:41:33,180 --> 00:41:34,180
see a drummer.

1026
00:41:34,180 --> 00:41:35,180
Right.

1027
00:41:35,180 --> 00:41:36,180
It's quite sad.

1028
00:41:36,180 --> 00:41:37,180
It is very sad.

1029
00:41:37,180 --> 00:41:38,180
It's very sad.

1030
00:41:38,180 --> 00:41:39,180
It's pathetic actually, right?

1031
00:41:39,180 --> 00:41:42,340
So that's the thing.

1032
00:41:42,340 --> 00:41:45,700
If you go to a club, you want to see a band, you want to see a real band.

1033
00:41:45,700 --> 00:41:46,700
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1034
00:41:46,700 --> 00:41:47,700
But the club is okay.

1035
00:41:47,700 --> 00:41:50,100
I don't know why, maybe budgeting, I don't know.

1036
00:41:50,100 --> 00:41:52,140
But if you go to a concert, you must have a drummer.

1037
00:41:52,140 --> 00:41:53,140
Yeah, yeah.

1038
00:41:53,140 --> 00:41:54,860
So you shouldn't, you cannot replace that.

1039
00:41:54,860 --> 00:41:57,020
See, that's a trouble, you see.

1040
00:41:57,020 --> 00:42:03,180
And every single person I've spoken with for this tribute show said the same thing.

1041
00:42:03,180 --> 00:42:07,900
I for one lament about this and I'm not going to talk so much about it because people get

1042
00:42:07,900 --> 00:42:11,820
to watch this episode after episode, hear me say the same damn thing.

1043
00:42:11,820 --> 00:42:17,420
And come on, I mean, we don't have that big sound anymore in our local bars and our clubs

1044
00:42:17,420 --> 00:42:22,300
and stuff because you're short of how many piece members of a band.

1045
00:42:22,300 --> 00:42:24,180
You have two pieces, you have three pieces.

1046
00:42:24,180 --> 00:42:27,420
You don't have your five piece at least anymore.

1047
00:42:27,420 --> 00:42:30,380
You don't have a drummer, you don't have a bassist.

1048
00:42:30,380 --> 00:42:34,940
And you've got guitarist, maybe a keyboard player, maybe a bleeding guy on a cajon sitting

1049
00:42:34,940 --> 00:42:35,940
on his backside.

1050
00:42:35,940 --> 00:42:38,020
And none of that is not nice.

1051
00:42:38,020 --> 00:42:44,620
It is nice, but you miss that big sound that we are so used to in the past.

1052
00:42:44,620 --> 00:42:48,220
And I lament about that because these people don't listen now.

1053
00:42:48,220 --> 00:42:50,700
Those bars are listening.

1054
00:42:50,700 --> 00:42:53,760
The bars are listening, they're bringing bands now.

1055
00:42:53,760 --> 00:42:56,580
And then you see the crowd start streaming in because you know why?

1056
00:42:56,580 --> 00:43:00,060
It is so unique now these days.

1057
00:43:00,060 --> 00:43:01,340
Dennis Fu, we need you back.

1058
00:43:01,340 --> 00:43:05,100
Yeah, but there are not many.

1059
00:43:05,100 --> 00:43:12,540
Most of the time I listen to friends and musician friends and say, oh, I'm singing here tonight,

1060
00:43:12,540 --> 00:43:15,460
another night I'm singing somewhere, another night I'm singing here and there.

1061
00:43:15,460 --> 00:43:17,580
There's no more permanent place.

1062
00:43:17,580 --> 00:43:19,780
Permanent contract that you're singing.

1063
00:43:19,780 --> 00:43:21,260
And then I say, who do you sing with tonight?

1064
00:43:21,260 --> 00:43:22,260
I don't know.

1065
00:43:22,260 --> 00:43:23,260
Who are you playing with tonight?

1066
00:43:23,260 --> 00:43:24,260
I don't know.

1067
00:43:24,260 --> 00:43:25,260
Just the pianist or whatever.

1068
00:43:25,260 --> 00:43:26,260
So it's quite sad.

1069
00:43:26,260 --> 00:43:27,260
It is very sad.

1070
00:43:27,260 --> 00:43:28,260
It is very sad.

1071
00:43:28,260 --> 00:43:32,420
Again, I'm going to say this out loud, Dennis Fu, I'm going to call you back on my show

1072
00:43:32,420 --> 00:43:33,420
again, man.

1073
00:43:33,420 --> 00:43:35,140
I know, I tell you, you're needed, man.

1074
00:43:35,140 --> 00:43:36,140
This country needs you.

1075
00:43:36,140 --> 00:43:39,300
Can you please be Superman this time and come out from retirement?

1076
00:43:39,300 --> 00:43:40,300
Need his brains.

1077
00:43:40,300 --> 00:43:42,380
Yeah, I think so, man.

1078
00:43:42,380 --> 00:43:43,380
I think so.

1079
00:43:43,380 --> 00:43:46,140
The godfather of the night scene.

1080
00:43:46,140 --> 00:43:50,500
What advice would you give to aspiring drummers, Jimmy, especially those in Singapore, hoping

1081
00:43:50,500 --> 00:43:52,580
to make a career in music?

1082
00:43:52,580 --> 00:43:55,980
Oh, to make a career.

1083
00:43:55,980 --> 00:43:56,980
Very hard.

1084
00:43:56,980 --> 00:43:58,740
It's very hard now, man.

1085
00:43:58,740 --> 00:44:03,820
I mean, I would say it's hard compared to before.

1086
00:44:03,820 --> 00:44:06,740
Well, I mean, it's not that it cannot happen.

1087
00:44:06,740 --> 00:44:09,340
It can happen as well.

1088
00:44:09,340 --> 00:44:13,460
The only thing to say to these new players are to practice more.

1089
00:44:13,460 --> 00:44:16,260
After that, when you succeed, stay humble.

1090
00:44:16,260 --> 00:44:17,860
I always say that stay humble.

1091
00:44:17,860 --> 00:44:20,860
Do not brag.

1092
00:44:20,860 --> 00:44:22,300
Yeah.

1093
00:44:22,300 --> 00:44:28,060
It's very important, you know, but practice and learn properly.

1094
00:44:28,060 --> 00:44:29,300
And keep your ego in check.

1095
00:44:29,300 --> 00:44:30,300
Keep your ego behind.

1096
00:44:30,300 --> 00:44:31,300
Yeah.

1097
00:44:31,300 --> 00:44:32,300
That is the main thing I want to young.

1098
00:44:32,300 --> 00:44:37,380
In all these years, how many years have you been playing in total?

1099
00:44:37,380 --> 00:44:40,940
After Sec 4, 1975.

1100
00:44:40,940 --> 00:44:44,500
Till now.

1101
00:44:44,500 --> 00:44:45,500
My first band.

1102
00:44:45,500 --> 00:44:46,500
Wow.

1103
00:44:46,500 --> 00:44:47,500
My first band.

1104
00:44:47,500 --> 00:44:48,500
Okay.

1105
00:44:48,500 --> 00:44:49,500
My very first band.

1106
00:44:49,500 --> 00:44:50,500
Yeah.

1107
00:44:50,500 --> 00:44:51,500
You know who?

1108
00:44:51,500 --> 00:44:52,500
Who?

1109
00:44:52,500 --> 00:44:53,500
Tony Terry.

1110
00:44:53,500 --> 00:44:54,500
Tony Terry and Spencer?

1111
00:44:54,500 --> 00:44:55,500
No, Spencer.

1112
00:44:55,500 --> 00:44:56,500
Huh?

1113
00:44:56,500 --> 00:44:57,500
Before Spencer.

1114
00:44:57,500 --> 00:44:58,500
I'm telling you the whole story.

1115
00:44:58,500 --> 00:44:59,500
Yeah, please.

1116
00:44:59,500 --> 00:45:00,500
Okay.

1117
00:45:00,500 --> 00:45:01,500
It was Tony and Terry.

1118
00:45:01,500 --> 00:45:02,500
Tony and Terry.

1119
00:45:02,500 --> 00:45:03,500
Yeah.

1120
00:45:03,500 --> 00:45:09,380
I came out Sec 4 and I came to Sec 4.

1121
00:45:09,380 --> 00:45:18,900
I was playing and then I joined Tony and Terry from this agent, old agent called Jimmy Lung.

1122
00:45:18,900 --> 00:45:19,900
Yeah.

1123
00:45:19,900 --> 00:45:20,900
Okay.

1124
00:45:20,900 --> 00:45:21,900
Okay.

1125
00:45:21,900 --> 00:45:22,900
Jesper production.

1126
00:45:22,900 --> 00:45:23,900
Right.

1127
00:45:23,900 --> 00:45:24,900
So he got me to play with them.

1128
00:45:24,900 --> 00:45:25,900
Right.

1129
00:45:25,900 --> 00:45:31,380
And they were playing at Jurong bowling alley those days.

1130
00:45:31,380 --> 00:45:32,380
Okay.

1131
00:45:32,380 --> 00:45:33,380
There was a lounge up there.

1132
00:45:33,380 --> 00:45:34,380
Yeah.

1133
00:45:34,380 --> 00:45:35,380
Two of them were playing there.

1134
00:45:35,380 --> 00:45:40,540
And I being a newbie, new bird, newbie, I had to rehearse with them.

1135
00:45:40,540 --> 00:45:46,220
So I actually went there every night, took a cab there every night to rehearse with them

1136
00:45:46,220 --> 00:45:48,740
as though I'm performing with them at night.

1137
00:45:48,740 --> 00:45:49,740
Free.

1138
00:45:49,740 --> 00:45:50,740
Free.

1139
00:45:50,740 --> 00:45:51,740
Free.

1140
00:45:51,740 --> 00:45:52,740
Because for me it's practicing.

1141
00:45:52,740 --> 00:45:53,740
To learn their...

1142
00:45:53,740 --> 00:45:54,740
Wow.

1143
00:45:54,740 --> 00:45:55,740
Yeah.

1144
00:45:55,740 --> 00:45:56,740
Okay.

1145
00:45:56,740 --> 00:46:00,740
From there, Jimmy Lung got us to go to King's Hotel.

1146
00:46:00,740 --> 00:46:01,740
Right.

1147
00:46:01,740 --> 00:46:02,740
King's Hotel.

1148
00:46:02,740 --> 00:46:03,740
There's three of us.

1149
00:46:03,740 --> 00:46:04,740
Okay.

1150
00:46:04,740 --> 00:46:11,660
Now after King's Hotel, King's Hotel finished, I think three months, then we went to Queen's

1151
00:46:11,660 --> 00:46:12,660
Hotel.

1152
00:46:12,660 --> 00:46:13,660
Okay.

1153
00:46:13,660 --> 00:46:15,140
Then I went to the army.

1154
00:46:15,140 --> 00:46:18,060
Well, all this is pre-NS.

1155
00:46:18,060 --> 00:46:19,060
Pre-NS.

1156
00:46:19,060 --> 00:46:26,780
And after the army, then when I left, then Spencer joined, then they did Tony Terry and

1157
00:46:26,780 --> 00:46:27,780
Spencer.

1158
00:46:27,780 --> 00:46:29,500
And you never came back with Tony and Terry.

1159
00:46:29,500 --> 00:46:30,740
Only much later.

1160
00:46:30,740 --> 00:46:35,340
So what happened was Tony Terry Spencer, then they did an album and everything.

1161
00:46:35,340 --> 00:46:36,340
Yes, yes.

1162
00:46:36,340 --> 00:46:37,340
Right?

1163
00:46:37,340 --> 00:46:38,340
Which I have by the way.

1164
00:46:38,340 --> 00:46:39,340
You have, right?

1165
00:46:39,340 --> 00:46:40,340
Yeah.

1166
00:46:40,340 --> 00:46:41,340
Nice album.

1167
00:46:41,340 --> 00:46:42,340
And then I was in the army.

1168
00:46:42,340 --> 00:46:43,340
Okay.

1169
00:46:43,340 --> 00:46:47,340
Then they had this, that time they had this tour around the theaters, like Odeon Theater

1170
00:46:47,340 --> 00:46:48,340
and everything.

1171
00:46:48,340 --> 00:46:52,260
Sponsored by, I don't know, Wrangler Jeans or Lee Jeans, whatever.

1172
00:46:52,260 --> 00:46:54,060
I came out to play with them.

1173
00:46:54,060 --> 00:46:55,060
Right.

1174
00:46:55,060 --> 00:46:56,060
On a weekend.

1175
00:46:56,060 --> 00:46:57,060
Okay.

1176
00:46:57,060 --> 00:46:58,060
Okay.

1177
00:46:58,060 --> 00:46:59,060
And I was teaching as well.

1178
00:46:59,060 --> 00:47:00,060
So on my army days.

1179
00:47:00,060 --> 00:47:06,060
Then when I left the army, then I came out, I joined Western Union Bank.

1180
00:47:06,060 --> 00:47:09,060
You were with Western Union?

1181
00:47:09,060 --> 00:47:10,060
Yes.

1182
00:47:10,060 --> 00:47:12,620
My goodness, you were with Western Union Bank.

1183
00:47:12,620 --> 00:47:13,620
Yes.

1184
00:47:13,620 --> 00:47:14,620
Western Union Bank.

1185
00:47:14,620 --> 00:47:19,700
After Western Union Bank, I went to Europe with the adapters for two years.

1186
00:47:19,700 --> 00:47:20,700
Wow.

1187
00:47:20,700 --> 00:47:21,700
So it's 50 years.

1188
00:47:21,700 --> 00:47:22,700
50 years of doing this.

1189
00:47:22,700 --> 00:47:29,300
Anyway, I just want to let the people know, because some of you are too young or you're

1190
00:47:29,300 --> 00:47:32,100
not from Singapore, I will tell you.

1191
00:47:32,100 --> 00:47:35,020
Who he's talking about, who Jimmy is talking about is Tony Goh.

1192
00:47:35,020 --> 00:47:38,820
Shout out to Tony Goh and shout out to Terry Mortimer.

1193
00:47:38,820 --> 00:47:41,620
And then of course later on we had Spencer Gohok.

1194
00:47:41,620 --> 00:47:42,620
Same.

1195
00:47:42,620 --> 00:47:46,260
Well, Spencer has been a while.

1196
00:47:46,260 --> 00:47:47,260
Yeah.

1197
00:47:47,260 --> 00:47:48,260
Wow.

1198
00:47:48,260 --> 00:47:49,260
Yeah.

1199
00:47:49,260 --> 00:47:50,260
50 years, man.

1200
00:47:50,260 --> 00:47:51,260
Yep.

1201
00:47:51,260 --> 00:47:52,260
I was freaking five years old when you started.

1202
00:47:52,260 --> 00:47:53,260
I'm not that old now.

1203
00:47:53,260 --> 00:47:54,260
My number is still the same.

1204
00:47:54,260 --> 00:48:03,260
So you see, that's how my journey, of course, during this journey, I was still, I was doing

1205
00:48:03,260 --> 00:48:07,900
recording in the daytime with EMI and everything.

1206
00:48:07,900 --> 00:48:08,900
With Reggie Verghese.

1207
00:48:08,900 --> 00:48:09,900
And I was the producer.

1208
00:48:09,900 --> 00:48:10,900
My goodness.

1209
00:48:10,900 --> 00:48:17,740
Yeah, so all this time it was day, it was a teaching in the day, aside from recording

1210
00:48:17,740 --> 00:48:20,820
and then at night I was gigging.

1211
00:48:20,820 --> 00:48:22,540
Any regrets, man?

1212
00:48:22,540 --> 00:48:23,540
Any regrets?

1213
00:48:23,540 --> 00:48:24,540
No.

1214
00:48:24,540 --> 00:48:27,740
I guess that's the only thing I can do, right?

1215
00:48:27,740 --> 00:48:28,740
Drums.

1216
00:48:28,740 --> 00:48:29,740
No, no, but you're happy.

1217
00:48:29,740 --> 00:48:30,740
You've always been happy.

1218
00:48:30,740 --> 00:48:31,740
Yeah.

1219
00:48:31,740 --> 00:48:38,180
That's what my, one of my students currently at Karawai, he said to me, you know something?

1220
00:48:38,180 --> 00:48:42,220
I love your job because what you did was your passion.

1221
00:48:42,220 --> 00:48:47,180
Your passion became your job and you, you know, it's something, it's very rare.

1222
00:48:47,180 --> 00:48:48,180
Yeah.

1223
00:48:48,180 --> 00:48:49,180
Get that.

1224
00:48:49,180 --> 00:48:50,180
Yeah, man.

1225
00:48:50,180 --> 00:48:52,620
You know, some of them don't like to go to work doing their job.

1226
00:48:52,620 --> 00:48:55,860
It's not their passion, but they have to because it's, but yours is different because this

1227
00:48:55,860 --> 00:48:56,860
is your passion.

1228
00:48:56,860 --> 00:48:57,860
Yeah, man.

1229
00:48:57,860 --> 00:48:58,860
That's why he said to me.

1230
00:48:58,860 --> 00:48:59,860
Yeah, man.

1231
00:48:59,860 --> 00:49:00,860
I mean, yeah.

1232
00:49:00,860 --> 00:49:01,860
I mean, it's not a job, man.

1233
00:49:01,860 --> 00:49:02,860
It's a vacation, man.

1234
00:49:02,860 --> 00:49:03,860
Oh really?

1235
00:49:03,860 --> 00:49:04,860
Yeah.

1236
00:49:04,860 --> 00:49:05,860
Yeah.

1237
00:49:05,860 --> 00:49:06,860
So that's how I move on.

1238
00:49:06,860 --> 00:49:07,860
I mean, it's amazing.

1239
00:49:07,860 --> 00:49:10,060
I mean, I actually didn't think 50 years.

1240
00:49:10,060 --> 00:49:12,460
I thought maybe 40 years doing this, man.

1241
00:49:12,460 --> 00:49:13,460
50 years.

1242
00:49:13,460 --> 00:49:14,460
Yeah.

1243
00:49:14,460 --> 00:49:16,460
And then, you know, Europe came back.

1244
00:49:16,460 --> 00:49:20,980
Oh, after, after the debt just came back, that's when I joined Tony Terian Spencer again,

1245
00:49:20,980 --> 00:49:24,100
the original back to where you started.

1246
00:49:24,100 --> 00:49:25,100
Yeah.

1247
00:49:25,100 --> 00:49:26,100
That made Imperial Hotel.

1248
00:49:26,100 --> 00:49:27,100
Yeah.

1249
00:49:27,100 --> 00:49:28,100
Wow.

1250
00:49:28,100 --> 00:49:29,100
The old Imperial Oberoi.

1251
00:49:29,100 --> 00:49:30,100
Yeah.

1252
00:49:30,100 --> 00:49:36,580
In all those 50 years, everything you've done, what are you most proud of in your career?

1253
00:49:36,580 --> 00:49:39,220
Wow.

1254
00:49:39,220 --> 00:49:41,780
Most proud of?

1255
00:49:41,780 --> 00:49:45,620
Actually I never thought of all this to be honest, Chris.

1256
00:49:45,620 --> 00:49:57,140
For me, it's, I just enjoy doing it to play and also to educate whoever I can educate.

1257
00:49:57,140 --> 00:49:58,140
Right.

1258
00:49:58,140 --> 00:50:02,900
And, but okay, there's one thing I'm proud of is that I brought up quite a number of

1259
00:50:02,900 --> 00:50:06,140
good drummers these days, this current time.

1260
00:50:06,140 --> 00:50:07,140
Now this time.

1261
00:50:07,140 --> 00:50:08,140
Like Clarence.

1262
00:50:08,140 --> 00:50:09,140
Yeah.

1263
00:50:09,140 --> 00:50:10,140
Clarence is one of them.

1264
00:50:10,140 --> 00:50:11,140
Clarence, yes.

1265
00:50:11,140 --> 00:50:12,140
Yeah.

1266
00:50:12,140 --> 00:50:13,140
Okay.

1267
00:50:13,140 --> 00:50:17,540
Aside from that, I have a few very good ones, which are five, four, five, four of them,

1268
00:50:17,540 --> 00:50:18,540
if I'm not wrong.

1269
00:50:18,540 --> 00:50:22,140
They were kids and now they are like 28, 29.

1270
00:50:22,140 --> 00:50:24,580
I want to have my son.

1271
00:50:24,580 --> 00:50:25,580
Wow.

1272
00:50:25,580 --> 00:50:26,580
Aaron.

1273
00:50:26,580 --> 00:50:27,580
Okay.

1274
00:50:27,580 --> 00:50:31,700
Aaron James Lee, a great jazz drummer.

1275
00:50:31,700 --> 00:50:35,660
I taught him when I was eight years old and now he's 29.

1276
00:50:35,660 --> 00:50:37,140
A great jazz drummer.

1277
00:50:37,140 --> 00:50:38,140
Wow.

1278
00:50:38,140 --> 00:50:40,180
I must say he plays a lot with-

1279
00:50:40,180 --> 00:50:41,460
For dad to say that too.

1280
00:50:41,460 --> 00:50:42,460
Guitarist.

1281
00:50:42,460 --> 00:50:43,460
Yeah.

1282
00:50:43,460 --> 00:50:47,780
So he, and then there's this other students of mine, like Davy Tan and he was playing

1283
00:50:47,780 --> 00:50:49,740
in a club right now.

1284
00:50:49,740 --> 00:50:56,740
And then there's this, you heard of this Orchard Road Boy busking drum before, five years old?

1285
00:50:56,740 --> 00:50:57,740
Yeah.

1286
00:50:57,740 --> 00:50:58,740
Ethan Ong?

1287
00:50:58,740 --> 00:50:59,740
Yeah, sometime ago, wasn't it?

1288
00:50:59,740 --> 00:51:00,740
He was my student.

1289
00:51:00,740 --> 00:51:01,740
Oh.

1290
00:51:01,740 --> 00:51:05,460
So all this came out to be good drummers.

1291
00:51:05,460 --> 00:51:06,460
And real nice drumming.

1292
00:51:06,460 --> 00:51:13,420
So you're proud of having raised, including your son, and producing great performers and

1293
00:51:13,420 --> 00:51:17,060
drummers, great drummers with absolute skillsets.

1294
00:51:17,060 --> 00:51:18,060
Yeah.

1295
00:51:18,060 --> 00:51:19,900
And these people have skills.

1296
00:51:19,900 --> 00:51:24,900
Even two of them, like one of them is Ruben and one of them is Alison, who is a girl.

1297
00:51:24,900 --> 00:51:28,980
Very good drummer because they really work on the skills.

1298
00:51:28,980 --> 00:51:30,900
His attitude then, as you said.

1299
00:51:30,900 --> 00:51:33,180
They put it in front.

1300
00:51:33,180 --> 00:51:36,220
And they just practice and they play for church and everything.

1301
00:51:36,220 --> 00:51:38,660
It's good drumming.

1302
00:51:38,660 --> 00:51:44,980
Last question, Jimmy, before we thank you and say bye-bye.

1303
00:51:44,980 --> 00:51:51,860
If you have a message to give, not to drummers, not to aspiring drummers, to people out there,

1304
00:51:51,860 --> 00:52:00,860
consumers, Singaporeans, there's anything to do with music and the music scene in Singapore.

1305
00:52:00,860 --> 00:52:04,820
But there's one message that you want to give to people in general.

1306
00:52:04,820 --> 00:52:07,100
What would that be?

1307
00:52:07,100 --> 00:52:08,100
In Singapore.

1308
00:52:08,100 --> 00:52:11,860
Yeah, of course, in Singapore's context.

1309
00:52:11,860 --> 00:52:13,940
Support local music.

1310
00:52:13,940 --> 00:52:18,780
Support the local musicians, I want to say.

1311
00:52:18,780 --> 00:52:28,580
Because if you think about it, we musicians are, not everyone, we pay our dues.

1312
00:52:28,580 --> 00:52:31,020
We study to practice.

1313
00:52:31,020 --> 00:52:35,420
We just don't just get up there and say, I can go and play a piano, I can play drums.

1314
00:52:35,420 --> 00:52:37,660
I mean, whatever I say, yes, that's natural.

1315
00:52:37,660 --> 00:52:44,300
But you cannot just go there and say earn a good living if you don't work on it.

1316
00:52:44,300 --> 00:52:49,860
So I would say support the local musicians as much as you can.

1317
00:52:49,860 --> 00:52:52,260
Because we need that support.

1318
00:52:52,260 --> 00:52:53,260
Thank you, Jimmy.

1319
00:52:53,260 --> 00:52:57,700
I'm going to now switch to my camera and I'm going to say this.

1320
00:52:57,700 --> 00:53:01,200
You know, COVID came, people, COVID came and went.

1321
00:53:01,200 --> 00:53:06,420
And when COVID arrived to our shores, this term came about.

1322
00:53:06,420 --> 00:53:08,620
And it's a real fucked up term.

1323
00:53:08,620 --> 00:53:11,180
It's called non-essentials.

1324
00:53:11,180 --> 00:53:15,980
I would like to say to you right here, right now, how can it be that people who entertain

1325
00:53:15,980 --> 00:53:20,180
you and bring you music be non-essentials?

1326
00:53:20,180 --> 00:53:30,820
So please support our local musicians, entertainers, clubs, bars, DJs even.

1327
00:53:30,820 --> 00:53:32,660
Support your own people.

1328
00:53:32,660 --> 00:53:37,580
Because let me tell you, you've listened to Jimmy's journey and what he's gone through.

1329
00:53:37,580 --> 00:53:41,940
These guys put in a lot of work, man, just to make sure you are smiling and have a good

1330
00:53:41,940 --> 00:53:44,500
time and tapping away your feet.

1331
00:53:44,500 --> 00:53:48,420
Until next time, you've been watching the Chris Hansen conversation in my tribute to

1332
00:53:48,420 --> 00:53:51,460
Singapore's local music icons.

1333
00:53:51,460 --> 00:53:54,340
And we've had Jimmy Lee, he's a dynamite drummer.

1334
00:53:54,340 --> 00:53:56,940
And watch out for us next week.

1335
00:53:56,940 --> 00:54:03,300
We've got the hit honcho of Singapore's pro wrestling company called Grapple Max, Greg

1336
00:54:03,300 --> 00:54:04,300
Ho.

1337
00:54:04,300 --> 00:54:05,300
Catch you then.

1338
00:54:05,300 --> 00:54:06,300
Stay safe.

1339
00:54:06,300 --> 00:54:28,740
Mmmmm.