WEBVTT

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Today we're joined by one of Singapore's most

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respected and versatile guitarists. A man who

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has mastered the art of being both a featured

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performer and a world -class collaborator. He's

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been an integral part of the local music landscape

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for decades. Known for his sound that effortlessly

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blends genres from jazz and blues to pop and

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rock. He's a master collaborator, lending his

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incredible talent to a diverse array of artists.

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He has worked with American pop legends, some

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of Asia's most celebrated voices, and has even

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shared the stage with acclaimed Grammy -winning

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musicians from around the world. But his philosophy

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goes beyond mere technical prowess, believing

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that music is about an immersive journey for

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the audience, a beautiful blend of melody and

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arrangement. He is a guitarist, a bandleader,

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an unsung hero of the music world, and a true

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artist. Right now, I know my show is viewed by

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a lot of people in Asia. Understand this. This

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man, my guest, Reggie Leo, is amongst the top,

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top, top guitarists in my country, Singapore.

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So recognize his name. Recognize that face. He's

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always in the background. Today, he's in the

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front. Right in front. Reggie Leo. Don't forget

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that name. Before we begin the show, here is

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an important announcement. For 100 years, Shure

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Now. Let's start the show. Welcome to the Chris

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Hansen Conversation. Thank you for tuning in

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once again. I've got with me, as you heard the

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introduction earlier on, I've got with me a real

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virtuoso, a master behind the six strings. And

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in studio with me right now for this episode,

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I have the one, the only, Reggie Leo. Welcome

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to the studio, Reggie. Good afternoon. Thanks

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for having me, man. No, no, not at all. I mean,

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it's about bloody time I have you. I have you

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on the show as my tribute to, you know, Singapore's

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great in the music business. And you're definitely

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one of them. You're an unsung hero. Thank you

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so much. Unsung. Really unsung. Don't you think

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so? I've always believed that guys like you,

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guys like you support so many musicians, man.

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And you're always in it. Somehow it seems like

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you're in the background. Then you're not in

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the background, but you're in the background.

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Not in the background. I just cannot. I cannot

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let an opportunity like this slip by. I kind

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of enjoy it sometimes. It's good to be fun sometimes.

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I really enjoy backing musicians. I get to play

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all kinds of music, which I like. I like all

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kinds of music. That's a problem with me. All

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kinds. All kinds. Don't tell me yet because I

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have that question actually. That will be coming

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up later on. But thanks for being here again,

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man. I mean, really. Thank you for having me

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again. And this is how I normally start my show,

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you know. If I were to ask you, right, very succinctly,

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just who is Reggie Leo? Okay, I sum up my career.

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I was an Air Force for six years. I signed on

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Back in the teenage years, my dad asked me, you

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can't study well. Just join the army. Save my

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problem. His problem, not my problem. So I have

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no idea what I'm going to. So I went inside for

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six years. I just signed on. I was a store technician,

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they so call it. And the first year, or maybe

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even six months, I hated it. I just hated what

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I'm doing every day. But I was still a teenager.

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How old? Teenager means how old? I was 17 and

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a half. Okay. 17 and a half. Not even 18 years.

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Two months short of 18 years. But I met a bunch

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of great people, nice people. In my class, in

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the army day, we have female and male. You know

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what's going to happen. Great people, man. Great

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people, yeah. And really, some of them are still

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my friends after all these years. Great. So I

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hated it. But I met, because everything in life

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is somehow is a stepping stone, right? You kind

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of met this who and who. And we met a lot of

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soccer great there. I was playing soccer. Somehow

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I love soccer till today. I met a lot of good

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soccer player there. So put me in the Air Force

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team. I don't know why. And I met a lot of people

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who love music there. We like to jam around.

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campfire, you know, try to impress girls those

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days. I was just teenage, two chords, three chords,

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so happy. Before we knew it, we were sent to

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detachment. In the Air Force Day, we were sent

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to, I was sent to, Postings lah. Yeah, I was

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sent to Philippines. Oh. Clark Air Base, I was

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there for three years. Wow, you were in Clark?

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Yeah, I was in Clark Air Base. Okay. And I can

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play a little bit of guitar then, but when I

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go there and I know, I realize it. these are

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the real guitarists. The Filipinos. Yeah, the

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live band there was as good as anyone in the

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world, except when they talk. You can tell they

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are not American or British or Germans or whatever,

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Latin. But when they sing and they play, it's

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just my hair stand. It's like, what the hell?

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This guy sounds so good. That's when I realized

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what I want to do in life. I'm going to stop

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you there for a bit, Rajeev. Let me try to understand

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this. You went into the Air Force, you signed

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on because of the behest of your dad who wanted

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to solve his problem. Yes, definitely. But does

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this mean that at that time, that juncture in

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your life, you haven't really begun on your musical

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journey? Not at all. I mean, I was playing some

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getai band with a band leader of mine. I don't

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know why I just love my playing, but I can't

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even take a solo yet. When did you pick up the

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guitar? Probably 16 years old, maybe. See, you're

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not like a lot of my guests. A lot of my guests,

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these guys you know, always tell me, oh, I was

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playing since I was four. Oh, yeah. Five. Yeah,

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I was a late bloomer. Really late. Late bloomer,

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huh? I can't even tune my guitar when I was 15

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years old, 16 years old, maybe. I was given a

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guitar like out of tune. How does it work? So

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you're not one of those guys that saw someone

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play a guitar and went, fuck, I want to be that

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guy. You're not one of those, huh? I was, but

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I wasn't so in love with that. I know I could

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play some few chords here and there, but it's

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never serious for me. It's just like, oh, okay.

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So what? I can play. Anybody else can play too.

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I can play on the street. I can follow him a

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little bit here and there, but... I was never

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serious. I was never serious. I just want to

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go back a little. I want to start some chronology

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somewhere in your life. Let's talk about primary

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school. Where were you? I was in a school where...

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I'm a Chinese act. Those days, they have Chinese

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act and English act. Chinese and English at schools,

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okay. Yes, I was in an English school, but we

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all have two Chinese classes. I was one of them.

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And everyone was listening to... Which school?

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Chai Chi Secondary School. Ah, I didn't want

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to know that. Secondary School was Chai Chi,

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but Primary School? Primary School was in Presbyterian,

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Jujet. Okay. Way back in early 70s. Right, right.

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Yeah, that's how I get all my educations from.

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Right, okay. So, Chai Chi Secondary School, there

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was no influence, no musical influence for you

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at all at that time? No. No. Not at all. Okay.

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Not at all. I can't remember. Some guy play guitar

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from the English stream. I just enjoy but I never

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did think that I could play like that. Oh, I'm

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so inspired by him. No. I was really a late boomer.

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I was picking out a guitar. Oh, my uncle gave

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me a guitar. I said, oh, let's make some. The

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turning point, I think it's the Rediffusion days.

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Tell me about that. My dad used to have a Rediffusion.

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Most of us did. It's all about the story, the

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Hainanese story, the Chinese story, you know.

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Accidentally, I turned it to the next channel.

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The English station? Yeah. Okay. It was Casey

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Kaysen. American Top 40. American Top 40. Yeah.

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That's when I, this is something I like, man.

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What is it? This is something I like. So English

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music, so that was your exposure to English music?

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Yeah. By accident, actually. Really? By accident.

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So you really did Chinese at that? I was. The

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whole family is Chinese -speaking? Not really.

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My dad can't speak anything. Oh, okay. But he's

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a good... He can't speak English, but he can

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write Chinese very well. Right, okay. So those

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days, we have only reading Chinese music. So

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when you heard Casey Kasem, American Top 40,

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on Rediffusion for the first time, what went

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through you? It's something I like. I think it's

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more challenging for me. There's something, I

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think those days, I don't even into guitar yet,

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but I like the music. I like the music. Maybe

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it's the blues, I don't know. It's just, then

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later when we, I remember the first song I really

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liked is January. January? Wow, what the hell

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is that, man? Or Season of the Sun. Oh, that

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one I know. January? Yeah. Okay, I gotta go find

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it. Yeah, okay, okay. And later came Eagles.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah. It came all kind of guitar

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music. Wow, this is something different, man.

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I don't know who is Beatles. I don't know who

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is Beatles until like Bee Gees introduced me

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to them. Reggie Leo doesn't know who the fuck

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the Beatles were. In the 70s. Wow, that's news.

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My son knows more Beatles than me now. Because

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he got YouTube. Does he play? Yeah, the three

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of them all play. Oh, great. And some of them

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play better than me, I think. Oh, wow. For some

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song. You know what I mean? You cannot lose to

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the boys, huh? No, frankly, I don't really teach

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them. I think they do have some talents. in them

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okay that's my wife also musically trained she

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was a pianist way before me she was a certified

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grade 8 student when she was 11 so she got very

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good years even though she don't play anymore

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but she's she's a musically inclined in that

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sense so i'm trying to understand this bit here

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You got influenced by English music. Listen,

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you heard Casey Kasem and his show. Then you

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got to know about all the other great bands that

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we spoke about. But that part in your life, as

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you said, you played for Ketai. Yeah. I don't

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even know what it's at. We wouldn't get paid

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to. I just love to play. I just play. So was

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it that moment that you recognized that, hey,

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This is what I want to do. Or was it later? Oh,

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no, no, no. It was much later. But was it...

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Okay, then let me just rephrase that. Was it

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that moment when you realised or you recognised

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that maybe I just love this instrument? Yeah,

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the words should be maybe. And I was very young

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then and I just went to the army. I just lost

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touch, you know. I just completely... Because

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it's just... I'm staying in Tengah those days.

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Every day, I just play soccer. Okay. I don't

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touch the guitar for like... What the fuck? You

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don't sound like a musician at all. Yeah, yeah.

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What you just said to me, this whole thing. I

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mean like, where am I going to find this thread,

00:12:41.259 --> 00:12:42.899
man? I'm trying so hard to find this thread.

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There's no connection, right? There's nothing,

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yeah. There's no correlation. Okay, the guitar

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is the only thing I can spot. Yeah, but we lost

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touch after I went to the... So when you signed

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on, you went in... And you hated the damn job,

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but you loved the people. Yeah, I loved it. And

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you played football. I know you love football.

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You love to play the game. You still do. And

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I know that, okay, you mentioned also that, you

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know, get -togethers and barbecues and everybody

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just playing by the campfires and stuff. I think

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I only know like maybe six courts. Huh? Five

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courts. Get the fuck out of here, man. Really?

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I don't. And I use carpool, just switch to different

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key. What the hell? Okay, okay, okay. That's

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my education. I really want to find out, okay?

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Okay, okay, fine, fine. So, you signed on. What

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happened after that in your life? What did you

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do? You left the Air Force. Eventually, six years.

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I think the detachment to Philippine, there was

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a game changer. The 1 o 'clock airbase, okay.

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There was even like, after my third year, I got,

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so the first three years, I don't know what I'm

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doing. I just 8 to 5 come back and cycle to whatever

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I go to. The Tengah Airbase is huge. I just play

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soccer a lot. That's when I learned my soccer

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skill from there. For the senior player who trashed

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out on me. Talking to a guitarist or football

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player, damn it. I really love soccer more than

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anything else those days. I know. Please call

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it football. It's not fucking soccer. Only the

00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:19.860
Americans call it soccer, dude. Okay, whatever

00:14:19.860 --> 00:14:22.720
you call it. Soccer. Football, man. Come on.

00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:25.379
Okay. I know, I know. But you sound more like

00:14:25.379 --> 00:14:27.799
a... It seems as if I'm interviewing someone.

00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:30.779
who's a pro footballer, like, how do you begin

00:14:30.779 --> 00:14:33.580
your football career? Fuck, you know, I'm talking

00:14:33.580 --> 00:14:36.940
to a six -string legend. I still want to find

00:14:36.940 --> 00:14:39.240
out how the hell that happened. I wasn't born

00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:42.360
like that. Which is great to hear. I wasn't born...

00:14:42.649 --> 00:14:44.429
There's a lot of hope. There's a lot of hope

00:14:44.429 --> 00:14:46.309
for people, man. I mean, that's your story. I

00:14:46.309 --> 00:14:47.889
wasn't born like that. That's your story. It's

00:14:47.889 --> 00:14:49.850
a lot of hope for people. I just work my way.

00:14:49.870 --> 00:14:52.529
I really work on it. You know, until today, I

00:14:52.529 --> 00:14:54.929
still practice. Okay, I'm 55 years old. I'm 55

00:14:54.929 --> 00:14:57.429
years old. If I ask Reggie, I know he's older

00:14:57.429 --> 00:15:00.730
than me. I'm saying he's older than me. I'm 55

00:15:00.730 --> 00:15:03.259
years old. I'll say, Reggie, tell you what. I

00:15:03.259 --> 00:15:04.740
start guitar lessons with you. There's still

00:15:04.740 --> 00:15:08.799
hope for me, man. Yeah, why not? Why not? My

00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:11.320
fingers, I don't think I can handle it. I used

00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:14.659
to teach an Italian guy. He started maybe even

00:15:14.659 --> 00:15:18.059
older than you, 58 years old. And I taught him

00:15:18.059 --> 00:15:22.080
for a year. One whole year for one song. It's

00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:25.539
now or never. Really? Yeah. Like Grandma Mary,

00:15:25.779 --> 00:15:30.200
right? She started late. At least she's got more

00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:33.320
talent, man. This guy, I won't mention, he's

00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:36.259
from Italy. Is he from Italy? Sweet man. Sweet

00:15:36.259 --> 00:15:39.879
guy. And he paid me like $40 per lesson in those

00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:45.440
days. Big money. $40 per lesson. Big money. This

00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:49.019
is like 30 years ago maybe. Okay, okay. Go to

00:15:49.019 --> 00:15:52.059
his house, teaching. One song in one year. That's

00:15:52.059 --> 00:15:56.700
torture for me. But he made it. He made it. He

00:15:56.700 --> 00:16:00.440
made it. It sounds decent. There's not much rhythm,

00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:03.279
but he made it. And two weeks later, I said,

00:16:03.340 --> 00:16:07.120
oh, I've got to stop. I have enough. We move

00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:08.740
on. Okay, I don't want to learn other songs.

00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:13.279
He said, okay, let's stop the lessons. Hanging,

00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:16.559
you know. Two weeks later, he called me. Reggie,

00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:19.460
please come to my house. I forgot some chords.

00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:25.139
Okay. Okay, okay, okay. No, no, no, no. I found

00:16:25.139 --> 00:16:27.440
new excuses. Oh, I'm starting a new school now.

00:16:27.480 --> 00:16:29.320
I have no time, you know. That's it. I never

00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:33.240
see him anymore. Uh -huh. He should be, probably

00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:35.259
he should be 80s now, you know. Wow, my goodness.

00:16:35.480 --> 00:16:38.159
Yeah, yeah, okay. But sweet man. Yeah. Really

00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:42.899
sweet man. Okay, so let's get back to the, that

00:16:42.899 --> 00:16:47.840
thread in our conversation. When you, okay, so

00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:49.919
the football thing, you went to Clark Air Base,

00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:53.460
you were thrilled with what you saw. with the

00:16:53.460 --> 00:16:56.120
Filipinos playing there, right? And then what

00:16:56.120 --> 00:17:00.559
happened from there? Obviously, I was very inspired.

00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:05.319
When I came back, I took out classical guitar

00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:10.960
lessons for probably six months. But I realized...

00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:14.160
Classical guitar lessons, where? There? Yamaha.

00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:18.900
Oh, Yamaha here. But when you were in Clark Air

00:17:18.900 --> 00:17:22.750
Base, nothing happened there? You finished your

00:17:22.750 --> 00:17:25.130
detachment. Yeah. Your overseas posting. No,

00:17:25.190 --> 00:17:27.289
no. It's only six months. Then you came back.

00:17:27.369 --> 00:17:29.230
And then what happened then? You left the Air

00:17:29.230 --> 00:17:32.009
Force. Oh, no. But during the Air Force, I already

00:17:32.009 --> 00:17:34.710
started. Oh, so you signed up with Yamaha during

00:17:34.710 --> 00:17:36.190
that time. Six years I was in the Air Force,

00:17:36.190 --> 00:17:38.430
you know. Yeah. I was in Tengah for three years.

00:17:38.769 --> 00:17:40.890
So whilst you were there, whilst you were in

00:17:40.890 --> 00:17:43.190
service, you attended the Yamaha? Yeah, yeah,

00:17:43.190 --> 00:17:48.140
yeah. Okay. It's only eight to five. Okay. Then

00:17:48.140 --> 00:17:50.579
I take out some electric guitar lessons. In real

00:17:50.579 --> 00:17:52.900
life, classical music, because I want to learn

00:17:52.900 --> 00:17:56.000
the language, I learn how to read. That's when

00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:58.519
I really learn how to read. They call it taugeh

00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:00.759
those days. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The notes, yeah.

00:18:00.900 --> 00:18:03.779
But I realized this side of me, I like electric

00:18:03.779 --> 00:18:06.279
guitar too. So I took out the guitar lessons

00:18:06.279 --> 00:18:09.220
at the same time. Electric guitar lessons, okay.

00:18:09.299 --> 00:18:10.740
Both, both at the same time. Classical and electric.

00:18:10.859 --> 00:18:13.559
I was so serious those days. Right. And I love

00:18:13.559 --> 00:18:15.740
it. Both I love it. But come to a point, I have

00:18:15.740 --> 00:18:18.650
to give up one. But, of course, I won. Why? Why

00:18:18.650 --> 00:18:20.470
do you have to give up? Why? Because I just got

00:18:20.470 --> 00:18:22.529
no time. Okay, okay. Because of time. All right.

00:18:22.650 --> 00:18:26.130
I just got no time to do anything. Air Force

00:18:26.130 --> 00:18:28.849
is taking out most of your life. And so, which

00:18:28.849 --> 00:18:30.829
one did you give up? I gave up the classical

00:18:30.829 --> 00:18:32.789
after three years. Oh, fucking obvious. Okay.

00:18:33.250 --> 00:18:35.849
Stupid question, Chris. No, no. But I do learn

00:18:35.849 --> 00:18:38.710
a lot. I do learn a lot. And I realized that

00:18:38.710 --> 00:18:41.630
it really benefited me later part of the year

00:18:41.630 --> 00:18:45.029
when I started playing solo guitar. that's when

00:18:45.029 --> 00:18:48.549
I realised the connections. Because guitar itself,

00:18:48.809 --> 00:18:52.150
it's really an orchestra. You can make it an

00:18:52.150 --> 00:18:56.470
orchestra, make it really a big thing. Not just,

00:18:56.670 --> 00:19:00.509
you can cover the bass, you can cover everything.

00:19:00.869 --> 00:19:03.089
It's one of the instruments. Until now, I just

00:19:03.089 --> 00:19:07.589
love it. There's no regret in it. So you went

00:19:07.589 --> 00:19:10.029
for electric guitar lessons. Did you enjoy it?

00:19:10.390 --> 00:19:14.259
Yeah, totally. And what happened next? My teachers,

00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:17.519
you know them. Jay Su, Spencer Goh, all these

00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:22.319
are my teachers. Okay. Yeah. But I met a very

00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:30.519
old man while learning from Spencer. Mr. Vivian

00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:33.140
Nones. Mr. Vivian Nones. Ah, there you go. There

00:19:33.140 --> 00:19:35.859
he is. Is that him? That's him, huh? Yeah, he

00:19:35.859 --> 00:19:39.779
happened to stay a few blocks from me. Only.

00:19:40.859 --> 00:19:44.730
And the old man is a very... He's a drinker,

00:19:44.769 --> 00:19:46.569
you know. He loves beers. But he's not drunk.

00:19:46.630 --> 00:19:49.829
He's just a drinker. So, the lesson is just one

00:19:49.829 --> 00:19:54.109
hour. These are formal lessons? Formal lessons?

00:19:54.730 --> 00:19:56.910
I mean, just one -to -one lessons. Yeah, okay.

00:19:57.509 --> 00:20:01.809
In those days, I remember it was $40 per month.

00:20:02.450 --> 00:20:05.710
So, basically, $10 per lesson. It's a steal.

00:20:07.069 --> 00:20:09.549
But I learned so much from him. My lesson is

00:20:09.549 --> 00:20:11.390
supposed to be one hour. Usually, we end up three

00:20:11.390 --> 00:20:14.960
hours. Because he loves to jam. He will make

00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:17.759
it a day where I can jam it directly for longer.

00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:21.000
Because I don't know what he's playing. But I

00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:25.559
could follow him because of the classical background.

00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:28.359
I could follow him. He just gives me score. I

00:20:28.359 --> 00:20:31.640
can read. That's why I say it's benefit. It's

00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:34.980
kind of connect. So the old man loves me. And

00:20:34.980 --> 00:20:37.420
I like him too. I don't love him because he drinks

00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:46.460
a lot. I just... I can't drink. Okay. What does

00:20:46.460 --> 00:20:50.880
he play? He plays anything? He plays mainly Barsanova,

00:20:51.019 --> 00:20:55.259
jazz guitar. His chord work is beautiful. He's

00:20:55.259 --> 00:20:57.480
a beautiful person. He's got so many stories.

00:20:57.859 --> 00:21:00.079
He tells me each week. But sometimes, he tells

00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:02.500
me the same story every week. If you know what

00:21:02.500 --> 00:21:07.680
I mean. You've been playing for how long? 40

00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:10.400
years. 40 years. 40 years, I think. At least

00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:12.319
40 years. Have you reached a point where you

00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:15.160
get a little upset with younger musicians who

00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:16.859
don't even know who the fuck Jimi Hendrix is?

00:21:20.099 --> 00:21:22.220
Well, it's a different world now, you know? It's

00:21:22.220 --> 00:21:24.460
a different world now. I can't blame them, but

00:21:24.460 --> 00:21:28.480
if they come to me for lessons, of course, the

00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:30.339
first lessons, I will ask them what they want

00:21:30.339 --> 00:21:33.279
to learn. And a lot of them, they just want to

00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:36.519
learn song. But the serious one, I taught quite

00:21:36.519 --> 00:21:39.539
a bit too. And of course, some of them are well

00:21:39.539 --> 00:21:41.059
-equipped. Some of them are shown in the right

00:21:41.059 --> 00:21:43.859
way. What they want to learn, who you should

00:21:43.859 --> 00:21:49.460
listen to, what kind you should do. It's a lot.

00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:52.920
Guitar is a strange instrument. In many ways,

00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:55.680
everybody pick up bad habits here and there.

00:21:56.180 --> 00:22:01.279
Like what? Like fingering. Okay. Fingering. Okay.

00:22:01.380 --> 00:22:06.069
Fingering. Right. Fingering. I mean, you tell

00:22:06.069 --> 00:22:07.789
that to a guy who doesn't know music at all.

00:22:07.829 --> 00:22:13.670
Hey, fingering is very important. Piano is a

00:22:13.670 --> 00:22:16.130
different thing. You have the piano teacher say,

00:22:16.210 --> 00:22:18.250
oh, you must be like that. I think the piano

00:22:18.250 --> 00:22:21.069
got the best training. Basic training. Do we

00:22:21.069 --> 00:22:22.589
call that fingering too? Yeah, it's fingering.

00:22:24.150 --> 00:22:26.470
That's worse. Change the adjective. Because they

00:22:26.470 --> 00:22:33.289
use ten fingers. Okay, wait, wait. Wait. No,

00:22:33.410 --> 00:22:37.029
fingering for the guitar. How many fingers? Okay,

00:22:37.170 --> 00:22:41.210
eight fingers. Eh, no. Nine? You have five here.

00:22:41.390 --> 00:22:43.029
Yeah, you have to use your thumb as well. You

00:22:43.029 --> 00:22:45.769
have four here. Five. Usually, you only use four.

00:22:45.769 --> 00:22:47.509
The thumb around the neck. On your left hand,

00:22:47.549 --> 00:22:50.490
usually three or four. Thumb, you use it. Unless

00:22:50.490 --> 00:22:52.490
you're Jimi Hendrix, you can use a thumb. Huh?

00:22:52.609 --> 00:22:54.829
Or Tom Andrews, they use thumb. Huh? No way.

00:22:54.990 --> 00:22:56.450
Yeah, there's some of them that use thumb. There

00:22:56.450 --> 00:22:58.170
are some of the virtuoso that use thumb and play.

00:22:58.309 --> 00:23:00.890
Oh, fuck. Really? I'll show you some video. Oh,

00:23:00.890 --> 00:23:04.769
shit. Oh, okay. Mostly three or four, you know.

00:23:04.950 --> 00:23:07.849
So you have, and you need to, if you are an electric

00:23:07.849 --> 00:23:09.349
player. So it's the same thing, keyboard, guitar,

00:23:09.470 --> 00:23:12.309
ten fingers. Yeah. That's why they sound always

00:23:12.309 --> 00:23:15.390
big. So we got to find a way to counter them,

00:23:15.390 --> 00:23:21.750
you know. How to counter Stephen Francis. No,

00:23:21.829 --> 00:23:25.940
Stephen have one big toe. I don't like him. Is

00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:29.119
he listening? Yeah, shit. He probably will watch

00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:32.319
this episode. Hey, Stephen, you use one big toe

00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:40.619
too. Okay. Lower keys. You started in pop music,

00:23:40.660 --> 00:23:44.339
then you fell in love with jazz. I mean, was

00:23:44.339 --> 00:23:46.940
it like, you know, you went from a... You went

00:23:46.940 --> 00:23:50.480
from a fast food joint to a five -star Michelin

00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:53.319
restaurant. To be exact, I was listening to a

00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:55.980
lot of pop music. When I started classical music,

00:23:56.119 --> 00:24:00.359
I liked it. But it was blues music I started

00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:03.539
serious. I was playing blues guitar for probably,

00:24:03.819 --> 00:24:06.980
seriously played for two, three years too. Deep

00:24:06.980 --> 00:24:10.140
into that, there's only five notes in blues music.

00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:12.660
Blues guitar. Blues music is only five notes.

00:24:12.839 --> 00:24:14.759
I mean, yeah, on a pentatonic scale where a guitar

00:24:14.759 --> 00:24:19.559
player. What scale? Fucking hell. Okay, what

00:24:19.559 --> 00:24:23.180
scale is that? Say that again? Pentatonic scale.

00:24:23.720 --> 00:24:26.240
Pentatonic scale. Can you care to explain the

00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:29.140
summary or summarize what the hell is pentatonic

00:24:29.140 --> 00:24:30.819
scale? No need to know the theory part. You just

00:24:30.819 --> 00:24:33.000
know five notes enough. You can play that five

00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:36.319
notes properly. Are you talking about like a

00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:39.759
C, A minor, F, G kind of thing? Yeah. Part of

00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:43.900
the scale is like A, B, C, D, right? But later

00:24:43.900 --> 00:24:46.160
on, when I start teaching too, I told them to

00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:48.619
learn the five. The student went, no, I want

00:24:48.619 --> 00:24:50.940
to learn more than that. I said, yeah, I know

00:24:50.940 --> 00:24:52.480
you must play the five notes correctly first

00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:55.619
before you move to the 12, right? Then they look

00:24:55.619 --> 00:24:57.940
at me and some of them actually gave up, you

00:24:57.940 --> 00:25:02.740
know, because it's boring. Okay, so what you're

00:25:02.740 --> 00:25:04.960
trying to explain is that get your fundamentals

00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:08.769
right. Yes, totally. Okay. Totally. Then you

00:25:08.769 --> 00:25:11.450
can move on to the bigger stuff. I wasn't a lead

00:25:11.450 --> 00:25:14.329
guitarist when I played for Gerd Heine. I was

00:25:14.329 --> 00:25:18.069
just a rhythm guitarist. Support the music. That's

00:25:18.069 --> 00:25:21.670
my foundation. And I love, until today, I love

00:25:21.670 --> 00:25:23.490
rhythm guitar. Let me drag you back to blues

00:25:23.490 --> 00:25:26.630
now. Hello. Go back to blues. So was it blues

00:25:26.630 --> 00:25:28.710
or was it jazz? Which is the one you fell in

00:25:28.710 --> 00:25:32.390
love with? My teacher just tell me that you got

00:25:32.390 --> 00:25:35.809
to learn this for one year. Mr. Jesu, the great

00:25:35.809 --> 00:25:39.299
Jesu. You learned what? Blues? Just one year.

00:25:39.339 --> 00:25:41.480
Nothing but just blues. Okay, but eventually

00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:44.539
you fell in love with all the genres. Yeah. You

00:25:44.539 --> 00:25:48.559
fell in love with jazz. Because of being honest.

00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:50.640
Okay, but you fell in love with jazz, right?

00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:54.339
Yeah, yeah. But before you started playing jazz,

00:25:54.519 --> 00:25:56.819
you were performing a lot of pop stuff. Of course.

00:25:57.059 --> 00:26:00.319
Okay, so that was my question. So when you moved

00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:05.430
from pop to jazz, or you discovered jazz... Was

00:26:05.430 --> 00:26:08.230
it like, you know, you were always so used to

00:26:08.230 --> 00:26:10.650
going to a fast food restaurant. Then you end

00:26:10.650 --> 00:26:13.369
up in a five -star Michelin restaurant. Because

00:26:13.369 --> 00:26:16.430
now, hey, fancy, man, jazz. It's like, you know,

00:26:16.450 --> 00:26:20.170
along the ilk of Mr. Jeremy Montero. Yeah. You

00:26:20.170 --> 00:26:22.690
know what I mean? Luis Soliano, right? Well,

00:26:22.710 --> 00:26:25.289
now Reggie Leo is like, whoa, he's in jazz. It

00:26:25.289 --> 00:26:28.369
doesn't feel as if you're at the top. They used

00:26:28.369 --> 00:26:31.029
to have a pub at, every Sunday, they have a little

00:26:31.029 --> 00:26:34.829
jam at the... Jockey Park? No, East Coast. Huh?

00:26:35.069 --> 00:26:37.630
East Coast Sailing Club. Oh, is it? Yeah, every

00:26:37.630 --> 00:26:40.569
Sunday afternoon where Mr. Louis Soleano was

00:26:40.569 --> 00:26:42.789
playing there. Okay, okay. With another guitarist.

00:26:42.789 --> 00:26:46.490
I can't remember his name. James. And a bassist.

00:26:46.589 --> 00:26:49.269
And every Sunday, they play standard. Jazz standard.

00:26:49.869 --> 00:26:52.990
And it's near my house again. It's East Coast,

00:26:53.029 --> 00:26:55.750
you know. I stay in Bedok. So, somebody just,

00:26:55.809 --> 00:26:58.710
hey, come along. Listen to him. That's when I

00:26:58.710 --> 00:27:01.849
actually listen to jazz music. And every Sunday.

00:27:02.190 --> 00:27:06.170
And I get to know him. I get to know him. And

00:27:06.170 --> 00:27:08.250
they're fighting all the time. The three of them.

00:27:08.470 --> 00:27:14.569
Louis. Louis Soliano. Okay. Of course, when you

00:27:14.569 --> 00:27:17.869
are learning, when you're influenced by all these

00:27:17.869 --> 00:27:20.769
people, you listen to them. And best of all,

00:27:20.910 --> 00:27:24.009
Mr. Louis actually sings too. He sings all these

00:27:24.009 --> 00:27:26.210
songs. Not only he can play, he can sing too.

00:27:26.390 --> 00:27:29.430
That's when you learn the kind of melody. I still

00:27:29.430 --> 00:27:31.490
think melody is king to today, all kind of music.

00:27:32.029 --> 00:27:33.769
That's how we fell in love with music in the

00:27:33.769 --> 00:27:37.369
first place. That's when I... There's a side

00:27:37.369 --> 00:27:42.230
of me telling me, hey, this is really nice. I

00:27:42.230 --> 00:27:46.670
was playing pop those days. That's when I would

00:27:46.670 --> 00:27:51.309
say that's the main influence for me. The East

00:27:51.309 --> 00:27:53.849
Coast Sailing Centre, watching Mr. Louis Soliano

00:27:53.849 --> 00:27:56.789
and friends play. And then you got into the jazz.

00:27:57.009 --> 00:27:59.450
And after knowing him, we kind of... keep in

00:27:59.450 --> 00:28:01.849
touch. So, whenever he performs, I just follow

00:28:01.849 --> 00:28:04.589
and watch him. I think it's the same as everybody

00:28:04.589 --> 00:28:08.509
else who learn from him. We all kind of get influenced

00:28:08.509 --> 00:28:10.730
by him somehow. A lot of people have been influenced

00:28:10.730 --> 00:28:13.309
by Louis, right? I mean, great guy, great guy.

00:28:13.470 --> 00:28:15.269
He's amazing, right? He's been playing this music

00:28:15.269 --> 00:28:18.829
for like 60 years, you know? He's in his 80s

00:28:18.829 --> 00:28:21.730
now. He's a super granddaddy of us all. He knows

00:28:21.730 --> 00:28:25.450
this line. Just pick up the good thing from him.

00:28:26.250 --> 00:28:30.960
Can we play that? little short vid of reggie

00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:43.359
leo yes and his love for jazz oh this is i see

00:28:43.359 --> 00:29:31.480
tamago in the back yeah Wow. That's Tony, man.

00:29:31.579 --> 00:29:37.579
Dr. Tony Macaroni. And Tamago. Tony what? Tony

00:29:37.579 --> 00:29:41.599
Macaroni. Dr. Tony Macaroni. Okay. He's a bass

00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:45.539
player. I heard something else. Okay. Not about

00:29:45.539 --> 00:29:48.640
fingering, right? No. It's about more like food.

00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:54.859
Do you know Tamago? I know Tamago. Tama. Tama

00:29:54.859 --> 00:29:56.319
is great. As a matter of fact, I'll be inviting

00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:59.299
him for next season. Oh, great. That's a little

00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:01.420
restaurant we played for 20 years. Where is that?

00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:04.960
Halia Restaurant back in Botanic Garden. Wow.

00:30:05.839 --> 00:30:09.960
The owner was a very young couple then. Maybe

00:30:09.960 --> 00:30:14.579
in their 30s, those days. They want to start

00:30:14.579 --> 00:30:19.099
a restaurant in Ginger Garden. Ginger Garden.

00:30:19.119 --> 00:30:21.160
Ginger Garden, yeah. Halia. Yeah, they changed

00:30:21.160 --> 00:30:26.859
it. No -brainer, right? Wait, fuck, yeah. I think

00:30:26.859 --> 00:30:34.359
that was 2001. I think so. And Tama gave me a

00:30:34.359 --> 00:30:36.160
score. I was doing a lot of gigs for Tama those

00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:40.099
days. And he told me, hey, what do you do on

00:30:40.099 --> 00:30:44.660
Sunday? I said, well, playing soccer again. So,

00:30:44.700 --> 00:30:50.500
he gave me that gig for those days. No vocalist,

00:30:50.500 --> 00:30:53.440
you know. It was just a saxophone player. Nice.

00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:56.460
Double bass player. In fact, Bong was the original

00:30:56.460 --> 00:31:02.619
bass player. Dama, Bong, Tony was later. And

00:31:02.619 --> 00:31:08.980
saxophonist, Mr. Eddie Sangkap. Sangkap. He passed

00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:11.579
away recently last year. So sad to hear that.

00:31:11.759 --> 00:31:14.480
Beautiful saxophone player. Oh man, my goodness.

00:31:14.980 --> 00:31:19.440
Dr. Eddie Sangkap. Yeah. He was playing flute

00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:22.720
those days. I've never heard it. I've never seen

00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:24.599
him play the flute. He's a principal player.

00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:28.180
I mean, I'm so fortunate and so blessed and so

00:31:28.180 --> 00:31:32.740
proud. I can easily say I played with Dr. Eddie

00:31:32.740 --> 00:31:35.400
Sunkup. Where is it? I played with him. I played

00:31:35.400 --> 00:31:41.180
with the late Sanit, Rizal's dad. And, you know,

00:31:41.200 --> 00:31:44.180
they're all session players. With Bonnie. Oh,

00:31:44.180 --> 00:31:46.599
nice. Bonnie faces Sousa and Wendy. Yeah, his

00:31:46.599 --> 00:31:49.279
wife, Wendy. Then we have Eddie there. And I

00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:52.559
will never forget. Eddie Sangka. I don't know

00:31:52.559 --> 00:31:54.079
whether I mentioned this during my episode with

00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:56.200
Bonnie and Wendy, but it doesn't matter. It was

00:31:56.200 --> 00:31:58.180
a couple of seasons ago, so I'll mention it again.

00:31:59.019 --> 00:32:01.640
At that time, I was in my 20s. I think I was

00:32:01.640 --> 00:32:07.980
24, 25. And it was my first time breaking out

00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:15.299
into singing with a band professionally. I mean,

00:32:15.319 --> 00:32:17.759
I sing. I never said I'm a singer. I will never

00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:20.460
say that. I mean, I'm an MC that sings, you know.

00:32:20.660 --> 00:32:24.539
But this one, Bonnie, somehow... He must have

00:32:24.539 --> 00:32:26.619
heard something about you, right? That's what

00:32:26.619 --> 00:32:33.259
he said. And he said, come sing for us, you know.

00:32:33.720 --> 00:32:40.160
And I'm like, what? And it's stuff like, you

00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:43.680
know, jazz. Jazz, rock and roll, stuff that he

00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:45.980
would... Bonnie loves to boss around a lot of

00:32:45.980 --> 00:32:49.410
things, you know. And Eddie is the usual staple,

00:32:49.589 --> 00:32:51.930
Eddie. Based would be a guy named Syed. Wow,

00:32:52.009 --> 00:32:54.630
fantastic. Oh yeah, I know him too. Syed and

00:32:54.630 --> 00:32:59.130
Sanib. Then of course, Bonnie, Wendy. And on

00:32:59.130 --> 00:33:03.450
so many gigs that I've had with them, I get so

00:33:03.450 --> 00:33:05.509
worried, you know, because it's like, my God,

00:33:05.589 --> 00:33:07.369
they're all monsters. You know, these people

00:33:07.369 --> 00:33:11.609
are huge, you know, and the talent, the experience.

00:33:11.970 --> 00:33:16.210
And this young guy. How long ago? Well, this

00:33:16.210 --> 00:33:19.769
was probably 94, 95, 96, around there. Yeah.

00:33:20.309 --> 00:33:23.210
Or maybe it could be even past the 97, I guess.

00:33:23.569 --> 00:33:26.930
And first time I ran out to do this, you know.

00:33:26.970 --> 00:33:28.710
I mean, I've been doing this a long time, but

00:33:28.710 --> 00:33:31.490
not like that with a band in the band circuit,

00:33:31.710 --> 00:33:35.210
you know. So Bonnie put me even in Carriage Bar

00:33:35.210 --> 00:33:37.609
to perform as Elvis or Happy Hour Before Thunderbirds

00:33:37.609 --> 00:33:40.670
come on. So it was really nice. It was great

00:33:40.670 --> 00:33:46.420
experiences. But Eddie scolded me. Why? because

00:33:46.420 --> 00:33:52.160
I kept being so anxious, nervous, you know, and

00:33:52.160 --> 00:33:54.539
kept saying that, I don't know, I don't know,

00:33:54.579 --> 00:33:57.160
I mean, are you guys okay with this? Am I up

00:33:57.160 --> 00:34:00.339
to standard? Am I there? Am I good enough for

00:34:00.339 --> 00:34:03.440
you, you know? And then he said, he put me aside

00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:06.299
and talked to me for a while, very quietly. I

00:34:06.299 --> 00:34:10.619
said, yeah. He actually grabbed me by the shoulder

00:34:10.619 --> 00:34:14.349
and he said, listen. I don't want to hear you

00:34:14.349 --> 00:34:18.570
say this anymore. You are here. You're with us.

00:34:19.429 --> 00:34:23.289
What does it mean? You're good enough. And that

00:34:23.289 --> 00:34:27.510
meant the world. Oh yeah. He's got a serious

00:34:27.510 --> 00:34:30.070
face. He doesn't smile. Yeah, he doesn't. But

00:34:30.070 --> 00:34:33.510
he doesn't talk much either. Few words. Yeah,

00:34:33.550 --> 00:34:36.329
very few words. But when he gets on the sax,

00:34:36.590 --> 00:34:40.929
oh my God. Sorry, shouldn't say gosh. Yeah, I

00:34:40.929 --> 00:34:42.849
can curse and all, but I will never use the Lord's

00:34:42.849 --> 00:34:48.030
name in vain. Yeah, so, you know, you were the

00:34:48.030 --> 00:34:51.550
one who told me recently that he passed on. Rest

00:34:51.550 --> 00:34:54.769
in peace, Eddie. Yeah, man. Oh, wow. I mean,

00:34:54.849 --> 00:34:59.889
oh, man. That guy was fantastic, really, and

00:34:59.889 --> 00:35:02.409
meant a lot what he said to me. Yeah, he taught

00:35:02.409 --> 00:35:07.170
me many things about music. One of few that actually...

00:35:08.840 --> 00:35:11.880
You ask them something, they actually explain

00:35:11.880 --> 00:35:16.099
to you. With no agendas. Some of them, you ask

00:35:16.099 --> 00:35:17.800
them, oh, you're going to learn, you're going

00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:20.960
to find things your way, you know? Yeah. That's

00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:23.980
how I get to school, you know? The school that

00:35:23.980 --> 00:35:26.840
I went through, it's not funny because I work

00:35:26.840 --> 00:35:30.139
with a lot of older musicians. Some of them are,

00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:35.219
I don't want to use the word insecure, but at

00:35:35.219 --> 00:35:38.059
the same time, it's... not a nice environment

00:35:38.059 --> 00:35:41.900
some of them you felt I feel how you feel the

00:35:41.900 --> 00:35:45.079
same thing you know and some of them really nasty

00:35:45.079 --> 00:35:47.079
yeah they don't want to share they don't want

00:35:47.079 --> 00:35:49.559
to share and they put you down sometimes but

00:35:49.559 --> 00:35:53.719
I met other like Eddie like that a few really

00:35:53.719 --> 00:35:56.400
nice they encourage you all the time they don't

00:35:56.400 --> 00:35:58.800
laugh at you they will tell you even they have

00:35:58.800 --> 00:36:01.119
to tell you they tell you after the gig you know

00:36:01.119 --> 00:36:05.420
well just now you you should This is a thing.

00:36:05.500 --> 00:36:08.360
Those are real musicians, you know, Reggie? Because

00:36:08.360 --> 00:36:11.280
they care about it. If you don't do that, the

00:36:11.280 --> 00:36:13.400
musicians don't do that, right? They don't stay

00:36:13.400 --> 00:36:16.539
united. They don't share. I mean sharing. We

00:36:16.539 --> 00:36:18.500
have a fellow musician. They're staying united.

00:36:19.000 --> 00:36:23.400
The industry stays united. If you care for how

00:36:23.400 --> 00:36:27.719
the music business continues, right? You do that.

00:36:27.820 --> 00:36:32.039
You give. Unfortunately, that's what I heard.

00:36:32.300 --> 00:36:35.090
That's how they train. The older musicians, they

00:36:35.090 --> 00:36:37.389
will put down before they become legends themselves.

00:36:37.730 --> 00:36:42.269
So they became like that. So there's no, there's

00:36:42.269 --> 00:36:44.349
no format or they are wrong or right, you know,

00:36:44.349 --> 00:36:47.230
but you just take, you just kind of, that's the

00:36:47.230 --> 00:36:50.449
road I took. I tell myself, if I don't learn

00:36:50.449 --> 00:36:52.690
from these people, where do I learn from? I'm

00:36:52.690 --> 00:36:55.769
not really studied, you know, I just. You're

00:36:55.769 --> 00:37:01.099
a late bloomer. I'm a soccer player. What was

00:37:01.099 --> 00:37:05.739
it about... Who can't make it? Oh, fuck. What

00:37:05.739 --> 00:37:07.840
was it about the music of Charlie Parker, Chet

00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:11.300
Atkins and Joe Paz that made you say, I'm out

00:37:11.300 --> 00:37:14.880
to the pop scene? I don't know how to answer

00:37:14.880 --> 00:37:16.960
that. I don't understand the question. One more

00:37:16.960 --> 00:37:19.679
time. Did you... The music about Charlie Parker,

00:37:19.900 --> 00:37:22.860
Chet Atkins and Joe Paz. There was an interview,

00:37:22.940 --> 00:37:26.360
I think, you said that, I'm out. You want to

00:37:26.360 --> 00:37:32.869
play jazz. Oh, yeah. Until now, I think I still

00:37:32.869 --> 00:37:35.909
listen to them a lot, transcribe some of them.

00:37:36.989 --> 00:37:45.469
But to be a really, really good musician, that

00:37:45.469 --> 00:37:48.730
level, you take a lifelong sacrifice to be like

00:37:48.730 --> 00:37:51.650
that. I mean, you eat shit, nothing but jazz

00:37:51.650 --> 00:37:55.550
every day. But come to a point, I realized that

00:37:55.550 --> 00:37:59.550
that's not going to be me because I like all

00:37:59.550 --> 00:38:02.500
kinds of music. I think people like Charlie Parker,

00:38:02.719 --> 00:38:07.199
Joe Pass, these people, it's nothing but jazz.

00:38:08.460 --> 00:38:13.840
Maybe in that time, they have a market for that.

00:38:14.260 --> 00:38:16.940
But in Singapore, I think it's really, really

00:38:16.940 --> 00:38:21.400
difficult. There's absolutely no real jazz club

00:38:21.400 --> 00:38:26.619
here. I might be wrong saying that, but I think

00:38:26.619 --> 00:38:30.219
to answer your question, it's me, right? I really

00:38:30.219 --> 00:38:32.760
like all kinds of music rather than just... I

00:38:32.760 --> 00:38:36.079
love jazz too. I love good rock too. I love good

00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:39.800
pop. I love good blues. I love beautiful classical

00:38:39.800 --> 00:38:42.119
music. I love all kinds of music. Well, I want

00:38:42.119 --> 00:38:44.440
to pick this particular thing you just brought

00:38:44.440 --> 00:38:50.380
up. It's a nice subject. Jazz in Singapore. Let's

00:38:50.380 --> 00:38:52.760
roll back the clock a little bit. Years ago,

00:38:52.860 --> 00:38:55.079
in the old West End, now it's called the Sis

00:38:55.079 --> 00:38:59.179
Hotel, there was a joint. Eddie Young. called

00:38:59.179 --> 00:39:03.019
LD Young Trio playing at the Somerset Bar. And

00:39:03.019 --> 00:39:07.059
the Somerset Bar was a purist, a jazz purist

00:39:07.059 --> 00:39:10.579
jazz bar. Yeah. Agree? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.

00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:15.179
And do you think the Somerset Bar did well during

00:39:15.179 --> 00:39:21.239
its time? At that time? I think so. So at that

00:39:21.239 --> 00:39:25.079
time, if I'm not mistaken, it's probably in the

00:39:25.079 --> 00:39:30.000
90s. You know, through past the mid -90s as well.

00:39:30.659 --> 00:39:35.019
And LD Young Trio playing and Somerset Bar. They

00:39:35.019 --> 00:39:38.719
were doing well. Business was quite brisk. Does

00:39:38.719 --> 00:39:43.000
it mean then that the generation back then appreciated

00:39:43.000 --> 00:39:45.980
jazz more than the ones today? I mean, for those

00:39:45.980 --> 00:39:49.400
people who didn't watch LD Young, he's more than

00:39:49.400 --> 00:39:52.500
a jazz musician. I think apart from his great

00:39:52.500 --> 00:39:55.280
singing and his playing, he's an entertainer.

00:39:55.849 --> 00:39:59.630
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not just a, you know,

00:39:59.650 --> 00:40:03.829
watch me kind of a bochoso on the instrument

00:40:03.829 --> 00:40:06.469
itself where a lot of jazz musicians just indulge

00:40:06.469 --> 00:40:08.690
in that. More than that, he's an entertainer,

00:40:08.690 --> 00:40:10.670
man. So he engages the audience. He's like a

00:40:10.670 --> 00:40:12.750
Louis Armstrong, you know. So he engages the

00:40:12.750 --> 00:40:15.090
audience. Yeah, he's like a Louis Soleano too.

00:40:15.449 --> 00:40:19.190
He knows his music well, but at the same time,

00:40:19.210 --> 00:40:22.829
he never loses the interest of the audience point

00:40:22.829 --> 00:40:26.949
of view. We're here to be entertained, not just

00:40:26.949 --> 00:40:29.309
listen to. This is an interesting point because

00:40:29.309 --> 00:40:34.630
if compared to before, guys like L .D. Young

00:40:34.630 --> 00:40:39.110
and people were going to the Somerset Bar to

00:40:39.110 --> 00:40:42.230
enjoy jazz, though they may not have understood

00:40:42.230 --> 00:40:45.269
jazz, but because it was entertaining. The performers

00:40:45.269 --> 00:40:48.429
were entertaining. So I feel like, hey, I like

00:40:48.429 --> 00:40:52.500
this place. The music, I'm trying to understand

00:40:52.500 --> 00:40:55.480
it, but I will still go back and I will eventually

00:40:55.480 --> 00:40:57.900
learn to understand this. It was entertainment

00:40:57.900 --> 00:41:04.000
to educate. Yes. But could that actually happen

00:41:04.000 --> 00:41:07.300
today? I mean, it's a great idea still that if

00:41:07.300 --> 00:41:11.460
we have musos, jazz musicians, who are able to,

00:41:11.460 --> 00:41:14.699
say, be really entertaining. engage the audience.

00:41:14.820 --> 00:41:16.519
Of course. People feel great. It will work. And

00:41:16.519 --> 00:41:18.360
they keep coming back. It will work. Yeah, and

00:41:18.360 --> 00:41:21.820
people get educated more and more on jazz. Yeah,

00:41:21.900 --> 00:41:25.739
but unfortunately today, I would say all, they

00:41:25.739 --> 00:41:28.960
are so in doubt in how to improve their skills.

00:41:29.559 --> 00:41:31.980
their licks, their song choice. Ah, but fuck,

00:41:32.019 --> 00:41:34.940
without an audience, man. But you lose the interest

00:41:34.940 --> 00:41:37.300
of the audience. Yeah, you play to an empty hall.

00:41:37.519 --> 00:41:39.900
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it's not only

00:41:39.900 --> 00:41:43.039
local, I mean, in the world too. Of course, Singapore

00:41:43.039 --> 00:41:46.460
is even harder. Jazz is like stout. It's in the

00:41:46.460 --> 00:41:50.440
quiet taste. It's not like gin tonic, right?

00:41:50.539 --> 00:41:52.960
You know, honestly, hi, hi Jeremy, if you're

00:41:52.960 --> 00:41:58.019
watching this. I mean, what we're trying to say

00:41:58.019 --> 00:42:01.179
is we want people to enjoy jazz. Of course. You

00:42:01.179 --> 00:42:03.260
know, we're not saying that there's no standard.

00:42:03.480 --> 00:42:07.320
But you're right. The entertainment value is

00:42:07.320 --> 00:42:10.300
what's needed, right? Being able to front whoever

00:42:10.300 --> 00:42:13.539
it is on the lead, for example, to front that

00:42:13.539 --> 00:42:16.219
microphone and to get people to relate to them

00:42:16.219 --> 00:42:19.239
or relate to the audience. I think it's not only

00:42:19.239 --> 00:42:22.940
jazz, you know. Even pop music, even classical

00:42:22.940 --> 00:42:27.719
music, or even... all kind of variety shows.

00:42:28.219 --> 00:42:31.400
If the audience don't feel entertained, what

00:42:31.400 --> 00:42:33.980
is the point? Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's the point?

00:42:34.579 --> 00:42:36.559
So what you're saying is interesting because

00:42:36.559 --> 00:42:39.400
be an entertainer first. You know why? Let me

00:42:39.400 --> 00:42:42.699
just try and draw some correlation here. Yeah.

00:42:42.900 --> 00:42:45.260
Like in the MC world, in my world, yeah, in my

00:42:45.260 --> 00:42:48.679
world, the Flying Dutchman, a brother from another

00:42:48.679 --> 00:42:50.719
mother, shout out to you, Mark Van Kallenberg,

00:42:50.800 --> 00:42:53.139
the Flying Dutchman. When he and I were, we had

00:42:53.139 --> 00:42:56.409
the MC Academy. for, well, seven, eight years.

00:42:56.630 --> 00:42:58.969
And so many batches came in and out of our doors.

00:42:59.510 --> 00:43:03.130
So, what we always say is this. If you watch,

00:43:03.349 --> 00:43:06.929
when the Americans watch a Singapore MC host

00:43:06.929 --> 00:43:11.829
an event, they go, that's not an MC. An MC just

00:43:11.829 --> 00:43:14.010
makes announcements. He's just a mouthpiece.

00:43:15.070 --> 00:43:17.889
It's true, man. Yeah, I'm not kidding. I'm not

00:43:17.889 --> 00:43:20.969
kidding. I got on this group, right, the MC group.

00:43:22.420 --> 00:43:24.420
on one of the socials, I'm not going to say.

00:43:24.980 --> 00:43:27.820
And in this group, I keep looking at, oh, I just

00:43:27.820 --> 00:43:31.739
hosted this. And the hosting was like, nothing

00:43:31.739 --> 00:43:34.139
you see like Ryan Seacrest doing stuff like that.

00:43:34.320 --> 00:43:38.079
Ryan Seacrest is not considered an MC. He's an

00:43:38.079 --> 00:43:42.159
entertainer. But MCs, in their context, is just

00:43:42.159 --> 00:43:46.559
making announcements. So, FD and I always tell

00:43:46.559 --> 00:43:51.699
people, tell our classes, look, You are entertainer

00:43:51.699 --> 00:43:58.940
first. MC, second. Because if you cannot entertain,

00:43:59.300 --> 00:44:02.579
you will still not capture your audience. That's

00:44:02.579 --> 00:44:05.360
an interesting point you bring up. It's the same

00:44:05.360 --> 00:44:08.980
thing, what? Yeah, I mean, until today, there

00:44:08.980 --> 00:44:13.840
is not yet another Casey Kasem. Why is he so

00:44:13.840 --> 00:44:16.440
entertaining? Yeah. Without looking at the guy,

00:44:16.460 --> 00:44:17.739
you know. He's just a voice those days in the

00:44:17.739 --> 00:44:21.579
television. Yeah. I was stuck at the radio station

00:44:21.579 --> 00:44:24.940
for four hours. I would forego my soccer and

00:44:24.940 --> 00:44:28.880
listen to this guy. Why? It's not as if he's

00:44:28.880 --> 00:44:31.000
cracking jokes or anything like that. It's just

00:44:31.000 --> 00:44:33.500
the way he delivers, right? I think also the

00:44:33.500 --> 00:44:36.320
homework he prepares. And every week, he's got

00:44:36.320 --> 00:44:40.880
a story to tell. He does his homework. It's just

00:44:40.880 --> 00:44:44.840
like jazz musician. You can play. How you play

00:44:44.840 --> 00:44:47.349
and how you entertain is a different thing. It's

00:44:47.349 --> 00:44:49.329
also your interpretation of the piece, isn't

00:44:49.329 --> 00:44:52.889
it? So why, I mean, I'm not degrading anybody

00:44:52.889 --> 00:44:56.090
else, but until now, really, I can't find anyone.

00:44:56.849 --> 00:44:59.570
Casey Kasem, man. I would listen to him for four

00:44:59.570 --> 00:45:03.409
hours, man. I think it's an age thing. No, no,

00:45:03.429 --> 00:45:04.889
I don't think it's an age group thing, you know?

00:45:05.150 --> 00:45:07.230
When you started playing the guitar professionally,

00:45:07.690 --> 00:45:11.429
did your family initially disapprove? My brother

00:45:11.429 --> 00:45:13.489
used to tell me, oh, you play good. What are

00:45:13.489 --> 00:45:16.480
you going to do, you know? And I said, I want

00:45:16.480 --> 00:45:19.539
to become a professional musician. No, no, no.

00:45:20.039 --> 00:45:23.780
What else can you do to make money? No, no, no.

00:45:24.460 --> 00:45:26.960
I'm asking a serious question. He's only one

00:45:26.960 --> 00:45:30.079
year. I said, no, I want to become a musician.

00:45:31.880 --> 00:45:34.480
Is there a profession there? He was telling me.

00:45:34.559 --> 00:45:38.400
Are you sure? We didn't talk for a couple of

00:45:38.400 --> 00:45:42.820
months because that's really, you know. It was

00:45:42.820 --> 00:45:44.699
a real no -no for the family, isn't it? Yeah.

00:45:46.369 --> 00:45:49.469
So, after I left the Air Force, I was fortunate.

00:45:51.309 --> 00:45:54.349
I got a job after three months. Playing music.

00:45:55.929 --> 00:45:59.230
And I worked seven nights a week in Golden Million

00:45:59.230 --> 00:46:05.650
Nightclub. Golden Million Nightclub? I was so

00:46:05.650 --> 00:46:07.869
happy because I started work at 10 o 'clock.

00:46:08.070 --> 00:46:10.329
Chinese song? No, we're playing English songs.

00:46:10.329 --> 00:46:12.969
Really? Golden Million Nightclub plays English

00:46:12.969 --> 00:46:15.699
songs? Yeah. And the boss was... a honky then.

00:46:15.800 --> 00:46:18.800
Okay, okay. He liked English music. Of course,

00:46:18.800 --> 00:46:20.559
you know, the making money is Chinese music.

00:46:20.699 --> 00:46:23.300
Yeah, yeah. And those days, the singer there

00:46:23.300 --> 00:46:27.239
from Taiwan, from Malaysia, they're real good

00:46:27.239 --> 00:46:30.239
singer. Of course, they're not young, but they're

00:46:30.239 --> 00:46:34.320
real singer, you know. And, I remember I go to

00:46:34.320 --> 00:46:38.099
work at 9pm every night. Okay. 9pm every night.

00:46:38.940 --> 00:46:42.280
Finish work at 3 o 'clock, of course. Yeah. They

00:46:42.280 --> 00:46:44.960
have a tablet show in between. Oh, did they have?

00:46:44.960 --> 00:46:48.780
They had the topless review. Yeah. They're from

00:46:48.780 --> 00:46:51.239
France. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like natural theatre.

00:46:51.440 --> 00:46:54.199
They have DJ too. But it just doesn't talk. They

00:46:54.199 --> 00:46:56.179
just announce a little bit and play the music

00:46:56.179 --> 00:46:59.820
during our break time. And Chinese band will

00:46:59.820 --> 00:47:01.840
play. The Chinese band got no keyboard player.

00:47:01.960 --> 00:47:04.000
They just have piano player. And they have three

00:47:04.000 --> 00:47:08.000
horns player. They have a guitar player. Wow.

00:47:08.559 --> 00:47:12.760
Yeah, really. They just read. music and and they

00:47:12.760 --> 00:47:16.199
just support all the uh usually i think they

00:47:16.199 --> 00:47:18.539
play for one hour then we take over 45 minutes

00:47:18.539 --> 00:47:22.360
the dj take over half an hour and publish i just

00:47:22.360 --> 00:47:25.199
remember we played two sets only but it was a

00:47:25.199 --> 00:47:27.880
long waiting time really long waiting time so

00:47:27.880 --> 00:47:31.940
a lot of bitching around but sometimes i would

00:47:31.940 --> 00:47:34.920
just go up and jam with the combo band with the

00:47:34.920 --> 00:47:38.940
chinese band you know i just just want because

00:47:38.940 --> 00:47:41.699
i could read right yeah i just plug in the guitar

00:47:41.699 --> 00:47:44.599
and play softly behind them. I just want, I just

00:47:44.599 --> 00:47:46.579
love to play those days. So that's how you started.

00:47:46.599 --> 00:47:48.579
You started in Golden Million. Yeah, that's my

00:47:48.579 --> 00:47:51.360
first job. As a professional musician. Yeah,

00:47:51.400 --> 00:47:53.360
I was playing pop those days. I was playing,

00:47:53.420 --> 00:47:58.239
what the hell is it? Wonderful Tonight, you had

00:47:58.239 --> 00:48:01.440
to play I Don't Like to Sleep Alone. I Don't

00:48:01.440 --> 00:48:09.320
Like to Sleep Alone. Yeah, okay. Okay, up to

00:48:09.320 --> 00:48:14.630
which point? It can't be that after 40 years

00:48:14.630 --> 00:48:16.809
of family, he still doesn't accept what you do,

00:48:16.869 --> 00:48:20.429
right? Of course. It can't be, right? I think

00:48:20.429 --> 00:48:25.550
I was a few lucky guy. Until now, I don't consider

00:48:25.550 --> 00:48:28.510
myself ever out of job. No, no, no. I'm saying

00:48:28.510 --> 00:48:30.949
your family accepting you. Yes. After that, they

00:48:30.949 --> 00:48:34.030
realized that I'm really serious. I just work.

00:48:34.210 --> 00:48:38.010
They never see me. They never see me. And of

00:48:38.010 --> 00:48:40.500
course, there'll come a time I have a three months

00:48:40.500 --> 00:48:43.960
break and I'm getting panicked too. Oh, I've

00:48:43.960 --> 00:48:46.219
got to do a three months, I've got no job. But

00:48:46.219 --> 00:48:51.460
at the same time, I went into teaching. Mr. Spencer

00:48:51.460 --> 00:48:54.059
Goh was so nice to me and he gave me a job in

00:48:54.059 --> 00:48:56.480
Yamaha. Hey, shout out again, Mr. Spencer Goh.

00:48:56.500 --> 00:48:58.760
Yeah, man. Your name comes up all the time. Last

00:48:58.760 --> 00:49:00.659
week as well, in Kuapo, we were talking about

00:49:00.659 --> 00:49:03.179
Spencer. Yeah. So he gave me, he asked, hey,

00:49:03.239 --> 00:49:05.239
there's a stop here, you want to teach? Okay,

00:49:05.460 --> 00:49:08.960
why not? So I accepted the job. Without realizing,

00:49:09.219 --> 00:49:13.260
oh my God, that's a tough job. Because it's a

00:49:13.260 --> 00:49:18.599
long hour. And being a late night musician, finish

00:49:18.599 --> 00:49:21.800
at 3 o 'clock those days, and wake up at 8 o

00:49:21.800 --> 00:49:24.119
'clock, 9 o 'clock, go to work at 10 o 'clock.

00:49:25.880 --> 00:49:30.159
Five days a week. Six days I'm working in the

00:49:30.159 --> 00:49:33.940
night. Took a toll out of me. I'm sure, yeah.

00:49:34.159 --> 00:49:38.260
But at the same time, I have a... better attitude.

00:49:38.440 --> 00:49:41.460
I was learning that time. I learned. And teaching

00:49:41.460 --> 00:49:45.099
is the same thing as music. On the job, man,

00:49:45.159 --> 00:49:49.119
you learn how to keep students. You learn how

00:49:49.119 --> 00:49:52.219
to become a better musician by teaching them.

00:49:53.300 --> 00:49:54.860
You understand what I'm trying to say? Yes, of

00:49:54.860 --> 00:49:55.980
course. Yes, I do. Because you have to do the

00:49:55.980 --> 00:49:58.699
research. Yeah. Not only the music. When you

00:49:58.699 --> 00:50:00.940
teach, you're teaching yourself twice over. Yeah,

00:50:00.960 --> 00:50:06.699
you learn not only everything about the pieces.

00:50:07.389 --> 00:50:11.070
and how to keep their interest. That's hard.

00:50:11.590 --> 00:50:14.650
That's really hard. Of course, that's why to

00:50:14.650 --> 00:50:17.829
be a musician in Singapore, a working musician,

00:50:18.010 --> 00:50:21.449
you really have to be... How do I say this? You

00:50:21.449 --> 00:50:24.010
have to be really hardworking in many things.

00:50:24.449 --> 00:50:27.969
Not only the music itself, you will learn about

00:50:27.969 --> 00:50:30.590
how to deal with humans all the time. Yeah, and

00:50:30.590 --> 00:50:33.329
your endurance as well. Yeah, a lot of patience

00:50:33.329 --> 00:50:35.269
you need. No, it's not just that. You're working

00:50:35.269 --> 00:50:38.829
nights. And also, even you do all this homework,

00:50:39.090 --> 00:50:44.090
they will leave you. That's human nature. Then

00:50:44.090 --> 00:50:47.250
you realize, oh, I spent two years teaching this

00:50:47.250 --> 00:50:50.710
guy and he left just like that. Yeah, I know.

00:50:50.869 --> 00:50:53.170
That happens to the best of us. I've had those

00:50:53.170 --> 00:50:55.750
too with some of my students. You worked with

00:50:55.750 --> 00:50:58.070
some massive names like this one when I saw his

00:50:58.070 --> 00:50:59.389
name for the first time because I'm not in the

00:50:59.389 --> 00:51:01.929
Chinese scene. But when I saw his name for the

00:51:01.929 --> 00:51:06.349
first time, I laughed my ass off. Jam Xiao. Oh,

00:51:06.349 --> 00:51:07.789
yeah, yeah, yeah. Can you imagine my name is

00:51:07.789 --> 00:51:11.489
Peanut Butter Hanson? Really? I mean, can you

00:51:11.489 --> 00:51:14.429
imagine if my name was, you know, Peanut Butter

00:51:14.429 --> 00:51:18.050
Hanson, it's Jam, J -A -M, Jam. Jam Xiao, I really

00:51:18.050 --> 00:51:20.409
don't know who he is. And JJ Lin, that one I

00:51:20.409 --> 00:51:22.949
know. Yeah. So is it true that the best session

00:51:22.949 --> 00:51:27.190
musicians are like musical ninjas? You make the

00:51:27.190 --> 00:51:29.889
star look good, but you're never seen. That's

00:51:29.889 --> 00:51:31.409
what I said earlier on. You're in the back, you're

00:51:31.409 --> 00:51:32.090
in the front, you're in the front, you're in

00:51:32.090 --> 00:51:33.250
the back, you're in the front and then to the

00:51:33.250 --> 00:51:37.349
back. So, is it true? I think the music has changed

00:51:37.349 --> 00:51:41.449
massively in terms of arrangement, feels. When

00:51:41.449 --> 00:51:43.969
I would listen to all the Chinese music in the

00:51:43.969 --> 00:51:47.309
60s, 70s, or maybe a little bit of 80s, it was

00:51:47.309 --> 00:51:50.809
very different from the 90s onwards. Because

00:51:50.809 --> 00:51:54.110
I think the arranger has become younger. The

00:51:54.110 --> 00:51:59.070
music became very Americanized. So, even the

00:51:59.070 --> 00:52:03.269
Chinese music became very Western. Is it? Arrangement

00:52:03.269 --> 00:52:06.730
-wise. Really? Yeah, the feel. Very totally different

00:52:06.730 --> 00:52:10.329
from 60s, 70s music, which I also exposed to.

00:52:10.949 --> 00:52:13.489
So, I mean, two words, you know. But somehow

00:52:13.489 --> 00:52:16.369
or other, I got an offer to play that. In fact,

00:52:16.389 --> 00:52:19.409
it's very rock. This guy is very rock. He loves

00:52:19.409 --> 00:52:23.469
all the rock music. Even his music is very melodious,

00:52:23.530 --> 00:52:25.610
but the arrangement is rock. So, we have two

00:52:25.610 --> 00:52:28.690
guitar players. We have a Malaysian guitar player

00:52:28.690 --> 00:52:31.550
and me. Two guitar players were sharing the...

00:52:32.130 --> 00:52:36.010
And it's noisy to me, some of the arrangements.

00:52:36.250 --> 00:52:39.030
But the audience dig it, love it. But when you

00:52:39.030 --> 00:52:41.489
hear the end product, you understand where he

00:52:41.489 --> 00:52:46.170
comes from. He wants a different school. He is

00:52:46.170 --> 00:52:48.309
a modern school. He loves all the rock things

00:52:48.309 --> 00:52:51.670
infused into the beautiful Chinese music. But

00:52:51.670 --> 00:52:54.829
how do you feel about making these guys, JJ Lin,

00:52:55.030 --> 00:52:57.949
Jam Xiao, they look so good because of guys like

00:52:57.949 --> 00:53:05.500
you, right? Well... Up to that point, you realize

00:53:05.500 --> 00:53:09.360
that it's hard, but it's not rocket science too,

00:53:09.420 --> 00:53:12.599
right? You just do your part, you know? As a

00:53:12.599 --> 00:53:16.599
session player, you are called to do this. Yeah,

00:53:16.639 --> 00:53:20.400
but they get all the credit. They're the stars.

00:53:20.739 --> 00:53:26.000
Yeah. Yeah, it's... I was not a singer, you know?

00:53:26.539 --> 00:53:30.139
I'm just good at what I do. So I should be contented.

00:53:30.159 --> 00:53:32.719
I mean, I'm very... Until now, I think I'm very

00:53:32.719 --> 00:53:35.380
blessed, you know? whatever i do yeah i think

00:53:35.380 --> 00:53:38.159
they're more better guitar player around than

00:53:38.159 --> 00:53:41.659
me that doesn't have as blessed as me in many

00:53:41.659 --> 00:53:46.820
ways i seriously think so some of them are my

00:53:46.820 --> 00:53:50.539
friends too i'm just lucky you know i work i

00:53:50.539 --> 00:53:55.059
work my ass off i would say but at the same time

00:53:55.059 --> 00:54:01.719
it's the luck i have Probably. And the people

00:54:01.719 --> 00:54:04.719
that I meet, very nice people, you know. And

00:54:04.719 --> 00:54:08.980
a lot of them give me... I'm going to do you

00:54:08.980 --> 00:54:11.480
a favor. Yeah. Because, you know, guys like you,

00:54:11.599 --> 00:54:16.260
somehow similar guys like me, people that do

00:54:16.260 --> 00:54:19.480
what I do, right? I always say that we are the

00:54:19.480 --> 00:54:21.500
glue that bind the glitter. We are not the glitter,

00:54:21.559 --> 00:54:24.619
we're the glue. Yeah, it's a harder job. Yeah,

00:54:24.639 --> 00:54:25.980
I think so. It's a harder job. It's a harder

00:54:25.980 --> 00:54:29.409
job to make someone else look so good. But you're

00:54:29.409 --> 00:54:31.070
the voice there. You're doing everything, right?

00:54:31.309 --> 00:54:34.030
I'm good at that. But I'm going to do you a favor

00:54:34.030 --> 00:54:36.150
because people like you, as I said earlier on,

00:54:36.190 --> 00:54:40.190
very unsung. Right now, I know my show is viewed

00:54:40.190 --> 00:54:43.269
by a lot of people in Asia. Understand this.

00:54:43.369 --> 00:54:47.530
This man, my guest, Reggie Dio, is amongst the

00:54:47.530 --> 00:54:51.969
top, top, top guitarists in my country, Singapore.

00:54:52.530 --> 00:54:56.090
Okay? So recognize his name. Recognize that face.

00:54:56.889 --> 00:55:00.780
He's always in the background. Today, he's in

00:55:00.780 --> 00:55:05.599
the front. Right in front. Reggie Leo. Don't

00:55:05.599 --> 00:55:10.739
forget that name. And if we were to name the

00:55:10.739 --> 00:55:12.699
bands in the 40 years that you've been here,

00:55:12.780 --> 00:55:16.059
name me some, man. Name me some from the very

00:55:16.059 --> 00:55:20.420
early beginnings. Really bands that we know and

00:55:20.420 --> 00:55:22.699
heard of over the years. That I played with?

00:55:22.760 --> 00:55:27.489
Yeah, you played with. Let's name some. I play

00:55:27.489 --> 00:55:30.969
with the Platters. I play with Lobo. No, no,

00:55:30.969 --> 00:55:33.269
no. Wait, wait, wait. Before we go to that one.

00:55:33.369 --> 00:55:37.230
Local bands. Oh, local bands. I play with New

00:55:37.230 --> 00:55:40.849
Faces. Jerry Fernandez. Yeah, Jerry's my mentor,

00:55:40.949 --> 00:55:45.150
man. Hey, shout out to Jerry too. Then I play

00:55:45.150 --> 00:55:47.889
with a rock band with John Molina. Kruger. Yeah,

00:55:47.909 --> 00:55:51.150
Kruger. It's 1993. Wow. We're in where else,

00:55:51.150 --> 00:55:53.190
man? Before we were in Europa. In where else?

00:55:53.269 --> 00:55:55.650
Where else? Remember the... Yeah, I used to be

00:55:55.650 --> 00:55:58.750
a regular. Where else? I was there for one year,

00:55:58.849 --> 00:56:03.110
then we got into Europa. Which Europa? All the

00:56:03.110 --> 00:56:06.630
Europa, man. East Coast Europa, Changi Europa,

00:56:06.969 --> 00:56:08.469
Nice 7. Okay, here we go, Mr. Dennis Phil, one

00:56:08.469 --> 00:56:12.030
more time, hi. Xanadu, you remember the place?

00:56:12.030 --> 00:56:13.530
Yeah, yeah, of course I remember. Shangri -La,

00:56:13.610 --> 00:56:18.369
yeah, Shangri -La. Where else? Ridley's. yeah

00:56:18.369 --> 00:56:20.690
really so it's about five or six all that was

00:56:20.690 --> 00:56:23.769
a cougar yes okay what was the best i was a musical

00:56:23.769 --> 00:56:26.989
director i mean i was a musical director for

00:56:26.989 --> 00:56:30.590
for kruger those days okay then we got offered

00:56:30.590 --> 00:56:35.130
to go to spark spots yeah yeah disco yeah yeah

00:56:35.130 --> 00:56:41.090
yeah yeah yeah yeah we get a spot check all the

00:56:41.090 --> 00:56:47.159
time yeah i know ecstasy pill I know. Yeah, sometimes

00:56:47.159 --> 00:56:49.500
we play three sets, sometimes we play one, sometimes

00:56:49.500 --> 00:56:52.340
we play two. You guys, you interspersed together

00:56:52.340 --> 00:56:55.119
the sets with Energy, right? No, Energy was the

00:56:55.119 --> 00:56:59.480
main stage. We were on the right. Oh. Then, Jerry

00:56:59.480 --> 00:57:02.000
La Chica was on the left. Oh, La Chicago. Yeah.

00:57:02.679 --> 00:57:06.780
The late Jerry La Chica. Yeah, it's a wonderful

00:57:06.780 --> 00:57:11.119
experience and we saw the beginning of Boyz Band

00:57:11.119 --> 00:57:15.650
those days, no? Where Sly came to. Westlife,

00:57:15.650 --> 00:57:17.750
Backstreet Boys. Backstreet Boys, yeah. What

00:57:17.750 --> 00:57:20.570
else? Take That. Yeah, Take That. And what's

00:57:20.570 --> 00:57:23.090
a Robbie Williams? Take That, isn't it? Isn't

00:57:23.090 --> 00:57:25.050
Robbie Williams a Take That? Another one. I can't

00:57:25.050 --> 00:57:28.630
remember. And I'm so happy to see Newcastle team

00:57:28.630 --> 00:57:34.449
there. And the football game. Okay. You played

00:57:34.449 --> 00:57:39.110
with legends like, oh my goodness, Grammy winner

00:57:39.110 --> 00:57:43.130
Nestor Torres. Oh yeah, yeah. How was that like?

00:57:45.299 --> 00:57:49.440
He's a great jazz musician. But at the same time,

00:57:49.460 --> 00:57:53.320
his music is very Latin -influenced. Sometimes

00:57:53.320 --> 00:57:56.340
he will tell me, Reg, this song, can you play

00:57:56.340 --> 00:57:59.139
like Joe Paz? This song, can you play like Santana?

00:57:59.380 --> 00:58:01.800
And could you? This song, can you play a little

00:58:01.800 --> 00:58:04.679
bit louder, a bit quieter? He's very detailed

00:58:04.679 --> 00:58:08.639
what he wants. Oh, yeah. I mean, I do what he

00:58:08.639 --> 00:58:10.820
likes. He's always smiling after my playing.

00:58:12.250 --> 00:58:15.309
So you can play like Joe Pass. You can play like

00:58:15.309 --> 00:58:17.929
Santana. I don't know. I don't know what I said.

00:58:17.989 --> 00:58:20.210
But he was happy. He was smiling. He didn't say

00:58:20.210 --> 00:58:23.449
he's happy, but he's smiling. But he's a star

00:58:23.449 --> 00:58:26.110
again. We are just supporting him. Of course,

00:58:26.110 --> 00:58:28.789
with Tamago. Oh, Tamago played as well for him.

00:58:29.230 --> 00:58:32.769
Mario was on keyboard. I think Bong was on bass.

00:58:33.210 --> 00:58:40.610
And Indra. It's a long time ago. How do you dig

00:58:40.610 --> 00:58:44.079
that information? You'd be surprised at the things

00:58:44.079 --> 00:58:47.320
I can't remember you could remember. Other things

00:58:47.320 --> 00:58:49.980
I want to find out from you, I have ways to make

00:58:49.980 --> 00:58:54.340
you talk. So, you lead a band now called Uber

00:58:54.340 --> 00:58:59.139
Jam. Yeah. Who came up with that name? Me. One

00:58:59.139 --> 00:59:02.119
of my favorite albums was Uber Jam, actually,

00:59:02.159 --> 00:59:04.280
from John Scofield. Oh, you mean that's actually

00:59:04.280 --> 00:59:06.360
the name of an album? Yeah. Who's John Scofield?

00:59:06.559 --> 00:59:10.539
It's a great... jazz -influenced guitarist. ZZ.

00:59:10.639 --> 00:59:13.780
All these names I don't know. Yeah, but he plays

00:59:13.780 --> 00:59:16.960
all kinds of music too. He plays pop. He plays

00:59:16.960 --> 00:59:22.840
jazz too. He plays blues too. So I was... Actually,

00:59:22.860 --> 00:59:25.500
it's a very funky band. Instrumental all the

00:59:25.500 --> 00:59:29.519
way, but very, very creative music. Who's in

00:59:29.519 --> 00:59:32.519
the band? John Scofield. No, no. Uber Jam. Oh,

00:59:32.519 --> 00:59:36.869
Uber Jam. Shit. Sorry. No worries. Who's in the

00:59:36.869 --> 00:59:40.570
band, Uber Jam? Jenny V, the great vocalist.

00:59:40.789 --> 00:59:47.610
Yeah, you met her. And Fred on bass. Okay. What

00:59:47.610 --> 00:59:51.090
is his name? Gilbert's on drum. So I'm the only

00:59:51.090 --> 00:59:56.670
foreigner there. The three of them are all Filipino,

00:59:56.829 --> 01:00:04.079
except me. But I found a band, probably. Next

01:00:04.079 --> 01:00:05.920
year will be 10 years, you know, in a little

01:00:05.920 --> 01:00:09.400
joint called Red Noodles Bar. Red Noodles Bar?

01:00:09.480 --> 01:00:14.440
Yeah. In the beginning, it was just me and Jenny.

01:00:15.079 --> 01:00:20.659
So, I started to play some pop music, older music,

01:00:20.780 --> 01:00:24.699
and we kind of didn't hit it in the beginning,

01:00:24.820 --> 01:00:28.039
you know, until we hit Smoke and Water, you know.

01:00:28.420 --> 01:00:32.179
The whole bar go wild. So, there are more rockers

01:00:32.179 --> 01:00:36.000
around. I was playing acoustic then. Then I suggested

01:00:36.000 --> 01:00:38.739
to my boss, why don't you give me a bassist and

01:00:38.739 --> 01:00:42.079
a drummer? Let me try for three months. If three

01:00:42.079 --> 01:00:44.079
months doesn't work, we go back to acoustic.

01:00:45.739 --> 01:00:48.880
And he agreed? Yeah, agreed. Well, that's good

01:00:48.880 --> 01:00:51.000
because a lot of people don't agree to even having...

01:00:51.000 --> 01:00:53.260
One more piece, he started arguing about money

01:00:53.260 --> 01:00:55.480
already. Yeah, my boss is great. He's a rocker

01:00:55.480 --> 01:00:58.699
too. He loves rock. So it happens. The rest is

01:00:58.699 --> 01:01:03.900
history. It works. The bar became so... So popular

01:01:03.900 --> 01:01:08.380
on the night they would play. Then came COVID.

01:01:09.440 --> 01:01:12.199
Then came COVID. My boss tried for six months

01:01:12.199 --> 01:01:15.880
to sustain it. He couldn't. That's when we stopped.

01:01:16.739 --> 01:01:22.000
That's a sad part of... I love the joy, you know,

01:01:22.019 --> 01:01:26.960
till now. I guess it's not only me, right? Yeah,

01:01:26.960 --> 01:01:30.800
I mean, there's a lot of places that went south

01:01:30.800 --> 01:01:33.539
because of COVID. That conversation I've been

01:01:33.539 --> 01:01:36.039
having since we started this season with my first

01:01:36.039 --> 01:01:41.079
season premiere with Dennis Foo and Rosie. Rosie,

01:01:41.159 --> 01:01:44.119
you know, Rosalind Brown. Rosalind Brown. Mel's

01:01:44.119 --> 01:01:46.820
Place. The boss of Mel's Place. And then I had

01:01:46.820 --> 01:01:49.579
Nason, Tiago Rajan. Oh, Nason. Nason was on the

01:01:49.579 --> 01:01:53.800
show as well. So we just had our shoot. The episode

01:01:53.800 --> 01:01:57.360
before yours. Oh. And we talked a lot already

01:01:57.360 --> 01:02:00.369
about, you know, what happened then. And also

01:02:00.369 --> 01:02:02.489
how things are like today, the nightlife scene.

01:02:02.610 --> 01:02:05.230
So, you should catch. You should catch those

01:02:05.230 --> 01:02:08.869
episodes. Is it even on YouTube now? Not yet.

01:02:09.210 --> 01:02:12.230
Once we, once, I mean, right now, no, I mean,

01:02:12.250 --> 01:02:14.010
okay, for those of you now watching, yeah, yeah,

01:02:14.030 --> 01:02:17.269
we've launched it already. Yeah, you know, but

01:02:17.269 --> 01:02:19.269
as right now, at this time of recording, not

01:02:19.269 --> 01:02:22.929
yet. Okay. Wow, I had to really explain that

01:02:22.929 --> 01:02:26.090
one. What's the strangest or most surprising

01:02:26.090 --> 01:02:28.929
request you've ever gotten from me, say from,

01:02:29.389 --> 01:02:31.710
From a client, either for a session or a live

01:02:31.710 --> 01:02:36.690
gig? I have to tell you this little story. I

01:02:36.690 --> 01:02:39.130
still think it's really funny. Yeah, I'm all

01:02:39.130 --> 01:02:42.789
about stories, man. Go on. Yeah. The great Louis

01:02:42.789 --> 01:02:45.829
gave me this gig. He gave me a call in the afternoon.

01:02:46.090 --> 01:02:49.630
Hey, Reggie, tonight what are you doing? I'm

01:02:49.630 --> 01:02:51.369
not doing anything tonight. I'll probably go

01:02:51.369 --> 01:02:53.750
out for dinner. I got a gig. I got a gig. You

01:02:53.750 --> 01:02:55.960
know what you want to do, no? $300 gig. Very

01:02:55.960 --> 01:02:58.119
simple gig. Sound like him. Yeah. You know, the

01:02:58.119 --> 01:03:03.340
same, right? But you, you just play three songs

01:03:03.340 --> 01:03:07.320
only. $300. Wow. Why not? Not bad, right? Not

01:03:07.320 --> 01:03:12.159
bad. The money is like one song. $100? It's any

01:03:12.159 --> 01:03:14.460
song. All the popular songs. Wonderful Tonight,

01:03:14.659 --> 01:03:17.480
whatever. Love song. So the singer was Gerard

01:03:17.480 --> 01:03:21.820
Kisbury. Kisbury. Gerard Kisbury. Cat Ong. Oh,

01:03:21.820 --> 01:03:26.420
Cat Ong. Okay. So the, but the, Trick is, you

01:03:26.420 --> 01:03:29.599
got to perform in a very dark place. A dark place

01:03:29.599 --> 01:03:33.780
that you can't even see your fretboard. Yeah,

01:03:33.820 --> 01:03:36.119
yeah, this one. Yeah, yeah, the dinner thing

01:03:36.119 --> 01:03:39.760
in the dark, right? So, when you go to the venue,

01:03:39.920 --> 01:03:42.219
soundcheck. I wonder why it's soundcheck and

01:03:42.219 --> 01:03:44.480
we can't see anything, right? I'll explain to

01:03:44.480 --> 01:03:46.239
you the whole story. So, we were there one hour

01:03:46.239 --> 01:03:48.099
before that and it's already dark. It's like

01:03:48.099 --> 01:03:52.800
9 .30 in the night, East Coast Beach. And this

01:03:52.800 --> 01:03:57.000
rich man is probably in his 30s, tried to propose

01:03:57.000 --> 01:04:00.599
to a beautiful girl, really beautiful girl. By

01:04:00.599 --> 01:04:04.539
the way, Louis described, had to believe him.

01:04:05.059 --> 01:04:11.019
So, what song? Simple song. I think it's Nothing

01:04:11.019 --> 01:04:16.920
Got a Change by Josh Benson, Wonderful Tonight.

01:04:17.099 --> 01:04:19.280
The other one, I can't remember. So, of course,

01:04:19.280 --> 01:04:22.420
those songs, I can play. I thought I can play,

01:04:22.440 --> 01:04:26.099
you know. I can play in the light. When you go

01:04:26.099 --> 01:04:28.420
to the beach, you can't see anything. You suddenly

01:04:28.420 --> 01:04:31.800
realize that you can't play, man. Really? Not

01:04:31.800 --> 01:04:34.639
even by muscle memory. You can't feel the threads.

01:04:34.980 --> 01:04:38.159
Yeah, it's difficult because it's windy at the

01:04:38.159 --> 01:04:43.019
same time. It's really dark. But there's something

01:04:43.019 --> 01:04:45.880
that saves me. We're supposed to light the candle,

01:04:45.960 --> 01:04:49.820
you know. The candle light saves us. So we can...

01:04:50.219 --> 01:04:52.699
I actually see the flatboard. Of course, some

01:04:52.699 --> 01:04:54.920
of them still need to read the music. But it's

01:04:54.920 --> 01:04:58.760
okay. So we play the threesome. So the guy walk

01:04:58.760 --> 01:05:02.579
in. That's a beautiful girl, man. Without the

01:05:02.579 --> 01:05:06.179
light, he said, it's beautiful, man. Finish already.

01:05:07.119 --> 01:05:10.300
Okay, they're very happy. Back up, back up. Go

01:05:10.300 --> 01:05:12.039
home, go home. So we don't know what's going

01:05:12.039 --> 01:05:16.400
on. So the guy talk to the next day. Eh, Louis,

01:05:16.539 --> 01:05:20.079
what happened last night? Reg, you know. The

01:05:20.079 --> 01:05:24.860
girl rejected him. He's supposed to propose to

01:05:24.860 --> 01:05:34.659
him. The whole thing is so funny. Would you believe

01:05:34.659 --> 01:05:44.420
it? I think he's a smart girl. I'm sorry, man.

01:05:45.719 --> 01:05:48.260
Obviously, you know, he's a playboy. Oh, freaking

01:05:48.260 --> 01:05:52.820
good story, man. I think, I'm not sure Gerard

01:05:52.820 --> 01:05:55.980
ever remember that. I'm sure Kat remember that.

01:05:57.019 --> 01:05:59.840
I think Louis can't remember that. I, as I said,

01:05:59.860 --> 01:06:01.920
this is the most comical. I said it many times

01:06:01.920 --> 01:06:04.280
already with many guests on this show. Louis

01:06:04.280 --> 01:06:10.289
can't even remember me. Okay, I want to move

01:06:10.289 --> 01:06:14.329
on. You said before that music isn't about sheer

01:06:14.329 --> 01:06:18.269
technical prowess. Is that something you have

01:06:18.269 --> 01:06:21.829
to remind yourself every day? Or it's very natural

01:06:21.829 --> 01:06:24.570
to you? It's not just about sheer technical prowess.

01:06:26.190 --> 01:06:31.670
I think when I was much younger, I was really

01:06:31.670 --> 01:06:36.280
a... want to be virtuoso right rock virtuoso

01:06:36.280 --> 01:06:40.000
whatever I want whatever music those days in

01:06:40.000 --> 01:06:42.739
the 70s 80s you have a lot of rock guitar player

01:06:42.739 --> 01:06:46.940
they came out with all this instructional tape

01:06:46.940 --> 01:06:48.599
you know I have to go to Malaysia and buy you

01:06:48.599 --> 01:06:53.119
know before YouTube before YouTube in Singapore

01:06:53.119 --> 01:06:54.960
you can buy but expensive you go to Malaysia

01:06:54.960 --> 01:06:57.460
it's half price or even less than half price

01:06:57.460 --> 01:06:59.780
you know so always go JB and buy sometimes I

01:06:59.780 --> 01:07:02.670
go to Hong Kong and buy Then I realized that

01:07:02.670 --> 01:07:05.889
everybody is so good. But you try to play like

01:07:05.889 --> 01:07:08.110
them, you can't be like them. Then I realized

01:07:08.110 --> 01:07:10.829
that, of course, you can't be like them. Because

01:07:10.829 --> 01:07:13.070
they play that music in and out every night.

01:07:13.150 --> 01:07:15.329
It's like Joe Paz, right? They spend their whole

01:07:15.329 --> 01:07:18.710
life doing one music. But of course, you can

01:07:18.710 --> 01:07:21.489
pick up everything from everybody here and there,

01:07:21.550 --> 01:07:24.489
the things that you like. I remember I have the

01:07:24.489 --> 01:07:28.389
VHS too. We do that so much, you know? Every

01:07:28.389 --> 01:07:33.690
night. Wow, so nice. So I realized that music,

01:07:33.849 --> 01:07:40.590
you can't just be a technician. You have to touch

01:07:40.590 --> 01:07:43.610
people somehow or other. So sometimes, I still

01:07:43.610 --> 01:07:47.349
think that melody is king. Why we fall in love

01:07:47.349 --> 01:07:50.650
with music is basically the melody. The main

01:07:50.650 --> 01:07:52.730
melody. The main melody. It somehow catches you.

01:07:53.030 --> 01:07:56.010
But somehow, for me now, it's how I color the

01:07:56.010 --> 01:07:59.579
music. Right. As a session player, how a... how

01:07:59.579 --> 01:08:04.039
I help the singer to make him or her sound good.

01:08:04.260 --> 01:08:08.800
That's my duty. Of course, later part, I started

01:08:08.800 --> 01:08:13.699
write song. I also have that mentality in my

01:08:13.699 --> 01:08:18.020
mind that melody is the most important. On the

01:08:18.020 --> 01:08:20.159
subject of melody, you've mentioned this a few

01:08:20.159 --> 01:08:22.720
times throughout this entire chit -chat we've

01:08:22.720 --> 01:08:25.350
been having. um you i don't know whether you

01:08:25.350 --> 01:08:27.670
realize i'm sure you would i'm a small little

01:08:27.670 --> 01:08:33.550
pisses guy so i read very basic but if i gave

01:08:33.550 --> 01:08:35.949
for those of you who are not singaporeans uh

01:08:35.949 --> 01:08:38.489
if you're an angmo angmo means you are caucasian

01:08:38.489 --> 01:08:40.569
from some western part of the world means bean

01:08:40.569 --> 01:08:43.289
sprouts and bean sprouts you know like like to

01:08:43.289 --> 01:08:47.329
musical notes now you learn something singlish

01:08:47.329 --> 01:08:53.800
101 okay so um If you listen to Don't Stop Believing,

01:08:53.939 --> 01:08:59.340
Journey, right? Yes. And you listen to Let It

01:08:59.340 --> 01:09:03.960
Go, Frozen. Okay. Same chord structure, isn't

01:09:03.960 --> 01:09:06.840
it? Not really. It's a different key. It's the

01:09:06.840 --> 01:09:12.180
same key. If you were to be a DJ and you blend

01:09:12.180 --> 01:09:14.319
two songs, these two songs, and you mix in. Does

01:09:14.319 --> 01:09:17.520
it work? Yeah, man. Really? I learned something.

01:09:17.779 --> 01:09:21.199
Yeah. So go listen to both songs, right? And

01:09:21.199 --> 01:09:23.939
then you tell me whether or not. So you see,

01:09:24.020 --> 01:09:29.500
sometimes the magic, my next point here is that

01:09:29.500 --> 01:09:32.060
sheer technical prowess, we talked about that,

01:09:32.140 --> 01:09:35.000
right? You said that you believe music should

01:09:35.000 --> 01:09:37.840
immerse the audience, which you just said. And

01:09:37.840 --> 01:09:40.000
it's a melody that catches you, right? I think

01:09:40.000 --> 01:09:42.180
somehow there's something about certain vibrations

01:09:42.180 --> 01:09:46.060
or frequency, you know, some songs can just catch

01:09:46.060 --> 01:09:50.640
you. It just grabs at you. And sometimes it's

01:09:50.640 --> 01:09:53.239
a four or five chord song, the simple ones, that

01:09:53.239 --> 01:09:56.060
catches the listener and just captures your soul.

01:09:56.699 --> 01:10:00.260
That's why when you... So it's a good thing to

01:10:00.260 --> 01:10:03.319
research on is take Don't Stop Believing and

01:10:03.319 --> 01:10:07.640
then you take Frozen's Let It Go and then you

01:10:07.640 --> 01:10:11.180
see, hey, it works. Does it sound... Is it the

01:10:11.180 --> 01:10:15.260
same structure? Because... Because that one became

01:10:15.260 --> 01:10:18.380
a hit too. Let it go. Big hit, right? Don't Stop

01:10:18.380 --> 01:10:20.819
Believing, we all know, right? Even when the

01:10:20.819 --> 01:10:23.859
remake came for High Street Musical. Same song,

01:10:23.939 --> 01:10:26.020
same song. Maybe a little different orchestration.

01:10:26.159 --> 01:10:27.920
A little different in arrangement. That's about

01:10:27.920 --> 01:10:33.659
it. But somehow, certain variations seem to capture

01:10:33.659 --> 01:10:36.539
people. Yeah. And that's interesting, isn't it?

01:10:36.739 --> 01:10:40.239
I mean, if you put it that way, it's like, I'm

01:10:40.239 --> 01:10:42.539
going to go back to Guitar Souls. why people

01:10:42.539 --> 01:10:47.479
like hotel california solo so well and uh some

01:10:47.479 --> 01:10:49.939
of the some of the guitarists who start to play

01:10:49.939 --> 01:10:54.659
on this fast note nobody understand or remember

01:10:54.659 --> 01:10:59.300
yeah yeah it's because hotel california is a

01:10:59.300 --> 01:11:02.779
well -constructed solo and he got melody inside

01:11:02.779 --> 01:11:07.020
yeah you can't actually Play something else.

01:11:07.180 --> 01:11:09.859
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's amazing. You know what?

01:11:09.880 --> 01:11:12.439
You're right. Because even if you're not a musician,

01:11:12.640 --> 01:11:15.760
even if you're just a guy who loves music, even

01:11:15.760 --> 01:11:19.520
to now, anyone can actually mimic using their

01:11:19.520 --> 01:11:24.739
own mouths, their lips. The solo, the end solo,

01:11:24.979 --> 01:11:28.880
the guitar solo of Hotel California, right? People

01:11:28.880 --> 01:11:33.479
can go along with it. People will remember it.

01:11:33.739 --> 01:11:35.439
But other solos, you probably don't remember.

01:11:35.560 --> 01:11:37.500
But this one, you will remember. This is really

01:11:37.500 --> 01:11:39.000
interesting. Speaking of solos, Reggie, I'm going

01:11:39.000 --> 01:11:41.020
to stop you there. Can we please play that fantastic

01:11:41.020 --> 01:11:44.399
video that I shot of Reggie? I've got to say,

01:11:44.399 --> 01:12:16.859
I take credit. I take credit for this. Where

01:12:16.859 --> 01:12:19.800
is this place? I can't remember. Yeah, right.

01:12:19.920 --> 01:12:21.739
You can't remember? Mills Place. Oh, Mills Place.

01:12:22.020 --> 01:12:24.199
Dude, I took that video, man. I was just sitting

01:12:24.199 --> 01:12:28.100
right in front of you. I've never seen that before.

01:12:28.439 --> 01:12:31.079
Yeah, right. That was insane, man. Every time

01:12:31.079 --> 01:12:32.800
you do shit like that, everyone's like, what

01:12:32.800 --> 01:12:35.500
the fuck? Okay, by the way, people, in case you

01:12:35.500 --> 01:12:38.420
don't know, Reggie also uses his teeth like Jimi

01:12:38.420 --> 01:12:40.479
Hendrix to play the freaking guitar, okay? The

01:12:40.479 --> 01:12:46.069
solos. It's crazy. But, you know... That thing

01:12:46.069 --> 01:12:51.529
you did? How many people do that? I think many

01:12:51.529 --> 01:12:54.050
already. I'm talking about local guitarists.

01:12:55.590 --> 01:12:58.949
I learned from these people, right? I used to

01:12:58.949 --> 01:13:01.229
learn. I think I saw this in the... See that

01:13:01.229 --> 01:13:03.550
what I mean? You look good also cannot. Changi

01:13:03.550 --> 01:13:07.670
Europa. I can't remember the guitarist's name.

01:13:08.130 --> 01:13:11.569
Maybe it's Mr. Eddie. He used to do this in the

01:13:11.569 --> 01:13:17.680
80s. He passed away. He passed away. Okay. Yeah,

01:13:17.840 --> 01:13:20.300
I used to go there a lot in my Air Force days.

01:13:20.479 --> 01:13:24.300
I don't play those days. I just watch bands.

01:13:25.140 --> 01:13:28.920
I think he's the first guy I saw do that. And

01:13:28.920 --> 01:13:34.199
later part was Speedway. Tony. Okay. Tony, yeah,

01:13:34.199 --> 01:13:36.800
Tony Speedway. I told him about it. He's like,

01:13:36.899 --> 01:13:40.119
really? I said, yeah, you did this shit in Yon

01:13:40.119 --> 01:13:42.279
Bar, you know. In the 80s, right? That's the

01:13:42.279 --> 01:13:46.060
thing. He can't remember. You mean you know me?

01:13:46.960 --> 01:13:49.119
That's the thing about, yeah, that's the thing

01:13:49.119 --> 01:13:52.199
about, yeah, that's the thing about musos, great

01:13:52.199 --> 01:13:55.420
musos. I mean, guys like Tony, like when you

01:13:55.420 --> 01:13:57.220
introduced him to me, I said, I looked at him,

01:13:57.300 --> 01:13:59.920
that was years ago when I first and last saw

01:13:59.920 --> 01:14:03.960
him. Yeah. When in, the old Sweetie, he was working

01:14:03.960 --> 01:14:05.880
there for a couple of years as a salesman. And

01:14:05.880 --> 01:14:09.109
I used, I used to walk into Sweetie there. And

01:14:09.109 --> 01:14:11.770
I'm not even a musician, right? But I've always

01:14:11.770 --> 01:14:14.489
loved being around instruments and stuff. And

01:14:14.489 --> 01:14:16.569
I walked in and I saw this guy sitting on a freaking

01:14:16.569 --> 01:14:20.729
floor across Sillagate. Yeah. And he was just

01:14:20.729 --> 01:14:23.710
going on and on. And I'm like, what the fuck

01:14:23.710 --> 01:14:26.369
am I watching, man? You know, and it was him.

01:14:26.569 --> 01:14:30.810
Yeah. And I never, I was, what, 18? This is Brass

01:14:30.810 --> 01:14:33.489
Bustle Complex? Yes. I was 18 years old. I was

01:14:33.489 --> 01:14:37.329
in 1988. Till today, I've not forgotten that

01:14:37.329 --> 01:14:41.970
scene in my head. So, I mean, when you are great,

01:14:42.149 --> 01:14:46.989
you're great. You know, people won't forget you.

01:14:47.270 --> 01:14:51.329
And this guy, apart from his talent, he's a very

01:14:51.329 --> 01:14:55.510
down -to -earth man. I mean, when we were young,

01:14:55.609 --> 01:14:58.010
we'd go to Suili, we'd go to Sili Music, we'd

01:14:58.010 --> 01:15:00.289
go to these people. Some of the salesmen look

01:15:00.289 --> 01:15:04.770
at us, are you buying or trying? This guy is

01:15:04.770 --> 01:15:07.539
different. So, can I help you? Come. Come, I'll

01:15:07.539 --> 01:15:09.920
show you something. You should try this guitar

01:15:09.920 --> 01:15:13.260
instead of this one. And it's so encouraging

01:15:13.260 --> 01:15:16.579
for us. Not like I would mention in the other

01:15:16.579 --> 01:15:20.279
stuff, right? And Tony, I always remember him.

01:15:20.359 --> 01:15:23.619
He's not only a great guitarist and a great guy.

01:15:23.960 --> 01:15:26.600
But you know, since we're talking about... By

01:15:26.600 --> 01:15:29.079
the way, it's Tony Gan. Tony Gan, yes. Shout

01:15:29.079 --> 01:15:33.539
out, Tony Gan. This is a compliment to you. Also,

01:15:33.720 --> 01:15:37.510
man, we're talking about Sweetie, right? I was

01:15:37.510 --> 01:15:39.210
working there for one year, you know. Yeah, but

01:15:39.210 --> 01:15:41.210
you know something, man. I got to say, they're

01:15:41.210 --> 01:15:44.189
kind of good now. Yeah. When you go in there,

01:15:44.189 --> 01:15:45.649
the staff comes up to you. They're very friendly.

01:15:45.729 --> 01:15:47.569
Oh, yeah, yeah. And they really ask you proving

01:15:47.569 --> 01:15:50.710
stuff, you know. And they engage you, which is

01:15:50.710 --> 01:15:53.289
great now. I really enjoy going. Which one you

01:15:53.289 --> 01:15:57.850
go to? The flagship one. Oh, the Star Vista one.

01:15:57.850 --> 01:16:01.550
Star Vista, yeah, yeah, yeah. I used to work

01:16:01.550 --> 01:16:07.560
at the Plaza Singapore for a year. Where they

01:16:07.560 --> 01:16:11.319
have two shops. One next to Supreme Music. One

01:16:11.319 --> 01:16:13.520
on the other side. They sell keyboards more.

01:16:14.239 --> 01:16:18.180
Robert Singh was working there. This is 1987

01:16:18.180 --> 01:16:22.159
too? The one I used to go to was the one in...

01:16:22.159 --> 01:16:25.760
They used to be there in I -12 Katong. Okay.

01:16:26.119 --> 01:16:29.119
I understand. I used to go to that one. Was it

01:16:29.119 --> 01:16:31.479
I -12 or Katong Shopping Centre? Do you have

01:16:31.479 --> 01:16:33.239
another one? Katong Shopping Centre was a long

01:16:33.239 --> 01:16:36.239
time ago. They used to have one there. An old

01:16:36.239 --> 01:16:39.170
one. Yeah. It was great when it was in Katongchok.

01:16:39.590 --> 01:16:42.970
Yeah. Because it's quiet, right? It's this thing

01:16:42.970 --> 01:16:44.569
about being around instruments. You know what

01:16:44.569 --> 01:16:47.729
I'm saying? Although I don't play, but it's just

01:16:47.729 --> 01:16:49.750
being surrounded by these things. Yeah, I used

01:16:49.750 --> 01:16:52.890
to go a lot to Praza Singapore. Combo shop, they

01:16:52.890 --> 01:16:56.590
call it. Upstairs 64. Later on, I was teaching

01:16:56.590 --> 01:16:58.590
there. But before that, I was good at hanging.

01:16:59.170 --> 01:17:01.489
As you say, I look at the guitar. Look at the

01:17:01.489 --> 01:17:04.350
same guitar. So it's so weird for me because...

01:17:04.800 --> 01:17:08.239
When I was in school, I used to go to Suili in

01:17:08.239 --> 01:17:14.760
Bras Basah. Then when I started work, my office

01:17:14.760 --> 01:17:17.460
was up the road for a couple of years in Cathay

01:17:17.460 --> 01:17:20.720
Building. Wow. So I used to walk over to Plaza

01:17:20.720 --> 01:17:23.739
Sing. You know, I just want to be around instruments.

01:17:23.859 --> 01:17:25.699
I don't know why. Why don't you pick out one

01:17:25.699 --> 01:17:28.439
instrument? I don't know, man. Because I don't

01:17:28.439 --> 01:17:30.420
think I can make it. Why not? I don't know. I

01:17:30.420 --> 01:17:32.939
just don't. I think I can. Then I discovered

01:17:32.939 --> 01:17:34.760
I got one instrument but I'll never call myself

01:17:34.760 --> 01:17:37.800
a singer. Yeah. So Reggie, what's your... Just

01:17:37.800 --> 01:17:40.260
keep on doing it. I've got to talk to you at

01:17:40.260 --> 01:17:42.920
length over coffee about this shit. What does

01:17:42.920 --> 01:17:45.300
your creative process look like for you? Is it

01:17:45.300 --> 01:17:49.579
a sudden flash of genius or is it a musical Lego

01:17:49.579 --> 01:17:52.539
set where you build things piece by piece until

01:17:52.539 --> 01:17:54.500
they sound right? What's your creative process?

01:17:55.779 --> 01:18:00.720
I... I think I... I spend more time listening

01:18:00.720 --> 01:18:04.699
to all kinds of music and I actually love transcribing

01:18:04.699 --> 01:18:10.079
music. That's when I train my ears. So, for example,

01:18:10.079 --> 01:18:12.420
if I like a piece of music, I would transcribe

01:18:12.420 --> 01:18:15.819
it using my ear without YouTube, without those

01:18:15.819 --> 01:18:18.659
days. Today, it's so easy, right? You just pick

01:18:18.659 --> 01:18:22.020
up, you Google it, bah, the chord came out, the

01:18:22.020 --> 01:18:23.239
lyrics came out. You don't even Google, you go

01:18:23.239 --> 01:18:26.760
to AI, man. Everything comes out, right? But

01:18:26.760 --> 01:18:29.659
I've been to the school where everything is just

01:18:29.659 --> 01:18:33.659
ear and your skills, man. How you connect to

01:18:33.659 --> 01:18:37.180
the... Then I realized that if I look at the

01:18:37.180 --> 01:18:39.760
YouTube today, the original is a different position

01:18:39.760 --> 01:18:42.100
now. Totally different position when I play.

01:18:42.199 --> 01:18:46.199
But I sound the same to me. So I created my own

01:18:46.199 --> 01:18:49.020
language on the instrument. So basically you

01:18:49.020 --> 01:18:54.060
trust you. My ear. You trust yourself. Yes. Of

01:18:54.060 --> 01:18:56.850
course, trial and error. Yeah. A lot of error

01:18:56.850 --> 01:18:58.590
along the way. But you enjoy that, huh? Yeah,

01:18:58.590 --> 01:19:00.869
I love it. You enjoy that process, huh? I love

01:19:00.869 --> 01:19:02.829
it. It's like learning a language, right? Yeah,

01:19:02.829 --> 01:19:05.489
yeah. You're learning a language. Oh, the bass

01:19:05.489 --> 01:19:09.810
is actually this, not that. Oh, the singer is

01:19:09.810 --> 01:19:11.710
singing this note. I thought he was singing that

01:19:11.710 --> 01:19:15.470
note. But when you transcribe, you realize that

01:19:15.470 --> 01:19:20.829
you found out the real chords to the song. Why

01:19:20.829 --> 01:19:24.770
the solo sounds good over here, not there, you

01:19:24.770 --> 01:19:27.300
know? Right. So overall, it's like you educate

01:19:27.300 --> 01:19:31.600
yourself in that sense. So if you could transcribe

01:19:31.600 --> 01:19:35.479
a piece of music correctly, I think you're like

01:19:35.479 --> 01:19:38.399
having a masterclass with whoever you're trying

01:19:38.399 --> 01:19:41.300
to study. It's a real thing. And you move on.

01:19:41.399 --> 01:19:44.520
And song after song after song, I transcribe

01:19:44.520 --> 01:19:47.239
a lot. I don't transcribe only guitar player.

01:19:47.659 --> 01:19:50.800
I transcribe trumpet, this, flute, this. Oh,

01:19:50.800 --> 01:19:54.590
really? Keyboard player. saxophonies holy shit

01:19:54.590 --> 01:19:58.250
yeah I love it because they have different way

01:19:58.250 --> 01:20:01.170
of approaching the instrument itself right a

01:20:01.170 --> 01:20:06.050
keyboard will never sound like a guitar but having

01:20:06.050 --> 01:20:10.149
said that I heard Mr Indra play guitar solo on

01:20:10.149 --> 01:20:13.319
the keyboard oh man The guy is a monster. He

01:20:13.319 --> 01:20:16.060
sounds better than a guitarist. Sorry. Hi, Indra.

01:20:16.760 --> 01:20:19.199
Indra Ismail, shout out to you. For those of

01:20:19.199 --> 01:20:20.960
you who don't know who Indra Ismail is, he is

01:20:20.960 --> 01:20:23.560
the brother of the late, great Iskandar Ismail

01:20:23.560 --> 01:20:26.199
and a keyboard player. There's a lot of good

01:20:26.199 --> 01:20:29.399
musicians locally here that I work with. I'm

01:20:29.399 --> 01:20:33.520
so happy. I'm so lucky. I've seen, I've heard,

01:20:33.680 --> 01:20:39.020
and I work with them. Unfortunately, some of

01:20:39.020 --> 01:20:42.359
them are just fading away. Because certain market,

01:20:42.500 --> 01:20:46.659
after a while, it's sad. It is. It's sad. It

01:20:46.659 --> 01:20:48.140
is. That's why I have this tribute show, man.

01:20:48.420 --> 01:20:51.460
I don't want people to be forgotten. I do my

01:20:51.460 --> 01:20:54.560
little bit in trying to hopefully bring back

01:20:54.560 --> 01:20:57.600
some life to the nightlife scene. Because this

01:20:57.600 --> 01:21:01.100
is where you guys are. Yeah, thanks, man. I probably

01:21:01.100 --> 01:21:04.000
have the toughest question for you yet. Oh, no.

01:21:04.060 --> 01:21:06.779
And you cannot say no. Oh, no. If you had to

01:21:06.779 --> 01:21:08.979
trade your guitar for any other instrument for

01:21:08.979 --> 01:21:12.310
one year, Cannot say I will never trade. Cannot.

01:21:12.510 --> 01:21:19.750
What would you choose and why? Probably bass.

01:21:20.729 --> 01:21:25.489
Bass and harmonica. I always love harmonica.

01:21:25.850 --> 01:21:30.949
And I tried. Just got no stamina for that. I

01:21:30.949 --> 01:21:34.789
even buy myself five different harmonicas. Five

01:21:34.789 --> 01:21:36.449
different keys. I still fucking trying to figure

01:21:36.449 --> 01:21:38.449
it out. Yeah. See, this is what I mean. I can't

01:21:38.449 --> 01:21:43.149
freaking learn a musical instrument. Having said

01:21:43.149 --> 01:21:49.789
that, why bass? I realise as you grow old, you

01:21:49.789 --> 01:21:53.729
like to play lesser. Lesser note. Bass is lesser

01:21:53.729 --> 01:21:55.430
notes, man? Yeah, of course. You play lesser

01:21:55.430 --> 01:21:57.630
note or what? Dude, I'm not a musician, man.

01:21:57.630 --> 01:22:03.170
You're going to tell me. Hey, Bong. Bong may

01:22:03.170 --> 01:22:05.810
have things to say to you about that. By the

01:22:05.810 --> 01:22:07.829
way, Bong is a great bass player. Oh, fantastic.

01:22:09.230 --> 01:22:13.529
Hands down, Bong. Wow. What is the hardest? I

01:22:13.529 --> 01:22:15.409
think it's a foundation. The bass is all about

01:22:15.409 --> 01:22:19.750
groove and bass can't make mistakes, man. Huh?

01:22:19.949 --> 01:22:21.770
Bassist, you can't make mistakes, man. What?

01:22:21.890 --> 01:22:24.670
You make mistakes, everybody knows. Oh, cannot

01:22:24.670 --> 01:22:27.090
make mistakes. You cannot make a mistake. Okay.

01:22:27.270 --> 01:22:32.109
So, discipline, why I love it, it's... The bass

01:22:32.109 --> 01:22:35.109
is the bass. Bassist. Yes. In any band, right?

01:22:35.170 --> 01:22:37.609
I mean, yeah. So if you ask me that question,

01:22:37.789 --> 01:22:40.850
yeah, I would like to become a bass player. Wow.

01:22:41.010 --> 01:22:44.390
And why harmonica? Oh, I just love the sound

01:22:44.390 --> 01:22:46.609
of it. Seriously? Harmonica, yeah. Oh, okay.

01:22:46.909 --> 01:22:49.810
I love the sound. Of course, some of the virtuoso

01:22:49.810 --> 01:22:55.010
I heard make it sound so easy, you know? Why

01:22:55.010 --> 01:22:59.909
not? Let me try. No, it's not easy. It's not

01:22:59.909 --> 01:23:03.569
easy. It isn't. Any pet peeves you have in the

01:23:03.569 --> 01:23:06.340
music world? Any what? pet peeves, things you

01:23:06.340 --> 01:23:08.699
don't like. For example, I'll give you some examples.

01:23:08.819 --> 01:23:11.300
When a guitarist just shreds all over everyone

01:23:11.300 --> 01:23:15.560
else's part, or is there, you know, a bigger,

01:23:15.619 --> 01:23:17.340
more annoying thing that makes you want to throw

01:23:17.340 --> 01:23:19.960
your guitar across the room? I think it's not

01:23:19.960 --> 01:23:22.000
only guitar, right? I mean, I play with some

01:23:22.000 --> 01:23:24.979
saxophone player who is young, saxophone player.

01:23:25.220 --> 01:23:28.739
I used to do a lot of wedding gigs where just

01:23:28.739 --> 01:23:33.000
me and Eddie, me and Fabian, some of the young

01:23:33.000 --> 01:23:36.399
saxophonists is just, non -stop playing because

01:23:36.399 --> 01:23:39.760
I think there's only two instruments that you

01:23:39.760 --> 01:23:43.800
can non -stop playing there's a drum a bass or

01:23:43.800 --> 01:23:47.600
maybe a chord instrument the rest you just play

01:23:47.600 --> 01:23:50.479
the melody it may take a solo and just shut up

01:23:50.479 --> 01:23:52.760
wait for your turns you know and some of them

01:23:52.760 --> 01:23:55.899
even when you play the piano player play or guitar

01:23:55.899 --> 01:23:59.300
player play they keep playing that's annoying

01:23:59.300 --> 01:24:02.399
to me so that's your biggest pet peeve you cannot

01:24:02.399 --> 01:24:05.500
tahan well Or is there something... One of those.

01:24:05.840 --> 01:24:11.880
Okay, give me one more. There's really a noise.

01:24:12.140 --> 01:24:15.340
Gets in your tits. Cannot take it. Lee Thomas.

01:24:16.779 --> 01:24:21.180
Okay. Discipline, right? Yeah. Yeah, right. I

01:24:21.180 --> 01:24:28.600
mean, part of the music scene is also a lifestyle

01:24:28.600 --> 01:24:33.949
thing. You either be a professional. Yeah. Or

01:24:33.949 --> 01:24:39.750
you look like a professional. There are musicians

01:24:39.750 --> 01:24:52.409
who come late almost every day. The excuse is

01:24:52.409 --> 01:24:55.210
always the same. The cab went to the wrong place.

01:24:55.470 --> 01:24:59.369
My hair got stuck. I couldn't find my pants.

01:25:03.490 --> 01:25:06.310
And I have a singer who come to the gig. 8 o

01:25:06.310 --> 01:25:10.569
'clock is the gig. They come at 7 .55. I'm not

01:25:10.569 --> 01:25:14.670
late. The gig starts what time? 8 o 'clock. Technically,

01:25:14.850 --> 01:25:17.109
she's right, right? Yeah, but there's no sound

01:25:17.109 --> 01:25:18.670
check. By the time you sound check, by the time

01:25:18.670 --> 01:25:23.609
you start at 8 .05, you are late. The worst thing

01:25:23.609 --> 01:25:27.449
is you make everybody stressed. Yeah. And it's

01:25:27.449 --> 01:25:29.729
still happening. I'm not surprised. It's still

01:25:29.729 --> 01:25:32.930
happening. FD and I, in those years at the MC

01:25:32.930 --> 01:25:35.050
Academy, we have this module. We dedicated one

01:25:35.050 --> 01:25:40.149
module called Reliability. And this is what we're

01:25:40.149 --> 01:25:42.609
talking about. Because if you're a musician,

01:25:42.729 --> 01:25:46.909
in any profession for that matter, reliability

01:25:46.909 --> 01:25:52.489
is key. Only doctors. Oops. I didn't say that.

01:25:52.850 --> 01:25:57.250
It was not me. Watch my lips. When that was said,

01:25:57.270 --> 01:26:03.449
it was not me. I didn't move my mouth. You said

01:26:03.449 --> 01:26:07.189
before that your biggest, or wrong, the hard

01:26:07.189 --> 01:26:13.710
work is more important than talent. Obviously...

01:26:13.710 --> 01:26:17.390
To be fair, I always say that too. You need to

01:26:17.390 --> 01:26:21.130
have talent to play music too. To be fair, you

01:26:21.130 --> 01:26:22.869
need to have talent to become a DJ. So Reggie

01:26:22.869 --> 01:26:26.079
Leo, Reggie Leo's hard work or talent? Because

01:26:26.079 --> 01:26:31.340
you started late. Was it hard work and talent?

01:26:31.460 --> 01:26:35.359
I'm pretty sure you worked fucking hard. I think

01:26:35.359 --> 01:26:37.960
hard work is more important than talent. Yeah.

01:26:38.460 --> 01:26:43.300
Definitely. In any profession, you know. I've

01:26:43.300 --> 01:26:47.100
seen some born genius so good in music. They

01:26:47.100 --> 01:26:49.640
just don't have anything else, you know. You

01:26:49.640 --> 01:26:51.840
can't use them in the gig because they just can't

01:26:51.840 --> 01:26:55.000
dress. Year after year, they play the same song.

01:26:55.640 --> 01:26:59.720
they don't improve themselves, just vanish. Well,

01:26:59.739 --> 01:27:02.979
how about you? If I say, if I were to ask Reggie

01:27:02.979 --> 01:27:07.399
Leo, became talented because of hard work, or

01:27:07.399 --> 01:27:10.600
was Reggie Leo always been talented and only

01:27:10.600 --> 01:27:13.340
realized he was talented after the hard work?

01:27:13.399 --> 01:27:19.260
Which one? I like to put it in percentage. Okay.

01:27:19.479 --> 01:27:25.899
I think talent probably 30%. 50 % is hard work

01:27:25.899 --> 01:27:30.600
and the rest is how your luck, right? Your job

01:27:30.600 --> 01:27:34.140
luck. Sure, sure. Who you meet, what you do that

01:27:34.140 --> 01:27:38.239
please people and your acting. But do you think

01:27:38.239 --> 01:27:42.039
that you got to where you are because you worked

01:27:42.039 --> 01:27:45.060
hard to be talented or was it because you discovered

01:27:45.060 --> 01:27:48.680
you were talented after working hard? I think

01:27:48.680 --> 01:27:50.359
if you don't believe in yourself in the first

01:27:50.359 --> 01:27:52.850
place, you wouldn't work that hard, right? Okay.

01:27:53.069 --> 01:27:56.670
But when you go into the professional field,

01:27:56.890 --> 01:27:58.829
they realize that there's so much for you to

01:27:58.829 --> 01:28:02.329
learn, so much for you to improve. So is Reggie

01:28:02.329 --> 01:28:07.449
Lee your talented first? A bit. Okay. So you

01:28:07.449 --> 01:28:09.970
work hard to get... Become better. To get better.

01:28:10.050 --> 01:28:13.470
Yeah, obviously. And I still think I can be better.

01:28:15.010 --> 01:28:17.850
I got to work hard some more. Yeah. It doesn't

01:28:17.850 --> 01:28:20.859
stop, does it? Yeah. Your biggest goal for 2024,

01:28:21.220 --> 01:28:23.380
you mentioned it before elsewhere, is to release

01:28:23.380 --> 01:28:26.659
an album. Did it happen? I have an album in 10

01:28:26.659 --> 01:28:31.300
years ago. Okay. So I've been busy and COVID

01:28:31.300 --> 01:28:38.739
really smashed a lot of confidence. At the time,

01:28:38.779 --> 01:28:40.699
I almost wanted to give up music and do something

01:28:40.699 --> 01:28:44.060
else. No shit? Yes. It was so bad. It was so

01:28:44.060 --> 01:28:49.560
bad. I'm sure... I'm sure... I'm sure... No,

01:28:49.560 --> 01:28:51.680
not only me. A lot of people have been doing

01:28:51.680 --> 01:28:54.619
other jobs. They just don't tell you until you

01:28:54.619 --> 01:28:59.199
met them. So my wife actually tell me, well,

01:28:59.340 --> 01:29:01.640
dear, you've been working hard so many years.

01:29:01.720 --> 01:29:03.220
Why don't you just take a break these two years?

01:29:03.720 --> 01:29:07.619
So that two words from her means a lot for me.

01:29:08.220 --> 01:29:10.399
Because you see somebody actually appreciate

01:29:10.399 --> 01:29:14.060
you. Not because she's just my wife. She's seen

01:29:14.060 --> 01:29:17.800
that side of me. And I told him, I think I will

01:29:17.800 --> 01:29:22.050
sell. All my 30 guitars. I have 32 guitars over

01:29:22.050 --> 01:29:26.710
the years. Holy shit. Sorry, sorry. And I told

01:29:26.710 --> 01:29:30.210
her, I want to sell. And she told me, why you

01:29:30.210 --> 01:29:32.590
want to sell your guitar? All this is part of

01:29:32.590 --> 01:29:38.510
your history. You make money from it. It's become

01:29:38.510 --> 01:29:43.470
your history. These are the things that encourage

01:29:43.470 --> 01:29:46.409
you. Little that she realized. Of course, she

01:29:46.409 --> 01:29:49.229
don't mean it at the time. But she made it in

01:29:49.229 --> 01:29:51.869
a different way. Just take a break. Let your

01:29:51.869 --> 01:29:58.069
brain malfunction. Recharge again. Reset. Reset

01:29:58.069 --> 01:30:02.369
again everything. But eventually, I still sell

01:30:02.369 --> 01:30:05.949
them. Because I'm really broke. How many guitars

01:30:05.949 --> 01:30:09.510
you sold? Five. Okay, that's not so bad. Only

01:30:09.510 --> 01:30:13.210
for $5 ,000. And these five guitars cost me $10

01:30:13.210 --> 01:30:17.180
,000 over $1 ,000. I want to keep my mics. Sure.

01:30:18.539 --> 01:30:22.819
Sure, man. Sure, I'll keep my sures. Actually,

01:30:22.880 --> 01:30:25.119
I know you earlier, no? Because my sure mic,

01:30:25.180 --> 01:30:28.800
I had to buy, you know? You want to buy some

01:30:28.800 --> 01:30:31.640
more? You know what to do. I'm still using sure.

01:30:31.760 --> 01:30:34.079
I'm still using sure. Yeah, yeah. Great, great,

01:30:34.140 --> 01:30:37.460
great. Go to the sure shop and use my promo code.

01:30:38.119 --> 01:30:40.539
Where did I met the girl at sure last week? Was

01:30:40.539 --> 01:30:43.289
it Nell's place or? She's telling me the same

01:30:43.289 --> 01:30:45.529
thing too. She gave me a card. I don't know where

01:30:45.529 --> 01:30:50.029
the card is. I should call her. Okay. Now, for

01:30:50.029 --> 01:30:52.050
all young musicians out there with big dreams,

01:30:52.489 --> 01:30:56.090
you've ever told them to just keep doing it?

01:30:56.289 --> 01:30:59.510
Yeah. What's the first step after that? Have

01:30:59.510 --> 01:31:01.470
a good night's sleep or just a lot more practice?

01:31:01.489 --> 01:31:05.409
Which one? I mean, everything you want to become

01:31:05.409 --> 01:31:07.770
good, you have to work on it. So it's still the

01:31:07.770 --> 01:31:09.550
sheer hard work, right? I have a couple of students

01:31:09.550 --> 01:31:14.069
now who are playing in the club now. Of course,

01:31:14.109 --> 01:31:16.590
some of them don't admit they learned from me,

01:31:16.630 --> 01:31:19.170
but some of them really still get in touch with

01:31:19.170 --> 01:31:22.689
me. I'm happy, man, because I can hear something

01:31:22.689 --> 01:31:28.350
inside their playing. What do you hear? Obviously,

01:31:28.350 --> 01:31:30.390
some of them, I can hear my licks inside, which

01:31:30.390 --> 01:31:34.680
is annoying. Wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait,

01:31:34.699 --> 01:31:38.739
wait, wait. Guitar licks. Okay. Wait, wait, wait,

01:31:38.819 --> 01:31:41.840
wait, wait. You mean different people have developed

01:31:41.840 --> 01:31:44.460
different style of guitar licks? How you learn

01:31:44.460 --> 01:31:47.600
English if you imitate people, right? From your

01:31:47.600 --> 01:31:49.460
mother, your father, right? Same thing, right?

01:31:49.579 --> 01:31:53.159
Okay. Same as English. Same as music. You mimic

01:31:53.159 --> 01:31:54.680
people, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You imitate.

01:31:54.939 --> 01:31:57.079
Yeah, yeah, mirroring. You mimic and mirror.

01:31:57.100 --> 01:31:59.340
So somehow or other, you can hear the connections

01:31:59.340 --> 01:32:03.029
afterwards. Really? Yeah. So styling, the styling,

01:32:03.229 --> 01:32:05.970
you mean. Such a thing, yeah. Sometimes I have

01:32:05.970 --> 01:32:07.710
to tell them, why don't you get your own licks?

01:32:08.069 --> 01:32:12.029
Huh? Well, you know, I've, you know, I've all

01:32:12.029 --> 01:32:14.529
my, you know, we've had, this is season six,

01:32:14.590 --> 01:32:16.510
man. We've been doing this for two years plus.

01:32:17.250 --> 01:32:20.970
And this tribute show, this tribute series. And

01:32:20.970 --> 01:32:23.789
you are the most, this conversation we just had,

01:32:23.909 --> 01:32:26.390
right, is the most technical one I've ever had.

01:32:26.489 --> 01:32:28.529
Oh shit, I hope. The next one is probably Jimmy

01:32:28.529 --> 01:32:31.760
Lee. Kai, don't you think so? More Jimmy, right?

01:32:32.920 --> 01:32:35.760
But it's not rocket science too. I mean, it's

01:32:35.760 --> 01:32:39.039
easy. It's not something you don't... No, no,

01:32:39.039 --> 01:32:40.220
no. But it's great. It's great. I'm learning

01:32:40.220 --> 01:32:43.020
stuff. I never... I thought licks, for example,

01:32:43.220 --> 01:32:46.380
is... I mean, licks are licks. You know what

01:32:46.380 --> 01:32:47.880
I mean? I never thought that there would be different

01:32:47.880 --> 01:32:50.239
styling. When you talk, right? You know, talk.

01:32:50.479 --> 01:32:52.520
I think your son will pick up some of them. Oh,

01:32:52.520 --> 01:32:55.520
no fucking way. Right. You could hear, right?

01:32:56.460 --> 01:33:00.529
I don't think so, man. It's a good thing, you

01:33:00.529 --> 01:33:02.229
know. I mean, I'm not saying it's a bad thing.

01:33:02.289 --> 01:33:04.170
It's a good thing. But specific to that example.

01:33:05.689 --> 01:33:10.670
I mean, I know he's my son, but I have to say

01:33:10.670 --> 01:33:12.909
there can only be one Chris Hansen. Oh, yeah.

01:33:14.069 --> 01:33:17.729
You and your boys. Same thing. You and your boys

01:33:17.729 --> 01:33:20.949
and the guitar, right? Okay, now this is the

01:33:20.949 --> 01:33:25.210
final question, Reggie. And this is a time travel

01:33:25.210 --> 01:33:29.439
question. If you could go back to your younger

01:33:29.439 --> 01:33:32.800
self when you were first starting out, what's

01:33:32.800 --> 01:33:39.739
one piece of advice you'd give him? Regarding

01:33:39.739 --> 01:33:42.640
music or regarding as a boy? Anything, man. Whatever

01:33:42.640 --> 01:33:45.520
rocks your boat, man. What advice? What piece

01:33:45.520 --> 01:33:48.359
of advice would you have given him? Now that

01:33:48.359 --> 01:33:51.220
you're at this age, having spent 40 years doing

01:33:51.220 --> 01:33:54.779
what you do, what would you say to your younger

01:33:54.779 --> 01:33:58.340
self? I look at my son and... the younger generation

01:33:58.340 --> 01:34:06.720
today they they have all the opportunity today

01:34:06.720 --> 01:34:10.060
and information age unfortunately they don't

01:34:10.060 --> 01:34:12.840
have the long gun training like us the way we

01:34:12.840 --> 01:34:16.439
will train hard knock school you know yeah we've

01:34:16.439 --> 01:34:20.140
been through a lot of hard knocks like negative

01:34:20.140 --> 01:34:23.979
things school of life school of life For myself,

01:34:24.100 --> 01:34:27.000
I wish I could study music when I was much younger.

01:34:28.319 --> 01:34:31.380
That's my biggest regret. I never have the money,

01:34:31.439 --> 01:34:34.960
never have the support, never have the confidence

01:34:34.960 --> 01:34:38.420
to... I'm talking about my younger days. Yeah,

01:34:38.420 --> 01:34:41.739
sure. That's my question. So later part, it's

01:34:41.739 --> 01:34:44.100
because when you start working, I never have

01:34:44.100 --> 01:34:47.960
the time. So I make time. That's the thing I

01:34:47.960 --> 01:34:50.739
love about teaching now because... In between

01:34:50.739 --> 01:34:53.180
the teaching time, I can spend time studying

01:34:53.180 --> 01:34:57.159
or practicing. I do that. So I don't take teaching.

01:34:57.199 --> 01:35:00.460
Some people hate teaching. But I don't hate teaching

01:35:00.460 --> 01:35:04.199
because I find I'm teaching myself eventually.

01:35:05.140 --> 01:35:10.420
So the piece of advice for me is if you could

01:35:10.420 --> 01:35:13.479
start studying something when you're young or

01:35:13.479 --> 01:35:17.600
you have parents who understand, start young

01:35:17.600 --> 01:35:22.500
and everything. Study! As much as you can. And

01:35:22.500 --> 01:35:26.560
get knocks as early as you can. Yeah. Go through

01:35:26.560 --> 01:35:29.520
the experiences early. Not only music. Pay it

01:35:29.520 --> 01:35:32.859
forward, man. Pay it forward. Can I say something?

01:35:32.939 --> 01:35:38.199
Yeah, please. Be respectful to the people before

01:35:38.199 --> 01:35:43.600
you. Be a senior musician or all kind of a senior

01:35:43.600 --> 01:35:47.100
post before. Anything you do in life. Those that

01:35:47.100 --> 01:35:50.109
come before you. Yeah. Respect them because they've

01:35:50.109 --> 01:35:52.909
been to a lot. They paved the way for all of

01:35:52.909 --> 01:35:55.989
us. Reggie, thank you so very much for being

01:35:55.989 --> 01:35:57.810
here, man. Thank you for having me. And this

01:35:57.810 --> 01:36:00.470
is my tribute to you, sir. Thank you so much.

01:36:00.529 --> 01:36:03.510
Thank you so much. Really, man. I mean, my goodness.

01:36:03.729 --> 01:36:09.989
The guitaring. The fingering. Cut to my cam.

01:36:10.130 --> 01:36:13.409
Thank you, Kai. Okay, everybody. That was Reggie

01:36:13.409 --> 01:36:16.609
Liao. It's been such a real technical discussion,

01:36:16.710 --> 01:36:20.420
I know. Oh, dear. But it was fantastic, man.

01:36:20.439 --> 01:36:23.060
I enjoyed my time talking to him. And yeah, I

01:36:23.060 --> 01:36:24.479
think I've got to pick up a music instrument.

01:36:25.119 --> 01:36:28.380
First, I've got to learn how to whistle. Pick

01:36:28.380 --> 01:36:31.180
up a guitar, man. Learn five chords like me.

01:36:32.380 --> 01:36:34.399
Hey, actually, I know. C, A minor, F, G, and

01:36:34.399 --> 01:36:36.779
D. That's all I know on the guitar. C, A minor,

01:36:36.779 --> 01:36:38.619
F, G, and D. But the right hand do not move.

01:36:39.220 --> 01:36:43.159
Okay. This is Chris Hansen. Thank you very much

01:36:43.159 --> 01:36:45.000
for watching the Chris Hansen Conversation. We

01:36:45.000 --> 01:36:48.520
are still running our season. And come back next

01:36:48.520 --> 01:36:50.939
week, next Friday, same time, same place, okay?

01:36:51.380 --> 01:38:18.880
Until then, everybody, stay safe. Bye -bye. The

01:38:18.880 --> 01:38:22.220
Chris Hansen Conversation. Real talk, no filters.

01:38:22.420 --> 01:38:25.600
And a growing community of more than 80 ,000

01:38:25.600 --> 01:38:28.960
subscribers across ASEAN, right here from Singapore.