WEBVTT

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Tonight, we are going to be talking to a man

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whose sound has been a steady and powerful presence

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in the Singapore music scene for a very long

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time. From pop stages to jazz festivals, his

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saxophone has truly become a voice of its own.

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My guest tonight is a true veteran of the local

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scene. He spent an incredible 14 years as the

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lead saxophonist for Singapore's favourite pop

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rock band, Jive Talking. After that, he made

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the brave move to go freelance and became a highly

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sought -after sessionist, recording on albums

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and touring with some of the biggest names in

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Asia, from Jackie Chung to Sandy Lam. He's known

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for being versatile and virtuosic and a highly

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respected improviser in the jazz scene. One reviewer

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for The Straits Times even called him the busiest

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soloist for his amazing work with the T .O. Ensemble.

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He is a Yamaha win artist, a mentor, and a musical

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chameleon who has mastered everything from pop

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and jazz to Latin and experimental projects.

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Tonight, we're charting the course of a legendary

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career, talking about his love for the saxophone

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and getting his thoughts on the state of music

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and the live scene today. This is That One with

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a Singapore sax talent, Kyo Boon Chai. Let's

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get to it. The late Edmund Branson, great guy.

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And some of you guys also moonlighted at the

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Jockey Pub on the weekends. Oh, not me. Not you.

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I'm very underage. Yeah. Not me, not me. They

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were all bloody underage. I didn't know about

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this. In Shore Centre. Yeah. Now I feel a bit

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formal. Before we begin the show, here is an

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important announcement. For 100 years, Shure

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Shop the Shure Shop Singapore now. Visit the

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Now, let's start the show. What's going to happen?

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Yeah, get the fuck out of here. Do that one more

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time. Do that one more time. Get the fuck out

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of here. Alright, did we get that? We have that.

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We got to have that. I know I have my reason

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why I need to have that footage, you know. Get

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the fuck out of here. Yeah. You'll be cancelled

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soon. You know, no. But I know you all won't

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believe it, but I never said the F word in my

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life before. I know. Never. I know. You are probably

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one of the straightest rods in St Patrick's School,

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man. We all know that, man. Dude, I mean, the

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mic flag came out. You know why? Because, look,

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man, you are, in my book, probably amongst the

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top, top, top, top in this country when it comes

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to the sex. a phone. When it comes to the saxophone,

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right, you're probably the top. And anyone in

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your position that goes full -time as a professional,

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as a musician, would probably adopt a name or

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a moniker or something like that. I mean like

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Spooky Robinson. You know what I'm saying? Or

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adopt a Christian name or something like that.

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But you never did. Okay Okay, I'm pretty sure

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I'm gonna have quite a time with quite a time

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in my hands right now hello everybody and welcome

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back to the chris hansen conversation and it's

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still our tribute show to sg's music icons and

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i have with me in studio you've heard the introduction

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earlier on uh yep a very prolific musician someone

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who really knows how to do a give a good damn

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blow on an instrument Whatever the hell you were

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thinking, get your head out of the gutter. And

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he plays a saxophone. He's a fantastic saxophonist.

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And he is Teo Boon Chai. Welcome to the studio.

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All right. I have Boon Chai with me. And of course,

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next to Boon Chai and next to me, squashed in

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the middle like a damn meat in a bun. Because

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you know why? He was here in season five. He

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was here in season five with a band, with Debra.

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his other half representing the band Bellingham

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and we paid tribute to the band Bellingham and

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he's back here today because you know at the

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behest of Boon Chai Boon Chai said Chris I think

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I want to have this guy next to me you know and

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and he says Chris you know like I need a security

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blanket and my security blanket is my squeaky

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toy What did you say just now? We're going to

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play that over and over again, okay? We're going

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to put that over and over again. Anyway, we're

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here to pay tribute to Bunchai. I've known this

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guy since we were kids, man. Since we were way

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back in school. And even from that, even from

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those days, this guy does a meme. What's the

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technical term for blowing a saxophone? You blow,

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right? Do you suck at it? To breathe, yeah. I

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didn't ask Kuopo, because Kuopo plays the sax.

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So KP told me, I didn't ask him. So what do you

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do? I mean, do you basically blow? Or is there

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any sucking involved? It's like a reverse, you

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know, like you're drinking milkshake. What? You

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suck it in, right? Just imagine exhaling. Am

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I right? Am I right? Okay, anyway KP has got

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great things to say about you Yeah. Wow. He's

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not sweating. He's sweating. He's sweating. I

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think the aircon is not powerful enough. No,

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no, no. I've got to bring the AC down a little

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bit. Otherwise, I'll be picking up the fan noise,

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man. You've got to make me say all these things.

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These type of things are not supposed to be saying

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in front of the camera, you know. Terrible little

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squeaky toy. Okay. So now we have the Singapore

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Sax talent. Boon Chai in the studio. And we want

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to discover your early notes, man. Your foundation.

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You started out in school. Now let's talk about

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you picking up the instrument from the very,

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very beginning. St. Patrick's School, man. We

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produced quite a lot of talents. I might need

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to bring back a bit. Oh, bring it back a bit.

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You were blowing earlier on. Even from before.

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Okay, I come from a very big family. Five girls

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and two brothers. Five girls and two brothers.

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Five sisters and two brothers. Five sisters and

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one brother. It's just like sound music. So just

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now you said two brothers. No, no, no. Please

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count again. So he's a musician. I'm the youngest.

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Yeah. Yeah. And somehow my late parents said,

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no, this one need to go to like Christian Brother

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School. You mean the rest didn't go to? They

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did. But for me, it's like, must. So, yeah. By

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who or by group? Because you unholy or? Yeah,

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why? I mean, everyone else did. I think they

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want me to be like more jatang -tang. The rest

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went to what? Chinese high? Catholic high or

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what? We need to talk about all this. You know

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from Nan Chow? Yeah, from Nan Chow. He's from

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Nan Chow. Oh my. Okay. That's distracting. Okay,

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okay. This fella is a squeaky toy. So I went

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to San Siven and then naturally I'll go to St.

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Pat's. Yeah, I mean, we all did. Well, your brothers,

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they didn't go to, they went to, which schools

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did they go to? Oh, I can't remember now. I mean,

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there are Chinese, Chinese schools. So I was

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right, they were not CBS schools, they were Chinese

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schools. One was just like, probably convent.

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I don't know which convent, I can't remember.

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The rest are all bentang. But for me, like special,

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they went all out. To make sure I get a place

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in St. Stephen's. Why? Why? Why? Why did they

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say that? I can't remember. I was too young.

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I'm too young. I didn't understand that. Okay.

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Anyway, you went into St. Stephen's. St. Stephen's

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and then cut the story short. Go stand back.

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And then... Wait, wait, wait. Don't cut the story

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short. When do you start blowing the saxophone?

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St. Pat's. I've got to keep qualifying that.

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St. Pat's. In St. Pat's. Not St. Stephen's. Not

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St. Stephen's. What was your ECA back then? We

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call it ECA. Now we call it CCA. Yeah, what were

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you doing there? On Saturday, I played marble.

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Who the fuck comes back to school to play marbles

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on a Saturday, bro? You know, it's dedication.

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Really important. soon before I'm a winner I'm

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a winner I got When you say winner, you mean

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W -I -N -N -E -R, yeah? I got to qualify a lot

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of things to have this conversation with you,

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man. This is probably my last time. So before

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you started blowing, it's not going to be your

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last time here. Why? You mean you're not happy

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with me? No, no, no. I mean you to me. No, brother.

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I wouldn't be upset with my guests. No way. Wait,

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wait, wait. So let me get this right. Before

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you started blowing, you were playing your goalie

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a lot. Okay. A lot that I'm good at. You're really

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good at playing your goalie. I don't know how

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to play marbles. Why you don't know? Very hard

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to explain. You don't want to play marbles? Huh?

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What kind of bloody childhood did you have? How

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to explain? Bro, you draw a line. There are two

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parts to playing marbles. I don't believe I'm

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explaining about how to play freaking marbles

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here. Okay, all you young people like this joker

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down here. You know, you Xennials and all that.

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You've never played by the goalie in your life.

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Goalie. Goalie is our local term for marbles.

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Okay? Yeah. So, we collect marbles. And we are

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very proud of the marbles we collect. There's

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a matakuching. Matakuching. Only one color, you

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know. Yeah, the white one. And then, Kai, one

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of our cameras are off. Okay, there you go. Lovely

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guy, this guy. I tell you, how can you not love

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my video producer, man? So, we got, we found

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it online. There you go. Then you draw a line

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first. You draw a line first. Then after that,

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you throw. Yes. You throw your marble with your

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other competitors. So the one that hits closest

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to the line would be the one to go first. Yes.

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Correct? Then you draw a circle on the ground.

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Then you put all the marbles in there. Whatever

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stick. Whatever your stick. Okay, let's say four.

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Yeah, four. Everyone will put four marbles inside.

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Yeah, four marbles. So you want to win all these

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marbles in there. They belong to all of you collectively.

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So it's like an early form of gambling for your

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marbles. And then we use our marble and our skill

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to knock a marble out of the circle. Yeah, yeah.

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But once it gets out of the circle, it's yours

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to keep. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's very fun, man.

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You can do this. So much better. Or this. Duh,

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you got to draw a circle in the ground. What

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do you think? You draw a circle in the ground

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and say, man, I cannot be right. Yeah, yeah.

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So, voila, I cannot believe this. Gabriel Lim

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has never played with his marbles before. Too

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young. Too young. Interesting. So this is where

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the saying comes from. Have you lost your marbles?

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That's where the saying came from. Not from Peter

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Pan. I have no freaking clue. I'm just saying.

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I don't know when I write about my facts. One

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of the lost boys. This guy's a geek, man. This

00:13:24.110 --> 00:13:27.750
guy's a geek. Okay. So you were only playing

00:13:27.750 --> 00:13:33.070
goalie marbles on Saturdays. And you're okay.

00:13:34.190 --> 00:13:36.470
Goalie king. Yeah. Then when you went to St.

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Pat's, you had to pick a CCA. Ah, okay. This

00:13:39.750 --> 00:13:43.269
is very interesting because I didn't know what

00:13:43.269 --> 00:13:48.559
CCA is showing. And I've been playing the piano

00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:51.240
at home. Oh, now we're getting somewhere. Okay,

00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:54.320
okay. When I was a kid. Ah. Yeah. How old did

00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:56.960
you start playing the piano? Very young. My two

00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:01.580
sister, they got classical piano teacher. Right.

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But not me. Right. But I play more than them.

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Okay. Yeah. So I bought, you know, those manuscript

00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:09.399
book at the back where they have all the chords.

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Yeah. All the 12 keys. Okay. Major, minor, dominant,

00:14:13.590 --> 00:14:15.549
diminished. I learned to play all that. You played

00:14:15.549 --> 00:14:16.970
diminished all of that at that time. I can play

00:14:16.970 --> 00:14:21.330
all the chords, but not as a, you know, I'm not

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good at accompanying people, but I can play the

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chords. Really? Yeah. And you self -trained yourself

00:14:26.970 --> 00:14:29.129
to do that? Yeah. I love to do that. How old

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can you just estimate? Primary school. Primary

00:14:32.149 --> 00:14:35.950
school. Okay. So seven and above. Yeah. So that's

00:14:35.950 --> 00:14:38.429
the only musical background you had. No formal

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lessons you learned yourself. It's not even proper.

00:14:41.629 --> 00:14:43.789
But it's amazing you can play diminished and

00:14:43.789 --> 00:14:47.450
augmented and stuff, right? Wow. You still friend

00:14:47.450 --> 00:14:51.389
me, right? You still friend, right? Yeah, yeah,

00:14:51.429 --> 00:14:53.730
yeah. I didn't tell you this, no. Did I tell

00:14:53.730 --> 00:14:57.470
you? That I can play diminished chord on the

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piano. He thought maybe I know how to play major

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or minor. But diminished is like... Sometimes

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he don't like playing the piano. I won't play

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in front of you. No, but mate, Boon Chai, you

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know, you played the piano, you went to St. Pat's,

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you joined, you decided to join the band. Ah,

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so yeah, so we come to the, the representative

00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:24.700
from the various CCA will come to the Yeah lah,

00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:28.320
they sell at Koyot lah. So the only reason I

00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:32.559
joined is the uniform looks so cool. What? Yeah,

00:15:32.620 --> 00:15:35.159
our old band uniform looks cool. No, the white,

00:15:35.159 --> 00:15:37.360
the white one with red stripe, the number one,

00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:41.330
white, white pants. Yeah. And the very nice ceremonial.

00:15:41.389 --> 00:15:44.289
Yeah. The lanyards. Yeah. And the shamrock. Yeah.

00:15:44.370 --> 00:15:47.669
Yeah. Nice man. To me, it's nice. Okay. Then

00:15:47.669 --> 00:15:50.830
I drag my buddy to join also. Who's your buddy?

00:15:51.590 --> 00:15:54.950
I think it's Henry. Henry. Yeah. I don't know

00:15:54.950 --> 00:15:57.850
him. All right. Yeah. So you decided to join

00:15:57.850 --> 00:15:59.269
the band because of the uniform, not because

00:15:59.269 --> 00:16:02.230
you like music. No. Not because I like music.

00:16:02.330 --> 00:16:04.789
I like because of the uniform. At that time,

00:16:04.850 --> 00:16:09.039
did you like music? I mean, I like it, but. I

00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:13.039
didn't join the band because I like music. So

00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:15.840
you're telling me that at that time you had no

00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:19.000
passion for music? No. It was a mistake. Yeah.

00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:30.379
It's just 100 % the uniform. Really? It looks

00:16:30.379 --> 00:16:36.009
so cool. Then what happened next? Cosplay. cross

00:16:36.009 --> 00:16:40.750
-dressing then I was like the senior were let

00:16:40.750 --> 00:16:44.549
me try on the trumpet trumpet and I didn't do

00:16:44.549 --> 00:16:46.950
well and then he said okay just play clarinet

00:16:46.950 --> 00:16:51.110
yeah so I've been playing clarinet for the whole

00:16:51.110 --> 00:16:52.970
of my second school oh you said you played I

00:16:52.970 --> 00:16:56.730
started clarinet not saxophone okay yeah and

00:16:56.730 --> 00:17:01.340
I took I finished grade 8. But I remember watching

00:17:01.340 --> 00:17:05.480
you play the sax while we were in school. Oh,

00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:09.759
that's for fun. I think I joined some combo band.

00:17:09.900 --> 00:17:11.619
They call it combo band. Combo band, yeah. Combo

00:17:11.619 --> 00:17:15.039
band. Kevin Jefferson, Gerard Sami, Keishon.

00:17:15.740 --> 00:17:19.440
Keishon. Also with Bong and Edmund Branson. Edmund.

00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:22.220
Yeah. And the late Edmund. Yeah. And we played

00:17:22.220 --> 00:17:25.460
on Chinese New Year. Right. You know, da -da

00:17:25.460 --> 00:17:28.230
-da -da -da but in funk. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You

00:17:28.230 --> 00:17:30.690
guys... Wong was slapping. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:17:30.750 --> 00:17:32.750
I remember that. You guys used to play stuff

00:17:32.750 --> 00:17:34.730
from... In front of Brother McNally. The late

00:17:34.730 --> 00:17:39.210
Brother McNally. Yeah. He was staring. Wow. These

00:17:39.210 --> 00:17:41.029
guys were brilliant, man. I tell you, really.

00:17:41.089 --> 00:17:45.769
I swear. And I know that you guys played stuff

00:17:45.769 --> 00:17:52.269
from Shark Attack. Yes. Yeah. Nightbirds. Nightbirds.

00:17:52.329 --> 00:17:54.930
Yeah. And Maneater. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Man

00:17:54.930 --> 00:17:59.130
Eater, Hall & Oates. I tell you, can you imagine

00:17:59.130 --> 00:18:01.670
back then, you know, in school, these guys were

00:18:01.670 --> 00:18:04.289
playing stuff like that. And is it true that

00:18:04.289 --> 00:18:08.630
I know that the late Edmund Branson, great guy,

00:18:08.769 --> 00:18:12.670
and some of you guys also moonlighted at the

00:18:12.670 --> 00:18:15.670
Jockey Pub on the weekends. Oh, not me. Not you.

00:18:15.750 --> 00:18:19.150
Very underage, yeah. Yeah, they were all bloody

00:18:19.150 --> 00:18:22.859
underage. I didn't know about this. In Shore

00:18:22.859 --> 00:18:29.720
Centre. Yeah. Now I feel a bit formal. So that

00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:33.299
explains when they hit at the corner and start

00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:35.160
talking, maybe they are talking about all this.

00:18:35.380 --> 00:18:36.859
Yeah, I remember that. I remember that these

00:18:36.859 --> 00:18:40.079
guys were playing at the Jockey Pub. And they

00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:43.319
always looked forward to it, man. Jockey Pub?

00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:46.200
I think Gerard Sami also sometimes stood in for...

00:18:46.910 --> 00:18:49.289
Talented drummer. Oh, yeah. Oh, I forgot about

00:18:49.289 --> 00:18:52.809
you. I forgot about you. He's my classmate. Yeah.

00:18:52.990 --> 00:18:58.150
Fantastic drummer, man. Oh, bloody hell. Insufferable.

00:18:58.630 --> 00:19:02.369
Oh, gosh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, okay. Yeah,

00:19:02.410 --> 00:19:05.390
fantastic music, man. You know, even back then

00:19:05.390 --> 00:19:07.349
in school. So, you joined the band. He was Mr.

00:19:07.529 --> 00:19:12.849
Francisco, wasn't he? Yes. So, I have the pleasure

00:19:12.849 --> 00:19:17.009
of having both. Even David Gloss. Yes. Yeah.

00:19:17.089 --> 00:19:19.930
Yeah, almost split up. Hey, David Gloss. Again,

00:19:20.150 --> 00:19:22.849
we're mentioning your name. Yeah. Can you get

00:19:22.849 --> 00:19:25.950
in touch for goodness sake? Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

00:19:26.049 --> 00:19:29.049
But let's talk about the late Lawrence Francisco.

00:19:29.109 --> 00:19:31.869
Yeah. It's amazing because we didn't know then.

00:19:31.930 --> 00:19:34.069
We were playing jazz. We were playing caravan.

00:19:34.150 --> 00:19:38.029
We were playing four by Miles Davis. Wow. We

00:19:38.029 --> 00:19:39.630
were playing on the trail. We were playing...

00:19:41.329 --> 00:19:43.250
Kilo, we were playing standard. Yeah, they were

00:19:43.250 --> 00:19:47.029
playing standard. But as a military band, we

00:19:47.029 --> 00:19:48.710
were known as military. I don't know now, is

00:19:48.710 --> 00:19:50.849
it still military? But we were always known as

00:19:50.849 --> 00:19:55.009
military band. Like, as though the drills is

00:19:55.009 --> 00:19:58.329
more important than music. Yeah. Almost all.

00:19:58.769 --> 00:20:01.410
Yeah, more important. So you played the clarinet,

00:20:01.490 --> 00:20:03.109
then how did you switch over to the saxophone?

00:20:03.750 --> 00:20:05.589
You knew how to play the saxophone even back

00:20:05.589 --> 00:20:08.950
in school. I played the saxophone because I would,

00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:14.380
they ask, because they won't want the clarinetist

00:20:14.380 --> 00:20:17.920
to be in the combo band. So, not a choice. No,

00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:19.440
no, it's not that, but how do you pick it up?

00:20:20.119 --> 00:20:23.180
You play the clarinet. MDC. Music and Drama.

00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:25.019
No, but in a combo band, when you were playing

00:20:25.019 --> 00:20:28.059
in school for the combo band. It's not a self

00:20:28.059 --> 00:20:30.000
-taught, right? Because it's almost the same.

00:20:30.180 --> 00:20:32.180
Again, self -taught. Yeah, it's self -taught.

00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:34.359
Okay, okay, okay. Clarinet and saxophone, almost

00:20:34.359 --> 00:20:39.529
the same. Saxophone, I think it's easier. Because

00:20:39.529 --> 00:20:44.250
Clamnet, you need a more tighter and more disciplined

00:20:44.250 --> 00:20:45.730
ambusher. I should check off that bucket list,

00:20:45.849 --> 00:20:48.269
man. Ambusher, ambusher. You call it ambusher.

00:20:48.369 --> 00:20:51.430
The grip. Okay. You need a tighter, more disciplined.

00:20:52.170 --> 00:20:55.789
And what's the word again? Ambusher. Ambusher.

00:20:56.029 --> 00:20:59.730
Ambusher. Okay. So that. Yeah, yeah. So you play

00:20:59.730 --> 00:21:04.329
recorder, you know, the lower and upper register.

00:21:04.509 --> 00:21:08.549
Yeah. For saxophone, it's the same note. It's

00:21:08.549 --> 00:21:10.589
just an octave different, but for clarinet, it's

00:21:10.589 --> 00:21:15.650
different. Okay. A C, lower register. The upper

00:21:15.650 --> 00:21:18.990
register is a G. Right. It's very complex. It's

00:21:18.990 --> 00:21:22.250
more than an octave different. Wow. Yeah. But

00:21:22.250 --> 00:21:25.009
the main thing is the discipline. Right. So is

00:21:25.009 --> 00:21:29.369
there any... I'm skipping questions now since

00:21:29.369 --> 00:21:31.369
we're on this topic. I like to do things this

00:21:31.369 --> 00:21:34.849
way. Okay. So anyone, do you sing? Do you sing?

00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:37.440
Just about anyone can learn how to play the sax.

00:21:37.640 --> 00:21:40.500
Yes, can. Including idiots like me. It's easier

00:21:40.500 --> 00:21:45.440
for, on saxophone, alto sax, because of the size.

00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:48.900
Yeah. You know, tenor will be too large. Okay.

00:21:49.099 --> 00:21:53.440
Yeah. Soprano will be a bit tiring, and if, embouchure

00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:56.839
is weird, it's radical. It's different. Yeah,

00:21:56.900 --> 00:21:59.319
soprano is really, if you can play, you'll play

00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:03.900
very well. You can't, jialat. Yeah. Okay. So,

00:22:05.319 --> 00:22:07.400
Okay, I know where you're going to. It's like,

00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:11.440
I ever taught someone within 10 minutes. Yeah.

00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:16.220
It was a lady. She could play. I taught her four

00:22:16.220 --> 00:22:19.500
notes and came out with five notes. And the tone

00:22:19.500 --> 00:22:22.759
was, sorry. No problem. The tone was impeccable.

00:22:22.859 --> 00:22:25.799
It was perfect. 10 minutes. That's my record.

00:22:26.140 --> 00:22:29.539
Really? Yeah. You're teaching, right? I don't.

00:22:30.019 --> 00:22:33.839
You don't teach? Saxophone? He plays saxophone.

00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:37.240
Do you know that? That's why he's here. You play

00:22:37.240 --> 00:22:41.599
the sax? Yeah. Oh my goodness. When he first

00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:43.700
knew me, he knew me as a saxophonist. Yeah. Is

00:22:43.700 --> 00:22:45.920
it? Yeah. I know you played the sax when you

00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:48.720
were in school. He's still playing. He's still

00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:52.240
playing. Is it? Yeah. So you teach the sax? Do

00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:55.079
you teach the sax? In school. In school. Where

00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:58.039
in school? I teach band. Yeah, yeah. In the school

00:22:58.039 --> 00:23:02.500
context. Oh. Yeah. Oh, you do? Yeah, I do. Okay,

00:23:02.579 --> 00:23:09.470
okay. Okay. So you can blow as well. So you can

00:23:09.470 --> 00:23:12.430
blow as well. We blow differently. This guy is

00:23:12.430 --> 00:23:14.910
a legend. Yeah, we all know. Bunchai is a legend.

00:23:14.910 --> 00:23:16.490
That's the reason why he's here. How many can

00:23:16.490 --> 00:23:21.509
play one song? Well, musicians, man. I mean,

00:23:21.529 --> 00:23:24.210
he plays the keyboards and he plays the sax.

00:23:24.410 --> 00:23:27.380
You play the keyboards professionally. But you,

00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:30.759
you play the sax as well. My goodness. So he,

00:23:30.859 --> 00:23:33.500
whatever I say, he understand. My goodness. So

00:23:33.500 --> 00:23:36.039
I'm the only dingbat sitting here amongst the

00:23:36.039 --> 00:23:39.539
three of us. Now it's cool that, you know, from

00:23:39.539 --> 00:23:42.420
St. Pat's, you went into the, you went to NS.

00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:46.660
Yes. Did you sign on? Oh, this is another story.

00:23:47.400 --> 00:23:50.039
I'll keep it short. No, I wanted to sign on because

00:23:50.039 --> 00:23:54.240
I went to 3rd Sir Mono Intake. 3SIR. Yeah. Mono

00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:57.200
Intake. And you know, Mono Intake. You cannot

00:23:57.200 --> 00:23:59.200
get out of mono anything. There's no way. Yeah.

00:23:59.339 --> 00:24:04.480
Your life. Yeah. And I'm Path A. And then I KK.

00:24:04.599 --> 00:24:06.200
There's three infantry guys here, man. Because

00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:09.519
I'm, because of Sam Pat's military, man, I know

00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:11.259
all the drills. Yeah. I'm very good at that.

00:24:11.380 --> 00:24:14.759
Yeah. All the commands. Yeah. And then I got.

00:24:15.619 --> 00:24:25.519
So. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not showing it, but

00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:31.539
I enjoy his company, really. So, I don't know.

00:24:31.559 --> 00:24:35.380
I subbed myself. I did very well. And I got the

00:24:35.380 --> 00:24:39.380
best trainee of the company. And then the...

00:24:39.380 --> 00:24:48.880
And the CEO pulled me to the support company.

00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:52.329
Because it's like a promotion. You have to join

00:24:52.329 --> 00:24:54.529
the scout company. Oh, you were in the scouts?

00:24:54.710 --> 00:24:57.269
Yeah. So, my fourth month, I was in scout. Right.

00:24:57.470 --> 00:25:00.529
So, I went to see my S1. Manchester United, you

00:25:00.529 --> 00:25:04.250
need to hear this. You need a scout. So, I went

00:25:04.250 --> 00:25:07.509
to S1. Yes. I said I want to join the band. Last

00:25:07.509 --> 00:25:11.130
time, there was an army band, navy band, air

00:25:11.130 --> 00:25:13.609
force band. Yeah, yeah, yeah. MDC. So, there's

00:25:13.609 --> 00:25:15.769
this four. I wrote letter to all four. Right.

00:25:15.829 --> 00:25:18.289
I want to sign on. Right. I cannot tahan the

00:25:18.289 --> 00:25:20.970
army life. Right. I don't blame you, yeah. Yeah,

00:25:20.970 --> 00:25:23.470
yeah. It's tough. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But isn't

00:25:23.470 --> 00:25:27.410
it much? Huh? Much to say. Okay, Wun Che, ignore

00:25:27.410 --> 00:25:29.730
him for a bit. Continue your story, please. Yeah.

00:25:29.750 --> 00:25:36.170
Okay, yeah. So, I went to S1. S1 is manpower

00:25:36.170 --> 00:25:38.609
officer. Yeah, manpower. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He

00:25:38.609 --> 00:25:41.430
said, no way you're getting out. No way. Yeah.

00:25:41.990 --> 00:25:49.920
Yeah. But somehow, MDC. Yeah. The next day, you

00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:51.799
know. The music drama company. Yeah, yeah, music

00:25:51.799 --> 00:25:54.660
and drama. The next day, after I spoke to S1,

00:25:54.819 --> 00:25:58.759
S1 called me up and said, what happened? Pack

00:25:58.759 --> 00:26:02.900
and go. Wah, happy. You know, the Alibaba bank

00:26:02.900 --> 00:26:06.619
and everything. Then lucky. I went there. I went

00:26:06.619 --> 00:26:12.519
to the BSM staff sergeant, Richard. I said, how

00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:15.200
many years I need to sign? The first thing I've

00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:17.640
met. Are we talking about Richard Tan? Not Richard

00:26:17.640 --> 00:26:20.220
Tan. Oh, but he's not there. But this is another

00:26:20.220 --> 00:26:22.859
Richard. Hey, Rich. Shout out to you too, Rich.

00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:27.819
Yeah, okay. Okay, so I asked, how many years

00:26:27.819 --> 00:26:30.740
do I need to sign? Six years? He said, no, no,

00:26:30.740 --> 00:26:35.700
no. And then, two years only. What? Let me explain

00:26:35.700 --> 00:26:37.500
to you why you're so lucky, okay? I'll explain

00:26:37.500 --> 00:26:40.799
to you why. I was auditioned by Richard. Okay.

00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:46.619
Okay? And I was from 1SIR. Oh. I was in support

00:26:46.619 --> 00:26:51.759
company. Okay. Wow. Exactly. Exactly. And we're

00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:54.180
from the Eastside units. Back then, it was all

00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:55.900
the Eastside units, other two brigades, right?

00:26:56.279 --> 00:26:59.980
And I went for the audition. And Richard auditioned

00:26:59.980 --> 00:27:03.619
me. And I got it. Which? The drama side or the

00:27:03.619 --> 00:27:06.480
band side? The drama side. Drama side. Yeah.

00:27:07.099 --> 00:27:09.740
To do the MC work and all that. The voice work.

00:27:09.859 --> 00:27:13.140
Blah, blah, blah. I got it. My unit didn't let

00:27:13.140 --> 00:27:16.569
me go. My S1 didn't let me go. MDC wrote in.

00:27:16.829 --> 00:27:20.289
They still didn't let me go. Oh no. So I spent

00:27:20.289 --> 00:27:23.990
my two and a half years full on in one SIR. Oh

00:27:23.990 --> 00:27:27.750
dear. What a sad man. Forces 55 wanted me too.

00:27:28.049 --> 00:27:31.309
Back then, before Power 98 ever existed, the

00:27:31.309 --> 00:27:33.910
only armed forces radio was called Forces 55.

00:27:34.049 --> 00:27:36.710
Just a station. That's it. It's just a station

00:27:36.710 --> 00:27:40.869
of the show that comes on. Radio One, which is

00:27:40.869 --> 00:27:44.849
Go 905 now, right? On a Saturday. And it was

00:27:44.849 --> 00:27:47.210
the first guy to do it. I hope I'm right about

00:27:47.210 --> 00:27:50.809
my facts here. The first guy to get on air was

00:27:50.809 --> 00:27:53.789
Leslie Pillay. And he was known as the corporal.

00:27:53.869 --> 00:27:58.970
Oh. Yeah. And all that, even though I got accepted,

00:27:59.210 --> 00:28:03.009
gone out the window. Yeah. Wow. Never had a chance.

00:28:04.230 --> 00:28:08.099
Never had a chance. You're damn lucky, man. But

00:28:08.099 --> 00:28:09.799
you ended up being an instructor. You didn't

00:28:09.799 --> 00:28:12.299
sign on. I didn't sign on. You became an instructor,

00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:15.619
right? For the Singapore Armed Forces Band. That

00:28:15.619 --> 00:28:19.180
came a bit later after I left MDC. Oh, they came

00:28:19.180 --> 00:28:24.319
later. Because back then, all the SSO players,

00:28:24.579 --> 00:28:29.140
they were tutoring the three bands, the Army,

00:28:29.339 --> 00:28:32.420
Navy, and Air Force. Oh, okay. The Singapore

00:28:32.420 --> 00:28:35.279
Symphonic Orchestra. But they're lacking on saxophones.

00:28:35.460 --> 00:28:39.250
So, I'm lucky. I've been put in. So when you

00:28:39.250 --> 00:28:41.990
went into MDC, you were playing the saxophone.

00:28:42.130 --> 00:28:46.230
Yeah, I need to. And I didn't even have a mouthpiece.

00:28:46.569 --> 00:28:49.690
I don't even have a saxophone. And all was given

00:28:49.690 --> 00:28:52.910
by my in -chief. They were very kind. They just

00:28:52.910 --> 00:28:55.589
loaned me a mouthpiece. Wow. Get me some reeds.

00:28:56.430 --> 00:28:59.549
Yeah. Okay. Honestly, I'm not. Let me get this

00:28:59.549 --> 00:29:01.730
right. Everybody's got their own personal mouthpiece.

00:29:01.869 --> 00:29:05.410
Yeah. Yes, yes. At least. So it's not very professional

00:29:05.410 --> 00:29:08.140
that I didn't have. Even a single... You were

00:29:08.140 --> 00:29:11.680
a kid, man. Come on. Yeah. At 18, we were still

00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:15.220
kids. Yeah, yeah. We were still kids, man. Yeah.

00:29:15.619 --> 00:29:18.839
And okay, then what happened next? And MDC is

00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:21.779
like a stepping stone because Tamar Goh was there.

00:29:22.180 --> 00:29:25.500
Oh, Tamar was there? Tamar was there. Serving

00:29:25.500 --> 00:29:29.420
NS or was he full -time? Regular. Regular. My

00:29:29.420 --> 00:29:31.400
sergeant. Hey, shout out Tamar Goh. Yeah, yeah,

00:29:31.420 --> 00:29:34.380
yeah. He was a regular. Yeah, he was a big influence

00:29:34.380 --> 00:29:38.880
to me. He and Captain Tony Wei. Both of them.

00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:42.000
They were like coaching me. Tama, I'm going to

00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:43.680
pay tribute to you next season in season seven,

00:29:43.759 --> 00:29:46.240
okay? So stand by for my invitation. Stand by,

00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:50.900
brother. Yeah, stand by, brother. Yeah. In those

00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:53.839
days, we have like pager, you know. So he told

00:29:53.839 --> 00:29:57.859
me to get pager. And then he had this wallet

00:29:57.859 --> 00:30:02.140
that had a ring, what, a ring note that you can,

00:30:02.220 --> 00:30:06.339
you have a, Like diary to write the gigs. Right.

00:30:06.839 --> 00:30:09.519
So there's a pen and... Filofax. Yeah, something

00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:11.819
like that. Then you can replace. Okay. Those

00:30:11.819 --> 00:30:14.220
cost like $100. Yeah, yeah, Filofax. In those

00:30:14.220 --> 00:30:15.920
days, you know. Yeah, yeah, correct. I know I

00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:17.799
had one. In the 80s, you know how much is that?

00:30:17.819 --> 00:30:21.119
$100 plus. Yeah. You must have that. You must

00:30:21.119 --> 00:30:22.700
have paper. And every year we buy replenishment,

00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:25.599
no? It's paper. It's paper. Yeah, replenish.

00:30:25.599 --> 00:30:27.839
That's a ring. There's a ring. You take out.

00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:30.619
That's your wallet. You buy next year's one,

00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:32.880
you put it in. That's right. Yeah. Diary, is

00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:36.059
it? Yes. We have a pen. Yeah. And it comes with

00:30:36.059 --> 00:30:37.380
a pen and everything. What do you call it again?

00:30:37.779 --> 00:30:41.619
Filofax. Filofax. F -I -L -O -F -A -X. Filofax.

00:30:41.619 --> 00:30:43.779
It's like when you have a ring for something

00:30:43.779 --> 00:30:45.059
like that. Interesting, huh? Those days, huh?

00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:48.579
Yeah. We can buy Isis. Remember Isis? Isis, the

00:30:48.579 --> 00:30:53.480
brand? Isis? Okay. I -X -I -Z. I -X -I -Z. So,

00:30:53.559 --> 00:30:57.519
the brand in those days, Isis. Isis. Isis. Isis.

00:30:57.980 --> 00:31:01.309
Shit. I think so. And we used to, by the way,

00:31:01.369 --> 00:31:03.730
to us, it was branded, you know, the file of

00:31:03.730 --> 00:31:08.769
access. Yeah. So you keep your schedule in for

00:31:08.769 --> 00:31:12.650
all the gigs. He'd be guiding me and doing all

00:31:12.650 --> 00:31:15.329
the standard songs. So MDC was very nurturing.

00:31:15.609 --> 00:31:18.829
Very good. It's like a music school to me. A

00:31:18.829 --> 00:31:24.450
college. So do you feel that Teo Boon Chai's

00:31:24.450 --> 00:31:30.460
establishment The springboard for your growth,

00:31:30.660 --> 00:31:33.559
eventual growth, actually was more attributed

00:31:33.559 --> 00:31:37.660
to MDC than it would be to St. Patrick's School.

00:31:38.900 --> 00:31:42.900
Oh, St. Patrick's. Clarinet, classical clarinet.

00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:47.059
Yeah. I really practiced. But that's not, you

00:31:47.059 --> 00:31:49.839
don't find that to be the ultimate foundation.

00:31:50.059 --> 00:31:52.359
I still don't know where I'm going. But that

00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:55.619
wasn't your ultimate foundation. No. MDC was

00:31:55.619 --> 00:31:57.259
the nurturing one. Classically, yes. Because

00:31:57.259 --> 00:32:00.299
I've been practicing sometimes five hours a day

00:32:00.299 --> 00:32:05.119
till my lip blistered. Well, Kuo Po said the

00:32:05.119 --> 00:32:09.559
same thing. She went through the same till her

00:32:09.559 --> 00:32:14.859
lips blistered. Oh, no, not her. She was saying

00:32:14.859 --> 00:32:18.119
that some music teachers tend to train train

00:32:18.119 --> 00:32:20.440
their kids this way and she doesn't agree with

00:32:20.440 --> 00:32:23.740
it yeah just get it back in the correct context

00:32:23.740 --> 00:32:27.539
yeah yeah okay so so tell me what happened next

00:32:27.539 --> 00:32:29.859
so mdc then after that after you're done with

00:32:29.859 --> 00:32:33.319
your ns and it was nurturing you yeah you made

00:32:33.319 --> 00:32:36.180
boon chai into that guy who wants to be the sex

00:32:36.180 --> 00:32:41.000
talent so yeah so to to to someone is that uh

00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:44.500
in second school it's more the technicality right

00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:48.740
classical. And then when MDC, it's more like

00:32:48.740 --> 00:32:52.779
the gigs, gearing to the gigs. Right. So it really

00:32:52.779 --> 00:32:57.200
was a nice linear growth for you. But it's a

00:32:57.200 --> 00:33:00.880
culture shock to me. Why? Because all along it's

00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:03.799
classical for me. What were you playing? I even

00:33:03.799 --> 00:33:09.119
wanted, I applied for SSO. I didn't get in. I

00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:10.859
think I'm not good enough also, but there's no

00:33:10.859 --> 00:33:14.480
vacancy as well. Okay. So the idea is like scrap.

00:33:14.880 --> 00:33:18.299
Okay. And then this came along just nice. Okay.

00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:23.539
So what happened after MDC? You started training,

00:33:23.640 --> 00:33:28.140
teaching. I teach a bit, but the pay wasn't good.

00:33:28.319 --> 00:33:30.519
I was teaching at Yamaha. Wait, hang on. What

00:33:30.519 --> 00:33:32.319
happened to the Singapore Armed Forces Band and

00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:38.700
the Police Band? Oh, that comes mid -20s. So

00:33:38.700 --> 00:33:41.180
how did that happen? I mean, did you have to

00:33:41.180 --> 00:33:45.019
sign on? No, no sign on. It's just... tutoring

00:33:45.019 --> 00:33:48.720
and pay by hour so you were hired hired right

00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:54.220
right okay to train these guys okay right and

00:33:54.220 --> 00:33:58.079
then what happened okay so after army yeah i

00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:01.059
did uh three years immediately i'm almost immediately

00:34:01.059 --> 00:34:05.339
uh i was playing at the saxophone bar the old

00:34:05.339 --> 00:34:09.440
saxophone bar at carpage terrace yeah wow yeah

00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:11.699
yeah i did not even yeah man saxophone bar bro

00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:14.219
I tell you, you missed out a lot, man. Yeah.

00:34:14.980 --> 00:34:17.199
But what's this thing I hear about you getting

00:34:17.199 --> 00:34:20.860
a grade 8 in clarinet from the La Salle Academy?

00:34:21.300 --> 00:34:24.079
Ah, that's right. With honours. Yes, with honours.

00:34:24.139 --> 00:34:27.360
Yeah, so when did that happen? Okay, before...

00:34:27.360 --> 00:34:28.860
Well, he keeps forgetting his own history, you

00:34:28.860 --> 00:34:31.179
know. I have to remind him about his history.

00:34:31.420 --> 00:34:35.320
So the very first La Salle, before the Mountbatten

00:34:35.320 --> 00:34:39.260
one, before the SIA, before the one at... The

00:34:39.260 --> 00:34:41.920
one in Mountbatten? Yeah. Yeah, next to the swimming

00:34:41.920 --> 00:34:46.280
pool. Yeah, it's called Lasal Academy. Ah, Lasal

00:34:46.280 --> 00:34:49.139
Arts Academy. And it's in St. Pat's. Oh, the

00:34:49.139 --> 00:34:50.719
one in the shed at the back. In St. Pat's, you

00:34:50.719 --> 00:34:53.420
know, right? Yeah, right at the back of the school.

00:34:53.619 --> 00:34:56.760
The late Brother McNally was the principal of

00:34:56.760 --> 00:34:59.800
that school. Correct, yeah. How convenient is

00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:05.559
that? So, so I actually, it actually we are Lasal.

00:35:05.739 --> 00:35:09.789
Yeah. So you joined LaSalle back then in St.

00:35:09.789 --> 00:35:11.090
Patrick's School. Yeah, when we were schooling.

00:35:11.369 --> 00:35:13.150
In St. Patrick's School when we were in school.

00:35:13.369 --> 00:35:15.989
Yeah. So you were concurrently doing your secondary

00:35:15.989 --> 00:35:18.050
school education and in LaSalle. Yes, yes. What

00:35:18.050 --> 00:35:21.110
the hell? But LaSalle then wasn't like full -time

00:35:21.110 --> 00:35:24.710
like now. Yeah, it wasn't, yeah. Yeah. But it

00:35:24.710 --> 00:35:29.210
still has that name, LaSalle Academy. Right,

00:35:29.210 --> 00:35:31.269
right. That's the very first one. Right. So you

00:35:31.269 --> 00:35:35.489
took your clarinet there? Yes. Wow. Trinity College.

00:35:37.409 --> 00:35:41.429
Wow. And you got the grade A with honors. Yeah.

00:35:42.250 --> 00:35:45.309
So did it, how come you never stuck to the clarinet,

00:35:45.409 --> 00:35:48.190
man? I mean, you got, you went all the way. Actually,

00:35:48.289 --> 00:35:54.130
after MDC, I still like the clarinet. But when

00:35:54.130 --> 00:35:56.809
I go for gigs, when they hear I play the clarinet,

00:35:56.889 --> 00:35:59.030
I say, okay, you want to play the clarinet? Fine.

00:35:59.670 --> 00:36:02.050
But you must bring a saxophone. So the demand

00:36:02.050 --> 00:36:03.849
is for the saxophone. Yeah, you have to bring

00:36:03.849 --> 00:36:06.170
a saxophone. It's like this joker now. you know

00:36:06.170 --> 00:36:10.289
this joker plays a piano because the keyboards

00:36:10.289 --> 00:36:14.230
because it is more in demand it's a commercial

00:36:14.230 --> 00:36:20.170
reason to it yes yeah granite are you keeping

00:36:20.170 --> 00:36:26.349
quiet no why why why yeah both of them yeah both

00:36:26.349 --> 00:36:28.289
of them both are different instruments no but

00:36:28.289 --> 00:36:31.110
you you the last time we met in the in the studio

00:36:31.760 --> 00:36:33.780
you decided to play the keyboards. That's what

00:36:33.780 --> 00:36:35.820
you said. No, I decided to play the piano. I

00:36:35.820 --> 00:36:39.000
decided to take the degree. I decided to take

00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:41.699
the degree in... Don't use headphones and all

00:36:41.699 --> 00:36:44.840
that. That's right. In piano. Rather than like

00:36:44.840 --> 00:36:47.739
saxophone because like, yeah, pianists always

00:36:47.739 --> 00:36:51.400
have more demand. Correct. So, isn't that the

00:36:51.400 --> 00:36:55.659
reason? Yeah, but as in being a pianist and being

00:36:55.659 --> 00:36:57.559
a keyboardist, I would say it's a different thing

00:36:57.559 --> 00:37:02.610
as well. It's two different, how to say it? It's

00:37:02.610 --> 00:37:05.650
pianist? I don't understand. Yeah, I also don't

00:37:05.650 --> 00:37:07.269
understand. What's the difference between being

00:37:07.269 --> 00:37:09.489
a pianist? Oh, by the way, in case you guys don't

00:37:09.489 --> 00:37:13.590
know, the proper terminology, right, to pronounce

00:37:13.590 --> 00:37:17.949
P -I -A -N -I -S -T is actually pianist. Oh,

00:37:18.110 --> 00:37:21.889
no. I'm glad we got it wrong. It's actually not

00:37:21.889 --> 00:37:25.809
pianist. We just say pianist because it's...

00:37:26.119 --> 00:37:30.960
All socially acceptable. I'm a penis. Gabriel

00:37:30.960 --> 00:37:37.300
Lim is a penis. It's going to be different from

00:37:37.300 --> 00:37:45.019
today on. Being a penis. There's no turning back

00:37:45.019 --> 00:37:50.340
after this. It's established, man. Singapore's

00:37:50.340 --> 00:37:53.840
first penis. Singapore's first penis squeaky

00:37:53.840 --> 00:37:59.820
toy. The first paid thing. First what? Your pay.

00:38:00.400 --> 00:38:04.980
You know, so... Okay, being a pianist and a keyboard

00:38:04.980 --> 00:38:08.159
player, what's the difference? Keyboard is playing

00:38:08.159 --> 00:38:11.460
in a band. Yeah. Soundscape. You know, like...

00:38:11.460 --> 00:38:14.619
Pianist plays in a band too. Pianist... Oh, you're

00:38:14.619 --> 00:38:16.139
talking about the acoustic thing. Yeah, like

00:38:16.139 --> 00:38:18.659
acoustic. You know, like playing in a lounge.

00:38:18.659 --> 00:38:21.639
Okay, I mean, that's different. But if you play

00:38:21.639 --> 00:38:24.559
a piano without playing a synthesizer keyboard,

00:38:25.079 --> 00:38:28.300
You're playing a piano, like a road piano. You're

00:38:28.300 --> 00:38:31.659
still a pianist. Yeah. He's also a keyboardist.

00:38:32.420 --> 00:38:35.239
What's the difference? I really want to learn

00:38:35.239 --> 00:38:37.440
because I'm not a... I don't play instruments.

00:38:37.579 --> 00:38:39.920
Isn't it like an acoustic and electric guitar?

00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:43.679
Yeah. He's still a guitarist. I mean, yeah, you

00:38:43.679 --> 00:38:45.340
are a guitarist. It's the same but different.

00:38:45.579 --> 00:38:48.900
But they will be rather... They will rather be

00:38:48.900 --> 00:38:51.260
like... Okay. Then in that case, let me just

00:38:51.260 --> 00:38:54.260
put it this way. Would a keyboard player... With

00:38:54.260 --> 00:38:58.500
a keyboardist, be able to play a piano. Should

00:38:58.500 --> 00:39:01.239
be, right? Your foundation will be... They may

00:39:01.239 --> 00:39:03.719
not have the feel. Foundation... Because the

00:39:03.719 --> 00:39:06.440
touch is different. Yes. The touch of a piano

00:39:06.440 --> 00:39:09.820
and acoustic piano and... And the wooden keys.

00:39:10.079 --> 00:39:12.760
And the keyboard is different. Yeah, wooden piano

00:39:12.760 --> 00:39:14.480
keys, right? Wooden piano keys. I understand

00:39:14.480 --> 00:39:17.840
that. And the light plastic -y keyboard keys.

00:39:19.559 --> 00:39:22.440
Okay, I like the difference. It's a tactile thing.

00:39:22.460 --> 00:39:25.250
It's like if I... I have been playing alto sax.

00:39:25.469 --> 00:39:27.690
Yeah. But I can play the tenor. But if I play

00:39:27.690 --> 00:39:31.489
the tenor, it's a bit different. I may not. The

00:39:31.489 --> 00:39:33.610
sound is different. I may not. The sound is different,

00:39:33.670 --> 00:39:37.730
but I may not play it well. Yeah. It's different.

00:39:38.030 --> 00:39:41.530
Yeah. Really? Yeah. No wonder I'm not a musician.

00:39:44.710 --> 00:39:47.289
So it wasn't because you picked the saxophone

00:39:47.289 --> 00:39:50.590
up. Because you said, darling, you're the one

00:39:50.590 --> 00:39:53.400
for me. I'm going to blow you all my life. it's

00:39:53.400 --> 00:39:57.000
not because no no no but it wasn't because yeah

00:39:57.000 --> 00:40:00.119
but i grew to like the saxophone can you tell

00:40:00.119 --> 00:40:02.019
me right now on the scale of one to ten how much

00:40:02.019 --> 00:40:04.900
do you love the saxophone then now it's ten ten

00:40:04.900 --> 00:40:07.940
okay yeah over the years she became familiar

00:40:07.940 --> 00:40:12.019
to you yeah and then it becomes like becomes

00:40:12.019 --> 00:40:17.340
zero oh now it's zero yeah so very great eight

00:40:17.340 --> 00:40:20.880
with honors you can great read that as zero only

00:40:20.880 --> 00:40:24.030
two occasions that i would have play if people

00:40:24.030 --> 00:40:27.190
ask me it will be like Dixieland music wow I

00:40:27.190 --> 00:40:30.090
feel I can it's easy for me I feel he's talking

00:40:30.090 --> 00:40:33.650
about all the left field stuff man yeah Dixieland

00:40:33.650 --> 00:40:36.650
Dixieland or like I was sharing with Gabriel

00:40:36.650 --> 00:40:39.710
just now like if there's playing for a concert

00:40:39.710 --> 00:40:41.949
sometimes you need to double up because I don't

00:40:41.949 --> 00:40:44.889
play flute so when I tell them I can play clarinet

00:40:44.889 --> 00:40:47.210
because clarinet and flute have pretty much the

00:40:47.210 --> 00:40:52.630
same range oh is it yeah oh boy Okay, I changed

00:40:52.630 --> 00:40:54.030
my mind. I'm not going to learn to play any instrument.

00:40:56.050 --> 00:41:00.550
If you could go back in time and give your younger

00:41:00.550 --> 00:41:03.230
student self one piece of advice, what would

00:41:03.230 --> 00:41:07.489
it be? I think I would still do the same thing.

00:41:07.570 --> 00:41:10.070
I would still pick up the clarinet because the

00:41:10.070 --> 00:41:15.130
clarinet gave me a lot of technique that I can

00:41:15.130 --> 00:41:19.889
apply on my saxophone. Okay. Yeah, and it's more...

00:41:20.349 --> 00:41:23.570
discipline, it's all helped me. It's like going

00:41:23.570 --> 00:41:28.809
through NS, you know, a lot of grind. A lot of

00:41:28.809 --> 00:41:31.510
grind. Yeah. Okay. You really train hard for

00:41:31.510 --> 00:41:36.650
it. Okay. Am I right? Do you, if you're in a

00:41:36.650 --> 00:41:42.010
school band contact? Yeah lah, I mean, you have

00:41:42.010 --> 00:41:46.710
to go through that phase, that phase, if not,

00:41:46.730 --> 00:41:50.679
if not. Yeah. Right. So there was no regrets,

00:41:50.719 --> 00:41:52.760
basically. No, no, no regrets. No regrets. No

00:41:52.760 --> 00:41:56.820
regrets. Okay. You spent 14 years, man. I was

00:41:56.820 --> 00:41:59.420
so proud of you, my friend. I tell you, I was

00:41:59.420 --> 00:42:02.719
so effing proud. How many years? 14 years. It's

00:42:02.719 --> 00:42:05.760
like softness with Jive Talking, man. 14 years.

00:42:05.960 --> 00:42:08.639
Yeah, man. 14 years. Jive Talking People is a

00:42:08.639 --> 00:42:11.380
real legendary band here in Singapore. They're

00:42:11.380 --> 00:42:14.199
still in existence. What was the secret to you

00:42:14.199 --> 00:42:18.099
staying together for so long with them? Wow.

00:42:18.539 --> 00:42:20.440
How did it feel like, man, playing for Jive Talking

00:42:20.440 --> 00:42:28.480
and Rafi? I must choose my words carefully. This

00:42:28.480 --> 00:42:31.699
is not a loaded question. This is not a loaded

00:42:31.699 --> 00:42:37.119
question. But this story is linked to Kuo Kuo

00:42:37.119 --> 00:42:40.199
a bit. Okay. I know, I know. Because all my life...

00:42:40.199 --> 00:42:42.280
She hired you guys, right? Yeah. All my life,

00:42:42.280 --> 00:42:45.800
I love to jam. Yeah. Even when in secondary school.

00:42:46.079 --> 00:42:48.079
You are still a serial jammer. Yeah, in secondary

00:42:48.079 --> 00:42:50.260
school. Serial jammer. Yeah, secondary school,

00:42:50.280 --> 00:42:54.559
I would go and crash other school practices and

00:42:54.559 --> 00:42:58.300
join them. Really? And I actually counted in

00:42:58.300 --> 00:43:01.239
the span of my secondary school, I joined at

00:43:01.239 --> 00:43:05.019
least 21 bands. Some colleges, some secondary

00:43:05.019 --> 00:43:09.280
school, some like SIA school. And how can you

00:43:09.280 --> 00:43:12.219
say at that time you didn't like music? Or music

00:43:12.219 --> 00:43:14.380
wasn't a thing for you? That's the only thing

00:43:14.380 --> 00:43:16.659
that I can... We're jamming for 21 freaking schools

00:43:16.659 --> 00:43:20.920
and colleges, man. It's crazy, right? Yeah. Maybe.

00:43:21.739 --> 00:43:24.860
Yeah. I mean, come on. Who does that? And there's

00:43:24.860 --> 00:43:26.719
someone who's really passionate about what they

00:43:26.719 --> 00:43:28.820
do and really passionate about the music, right?

00:43:28.900 --> 00:43:32.260
Yes, yeah. Yeah. So, okay. So, you like to jam

00:43:32.260 --> 00:43:33.960
and you're telling me about KP. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:43:34.099 --> 00:43:37.940
So, I like to jam and then I knew the late Barney

00:43:37.940 --> 00:43:42.300
Farrow. Oh. The late leader of Jive Talking on

00:43:42.300 --> 00:43:47.420
day one. So Jive Talking wasn't formed yet. You

00:43:47.420 --> 00:43:49.360
don't know who's money from, right? You heard

00:43:49.360 --> 00:43:53.420
of him, right? Yeah. What a legend. Then KP has

00:43:53.420 --> 00:43:58.739
this outlet called Java Jive. Java Jive, yeah.

00:43:58.960 --> 00:44:05.719
Right? Yeah. So Hard Rock sent someone to sort

00:44:05.719 --> 00:44:10.079
of audition us. So one of the managers was planted

00:44:10.079 --> 00:44:13.280
there to watch us. Right. And then Barney Farrokh

00:44:13.280 --> 00:44:16.380
came. Come and join. Come and jam with us. And

00:44:16.380 --> 00:44:19.820
then Jeffrey Maulod. Yeah. Also was jamming also.

00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:23.400
Yeah. So we jammed. Play, play, play, play. Then

00:44:23.400 --> 00:44:24.960
I went to the bar, asked for milk and things.

00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:29.260
I got laughed. And then the next moment. Went

00:44:29.260 --> 00:44:33.800
to the bar, asked for what? Milk. I got. I never.

00:44:34.059 --> 00:44:39.139
I never. I never been to a bar before. You're

00:44:39.139 --> 00:44:41.489
not joking. I'm not joking. I say I want milk.

00:44:41.590 --> 00:44:45.570
And then, wah, kanah, boy. I'm not laughing,

00:44:45.650 --> 00:44:52.530
right? Yeah, yeah. They're angry. True story,

00:44:52.570 --> 00:44:56.849
true story. So then, then the next moment, I

00:44:56.849 --> 00:44:59.409
forgot it with the manager from Hard Rock. I

00:44:59.409 --> 00:45:02.769
said, I want the band. I want Jeffy Maru. And

00:45:02.769 --> 00:45:06.769
I want that sexual player. And, yeah. From there,

00:45:06.909 --> 00:45:10.019
uh -huh. That was, yeah, the rest is history.

00:45:10.920 --> 00:45:13.139
14 years. He's not really answering my question,

00:45:13.199 --> 00:45:16.380
no. Which one? The milk or the... How was it

00:45:16.380 --> 00:45:23.880
like playing with giant fucking man? How did

00:45:23.880 --> 00:45:25.480
it feel like being together then for so long?

00:45:25.559 --> 00:45:26.659
I mean, it must have been great. I love it, I

00:45:26.659 --> 00:45:29.719
love it. I love it. And there were a lot of travelling

00:45:29.719 --> 00:45:32.159
as well. That one was also quite fun. Yeah, the

00:45:32.159 --> 00:45:36.400
Beijing, Jakarta, Makati. What was the magic

00:45:36.400 --> 00:45:38.800
you think, Gail? What was the magic in Jive talking?

00:45:39.440 --> 00:45:42.079
Oh, I... What was the magic, man? I mean, the

00:45:42.079 --> 00:45:45.300
late Barney Farrokh is really inspiring. Ah,

00:45:45.320 --> 00:45:49.880
yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And Rafi too. Yeah. But

00:45:49.880 --> 00:45:54.739
Rafi is cool. Yeah. Barney was talent, man. Yeah.

00:45:54.760 --> 00:45:57.739
After Barney passed away, Rafi took over. Rafi

00:45:57.739 --> 00:46:05.239
knows what song to play. Yeah. he always had

00:46:05.239 --> 00:46:08.699
the mentality to play for the crowd. Right. Not

00:46:08.699 --> 00:46:11.880
for our, you know. Oh, we love to play. Yeah.

00:46:12.260 --> 00:46:14.480
Not shook sendiri lah. Yeah, no, no, no. It's

00:46:14.480 --> 00:46:16.639
about always reading the room lah. Read the room.

00:46:16.840 --> 00:46:22.460
But Bunny has this jazz element in him. The little

00:46:22.460 --> 00:46:25.440
George Benson in him. Yeah, even leading the

00:46:25.440 --> 00:46:28.059
band. So, for example, he'll say, Boon Chai,

00:46:28.139 --> 00:46:33.130
go solo. So you let me do a free solo alone.

00:46:33.489 --> 00:46:36.449
And then he'll lead it into some song. Wow. I

00:46:36.449 --> 00:46:39.489
love that because it's spontaneous. Yeah. And

00:46:39.489 --> 00:46:43.070
it's not like a pop band. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yeah.

00:46:43.289 --> 00:46:48.789
Wow. Why did you leave Jump Jockey? Wow. I don't

00:46:48.789 --> 00:46:52.230
know how to say it. It just happened. It just

00:46:52.230 --> 00:46:54.570
happened. After China Jump. So 10 years at Hard

00:46:54.570 --> 00:46:59.110
Rock Cafe. Four years at China Jump. Yeah. Yeah.

00:46:59.110 --> 00:47:02.639
Then I... I left. Do you know China Jump? No.

00:47:03.440 --> 00:47:11.119
Really? China Jump is now simply retro. Yeah,

00:47:11.199 --> 00:47:13.500
now it's a simply retro. It's in the same space.

00:47:13.980 --> 00:47:16.079
More or less a simply, yeah. That space cannot

00:47:16.079 --> 00:47:21.239
die, but only businesses die. China Jump, then

00:47:21.239 --> 00:47:24.159
John Bolina had Berlin there. Yes, yes, yes.

00:47:24.199 --> 00:47:27.559
Yeah, then after that, now it's simply retro.

00:47:27.719 --> 00:47:31.139
Yeah. So you played in China Jump for four years.

00:47:31.239 --> 00:47:34.980
Four years. So ten plus four. Yeah. Why did you

00:47:34.980 --> 00:47:39.420
leave? Personal reasons. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Personal

00:47:39.420 --> 00:47:45.619
reasons. Okay. But I am enjoying my time outside

00:47:45.619 --> 00:47:50.199
of Chai Talking. Okay. How long has it been since

00:47:50.199 --> 00:47:58.519
you left Chai? My math is not very good. Our

00:47:58.519 --> 00:48:01.960
math is very bad. No, I can tell. Should we try

00:48:01.960 --> 00:48:07.920
it a bit? Very fast one ah. So there was this

00:48:07.920 --> 00:48:10.260
year. No, I know when the two of you get along.

00:48:11.820 --> 00:48:16.820
You know sometimes when you wear like army helmet,

00:48:17.059 --> 00:48:20.079
then we become like blah blah right? You know

00:48:20.079 --> 00:48:23.239
I was not blah when I put it on. Yeah, when I

00:48:23.239 --> 00:48:27.139
was 27. There was a year we were like, I was

00:48:27.139 --> 00:48:30.800
double his age. Yeah, when I was 27. Then I was

00:48:30.800 --> 00:48:34.500
asking him, next year, oh, we'll still be double,

00:48:34.619 --> 00:48:40.920
right? Yeah. Then he agreed. Do your math, do

00:48:40.920 --> 00:48:43.400
your math. You were double. You cannot influence

00:48:43.400 --> 00:48:45.800
by us. What the fuck are you talking about? How

00:48:45.800 --> 00:48:50.119
old are you? No, I'm 27. Yeah? He's 54. Cannot

00:48:50.119 --> 00:48:54.320
be 54. You're a year older than me only. I'm

00:48:54.320 --> 00:48:57.659
born in 1968. Two years older than me only. Yeah.

00:48:57.840 --> 00:48:59.860
I mean, that was three years ago. Three years

00:48:59.860 --> 00:49:04.039
ago, I was 27. He was 54. Yeah, I was double.

00:49:04.039 --> 00:49:07.059
Yeah, okay. He was double my age. We kept thinking

00:49:07.059 --> 00:49:14.679
that every year, I'll be double. But when we

00:49:14.679 --> 00:49:16.699
are alone... And he had the same Patrick's education.

00:49:18.719 --> 00:49:20.460
Then we were like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll

00:49:20.460 --> 00:49:22.380
still be double. But when we are not together,

00:49:22.519 --> 00:49:26.340
we are okay. Like we are smart. What the f...

00:49:26.340 --> 00:49:31.039
Okay. Enough of side track. Not until you're

00:49:31.039 --> 00:49:34.960
making me stupid, boy. You were thinking it.

00:49:35.099 --> 00:49:37.900
You were like, oh yeah. I tell you. Wow. Very

00:49:37.900 --> 00:49:41.980
confusing. Okay. After so many years with Jive,

00:49:42.139 --> 00:49:44.360
having gone freelance, how many years has it

00:49:44.360 --> 00:49:52.219
been since you left? Okay. I've been 37 years

00:49:52.219 --> 00:49:59.619
all in all. 14 minus 27 minus 14. 23? 23 years?

00:49:59.960 --> 00:50:03.719
So you spent more years out of the band than

00:50:03.719 --> 00:50:05.679
you did being with the band. It was difficult

00:50:05.679 --> 00:50:09.360
to calculate because it's like almost one year

00:50:09.360 --> 00:50:13.800
no gig. Because everyone gigging would have their

00:50:13.800 --> 00:50:17.619
own clique of musicians. And also I've been out

00:50:17.619 --> 00:50:21.599
of the scene for 14 years. Out of the session

00:50:21.599 --> 00:50:24.199
scene, you mean? Yeah, and these two aspects

00:50:24.199 --> 00:50:27.920
actually explain why I don't have a gig for one

00:50:27.920 --> 00:50:30.380
year. Okay. So I'm just waiting for spillover

00:50:30.380 --> 00:50:35.039
when I sub for so -and -so and get into the clique.

00:50:35.119 --> 00:50:37.119
You could have easily just gone back to jive

00:50:37.119 --> 00:50:43.340
talking. You know, 12 months of no work. I don't

00:50:43.340 --> 00:50:47.420
know. I left, so I left. Okay. So one year no

00:50:47.420 --> 00:50:49.840
work, then after that, it was tough. Then eventually

00:50:49.840 --> 00:50:52.679
it started coming in. Yeah. And I didn't know

00:50:52.679 --> 00:50:56.579
what's like so -called the outside gig songs.

00:50:57.000 --> 00:50:59.380
It's repertoire a bit different. Yeah. You know.

00:50:59.719 --> 00:51:01.739
It was a leap of faith, you know. Yeah. I need

00:51:01.739 --> 00:51:04.420
to learn Sway, you know. Yeah. And I was supposed

00:51:04.420 --> 00:51:06.159
to play Sway. Okay. Now you're talking about

00:51:06.159 --> 00:51:08.239
a song. Okay. Sway. Oh, no, no. Okay. The Michael

00:51:08.239 --> 00:51:10.579
Boo play. The Michael Boo play song. Okay. Sway.

00:51:10.599 --> 00:51:11.940
Okay. I should have picked another song. When

00:51:11.940 --> 00:51:14.860
the rhythm starts to play. Yeah. I was supposed

00:51:14.860 --> 00:51:16.699
to play the melody. Uh -huh. I said, I don't

00:51:16.699 --> 00:51:19.710
know. And I was on the spot. And the bassist

00:51:19.710 --> 00:51:23.769
hum the melody for me and play. That's how I

00:51:23.769 --> 00:51:27.469
learned all the songs, really. And those days,

00:51:27.530 --> 00:51:30.929
no iPad, nothing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's nothing.

00:51:31.030 --> 00:51:33.949
You really have to play by ear. Wow. It was tough.

00:51:34.750 --> 00:51:38.150
Yeah. But you eventually became one of the most

00:51:38.150 --> 00:51:41.989
sought -after session players, man. Hey, look,

00:51:42.030 --> 00:51:44.110
man, I'm in your socials. Every damn time I see

00:51:44.110 --> 00:51:46.070
your picture, he's somewhere playing, don't know

00:51:46.070 --> 00:51:48.269
who, man. People I don't even recognize, boy.

00:51:48.530 --> 00:51:50.829
He's like, wait, this fella, that fella, you

00:51:50.829 --> 00:51:52.429
know, surrounded by young babes and all that

00:51:52.429 --> 00:51:53.969
kind of stuff. You know, I'm playing in this

00:51:53.969 --> 00:51:55.610
gig, playing in that gig, that gig, this gig,

00:51:55.650 --> 00:51:58.090
until I blur like Sotong, boy. I say, what, this

00:51:58.090 --> 00:52:01.070
fella really, very, very busy session player,

00:52:01.150 --> 00:52:06.730
man. Some truth lah. I don't know how to say.

00:52:08.170 --> 00:52:12.969
But, I love to gig and this is my rice bowl,

00:52:13.070 --> 00:52:15.940
right? Yeah. So my attitude will be different.

00:52:16.079 --> 00:52:20.019
If I have a daytime job, my attitude will be

00:52:20.019 --> 00:52:24.179
a bit different. Like, I won't put in 100%. And

00:52:24.179 --> 00:52:27.780
because I don't need gigs because I got a daytime

00:52:27.780 --> 00:52:32.559
job. But for me, it's 100 % right. Yeah, my attitude

00:52:32.559 --> 00:52:37.880
is different. I'll be the best I can for the

00:52:37.880 --> 00:52:41.019
gig. So after you left Jive, tell me if I'm right

00:52:41.019 --> 00:52:43.750
or wrong. You recorded with some of the biggest

00:52:43.750 --> 00:52:46.309
names in Asian pop. Is it after you leaving Jive,

00:52:46.309 --> 00:52:50.329
right? During Jive, actually. During Jive's time?

00:52:50.429 --> 00:52:52.590
During Jive's time. Because those are the, in

00:52:52.590 --> 00:52:56.550
the 90s. Yeah. All the Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong

00:52:56.550 --> 00:52:59.809
Kong producers come to, they love our studio.

00:52:59.949 --> 00:53:03.329
Yeah. So, the studio managers, they will get

00:53:03.329 --> 00:53:05.329
local. Hey, you know something, man? Even David

00:53:05.329 --> 00:53:08.210
Foster loves our studios. Mariah Carey comes

00:53:08.210 --> 00:53:11.250
here to record too. Somehow. I even know which

00:53:11.250 --> 00:53:14.789
studios they go to. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway,

00:53:15.110 --> 00:53:19.150
I just want to name a couple of the big names,

00:53:19.269 --> 00:53:22.329
Asian pop stars that our dear friend Boon Chai

00:53:22.329 --> 00:53:25.409
played with. Sandy Lam. Sandy Lam. Aaron Kwok.

00:53:25.670 --> 00:53:30.530
Tony Leung. Chi Yu. Chi Yi. Chi Yi. Oh, Chi Yi.

00:53:30.789 --> 00:53:36.769
Chi Yi. Okay. Wang Jie. Wang Jie. Oh, Wang Jie.

00:53:37.010 --> 00:53:40.239
All right. Check this out. Haken Lee. Haken Lee.

00:53:40.719 --> 00:53:44.159
Haken Lee. Haken Lee. Where is he from? That's

00:53:44.159 --> 00:53:47.340
a famous song. Where is he from? I don't know.

00:53:47.579 --> 00:53:49.800
Is he Singaporean? No, right? No, no, no. From

00:53:49.800 --> 00:53:52.320
Hong Kong, right? But famous. He got many hit

00:53:52.320 --> 00:53:54.440
songs. Famous, I never heard of him. Haken Lee.

00:53:54.739 --> 00:54:00.599
Haken. Haken Lee. Ho Yau San. Ho Yau San. CD

00:54:00.599 --> 00:54:04.539
album. Yeah, I kind of figured. Tracy Huang.

00:54:07.550 --> 00:54:10.429
Tracy Wong. Oh, Tracy Wong. What a lovely person.

00:54:10.710 --> 00:54:11.989
Can I talk about Tracy Wong? Yes, you can. I

00:54:11.989 --> 00:54:15.170
can talk about her too. I had to show you that.

00:54:15.190 --> 00:54:18.869
I didn't see, I didn't hear, oh, sorry. Tracy

00:54:18.869 --> 00:54:21.769
Wong or Feng Fei Fei? Okay. I think it's Tracy

00:54:21.769 --> 00:54:25.710
Wong. So, the producer is Santana's, Basie's

00:54:25.710 --> 00:54:29.949
wife. Wow. So, she brought her own mic and everything.

00:54:30.130 --> 00:54:35.190
Yeah. And, wow, bizarre, man. I was standing

00:54:35.190 --> 00:54:38.670
by the mic. I said, no, stand. like very far

00:54:38.670 --> 00:54:42.949
away. Right. And it turned out perfect. It was

00:54:42.949 --> 00:54:45.070
so nice. So the producer knows what the hell

00:54:45.070 --> 00:54:47.590
she was doing. She knows. But Tracy is such a

00:54:47.590 --> 00:54:49.730
lovely person. But I didn't get to see her. I

00:54:49.730 --> 00:54:53.570
did a show once. It was quite a big one. It was

00:54:53.570 --> 00:54:56.230
for Crook Champagne. They had to change generations.

00:54:56.429 --> 00:54:59.449
You know family, right? So Crook family, they

00:54:59.449 --> 00:55:02.250
change over to the next son or the grandson or

00:55:02.250 --> 00:55:08.010
whatever. And I was hosting the gig. And Tracy

00:55:08.010 --> 00:55:12.289
Huang was a performer. And she was so upset with

00:55:12.289 --> 00:55:14.090
me because I told her, you know something, Tracy?

00:55:14.590 --> 00:55:17.969
When I was 12 years old, your poster was in my

00:55:17.969 --> 00:55:28.530
cabin. And she said, wow. You were how old? 12.

00:55:29.929 --> 00:55:34.340
Thanks, Chris. You still look so good. The Demogorgon

00:55:34.340 --> 00:55:37.900
prick. I told you, she looks so good. But it's

00:55:37.900 --> 00:55:40.039
true. I open my cupboard, take out my clothes.

00:55:40.559 --> 00:55:48.460
Oh, Tracy. Wow. That is a nice session. I never

00:55:48.460 --> 00:55:51.119
say true in the past. Yeah, the wardrobes. Yeah,

00:55:51.139 --> 00:55:53.579
you mentioned earlier, you worked with Fong Fei

00:55:53.579 --> 00:55:57.980
Fei, Stephanie Sun, Jackie Chung, man. Oh, wow.

00:56:02.280 --> 00:56:06.860
I think one of the best rock recording that I've

00:56:06.860 --> 00:56:11.280
thought of is Jackie Choo. Really? She put my

00:56:11.280 --> 00:56:19.760
Chinese name in the CD credit. Wow. So people

00:56:19.760 --> 00:56:26.289
thought, wow, related ah? So... There's this

00:56:26.289 --> 00:56:30.369
recording. It's called Man Man. Slow. I know.

00:56:30.429 --> 00:56:34.269
Man Man. My Chinese is not so bad. I recorded

00:56:34.269 --> 00:56:37.389
the clarinet part. Oh, I should play it. It's

00:56:37.389 --> 00:56:39.329
in concert E. No, don't worry. Later I'll show

00:56:39.329 --> 00:56:41.590
you what I have in mind. I cannot play it. Anyway,

00:56:41.670 --> 00:56:45.250
it was in concert E. F sharp for clarinet. It

00:56:45.250 --> 00:56:49.329
was so stressful because the producer said, he

00:56:49.329 --> 00:56:52.849
just mapped out everything verbally. Why not

00:56:52.849 --> 00:56:56.920
like YouTube? Do this, do that. And F sharp is

00:56:56.920 --> 00:57:00.179
hard for Claire. F sharp is very hard for me.

00:57:00.820 --> 00:57:05.400
To do the glissando, you know, to... So I did

00:57:05.400 --> 00:57:07.760
it. Fast forward. What the fuck's a glissando,

00:57:07.820 --> 00:57:10.480
bro? Glissando. Glissando. What's a glissando?

00:57:11.420 --> 00:57:13.760
Secession of notes. Fast secession of notes.

00:57:14.059 --> 00:57:16.980
From bottom to top. It's like a piano. It's glissando

00:57:16.980 --> 00:57:19.340
lah. No, no, no. That one is volume. Volume.

00:57:20.760 --> 00:57:26.880
Crisando is Crisando is not Crescendo so so recently

00:57:26.880 --> 00:57:31.360
I heard a live concert by Jackie Choo right so

00:57:31.360 --> 00:57:35.440
when it came to the Man Man song the clarinet

00:57:35.440 --> 00:57:40.179
played the solo exactly like mine so I said wow

00:57:40.179 --> 00:57:42.940
quite cool eh I I've been learning people's solo,

00:57:43.099 --> 00:57:44.980
right? And now people copy my solo. People copy

00:57:44.980 --> 00:57:48.179
your solo. Yeah, note to note. Note to note.

00:57:48.239 --> 00:57:52.960
Wow. I don't know how to play it. Then there's

00:57:52.960 --> 00:57:56.820
Wen Zhang. Oh, Wen Zhang. Stella Chang. Eric

00:57:56.820 --> 00:58:00.360
Moo. Eric Moo, yeah. One of the first artists

00:58:00.360 --> 00:58:02.539
that I... You know who's Eric Moo? Ochi Sien.

00:58:02.940 --> 00:58:08.039
Yeah. Malaysian, no? I heard. I heard. You love

00:58:08.039 --> 00:58:11.940
Malaysia. Yeah. You love Malaysia? Yeah. Right

00:58:11.940 --> 00:58:14.139
thing to say, right? I don't know whether writing

00:58:14.139 --> 00:58:15.460
is the wrong thing to say. It doesn't matter.

00:58:16.239 --> 00:58:19.920
Dick Lee as well. Dick Lee, yes. And Jacinta.

00:58:20.440 --> 00:58:24.539
Oh, Jacinta. Yeah, I went LA with Tama, with

00:58:24.539 --> 00:58:27.559
the late Iskandar Ismail. Yeah. With Joshua Wan.

00:58:28.300 --> 00:58:30.119
Yeah. And that was for that album, wasn't it?

00:58:30.199 --> 00:58:33.519
She had an album in Latin, right? Yes. With...

00:58:36.759 --> 00:58:40.300
Wow. Yeah. You know that album? I bought that

00:58:40.300 --> 00:58:43.980
album. Oh. And I actually learned how to sing.

00:58:44.639 --> 00:58:48.820
It's an Engelbert song. Love Me If All Is Your

00:58:48.820 --> 00:58:51.860
Heart, but she did it in Spanish. So I actually

00:58:51.860 --> 00:58:54.199
learned it by heart, you know? Oh. So I can sing

00:58:54.199 --> 00:58:57.179
that song in Spanish because of Jacinta's album.

00:58:57.199 --> 00:59:00.840
Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I love it. I love that rendition.

00:59:01.480 --> 00:59:05.159
traveling with her is fun she always buy us gift

00:59:05.159 --> 00:59:09.500
and every time she pass by a gift shop you'll

00:59:09.500 --> 00:59:11.679
get some gift from her but what were you doing

00:59:11.679 --> 00:59:15.739
in LA with her it's a two week it's some cultural

00:59:15.739 --> 00:59:20.400
thing it's two weeks back to back first week

00:59:20.400 --> 00:59:24.079
at New Zealand and second week at LA okay in

00:59:24.079 --> 00:59:27.920
LA was very stressed to perform there my goodness

00:59:28.539 --> 00:59:32.420
Even Iskandar and Joshua is like, oh my. Why?

00:59:32.619 --> 00:59:35.340
Because they are great musicians there. Even

00:59:35.340 --> 00:59:40.219
like those people working at the music shop.

00:59:40.360 --> 00:59:43.400
They do recordings. They are very good musicians.

00:59:43.719 --> 00:59:47.659
Wow. That's their standard. Wow. So it was stressful.

00:59:48.159 --> 00:59:51.760
Besides your work with Jive talking, you also

00:59:51.760 --> 00:59:54.860
don't have your funk side with Funky Monkeys.

00:59:55.360 --> 01:00:00.199
Oh wow. Wow. What do you love about playing funk?

01:00:01.800 --> 01:00:05.019
Fun. I love funk, man. Yeah, it's fun. You know

01:00:05.019 --> 01:00:07.199
everything about this show? All my credits, end

01:00:07.199 --> 01:00:08.880
credits, opening credits, anything that I've

01:00:08.880 --> 01:00:12.860
got, it's always fun. I will only choose funk

01:00:12.860 --> 01:00:17.619
for my videos and stuff. Yeah, I love funk. We

01:00:17.619 --> 01:00:20.260
had a great time. It's really a different genre.

01:00:20.519 --> 01:00:23.300
So tell me about Funky Monkeys, man. Funky Monkeys.

01:00:25.360 --> 01:00:36.579
Let me think. I think we are so dedicated. We

01:00:36.579 --> 01:00:41.000
practice quite regularly. That's very different

01:00:41.000 --> 01:00:45.199
from me. I don't have a regular group. So this

01:00:45.199 --> 01:00:48.840
is like a regular group. And very serious. And

01:00:48.840 --> 01:00:53.179
we actually had to go to some consultant house

01:00:53.179 --> 01:00:58.019
to actually teach us how to be a good band, dance

01:00:58.019 --> 01:01:01.369
move and all those things. how to wear, how to,

01:01:01.469 --> 01:01:05.969
you know. It's serious. Yeah, very serious. Yeah.

01:01:06.190 --> 01:01:09.090
Wow. Those were the days. Yeah. And we would

01:01:09.090 --> 01:01:11.949
go to the Willy there. Where? No more already.

01:01:12.050 --> 01:01:13.949
Willy and Arjunit. Willy and Arjunit, no more

01:01:13.949 --> 01:01:17.710
already. But they moved, huh? Is that Porong

01:01:17.710 --> 01:01:19.909
Pasir, right? No, no, still. It's still around.

01:01:20.610 --> 01:01:22.710
No, not in Arjunit. They're still around, but

01:01:22.710 --> 01:01:26.010
not in Arjunit. Ubi. Ah, Ubi, Ubi, that's it.

01:01:26.070 --> 01:01:27.530
Yeah, they moved to Ubi. That's right. Yeah.

01:01:27.750 --> 01:01:32.340
Yeah. Really. Funky monkeys. But what happened

01:01:32.340 --> 01:01:34.440
with funky monkeys, man? You guys get gigs everywhere.

01:01:34.840 --> 01:01:38.920
Yeah, yeah. We do. Yeah. So tell me about that.

01:01:38.960 --> 01:01:44.219
Tell me about how the experience was like. It's

01:01:44.219 --> 01:01:46.119
very different because we really work like a

01:01:46.119 --> 01:01:48.159
team. And there's a horn section. And it's all

01:01:48.159 --> 01:01:53.539
about fun. Yeah. There's a four -piece horn section.

01:01:54.519 --> 01:01:57.320
Trombone, trumpet, alto section, tenor section.

01:01:57.440 --> 01:02:05.780
Wow. It's different. It's not so much on you

01:02:05.780 --> 01:02:14.159
as a lead player. And the solo is not the key

01:02:14.159 --> 01:02:19.159
anymore. It's a big sound that you want to give.

01:02:19.659 --> 01:02:25.940
It's like an open and fire thing. You know, like

01:02:25.940 --> 01:02:28.619
there's this fantastic Russian outfit now, Leonid

01:02:28.619 --> 01:02:31.760
and Friends. You see them online, right? They

01:02:31.760 --> 01:02:35.400
are amazing, boy. I have a bunch of Russians

01:02:35.400 --> 01:02:38.619
to come out and sound so good with earth, wind

01:02:38.619 --> 01:02:41.920
and fire music, you know, and even carpenters.

01:02:42.119 --> 01:02:45.059
I mean, and all the old stuff, you know, like

01:02:45.059 --> 01:02:48.360
even the old jazz stuff. I mean, these guys are

01:02:48.360 --> 01:02:53.900
amazing. Wow. You're a highly respected improviser

01:02:53.900 --> 01:02:59.440
in the Singapore jazz scene. How does a saxophonist,

01:02:59.500 --> 01:03:01.920
now teach me, walk me through this, learn to

01:03:01.920 --> 01:03:05.559
speak spontaneously through their instrument?

01:03:06.980 --> 01:03:13.539
Before we go on, I'm not like a hardcore jazz

01:03:13.539 --> 01:03:18.480
player. You're not? I'm not, yeah. Maybe I went

01:03:18.480 --> 01:03:20.940
a bit more avant -garde. Let me tell you something.

01:03:21.079 --> 01:03:23.079
This thing I just said, this thing I just read

01:03:23.079 --> 01:03:26.500
out. This highly respected improviser in the

01:03:26.500 --> 01:03:28.559
Singapore jazz scene wasn't plucked from the

01:03:28.559 --> 01:03:33.219
sky. I do deep research. I pay good money for

01:03:33.219 --> 01:03:37.559
it. And these are the results of that research.

01:03:37.559 --> 01:03:39.880
Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah. This is what you're

01:03:39.880 --> 01:03:43.420
known as in the jazz scene. You are a highly

01:03:43.420 --> 01:03:47.400
respected improviser with your instrument. Okay.

01:03:48.010 --> 01:03:50.409
So my dear friend, I don't just call people here

01:03:50.409 --> 01:03:53.750
to give tribute. I give tribute because the person

01:03:53.750 --> 01:03:57.050
really truly deserves it. And you guys, you got

01:03:57.050 --> 01:03:58.750
to stick around because you know why? Because

01:03:58.750 --> 01:04:00.869
at the end of the show, there's going to be a

01:04:00.869 --> 01:04:03.690
three -minute video of Boon Cha in action. Then

01:04:03.690 --> 01:04:06.849
you'll understand why I have this man I'm paying

01:04:06.849 --> 01:04:10.730
tribute to. I'll show it to you later on. I'll

01:04:10.730 --> 01:04:13.090
show it to you later on. So all these things.

01:04:14.829 --> 01:04:19.230
What people say about you, publicly even. Yeah.

01:04:20.349 --> 01:04:24.250
So walk me through, man. How do you improvise?

01:04:24.250 --> 01:04:26.289
You say you don't like jazz, but you are so damn

01:04:26.289 --> 01:04:31.650
freaking good at it. I think I'm very sort of

01:04:31.650 --> 01:04:37.510
got influenced by jive talking. Okay. Even though

01:04:37.510 --> 01:04:41.869
I do like almost every night I have to do an

01:04:41.869 --> 01:04:44.070
instrumental. Always the first song is instrumental,

01:04:44.409 --> 01:04:47.809
by the way. Except maybe on Friday and Saturday.

01:04:48.090 --> 01:04:51.130
So Monday and Tuesday, we always do... We do

01:04:51.130 --> 01:04:54.150
the intro song. Like Dave Kors, Ernie Watts.

01:04:59.510 --> 01:05:05.849
I'm so geared to pop music. You know, pop or

01:05:05.849 --> 01:05:07.710
smooth jazz. What are you trying to tell me?

01:05:07.769 --> 01:05:08.829
You're trying to tell me that you don't like

01:05:08.829 --> 01:05:13.500
jazz? No, I like it. But I like... pop more and

01:05:13.500 --> 01:05:17.019
more. And recently... So it just so happens you're

01:05:17.019 --> 01:05:21.840
good at jazz. I don't play so much jazz nowadays.

01:05:22.219 --> 01:05:26.039
But you have played jazz often enough. In those

01:05:26.039 --> 01:05:29.059
days. Yeah, yeah. Early 20s. Which means you

01:05:29.059 --> 01:05:32.599
have accolades. People in the jazz scene feel

01:05:32.599 --> 01:05:36.699
that you are a highly respected improviser with

01:05:36.699 --> 01:05:40.849
your saxophone playing jazz. Which means that

01:05:40.849 --> 01:05:44.070
you, Boon Chai, you consider yourself so -so.

01:05:44.150 --> 01:05:48.650
That's not what the rest are saying, man. That's

01:05:48.650 --> 01:05:50.010
not what the rest are saying. I think my first

01:05:50.010 --> 01:05:52.750
three years after MDC when I was at Saxophone

01:05:52.750 --> 01:05:57.050
Bar, I was playing the tenor. And wow, I loved

01:05:57.050 --> 01:06:00.010
it so much. I don't need fake boom. Actually,

01:06:00.110 --> 01:06:05.820
more or less, I can memorize all the hits. I

01:06:05.820 --> 01:06:07.639
don't know what that means. Oh, yeah, yeah. I

01:06:07.639 --> 01:06:10.320
memorized all the hits that I can blow. I knew

01:06:10.320 --> 01:06:16.219
it. I shouldn't have used that. I memorized all

01:06:16.219 --> 01:06:19.239
the hits that I blow. Right. Okay. That says

01:06:19.239 --> 01:06:24.780
a lot. Sure. Okay. Wow. Speaks volumes, man.

01:06:25.159 --> 01:06:26.920
Shit, Chris, you understood that? Yeah, I can

01:06:26.920 --> 01:06:29.159
understand it some other way. Gonna lose followers.

01:06:29.800 --> 01:06:33.719
Okay. Or gain followers, I don't know. No, no,

01:06:33.739 --> 01:06:36.480
no. I mean, this is actually a pure conversation

01:06:36.480 --> 01:06:40.579
already, isn't it? I mean, it's authentic enough

01:06:40.579 --> 01:06:42.260
and I think that's what people want to watch

01:06:42.260 --> 01:06:44.360
and listen to. You know, whether we get somewhere,

01:06:44.460 --> 01:06:46.099
doesn't get somewhere, doesn't matter, you know.

01:06:46.099 --> 01:06:48.199
But end of the day, right, this is, it's real.

01:06:48.300 --> 01:06:51.340
We just speak our minds, you know. A reviewer

01:06:51.340 --> 01:06:53.940
for The Straits Times, Boon Chai, called you

01:06:53.940 --> 01:06:57.980
the busiest soloist during the Land With No Sun

01:06:57.980 --> 01:07:04.860
concert series. How did it feel to be a central

01:07:04.860 --> 01:07:09.179
part of a project that has big themes like climate

01:07:09.179 --> 01:07:13.159
change? And how do you express those complicated

01:07:13.159 --> 01:07:16.559
ideas through your saxophone? That one is the...

01:07:20.950 --> 01:07:25.409
It's a fusion band with Erhu and Carnatic Violinist.

01:07:25.570 --> 01:07:32.090
What? Indian Violinist. Oh, okay. Yeah, Carnatic.

01:07:33.750 --> 01:07:37.730
That one is quite cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Express

01:07:37.730 --> 01:07:39.889
it for me, man. How do you express it through

01:07:39.889 --> 01:07:44.650
your instrument? It's very organic because many...

01:07:45.420 --> 01:07:49.860
very spontaneous and especially the solos. So

01:07:49.860 --> 01:07:55.219
I would exchange solo with the Carnatic. So they

01:07:55.219 --> 01:08:01.059
use Raga. And their Raga is really so cool. The

01:08:01.059 --> 01:08:03.219
only Raga I know is the current Super Typhoon

01:08:03.219 --> 01:08:05.679
that starts with the name Raga at the beginning.

01:08:06.619 --> 01:08:10.179
That's hit Hong Kong now. What's Raga? Indian

01:08:10.179 --> 01:08:14.380
skills. Am I right? Indian skills? Indian skills.

01:08:14.920 --> 01:08:17.779
Musical skills. Yeah. There's a name for it.

01:08:17.920 --> 01:08:19.560
It's called raga. You have like blue skills,

01:08:19.859 --> 01:08:22.720
you have minor skills, major skills. Right. So

01:08:22.720 --> 01:08:26.659
Indian have... Skills. Raga skills. Has their

01:08:26.659 --> 01:08:30.239
own... Their own interpretation. Okay, right.

01:08:30.380 --> 01:08:32.800
So Western, actually, we can actually count how

01:08:32.800 --> 01:08:36.220
many skills. But for raga, it cannot count. It's

01:08:36.220 --> 01:08:42.420
like hundreds, thousands. It's crazy. Wow. Do

01:08:42.420 --> 01:08:47.579
they do like microtonal stuff? What? My mind's

01:08:47.579 --> 01:08:50.739
about to explode. Micro what? Microtonal. Do

01:08:50.739 --> 01:08:54.260
they do the microwave? Put my sandwich in there

01:08:54.260 --> 01:08:57.420
and eat the mum or what? What the fuck's microtonal,

01:08:57.460 --> 01:09:00.840
bro? Microtonal. Very tiny sound. You have C,

01:09:01.119 --> 01:09:04.199
you have D. Yeah. But there are 100 notes in

01:09:04.199 --> 01:09:08.260
between. There are. No, you can have, yeah. I

01:09:08.260 --> 01:09:10.659
can think only one or two. So it's easy. I can

01:09:10.659 --> 01:09:14.199
only, I can only. So okay, you lower the, you

01:09:14.199 --> 01:09:16.680
lower the semitones by, you lower the, you lower

01:09:16.680 --> 01:09:19.500
the cents by. The cents, yeah, okay. The one

01:09:19.500 --> 01:09:21.560
I understand, two cents, three cents, yeah. Five

01:09:21.560 --> 01:09:24.579
cents, 20 cents. So semitone is actually cents?

01:09:25.079 --> 01:09:28.220
No, no, semitone is. Semitone is tempered scale.

01:09:28.579 --> 01:09:31.600
Or like a whole, okay, semitone is from C to

01:09:31.600 --> 01:09:34.640
C sharp. That's a semitone. Right. C to D is

01:09:34.640 --> 01:09:37.970
a whole tone. C to D is a whole tone, okay? Two

01:09:37.970 --> 01:09:41.770
semitones make up a tone. Two semitones make

01:09:41.770 --> 01:09:46.590
up a tone. Okay. So, a sharp followed by A. Say

01:09:46.590 --> 01:09:51.210
C is C major. C. C sharp. C, no. C major is C,

01:09:51.210 --> 01:09:55.270
D, E, F, G, A, B, C. Right, yes. Okay. A semitone

01:09:55.270 --> 01:09:58.630
from C major is a C sharp. Yeah, a semitone from

01:09:58.630 --> 01:10:03.649
C up is C sharp. Right. So, you have microtones

01:10:03.649 --> 01:10:06.579
in between C to C sharp. So the next semitone

01:10:06.579 --> 01:10:12.060
after the C -sharp is what? D. D. Okay. C, C

01:10:12.060 --> 01:10:15.720
-sharp, D. Right. I thought he wanted to know

01:10:15.720 --> 01:10:18.460
about the microtones. Yeah. Microtones are...

01:10:18.460 --> 01:10:21.960
In between these. Any note. Any note. Even between

01:10:21.960 --> 01:10:25.220
a C and a C -sharp. Yeah, any note. And how do

01:10:25.220 --> 01:10:28.380
you denote these microtones? Cannot denote. Wow.

01:10:28.380 --> 01:10:31.819
Because they are in space. Wow. So it's frequency.

01:10:32.859 --> 01:10:35.560
It's like frequency. If I got cymbal right, is

01:10:35.560 --> 01:10:38.239
it a down cymbal? Wah, I have never gotten that

01:10:38.239 --> 01:10:41.500
one. I mean, you don't usually use like that.

01:10:41.560 --> 01:10:43.439
Yeah, you don't because no keyboard will have

01:10:43.439 --> 01:10:45.520
a microtone to. Yeah, it has a pitch bender.

01:10:46.319 --> 01:10:48.800
Oh, a pitch bender. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's

01:10:48.800 --> 01:10:53.260
a synthesizer. Right, okay. So it's interesting

01:10:53.260 --> 01:11:00.439
because when he plays, he set the mode and until

01:11:00.439 --> 01:11:03.630
he does this. And I supposed to follow after

01:11:03.630 --> 01:11:08.909
his solo. Oh dear. Wow. So I learned how to cope

01:11:08.909 --> 01:11:15.890
and play the fifth note or third note. To be

01:11:15.890 --> 01:11:18.869
able to accompany. I mean, I could have just

01:11:18.869 --> 01:11:24.250
played some pentatonic or some jazz line. It

01:11:24.250 --> 01:11:28.539
would not fit. Yeah, it's still like a solo,

01:11:28.640 --> 01:11:31.539
but you have to relate. I don't want to ask what's

01:11:31.539 --> 01:11:34.920
pentatonic. Okay. Otherwise, this show will continue

01:11:34.920 --> 01:11:37.840
to tomorrow. It turns out to be, hey, go to YouTube

01:11:37.840 --> 01:11:41.960
and learn all about these things, you know? Okay,

01:11:42.140 --> 01:11:45.520
Bun Chai, tell us about the T .O. Ensemble and

01:11:45.520 --> 01:11:50.779
the composer Zito. Zito, right? Yeah, Zito. Okay.

01:11:51.300 --> 01:11:54.689
Yeah. So, he's very, very talented. I think you

01:11:54.689 --> 01:11:59.270
graduated from Lhasa as well. So, did you do

01:11:59.270 --> 01:12:03.069
any improvising? A lot. A lot. Yeah, yeah. So,

01:12:03.109 --> 01:12:06.369
how do you balance between something that's written

01:12:06.369 --> 01:12:10.350
with the freedom of improvisation? Oh, he gives

01:12:10.350 --> 01:12:14.079
me a lot of room to express myself. Yes, they

01:12:14.079 --> 01:12:17.640
are written. They are melodies. How do you express

01:12:17.640 --> 01:12:20.100
yourself when you improvise? Well, as far as

01:12:20.100 --> 01:12:23.819
it's difficult. In that context. Is it a feel?

01:12:25.779 --> 01:12:32.439
Yes. I don't know. Tenor seems to be the right

01:12:32.439 --> 01:12:36.479
instrument. I don't know why. Sometimes soprano.

01:12:37.340 --> 01:12:41.000
But not alto sax. It just didn't work. I don't

01:12:41.000 --> 01:12:44.600
know why. When I play the tenor, it just fits

01:12:44.600 --> 01:12:53.159
into that ensemble. The colour. Okay. What piece

01:12:53.159 --> 01:12:55.479
of advice would you give to someone who wants

01:12:55.479 --> 01:13:01.180
to make a career in music? Wow. Yeah, I've been

01:13:01.180 --> 01:13:08.359
asked a lot. Maybe I share how I feel. Sure.

01:13:10.700 --> 01:13:13.880
I've been wanting to prove to people that all

01:13:13.880 --> 01:13:20.079
along to make a living out of purely just gigs.

01:13:20.319 --> 01:13:25.239
Right? That's my... I didn't tell myself, oh,

01:13:25.300 --> 01:13:28.579
I won't do that. But it seems that I want to

01:13:28.579 --> 01:13:31.880
go to that direction. Not to prove people wrong,

01:13:31.939 --> 01:13:34.880
but actually to encourage. Well, you're the first

01:13:34.880 --> 01:13:37.319
guy to say this. All my musical guests. So no

01:13:37.319 --> 01:13:42.630
teaching? Yeah. Just gigs. Just gigs. Yeah. Wow.

01:13:42.729 --> 01:13:46.930
So if I set my mind to that, I think my attitude

01:13:46.930 --> 01:13:50.050
is a bit different. I'll learn like, lately I

01:13:50.050 --> 01:13:53.550
have many like mental pop songs to learn. I'll

01:13:53.550 --> 01:13:57.210
go and learn the intros and... So you're saying

01:13:57.210 --> 01:14:00.250
that it's not an impossibility. No. I've been

01:14:00.250 --> 01:14:03.189
doing it. To live your life, to earn a living

01:14:03.189 --> 01:14:07.109
fully by gigging. Yeah. Okay, I hope you guys

01:14:07.109 --> 01:14:08.930
are listening, especially all you parents out

01:14:08.930 --> 01:14:10.989
there are telling your children. Exactly, yeah.

01:14:11.090 --> 01:14:13.149
Don't grow up to be musicians because you cannot,

01:14:13.270 --> 01:14:16.930
I'm living. I'm so tempted to use a particular

01:14:16.930 --> 01:14:18.550
finger on camera right now, but I'm not going

01:14:18.550 --> 01:14:20.989
to. So, you know, stop doing shit like that.

01:14:21.149 --> 01:14:23.369
Yeah, I mean, it is. Gabriel is a good example.

01:14:23.409 --> 01:14:25.689
Yeah, Gabriel is a good example. You should see

01:14:25.689 --> 01:14:28.430
the car he drives, man. Oh my. He got some bling

01:14:28.430 --> 01:14:32.699
on it too. Yeah. Boom, boom. Squeaky toy in a

01:14:32.699 --> 01:14:35.640
little car. It's not a little car, anyway. Oh,

01:14:35.640 --> 01:14:37.779
no. It's a British make, okay? What have I done?

01:14:38.000 --> 01:14:42.619
Yeah. Oh, man. Thanks for that, man. I mean,

01:14:42.699 --> 01:14:45.720
I... You know, all these two and a half years...

01:14:45.720 --> 01:14:47.720
Kai, has it been two and a half years, Kai, since

01:14:47.720 --> 01:14:51.699
you started filming? Around that. Okay. All of

01:14:51.699 --> 01:14:55.600
my guests on my tribute show, I've not heard

01:14:55.600 --> 01:14:59.670
a single one say what I'm hoping so much. for

01:14:59.670 --> 01:15:03.109
them to say don't worry guys go into music you

01:15:03.109 --> 01:15:06.229
can earn a good living and you know thank you

01:15:06.229 --> 01:15:10.369
so very much for that man uh really yeah yeah

01:15:10.369 --> 01:15:13.689
thank you so much for that man when i was younger

01:15:13.689 --> 01:15:16.510
i remember i remember bonchai telling me like

01:15:16.510 --> 01:15:22.149
many years ago when i first met you he got closer

01:15:22.149 --> 01:15:27.310
he was like yes just do your thing yeah so Yeah,

01:15:27.310 --> 01:15:29.310
he has always been. Just shut the fuck up, go

01:15:29.310 --> 01:15:31.770
out there and do your thing, right? Yeah, I didn't

01:15:31.770 --> 01:15:35.210
use the F word. Yeah, I know. I'm saying it or

01:15:35.210 --> 01:15:37.390
you'll be asked. Okay, okay, okay. Yeah. Yeah.

01:15:37.810 --> 01:15:43.050
Yeah. Which is what I always, like, at the back

01:15:43.050 --> 01:15:46.130
of my mind. So do you advocate the same thing

01:15:46.130 --> 01:15:49.850
Boon Chai has advocated? Yeah, I always, I mean,

01:15:49.869 --> 01:15:55.029
I always tell people, even younger musicians

01:15:55.029 --> 01:15:59.220
right now. to just do their thing and just keep

01:15:59.220 --> 01:16:03.520
continuing what they are doing. I mean, yeah.

01:16:03.680 --> 01:16:05.680
This is what it's about, right? This is what

01:16:05.680 --> 01:16:07.260
it's about. Just keep on doing it. Continue loving

01:16:07.260 --> 01:16:10.640
what you do. Because I was quite crappy at the

01:16:10.640 --> 01:16:16.039
start when I first met Vin Chai. Yeah, he's the

01:16:16.039 --> 01:16:18.359
only guy. He's one of the few musicians that

01:16:18.359 --> 01:16:20.680
actually, like the older musicians that actually

01:16:20.680 --> 01:16:26.100
encouraged me. Yeah. To get to where I am today.

01:16:26.760 --> 01:16:29.199
You see? You're responsible for one already.

01:16:30.460 --> 01:16:33.119
My rubber duck. You're a rubber duck. You're

01:16:33.119 --> 01:16:35.460
a rubber duckie. You're the one. Rubber duckie.

01:16:35.699 --> 01:16:40.119
You're the one. You're squeaky and so much fun.

01:16:43.279 --> 01:16:50.340
But there was this time when we were very close

01:16:50.340 --> 01:16:54.819
and we sort of trust each other. And then I actually

01:16:54.819 --> 01:16:58.579
received some feedback about Gabriel's playing.

01:16:59.640 --> 01:17:03.640
So I waited for the time when we were close.

01:17:03.920 --> 01:17:07.140
And I told him, can I get some feedback with

01:17:07.140 --> 01:17:11.439
you? Is it okay? Because I received mine many

01:17:11.439 --> 01:17:14.720
years ago and very often. And that's how we learn.

01:17:15.079 --> 01:17:17.399
But you need to have someone that you trust.

01:17:18.560 --> 01:17:20.720
Because there are a lot of people out there that

01:17:20.720 --> 01:17:24.460
are also full of noise. So, we had that talk.

01:17:24.560 --> 01:17:28.140
It was nice. And I told him everything and he

01:17:28.140 --> 01:17:32.859
took it and okay, I'll change. So, change ah?

01:17:32.979 --> 01:17:36.979
Change, change, change. I hope so. Yeah. But

01:17:36.979 --> 01:17:42.140
ask him for report card lah. So, Boon Chai, if

01:17:42.140 --> 01:17:45.060
you had to describe what music is to you in one

01:17:45.060 --> 01:17:52.550
single sentence, what would you say? Wow. Music.

01:17:52.550 --> 01:17:57.590
I guess. It got story on it. Can I say story?

01:17:57.649 --> 01:18:04.010
Sure, please. In the 90s, 80s, 90s, there are

01:18:04.010 --> 01:18:07.430
many good players, saxophone players. Right.

01:18:08.149 --> 01:18:13.310
But they have too much sometimes when they don't

01:18:13.310 --> 01:18:16.670
get satisfaction from gigs and then they get

01:18:16.670 --> 01:18:19.310
very frustrated. Right. And then they turn away.

01:18:20.940 --> 01:18:24.979
from music and do other things. And I saw that

01:18:24.979 --> 01:18:26.699
when I was young. I said, I'm not going to do

01:18:26.699 --> 01:18:29.380
that. So when you tell me, when you ask me that,

01:18:29.439 --> 01:18:31.920
I just feel as long as I'm playing the saxophone,

01:18:31.960 --> 01:18:39.760
I'm happy. Even on a bad day, with bad gigs,

01:18:39.979 --> 01:18:43.539
I'll still enjoy it. As long as I can play my

01:18:43.539 --> 01:18:45.699
instrument. So what you're saying is that your

01:18:45.699 --> 01:18:47.619
description of music is basically through your

01:18:47.619 --> 01:18:50.060
instrument. Whatever it is, you pick up an instrument,

01:18:50.140 --> 01:18:52.100
love that instrument. Yeah, I love it. Okay.

01:18:52.420 --> 01:18:54.520
What's a common misconception about the saxophone

01:18:54.520 --> 01:18:57.239
that you'd like to clear up? Are there any misconceptions

01:18:57.239 --> 01:19:00.539
people have? Common, usual misconceptions of

01:19:00.539 --> 01:19:04.579
the instrument? There's a trumpet. I do get that.

01:19:05.359 --> 01:19:07.439
Whoever thinks there's a trumpet is a kotik,

01:19:07.460 --> 01:19:10.420
bro. No, no, no. But it's true, it's true. How

01:19:10.420 --> 01:19:12.720
can people think a saxophone is a trumpet? No.

01:19:12.840 --> 01:19:17.520
Some people don't know. Dingbat. Dingbat. Yeah.

01:19:17.560 --> 01:19:20.100
I thought you answered that. Dingbat. People

01:19:20.100 --> 01:19:23.739
actually mistake a saxophone for a freaking trumpet.

01:19:23.739 --> 01:19:26.100
Your trumpet very good. Just now your song. Yeah.

01:19:26.100 --> 01:19:30.319
Oh my God. But you said thank you. Yeah. Because

01:19:30.319 --> 01:19:33.039
you don't get many compliment in gigs, you know.

01:19:33.739 --> 01:19:41.659
Yeah. Trumpet okay. Yeah. Okay, right. Okay,

01:19:42.500 --> 01:19:45.880
everybody, you heard that? It's... Saxophones

01:19:45.880 --> 01:19:48.159
are not trumpets, yeah? Trumpets are not saxophones,

01:19:48.159 --> 01:19:51.159
okay? So please go Google it if you're still

01:19:51.159 --> 01:19:54.800
blur about it. Don't be a sotong. Okay, what

01:19:54.800 --> 01:19:57.899
do you think is the biggest challenge today for

01:19:57.899 --> 01:20:04.560
young aspiring musicians in Singapore? You said

01:20:04.560 --> 01:20:07.100
earlier that to prove that gigging, you can survive

01:20:07.100 --> 01:20:10.279
gigging, right? You can earn a living through

01:20:10.279 --> 01:20:13.859
gigging. I only can think of one thing compared

01:20:13.859 --> 01:20:18.939
from my time when I'm learning and now, because

01:20:18.939 --> 01:20:23.960
now you have the resources is really in front

01:20:23.960 --> 01:20:26.260
of you by a phone. You get any Google and everything,

01:20:26.340 --> 01:20:28.079
you can get a minus one, you can get everything.

01:20:28.260 --> 01:20:33.819
But from my day, no. We have to actually go.

01:20:34.670 --> 01:20:38.010
to the place where people are playing, your favorite

01:20:38.010 --> 01:20:40.850
player, and during their break time, you go there

01:20:40.850 --> 01:20:44.510
and ask, I have a list of questions. Hey, how

01:20:44.510 --> 01:20:46.449
you do that? What's the fingering for this? Did

01:20:46.449 --> 01:20:49.210
you do that? Yes, I did that. Everyone do that.

01:20:49.329 --> 01:20:52.449
It's a norm. Right. It's a norm. Are these people

01:20:52.449 --> 01:20:55.409
willing to give advice? Yes, they will. And many

01:20:55.409 --> 01:20:59.449
of them are, I think one of my mentors is Steven

01:20:59.449 --> 01:21:02.390
Rufus. Oh, wow. Shout out to you, Steven Rufus.

01:21:02.510 --> 01:21:05.270
Steven Rufus. All right, man. And in those days,

01:21:05.310 --> 01:21:08.270
there are many Filipino jazz musicians. Eddie

01:21:08.270 --> 01:21:11.250
Sankar. And he really loved to share. Yeah, Eddie

01:21:11.250 --> 01:21:14.069
Sankar passed away recently. Yeah, he's a great

01:21:14.069 --> 01:21:17.170
guy. I played with Eddie Sankar. It was amazing.

01:21:17.609 --> 01:21:20.810
He's so cool. All of them. They love to share.

01:21:21.010 --> 01:21:23.590
So now, for the younger musicians, you're saying

01:21:23.590 --> 01:21:29.069
that with technology in their hands, it's easier

01:21:29.069 --> 01:21:34.649
for them to get the job done. If I would like

01:21:34.649 --> 01:21:37.409
to say anything about this, I would encourage

01:21:37.409 --> 01:21:39.789
them to actually talk to musicians rather than

01:21:39.789 --> 01:21:43.210
Google. It's a bit different. And actually watch

01:21:43.210 --> 01:21:48.630
more live music than YouTube. YouTube is not

01:21:48.630 --> 01:21:52.670
dimensional. I just feel the dimension thing.

01:21:53.289 --> 01:21:55.750
It's funny you say that because my next question

01:21:55.750 --> 01:21:58.420
actually is something to do with that. A lot

01:21:58.420 --> 01:22:01.420
of people now say that I'd rather stay home and

01:22:01.420 --> 01:22:03.760
listen to my Spotify playlist than to go out

01:22:03.760 --> 01:22:11.239
and listen to live music. Numbnuts. Along the

01:22:11.239 --> 01:22:13.319
same vein as what you just mentioned, we go watching

01:22:13.319 --> 01:22:15.779
live rather than learning off YouTube and all

01:22:15.779 --> 01:22:19.180
that. Your opinion, since we are talking on that

01:22:19.180 --> 01:22:22.920
topic, how has the live music and nightlife scene

01:22:22.920 --> 01:22:25.699
in Singapore changed over the years? And what

01:22:25.699 --> 01:22:27.949
do you hope to see in the future? Oh, it's very

01:22:27.949 --> 01:22:32.489
vibrant. What? Vibrant. The regular scene, like,

01:22:32.649 --> 01:22:36.409
Mandopop, right? Mandopop. Mandopop is vibrant.

01:22:36.569 --> 01:22:39.149
Everyone says that. There's two, the English

01:22:39.149 --> 01:22:42.810
scene, there is, right? There's one, what? Tonight

01:22:42.810 --> 01:22:46.029
we're gigging. Tonight. The new place, Mars Bar.

01:22:46.590 --> 01:22:50.170
Okay. Yeah. So you're saying that, you are saying

01:22:50.170 --> 01:22:51.810
it's vibrant. What do you think? Do you think

01:22:51.810 --> 01:22:56.989
it's becoming vibrant again, or? Are bands being

01:22:56.989 --> 01:23:01.850
hired now? I would say you have to get the right

01:23:01.850 --> 01:23:06.029
contacts and you have to know the right people

01:23:06.029 --> 01:23:10.750
and you have to be of certain quality. If not,

01:23:10.829 --> 01:23:14.369
I think events might a bit drop. Yeah. If not,

01:23:14.649 --> 01:23:18.470
I mean, funny because even Dennis will agree

01:23:18.470 --> 01:23:20.449
that, you know, in my first episode, my season

01:23:20.449 --> 01:23:23.520
premiere just launched. And he himself said that

01:23:23.520 --> 01:23:28.260
he agrees that nightlife is always dead. And

01:23:28.260 --> 01:23:31.079
we also agree that the mando pop scene is very

01:23:31.079 --> 01:23:34.859
vibrant. I think it's better than after COVID.

01:23:35.840 --> 01:23:39.020
You're thinking it's recovering? Again? You're

01:23:39.020 --> 01:23:41.699
thinking that it's recovering? Yeah, I think

01:23:41.699 --> 01:23:45.319
it's slowly coming back. Really? Yeah, yeah.

01:23:45.399 --> 01:23:48.699
I really hope so. Because there's so many people

01:23:48.699 --> 01:23:50.239
out there who still don't want. Obviously it's

01:23:50.239 --> 01:23:52.699
not like before. Don't hire DJs and don't hire

01:23:52.699 --> 01:23:55.000
bands. We talked about this before. Oh, but the

01:23:55.000 --> 01:23:58.159
downsizing of like events and wedding gigs. Yeah.

01:23:58.260 --> 01:24:02.020
The downsizing is quite sad lah. Really, yeah.

01:24:02.260 --> 01:24:04.979
Yeah, in those days in the 90s, 80s lah. You

01:24:04.979 --> 01:24:07.500
go for a wedding gig lah. Yeah. It's always four

01:24:07.500 --> 01:24:09.060
piece, five piece lah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Clubs

01:24:09.060 --> 01:24:11.239
and bass. I don't see anything less than four

01:24:11.239 --> 01:24:13.420
piece. Yeah, to a point that when you see it's

01:24:13.420 --> 01:24:18.039
like a duo. Yeah. You get. It's weird, no? Yeah.

01:24:18.239 --> 01:24:20.800
What thing is this? Yeah, correct. Even my weddings,

01:24:20.859 --> 01:24:22.560
when I used to, you know, some of the weddings

01:24:22.560 --> 01:24:27.060
I actually produce, if we get a ban on, it's

01:24:27.060 --> 01:24:29.300
never anything less than a fault piece. There's

01:24:29.300 --> 01:24:32.819
no way. It's a waste of money and time. Yeah.

01:24:33.399 --> 01:24:36.899
So, anyway, I'm glad to see some optimism from

01:24:36.899 --> 01:24:40.199
the two of you about nightlife. Yeah. Well, I'm

01:24:40.199 --> 01:24:45.760
yet to be convinced. I really hope, I want to

01:24:45.760 --> 01:24:47.640
see it happen. I really do. This is one of my

01:24:47.640 --> 01:24:50.319
wishes. I want to see Nightlife come back to

01:24:50.319 --> 01:24:53.720
what it used to be in terms of its vibrancy.

01:24:54.760 --> 01:24:58.140
Okay, you've been a Yamaha win artist since 2005.

01:24:58.880 --> 01:25:01.659
And an official endorser of Yamaha's X -Phone

01:25:01.659 --> 01:25:05.199
since 2011. I do. What does that long -term partnership

01:25:05.199 --> 01:25:07.899
mean to you? And what can we expect from your

01:25:07.899 --> 01:25:15.199
upcoming Yamaha performance this year? It started

01:25:15.199 --> 01:25:19.260
when I was like 21. I've been actually been helping

01:25:19.260 --> 01:25:24.159
Yamaha, like giving workshop or what. But they

01:25:24.159 --> 01:25:27.880
didn't give me any official title until it was

01:25:27.880 --> 01:25:31.819
2011. And then later part, it was, they gave

01:25:31.819 --> 01:25:37.579
me the artist. What do you call them? They named

01:25:37.579 --> 01:25:40.609
me artist lah. Then later on. That's a Yamaha

01:25:40.609 --> 01:25:43.710
artist. Yamaha artist. And then, then it became

01:25:43.710 --> 01:25:46.270
more official. Right. That's where the endorsement

01:25:46.270 --> 01:25:49.770
came in where I get a free instrument. Yeah.

01:25:50.109 --> 01:25:53.890
But, it didn't last long. After, it went back

01:25:53.890 --> 01:25:57.210
to the artist thing again. Right. So, the difference

01:25:57.210 --> 01:26:00.069
between artist and the endorsement is endorsement,

01:26:00.149 --> 01:26:03.430
you have free instrument. You're like an ambassador

01:26:03.430 --> 01:26:06.630
then, right? Yeah. Somewhat. Okay. But you'll

01:26:06.630 --> 01:26:08.680
be performing for them this year, is it? I've

01:26:08.680 --> 01:26:13.079
done it. Done already? Okay, okay. So what's

01:26:13.079 --> 01:26:15.680
next for Boon Chai? Any big project collaborations

01:26:15.680 --> 01:26:19.220
you're dreaming about? Wow, I don't dream big.

01:26:20.000 --> 01:26:23.819
I'm just waiting for places to jam. Like, you

01:26:23.819 --> 01:26:27.380
know, when they have Bellingham goes on on like

01:26:27.380 --> 01:26:30.760
some Friday at Asia Square. Yeah. You don't even

01:26:30.760 --> 01:26:35.439
ask me come or come and jam. You just tell Boon

01:26:35.439 --> 01:26:39.300
Chai I'll be there on this Friday. And then I

01:26:39.300 --> 01:26:43.359
turn out and then I see them. Yeah. Yeah. I think

01:26:43.359 --> 01:26:45.579
this is the best. It's even better than cake.

01:26:45.880 --> 01:26:49.659
Yeah. You know, like some doctors. Yeah. To,

01:26:49.680 --> 01:26:53.960
to, to, to, to, to, what do you call that? As

01:26:53.960 --> 01:26:57.039
a hobby. Yeah. They will sometimes take sabbatical

01:26:57.039 --> 01:26:59.420
leave. Yeah. And go to third world. Yeah. I think

01:26:59.420 --> 01:27:02.760
that's fantastic because. Like the mouths will

01:27:02.760 --> 01:27:04.520
smile. Yes. And then when you come back, you

01:27:04.520 --> 01:27:08.310
are. you know refresh and you're doing things

01:27:08.310 --> 01:27:10.609
when you're jamming it's like going on a retreat

01:27:10.609 --> 01:27:13.229
yeah and I'm not you know when you're not paid

01:27:13.229 --> 01:27:14.989
you're doing things that you like and you're

01:27:14.989 --> 01:27:18.210
not paid correct psychologically it's great I

01:27:18.210 --> 01:27:20.210
know what you mean man I know what you mean man

01:27:20.210 --> 01:27:23.489
alright man Wu Jai and Gabe thank you very much

01:27:23.489 --> 01:27:26.130
for being with me today we've been we've been

01:27:26.130 --> 01:27:28.369
at it for a while already and I wish you all

01:27:28.369 --> 01:27:30.069
the best my friend this is my tribute to you

01:27:30.989 --> 01:27:37.470
Yeah, you're an icon in our books. Okay. I fame

01:27:37.470 --> 01:27:41.649
you. And thanks again, Squeaky Toy, for being

01:27:41.649 --> 01:27:45.590
around. Yeah. Rubber Duckie, you're the one.

01:27:46.409 --> 01:27:53.869
You're so squeaky and so much fun. Oh, no. Okay,

01:27:53.970 --> 01:27:57.390
everybody. Don't go away yet. I mentioned it

01:27:57.390 --> 01:27:58.909
earlier. I'm going to say it one more time. We're

01:27:58.909 --> 01:28:00.989
ending the show with a full performance by Boon

01:28:00.989 --> 01:28:03.649
Chai. And we'd like to credit High Notes Music

01:28:03.649 --> 01:28:05.689
Solutions, the Summertime's big band, for the

01:28:05.689 --> 01:28:09.369
videos. So here is Kyo Boon Chai playing solo

01:28:09.369 --> 01:28:12.090
for Phil Collins against all odds. This is Chris

01:28:12.090 --> 01:28:14.250
Hansen saying, I'll see you again, same time,

01:28:14.310 --> 01:28:23.689
same place, next Friday. Bye -bye. Thank you.

01:31:30.989 --> 01:31:34.069
The Chris Hansen Conversation. Real talk, no

01:31:34.069 --> 01:31:37.170
filters, and a growing community of more than

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90 ,000 subscribers across ASEAN, right here

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