Friday, February 27, 2004
Mardi Gras day. The first Pipiland outing since… okay, the Chancellor’s birthday, but then again, not all the Pipilanders are present all the time… it’s very sad that we aren’t able to go out in full force.
Twenty minutes to eight, I’m under the darkened LT2, waiting for our turn to perform. Even though I’m very prepared for this; I’ve always been very casual during the past three stage rehearsals, but then I’m having butterflies in my stomach. I just cannot explain it. I’m quite well-prepared, the crowd doesn’t unfazed me because I’ve mentally trained myself to stare at the keyboard and never at the audience, but still, I’m very restless.
Si Ying has been worried about the sound system, because it is not the one we had been using for the past three rehearsals. The current one has been rented from some external company, and we’re worried about not being used to them. Si Ying says she can’t hear anything. I guess it’s probably because of the way the speakers are positioned, because none are facing the direction we are standing, so the sound goes away.
Eight and we’re on. The first song is “Journey to the Past”. However, as I play, I realise the audience getting noisier… they were TALKING. Fine if they’re not listening, but they are so goddamn noisy I can’t even hear what I’m playing! Not to mention, I can’t even hear Si Ying’s voice. Anyway we’ve trained ourselves such that whatever interference happens, we’ll keep going on – or at least I keep moving so that she can follow me (because she has the monitor in front of her while I can only rely on myself and the speakers that are facing the audience).
Anyway the performance was a success. We just gave the audience all we had.
At nine we go to the rock wall to listen to the combo band play the arrangements I did for them. “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” was played okay; with Derrick at the drum set I could set my mind at ease. They played at a very nice tempo without going faster and faster as they had usually done in the past. However, I suspected they changed the instrumentation, because the changes I approved during the practice were not there.
“Where is the Love” started out fine, but when it came to the chorus it was horribly sung out of tune. Schubie later told me that he had been asked to sing the chorus. I’ve got nothing against him singing, but why did they change the instrumentation again? Apparently Yi Jie, the rapper couldn’t sing high enough at the key of E-flat, so Schubie became the back-up singer. Sometimes, being an arranger is not that rosy; your writing does not get respected all the time, and is subjected to the whims and fancies of those playing for you. Nothing wrong with that, only that they never asked my approval first, which irks me.
“Stand by Me” and “That Thing You Do” was pretty good. Schubie played the solo saxophone part in the interlude very beautifully; that melted my heart. When Chuxian, the second saxophonist, joined in harmony with Schubie’s part… I just felt I was in heaven! Thanks to both of you for playing it so beautifully! I think it was the best ever of all four pieces.
* * *
That night, at McDonald’s, the radio station, for some reason, decided to play the audition tape of William Hung doing his rendition of “She Bangs” on air. I listened carefully to it: the opening verse was quite okay; I thought nothing of it.
Then the fun starts.
The chorus arrives: “She bangs! She bangs!”
I can’t stop guffawing with laughter. It’s really damn, damn funny, like a comedy show gone wrong. The high-pitched voice and the wrong intonations… I’m very sorry but I can’t help laughing at it. It’s too deliciously grotesque already…
Or perhaps I was in a very good mood today? I experienced something magical… something that I will never forget for the rest of my life… I shall not say it… go and torture me to find it out. ¶ 2/27/2004 11:56:00 pm
Twenty minutes to eight, I’m under the darkened LT2, waiting for our turn to perform. Even though I’m very prepared for this; I’ve always been very casual during the past three stage rehearsals, but then I’m having butterflies in my stomach. I just cannot explain it. I’m quite well-prepared, the crowd doesn’t unfazed me because I’ve mentally trained myself to stare at the keyboard and never at the audience, but still, I’m very restless.
Si Ying has been worried about the sound system, because it is not the one we had been using for the past three rehearsals. The current one has been rented from some external company, and we’re worried about not being used to them. Si Ying says she can’t hear anything. I guess it’s probably because of the way the speakers are positioned, because none are facing the direction we are standing, so the sound goes away.
Eight and we’re on. The first song is “Journey to the Past”. However, as I play, I realise the audience getting noisier… they were TALKING. Fine if they’re not listening, but they are so goddamn noisy I can’t even hear what I’m playing! Not to mention, I can’t even hear Si Ying’s voice. Anyway we’ve trained ourselves such that whatever interference happens, we’ll keep going on – or at least I keep moving so that she can follow me (because she has the monitor in front of her while I can only rely on myself and the speakers that are facing the audience).
Anyway the performance was a success. We just gave the audience all we had.
At nine we go to the rock wall to listen to the combo band play the arrangements I did for them. “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” was played okay; with Derrick at the drum set I could set my mind at ease. They played at a very nice tempo without going faster and faster as they had usually done in the past. However, I suspected they changed the instrumentation, because the changes I approved during the practice were not there.
“Where is the Love” started out fine, but when it came to the chorus it was horribly sung out of tune. Schubie later told me that he had been asked to sing the chorus. I’ve got nothing against him singing, but why did they change the instrumentation again? Apparently Yi Jie, the rapper couldn’t sing high enough at the key of E-flat, so Schubie became the back-up singer. Sometimes, being an arranger is not that rosy; your writing does not get respected all the time, and is subjected to the whims and fancies of those playing for you. Nothing wrong with that, only that they never asked my approval first, which irks me.
“Stand by Me” and “That Thing You Do” was pretty good. Schubie played the solo saxophone part in the interlude very beautifully; that melted my heart. When Chuxian, the second saxophonist, joined in harmony with Schubie’s part… I just felt I was in heaven! Thanks to both of you for playing it so beautifully! I think it was the best ever of all four pieces.
* * *
That night, at McDonald’s, the radio station, for some reason, decided to play the audition tape of William Hung doing his rendition of “She Bangs” on air. I listened carefully to it: the opening verse was quite okay; I thought nothing of it.
Then the fun starts.
The chorus arrives: “She bangs! She bangs!”
I can’t stop guffawing with laughter. It’s really damn, damn funny, like a comedy show gone wrong. The high-pitched voice and the wrong intonations… I’m very sorry but I can’t help laughing at it. It’s too deliciously grotesque already…
Or perhaps I was in a very good mood today? I experienced something magical… something that I will never forget for the rest of my life… I shall not say it… go and torture me to find it out. ¶ 2/27/2004 11:56:00 pm
