I turned on the radio this morning to hear Joe Augustine saying our band's name. Well, not too bad a way to start off a Monday at all...
If you haven't heard, we made it to the finals of Power Jam 2008 =)
The semifinals took place at Timbre on Saturday, where 18 bands had to perform one original composition and one cover each. We were the 13th band (how auspicious) to perform, and we chose to go with a cover of "This Boy" by Franz Ferdinand followed by "If It Wasn't For You".
A guitar amp gave us some problems at the beginning of "This Boy", while the organisers actually interrupted "If It Wasn't For You" before it was supposed to end. So you can imagine how relieved we were when the 5 finalists were announced.
Which means you'll be hearing a lot about us on Power 98 in the weeks to come, while the finals were eventually be held at Zouk on 29th July, Tuesday.
That's one very busy month away, as we're already being bombarded with a whole list of things to prepare for by the organisers. Well, not too bad a way to be kept busy with at all...
UPCOMING GIGS
WHERE TO GET OUR DEBUT ALBUM 'WAITING FOR FRIDAY'
Bandcamp (For digital copies and streaming): http://kingkongjane.bandcamp.com
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Powerjam
If you haven't heard, we made it through the auditions of Powerjam!!!
We performed for the second round of auditions at Timbre last Saturday, which saw more than 30 bands turning up. Kevin Mathews and the boys from PeepShow were there to show support, and we played a 2min version of "Lollipop" for the 3 judges, who were from MTV, Power 98 and The Straits Times.
The results were announced after all the bands performed, and we're now one of the 18 bands in the semifinals! We'll have to perform one cover and one original this coming Saturday, which will determine if we make it to the finals as one of 5 bands.
If you're free this coming Saturday, do pop by Timbre @ The Substation between 5 to 8pm to catch the bands in action. Our turn should be between 6.30 to 7.30pm if things go according to schedule.
Wish us luck!
We performed for the second round of auditions at Timbre last Saturday, which saw more than 30 bands turning up. Kevin Mathews and the boys from PeepShow were there to show support, and we played a 2min version of "Lollipop" for the 3 judges, who were from MTV, Power 98 and The Straits Times.
The results were announced after all the bands performed, and we're now one of the 18 bands in the semifinals! We'll have to perform one cover and one original this coming Saturday, which will determine if we make it to the finals as one of 5 bands.
If you're free this coming Saturday, do pop by Timbre @ The Substation between 5 to 8pm to catch the bands in action. Our turn should be between 6.30 to 7.30pm if things go according to schedule.
Wish us luck!
Xia Guo somemore
The third and final video of the 100.3FM interview!
This one's a must-watch for how I make a ridiculous Mandarin boo-boo when talking about the future of the band. In fact, my Chinese gets more koyak as I talk about increasingly complex issues.
Watch out for how Weetz edited the video such that a sound effect in "Mo Sheng Ren" coincides with the footage right at the end of the video!
This one's a must-watch for how I make a ridiculous Mandarin boo-boo when talking about the future of the band. In fact, my Chinese gets more koyak as I talk about increasingly complex issues.
Watch out for how Weetz edited the video such that a sound effect in "Mo Sheng Ren" coincides with the footage right at the end of the video!
Ru Guo Bu Shi Ni
Presenting a second video of Yeo Yann Yann interviewing me on 100.3FM!
Now you can watch how a listener actually sent an SMS in to state the exact location of our Raffles City gig, which I was personally clueless about.
It feels soooo strange to watch myself speaking in Mandarin for such an extended period of time.
Now you can watch how a listener actually sent an SMS in to state the exact location of our Raffles City gig, which I was personally clueless about.
It feels soooo strange to watch myself speaking in Mandarin for such an extended period of time.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Never mind other parties
Gig alert!
We're performing for BEAT!'s anniversary birthday party at Home Club this Friday!
Details are as follows:
Date: 20th June (Friday)
Time: 10pm
Venue: Home Club (20 Upper Circular Road #B1-01/06, The Riverwalk)
Amateur Takes Control will perform before us, and there will be FREE FLOW of beer and housepours from 11pm to 12 midnight!
Oh, and last but so not least, we're doing a Kit Chan cover, so you don't wanna miss this party!
100.3
One day before our gig at Raffles City, I was invited by Yeo Yann Yann to be a guest on her radio show.
Speaking about the band in mandarin was amusing as always, but reading some of the SMS-es that were sent in by listeners as the show was going on was even more interesting!
When I confessed to not knowing exactly which level of Raffles City we would be performing at, one listener actually sent in an SMS to suggest that the stage would most likely be on Level 3. Talk about interactivity.
Here's a video featuring the first few minutes of the interview:
Speaking about the band in mandarin was amusing as always, but reading some of the SMS-es that were sent in by listeners as the show was going on was even more interesting!
When I confessed to not knowing exactly which level of Raffles City we would be performing at, one listener actually sent in an SMS to suggest that the stage would most likely be on Level 3. Talk about interactivity.
Here's a video featuring the first few minutes of the interview:
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Cover boy
After a video filmed by Weetz, now we have photos of our Raffles City gigs for the Singapore Arts Festival, courtesy of Pris!
Hmm. Maybe we should track down that cute little drummer boy in the audience to put him on our album cover!
Hmm. Maybe we should track down that cute little drummer boy in the audience to put him on our album cover!
Stop and stare
The following are quotes from Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, who was interviewed by Popjustice, one of my favourite music websites.
So many things he said remind me of the challenges that King Kong Jane faces, not least of which is the struggle to achieve that elusive balance between mass appeal and indie cred.
I guess it feels good to know that even OneRepublic thinks about such things...
"It seems the idea now is to look as indie as possible and to act as much as possible like you don't give a shit. But you know what? We do give a shit. To take your fans on a journey you need to have fans in the first place."
"And what was very useful to me was the day I woke up and realised I wasn't Thom Yorke and OneRepublic weren't Radiohead. And that's fine. It's funny because I think a lot of bands struggle with getting their heads around that: the fact that Radiohead can somehow straddle between mass appeal and total credibility. We just thought 'to Hell with it' – and we wrote songs that can be sung up to the rafters. Everybody right now is trying to be indie and cool and we decided to be obvious."
"When I write a song I write the music first and then the music will tell me that lyrics are necessary and I'll start recording gibberish. I'll just sing nonsense, the first words that come into my head. But the phonetics – the consonants and vowels that come out of my mouth the first time I sing along to something – are absolutely critical to the final product of the song."
"You have to say no. The thing that makes your career are the times you say no, not the times you say yes. I think the most important thing artists can do is not package up bullshit in a pretty bow, because it still smells like bullshit. And that's the one thing that with the band I've sworn myself to. The moment you start to try doing something and you try too hard it becomes disingenuous."
...but it feels even better to know that he writes his lyrics like the way I do!
Click here to read the full interview:
http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2653&Itemid=9
So many things he said remind me of the challenges that King Kong Jane faces, not least of which is the struggle to achieve that elusive balance between mass appeal and indie cred.
I guess it feels good to know that even OneRepublic thinks about such things...
"It seems the idea now is to look as indie as possible and to act as much as possible like you don't give a shit. But you know what? We do give a shit. To take your fans on a journey you need to have fans in the first place."
"And what was very useful to me was the day I woke up and realised I wasn't Thom Yorke and OneRepublic weren't Radiohead. And that's fine. It's funny because I think a lot of bands struggle with getting their heads around that: the fact that Radiohead can somehow straddle between mass appeal and total credibility. We just thought 'to Hell with it' – and we wrote songs that can be sung up to the rafters. Everybody right now is trying to be indie and cool and we decided to be obvious."
"When I write a song I write the music first and then the music will tell me that lyrics are necessary and I'll start recording gibberish. I'll just sing nonsense, the first words that come into my head. But the phonetics – the consonants and vowels that come out of my mouth the first time I sing along to something – are absolutely critical to the final product of the song."
"You have to say no. The thing that makes your career are the times you say no, not the times you say yes. I think the most important thing artists can do is not package up bullshit in a pretty bow, because it still smells like bullshit. And that's the one thing that with the band I've sworn myself to. The moment you start to try doing something and you try too hard it becomes disingenuous."
...but it feels even better to know that he writes his lyrics like the way I do!
Click here to read the full interview:
http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2653&Itemid=9
Monday, June 09, 2008
When life throws you lemons
Of all our original compositions, this one took me the longest time to come up with lyrics that felt right.
I wanted to name the song "Silver Lining" at first, but the rest of the guys didn't fancy it. And so for several months, I defiantly chose not to come up with lyrics for the song.
But I eventually drew inspiration from the phrase "when life throws you lemons, make lemonade", wrote in lyrics that required changes over a span of 2 weeks, and titled it "Lemonade".
I like how the title of the song is close to "Lollipop", because of how they both share an accessible pop rock melody and lyrics that basically talk about how to make the best of what you have.
If "Lollipop" was about living up to your fullest potential, then "Lemonade" would have to be about what you should do if things don't turn out the way you want them to.
And with that, I present to you a video of us performing "Lemonade" at Raffles City for the Singapore Arts Festival just yesterday. (Yes, we know that we're probably the local band with the most efficient videographer in the entire country.)
Here are the lyrics to the song, which as you will notice, do not exactly match what I'm singing in the video. That's because I'm a singer who has an uncanny ability to screw up lyrics written by myself...
Lemonade by King Kong Jane
It's like a roller coaster that will never end
But don't you ever feel like giving up again
Just look around and you'll find, you're never quite alone
So do yourself a favour, and make it worth your time again
* It's easy when you live your life in black and white
But how can things turn out the way you want them to
But I don't believe that you're down and out when
There's something in your eyes that spells defiance
So come on, imagine, let's make it happen
Cos we can do it right away
** Don't you know that there will be a silver lining
You don't have to scream aloud
Going up and down with what you're holding on to
Everything will pass you by
So lemons are all that you've got to start your day with
Well start making lemonade
Nothing takes away the past just like the future
So make it, or break it
As long as you're alive
* repeat verse
You'll falter, you'll wonder, how this is gonna go
They'll find you, they'll drag you, where you don't wanna go
But in time, in no time, you'll see a ray of light
That's all you need, to be alright
** repeat Chorus
Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh...
I wanted to name the song "Silver Lining" at first, but the rest of the guys didn't fancy it. And so for several months, I defiantly chose not to come up with lyrics for the song.
But I eventually drew inspiration from the phrase "when life throws you lemons, make lemonade", wrote in lyrics that required changes over a span of 2 weeks, and titled it "Lemonade".
I like how the title of the song is close to "Lollipop", because of how they both share an accessible pop rock melody and lyrics that basically talk about how to make the best of what you have.
If "Lollipop" was about living up to your fullest potential, then "Lemonade" would have to be about what you should do if things don't turn out the way you want them to.
And with that, I present to you a video of us performing "Lemonade" at Raffles City for the Singapore Arts Festival just yesterday. (Yes, we know that we're probably the local band with the most efficient videographer in the entire country.)
Here are the lyrics to the song, which as you will notice, do not exactly match what I'm singing in the video. That's because I'm a singer who has an uncanny ability to screw up lyrics written by myself...
Lemonade by King Kong Jane
It's like a roller coaster that will never end
But don't you ever feel like giving up again
Just look around and you'll find, you're never quite alone
So do yourself a favour, and make it worth your time again
* It's easy when you live your life in black and white
But how can things turn out the way you want them to
But I don't believe that you're down and out when
There's something in your eyes that spells defiance
So come on, imagine, let's make it happen
Cos we can do it right away
** Don't you know that there will be a silver lining
You don't have to scream aloud
Going up and down with what you're holding on to
Everything will pass you by
So lemons are all that you've got to start your day with
Well start making lemonade
Nothing takes away the past just like the future
So make it, or break it
As long as you're alive
* repeat verse
You'll falter, you'll wonder, how this is gonna go
They'll find you, they'll drag you, where you don't wanna go
But in time, in no time, you'll see a ray of light
That's all you need, to be alright
** repeat Chorus
Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh...
Sunday, June 08, 2008
What a long day
We met at 10am this morning to jam at Guitar 77, followed by walking over to Raffles City for a gig at 1pm for the Singapore Arts Festival.
It wasn't a splendid gig: the bass amp died a few times and the size of the audience was rather dismal. But I think "Lemonade" as a last song managed to wrap things up pretty well.
We then spent the entire afternoon roaming around the City Hall area, waiting for our next gig to start at 7pm. The crowd was significantly larger this time, and we performed 7 songs without any major glitches.
A big big thank you to everyone who came down today, we really appreciated your presence in the mall!
And with that, we're done with performing for the Singapore Arts Festival this year. I wish the venues could have been more suitable for our music, but hey, now we can add the festival to our list of achievements so far.
Next up? Performing at Home Club on 20th June (Friday) for BEAT's anniversary, and preparing for our Powerjam audition on the 21st...
Photos taken before today's gig, stay tuned for photos and videos of the gig itself!
It wasn't a splendid gig: the bass amp died a few times and the size of the audience was rather dismal. But I think "Lemonade" as a last song managed to wrap things up pretty well.
We then spent the entire afternoon roaming around the City Hall area, waiting for our next gig to start at 7pm. The crowd was significantly larger this time, and we performed 7 songs without any major glitches.
A big big thank you to everyone who came down today, we really appreciated your presence in the mall!
And with that, we're done with performing for the Singapore Arts Festival this year. I wish the venues could have been more suitable for our music, but hey, now we can add the festival to our list of achievements so far.
Next up? Performing at Home Club on 20th June (Friday) for BEAT's anniversary, and preparing for our Powerjam audition on the 21st...
Photos taken before today's gig, stay tuned for photos and videos of the gig itself!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Insert imaginary poster
SINGAPORE ARTS FESTIVAL 2008 PRESENTS: KING KONG JANE
Venue: Raffles City (City Hall MRT)
Date: 8th June, Sunday
Time: 1 - 1.30pm & 7 - 7.30pm
Venue: Raffles City (City Hall MRT)
Date: 8th June, Sunday
Time: 1 - 1.30pm & 7 - 7.30pm
Sunday, June 01, 2008
A potential lead single?
Maybe it's because of the exposure that it got from the Ballyhoo!!! compilation album, but judging from the feedback we've gathered recently, "If It Wasn't For You" has arguably become our most popular song.
Here's a video of us performing it a few days ago at Timbre for the Singapore Arts Festival, which includes footage of Yeo Yann Yann dropping by to show some love!
Oh, and we've finally decided to sign up for this year's Power Jam (organised by Power 98), so stay tuned for details on that!
Here's a video of us performing it a few days ago at Timbre for the Singapore Arts Festival, which includes footage of Yeo Yann Yann dropping by to show some love!
Oh, and we've finally decided to sign up for this year's Power Jam (organised by Power 98), so stay tuned for details on that!
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