Thank you!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls! It's a little bit late, but just as heartfelt: A big thank you to you wonderful people who helped create magic on that hot and sunny Sunday afternoon on the 10th of June at Melaka! Here are some outstanding and remarkable people who should get knighted for their efforts!

Gary Thank you dear, for all that support and for pushing me to get out on stage and get the exposure. You played a mean set of drums on the day, and the Girl from Ipanema definitely came a walking and everyone went "H-a-aa-a-a!". Let's keep on jamming together Boi!

Melf Gal, I don't know where you learnt how to play the bass like that... but if it really was in church, I have to start attending every Sunday! Promise me we will get "Fever"ed together again!

Adam Thank you for agreeing to do it for bananas! You made the rest of us actually sound professional. Betcha won't forget those A minor/-7 chords or that chilli sambal in a hurry!

Lau My main man!!! You practically dreamt this whole thing up and orchestrated it from day one. Thank you for being the optimistic person you are and actually believing in us. Oh, and thanks for lugging all the equipment back and forth!

Shah The world needs more astute businessmen like you Shah! Thank you for taking a risk on us actually being able to deliver what we promised, and thank you for not kicking up a fuss when we depleted your stocks of Tiger Beer in your restaurant!

Tina Thank you for your wonderful folk music and for the tambourine shaking and for the belly dance and for the Elvis compliment! Let's try and do this again shall we? If anything - at least the belly dance!

Jacqueline/Jacque Thank you for being patient with us and for getting all that publicity done during your manic period before your deadline. Give us another chance, and we will get more bananas for our little friends in Sandakan (see - now I know how to spell it!).

Dex Hey boy! You and I should definitely do a duet together the next time. Thanks for being such a lovely surprise when you wrenched the mic away from my greedy fingers. That will teach me to hog all the songs!

Ian Thank you for that wonderful artistic flair you have. I just saw the video you filmed on the day, and it is Cannes calibre!

Finally - A BIG MUSHY THANK YOU to YOU! Yes You ... Reader... Supporter... Friend.... Thank you for listening to the music I love and for encouraging me to perform, clapping wildly and cheering whenever I do and pretending not to get bored everytime you hear it again and again and again! Thank you for the telephone calls and the e-mails at all hours of the day asking me when and where and what time and what you could do to help out, or simply to wish me the best (sometimes from as far away as Washington DC and Singapore! - you know who you are, you gems!)

Thank you for one of the best days I have had so far, and for making this a wonderful summer jazz jam!


Here are some photos from the day (Jacque - I stole these from your blog... bloody low class I know... but I don't have any, see - as I was on stage all the time singing for your little furry friends! So I know you will excuse this!) For more pictures and more of a write-up on the event, do visit Jacque's blog http://www.pushinglimit.blogspot.com/


Watch out for the YouTube link which I will embed on the blog when I get it from Lau/Jacque as soon as they work out the technical issues!

THAT WILD AND CRAZY JUNGLE JAM...

What a day this has beenWhat a rare mood Im inWhy, its almost like being in loveTheres a smile on my faceFor the whole human raceWhy, its almost like being in loveAll the music of life seems to beLike a bell that is ringing for meAnd from the way that I feelWhen that bell starts to pealI would swear I was fallingI could swear I was fallingIts almost like being in loveOh, the shark, has, pretty teeth, dear....and he shows them, pearly whiteJust a jackknife, has macheath, yeah.....andhe keeps it, out of sightWhen the shark bites, with his teeth, dear....scarlet billows start to spreadFancy gloves, though, wears macheath, yeah..so theres not a trace, hmmmm of redOn the sidewalk...sunday morning, ...lies a body oozin lifeSomeones sneakin round the corner...is the someone, mack the knife? From a tugboat.... by the river..... a cement bags, droopin downYeah, the cements just for the weight, dear...bet you mack, hes back in townLooky here louie miller, disappeared dear...after drawing, out his cashAnd macheath spends, like a sailor...did our boy do, somethin rash? Sukey tawdry, jenny diver..lotte lenya, sweet lucy brownOh, the line forms on the right, dears.....now that mackys back in town
Birds flying high you know how I feelSun in the sky you know how I feelReeds driftin on by you know how I feel(refrain:)Its a new dawnIts a new dayIts a new lifeFor meAnd Im feeling goodFish in the sea you know how I feelRiver running free you know how I feelBlossom in the tree you know how I feelDragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, dont you knowButterflies all havin fun you know what I meanSleep in peace when day is doneThats what I meanAnd this old world is a new worldAnd a bold worldFor meStars when you shine you know how I feelScent of the pine you know how I feelOh freedom is mineAnd I know how I feel Never know how much I love you,Never know how much I care.When you put your arms around me,I get a fever that's so hard to bear.You give me fever,When you kiss me,Fever when you hold me tight.Fever! In the morning,Fever all through the night.Sun lights up the daytimeAnd moon lights up the night..I light up when you call my nameAnd you know I'm gonna treat you rightYou give me feverWhen you kiss me, Fever when you hold me tight.Fever! In the morning, And fever all through the nightEverybody's got the feverThat is something you all knowFever isn't such a new thingFever started long agoRomeo loved JulietteJuliette she felt the sameWhen he put his arms around her he said,"Julie, Baby , you're my flame"Thou giveth fever"When we kisseth"Fever with thy flaming youth"Fever! I'm afire,"Fever, yeah, I burn, forsooth."Cap'in Smith and Pocahontas had a very mad affairWhen her daddy tried to kill himShe said,"Daddy, oh, don't you dare!"He gives me fever"With his kisses"Fever when he holds me tight"Fever! I'm his missus, So"Daddy, Won't you treat him right?"Now you've listened to my story,Here's the point that I have made:Chicks were born to give you fever,Be it Fahrenheit or CentigradeThey give you feverWhen you kiss themFever if you live and learnFever! 'till you sizzlewhat a lovely way to burnwhat a lovely way to burnwhat a lovely way to burnwhat a lovely way to burn
SummertimeAnd the livin' is easyFish are jumpin'And the cotton is highYour daddy's richAnd your mamma's good lookin'So hush little babyDon't you cryOne of these morningsYou're going to rise up singingThen you'll spread your wingsAnd you'll take to the skyBut till that morningThere's a'nothing can harm youWith daddy and mamma standing by My baby dont care for showsMy baby dont care for clothesMy baby just cares for meMy baby dont care for cars and racesMy baby dont care for high-tone placesLiz taylor is not his styleAnd even lana turners smileIs somethin he cant seeMy baby dont care who knowsMy baby just cares for meBaby, my baby dont care for showsAnd he dont even care for clothesHe cares for meMy baby dont careFor cars and racesMy baby dont care forHe dont care for high-tone placesLiz taylor is not his styleAnd even liberaces smileIs something he cant seeIs something he cant seeI wonder whats wrong with babyMy baby just cares forMy baby just cares forMy baby just cares for me Another bride Another JuneAnother sunny honey moonanother season, another reasonfor makin' whoopeeAlot of shoes alot of ricethe groom is nervous he answers twiceits so killin that he's so willin'To make whoopeePicture a little love nestdown where the roses clingPicture the same sweet love nest Think what a year can bringHe's washing dishes and baby clothesHe's so ambitious he even sowsbut don't forget folks thats what you get folksfor makein whoopee Tall and tan and young and lovelyThe girl from ipanema goes walkingAnd when she passes, each one she passes goes - ahWhen she walks, shes like a sambaThat swings so cool and sways so gentleThat when she passes, each one she passes goes - ooh(ooh) but I watch her so sadlyHow can I tell her I love herYes I would give my heart gladlyBut each day, when she walks to the seaShe looks straight ahead, not at meTall, (and) tan, (and) young, (and) lovelyThe girl from ipanema goes walkingAnd when she passes, I smile - but she doesnt see (doesnt see)(she just doesnt see, she never sees me,...) You make me feel so youngYou make me feel like spring has sprungEvery time I see you grinIm such a happy individualThe moment that you speakI want to go and play hide-and-seekI want to go and bounce the moonJust like a toy balloonYou and i, are just like a couple of totsRunning across the meadowPicking up lots of forget-me-notsYou make me feel so youngYou make me feel there are songs to be sungBells to be rung, and a wonderful fling to be flungAnd even when Im old and grayIm gonna feel the way I do todaycause you make me feelso youngMy story is much to sad to be toldBut practically everything leaves me totally coldThe only exception I know is the caseWhen Im out on a quiet spree, fighting vainly the old ennuiThen I suddenly turn and seeYour fabulous faceI get no kick from champagneMere alcohol doesnt thrill me at allSo tell me why should it be trueThat I get a kick out of youSome like the perfume from spainIm sure that if I took even one sniffIt would bore me terrifically tooBut I get a kick out of you( some like the bop-type refrain )( Im sure that if, I heard even one riff )( it would bore me terrifically too )( but I get a kick out of you )( some they may go for cocaine )( Im sure that if, I took even one sniff )( it would bore me terrifically too )( but I get a kick out of you )I get a kick every time I see you standing there before meI get a kick though its clear to see, you obviously do not adore meI get no kick in a planeFlying too high with some gal in the skyIs my idea of nothing to doBut I get a kick out of youOld pirates, yes, they rob i;Sold I to the merchant ships,Minutes after they took iFrom the bottomless pit.But my hand was made strongBy the hand of the almighty.We forward in this generationTriumphantly.Wont you help to singThese songs of freedom? -cause all I ever have:Redemption songs;Redemption songs.Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;None but ourselves can free our minds.Have no fear for atomic energy,cause none of them can stop the time.How long shall they kill our prophets,While we stand aside and look? ooh!Some say its just a part of it:Weve got to fulfil de book.Wont you help to singThese songs of freedom? -cause all I ever have:Redemption songs;Redemption songs;Redemption songs.Somewhere beyond the sea,Somewhere, waiting for me,My lover stands on golden sandsAnd watches the ships that go sailing;Somewhere beyond the sea,He's (She's) there watching for me.If I could fly like birds on high,Then straight to his (her) arms I'd go sailing.It's far beyond a star,It's near beyond the moon,I know beyond a doubtMy heart will lead me there soon.We'll meet beyond the shore,We'll kiss just as before.Happy we'll be beyond the sea,And never again I'll go sailing!The days of wine and roses laugh and run away like a child at playThrough the meadow land toward a closing doorA door marked nevermore that wasn’t there beforeThe lone-ly night discloses just a passing breeze filled with memoriesOf the golden smile that introduced me toThe days of wine and roses and youThere are many many crazy thingsThat will keep me loving youAnd with your permissionMay I list a fewThe way you wear your hatThe way you sip your teaThe memory of all thatNo they cant take that away from meThe way your smile just beamsThe way you sing off keyThe way you haunt my dreamsNo they cant take that away from meWe may never never meet again, on that bumpy road to loveBut Ill always, always keep the memory ofThe way you hold your knifeThe way we danced till threeThe way you changed my lifeNo they cant take that away from me!!!Like the beat beat beat of the tom-tomWhen the jungle shadows fallLike the tick tick tock of the stately clockAs it stands against the wallLike the drip drip drip of the raindropsWhen the summer shower is throughSo a voice within me keeps repeating you, you, youNight and day, you are the oneOnly you beneath the moon or under the sunWhether near to me, or farIts no matter darling where you areI think of youDay and night, night and day, why is it soThat this longing for you follows wherever I goIn the roaring traffics boomIn the silence of my lonely roomI think of youDay and night, night and dayUnder the hide of meTheres an oh such a hungry yearning burning inside of meAnd this torment wont be throughUntil you let me

spend my life making love to youDay and night, night and dayEverytime we say goodbye I die a little Everytime we say goodbye I wonder why a littleWhy the gods above me Who must be in the know Think so little of meThey allow you to go When you're near There's such an air Of spring about itI can hear a lark somewhereBegin to sing about it There's no love song finer But how strange the changeFrom major to minor Everytime we say goodbye There's no love song finer But how strange the change From major to minor Everytime we say goodbye...

~~~

Shhh... and Wow Bam!!!

Here's picture for the album - a summer's evening swirled into groggy glasses of Grigio in a jungle of grass and dandelion...


I smile when I look at this picture now and realise that this little "Edenic" moment was captured on the Sunday evening under a cloudless amber sky... and it was oh so quiet... just before the week kicked in my door and hurled me out into a crush of two completions and the rattle of last-minute rehearsals scuttling towards the performance on the 10th.

Whew!! And now it's over, and yes Reader, I am very aware that I have not posted a report, photographs or a video of that momentous event as promised, but it will be worth the wait for another week. So be patient, and as I sit here alone in my office on a Thursday night at 9 pm after shoving the last e-mail of the day into the ether... I am going to appreciate the Quiet.

I remember how I felt when I got home after the Jam on Sunday, and I shut the world outside my front door and this blanket of lull fell around me in my quiet and dark living room. I could actually hear the silence... and all of a sudden a wild fear came over me. It was all so empty and yet so full and impending and taut with watchful expectancy and electricity...

Tell me Reader, how much silence can you take before it actually becomes UNBEARABLE? Here is an experiment: Switch off that music, turn away from your computer, put away your mobile phone and shut the door. Do that for 30 minutes... go on! Now, I forbid you to think of anything EXCEPT that silence. Exile your thoughts to absolutely nothing, and then tell me how you feel.

After 5 minutes of that silence in my room on that Sunday night after my Jam, I had to switch on the radio and the TV and pick up the phone to give a friend a call just to end the very loud Empty-all-around... It's a funny thing I have realised about myself... I have to do something/say something/hear something and preferably do it all together in order to feel alive!

When I told a close friend about this last week, she told me that I may benefit from going for meditation classes with her. She says it may make me less high strung. She told me that I should learn to be at "one with myself" and appreciate the rhythm of my breathing and the architecture of my thoughts and the "drip drip drip of the raindrops and the tick tick tock of the stately clock..."

Now really, I don't mind Silence. The only issue I have with it is that it's so quiet!

Bjork sums it up better. And she's embedded on this page if you care.



Shhhh, Shhhh
It's, oh, so quiet
It's, oh, so still
You're all alone
And so peaceful until...


You fall in love
Zing boom!!!!
The sky up above
Zing boom!!!!
Is caving in
Wow Bam!!!!
...

'Til it's over and then


Shhh, Shhh
It's nice and quiet
Shhh, Shhh

Gawd! I love that song!

So that's my little piece of nonsense for now. Until next week... and I promise you Wow Bam!!!

~~~