In Continuum.

A Day in the Life of Me Part II: The Audition

As mentioned in a couple of entries ago,i was slated to have an audtion last Saturday with the White Tangerine.But due to the rain,strangely,it was cancelled and it was postponed to this week.

I dragged Josephine to town,and then cabbed to Ahmad's place for rehearsals.We did find,and tied down on a couple of stuff this afternoon.I thought the stuff we chose were great,and the sound turned out to be really fantastic.Okay,maybe it wasnt FANTASTIC,but i thought it was decently brought out.I liked the sound of the playing,and felt confident with the audition afterwards.

Im not sure if somebody prayed too much to the wall,but just as we were about to cross the road to the White Tangerine it started raining,again.I dread Singapore's weather with a passion.I mean,however much i love rain,i appreciate the comfort of home while enjoying it from the inside.Not when i am carrying Josephine around in the middle of my way to an audition held outdoors.It really is a pain in the ass,really.

We dashed across the road anyway,and met up with Edmund(The boss)soon after.He resembled Richard back in the school days,and we were told that this wedding celebration was going on at the cafe and he couldnt give us an audtion.Besides,it was raining and the gig slated was cancelled as well.But we did,however,have a mini-audition inside the cafe itself,and in the presence of a vocal instructor(A friend of Edmund).

Ahmad and I did Cannonball for the first track,and Edmund requested for Daughters for John Mayer,which i dreaded because of the nature of the song.I hate playing guitar singing to a mid-range song.The sound of the strumming totally drowns the vocals out,and it's totally not my kind of thing.I thought we did pretty well,with the people at the other tables turning their heads around and stuff.Edmund was all over the place,organising the little wedding party and listening to our pieces.The music instructor,whom i failed to catch the name,was a really nice dude who shared with us some of his experiences and stuff.

Apparently he stayed in Taiwan for three full years for some singing lessons.You wouldnt expect somebody like him to be a vocal instructor,though.He had a strangely dyed hair,and he probably weighed anywhere above a hundred kilograms.He was a big guy,wearing a white top with the top buttons opened,revealing a scorpion shaped necklace.He told us about stage presence,and the important thing about playing a gig unplugged.He was a professional and stuff,and thought me the trick to doing falsettos,which i appreciate lots.

Edmund came in and talked to us about another audition two weeks from now,requiring us to prepare a full setpiece.Now,that's really a headache inducing issue,because right now half my mind is drifting off to giving up this opportunity.Im not exactly sure why i jumped at the chance to jam at the cafe,but right now i am regretting it in a way.

I mean,it is a great experience,a good exposure to it sure.They always say that it is the passion in music that really matters,but if you really think about it it is really so much more than just going out there and sing your lungs out.You dont go up there as a singer,but you go up there as an entertainer.You dont just please yourself with your songs,but you got to please the audience as well,and that really sucks.The genre is way too limited,the way they play only oldiers and a couple of radio-friendly stuff.As cliche as it sounds,that is exactly the kinda stuff they require you to do if you decide to jam there.

The length is never the issue,as i revealed to Edmund.It was the variety of songs that bothered me,as well as the ability to take requests.However much you desire to please the audience,to satisfy their hunger for a good performance,i think it is practically impossible to have enough songs stashed up in our library to please all requests.Besides,i happen to play stuff that is really not mainstream,the stuff you dont usually hear on the radio.

It sort of takes away the fun of doing this sort of gigs doesnt it?I mean,all i wanted at the very beginning was the opportunity to do just a few gigs to the public,to present ourselves out there and play some good comfortable tracks to them.I never really thought about the requests,the variety,the limited genres and all sorts of problems associated with pleasing the audience.Dont they complicate things in a way?How it diminishes the fun and enjoyment in doing such gigs?I dont know,i guess in a way if you are so mindful of entertaining the audience,to please them,then half the fun is taken out of this whole exposure,this experience.

We left the cafe as it was still raining,thinking about if we really should go ahead with the plan.I am on the verge of quitting right now,to be totally honest with you.I guess music is still very much a hobby for me,instead of a passion.I guess i wanted it to be a passion so much i forgot that perhaps i am,and never will be ready enough to do such gigs like the real professionals.

Guess i shall stick with what i do best right now,and that is compositions.Songs,novels and blog entries.I love the art of words,the way they speak in so many languages,and like music so internationally understood.Oh well,hobbies are hobbies,passions and passions.Guess i shouldve seen that distinction a little earlier.