INTRODUCTION
I’ve been a bedroom musician these last few years, releasing solo music on my Bandcamp page. In the past I’ve been fortunate to be a part of Twang Bar Kings, Humpback Oak, The Observatory, Hanging Up The Moon, Piblokto, ARCN TEMPL and Magus. Been playing the guitar for about 33 years and still learning.
PLAYING STYLE
Mostly rhythm and open-tuning finger-picking. Mixture of acoustic and electric. I think my playing style was formed listening to a lot of Neil Young, Sonic Youth, Nick Drake, Lou Reed and The Beatles. More importantly, the bands and musicians I played with these past years have influenced me a great deal. So it’s quite a mixed bag. Don, Simon from Twang, Oak guys, Obs’ members past and present, Concave blahts. Somehow, I must have absorbed some of their techniques experiencing their musicianship in the flesh. Something happens when you play together for a while.
I don’t really have a warm-up routine other than running through the songs before recording or performing. Practice basically. Sometimes I’d do a bit of random scales or finger exercises just to get the blood moving and to battle the nerves.
MAIN INSTRUMENTS
My main guitar now is a Martin Acoustic 0015M. Mahogany wood has that darker sound that I have always gravitated towards since my Humpback Oak days.
I also have a Fender Telecaster ‘52 (American Vintage Reissue Series) and an Epiphone Century E422T hollow body for electric tones.
I always liked the Tele sound. Thin sounding but extremely responsive to touch. Magus’ Sun Worshipper was recorded mostly with a vintage Tele that the studio had. I was a fan after that session. It’s been my main electric guitar since I got it in 2018.
I toured a lot with an EGC-500 (Electric Guitar Company), a heavy aluminium-bodied electric guitar which I acquired for playing Magus stuff. It ended up being the main guitar used for The Observatory from 2009 - 2016. It had a custom pickup configuration with a humbucker on the neck and a single coil on the bridge. It has seen quite many places and still has sweat stains and grime from the tours. It sits in my store room these days.
Before that, I went through quite a few guitars during my Humpback and early Obs days. But might be too long of a list to get into here. :)
OTHER EQUIPMENT
I did have a love for gadgets in the past. These days, it’s mostly what I was using during my last years touring with The Observatory. Just the usual overdrive, fuzz, delay, echo pedals. I like stacking different overdrive pedals to get a variety of tones and breakup. Echo and tape delays are always a joy to play with. I have a small Fender Princeton and a Blackstar amp. Lately though I have been using software amps and effects for recording just to reduce my volume footprint.
OTHER LOCAL GUITARISTS YOU FIND INTERESTING
Always inspired by their rhythm and feel. Shah Tahir, Chris Ong, Syed Ahmad, Victor Low, Bani Haykal, Sean Lam.
PHOTO ABOVE
Epiphone Century E422T - I was looking for an affordable hollow-bodied guitar. And I chanced upon this one pickup Century. Lately I’ve been using it in conjunction with the Tele on recordings on Sand and Blood Red Pale White. Its thick tone contrasts well with the Tele’s thinness.