INTRODUCTION
Some people know me as the frontman of The Oddfellows, others may know me as the guitarist of TypeWriter and covers band The Fast Colors. I started playing the acoustic guitar casually when I was about 11 as we've always had a guitar in the home. I was around 16 when I got serious with learning to play the guitar and got my first electric guitar a year later. I'm mainly self-taught although I did take classical guitar for a couple of years when I was in my late 30s. All in, I've been fiddling with the guitar for 40 odd years now.
PLAYING STYLE
My playing style is mostly rhythm - a big of jingle jangle, a bit of overdrive and power chords. My approach is to play whatever fits the song. I don't really have a warm up routine or guitar exercises. I think I was around 10 or 11 when I saw Roy Clark play an incredible guitar solo on TV. That probably sparked my curiosity and interest in the instrument. During my secondary school days, Steve Howe (Yes), Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) and The Edge (U2) opened my ears to a myriad of styles and sounds the guitar could make. When I started to seriously practice the electric guitar, I was drawn to Joey Santiago (Pixies), Johnny Marr (The Smiths), Bob Stinson and Paul Westerberg of The Replacements and REM's Peter Buck style of playing. Gang Of Four's Andy Gill, AC/DC's Angus Young and Velvet Underground's Lou Reed were also big influences.
MAIN INSTRUMENTS
My main guitar is the 1993 Gibson Nighthawk Standard that I bought from Swee Lee at Plaza Singapura in either late '93 or early '94. Everything on it is still stock. My main acoustic is the Gibson J-45. For recording, I would also play the Squire Tele, Gibson SG and Gibson ES-335 just to have a different sound. Every guitar has its own characteristics so that's the beauty of it. I love the Nighthawk because it's so versatile, light and has great tones.
OTHER EQUIPMENT
My main amps are the Orange AD15, that I bought from a shop along London's Denmark Street about 20 years ago, and the Vox Night Train amp head with a Vox cabinet. I use mostly Boss pedals - the OD-3, TU-2 tuner, Super Chorus CH-1, Flanger BF-2 - and the Electro-Harmonix Germanium 4 Big Muff. Not fussy about strings but I usually use D'Addario.
OTHER LOCAL GUITARISTS YOU FIND INTERESTING
I am a big fan of Nigel Hogan (The Mother and Padres amongst others), Ben Harrison (Padres, Etc), Victor Chen (Raw Earth, General Lee), Randolf Arriola, Eza and Simon Yong's playing. When I was a teenager, I loved watching Chris Ong (Heritage, Pest Infested) and John Chee. I love The Steve McQueens' bassist Jase Sng. He's an insane talent.
PHOTO ABOVE
My Gibson Nighthawk Standard next to my main amps Orange AD15 and the Vox Night Train and cabinet, Squier Telecaster in the background.