LINDA ONG — Lunarin

INTRODUCTION
I am the bass player of Singapore band Lunarin. I have been playing the bass since 1997, when I started my first band Fuzzbox. We disbanded Fuzzbox in 2003 and started Lunarin that same year. I have been playing bass ever since.

PLAYING STYLE
I have no music background. I did not go for any formal music lessons. I can't read notes, I don't know keys or time signature. Everything is through gut feel and playing by ear. I have always played with a pick because my earliest bass hero, Kim Gordon, played with one, and I have never learnt to play finger style as a consequence. When I got into heavier styles of music in the later part of my playing, Tool's Justin Chancellor was another big influence and he played with a pick too! So I think my sound is very much shaped by the fact that I play with a pick - sharp, punchy and to the point. I don't really have a warm up routine or favourite guitar exercises to be honest - being the noob that I am! - I really just play the songs and after a few rounds I get sufficiently warmed up.    

MAIN GUITARS
I started with a cheap Samick bass which replicated the Fender P bass - got it back in 1995. I then changed to a puke green Ibanez, then upgraded to an Ibanez with Bartolini pickups. I finally then settled on my dream bass - Gibson Thunderbird, which I have 2, one black and one white. I changed out and replaced both with active pickups. Over the years the black T bird has retired so I only use the white one now.

OTHER EQUIPMENT
I used to have a pedal board with a Sansamp, bass EQ and a Rat Distortion pedal. For our first album I also used a bass wah but have stopped that since. Presently though, since we are no longer playing live, I just plug in to my Demeter preamp. Easy peasy!

OTHER SG GUITARISTS/BASSISTS YOU FIND INTERESTING
Daniel Sassoon was my senior in law school and one of the best guitar players I have ever met, truly. We had a few jam sessions together back in the day and I was so stressed out and awed by his playing I fumbled my own. He plays every style and does all so well. A special shout-out should also go to my own guitarist, Kah Wye. I have been playing with him for almost 30 years now. One of my best friends and the only person I can rely on to bounce off ideas and work on riffs together. He knows immediately where I am coming from when I come up with a musical idea and has such an influence on my bass playing and the bass lines that I write. Can I also mention Ginette Chittick? Back when we were younger people would lump us together as the girls who play bass etc. It seems as though we were just a novelty factor then. Fast forward now so many years later and we haven't given up on music despite shouldering on other commitments. I really find Ginette's continued involvement in the arts so inspiring and am so honoured to be a part of a generation of people like her who continue to be dynamic and progressive in their own way. Kudos.

 

PHOTO ABOVE

My white t bird. She will be our last bass because I don’t plan to get another. 

FRANCIS FRIGHTFUL — Opposition Party

INTRODUCTION
I'm the frontman of Singapore's first punk band, Opposition Party.

PLAYING STYLE
Although I had a folk guitar which was given to me when I was little, I've never seriously strived to master it until I formed Opposition Party. I kind of learnt the bar chord and then the power chord soon after and that's all I have been playing till now. Opposition Party existed since 1986 and all these decades, the power chord has seen the band through its various changes in genres within the punk and metal sounds. Most OP songs consist only of fast riffing power chords with a couple of quick simple solos thrown in. I'm more influenced by the speed and aggression in hardcore punk and thrash metal on a whole rather than idolising  guitarists from the bands that I like to the point of trying to emulate their style. Of course, there could be certain riffs or licks in my songs that sound like they were inspired by certain guitarists but they are mostly due to subconscious effort. I don't really have a warm-up routine but I do try to practise the songs and their solos before a show to loosen up the fingers.   

MAIN GUITARS
I won't be able to give specific details as my interest in guitars does not really go that deep even after all these years. Especially in my early punk days, I basically used whatever that was available and didn't even bother to tune up that much. These days I do make sure whatever guitars that I'm using stay in tune but that's because of the OP songs that are more metal will sound really awful when played out-of-tune. Throughout the years, I find that Fender and Ibanez work best in creating the OP sound. My current axe is an entry-level Ibanez with a Floyd Rose bridge, upgraded pick-up and other setup tweaks such as lowering the action and removing the tremolo springs.

OTHER EQUIPMENT
Hyper-metal with Roland Jazz Chorus is my preferred combination. If without gadget, then the Laney Ironheart tube amp gives the most natural heavy crunchy thrash-metal sound. I use thicker gauge strings as they give more weight to riffs and since I downtune to C#, thinner strings feel too loose.

OTHER SG GUITARISTS/BASSISTS YOU FIND INTERESTING
Like I said earlier, guitarists in general are not something I think about.