INTRODUCTION

It was one cold night in London, when I received a facebook messenger from an old friend of mine. Many of you will know him as @perennial. Well, we both go back 23 years. He was my high school buddy. We practically grew up together in a notorious school many would know as La Salle, Klang. If gangsterism wasn’t bad enough in Klang town, to top it up if you are from La Salle school in the 90s, its it like a Hurricane warning on a scale of 10. Like the one that recently took place in Hong Kong.

I grew up in Klang, the royal town. To the foodies out there, this town is more known for its Bah Kut Teh which is pork stew cooked with herbs. For those who are still wondering, here is a picture that will make you salivate.

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Now, back to my story. The facebook messenger by @perennial a bit out of the blue. After high school we are in touch once in a while if a friend gets married or when we want to play some music together. He is a guitarist like myself, but less of a performer because he is a much more private person.

I just recently moved to London because of a job opportunity. Prior to this I was with an oil and gas company which was hit pretty badly when the crude oil price took a plunge. I am an auditor by training.

@ Perennial asked if I want to showcase my talent on a new platform that pays. Well, hell yeah! I have been uploading contents on youtube and facebook and I don’t get a single cent but I do get some thumbs up. Not that I am complaining but being paid would be a nicer arrangement. I can’t buy an Iphone 7 with thumbs up you know. This is when I am introduced to Steemit and #teammalaysia.

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MY BUSKING DAYS

I studied in Australia and subsequently I took up employment in the UK. My job as an auditor is as exciting as watching a sloth fall asleep. I took my guitar to the streets to cure my boredom during the weekends and I get some contribution apart from some appreciative claps from the audiences. The money was not the motivating factor but the claps and pat on the back was my carrot.

I came back after staying for many years in the UK, first because I miss my family and secondly I miss the food back home. Who can argue with you when you tell them Malaysia has one of the best food in the world. In Malaysia, I took up a job in Kuala Lumpur and yet again I am crunching numbers and watching more sloths fall asleep. Apart from some crazy Friday nights drinking life was pretty monotonous. Hence, I took to the stage again with my trusty old guitar. Never once, my dear friend @perennial visit me during my performance.

I meet the lady of my dreams in Malaysia. She is from a state that is well known for good food, but of course second only to Klang. So once in a while when I accompany her back home, I am sure to gain some weight which is fine. If you are thin and scrawny you don’t look very prosperous.

MY MUSIC

I grew up in the 80s. It is the era where good music thrives. I picked up the acoustic guitar at the ripe old age of 15 after watching my cousin play Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ and that pretty much carved me into who I am today. I am deeply influenced mainly by the music of the 90s such as Oasis, Radiohead, Michael Jackson, Nirvana, The Foo Fighters, Third Eye Blind, Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox 20. Life was good, but music was awesome. I took up guitar in secondary school and not before long I was serenading the teachers, the girls from the other schools. I am from an all boys school just in case you guys are wondering why I am not playing to my fellow school mates.

I am into music trivia, history and evolution of Western popular music in general. I write my own music and I have a few original pieces that I compose. I have no formal training and everything that I know and belt out are self taught and some are a direct immitation through MTV (that time they didn’t have youtube) and by spending hours listening to cassettes and radio.

My favourite artists are Ryan Adams, Radiohead, Coldplay, Laura Marling, Fleet Foxes, Ed Sheeran, Neil Young, Ben Howard, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars.

BACK TO THE UK

Now that I am happily married and spent some quality time with my parents, fate took a new turn. I got an offer in London and now I am back to the Queen’s backyard to earn a living. Life is pretty alright here with the exception that every other day I will have cravings for nasi lemak, pesembur, rojak, hokkien mee, char koay teow, bak kut teh and the whole menu of Malaysian food. But the wallet comes first.

So, I shall keep you posted on my life here and also my music. If I am silent for a while it merely means that my bosses are putting my ass on the fire pit. Other than that, whenever I can, I will be more than happy to belt out a number of two for fellow steemians and teammalaysia alike.

Good luck and God Bless you beautiful people.