AcousticJam14

ACOUSTIC JAM 14
Sunday November 12th 2006 – 7.30 pm
Venue: COMMONWEALTH HOUSE
4 Jalan Birah, Damansara Heights
50490 Kuala Lumpur

featuring
REZA SALLEH and the FUMAKILLAS
MEI CHERN
MARKIZA AND PETER
SPECIAL SURPRISE GUEST: ie THEO GRAHAM-BROWN
OPEN MIC
for photos of the performers taken during the Acoustic Jam 14 click here

Report of Acoustic Jam 14

We were delighted that 60 people turned up for the Acoustic Jam revival show in spite of it being Sunday and the entrance price being RM15 (not free as one Daily reported). Thank you so much all those who came and supported this show, and to the press. We were thus able to cover our costs and even give the featured artists a bonus for their excellent performances. Thank you Reza Salleh, Hanafi and Melina, Melina again as solist on ac. guitar and vocal, the amazing Mei Chern and to Theo Graham-Brown who dropped in all the way from London in transit to Melbourne, Australaia, and gave a first class acoustic rendition of some of his band songs. To access his music go to: www.theogb.com , www.mokita.net ,

Also thanks to the Open Mic-ers - the original Blister augmented by the charming Nazneen on keyboards, Zaruf and friend, Raffique, Alex Ang the drummer with Soft Touch and other bands who gave us some fine songs and skillfully executed guitar accompaniment, Dr Hadi Abdullah and Michelle Lee.

I suppose we can thank ourselves (Markiza and Peter) for a varied set (varied in quality too what with the usual crop of errors). But we mustn't forget Mokhtarizal and his assistant Faiz who brought in the equipment and did the sound most elegantly. And I should mention Rashid who efficiently operated the desk. And then the Commonwealth Club who provided the room at an affordable rate. Thanks to all you people for enabling Acoustic Jam to happen.

We have organised 13 Acoustic Jam shows already over the years.
You can read about them and look at photos if you click on Acoustic Jam

Bios of the performers

REZA SALLEH
Bombarded with copious amounts of Top 40 gamma rays as a child, Reza owes much of his young singing career to the Seattle sounds of Nirvana, the rap-rock edge of Rage Against the Machine (how this is reflected in his music you'll never know and neither will he), the vocal stylings of Black American vocalists, and a whole list of other musical influences he can't really remember. Not really one to be bound by a particular sound, his music (labeled by a few as heart-in-blender folk) is a mish-mash of elements drawn from a combination of whatever's going on his head and whatever's he's been listening to in the past 10 years or so.
Dark, heartfelt, confused. Best served with coffee.

www.myspace.com/rezasalleh

MEI CHERN
Mei Chern specialises in quiet, soft singing and delicate finger-style acoustic guitar, and has a collection of wonderful, original songs. Her first recorded song, Feels Like Falling was so successful it won the Music Canteen Award for the most downloaded song of all on that alternative on-line music website (www.musiccanteen.com).

Her latest single, Do You See Me Like You is featured on the double CD of Malaysian Acoustic Artists sponsored by the Ministry of Culture VOICES FROM NEXT DOOR available from www.troubadourskl.blogspot.com for RM30. This song is also the theme song from the film Alice Lives Here about the valiant protest by ordinary folk against an environmentally hazardous incinerator which was designated to be built in their area.

MELINA
Melina, who plays bass and sings in the band Tempered Mental (in fact she's the main lady) is one of the finest up-and-coming musicians and original composers in Malaysia.

A multi-instrumentalist hailing from Sarawak - she plays drums, bass, electric and acoustic guitar, keyboards and percussion - she is no less awesome as a solo acoustic artist, playing not so stripped down versions due to her skill, songs from the Tempered Mental songbook and maybe some new ones. She also plays bass for the Fumakillas, Reza's backing band.

Tempered Mental are currently working on their first full length album which should be out late this year/next year.

www.temperedmental.com

MARKIZA & PETER HASSAN BROWN
These hardy perennials are still going at it even though age is catching up. Married in UK at the end of the 70s,
Markiza worked on Peter's early albums before they moved to Malaysia and formed the duo Passion and produced two albums, Open Secret and Love & Music

Peter then pursued a solo career, releasing Warm in 2001, while the two of them formed Soft Touch in 1999, whose latest release, the Soft Touch Full Album is now available from lemang Music at the handsome price of RM10 a copy