It’s 24 hours later even as I type out my thoughts on last night’s Time Trails gig. Considering the behind-the-scenes issues that led up to that magical 85 minute set where Cheating Sons demonstrated once again why they are one of the most exciting musical prospects on our little island. Wearing my two hats (manager & session musician) was never difficult as I savored every single second of that long day. From unloading of gear, to sorting out dressing rooms, stage setups, line/sound checks and rehearsals it was steady progress all the way. Much of this had to do with the professionalism of the Esplanade crew and for that we are grateful. What was also particularly gratifying was the inclusion of extra talents into our Cheating Sons family viz. backing singers Rachael, Xue Yi, Narelle, horns section Joel, Ying Da, Erik, not to mention Wan on occasional bass and acoustic guitar. It was an amazing time of bonding, sharing and making beautiful music together as we all came together as one to celebrate the power of rock n’ roll.

The 13 songs whizzed past in a flash during which the crowd lapped up every moment – from Renyi almost forgetting to play “Amber Lights” to dropping his guitar (!) to our talented dancers (Fay and Yeong Wen) illuminating “End of the Day” and “Shadow Opera” to the sold-out crowd receiving warmly every new song that was delivered to them. And when the band walked off stage it was obvious that the crowd wanted more and the band returned to provide a two-song encore of “The Last Queen” and “Last Rites” before accepting the well-deserved standing ovation.

To the people who played their part in the background – Frankie, Nick, Goose, Caryn, Faizal – I salute you. Your contribution to making Time Trails a success was just as vital as the talented musicians on stage! And of course, the enthusiastic crowd who bought tickets, CDs and T-shirts, thank you very much!

… still there’s more…

(Photo by Lionel Ng)

In the Singapore indie music scene, playing at the Late Night @ Esplanade series is a benchmark for any local indie band. For Cheating Sons, a band that only released its debut album in February last year it’s been a quick ascent to this particular summit. Of course, as its manager (and biggest fan), I’m probably expected to say that! That all said, Time Trails has certainly given the band the opportunity to flex its artistic and creative muscles to present a music show it can call its own. In this respect, we must thank The Esplanade for its faith, belief and support.

The first quarter of 2012 has been spent on two fronts – recording the new album and preparing for Time Trails - this process somewhat overlaps as the gig will only feature new material – the new album in fact – and so it has been a challenge for these two processes to be undertaken in parallel. Apart from the usual administrative and logistical headaches (all settled now, I hope!), the added pressure of working in several guest musicians (including yours truly) has also presented exciting possibilities. All things considered, the guest musicians have added a dimension to the new music that it’s safe to say that fans of Cheating Sons will be pleasantly surprised by how different the band sounds now.

For me personally, this will also be the first time I’ve ever performed at the Esplanade Recital Studio and I am going to savour every minute, believe me. It’s been a thrilling ride with The Sons so far and based on the new material that’s coming together it feels like the journey has only begun! All that’s left for me to say is that I hope you will get your tickets whilst they’re available cos it’ll be Cheating Sons as you’ve never heard them before and all the craft and artistry that everybody involved has put into Time Trails will make your $25 investment a worthy one…in the meantime, check out the wonderful video teaser by Nick Pan (if you haven’t already) and we want to thank SONY Electronics for its generous loan of the NEX-VG10E handycam that made it possible. Still there’s more…

Tickets on sale at SISTIC. Like Cheating Sons at Facebook.

Poster design by Andy Yang.

Designed by Frankie Pan

Slightly more than a year after Cheating Sons released its well-received debut album – Masters, Wives, Daughter – the band will be playing its sophomore effort in its entirety at the Esplanade Recital Studio for Late Nite @ Esplanade – Time Trails. Unfortunately, that second album will not be completed in time for this event but think of it as a extended teaser of the delights to come.

In addition to my role as band manager, I will also doubling up as keyboards player for this gig and believe me when I say that if you liked the tracks on the first one, the new material will blow your minds away! If you have caught any of the Sons’ shows in the last year you would be familiar with the likes of Jefferson, Amber Lights, Pale Rider, To Dance with the Devil and The Shadow Opera. As great as the aforementioned tracks are, the new songs up the ante somewhat and mine 60s rock n’ roll wonderfully as traces of the Beatles, Stones, the Band and Dylan are clearly evident together with the Sons’ own inimitable style and sound.

Of course, Power of Pop (together with the newly minted Cheating Sons website – to be launched soon) be showcasing the Sons’ preparation – both for the new album and the upcoming gig. It’s going to be exciting 2012 for Cheating Sons fans. If that’s you then first thing you need to do is quickly purchase your tickets for Time Trails at SISTIC.

… still there’s more …

Tis a good time to be a S-ROCK fan! Especially this weekend as two significant events take place which spotlight the local talents we have in our very own indie music scene.

First up, on Friday 18th November, the fifth installment of Fred Perry Subculture Night goes down at Zouk from 8pm (doors open at 7.30pm) with We The Thousands, Lost Hat and punk vets Plainsunset. On Saturday, 19th November, the likes of In Each Hand A Cutlass (above), Ingride, Run Neon Tiger, Obedient Wives Club, Cheating Sons and Plainsunset (once again!) bring S-ROCK to Tiong Bahru Park for LEPA(R)K!

So there you go – take your pick or take it all – the choice is yours. Fly the flag, come on down, see you in the pit…

AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL MUSIC FANS IN SINGAPORE

No, this is not another whinge about how poorly Singaporean bands/musicians are supported in their homeland. At least, it’s not intended to be. As the manager of Cheating Sons, I have witnessed first hand how a Singapore band is received outside of its own country and it is often disappointing to come home from that high to play to less than enthusiastic audiences.

In my 20s, there was barely a local music scene (other than cover bands) and bands/musicians were treated with some contempt as useless good-for-nothing slacker hooligans who should cut their hair and get a proper job. Much has changed of course and even the powers-that-be are beginning to recognize that rock bands who play original English music (S-ROCK) have a part to play in the development of a vibrant arts, cultural and entertainment scene in Singapore.

The dilemma is a classic chicken-and-egg situation. Local music fans are very brand-consious when it comes to music and obviously Singapore rock bands have no brand value at the moment. But in order to concoct an image and build up a repertoire that will achieve a substantial fan base, these bands must first be given a chance to shine, that is to say, Singaporean audiences would have to – in George Michael’s parlance – ‘listen without prejudice’.

And as wonderful as it is for us to have top notch foreign bands playing in Singapore, wouldn’t it be amazing for local music fans to be living in a vibrant music scene similar to that in Iceland or New York or London? Imagine if you had been able to watch U2 or Radiohead grow from a local band (in Dublin or Oxford, respectively) to an international act – wouldn’t that be something to be proud of or to brag about?

Seriously folks, music fandom is the most important component of a thriving music scene, more than bands/musicians, promoters or government organizations. Thus, if you are reading this and you are a music fan living in Singapore, I would entreat you to give S-ROCK a chance! You can do so by coming down to LEPA(R)K! at Tiong Bahru Park on Saturday, 19th November from 5pm to 10pm when bands like Plainsunset, Cheating Sons, In Each Hand A Cutlass, Obedient Wives Club, Ingride and Run Neon Tiger will be performing. Existing S-ROCK fans, I would encourage you to take on the mantle of S-ROCK evangelists and try to get as many people as humanly possible down to LEPA(R)K to celebrate and enjoy some great rock music. Let’s make sure that this will not be the only time that a CC supports a S-ROCK event. It’s all in your hands…

Admission is FREE.

CHEATING SONS “DOUBLE HAPPINESS” TOUR SEP – OCT 2011

The Sons had barely time to catch their collective breath after spending a week in South Korea (playing Asia Spotlight) before embarking on their first mini-tour of China. The main reason for the trip was an appearance at the Strawberry Music Festival on 3rd October in Cheng Jiang but we had taken the opportunity to snag a gig or two (three actually) in nearby Shanghai before heading to Cheng Jiang.

And so on the evening of Tuesday, 27th September we landed at Pudong Airport in somewhat humid Shanghai weather. And by “we” I mean the Sons – Renyi, Don, Cheez, (little) Andy – joined by (big) Andy Yang, his lovely wife Caryn and yours truly. It took us almost an hour to reach our hotel in the city’s historic Bund district. Feeling restless, we took a walk around the Bund and ended up at a Chinese restaurant for our first meal (which like the many that followed, was cheap and very good) before ending up at the Glamour Bar (which was not very glamorous at all). On the way back to the hotel, we were waylaid by the persistent distraction of streetside barbecues where the security of intestinal tracts were put to the test.

The tour regimen tended to begin in late mornings or early afternoons and so brunches were usually the order of the day. For some reason, we decided to check out Yuyuan Garden, a particularly touristy area, with predictable results! Before long, we were getting ready for that first gig at Yuyintang. Now, Shanghai’s rush hour seemed to coincide with our scheduled timing to arriveat the live house described as Shanghai’s version of New York’s fabled CGBG club. Finally, the first cab we flagged (the one I was in) happened to be the last to arrive as we simply got lost as the cab-driver was unfamiliar with the location.

Still we arrived safe and sound. Although hidden in a slightly obscured locale, Yuyintang was the perfect venue for indie rock music, with the focal point being the stage. Although there was a bar, there were hardly any seats around requiring punters to actually stand in front of the stage to take in the music. Now that’s what I call a live house. Met the guys from Fever Machine (Dan, Miguel & Favi) three expats who played tight, loud, psych-metal which I really enjoyed. Now, being a Wednesday night, the venue was not quite filled to maximum capacity but it must be said that the crowd that was there was only in attendance for the music and the music alone. The band launched into their set with gusto and the audience responded in kind as heads bopped, feet tapped and the odd individuals pogoed along! A modest success! At the end, I collected our share of the gate and we took off.

But not back to the hotel immediately as we decided to celebrate the band’s first ever gig in China by braving an all-night karoake session till 6 in the morning! (Mainly classic rock tunes, it must be emphasized) It was disconcerting to say the least when we left the building and were greeted by bright sunlight! The perfect way to prepare for the next gig happening that same night at Anar Cafe Bar! Ah the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle!

As you can imagine, body clocks were royally messed up by the time we had ‘lunch’ at 3pm! But at least this time we arrived at Anar without much of a hitch with time to spare enough to check out a restaurant selling exclusively snake meat. In truth, it tasted like chicken with fish bones! Certainly, little Andy had the greatest fun with these snake meat wonders!!

Fortified by this, the band delivered three sets of 30 minutes each, which thrilled the crowd. Anar is a typical cafe bar with food and drinks on the menu. Despite that, the audience genuinely stopped to listen attentively to the band for everyone of those 3 sets and gave the band a hearty taste of appreciation after each and every song. At Anar, I met Tom Mangione and Jake Newby, both of whom were writers with Shanghai media outlets. Tom was also a musician (with the Horde) and had helped to set up the Anar gig. In addition, I met up with Michael Ohlsson who ran a label, promoted gigs and ran the Dada club just down the road from Anar. It did seem that many expats were very involved in the local music scene, more so than in Singapore.

It was well past midnight when the Sons finally finished their three sets but the cafe bar had not emptied at all and the applause at the end was heartwarming. Particularly so, when Brian – an American fan – gave the band much encouragement with his adoration and praise! Satisfied and tired after two gigging nights, we returned to the hotel and rested up before the off day that was to come.

After a day of rest, the band was raring to go for the gig at Lune in the French Concession district on 1st Oct – the first day of the National Day holidays in China. Perhaps that accounted for the fact that there were less than 5 locals amongst the 100-strong crowd at Lune. I met up with Dennis Ming Nichols, from another expat band, Rainbow Danger Club (sense a trend here?) The Phantom 5 (strangely there was only 4 of them – 3 expats (!) and 1 local) opened with an intriguing folk-rock set filled with interesting songs. The surroundings were austere and the stage/gear was not up to the standards of Yuyintang but the Sons gave their best and the audience certainly partied along. At the end of the hour-long set, encores of Pale Rider and Last Rites were devoured by the hungry crowd who really enjoyed the Sons’ passionate rock ‘n’ roll show!

And on to the next day, where we bade farewell to Shanghai as a van from Cheng Jiang brought us to the YiQuan Hotel, which would provide accommodation for the bands playing at the Strawberry Music Festival. When we arrived, we saw UK’s Go! Team hanging around in the lobby. The Hotel itself was obviously old (maybe 30 years!) and I understand would be renovated after the Festival. The provincial government had assigned the hotel to the Festival organizer for its use. Not perfect but good enough. Unlike Shanghai, we had a walk quite a distance before discovering suitable eating places. Once again, we found a restaurant that provided a cheap and good culinary experience. No arguing with that for sure!

3rd October marked the day when the Sons made their debut on the Chinese festival circuit. The festival grounds were massive, containing 4 stages (the LOVE stage was ours) and by the time the band took to that stage, it was 6pm and dark (and cold!). Although initially the crowd was smallish it grew into thousands by the time unleashed a feisty Pale Rider on the enthusiastic audience. Truth be told, there were sound problems especially with the lower ends but there was no denying the Sons’ excitement in delivering their full-bloodied set. By now, the band was a well-oiled machine with each member fulfilling his role with aplomb. Big Andy always provided something different (apart from the visual dimension) whether smashing a tambourine, fingering the bass or hammering the Indian drum.

Before we knew it, the Chinese adventure was over and all was left was a 4 hour bus ride back to Pudong Airport and the 5 hour trip in the air before landing safely at Changi. In our hearts, we are certain that this is only the beginning and already there are plans in place for the Sons to do much more with regards to overseas touring.

On a personal level, the trip gave me an opportunity to get to know the Sons better and definitely their individual personalities and characteristics crystallized in my mind during our time together. They’re a fun-loving bunch but deadly serious about their music and how far they want to take it. The appreciation received by the Sons from Chinese audiences (whether local or expat) has reinforced my belief that the way forward is overseas, in order to spread the message of Cheating Sons far and wide.

…still there’s more…

Pictures of our China trip can be viewed at Facebook.

Picture above of the crowd at Strawberry Music Festival courtesy of (big) Andy Yang.

Special thanks to Chloe Lee/Esplanade, May Tan/MDA, Michael Lojudice/Modern Sky, Bun Ng, Sean Hocking, Tom Mangione, Super Sophia, Brian Offenther, Dan Shapiro, Frankie Pan and the great crews at the Strawberry Music Festival.

SHANGHAI SURPRISE

Life is full of surprises. A year ago, I was preparing for a change in ‘career’ direction by teaching part-time at Republic Polytechnic (thanks again to Chloe), which I hoped would provide a platform for greater involvement in the S-ROCK scene. Well, tomorrow Cheating Sons and yours truly flies off for the band’s first tour of China! Together with the band’s recent sojourn to Korea, we are hopeful that the upcoming performances in Shanghai and Zhenjiang will open more doors for Cheating Sons as an international band rather than just a Singapore rock band.

Thankfully, it appears that at least we will be kept busy in the eight days we are in China meeting folks from the China indie music scene so that all the time, effort and expense would have been worth it. I guess at this point in time, all that has been done to prepare for this upcoming week has been done and now it’s just a question of executing those plans best that we can. Personally, I am looking forward to my first trip to China ever and to finding out first hand what the burgeoning China indie music scene is all about. I intend to chronicle my time in China – utilizing Lunarin’s Duae journal (see above) – as much as possible for an article in TODAY as well as for future reference.

Which means, of course, that Power of Pop will fall silent for about a week but I hope that you will continue to visit the site and check out the over 2,250 posts that can be found here. It behooves me to mention that thanks to MDA (hi May!) part of the expenses of putting this tour together will be covered and I am hopeful that more financial support will be forthcoming in the months and years ahead. However, the main responsibility in making Cheating Sons a viable international success lies with the band and yours truly and this tour will definitely be an acid test of the band’s music and ability. Frankly, we are looking forward to meeting the challenge head on. We’ll see you on the other side.

… still there’s more …

NEW DAWNS

Today, 15th August 2011, was a special day, by all accounts. An unshakable sense of achievement was strongly felt (finally) as an artist manager, as KAMCO Music launched Lydia Low’s debut EP, Electric Flower, at Bandcamp and as I also announced Cheating Sons’ tours of Korea and China in September and October.

Much of this is new territory for me, of course. But much of the credit must go to Lydia and the Sons. This has less to do with my abilities than with the faith and trust placed upon me. I first met Lydia in April (thank you, Ingrid!) and when I heard her music I was sold! When we had our first discussion and she told me that she would be leaving Singapore soon, my heart sank. There was so much potential in her that I truly wondered what we could do in the short time that we had together. But thanks to Lydia’s unwavering belief in me (she basically did everything I asked of her) we are now to this moment, a debut EP which Lydia and I are rather proud of. Special thanks to Patrick Chng for his kindness and generosity, as always!

I must confess that I have suffered numerous disappointments in this area – a sense of rejection, a lack of belief in what I could achieve with artists that the feeling of validation is hard to describe. The self-doubt can sometimes be crippling but I thank God for the right timing and the right opportunities. In any case, this is only the beginning but it’s a good start. Check out this link to listen to/download Lydia’s debut EP.

Certainly, with respect to Cheating Sons, it has been refreshing to work with a band who are on top of their game always. Musically the band knows where it’s headed and they more or less leave me to guide them along in terms of getting gigs and so on. I have been truly amazed by how well all this is going so far. Whilst we are under no illusions about how difficult the task continues to be, the main strength is our mutual respect, which is borne out by commitment (and not mere words) and our understanding of the lengths we will go to in order to make Cheating Sons an international success. By now, some of you have read about the band’s Korean and China tours coming up. There are more stories to be told and I am very excited to be part of this new journey.

…still there’s more…

Two Door Cinema Club | 11 August 2011 | Esplanade Concert Hall

Two Door Cinema Club played to a sold-out crowd at the Esplanade Concert Hall on Thursday night, with Cheating Sons opening for them. Even before the concert started, the merch booth was totally swamped with fans buying copies of the band’s debut album, Tourist History, unsurprising since most would have heard their music through illegal downloading!

Cheating Sons kicked off the night with the first track off their debut album (Masters, Wives, Daughter), Isles. It was such a pleasant surprise to hear plenty of cheers and applause for the local band. The warm reception set the tone for the rest of the band’s 30-minute set, where they played songs such as The Kids Ain’t Right, Amber Lights and Mr. Green. The crowd responded enthusiastically to frontman Renyi’s banter, which definitely contributed to the band’s palpable joy in playing that night (Cheez, Don and Andy Yang were positively grooving!), while Don’s constant change of instrument fascinated and thrilled the audience.

When the Sons left the stage, there was a rush of eager fans that flooded the aisles and patiently waited near the front to get a good view, as Two Door Cinema Club came on only half an hour later. The air was electric as the band came onstage, and three rows of people crowded within the first row of seats in the hall (something which I didn’t even know was possible). The crowd went nuts as the band launched into Cigarettes In The Theatre, and followed up with their biggest hit, Undercover Martyn.

The band played every track off their album, and also teased the crowd with new songs such as Hands Off My Cash, Handshake and This Is Moon. The audience lapped up every song in their set, chanting the typical “We want more!” at the end, which gave way to the more specialized chant “uh-oh uh-uh-oh” from the intro of I Can Talk. The band rewarded the crowd with an encore set of three songs, including a new song entitled Sleep Alone. It seems that the band need not worry about their fans, as long as they continue to churn out indie dancefloor anthems.

From This Is The Life to Eat That Up, It’s Good For You, the band showed that they had perfected the art of building a climax in live performance (touring drummer Ben Thompson certainly contributed). The band played their songs exactly off the record with no variation, which was definitely enough to satisfy the crowd, who seemed to be there only to dance and not to witness a unique live performance. Together with the strobe lighting and stage setup, which was clearly intended to make the venue more intimate (well, as intimate as the venue could get), the Esplanade Concert Hall was in short, transformed into a club.

Hunter S. Thompson said that America was raising a generation of dancers (famously inspiring the song Human by The Killers), and evidently from Thursday night, so is Singapore.

A note of thanks to Greenhorn Productions.

(Melissa Ng)

Picture by Sherilyn Lim.

Cheating Sons opens for Two Door Cinema Club at the Esplanade Concert Hall on Thursday, 11th August 2011.

If you have already bought your ticket for the show, an autographed copy of Cheating Sons’ Masters, Wives, Daughter album or an Official Cheating Sons T-Shirt can be yours!

All you need to do is visit http://cheatingsons.bandcamp.com/album/masters-wives-daughter and tell the band which three songs you would like the band to perform on 11th August and stand a chance to win either a CD or T-Shirt.

Send your requests to cheatingsons@gmail.com and don’t forget to indicate your full name and IC or Passport No.If you are a lucky winner, collect your CD or T-Shirt at the information counter at the Esplanade Concert Hall before the concert.

(Press release)

Fred Perry’s music initiative, Subculture returns on Thursday, 18 August 2011 at Zouk.

The fourth installment, since launching in May 2010, promises a healthy dose of merry- making rock & roll with delicious servings of the iconic Fred’s Punch, a special cocktail concocted by 42BELOW for Fred Perry.

The well rounded, eclectic mix of homegrown musicians for the night include Cheating Sons (above), The Pinholes, Vanessa Fernandez with your favourite indie-disco-poppers Poptart rocking the decks in their first gig at Zouk since 2006!

Priority entry will be given to those dressed in Fred Perry so wear your tips proud. *tip – refers to the coloured lining on collars and sleeves, an iconic feature on Fred Perry Polo shirts.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Thursday, 18 August 2011 Time: 9pm to 2am (doors open at 8.30pm) Venue: Zouk, 17 Jiak Kim Street Line-up: Vanessa Fernandez, Cheating Sons, The Pinholes and Poptart

Register for guestlist at www.facebook.com/fredperrysg. Club rules apply. Fred Perry Subculture is made possible by Singtel, 42Below and Zouk.

TALES OF GLORY

By now, dear reader, some of you would be aware that I am now the manager of Singapore band Cheating Sons. The first time we featured the Sons at Power of Pop was about a year ago in a PoP Confidential discussing the band’s Cat Eye EP. Since then, of course, Power of Pop has been active in promoting the Cheating Sons cause and deservedly so. After having released my album of 2010, the band has been going from strength to strength. In addition, spending time with Renyi, Don & Cheez doing interviews, watching their performances and simply chewing the fat has always been a pleasure.

So you can imagine my surprise and delight (and terror) when the guys asked me to manage them about two weeks ago. It made so much sense, I had actually decided to tone down my management activities and therefore, had the time and attention to dedicate to the band. Already, we have the opening spot at the upcoming Two Door Cinema Club gig at the Esplanade Concert Hall on 11th August (thanks to Greenhorn Productions) and we are now exploring various options within and without Singapore. I really believe in the band and it is certainly an exciting opportunity to us to work together pursuing the rock music that we love so dearly.

Power of Pop has always been more than a reviews site and has served as a vehicle for me to occasionally write my own musical adventures. Therefore, you can expect that I will be filing reports now as well, concerning life as the manager of Cheating Sons. Hopefully, the journey will be long and fruitful. I have a good feeling about this.

Oh, and if you need to get in touch with me regarding the band, the email is cheatingsons AT gmail.com

…still there’s more…

Official Site

Cheating Sons @ Beer Market (28 May 2011)

Cheating Sons brought their brand of blues and rock ‘n’ roll to Beer Market last Saturday night, as part of the Music Matters Live festival. The pub was filled up but judging from the applause and cheers the band got, only a third of the audience was there to see them. The Jezabels from Australia (interviewed earlier on Power of Pop), who played before the Sons, also had a much larger audience, with many standing just to see the band.

Nevertheless, the quality of the Sons’ set was no less than their best, as they played with energy and seemed to enjoy themselves, though their frontman Renyi appeared a little tired. Their performance was commendable considering it was their second set of the night and the late hour (midnight). Their set was only thirty minutes long, but it was enough to impress most of the audience, including those who were not there for the band. Andy was relentless on the drums and his precision showed why Cheating Sons are one of the best bands around, while the joy of performing was apparent amongst all of them.

The band played songs from their debut album, Masters, Wives, Daughter, such as Mr Green and Ah Long On The Run. Their set got a small group dancing, and part of the crowd that were not there to see the band also began to pay increasing attention to the band throughout their set. But as some might say, “haters gon hate”, and a vocal member of the audience shouted “more A minor”, mocking the band. But they quickly shut the hater up with Isles, and he was overheard saying afterward that “the song was really good”. With this short set, the Sons proved once again why they are the pride and joy of local music.

(Melissa Ng)

Photo by Iskander Abori

(Press release)

SG 21st Century Mods is proud to present Singapore Mod Swing’11 party that will be held in celebration of Mods Mayday 2011. This event will be held at the Home Club on the 1st May, 2011 from 7:00pm to 1:00am (2nd May, 2011). Bands slated to play – Pinholes and Cheating Sons (Singapore) with Innocenti (Indonesia).

Details

Date: Sunday,May12011

Time: 7:00pm – 1:00pm

Venue: Home Club (Singapore) Riverwalk Apartments, 20 Upper Circular Road

Tickets

Pre-sale: $15 + 1 Standard drink (housepour, beer or soft drink) On Site: $20 + 1 Standard drink (housepour, beer or soft drink)

Pre-sale Tickets now available at the the following locations:

EROFIA TRADING PTE LTD Hendra hp: 91004714 1 Kaki Bukit Ave 6 #02-62 Singapore 417883

TONG AIK MOTOR SUPPLY CO. 89, Short Street #01-02/03 Golden Wall Centre, Singapore 188216 Tel: 6337 9912

The most eagerly anticipated S-ROCK album in recent memory was finally launched last night at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre as Cheating Sons played two thrilling sets to announce the arrival of its debut LP, Masters, Wives, Daughter. The packed audience certainly enjoyed every guitar lick from Cheez, vocal growl from Renyi, change of instrument from Don and intricate drum pattern from Andy!

Despite the challenges of uneven sound and an obvious case of nerves, the band swept the audience away with 90 minutes of its rustic yet epic ruminations on modern living as instant classics like The Last Queen, Ah Long on the Run, The Kids Ain’t Alright, Last Rites, Isles and Tales of Glory were rolled out with some aplomb.

With guest bass player Andy, freeing Don to embellish with banjo, mandolin and slide guitar (and with Renyi blowing harp as well), the flavour of the night was distinctly country with the inspirations of Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Uncle Tupelo and the Replacements informing every incandescent moment.

Special mention must be made about drummer Andy’s tremendous contributions as he lighted up every song with his inventive fills and time-keeping even though there were occasions when Renyi may have started the song a little faster than normal, Andy coped admirably and continued to provide the foundational backbeat that kept the performance as tight as humanly possible. Kudos to the man!

For me personally, as someone who has championed country-folk-blues in the S-ROCK scene with the Groovy People, this night was indeed satisfying to witness a Singapore band deliver such superb material under our own night skies. As Esplanade’s Licia remarked later, I was positively “glowing” and she was not wrong.

If you want to get on board the Cheating Song wagon, pick up Masters, Wives, Daughters at any good music store across the island and get yourself down to Timbre @ Substation on 8th/9th March 2011 to find out what the fuss is all about. Believe the hype!!!

Pictures by Patrick Chng. More here.

Facebook page

… still there’s more …

I met up with three of the Cheating Sons (Reny, Don & Cheez) in January to talk about music and their new album, Masters, Wives, Daughter. This was the result which I turned into the feature you can read at TODAY. And yes, some alcohol was involved…

How and when did the band form?

Renyi – The band formed in 2008 and consisted originally of me, Chee San and Jeremy, our original drummer. We played music in school. We were big fans of grunge so we listened to a lot of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots. So that’s how we started playing as amateurs and played our first performances in school. Later on, we all went our separate ways for studies and when we came back for good in 2007, I’d started writing a bunch of songs in UK and I wanted us to work on them. We were missing a bassist and I met Don at our current workplace. I never knew him in school, we only met when we started and we realized that we have a lot of common ground in terms of music so I proposed to Don – why don’t you play with us? Don wasn’t really a bassist, he played guitar. He was playing with a friend at that time doing the gigging circuit playing old school covers. Finally he agreed and we got together. By this time, the three of us – Jem, Chee San and me – had already started working on the songs. So I asked Don to just come in and see what he could do and it just got off from there.

When and why did you decide to be serious about the band – to pursue gigs and record material etc?

Don – I think it was a rather natural progression. From actually getting together to jam the songs and then realizing that it sounds pretty good. It sounds different from a lot of the indie music around or music we’re familiar with in Singapore. So we thought we should really go and get some gigs and see how people respond to it. More importantly, we wanted to play gigs and have some fun. The songs themselves were just demanding to be showcased and to be performed.

What is the origin of the name, Cheating Sons?

Renyi – Basically, it is probably derived from the angst of the artist in Singapore. For anybody who is trying to pursue something off tangent to the mainstream in Singapore, you don’t get a lot of support. There’s a very significant pegging of success in Singapore to material success. That’s not something that we considered to be right values, where we’re from. I’m not trying to say that it’s not good to have money, it’s great when you’re rich and you will definitely get some kind of material happiness but to put that above all doesn’t make any sense to us. We just wanted to be resistant, to showcase our art, to show people that it’s an unfair statement that local music is shit. Or that it’s all shit. Some of it is shit, probably. So, we were speaking to people and everyone would be encouraging but when you tell them that you intended to take it seriously then all the question marks come out – “ooh are you sure?” Not all our parents were very supportive as well and so we thought that if this is system we live in, so that’s it. So I wanted a negative connotation to the name and I vehemently wanted the word “cheat” inside our name. If you think we’re going to be failures or if you think we’re not doing the right thing, then let us cheat you. It’s fine, it’s just who we are.

Don – Sounds like a cool name anyway.

What is the songwriting process within the band? The basic song as well as instrumentation and arrangements.

Renyi – Most of the songs are brought to the table by me. I would play them to the rest of the band. Certain songs I will know exactly what I want from every individual in the band. Other songs I’ll put it down and we’ll see how we can add to it. There is no set formula in how we write the songs other than the fact that most of the time, I will bring the skeleton to the table. In terms of arrangement, we have a lot of gear so that helps us out because there’s lot of experimenting. Don is a multi-instrumentalist who is able to bring a lot of instruments into the set and for us to see if it works. It was great to have Jeremy to come in when he was around and he would ask lay the tracks and we would experiment on the beats and how they could fit the songs. It’s a trial and error process.

Inspirations & influences during recording?

Cheez – When we were doing the actual song arrangement, Renyi and I were listening to a lot of Coral at the time. Certain parts of that were actually rubbed off on how we played.

Renyi – There wasn’t any particular influences during the arrangements or recording process – we were probably inspired by great studios and great producers and we really want the experience cos none of us had ever stepped into a recording studio to lay down our tracks. In terms of the musical arrangement, I wanted it to be very fresh and interesting. I appreciate verse-chorus-verse-chorus song structures but I also appreciate songs with varied song structures, things like what Roy Orbison would do. Every part of the song brings you to a different place and that’s what we were trying to do. That’s what we saw in bands like the Coral, which is a very recent band but isn’t one of our key influences but is a band we really appreciate cos most of the bands we listen to are pretty old. Coral were a newer band whom we could connect with that was trying out this formula and trying to experiment with the arrangements of songs and that’s all we wanted to do. We wanted it to be exciting for the listener and for them to be taken aback with each turn of the song and for everything to fit together. I appreciate how many different bands like to do this but it often sounds very forced and it doesn;t sound like it fits. That’s the difference we were trying to make. A lot of things were very emotion based and feel based – that’s how you feel. From the first time you get in to the final piece that we’re satisfied with – we have gigged many versions of songs many times – and then we realize that it’s not as good as it could be. Then we throw it away and work on something else.

Don – Actually for the avoidance of doubt, it’s not ‘emo’! Anyway I just wanted to add that from my perspective, it felt very fresh to approach the music because the influences that Renyi, Chee San and Jem had were slightly different from me. While we shared the Led Zep, Black Sabbath or the old school rock and blues I think for me I was more into the more pure blues recordings and more traditional and I was heavily influenced by Jackson Browne as well. It’s more laid-back and stuff like Neil Young. So trying to add to the songs I didn’t know what it really was and emphasis was on feel. I just had to go along with what the song was just asking to be played – in terms of bass instrumentation or adding a mandolin track to it. For me, it just felt quite fresh and organic.

There is a strong lyrical narrative running through many of the songs – which is not something often seen in our local music here – what are the inspirations for songs like Ah Long on the Run, Mr Green and The Last Queen?

When you listen to the album, you’d realized that there aren’t many love songs. Last Queen is a love song but not a very good love song. It’s not the kind of love song where the guy fucking gets the chick. It’s never fun writing about stuff that goes well – like the hip hop scene rapping about money and sex – it’s all about opulence. But there’s not what we’re about at all. All the lyrics are inspired by life in Singapore. What we see and what we feel about how society judges everyone. I don’t like to intellectualize anything but a running theme throughout the album is the irrelevance of how much emphasis is put on materialism in Singapore. Tracks like Mr Green just talks about your typical Chinese businessman who feels that money equals power because I can do whatever the fuck I want  but that’s not the way the world works. Or the way it should work. Throughout the album, there are many local references that I have put in that just fits the song. Ah Long on the Run – how do you even sing it without it sounding local? “Ah Long” is a colloquial term but stuff like that, we worked on it and I think it shines through. In terms of narrative, I love a narrative song, Don and I love Bruce Springsteen and a million songs about driving on the road, working in the fields or a steel mill. It’s a hard life and it’s always great to tell a story and that’s what I’ve tried to do. Stories are great. I would not be writing or listening to music otherwise.

From an artistic perspective, what do you hope to achieve with the album?

Cheez – As a band we want to take it as far as we can. I don’t think we have any limits on how far we can or should take it. We just hope to expose our music to as many people as possible. Hopefully there will be something or someone that may give us a break. Or maybe it’s just a song. You never know.

Don – What we hope to achieve is to break the limits that we subconsciously or consciously place on ourselves or what other people place on us and on the music and I think they want to see where’s this can go cos I think that there’s a very strong belief in what we’ve done in terms of producing this album. We think that every song on the album is very strong & different and we hope that the general public will recognize that as well and we would be a band whose music would be something people would get behind. “These guys from Singapore are pretty good”

Renyi – You ask any band what they hope to achieve – normal band would say, for their music to be appreciated by as many people as possible cos as a musician, that is your job scope – make your music touch as many people as you can. That is no different from us. We fully appreciate how hard it is – especially the way our culture and society works but we’ll try our best and if it doesn’t work out, all of this involve huge strokes of fortune as well. If it doesn’t work out hopefully it’ll inspire someone else to do it.

Cheating Sons launch their debut album – Masters, Wives, Daughter – at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre on Saturday, 19th February at 8.45pm.

CHEATING SONS Masters, Wives, Daughter (Self-released)

Regular visitors to the Power of Pop will be aware that I declared Masters, Wives, Daughters as my album of 2010 even though it would only be released in 2011. That assessment has not changed an iota in the month or so that I have been listening to this magnificent debut album almost non-stop. Songs like Isles, Ah Long on the Run, The Last Queen, Tales of Glory, Mr Green et al have been fixtures on my playlist and there’s no indication that I will tire of them anytime soon.

What is particularly refreshing about Cheating Sons (viz Renyi, Don, Cheez and Andy) is that whilst you will no doubt be able to identify their numerous reference points and musical sources, the manner that the band approaches its songwriting, arrangements, instrumentation and production is uniquely its own. Take, for example, The Last Queen, arguably the strongest track on this obscenely fecund collection. Opening with a banjo riff, before the full band envelopes Renyi’s heartfelt delivery – “When you cross my mind/don’t you worry it’s nothing…” as sweet backing harmonies sends chills down spine. It is an incandescent five minutes of breath-taking musical beauty that deserves to be blasting out of every i-Pod in Singapore and worldwide!

Listening to Masters, Wives, Daughter as a whole, the achievement of Cheating Sons is mind-boggling. For a band that has seemingly come out of nowhere, the maturity, scope and ambition displayed on this debut album is something every Singaporean should be roundly proud of! It is a shining example of what is possible for S-ROCK, and damn the naysayers, for in bands like Cheating Sons, S-ROCK has the right to stand up to pop-rock music made anywhere else in the world. Believe it!

Suffice to say that Masters, Wives, Daughter is essential for anyone remotely serious about music. Get your copy when the album is released soon…

Facebook page.

Monday night seems an odd choice for a gig date but then, sometimes you need to “think out of the box”. Or maybe the venue was not available on Friday or Saturday. In any case, the bands that blew away the sizable crowd last night (viz. King Kong Jane, TypeWriter & Cheating Sons) did everything in their power to ensure that it was indeed a memorable Monday night for all concerned.

The three bands on show are perhaps representative of the more “traditional” pop-rock leanings of the S-ROCK fraternity where the word “emo” would mean emotional songs, performances and connections rather than haircuts and fashion statements. One thing that really struck me was the sheer quality of the songs whether it be King Kong Jane’s Waiting For Friday, Lollipop or Go Away (which is an excellent track), TypeWriter’s Where To Go (which KKJ tacked on to the end of Go Away – an unforgettable moment! And oh can I just say that Where To Go is an essential S-ROCK classic!!!), The Deepest Blue or Cry So Well or Cheating Sons’ Pale Rider, The Last Queen (a fast crowd fave) or Such A Slippery Slope.

Sure the sound could have been better but all things considered, the songs and performances shone through as the bands established their own sonic characters viz. modern alt-rock (King Kong Jane), power pop (TypeWriter) and alt-country (Cheating Sons). Yes, some generalization involved but the bottom line is simple, these bands are delivering some of the most immediate, melodic satisfying pop-rock music in Singapore at the moment. Check ‘em out!

King Kong Jane | TypeWriter | Cheating Sons

PS. Thanks for the offer of the chicken wings, Lennat…

NB. You can access better photos of the gig on Facebook, courtesy of Zaki Razalo.

As regular visitors to Power of Pop will be keenly aware, I love the classic pop-rock of the 60s and 70s and believe that everything that is good about pop music derives its inspirations from this special era. Original cutting-edge pop-rock is not that easy to find in Singapore as most bands tend to be too focused on being hip and cool and only play the kind of music currently in vogue or in style.

That is why, if you – like me – know how to appreciate good old fashioned pop-rock, will not want to miss tonight’s (yes tonight!) Manic Monday poptastic event at Blu Jaz Third Floor starting at 7.30pm, featuring TypeWriter (above), Cheating Sons and King Kong Jane. Each band has its own distinctive sound but established on certain mainstays of classic pop-rock, awesome melodies, passion and power, not to mention clean fun as well!

Yes I know it’s Monday but what better way to chase the blues away than spending tonight with three premiere S-ROCK bands…

A pretty fine S-ROCK lineup if I say so myself. Be there! Perfect way to chase the Monday blues away… (but you knew I was gonna say that!)