Best of QUIS 2007-2009

Sent David off to London at the airport this morning.

+1 to the pool of friends studying overseas.

A little trip down memory lane, now that one of the old birds of QUIS has flown the coop, if you don't mind the pun :P

If QUIS were to have a history, this was probably it (abridged version).

First time we met was probably in an old run-down jamming studio in a little corner of Potong Pasir called Boon's. Can't remember the reason why, but we were supposed to do a little band performance for VJCO's camp cum mini-concert. That was way back in 2007 I think. Coincidentally we (sean, wes and me) were in need of a bassist, so Wesley intro-ed his BSLC bunkmate David. Thus the foundations were put in place.

We played Broadway, Sunday Morning and Xing Qing (and some others which I forgot).

That was it for a couple of months aside from occasional jam sessions until March/April 2008.

I spotted an ad for the Singapore Street Festival calling for Jrock bands to participate. Being fans of Japanese music we joined immediately. Then we needed a vocalist who could do Japanese songs so Sean intro-ed Sam, his BMT bunkmate (amazing how army can actually be a good thing). And thus, QUIS was born. As for the name, ask Wesley *snicker*.

We played for the SSF Jrock event at Suntec (songs like Rewrite, Alones and Stay Away), as well as joined the band competition. Sadly we didn't win, but managed to get to the final top 5.

For ol' times' sake, Alones and Driver's High

Next was the big stage (I wasn't around, in India hearing Booms~) Anime Festival Asia 08 @ Suntec Convention hall. From the videos I think it was pretty darn good =)

Driver's High AFA

After I came back it was crunchtime. We did Project Breakout vol.2, a Jrock concert held at Potong Pasir CC. I must say it was a very good experience, really got exposed to all the people involved in the local Jrock scene. That was where we met our "nanny" Audrey XD

Remember the flashing lights? The World

Next was a charity event W.E.A.R concert @ SMU, followed by our biggest gig so far - a full set at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, 26th December. I still remember everything clearly, the huge stage, the equipment, the wonderful acoustics.



and Rewrite

Sam, you really should read the comments for Rewrite =D

That was it for 2008. Then 2009 came, and with it more gigs. We started off playing for NTU's Surf N Sweat @ Sentosa

The Medley (I still laugh whenever the Ji Pa Ban starts playing)

Followed by O'Avenue @ The Central - Storm

Then SSF DJ Party '09, minus the band competition.

Daybreak's Bell

Last but not least, we played at Shine Mascot Parade '09. Nobody nobody but chiu~!

Nobody minus David though, he was in Alaska with the polar bears =D

Its amazing really, how a bunch of people with the smallest of links to each other, can come together, bonded by a common love of music, and become close friends.

And so a chapter in the history of QUIS has closed, but a new one will start. Next up - AFA 09! Gambatte~!

Hope that brought a smile to your faces =)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All the best in the land of Fish 'n' Chips my friend. Gonna miss the lame jokes, the cockness, the imba bass playing and of course your very useful van! HAHA just joking.

See you soon on MSN/Facebook :D

A musical update...

Its been some time since I last blogged anything about music. Well, not if you count the recent X-mini speaker review as one.

So whats new in my playlist? In case you've been watching my Facebook, I've recently become "fans" of Fukuhara Miho, Superfly and Stereopony, all being relatively new artistes in the Japanese music scene.

In case the first name sounds familiar to all you Full Metal Alchemist fans out there, yes she's the singer of the 2nd ending song "Let It Out". Coincidentally that song led me to find out more, and subsequently listen to her debut album "Rainbow". Another promising singer-songwriter? What struck me the most was her voice.Think Mariah Carey/Christina Aguilera-esque kind of power, minus the glass-breaking high pitches. Her songs range from gospel and blues to pop-rock and ballads

Recommended songs - Let it out, Koi wa Rhythm ~Believe my way~, Himawari, Change, Hanabi Sky, Yuki no Hikari

Her voice really shines on the bluesy and ballad-ish songs, including a cover of Celine Dion's Because You Loved Me. Not to mention her English pronunciation is good.

Superfly was introduced to me a few weeks back on Facebook by Kevin-sensei =D
I knew they were fairly new but never bothered to listen to their songs. When I finally did, wow! The lead singer (now solo, still Superfly) Shiho has really smooth vocals - powerful yet controlled, mature and polished, compared with Fukuhara's more raw sound. Their music is rather on the alternative side - 1970's style psychedelic rock 'n roll, and of course the standard balladish fair. A really refreshing change from the pop/rock I've been listening to. They've just released a 2nd album "Box Emotions", on top of their debut album "Superfly".

Recommended songs - Alright!, My Best Of My Life, Koisuru Hitomi wa Utsukushii, Hi-five, Ai o Komete Hanabata o

Last on the list, Stereopony is an all-girl 3 member rock band from Okinawa. Strange, considering the previous 2 on my list are all vocal powerhouses. The lead vocalist Aimi, by contrast, sounds positively J-poppishly cute =.= And I though I was way past that stage. Still, they do have a couple of addictive songs "Hitohira no Hanabira" (17th ending for Bleach) and "Namida no Mukou" (opening for Gundam 00), both found on their debut album "Hydrangea ga Saiteiru.

Recommended songs - Hitohira no Hanabira, Namida no Mukou

It doesn't hurt that all 3 members are lookers. Musically-wise, nah. Maybe they're still too new to find a definitive sound (they're 18/19). Chatmonchy still rule the 3-girl rock band list.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can tell I'm bored. Nothing much to blog about school. Who wants to read about going for lectures, doing tutorials and mugging for tests?

Of birds and bulls***

Its nice to know that our ministers have such a great sense of humour.

From the Electric New Paper, Sept 11:

RADM (NS) Lui titled the story, which was adapted from an Internet joke, Lessons For The Corporate World From The Animal Kingdom, and said there were lessons in the story which were applicable to the media industry.

"The story goes:

It was a beautiful autumn day. At the top of the trees, a bird was enjoying itself thoroughly. The chirping was especially joyous, loud and captivating.

A rabbit came along, gazed up at the bird and said it wished it too could take things easy.

The bird suggested that the rabbit try. The rabbit rested at the bottom of the tree, but a fox came along and ate it.

RADM Lui said: 'The first lesson ... is that to sit around and do nothing, we must be very high up.'

Then a turkey came along, and it also wanted to enjoy itself at the top of the tree.

The turkey consulted a cow, which said that there was energy in cow dung, because the cow had previously seen the farmer use it for fire.

So the turkey started munching on cow dung, felt stronger and, half-hopping and half-flying, made its way up the tree.

It almost reached the bird, but was gobbling the dung so furiously that the sound alerted the farmer. The farmer thought that the turkey would make a wonderful meal for Thanksgiving and shot it.

RADM Lui's second lesson?

'Bullsh** can get you near the top, but it takes more than bullsh** to keep you up there.'

In late autumn, the bird fell to the ground and was half-frozen.

The cow came along and, hoping to warm the bird up, deposited some of its fresh dung on the bird.

The bird started chirping, disgusted that it was in a pile of dung. The bird's din attracted the fox, who got the bird out of the dung, much to the bird's delight.

The fox cleaned the bird, then ate it.

The lesson?

1. Not everyone who drops sh** on you is your enemy.

2. Not everyone who takes you out of sh** is your friend.

3. Sometimes, when you're deep in sh**, it's better to keep your mouth shut."

I'll say this applies to almost every job out there.

Read the full article here: http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,213294,00.html?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just realised today is 110909, 8 years to the day terrorists crashed planes into the World Trade Center. Has it been that long already?

COMEX lai liao!

Every 3 months, hordes of people, geeks and non-geeks alike, will converge on either 1 of the 2 holy grounds of IT fairs Suntec City/Expo. The dust (and discarded pamphlets) of the PC Show 2009 held in June had barely settled down before the infamous Suntec Halls 4 and 6 were ready for the next stampede yet again.

COMEX 2009! Held at Suntec Convention Centre, 10-13 Sept, Halls 4 and 6, it descends upon us once again!

Traffic jams! Carpark woes! Citylink body crushes! More humans in an enclosed area than chickens in a farm! Elbowing and stepping on people's toes! Loud and irritating promoters! Pamphlets and flyers making up the floor! Slipping on aforementioned flyers! Credit cards being flashed and cash exchanging hands! Trolleys, plastic bags, cardboard boxes, all fighting for walkway space! Prices that always seem to drop by the minute on Sundays! Freebies, discounts, offers and benefits!


And yet I go back every time.

Cheap thrills. And for the first time, I can't find an excuse to buy anything...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe, just maybe, I'll buy something for the sake of buying something. Feels wrong to leave an IT fair empty handed. No, its downright taboo.

have you seen my childhood?

Since today's been a pretty free day, I stumbled upon this nostalgia thread in HWZ and spent the entire afternoon going through the 100+ and counting pages. Makes me relive my memories of Primary school, the toys and games I used to play, the TV shows I used to watch, the food I used to eat and places I used to go.

I know at my age there probably isn't much to reminisce about (have you had your mum/dad start talking about their younger days? Once they start its hard to stop), but still, reading those posts and seeing familiar pictures stir up some pretty warm feelings in the heart. At the same time, you start to feel sad that it all seemed so long ago, and you'll probably never get another chance to experience what you went through all those years ago.

Shall I start invoking those emotions with some pictures? Those born around 1988 will know and recognise most of these :D

All were taken from this thread: http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=2279403&page=1, credits to those who uploaded




note the animal chess! :))





^I still have my own collection!!

many hours spent @ the library :D





^i actually managed to get a couple of those.. Entomologist, botanist and mathematician if i'm not wrong XD







Ok sorry for the mountain of memories you just went through :P.

What's your childhood?