My Band Is Playing At The Esplanade Tonight!!!

If you've heard of Baybeats, good for you! It's the region's largest indie rock festival, and my band's playing there tonight!

Where: Esplanade Outdoor Theatre (Nokia Arena)
When: Tonight! 29 August 2008, 8pm
Why: You and Leeson, we make HAPPY FUN TIME!
Web: www.leesonband.com

I've been playing in this band for about four years now, and I'm just really stoked that we're getting a chance to play at Baybeats this year! We're playing a killer set of all originals which you can sample at our myspace, www.myspace.com/leesonsg. It's really easy poppy music, and you can download music there. If not, you can also buy our EP at our show tonight at only $2!!!

It's called Speed Dating:



Here are some pictures from our soundcheck yesterday:


View of the stage


My side of the stage


Kickass drum platform to show the drummer


Some stage banter, telling everyone to come for Baybeats!!


If i looked down, this is what i'd see.. also the most awesome bass pedals in the world!

Hope to see you there, and come say hi! -)))
Peace and Rocks! \m/

oh sleep the light away

i'm still awake. not that it matters, i'm on leave tomorrow. or rather, i'm on leave today. i'm content. playing a big show tomorrow, having people around me that matter, i am not in debt, slightly hungry but i'm already dreaming of kaya toast for brekkie and a good lunch.

it's not that i've arrived, but the joy that all your hard work these past twenty six years have somewhat paid off.

it's been ten years since we formed the band, four years since we formed Leeson and we're finally playing baybeats. it's an achievement four years in the making, and then what next? i don't know.. it feels great to be here already, let me savour this for a bit more -)

the future can scare and delight all at the same time, what lies in store? yet we give in to our fear most of the time instead of living each day as a gift. all we have is now, rings true then, rings true now, probably rings true tomorrow. i'll be glad if i wake up tomorrow, please don't let it rain

What is your art?

Counter-Terrorism
Originally uploaded by folkstar.

I'd almost forgot about motivational posters, so i did one of my own with the first thing that came to mind.

Xbox Xperts Yes, But Social Media No?

I'm just doing my rounds around the web, and came across sheylara's latest foray as a gaming blogger. i'm glad for her and proud of her that's she's worked (and blogged) hard to be given the title as an Xbox Xpert. (if you must know, i do approach her for some PlayStation stories as well. - and she's been ever so kind)

here's the thing i don't understand though, she has a successful blog, and blogs about gaming on her blog many times, in some sense, that's sort of what you go to www.sheylara.com for. so why go through all the hassle create a brand new Xbox blog and in some sense, fragment both Sheylara and XBox's media channels?

i understand that xperts.com is meant to be a help channel for Xbox n00bs to ask Sheylara for help, but all i see on that blog are game reviews and contest details. No real help-line there.

so far, i'm guessing they're only doing this for brand enhancement, perhaps adding organic relevancy to searches.. but those are rather long term goals. in the short term, all i see is further fragmentation of the gaming channel to convey messages.

here are some key points.

1. I agree that having a page dedicated to help newbies is important, i think it serves as education and breaks down barriers to entry. just look at get satisfaction - however -

2. i don't know if this blog (or even using a blog as a channel) is the most effective way to communicate the message. here's what i mean, blogs tend to spark conversation, but the newbie needs information. shouldn't the proposed new media channel be somewhere along the lines of direct communication or customer service?

3. i'm also concerned about continued fragmentation of new media channels to a point where there is no longer a critical mass that makes social content.. well, social at all! (ie. if you're a digital strategists, blogs aren't your only answer, or the only product you can sell to clients who need a communications solution)

4. lastly, i think they've identified the need. i don't think they've met it by starting a blog, would a forum have better sufficed?

5. -update- i stand corrected, there are dedicated help channels, but feedback from XBOXers tend to come from comments. i think threaded conversations ala forum archtecture better serves the purpose of getting up-to-date help.

overall, i guess i was hoping for better use of a blog. as it stands now, i think Sheylara is more popular than the Xpert blog, it'd be interesting to see if one supercedes the other.

well, what do you think?

We're launching our new EP!

local music fans rejoice!

it is my distinct pleasure to announce that you'll soon be able to take a piece of Leeson home with you!



After two internet-only releases available on our Myspace, we will now be selling a 3-song EP entitled 'Speed Dating' at our live shows! this EP will feature two crowd favourites, 'Absolute Beginners' and 'Some Girls' and also a brand new single, 'Mr & Mrs' that we recorded with the very brilliant Kamal from Sound Advice

i think we've only played 'Mr & Mrs' twice, but people are already starting to like it, and we hope to do a lot more with it.

everything's in it's early stages, but i'm really psyched for baybeats which we're playing next Friday @ The Esplanade and that there'll be more opportunities to share our music with everyone -)

Thanks for all your support thus far! I hope you like the music.

you can listen to it all here: www.mysapce.com/leesonsg, and do check us out next friday!

it's not the night that cleanses your soul

i'm out! out of reservist and back to work in about 7 hours time.

what a massive three weeks it's been, literally unplugging myself from Twitter, Plurk, Facebook, Blogging and the like.

and you know what? it was good. there's more to life than social media.

i think i got lost somewhere along the way after being hired to do public relations around social media. i think i had overburdened myself somewhere along the way with trying to do too many things at once, trying to add a large number of tools at my disposal so that i could reach out to influencers.

but they're just tools. at heart, it's not the constant state of being 'plugged in' that keeps me in touch with the bloggers i've met. nope, rather it's the friendships and interactions with them that make this part of the job worthwhile. i've gotten to know more people, and it's not just inviting bloggers and journalists to make up numbers, but getting to know them, what their interests are, and what their publication's interests are.

i'm also not saying that that it's because of relationships that i do more job, i think as professionals, it's important to do a professional job that is somewhat devoid of pulling favours from your contacts, but letting your outreach and events speak for themselves. that way, no one's keeping score, and no one should need to feel awkward in a social media situation -)

being away from media has also started me thinking about a lot of other things, namely the balance between work, life, hobbies and spiritual health. i've come back to the corporate world, hopefully with more zeal, excitement and perspective. the things that are important to me, and the things i can let go off.

Local Band Leeson Makes 'Some Girls' More Popular Than Others

Local Singaporean band, Leeson (www.leesonband.com) have been making music since 2004, releasing a critically acclaimed EP 'Hero Music' in 2005 and have continued to wow audiences with grittingly fun pop music playing in venues such as the Esplanade, Stasis and Home Club.

By early 2008, they shifted gears by releasing their first single 'Absolute Beginners' on their myspace (www.myspace.com/leesonsg). This was the first inkling of new material by the band and was praised as wonderfully poppy by fans and would-be passer-bys.

After more than four months, Leeson releases its latest single "Some Girls"



Download the single by clicking here

Already hailed by fans as 'swirling melodies and choppy rhythms with a life of their own' and having evident 'britpop jauntiness', Leeson sets itself apart from her counterparts by writing songs that will only seem to cast the warm sunshine on your carefree face. Yes, all is right with the world when you're bopping along to music like this.

Upcoming Gigs
Leeson will be playing the very splendid Baybeats indie music festival! Catch us on te 29th August from 8pm at the brand new Nokia Arena! Join us and other stalwarts in local and indie music! (www.baybeats.com.sg for more details)

Official 'Making Of' Video


Reviews
Waking Up To by Morgan C. Hoax
Power of Pop by Kevin Matthews

For more information:
www.leesonband.com
www.myspace.com/leesonsg
www.twitter.com/leesonband
Facebook: Leeson Page
Email:info@leesonband.com

Reservist: The Other Story

Going for reservist is like getting shingles. They are both 2nd stages of a dreaded disease (in the case of shingles, it's chicken pox). Nobody tells you that at the end of your Full Time National Service Liability, you still have to complete 3 low-key in camp trainings and 7 high-key in camp trainings.

i'm currently in the middle of a high key ICT, and i've just spent 6 days out in the field with no electricity, telecommunications, basic amenities or sanitation. the only thing i had to accompany me through idle moments were a book by Loren Cunningham and my journal.

i guess being away from modern life's creature comforts made me painfully aware about how dependent we are on today's modern conveniences.

not that there's anything wrong with clean, running water, or electricity at the flick of a switch or even a toilet that flushes. but we have set these as the standards of the basic necessities of life in an sprawling urban city or developing sector of town.

without them, we complain, jeer, start thinking about the better life.. i don't know, but life without modern convenience seemed like such a horrible scenario that i wondered how anyone could live without it.

but you know what? people do live like this everyday. i don't know if it's up to me to say if what they're experiencing is acceptable or not, but it did make me think of something else.

sometimes people worry if they'll even have the most basic of these necessities, but i worry so much more about privileges, rights and other luxuries, while others worry about tomorrow, i have long term financial concerns.

and also, not that we should any problem, regardless of social status, but i think we can all learn something from a lesson of the things that really matter, perhaps the things that could make our community a better place.

oh man, i know im not making much sense, but being away from so much has actually made me re-think and re-look a lot of the things i've currently been doing. it wasn't a life changing moment, but it was a welcome juncture in an otherwise on-going life that was losing direction.

Outfield was still tough though, i did not enjoy being unwashed, eating bland rations and not having any contact with the outside world for six days and nights.

Absence Without Leave

I will be away for reservist from now till 20 August 2008. Hence the lack of updates.. but the Internets will be fine without me. -)