Finally an update!

Hey world,

It has been awhile since I last updated my blog. Fortunately, alot of things happened since the last post. Where should I start? A couple of weeks ago, my friends and I hiked up at this beautiful place called Broga Hills, Semenyih. Not that difficult to hike up but nonetheless there were some pretty slippery areas on the way up. But all those just disappeared once you reach the top. A place like that reminded me how great Allah SWT really is. How a view like that just brings you down to earth, making you realize that you are just one speck of dust, insignificant. With the company of great friends, it made the journey even more sweeter. We started our hike at around 530 am in the morning, reaching the top around 620 am. By that time there were so many people. Its like going to a shopping mall. I guess that's the only downside, it's too crowded. We came back down around 8-ish am and made our way to the nearest mamak for breakfast. Stayed and talked, even telling some ghostly stories. Owh, bear in mind, at this time I still haven't slept yet. And to make things more interesting, before the trip to Broga I had a futsal session. So you can imagine how my knees felt. Went back home around 11 am, had my shower and slept like a baby.

We ended up going there again the following week. This time with more friends. And again, I didn't sleep and had futsal before the trip. Started our journey from home at 330 am, reached there around 415 am. Hiked up at 430 and reached the top by 5 am (I think). The stars were still up in the sky, just like in the Incubus song Wish You Were Here. "The sky is back lit canopy with holes punched in it". Again, it made me realize the Greatness of Allah SWT. We didn't stay up that long and take pictures that much up there like the last time. I guess the thrill wasn't there anymore after conquering Broga much easier this time. Nonetheless, it was still fun.

On Saturday, I had a recording session with my band, Tashya's Ink. Well, it was just Tashya and me. Just a simple acoustic recording session and our friend/manager, Bari's condo in Damansara Perdana. We recorded one song, Yang Ku Mahu. Hopefully I can upload that song on cravecharts soon. After that, Tashya and I rushed to Subang Jaya for our jamming session with a new bassist and drummer. I was quite excited to jam dully because I can finally test out my new guitar and also to try out our second drum hopeful. The session went really well and we had alot of fun. I'm glad to announce that Zarul Ikwan aka Ike and Syarizwan aka Wan are our new addition to the band. I've known Ike for quite some time actually and his reputation as a really awesome bassist and fast learner had already made up Tashya's and my mind that he is the bassist to replace another great bass player, Nakim. The both of us don't really know Wan, I got his contacts through Jamtank. He replied my ad for a new drummer and so far, he's a great guy. I hope this time things will start to fall right into place. With the new lineup, we can finally start recording our EP and hopefully, tour Malaysia and the rest of the world.

God, Let this year be the year for us to fulfill our dreams. Let us be successful in doing what we love. And let it continue for as long as possible. Amin....

What a week!

Dear blog,

This week has been very hectic. Like, crazy hectic. Took a trip down to JB with my boss on Tuesday. Luckily we didn't drive, he opted that we take a flight down. Now I know why people say going on Air Asia domestic flights is just like taking a super hyper speed bus. Memang betul-betul macam naik bus. The plane itself pun Airbus. Literally, you just check-in, get the tickets (which looks like a bus ticket to me), wait to board and BAM!!! You're on your way. Its nothing like the elegant, expensive feel of going on MAS.

Anyway, we met up with my bosses business partners aka My bros as he like to call them. It was fun but at the same time it was quite fucked up. All of them have their own piece of mind and opinion. So basically, I just follow them around and just listen. When asked for opinion, i gave. Just like a robot. I'd like to write in more details about the trip but I'm too lazy. Maybe one day.

Anyway, the best part about this week was that I finally got my dream guitar. And I gotta tell you, it feels, sounds and looks freakin' awesome! Even better than I remembered (I used to go to The Guitar Shop and try it out). I can't wait to try it out in the jamming studio and play live. Now my focus will shift to my pedalboard.

Last night I bought the Korg Pitchblack Chromatic Tuner. So now I'm not worried of going out of tune anymore. Its very simple and very sensitive, a highly recommended pedal to those guitarist out there. I was hoping that I could get a Wah pedal or Phaser but after deducting my first pay of all the things I need to give and pay, I guess I'll have to buy it next month.

I think that its quite fucked up that I won't have any money to save by the end of the month. Might as well don't work. Haish, probably I really need to find a better job with better pay. Or hope that my band would finally become famous and get all the money just like a rockstar. But that is going to take a lot of work, which I'm afraid I might not be able to cope with the workload I get from my current job. But to be successful, I guess some sacrifices need to be made. The question is, which sacrifice should I make? For my passion or for my job?

I just hope that whatever sacrifice I make will give me happiness and obviously, money for me to survive this harsh (but beautiful) life.

GAS!!!!

These are the two items that I need for my pedalboard....The first picture is T-Rex Mark Tremonti Signature Phaser and the second is Morley Mark Tremonti Signature Wah... AWESOME BEYOND BELIEVE!

PRS Tremonti SE Platinum with Dimarzio Pickups at Bridge Position

I can't believe I'll be getting my dream guitar. I've been wanting this guitar for a long long time ever since I became a fan of Mark Tremonti from my favourite bands Alter Bridge and Creed. In fact, I've been a fan of PRS (Paul Reed Smith) guitars from the first time I saw it back in 1999 or 2000-ish. Back then only a handful of people used PRS guitars. People like Santana, Linkin Park, Collective Soul and Mark Tremonti. But nowadays, PRS have become one of the major players in the guitar business. What makes PRS so special is the shape of the guitar, the tone it produces as well as top notch paint job and of course the iconic bird inlays and headstock.



Basically there are two standards of the PRS guitars. One is the uber expensive, top of the line PRS USA made which can easily cost you RM12.5k a guitar. These USA made ones are the ones pro musicians/artists use. My ultimate wishlist guitar is the Mark Tremonti Model. It has his signature bass and treble pickups, his name on the headstock (it used to be on the 12th fret), a tremolo bar with routing so you can either pull up or push down the tremolo bar and of course, an array of awesome and beautiful colour scheme.


Then you have the PRS SE models which are made in Korea. But don't be fooled by the country it's made in, the quality of this guitar can match any guitar in the market out there, with a little modifications. So the one I'm getting is the Tremonti SE model. It has 3 colours to choose from, Black, Natural and Platinum. It doesn't have the Tremonti Signature bass and treble pickups but a pair of standard PRS design pickups. Just a simple change of pickups to better one and you'll be on your way rocking your ass off! I've been going to guitar shops and playing it but never thought that I would one day own it. The best part is, I'm getting it as a birthday present from my mom's friend. The colour I chose is Platinum because black is just everywhere and I'm not a big fan of the natural colour. The only downside of the this guitar is that it doesn't have the tremolo bar with routing. That would be a cool addition to an already impressive guitar.


Beautiful isn't it? Well, to me anyways. It looks so much better in real life then in picture. I've also requested Dead Eye (which is the guy I'm buying from, he has an online guitar shop so you guys can order any guitar you want) to install a good pickup. He suggested a DiMarzio Tone Zone pickups which I read about it in various websites and watched videos and I gotta say, it sounds awesome. So I can't wait to finally get my hands on this awesome guitar on Monday. Can't wait to rock out with my band Tashya's Ink with this guitar. If you want more information about PRS guitars and their other impressive array of guitars, go to their website here.

Well, I guess that's it from me today. Probably I'll write more about my band Tashya's Ink in the next post. I'll also write about my favourite bands and musicians as well as my favourite team Manchester United. There are so many things to share so I guess I'll have to write one by one. Don't forget to check out all the links I've put in here and visit my sponsors too.

Adios Amigos

CPU tantrums and guitar gallore

I really need to buy a new pc. For the past 5 to 6 months, the CPU has been crashing and crashing and crashing. I'm afraid that one day my HD is gonna fail and i won't have the opportunity to save all my personal stuff, mp3 and video collection. I don't have the money to buy a new one. I need to use the money to buy my guitar pedals. Right now my pedals are a Vox Satchurator, which is an awesome Distortion/Overdrive pedal. It has only 3 knobs to control, Gain, Tone and Volume and it has one small switch which is called the Pad switch. The function of this is for those who have very hot pickups. Somehow it compensate those pickups so that you won't get those annoying hissing sound (i think). This pedal really packs a punch. Either for rhythm work or solos, it really melts your face. You can get that Joe Satriani kinda tone or you can really get that metal sound and even get that crunchy ala Marshall amp. Its very versatile and I LOVE IT!

Next is a new addition to my pedal collection (not that I have tonnes of it), the Keeley Compressor Clone pedal. You might be wondering what clone means. It is custom made by Lynnesmy (a guy from jamtank). He does custom-made pedals, from ODs to Comps to Modulation pedals. Anyway, the Keeley Comp is a really great pedal. What a compressor does is that it limits the louder sounding frequency and it boost the lower frequency, even up the levels of both frequency. Which is great if you want to either boost your sound or lower down the gain. And it serves as a booster during clean sounds. A must for guitarist especially when you wanna play that cool solo. The compressor makes your note more clear and less distorted. To house my pedals I bought a pedalcase, which looks so much cooler and more professional rather than using a gig bag.

Next on my hunt list is a Korg Pitchblack Chromatic tuner for obvious reasons (I can't live without my tuner!). Then I'm gonna get either a Noah's Ark Orange-A-Phaser or EVH Phase 90 pedal. I would love to get a T-Rex Tremonti Phase but that would cost me around RM1300. Then I'm gonna get the Wah Wah pedal that I've been longing for awhile. Its the Morley Mark Tremonti Signature Wah. Awesome awesome pedal. I can't wait to get my new baby. Its a PRS Tremonti Se fitted with Dimarzio Tone Zone Pickup. The best part, its brand new and its platinum colour. Its gonna be a sick guitar for me. You might realize that I mentioned a few times the name Mark Tremonti. I'm somewhat a huge fan and he is one of my main influence together with Slash. They really made me the guitarist I am nowadays.

Iron Man 2 Review

What an appropriate first review from me. Watched Iron Man 2 with my buddies at Cineleisure Damansara tonight. I was really looking forward to this movie along with Prince of Persia. I would say that this movie is more of character building kinda storyline instead of all action-packed movie. It shows the different side of Tony Stark and his relationship with Pepper Potts and obviously his fame as being known as Iron Man to the world. Scarlett Johansson is absolutely hot in this movie. Even a guy sitting behind me was breathing heavily when she was flipping some guy around like a toy. Don Cheadle plays as Rhodey, Tony's best friend and War Machine, which in my honest opinion looks way cooler and badass than the Iron suit. Mickey Rourke is the villain of the movie known as Whiplash. I'd say he did quite a good job at it but the down part is that he died too easily and the fighting sequence between him and the 2 Iron dudes was too quick. They actually had a tougher time fighting with the drones than Whiplash.

There are a few references to the next big Marvel Studios movie in Iron Man 2. Obviously it was all pointing to The Avengers movie coming up next year and Captain America as well as The Mighty Thor. It looks pretty promising from Marvel if they can keep coming up with movies as awesome as Iron Man. I hope it won't be a disappointment like Elektra or Daredevil. Well, I guess what I'm trying to say here is that Iron Man 2 is definitely a watch. Its way better than Clash of The Titan but falls short behind Kick-Ass. To compare to the first movie, I would say the first one was better. Nonetheless, the action sequence and CGI was absolutely the bomb. A definite 4/5 stars for me.

Cheers!