Soldier Of Sound: Ian Tai


What band/projects are you currently involved in?
I'm either performing by my lonesome at an open mic somewhere in town, or I'm trying to score gigs with The Propositions! (the exclamation mark is silent). The current incarnation of the band has been around for over a year, and playing in it is as lovely as walking around in your boxers on a Sunday morning. It's like, liberating. Because it's loud. We're a bunch of idiots having fun, although we have a feeling that everyone hates us. Further down the line, I'd like to branch out into other genres, because there're a bunch of other songs and perpetual works-in-progress lying around that don't fit the band's mould.

I also help out with Open Mic Malaysia in terms of hosting and photography. It's a platform that Shaneil Devaser of The Endleaves initiated to get budding, but shy, talents out and about. We're doing our best to call on other friends to expand our reach around the country, and so far, we're in the Klang Valley, Penang and Kota Kinabalu! And if I have time, I also dabble in photography and videography as Photaigraphy. I do all this as a small way of giving back to the scene.

What/who are your main musical influences?
U2? Noel? The Ramones? Encik A. Halim & De'Fictions? Dylan? Jack Black? Azmyl Yunor? I try to weave in a lot of different influences into the three chords that I play. It's a cliched "it's too many to mention" scope, but the first thing that any musician or band doesn't want to be labelled as is derivative. The second thing is "irrelevant". On my own, I'm a troubadour who's walking down an open road with an open book. I'm the crow that picks its morsels, but does not squander. When it comes to the band, in my head, we're a Brit torch band that just happened to wake up on the other side of the pond. Ruben would probably think we're a marketing nightmare.


What are your weapons of choice?
This is going to meander. Years ago, before my first ever attempt at an open mic, I was using a Kapok for the longest time. I bought it for a princely sum of RM58 from Pearl Point, and after my second night with it, I broke the high E. I was playing a five-stringed guitar for about 3 years. From there, I scored a friend's classical Yamaha - ignoring the differences between nylon and the feel of steel - and from there, I moved on to another friend's Yamaha, a proper steel-stringed workhorse. I was young and in dire straits, y'see. These guitars had no input, though, so I was riding the wave of bedroom stardom. Then a few friends chipped in money for me to buy an acoustic guitar that I could perform with, and lo and behold, I'm still using the same Yamaha APX 500 for acoustic gigs. It's not fancy, but it works, it's functional and it's served me well. It's a compact pussycat. I use Ernie Ball 80/20s, because I eavesdropped on Zalila Lee once and she said they were awesome. I also bring out a big, black Takamine Dragon at times. It's big. I use it to knock hecklers on the head with.

When I'm with the band, I use my Epiphone SG Special, which I love because it got me through a relatively rocky time in my life. I'm also fumbling my way through a Vox Tonelab EX, which I still crack my skull over. My band hates it. My tone and sound could use some work. I thought it was nice and trashy, but someone told me that it sounded like a "jar of wasps", and he's probably right. Thank God for Hilmy, who knows how to add tasteful accents. Also, Ruben has an army of pedals for his bass guitar. We are the sum of our parts.

I'll tell you a secret, SoundCheck. I love writing songs, I love singing them, but I absolutely hate playing the guitar. I'd rather leave that in the hands of someone better, so that I can get on with what I want to do, which is to eat scones for tea.

So I guess my primary weapon of choice is really my brain, or whatever counts for one these days. Fucking aces. Oh God, I've segued again.


What are you currently listening to?
Nadir's Synthesia. I bought it at their soft launch, and I bumped into Ashwin, their drummer, and told him that I loved it, namely because the music is such a great mix of influences, as well as the fact that there're more than ten songs on it, which makes it really good value for money. I am Chinese, after all. I've also got End Times by Eels playing in the car, because it comes down to one man doing whatever he wants musically. It's bloody brilliant.

Message for young musicians:
Christ, I've been dabbling, falling in, falling out, falling along with music for the last eight years or so, and I feel that I'm only gaining just a bit of a footing now. I'm old. But if you're young, you've got so many platforms to share your stuff on now. You will likely find instant notoriety if you play your cards right. The best thing you can ever do for yourself is to find what you want to say, and then find new ways to express it. It's okay to be weird. It's okay to be strange. I don't really sound like how I sounded when I first came on, and that's because time has weathered me and beaten me to a bloody pulp. Also - stay for a whole show. Respect the musicians on stage who're pouring it out. Get off your phones and listen. Don't be twats, because the world is full of them. Stop being entitled. Live a little. It's okay, and you'll be okay. And personally, I'm so tired of fucking ukuleles, we're not Hawaiian.


Endorsement:
None. But I know that Hilmy and Ruben want a Fender Jaguar each, so, y'know, please make that happen. I wouldn't mind a pair of Chucks. I wouldn't mind being endorsed by a salad bar. I'd appreciate free salad for life.

Label:
I'm in the midst of finalising a publishing deal with a domestic imprint, although I might be letting a bit too much out of the bag. We're currently on our lonesome, self-managed, self-financed - and unemployed. Except for Ruben. What a great guy he is. I hope he reads this and decides to buy us a studio.


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