From: Victor Chen
Date: November 3, 2009 1:19:14 PM SST
Subject: Blues in November

Hi folks,

It gives me great pleasure to inform all of you about the latest development in the blues scene. Louis and myself, together with Danny Loong and Francis Chan of Ublues as well as Crazy Elephant veteran Ray Aziz, are now playing at Timbre Mobile @ East Coast Park from 5pm – 8.30pm every Sunday.

Keeping in line with our dear leader’s policy of grooming the next generation of leaders, we are now working on grooming the next generation of blues musicians. The Sunday gig will also be a jam session where upcoming blues players, hobbyists and old birds (lao jiao) alike will be featured. Any of you who are keen to take the stage to jam are most welcome to do so, especially if you already have a full band line-up. Above all, this is the perfect excuse to have a beer on a Sunday evening and the meet the folks in our little blues scene.

In other news:

• Shameless plug #1: Double-bill at the Esplanade.
  DATE: Fri, 6 Nov 2009
  TIME: Evening
  VENUE: Esplanade
  TICKETS: $25 from the Esplanade or 4 for $20 each.

  I have been roped in to play with the Stray Dogs for their upcoming reunion gig at the Esplanade on Nov 6, a double-bill with Pest Infested. These 2 bands were the pioneers in Singapore’s nascent blues and rock and roll scene back in the 60s and our setlist includes some John Mayall, CSNY, Deep Purple and Cream among others and of course, a Stray Dogs original recorded back in the 70s.

• Shameless plug #2: Gigs at the Old Brown Shoe.
  1. Sat, 21 Nov will herald the inaugural edition of The Black Room Sessions at The Old Brown Shoe, where I will be singing (*gulp*) and playing solo for 2 sets of acoustic blues. The setlist will draw from some of the Malted Milk and Medium Rare repertoire, but will include more slide guitar on songs from Robert Johnson, Tampa Red and the like. I will also be playing some of my own songs, since no one else wants to play them. (Ed: LOL!)
  2. Sat, 14 Nov and Sat, 28th Nov will feature Medium Rare.
  3. These 3 gigs will start at 8.30pm.

As always, do check the gig listings for any changes.

Cheers,
Victor

From: Victor Chen
Date: July 2, 2009 1:29:43 AM SST
Subject: Blues at The Old Brown Shoe in July

Hi folks!

Hope everyone is alright, with the flu going around and having to be probed with thermometers everywhere. The clusters identified so far are schools, churches and army camps so it seems like pubs are still relatively safe. In any case, I’m pretty sure most of us would rather be in a pub than a school/church/army camp on a Saturday night anyway. If not, then good luck with your next game of solitaire…

And, these are the Saturday nights to be at The Old Brown Shoe:

11 July: Malted Milk
25 July: Medium Rare

Both gigs start at 8.30pm, so make an evening of it with a hearty meal and stiff brewskies. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, then surely a pint of cider must be good for you, yah?

Cheers,
Victor

From: Victor Chen
Date: June 3, 2009 5:38:11 PM GMT+08:00
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
Subject: Blues in June

Hi folks,

A conglomeration of industry-leaders in the blues scene have undertaken to synergise efforts and streamline knowledge management so as to leverage on core competencies and facilitate the development of blues appreciation in Singapore. In other words, we’ve decided to merge our mailing lists.

Some of you may have previously seen Louis playing with Chicken Shack Revival or leading the Tanglin CC blues jam while the rest would know me (Victor) from Malted Milk. The two of us also play together in a duo called Medium Rare, so we decided to put our mailing lists together to update all of you about the happenings with our blues bands.

For the month of June, Malted Milk plays at The Old Brown Shoe on Sat, 20 June 2009, starting at 2030hrs. Due to personal schedules, Medium Rare will not be playing this month but Louis has got something else cooking with Chicken Shack Revival, so watch out for that one!

Cheers,
Victor

~

From: Victor Chen
Date: May 6, 2009 10:58:57 PM GMT+08:00
Subject: Blues at The Old Brown Shoe in May

Hi folks,

Hope all is well with you so far, amidst all the ado about swine flu and Singapore’s very own version of Girls Gone Wild: Suntec City Showdown.

Anjana will be returning this month, having concluded her academic pursuits until she decides to inflict upon herself the horrors of post-graduate studies. Louis and I had a great gig last month and will return, making that 2 blues gigs in May at The Old Brown Shoe on the following days:

Malted Milk (Anjana and I): Sat, 16 May 2009

Medium Rare (Louis and I): Sat, 30 May 2009

So there you have it, downhome acoustic blues with Malted Milk and gutbucket electrified blues with Medium Rare. Don’t forget your dose of hops-and-malt-flavoured disinfectant to guard against swine flu so that you can eat delicious pork cutlets or sausages without fear. (Ed: LOL!)

Cheers,
Victor