New Ukulele Shop in Penang
I am very happy to share that there is now a shop that specializes in
ukulele. The shop is called Manuel Ukulele. Manuel Ukulele is the
first online ukulele store in Malaysia. We are very happy that they
now have a shop here in Penang.
Manuel Ukulele offers a wide selection of ukuleles as well as
educational materials and accessories. Some of the brands that they
carry include KoAloha, Mele, EleUke, Hula, Aria, Bruko, Mainland, Flea
& Fluke, Lanikai, aNueNue, Kala and Makala.
If you are looking for a good ukulele as well as looking for lessons
on how to play, this is a great place for both. So do go check them
out.
Address:
70, Lorong Kinta, 10400 Georgetown, P. Pinang, Malaysia.
Contact No:
(+6012-4613006)
Business hours:
Tue ~ Sat : 11am – 7pm
Sun : 11am – 6pm
(Closed on Monday & public holiday)
Ukulele Update for 2010
As the year is drawing to a close, referencing to the goal set, just
thought that I would give everyone an update on what I have done
throughout 2011 in terms of my effort to promote the ukulele:
• Performed solo ukulele at various open mic locations in KL
• Attend and try to support various activities organized by other
ukulele players from the local Penang ukulele community
• Gave a workshop on ukulele playing at the graduation ceremony of
Farid Ali’s Faridian Guitar Program in KL.
• Done a number of performances at both the Little Penang Street
Market and Straits Quay, Penang.
• Performed at the press conference for the Penang Island Jazz
Festival at G Spot, G Hotel.
• Performed at the G Stage at G Hotel Lobby during the Penang Island
Jazz Festival for its fringe stage program.
• Currently working together with a few music shops and establishment
to organize workshops and showcases to help promote the instrument for
next year.
I guess the highlight for me would be to have been to be invited to
perform and share my ukulele experience at the graduation ceremony of
Farid Ali’s Faridian Guitar Program in KL. It is always fun to meet
and share experiences with other musicians. This and of course,
playing at the fringe stage at the Penang Island Jazz Festival.
I will be continuing to promote the ukulele in Penang for 2012. With
any luck, we should have more ukulele activities for 2012 resulting in
more people taking up and playing the instrument. Who knows, maybe
Malaysia will have its own ukulele festival soon.
New Old Yashica Mat – 124G TLR
After many years of wanting one of these, I finally found one that is right. Of course we are talking about the Yashica Mat – 124G Twin Lens Reflex camera. It is a 6 x 6 medium format camera and uses 120 and 220 roll film.
I will share with everyone the sample images from this camera once I shot a few rolls.
Thought I would share this article with everyone. I wrote this at the end of last year and was submitted to a local newspaper which decided not to run the article. The unfortunate part was that the answer came at a time when the exhibition had ended. So instead of going to waste, I decided that I would share it with you here in my blog. Hope you enjoy it.
Penang Popular Music of the 1940s and 1950s, An Exhibition
by
Jonathan Yee
We know all about the glamour of our historical architectures when Penang was bestowed as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Cities Program. Though much effort had been exerted to preserve that which is pure in form, little has been done to preserve that which is formless or abstract. One such area of particular interest that had been neglected all this time is that of Penang’s rich musical heritage.
Enter Paul Augustin and James Lochhead, two gentlemen who share a similar passion for the arts and music. Paul is the Festival Director of the Penang Island Jazz Festival while James is a founding member of the Penang Jazz Community. Through self-initiation, the duo have managed to conduct interviews, research, and recordings, detailing the accounts of key and noted individuals in the history and development of music and broadcasting in Penang. The result is an exhibition of the musical heritage of Penang through the period from the 1940s to the 1950s. Besides detailing facts, it also gives the audience a peep at what was the environment like as well as the real life experiences of individuals in the music and broadcasting scene back in the early days. It also looks at the part that media played in the development of the music industry in Penang. Besides the vast variety of good food, Penang was also a successful port and many travelers and foreign troops came to Pg and brought with them their own style of music. These added to Penang’s already diverse communities and cultures. This unique combination of elements created an environment that enabled the art of music to thrive in Penang.
Paul and James advised that they had such a good and memorable time talking to the various individuals who were so kind to share their experience and knowledge. It was almost like a journey to another time and they got to see it through their eyes. They were also surprised that they retained as much of the memory of experience that they had regardless of how much time had passed. In general, musicians are great storytellers. Paul and James shared with me some of the memorable stories that they had heard and while listening to them my mind began to visualize such things as musicians on bicycles with their instruments on their backs or a trishaw with amps and instruments going all around Georgetown. It must have been quite a sight.
The exhibition was officially launched on 19th December 2010 at the Penang State Museum and runs till mid February 2011. After that the exhibition will be relocated to 57 Macalister Road, Penang and housed at the Penang State Museum Annex. The exhibition will be the first in a series starting with the 40s and 50s and the next installment will be documenting the period of the 60s. Once the exhibition starts, the public will be invited to provide their input or accounts and their relevant experiences to the exhibition. This will help to further enrich the exhibition and the records at hand. The heritage of music is a vital part of the history in Penang. Sadly, it is often a heritage that is relatively unknown and invisible to the public. Visitors to the exhibition should walk in with an open mind and just absorb the experiences of the musicians and relive a glorious period in Penang’s history.
Images from the Zenza Bronica 645 Camera
Thought I would share with you the results from the new ‘old’ Zenza Bronica 645 Camera.
Hope to share more on this camera in the future.
The Novus Project
Just wanted to share with everyone on a project that I am working on. It is called The Novus Project.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Novus-Project-Penang/199789026723647?ref=ts
The word Novus is derived from the Latin language meaning “New”. As such, The Novus Project is actually an effort to bring something new and different to the public of Penang. It strives to encourage creativity, passion and love among both musicians and the audience in the area of music as an art form or as a vehicle for self expression.
The Novus Project just had its first ever event on the 22nd of May 2011. Musicians got to showcase their own material to the public. Hopefully it will not only stop with just music but also venture into other forms of art as well. Currently it is focussed on music and the first event that it organizes aims to achieve the following:
1. To provide a platform for musicians to explore their creativity.
2. Introduce the concept of Independent / Original materials which is written by the local talents to the public.
3. Create an interest among the public to support and to want to seek out such materials.
4. To encourage the local musicians to be more creative and to come up with their own material.
The event is a little different from the usual gigs out there in Penang as it will not be limited to a particular genre of music or language. It all depends on who the performers are on that night. One act could be blues, the next act could be a rock band, and the next one after that could be a jazz band. The only criteria to performing at the Novus Project is that it is original or something new that the public of Penang don’t often witness.
Hoping to make this into at least a quarterly event but this really depends on both the performers and the publics support. For those who are interested to know more about the event or if they would want to take part in it can contact me via email novusprojectpenang@gmail.com.
Marilyn’s Photoshoot
This was a photo shoot that I did for Marilyn last year. Here are the pics for sharing. She is such a nice model to work with and a real trooper. This shoot was actually done during the afternoon and it was really hot.
I was recently down in KL to perform in two open mics, located at Frontera and Laila’s. Everyone there was so nice and supportive. And everyone was just delighted to hear George Harrison’s While My Guitar Gently Weeps on the ukulele. I guess it was a small step towards a bigger goal. I will be working on more original materials as well as working on forming a band around the ukulele. Hopefully I will be able to find musicians who would want to play for me. Oh yes. One more thing. Very important. Work on my singing. 
I also managed to meet up with fellow ukulele brethren Luke, Yem, and Auw from Ukulele Malaya. Ukulele Malaya is a music shop specializing in selling ukuleles, ukulele accessories, as well as provide classes on ukulele playing. Had a great time trying out all the cool and wonderful ukuleles as well as had a great interview session with them for an article I am working on. Watch out for that. Coming soon…..hopefully.
Had my first performance at the Little Penang Street Market yesterday. It was a blast. The audience was very supportive and had received encouraging comments. The Little Penang Street Marker is a great place to perform especially for young musicians to gain valuable performing experience. I guess it is a small step towards my goal to achieve more publicity for the ukulele. I would like to thank everyone for the support.
Next up is I will be performing in 2 open mic sessions in KL, Frontera Sol of Mexico on th 12th of Feb and Laila on the 16th of Feb. Majority of the material will be originals and I will be singing. (YES, I will be singing) 
Hoping that will turn out well. Busy with writing at the moment. So if you are in KL, see you there.
