It is a proven scientific fact…
…that if you get at least two people of any age or nationality in a room together, they will know at least one Beatles song.
I’ve just returned from a fantastically entertaining afternoon, jamming with workers at a car radio factory.
This is my life out here.
TK - a fortysomething regular at the bar, and the person who kindly loaned his driver to show me and V around the island - had told me that he had a music room at his company’s factory here in Penang. “The managers can take music lessons on work time,” he explained. “And every Friday between 4 and 7, we open a few bottles of wine, and have a jam session. We’ve got full recording facilities, guitars, a drum kit and a piano”.
He was right. Except he forgot the cello.
So there I was at their factory and offices this afternoon, which looked liked something out of a 1980s Hollywood movie (possibly Nine To Five?), ie. this:
And after a quick tour, which included seeing various cars kitted out with ridiculously impressive car stereo systems (including one with a DVD player and surround sound. Yes, full cinema surround sound as you sit in the back of a car), we made ourselves at home in the music room. Which looked like this:
Apparently not all the regular, music-making managers were around this afternoon - but there were enough of us to have a very enjoyable session. At least two of the three guys could play several instruments really well - one is even a whizz at bluegrass guitar - and together we played and sang some jazz standards that they knew.
As I sat plonking a few chords (and I was definitely plonking) while I sang, I realised that I’ve never actually played any jazz piano with other people - only alone, at home - and I loved it, even though I was utterly, utterly terrible. It’s inspired me to think of possibly taking jazz piano lessons when I get back. I’ve known for a while how good it would be for my singing; now I know how much fun it would be, too. <Grins>.
And, yes, to return to my initial, scientific fact: the jam session took an even better turn when a Japanese marketing guy picked up a guitar (and how many stories start like that, eh) and began to play and sing the first of many, many Beatles numbers. Eight Days A Week, Norwegian Wood, And I Love Her, Michelle, Blackbird, Get Back, The Long And Winding Road, Here, There And Everywhere… You name it, we played and sang our hearts out to it. It was really quite moving, to be having this much fun with total strangers (actually I can think of quite a few stories which start like that) and I even felt a rare surge of patriotic pride over this music we were making together. “You can say what you like about Britain,” I said at the end, “but it did give the world The Beatles.”
March 27th, 2008 at 6.48am
Andrea:
In the mid-1990s, the renowned bassist Victor Gaskin, then a good friend of mine down on his luck, took a lounge booking in Singapore to get away from the pressures of his life. The result was that he rebuilt his life and his career in Singapore and has flourished.
Stranger things have happened! Best of luck with your adventure in Malaysia. I enjoyed thoroughly reading your blog.
March 27th, 2008 at 12.24pm
Michael - how interesting! thanks for sharing that (encouraging) story. and thank you for your good luck wishes; glad you’ve enjoyed reading the blog.
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