Jack & Rai had a whale of a time at Mosaic! To those who turned up for In the House FM with Jack & Rai, a big thank you. With a guest lineup that included the Mike Stern band, the Yellowjackets, Claudia Acuna, Of Montreal, Mocca, Andre Harihandoyo & The Sonic People, Jon Chan, Typewriter, Naturally 7… the list is really extensive. Big thanks to the peeps from the Esplanade for having us on this year! Check out the photos! Credits to Angelina Leong, Julia Wei and Chloe for the pix.


Andre Harihandoyo and the Sonic People, cool guys from Indonesia! Found out they have similar influences, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, SRV…


Indigo Girls, Grammy winners, singers, songwriters… really nice to chat with… plus they have a fab Guitar museum, which their guitar tech, Sulley, showed us. A real 1958 Gibson J45!


Jon Chan, from Plainsunset! Played a ‘Win, Lose or Draw’ style game with him to put his art skills to the test!


Jazz great Mike Stern, playing my guitar =) Really chill guy… reeeeaaallllly chill… *grin*


Mocca from Indonesia… Unique brand of music, kind of like a Carpenters meets Belle and Sebastian.


Of Montreal… Quirky, innovative and completely out of this world… we made them sing ‘Chan mali Chan’! =P


The really pleasant Claudia Acuna from Chile, with Jason on keys and Juancho on guitar. She helps out in World Vision too!

Managed to check out 2 ticketed concerts… aside from numerous workshops =). Naturally 7 was awesome with their unique brand of ‘vocal play’. Their blend was amazing, and they can really do some great vocal imitations of instruments… such as distorted guitars, muted trumpets, synths… you name it!

And being a big fan of Pharrell Williams (his production work more than his own stuff actually), N.E.R.D rocked the Esplanade concert hall with their brand of rock hip-hop? alternative hip-hop? 2 drum sets in complete sync, bass, guitar, keyboards and 3 frontmen, Pharrell, Shae and Fam-Lay (I think). Non-stop energy and they tore the place up. I was on my feet for ALL of the concert. Guys on stage, girls on stage, the girl with the glasses taking photos of EVRYTHING from stage. great great show! Plus, i got to sneak backstage for some exclusive pics! =P


First of all, the setlist for the night.


The guitarist of N.E.R.D.


Fam-Lay and I.

Pity Chad Hugo didn’t make the tour… but they put on a fab show nonetheless, after a long hiatus after the previous album. Will be checking out ‘Seeing Sounds’ real soon.

Once again, big shout out to all e guys at Esplanade that helped put this together… Lookin forward to the next Mosaic… and more In the House FM w Jack & Rai!

read comments (0)

Was being a lil’ restless, learnt a new song (Live High by Jason Mraz), and decided to record it on my Isight, using a brand new ecm87 mic (Thanks Keith!), and put it up on our Youtube channel. Hahhaha, the beanie is on, cos couldn’t be bothered to do my hair. U gotta try to look good when on camera, ya know! =P Pls feel free to comment!

read comments (17)

Here’s a lil’ tidbit taken off the Library@Esplanade blog….

“Mosaic Festival 2009: In The House FM

It’s some of your favourite outdoor and indoor Mosaic artists in the house! Come share their music and stories at our up-close-and-personal sessions at Library @ Esplanade!

The audience will be privy to acoustic performances, interviews and artist trivia! Lending a local flavour to this intimate chat room series are hosts and local musicians Jack and Rai.

14 Mar 09, Sat
3.45 – 4.15pm: Mike Stern Band
4.30 – 5.00pm: The Yellowjackets
5.15 – 5.45pm: of Montreal
6.00 – 6.30pm: Claudia Acuña

15 Mar 09, Sun
3.45 – 4.15pm: TypeWriter
4.30 – 5.00pm: Indigo Girls
5.15 – 5.45pm: Jon Chan
6.00 – 6.30pm: Mocca

21 Mar 09, Sat
3.00 – 3.30pm: Naturally 7
3.45 – 4.15pm: Aiza Seguerra
5.15 – 5.45pm: Andre Harihandoyo and Sonic People
6.00 – 6.30pm: Wolfgang

Please visit the official Mosaic Music Festival 2009 website for more information!”

Promises to be loads of fun, infused with some J&R quirks, come and check it out….

On another note… if you happen to attend Brian McKnight and you see a red honey sunburst Taylor 6 series on stage… just to let you know…. it belongs to Rai! Woo hoo! The lil’ things in life that can be such great thrills. =P

Jack & Rai will also be hosting/facilitating at the following workshops, so do come down, the artistes are just amazing and for surem will be musically enlightening. (Angels singgg….)

9 mar, 1930hrs, Recital studio – Drums & Bass workshop by Tom Kennedy & Dave Weckl
10 mar, 1930hrs, Recital studio – Guitar workshop by Mike Stern
16 mar, 1930hrs, Rehearsal studio – Saxophone workshop by Bob Mintzer
16 mar, 1930hrs, Recital studio – Drums & Bass Workshop by Marcus Baylor & Jimmy Haslip

See you at Mosaic!!!

read comments (1)

Trust Singaporean duo Jack & Rai to name their new album In Stores Now!. The cheeky singer-songwriters have been going around the local bar circuit for a while now, but have recently switched up their image as cover warriors paying tribute to the likes of Dave Matthews, John Mayer and Jason Mraz to delivering their own self-penned material. Hard to believe? Not when they’ve got the heart, soul and panache to shine on their own. JUNK catches up with the two as they contribute a song to our compilation this month.

What was the first music video you recall watching that fascinated you?

J It’s gotta be Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.

R ‘Beat It’ by Michael Jackson. A dance sequence coupled by a Van Halen guitar solo–to die for!

What song is currently stuck in your head?

J ‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’ by The Script. Simple progression on the guitar, great melody, catchy lyrics–that’s the way it should be!

R ‘Son Of A Preacher Man’ by Dusty Springfield. ‘Cause I’m chilling on my couch while writing this and in tandem with the relaxed surroundings, the song keeps looping in my head. Not sick of it YET.

What’s the most depressing song you know?

J Radiohead’s ‘No Surprises’. Tell me which song from that band ain’t depressing?

R ‘Cannonball’ by Damien Rice. It completely destroys any feeling of hope one can garner, in a desperate situation.

Who was musically important to you when you were a kid and in your teens, and who is it now?

J When I was still a kid, it’s gotta be dad. We’d attend church at the Salvation Army and that’s where I picked up the guitar. After that he bought me my first guitar when I was ten years old. Almost gave up on it when I couldn’t hit the “F” chord but after I saw dad playing my guitar when he came back from work one day, singing songs like ‘Oh Carol’ and ‘Love Me Tender’, that inspired me completely. For now, it’s gotta be my fiancée. She’s the pillar of strength in everything I do.

R My mum definitely was my biggest influence; she always had the radio on and always played cassettes while I was mucking around the house. Her love for music rubbed off at a young age. Now I look at artists like John Mayer, Jason Mraz and Dave Matthews for inspiration; they’re such unique artists that have an amazing reach and are so musically talented.

Who do you have the best conversations with about music?

J It’s gotta be my Indian companion Mr. Rai, lah! We can have honest and frank conversations, even if it’s about tunes or demos that we come up with.

R Two friends. One is Jack; we share very similar tastes in music and are always scrutinising other artists’ recordings, trying to find nuances that make a difference in a song. The other is Alvin Khoo from the band 53A. He’s a great guitarist and we always exchange info on new artists, old artists or anything guitar-related.

What is your most musical prized possession?

J My Olympic White Fender Strat. Playing the electric guitar has been a fairly new thing for me and this guitar has stayed true over the past two to three years. It’s got that whole “banged-up look”, which I totally love.

R My guitar; it’s a Taylor 614ce with a gorgeous honey, sunburst colour. Been with me for almost six years now…never failed me once.

What’s the greatest advice you’ve been given about music?

J Always keep it simple ‘cause it’s the simplest elements that come together to get you the best songs. That’s my opinion, at least.

R Sing like you have an empty stomach. For some reason, when you feel hungry songs just seem to emote themselves better. Probably because of that desperately hungry look on your face.

What was the “it” song for you when you were in high school/college?

J Pearl Jam’s ‘Alive’. I was super into that whole grunge period, and that whole Pearl Jam vs. Nirvana thing was simply awesome.

R I was in a Rage Against the Machine phase…has to be ‘Know Your Enemy’ by them–addictive Tom Morello guitar riff.

Is there a song you wish you wrote and why?

J If I had a wish, I’d wish I wrote all the hit songs today so I can sit back and collect royalties, man. But seriously, if there was a song it’d probably be ‘Under Pressure’ by Queen. We’ve recently played that song on a big stage with an eight to ten piece band backing Jack & Rai and that song is simply mind-blowing. It takes you through a journey with so much emotion, and the last chorus where everyone belts it out together–shiok stuff!!

R I wish I wrote John Mayer’s ‘Slow Dancing In A Burning Room’. It’s such a strong visual, about what I see as the impending doom of a relationship…and a great guitar riff to accompany it. Poetry!

Words April Photo Slate Entertainment
www.jackandrai.com

*Taken from JUNK’s February 2009 issue

read comments (1)