Category Archives: Music

Valentine’s at the 1885

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Call it schmaltzy, bah humbug, or what you will, Valentine’s Day is and always has been a special day for lovebirds everywhere. Me? Umm, I’ll remain perfectly neutral on this one but I’ll tell you this—it’s always nice to see couples having fun and enjoying each other’s company, on this day or any other day. And if they’re prepared to splurge, so be it. The Valentine’s Day dinner at the 1885 fine dining (E & O Hotel) isn’t exactly what I’d call cheap, but for the price you get a lavish meal, some gifts including a Polaroid picture (yup, we still have those), and not to mention (ahem) soothing romantic tunes played on the piano by yours truly. With a great staff and Mr. Z as the captain, what else could you need? So onward and upward to the pictures, all taken with my Canon gear, of course. Nothing like flowers to set the mood and hearts fluttering.

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(Below) Balloons galore; love the heart-shaped ones.

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(Above) Gifts of chocolate for each couple, beautifully done with gold ribbons.

(Below) These pictures were taken by expert photographer Eugene when I finished for the evening. Great people and great staff!

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(Above) It was nice to meet up with Ria and her husband Ben again, who are regular guests of the hotel.

(Below) Here I am with Siti…

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and with Sally; oopsie I need to get a haircut…

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(Below) Eugene and Siti having fun in front of the camera.

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It was a great and fun evening, so here’s looking forward to Valentine’s in 2013! Open-mouthed smile

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The Scourge of Musicians

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aka “Old pianists never die, they simply tinkle away”

I recently read Mary Schneider’s thought-provoking and witty article about trying to enjoy a nice dinner at a local Italian restaurant whilst being bombarded aurally by the howling of a band of minstrels.  Being a pianist myself, I totally sympathize and agree with her and so here begins my rant about musicians. Before I proceed please bear in mind that the following criteria applies to this post:

  • I’m talking about live music in a nice restaurant (not coffee shops or pubs).
  • If this post strikes a nerve in you, please forgive me. I’m not targeting anyone in particular. Honest.

I feel like I’ve been playing solo piano all my life. I actually started out my first gig at the Golden Sands Resort here in Penang, way back in 1982. I was out from the States for a Summer vacation and my father said he had secured a piano-playing job for me at the named resort. Seeing that he had paid for my air tickets, who was I to argue? So I did the gig, I loved it, and I learnt some useful stuff along the way. I’ve loved piano playing so much that since then until now (imitates a Clint Eastwood accent) “I work alone.” No singers, no violinists, no kazoo players, zilch.

I’ve stuck with these rules of etiquette when playing the piano in nice, posh restaurants.

  • You are only the pianist, you are not the main attraction. The food and company is.
  • Don’t stick out like a sore thumb. Blend in with the ambience of the establishment. Look at the customers. Are they talking softly? Then play softly. Don’t be an ignoramus and drown out their conversations.
  • If you aren’t sure whether you’re playing at an ideal level, get your ass off the seat and ask. Customers are usually direct and they will tell you. Also observe their body language (an outlandish example is if you see someone covering his/her ears. That is a strong signal for you to clam up!) If you’re too shy, ask one of the staff (I am assuming that you get on well with the staff. They’re always downright honest about music levels).
  • I’ve also learnt that it isn’t worth it to bang on the keys even when the restaurant is packed and the noise level has increased dramatically. Why? Because you won’t win. So why make a fool out of yourself?
  • It’s good to lose yourself in the music while playing but don’t get so carried away that you’ve forgotten about the level of sound you’re producing.

Ah, you ask. What’s your pet peeve? You really want to know? It’s this—I absolutely hate it when I walk into a fine restaurant and the pianist or musician insists on stuffing his/her music down my throat, together with my food. BLECH!! And also this—if you need someone to tell you that your music is too loud, you’re not a professional at all, you’re simply a show-off. So there!

Let me conclude by telling you one of my favorite pianist jokes.

A man and his neighbor are talking. The neighbor asks, “So now your missus has taken up the clarinet instead of the piano? Is that better or worse?”

“Better,” the man replies. The neighbor is intrigued. “Why?”

“Because she can’t sing and play at the same time.”

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What a great (work) life!

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I thought it’d be nice for a change to share with you the fact that I have one of the nicest jobs in the world. If you’ve been following my blog you’d know that I play the piano at the E & O (Eastern and Oriental) Hotel here in Penang, Malaysia. What other job is there where you work for like four hours and with a dinner break in-between? I’ve met some wonderful people here, and they truly make the work experience worthwhile. Time flies when you’re having fun and geez, this is my sixth year at this hotel. A lot of staff have come and gone, but I’ll have to single out my long-time friend and boss, Michael Saxon, for believing in me and getting me started playing in this hotel way back in December 2004. Michael has now moved on to become Director of Hospitality and Lifestyle Division and CEO of the Delicious Group at E & O, so in a sense I’m still under his umbrella.

Anyway I snapped a few pictures of the bosses I now work under, so let me start with the big man himself.

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Here I am with my present big boss and General Manager, Mr. Marco G. Battistotti. Mr. Battistotti keeps calling me Maestro and I only call him Boss (blush) Buona giornata, Sir. Grazie per essere come un boss gentili con me!

Next in line is my immediate superior, Mr. Rama, the Food and Beverage Director. Again, he’s such a nice boss and never seems to throw up too much of a fuss even though I hand him a wedding invite every month.

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Last but not least here I am with the Restaurant Manager of the 1885 fine dining restaurant where I play the ivories. Yee Mei and the rest of the 1885 staff are wonderful (they made me come to work even though I was wasted, heh heh) I find that when you’re happy and cheerful and easy to get along with, people naturally respond in kind. I couldn’t ask for a better team of people to be with. Mr. Ijoy, don’t forget my crepe suzette!

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And oopsie, I nearly forgot. Where would I be without my tip jar? A very very important piece of glass, yes sir. On some good nights I get tips and one of my few vices, Baileys Irish Cream liqueur—yummy!

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All pictures were taken with my Canon PowerShot SX130 IS.

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My 15 minutes of fame

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It’s not every day someone wants to interview and film me at work. I was even more skeptical since today was April Fool’s Day. However, a few days ago I received a call from the hotel’s Public Relations Manager informing me that a Japanese TV crew wanted to interview me and do some filming of me playing. So off I went to the hotel and I met with Mr. Koji Yamaguchi, who is the director of Documentary Japan Inc. He doesn’t speak much English but luckily we had a capable translator in his crew (Miss Arai) and so we got down to work. They were very professional in their filming and very soon I was getting the hang of things. Unfortunately it will only be aired on the Japanese TV networks, but hey, I can’t complain. To be seen by a population of 127 million is pretty good in my book!

Mr. Yamaguchi seems pleased with the results

(Above) Mr. Yamaguchi seems pleased with the results.

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I’m trying my best to look natural while the tapes are rolling.

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Group photo with Mr. Yamaguchi and his affable crew. All pictures were taken with my Canon PowerShot SX130IS.

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A tribute to my students

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I decided to embark on a project to photograph each and every one of my students recently. And this is one of the questions that never fails to annoy me—“How many students do you have?” I usually post a response like “Just enough to maintain my sanity and live a decent lifestyle.” Teaching is one of the most taxing professions that one can take up, especially when it’s on a one-to-one basis like what I’m doing. So here’s a photo collage of my current crop of students (at least the ones who were not camera-shy) All the pictures were shot with a Canon EOS Rebel T2i/550D with either a Canon 50mm standard lens or a Canon 18-55mm IS zoom lens. Lighting used was bounced flash with a Canon 270EX Speedlite.

To all my students—thank you for letting me be your teacher, and for putting up with me as we embark on our musical journeys together.

Student Collage

Top row (L-R): Adriana, Anthea, Bao Xiu, Cassandra, Henry. Second row (L-R): Jason, Joshua, Kelvin, Poh Lin, Regina. Third row (L-R): Robin, Sabrina, Shih Yu, Shirlynn, Terence. Bottom row (L-R): Wei Yang, Wynn, Ying Xuan, Yu Xuan.

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Little blessings are still blessings

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Yes, it was a lovely day today. I reconnected with my bestest friend, and when I got home from work a student had emailed this to me. How could I not be glad?

Dear Philip,

Many thanks for your email of 12 Jan 11.  Funny it is not in my inbox, and it only came out, when I type your name in the search box, when all your email to me came out, only I saw it from there.  Computer is something I don’t understand how it works.

Thanks very much for your Reader’s Digest which I always enjoyed reading.  So glad you like the T-shirt.  However, I would like to thank you for your patience with me for the past few months (AUG-DEC).  You are a teacher who teaches with the heart, and serious with your teaching, making sure the student plays well.  I am glad to be under you.  I THANK GOD, that finally I have found the best teacher after all these years and I enjoyed every minute of your lessons :)

Have a nice week end and take care.  Regards,

Sabrina Oh

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Sabrina has been learning piano with me since last August. She’s a conscientious student, and I was touched when she bought a T-shirt for me when she returned from her Canadian trip last month. It’s students like her that make this taxing job worthwhile.

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All I Want For Christmas (Is To Wrap My Arms Around You)

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Composed by Rick Cooper

I came across this vid on YouTube a few days ago, listened to it, and it struck a chord deep within me. I was very moved by the song, the lyrics, and the pictures Rick Cooper (the composer from Mount Dora, FL) had put in the vid. I sent him a comment, saying that it was a “Fantastic song and wonderful pictures. Brings tears to my eyes.” I didn’t think about it after that.

However, I had a pleasant surprise because Rick emailed a reply to me and said how much he appreciated my comment. He had been watching some of my YouTube vids too, and he was impressed (Thanks, Rick!) And guess what—he asked me to record a solo piano version of the song above because he wanted to post an instrumental version on YouTube, and would I do it? Would I? Of course! Rick made me feel so honored because he could have asked just about anyone else to do it, but he asked me. Prior to this we didn’t know each other, but through the power of the Internet, and most importantly through the spirit of kindness, two people thousands of miles apart have been able to connect. By the way I rushed a piano solo version of the song to Rick and he loved it—I’m so glad! Here’s his email that he sent to everyone on his video distribution list:

The Spirit of Christmas, the Power of the Internet

Philip Yeoh is a pianist/entertainer, a piano teacher, and an author of an eBook on learning to play the piano. He lives in Penang, Malaysia. Until yesterday, I had never heard of Philip, and he had never heard of me.

In the spirit of the season, Philip was searching YouTube for Christmas songs and came across the video of “All I Want For Christmas (Is To Wrap My Arms Around You),” the Christmas song I co-wrote with John Schwab. Philip sent me a nice note on YouTube to let me know how much he loved the song and the video. I responded to his note and thanked him for his comments. I then checked out Philip’s YouTube channel and watched a video of Philip playing “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” I then went to his website and read about his extensive musical background and training. He is very, very talented.

An idea came to mind, and I sent another note to Philip. I complimented him on his playing, and suggested that he consider one day playing an instrumental version of “All I Want For Christmas (Is To Wrap My Arms Around You), especially since he liked the song so much. Well, I’m sure you know where this is heading…

In the midst of the busy holiday season, work, teaching, marketing his eBook and so on, Philip took the time to record my song. It’s amazing to think that he had never heard the song until yesterday, and he had no sheet music or anything to guide him. In a few short hours, he took the guitar/vocal version and turned it into a beautiful instrumental piece on the piano.

So the power of the internet connected two people separated by thousands and thousands of miles, and the spirit of Christmas resulted in a wonderful recording of a Christmas song that otherwise would have never been.

I am attaching the song if you would like to listen to it. I will also be posting it on my website and Facebook. I am including below links to Philip’s website and a link to the YouTube video of “All I Want For Christmas (Is To Wrap My Arms Around You),” which is now over 13,000 views.

Thank you, Philip, and Merry Christmas to all!

Rick

Thank you, Rick, for allowing me to become a part of your heart-warming song.

EDIT: The story of how Rick and I met online is now on his website. Please check it out!

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