Being a vocalist in a band for almost 3 years now, it's hard to imagine how much I have progressed. Nevertheless, there's still much for me to learn. It's not easy being a vocalist; the burden of memorizing the lyrics of songs that I'm not familiar with, the hectic days and nights of practicing with the band on the same songs over and over, and of course, the pressure I get when I'm on stage prior to performing.
In order for me to stay focused, I always constantly keep a positive attitude and, most importantly, realize that my main objective of singing on stage is to enjoy and entertain the crowd. Keeping the crowd entertained is of course the main priority, an objective that needs to be set in mind in order to give out a gratifying performance.
One of my most challenging moments of being a vocalist in a band is learning to adopt a powerful voice of hard rock and metal. I started singing in a band playing pop rock and soft alternative music. Over the years, the music that I've been singing to gradually evolved and demanded a more industrial sound, which meant that I have to upgrade my singing technique. A powerful voice is developed through a combination of correct breathing control, good posture, healthy vocal techniques and lots of practice. To enable myself to develop the vocal mechanism in a healthy manner, I have to make use of these combinations.
The pressure is there, but at the same time, it has been a rewarding experience being able to venture into new music grounds. As I mentioned earlier, I am still learning. I'm neither a professional nor a rock star. It takes time, dedication, discipline and lots of practice in order to achieve excellent results.
As far as we all know, the only 'entertainment' in Brunei are late-night cafes, restaurants and eateries. Figures, since eating is Brunei's number one pastime anyway. The so-called 'Cafe Culture' in Brunei has continued to grow over the past decade, with the young adults hanging out in Gadong, Kiulap and Bandar to enjoy a midnight snack and coffee while surfing the net through their laptops, smoke, chat with friends and watch football matches on the widescreen TV.
Sadly, this 'Cafe Culture' will no longer exist in our quiet and peaceful land. It is learned that at a meeting held by the relevant authorities in November last year it has decided that all restaurants, cafes and eateries will have to be closed by 12 midnight. 12 midnight? Doesn't that feel like that's a little too early? This is so absurd.
I don't have a wireless connection at home (yet), and I usually drove to the nearest cafe with wi-fi and surf the net on my laptop there along with a nice hot cup of tea. That's like the only time I could unwind myself. Now it seems like I'm gonna have to stay in my room all night and play solitaire before bed. That sucks big time!
I think that this new rule will do tremendous damage to the economy and to the image of the country. We are going backwards. I hate going backwards. This new rule is making us going backwards. What's the point of all the years of promoting SME's in Brunei? What's the point of me taking up a course in the business school? My enthusiasm in business is dimmed by these ridiculous restrictions.
So where do we go if we wanna do our assignments at night? What about the football fans who wish to watch football late at night with their friends (that's really gonna upset them). Can we still buy nasi katok in the middle of the night when we're hungry? And why the hell are gyms closed at 9pm? Who's going to the gym between Maghrib and Isyaq? Who's going to the gym during the day when most of the customers are at work?
