Gonzo – Back From Holidays & Ready For 2012

The title says it all.

I just got back from some very fun holidays in Vietnam and I’m all set to play lots of cool sounds in 2012!

Before I left to spend Christmas with my family in and around Hanoi I prepared two special Christmas and New Year’s 8tracks playlists.

I came back from the trip with some pretty cool photos, all taken with two different Panasonic Lumix compact cameras:

While I was there I looked around for some vinyl records.

I had prepared beforehand and had read up on the people I’d need to contact to find a fresh stash of records.

Unfortunately I didn’t get enough time to get in touch with the proper people and I ended up playing cat and mouse with various contacts.

Which is why I turned my attention to a little shop that was right behind my hotel around Hoan Kiem district.

The shop is small but packed full of old musical equipment: cabinet speakers, turntables, reel-to-reel tape recorders, and vintage pre-amplifiers line the walls of Mr. Pham’s shop.

At first I just stopped to admire all the equipment, but the more I thought about it the more a real vintage – and working! – reel-to-reel tape recorder would be the perfect Christmas gift to myself.

The more I talked with Mr. Pham (through his son Giang), the more I felt his love for maintaining and using old equipment that had endured the test of time.

I walked away with my own tape player/recorder, and I brought it all the way back to Singapore.

Catch me at the end of the month for the next Pushin’ On session!

Gonzo – Live @ Dia de los Muertos (04-11-2011)

Last Friday night was the much-awaited Dia de los Muertos celebration at Piedra Negra.

We went all out for the event and decorated the place with lots of traditional Mexican decorations brought back from our travels.

There were food and beer specials, live music downstairs, my friend Adrien prepared some very cool visuals, and all three DJs (including Sanakan, a regular at Lantern) helped the crowd dance their butts off.

Below are my recorded live set, the 8tracks playlist I had prepared for the event, and some photos I took when not sipping on a delicious margarita.

Hope you enjoy!

PS: Make sure you keep checking this space for announcements of upcoming latino parties the Colectivo Boda de Rancho will keep organising at Piedra Negra. Hopefully this will become a regular gig that latinos living or travelling in Singapore will recommend to each other.

Gonzo – Live @ Training Shed BBQ (09-10-2011)

Last Sunday afternoon was held the much-awaited second edition of Sunday @ The Training Shed, and just like last time, many people turned out to enjoy sunny weather, great food, cold drinks, fresh air, and outdoor music!

I played some of my newest jazz and funk discoveries, and the Pushin’ On crew later played some great reggae, hip hop, and soul.

The crew was also joined by Marc Hype, Jim Dunloop, and DJ DSK of the SoulClap! crew, currently on their Asia tour.

Some photos courtesy of SoulClap!, other photos by me

In other news, note that on Friday October 14th I will be playing some tunes following the live performances that will be held at BluJaz Cafe as part of its Latino Weekend.

I’ve heard the musicans, and they’re damn good!

And in other Latino news, some friends and I will be hosting a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) party at Piedra Negra.

We will most likely hold the party on Friday November 4th, and we are working on getting special drinks, special dishes, DJs, and live percussions.

Hopefully this party will turn into a regular gig, that way every month the Latino community in Singapore will know where to go for cold drinks and cool tunes.

So watch this space for more information!

Here’s a first draft of the flyers I’m preparing (original design courtesy of marcorecuero_ilustracion):

Gonzo – Live @ Training Shed BBQ (17-07-2011)

Last Sunday afternoon Pushin’ On partnered with the Bamrah Bros to host a really cool event in an unusual venue.

The Training Shed, a discreet and unassuming bar in the middle of Labrador Nature Reserve, was taken over by some 400 people hungry for BBQ, music, graffiti, outdoor fun, and good times.

The music kept on blaring all through the night, from funky tunes to groovy live sets. I think we can safely say that the night was a success, since everyone ate, danced, and partied until nightfall. Most importantly, everyone asked us when was the next one planned for!

Here’s part of the set I played that afternoon.

PS: Regular readers will know that I usually include photos of the event and of the venue, but last week after a particularly rowdy house party the external hard drive that housed ALL my photos and other precious documents stopped working.

I’m not too worried (yet!) since the drive does respond, it just seems to be stuck in some sort of loop. Hopefully the repairmen I found will be able to extract all my data and I’ll be able to recover the photos I took of the event.

In the meantime, here’s the cool flyers that were made, and I’ll add photos from other attendees as soon as I receive them.

Gonzo – Live @ Quintessentially 3rd Anniversary Party

Last week my Pushin’ On buddies and I played some tunes at Quintessentialy Singapore’s 3rd year anniversary bash.

People dressed up in 1920s-1930s gear, champagne and whisky free-flowed, jitterbug dancers danced all around the venue, and the swing band played some excellent tunes.

Shellsuit and I played some of our favourite big band/swing jazz tunes while people drank and danced.

Enjoy!

*UPDATE*

Here’s the official video wrap-up of the event!

*BONUS*

I managed to find some of the photos a professional photographer took that night, as well as a video from Quintessentially’s 10 year anniversary in the US.