(Mataking Islands, Sabah, Malaysia) - The Making of "Catch Us Live, Somewhere On This Planet"
This is the story of how I came up with the series, On The Beat and Path. It all started on a beach, with a guitar and a dude who didn't speak English very well.
With 4 days to roam as the Malaysians celebrate Hari Raya, I decided to pack the guitar and head to the MATAKING ISLANDS off the east coast of Borneo. My original intent was to get in some top quality diving in Sipidan, but it appears I was a little late in getting my ducks in a row and wasn’t able to get my hands on one of those pesky, limited number of diving permits they release daily. The Mataking Islands weren’t a bad fall back though.The Mataking Islands are made up of two small tropical Islands located about an hour east of Borneo, East Malaysia and about 45 minutes off of the southernmost tip of the Philippine Archipelago. It is an uninhabited Island with its only residents being those that are employed by the resort and dive centre. Luckily for me, a few of these folks were from the Philippines. And for those who have spent any time in that glorious collection of Islands, you know that Filipinos love music like Canadians love hockey.
My first night at the restaurant, I noticed that there was an ‘experienced’ guitar behind the bar. When I inquired about it with Hamden (the bartender), he told me it was his and that he normally plays with another Filipino but he was away visiting his family (employees get 5 days off a month to visit their family on the mainland in Semporna or the Philippines).
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| On The Beaches of Mataking |
Hamden was from Mindanao, Philippines. It is the second largest and easternmost Island in the Philippines. Hamden was a self-taught musician, one of many siblings and loved Western music such as the Beatles and Bob Dylan. (true pioneers of rock and roll). He loved music and lit up every time he could talk about music or play it. Hamden was thankful for his skills at music because he spends a lot of time away from his family and he is kept company with his familiar songs.
I then told Hamden that I had a guitar with me and would love to jam with him if it was allowed. His face just beamed and his only question was not a matter of “If we could?” but more “When we could?” I gave him a copy of my band’s CD and told him that I would be back the following night after dinner to play some tunes.
The next day I thought of some songs that we might be able to pull off with no practice or awareness of each other’s style. The Beatles were an obvious choice as they were a favourite of Hamden. Playing the blues keeps things simple and everyone appreciates the familiarity. Plus, I could just make up lyrics all night so long as there was a sexy rhythm. After all, the tropics scream of inspiration. I then figured the best strategy would be just to show up with no expectations and see where the music took us.
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| Hamden and I rockin out to something |
We started our set in front of a handful of travelers, divers and families with a song from my Malaysian band, the BENCHMARX, titled ‘I Don’t Know’. Hamden was quick to catch on, following the fun tempo and noting the stops immediately. We then took to cover songs for the crowd playing favourites from Bob Dylan and Prince swapping singing and lead duties. After 45 minutes of music we took a break.
“It’s like we have been playing for a long time”, Hamden beamed, “We didn’t even practice!”
That’s the beauty of music. As I have always believed, music is its own language. The Idea for ON THE BEAT AND PATH was born.
My new friends on Mataking treated me marvelously throughout the rest of the stay and vowed I would return. In addition, I promised to mail them all a copy of the pilot episode and my band’s new CD. “Don’t forget a poster,” Hamden quickly reminded me.
And a poster.
Stay tuned for ON THE BEAT AND PATH playing somewhere on this planet.
Peace,
Steve
Twitter: twitter.com/#!/OnTheBeatNPath
Blogspot: onthebeatandpath.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/OnTheBeatAndPath
CBC Radio 3 (Original Canadian Indie Music): radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/On-The-Beat-and-Path
steve@boredofdirectives.com
gary@boredofdirectives.com
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