:: A Malaysian on Music, Gigs, Concerts. ::

Travis Barker and DJ AM escapes death. A tire blowout caused a plane that both these men were in to skid and crash. Both are listed in serious condition, but should both make it through, albeit with a long recovery path.

This brings us back memories of the untimely and early demise of some of the greatest talents.

Left Eye in 2002 died tragically in a car crash. She was 30.
Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001. She was 22.
Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a drive-by, 1997. He was 25.
Tupac was killed in a drive-by, 1996. He was 25.
Janis Joplin overdosed on heroin in 1970. She was 27.
Kurt Cobain shot himself in the head, 1994. He was 27.
Elvis, complications from drug abuse, 1977. He was 42.
Jim Morrison, drug overdose, 1971, He was 27.
John Lennon, murdered, 1980. He was 40.
The core of Lynrd Skynyrd, plane crash in 1977 (Ronnie Van Sant, Steve Gaines, and others), They were all under 30.
Jimi Hendrix, drug related death. He was 27.
Jeff Buckley, drowned in 1997. He was 31.

The list goes on. These artistes were regular people whose talents made them superstars. Some absorbed it better, whilst some couldn’t take the martyr-dom. In the case of Patsy Cline, who was 30 when she died in a plane crash, she saw it coming. She gave away things, wrote her will and other preparation of death tasks. It’s sad, but these are legends that will remain in our hearts forever. Whether they chose to die or their lives were taken away so suddenly, it doesn’t matter. We will remember all of you always.

Travis and DJ AM were lucky not to be on this list. I hope they appreciate their lives more from this day onwards. They have been given a second chance.

I received an alert from my Universal Music subscription. Sia’s got some official videos up on YouTube. Most Sia fans are patiently waiting for Sia’s next album foray. One of my favourite tunes of all time would be Sia’s Breath Me, which was used on a season finale episode of 6 Feet Under.

Check it out at Sia @ YouTube

For all of you indie lovers out there, you would have heard about this legendary arena in Los Angeles. If you haven’t, this is part of the holy grail for indie artistes. Hotel Cafe is the BFF of KCRW and Nic Harcourt. If you are a struggling artiste and you have been sending demos out to countless record labels, and you have finally been noticed and have been booked to play at the Hotel Cafe. You have made it. Anyway, there is a kickass tour happening with artistes such as my current love, Meiko, Rachael Yamagata, Kate Havnevik, etc. Therapeutic.

It’s too bad I’m oceans away. But if you are in that neck of the woods.

Check it out.

The Hotel Cafe Tour

I heard Reasons To Love You on the 1st episode of Grey’s Anatomy Season 4. I fell in love. So, I was attempting to find out who that was. Ironically, my best mate recommended a podcast from KCRW. Somehow, a lot of artistes I have been liking recently share some vocal resemblence to a certain Shea Seger. Meiko’s voice is a bit more refined and I would say she’s a mix between Kate Havnevik and Shea Seger.

Meiko’s cover of Fever brings a tasteful version of Otis Blackwell’s original classic. Some other noteworthy tracks are How Lucky We Are, Hawaii, Piano Song and Boys with Girlfriends. She’s got a certain quirk and wit in her lyric writing.

Born in Georgia, based in LA, she’s as nice looking as she sounds. She’s got 1/4 japanese blood, which helps as well. Who doesn’t like pretty nice sounding things?

One thing’s for sure, she definitely works as a pick-me-up.

Go watch Grey’s Anatomy! You’ll see what I mean.

8.10pm @ Hitz FM: The Ting Tings rolled onto the airwaves.

Three words. It was awesome.

Aside from the usual issues such as bad band setup, bad audio setup, bass too loud, etc, it was a very compelling performance. This girl will go far in the music industry. She’s got a natural wit, and a natural way with the audience. Her songs bring out her sense of humour. To top it all off, her performance on the Uke is brilliant.

Seems that I got nothing bad to say? Well, in some ways I don’t. Her voice hypnotizes audiences in a way that Billie Holliday, Stacy Kent does. It’s classic, soothing and will be perfect for songs ranging from swing, acoustic, hell almost any genre. Well perhaps not HipHop and Rock.

So, heed my advice on this. If you hear that she’s playing. GO FOR IT.