42. Joe playing Apache on a strat

Just tried using my Nikon D.90 for this clip and uploaded to YouTube.  The video was done at home. Hope you guys like it.

41. Some pics of the Green Fern days

Some of these pics were found in my collection of old photographs, some from the time I was performing in Green Fern Coffeehouse, Ipoh. That was a very long time ago and these pics bring back some good memories.  Since I was doing solo, I played the guitar and using the bass pedals on the organ for a fuller sound to accompany my singing.  There would also be my usual mug of beer beside the organ.

Pic taken at the lobby.

Doing a solo gig at Green Fern

Entertaining the guests

40. Some Pics of the Past

Looking through some of my collection of photographs, I managed to find a few more which I have put up in my blog.  I will be putting up more pics from time to time once I have gone through my collection. These pics are all in black and white as we didn't have colour pics at that time. Hope you guys like them.

 These pics were taken when we were in Cameron Highlands for our Christmas gig at Federal Hotel. Pics show us at a very young age together with our manager Robert Ng (standing at the back)

Pic on the right shows us in Bangkok . Chris Choong (13) at left and me on the right together with a couple of friends standing next to a Tuk-tuk on a busy boulevard.

39. Looking back into the past

As I was going through some of my collection of old photos, I came upon an old  photo of The Fabulous Falcons in Cameron Highlands. This photo was taken way back when we were very young and just formed the band.  We performed at the Federal Hotel in Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands on Christmas Eve.

We were taken on a tour to a British military camp in Tanah Rata where we were feted by some wonderful and friendly guys there. Can't remember their names now as it has been a few decades ago and we were just young boys then. We had a great time celebrating Christmas with them.

From left:  Michael Ho , Thomas Ham, Joe Chin, and Chris Choong (13)

38. The Fabulous Falcons meet up again

I have been neglecting my posting on this blog for some time and I thought it would be the right moment to post this. The members of our group have gone separate ways 40 plus years ago. I moved up to KL about four years ago and managed to be in touch with Tommy Ong (bassist) who has a recording studio in PJ. It was there that I met up with our Sound Tech, Kai Leong (aka Technician) and we meet up for lunch whenever time permits. I have already retired from Govt. service 10 years ago and still keep in touch with music playing gigs for company and private functions.

On Dec. 26, 2012 (Boxing Day), Thomas Ham (Rythmn) met up with us for lunch. He lives in Boston, Mass. USA and he came back for a holiday and managed to spend some time to be with us in spite of his busy schedule here. Tommy, Kai Leong and I drove up to his in-laws' place in Subang Jaya to meet him. Its been such a long time since we all got together and we spent some time chatting about old times when we were playing in the band, and what we are doing now.

We adjourned to a cosy little cafe nearby called Daiki Cafe in Sect. 15 for lunch. Thomas told us of his collection of 100 plus guitars and one which he custom made in Martin Guitar workshop in Philadelphia.
We had a great time that day exchanging stories of our lives and hope that we could meet up more often whenever possible. It brought back fond memories of the days when we were playing together as The Fabulous Falcons. It would have been awesome if Christopher (13) was still alive but I'm sure he was there in spirit. We have all aged but still going strong and I look forward to more get-togethers with them.

37) My guitars and the 'Shadows' sound

My time now is spent on teaching budding musicians and also adults who just want to play the guitar or keyboards. I have met some who just want to be able to accompany themselves and sing. I have not been able to read a single musical note as I learned to play by ear all my life. Many people have approached me to teach them the easy way without having to read notes and I have obliged them in showing the way.

I was the lead guitarist with The Fabulous Falcons and I was always fascinated with sound of 'The Shadows'. My favourite guitar is the Fender Stratocaster, and together with a Vox AC30 amplifier and Swissecho sound effect, I produced that haunting sound. Probably because of this, I was nicknamed the 'Hank Marvin' among musicians. Over the years, I have accumulated a number of guitars which my son Don bought from the USA . Together with the guitars, I have a Yamaha PS1000 keyboard which I use for my gigs at company functions and dinners. These instruments have served me well.

As I am still quite active in music, I would like to pass on my knowledge to aspiring musicians and even to those who want to partake in the pleasure of music. Some have come to me seeking the 'Hank Marvin' touch while playing to The Shadows music. For those of you who have read my blog, and are interested to learn to play music, please feel free to contact me. It will be a pleasure to pass on my musical knowledge to you.

36) Meeting up with the old boys again

It has been a few decades since I lost contact with some of my old buddies of the sixties. As I am now based in Kuala Lumpur, I decided to try to locate Tommy Ong, the former bassist of the Fabulous Falcons. I knew that he has a recording studio in Petaling Jaya and with a little help from his younger brother, Michael I managed to get his contact number. After a short chat about old times, we arranged to meet up at his studio. When I arrived at the studio, I was surprised that Tommy had arranged for Kai Leong aka technician (as he was in charge of all the technical aspect for the band then) to be there too. Was really a very nice surprise ! As we chatted, Kai Leong told me he is still in contact with some of the other guys like Tony Lee aka Kachat who was the drummer before I rejoined the Fabulous Falcons and Ho Kok Onn aka Cliff Richard of Ipoh who is also residing in Petaling Jaya area. I was overwhelmed as I had never expected to be able to meet up with so many people from the good old band days again.

A week later, we decided to meet up for lunch so that Ho Kok Onn could join us too. Unfortunately, Tommy had to meet a client on that day at the last minute and couldn't make it so Kai Leong and I met up with Kok Onn at a coffeeshop near Kok Onn's house. It was really so nice to meet Kok Onn again and of course the topic of conversation was of the good old days of the Fabulous Falcons. Although we have all grown much older, I must say the energy of the meeting was just like the days when we were in our teens in the sixties. Just reminsicing made us feel so young again !

I am really glad that I am now in contact with my long lost friends and we can reminisce about the good old days when we were performing together.