Wrap And Jam

I love singing and acting, so last Thursday was splendid, as I did both for the Cine65 Film Competition.

After the shoot wrapped, on the way to quench my thirst with some Teh Tarik across the road, I saw a Malay guy playing the guitar and singing outside a Malay barber shop. Next to him was an Indian man and an Indian lady listening. As it is rare to see anyone playing guitars and singing in open spaces these days (thanks to karaokes and smartphones), I decided to stop and watch. Consequently, I couldn't resist the fun and sang along.

The Malay guy was delighted that I joined in, and after he finished with his song,  passed his guitar to me to play. And so I did. Then, we took turns to play the guitar and sang songs of our  choice - mostly those from The Bee Gees, The Everly Brothers and The Beatles era. It was surreal.

Passers-by were amused. Most of them smiled in support, some waved to us, a few stopped and some sat near us to watch. Some sang along after warming up. The spontaneity was priceless. It reminded me of the good old days, when people took their guitars out after work and neighbours passing by jammed in, some meeting each other for the first time. Friendships were forged like that then. During the good old days, we did not have the Internet and smartphones. Life was much slower and informal. Meeting the neighbours and community was impromptu. Then, we had more time to do so.

After our jamming session, the Malay chap invited me to his future fortnightly jams at the coffeeshop in the Bedok North neighbourhood, just a block from where we sat. I gladly accepted and am looking forward to it.

This could well be an inspiration for a short film script. I will keep you updated.

More about the coffeeshop jam in a fortnight's time.

I had a few other gigs that had singing. Click here.

Watch the short film that was made on that day, click here.