Everyone talks about the music and most probably only sees the glamorous side of the musicians on stage. But here’s the real deal: Everyone starts from zero. Remember the very first instant you wanted to pick up an instrument and play in a band? The hours of practice and the sentimental value of your instrument that created something which you call music? Is it about how well you can play or how much you want to play and make music a part of your life?

For Patrick Chng – the founder and frontman of The Oddfellows, a Singapore-based band widely revered as the music pioneer who revived mainstream interest in local original music in the late 80’s and inspired different waves of bands in the last 20 years; it’s about the “heart” more than the technique.

“Music has to move the soul. I’ve seen technically brilliant musicians who just don’t move me. Being musical doesn’t mean you have to be a virtuoso. It’s important to have technique, but only enough to express your musical ideas. Anything more is redundant,” says the unassuming musician.

And Patrick should know better. Raised with a steady diet of 50’s and 60’s pop music and musicals, Patrick’s love for music has since become a firm lifestyle rather than just a mere hobby. From his first piano lesson at eight, his first encounter with the guitar at ten, to being a seasoned performing musician, Patrick has always been actively involved in the local music scene, be it showcasing his guitar heroics in The Oddfellows and TypeWriter (a power-pop quartet that’s currently recording its debut album), running Wallwork Records and Walk On Music, or taking on a mentoring role for the emerging younger bands. Through the years, he has also collected and taught
himself how to play various musical instruments. If you’ve been to his four-bedroom apartment in Bedok, Singapore, which the good-natured musician would jovially quip as “a mess,” you probably would have difficulties navigating your way through the sea of instruments.

Despite owning more than ten guitars and other odds and ends like a violin, sitar, Cajon, harmonica, and an assortment of percussion instruments, Patrick’s most prized possession is still the Gibson Nighthawk, his second electric guitar that has evolved and defined the sound of The Oddfellows from jangle to a more aggressive indie rock sound. “I sold my first guitar to raise money for it and it’s been with me since 1993. I only recently got another electric guitar so the Nighthawk has been my main guitar for many years,” explains Patrick.

While the late 80’s/early 90’s were definitely a friendlier climate for indie bands to gain mainstream recognition (The Oddfellows were signed to major labels and scored various Top Ten hit singles on local radio stations – feats harder to achieve by far these days), Patrick, with a resilient belief in the ethos and power of unadulterated music from within, still sees a great potential in the current local indie music scene.

“It is about having fun, making a statement, doing things yourself and not being part of the machinery,” says Patrick of the indie spirit. “Most importantly, if you want to play an instrument, form a band and contribute to the local music scene, just go for it. You should always play music with a passion and not let any obstacles hinder you from doing that.”

On The Web:
www.myspace.com/theoddfellows
www.myspace.com/typewriterband
www.walkonmusic.net