HALFWAY KINGS

2011 In So Many Words

2012-01-11T22:40:00.004+08:00

As it is customary around here, behold thesum-up of year 2011 (that has since passed us by by a good 11 days).

If memory serves us well, the highlights of2011 are as follows (forgive us if they all happen to be memories only from thetail-end of year):

Best Soldier Remix Competition

We couldn’t be prouder parents of this bago’ remixes. It was an honour watching entries come in from different parts ofthe world. Finally it was down to 3 and after much vote hustling; NAXX wascrowned winner by monsoon records with his remix of Best Soldier.

Converse Ambassadorship

We were equal parts puzzled and gratefulwhen we received an email offering HK a Converse ambassadorship. I remembertelling Jo over the phone about it and there was a moment of increduloussilence and then we burst out laughing in disbelief. It’s been quite a ride.The best part was meeting all the other ambassadors and feeling the sense ofcommunity within the KL art scene. It’s alive and hungry, people. Continue toshow us love.

An Anniversary: HK Celebrates 2 Years ofMutual Tolerance

Yes, we made it. 2 years of trying not tokill each other :) and succeeding! We thought it a momentous enough milestoneso we threw a party in a furniture shop to commemorate. The Impatient Sistersand Paolo Delfino & his Short Attention Span Band helped boost audienceattendance.

Best New Act Nominee

And the cherry to top it all off; apleasant surprise from the folks at Juice Malaysia – a nomination for BestNew Act in their encyclopaedic list of Best Of’s in 2011.

Be well and hang in there with us, aight. Here's to 2012!

Much love,

HK.

Halfway Kings Celebrate 2 Years of Mutual Tolerance

2011-11-27T16:08:00.001+08:00

Images by J. Tiew Photography

Technically, 2 years is a short time but with the things we've been through and with the kind of lovely people that we're so grateful to have met, 2 years seem like a long journey.

The party wouldn't have been as magical if not for the kind owners of Pieces that not only let us use their space but also set the place up for us even before we arrived. Our thanks also to our label monsoon records for being bafflingly supportive of our propositions and Jeff from Greenhouse for manning the sound that night.

We took a chance and asked the sublime trio of The Impatient Sisters to be our pro bono opening act and they said yes! They turned up with their cellist and a box of cupcakes for our party. I have never seen anyone perform for free and yet bring gifts, they are the epitome of genuine niceness.

Our pro bono (also) closing act was Paolo Delfino and his Short Attention Span Band. If you want dedication, you just need to look to these guys. Paolo came for his soundcheck and then went for a wedding and then rushed back to play AND his whole band was down with the flu. AND their bassist said that he would skip soundcheck just so he could rest enough to make it to our party but we didn't know until Paolo told us that his "need for rest" was bad enough to warrant a hospitalization in the end. Get well soon, Eu Gene!

Thanks also to Rath for volunteering to design the visuals for us (they were seriously tripped-out) and Justin for tirelessly snapping away throughout the party and Christine (who came all the way from Seremban) for gracing our Halfway Kings set with her backing vocals.

Lastly, thank you all for coming (and paying RM10 for parking) and being so unpretentiously sociable and chilled-out. We hope you enjoyed your good selves and hopefully, we'll have another one of these...in a year's time!

Sincerely,

HK.

Smitten to Pieces

2011-11-15T16:46:00.000+08:00

We like this place a lot. Jalan Mesui can be a little dodgy but all the best places are. Old KL charms the socks off the likes of us and Pieces sits quaintly on the corner of one very historical street. Historical in the most non-textbook sense. It's the type of history you meet walking the city at night on foot, after a few drinks (we are near Changkat), wondering who used to live here and how different (or similar) their version of KL was, just a few decades ago.

Photos by Pieces and Joachim tapi sudah di-edit.

The kind owners are allowing us to have our party there. And you're invited!

Party

2011-11-04T18:24:00.002+08:00

Hello, we are planning a little party to celebrate 2 years of Halfwayness this 26th Nov at Pieces. Details soon :)

Monsoon Invasion #2

2011-09-19T00:22:00.001+08:00

Soundcheck with CEE before show

Saturday night went like this:
Attic party space
Primary colours
Bass so loud it hits not in your ribs but in your throat
Good people
Shaved heads & Black-rimmed glasses
Flash light
Best Soldier
Opening 4-bar count-in dance
Verse, verse, chorus...
THEY'RE SINGING ALONG!
(without being asked to!)
Amazeballs.
So this is what it feels like.
Amazeballs.

NAXX's winning remix entry of the night!

Remix Competition

2011-08-03T18:10:00.006+08:00

Didn't you know? Blogs are dead. But for all of you that still enjoy reading long posts about things that can be condensed within 140 characters, you have us still, for now.

We've signed!!!!!!!!!

With monsoon records. And we've been working on this track called "Best Soldier" (if you've been to our live shows, you would've heard the acoustic version), refining our new sound. Yes, there is a new sound that involves our swanky CEE producing and laying down some beats to our bare bones songs.

And we have a remix competition to go with the upcoming release of our single :D Who would've thought, kan? All you need to do is:

1. Visit this site.

2. Grab the files.

3. Remix away.

4. Submit your track to info@monsoon.my by Sept 11, 2011.

5. Wait for the results.

If you're picked as the winner, you win an Ableton Live Suite 8 and get to release your remix of our song through monsoon records.

And if you'd please excuse us, we're off to being excited now.

Buggyman

2011-04-17T15:38:00.004+08:00

Oh yes. This is a real blog post at long last (FB is so much more convenient for the easily-distracted, no?). Anyway, here we are in Bangsar Village because Jo and I were caught in rush-hour traffic and decided to detour to wait for it to subside.

The detour was a desperate attempt to stave off what was happening in the car. It wasn't pretty. It involved Mariah Carey songs and Hulk-rage roars. Both of which I do when I'm frustrated with traffic.

So we parked and got out. And lo, I swear that Mr Buggyman was positively shining with a saintly glow (or maybe it was just the buggy's siren light) but he stopped and offered us a ride! And the best thing yet? After our dinner, we paid for parking and lo, Buggyman appeared again!

Two rides in one visit; 'twas the best and worst day wrapped in one! Because we drove right out and got ourselves stuck in another freakin jam.

P/S, The song featured in the vid is HK's Traveling Lines. Listen to the full version on our SoundCloud.

Songwriters Weekend @ No Black Tie

2011-02-08T01:45:00.001+08:00

Can't believe it's our 4th run at NBT! So blessed, I tell you, I can't even explain how we got here in the first place.

Sunday night was a little quieter than usual; what with Monday looming and CNY clogging up the highways.

We brought out our new toy! It was quite a disaster but I'm glad we went through with it. I almost wanted to pull Jo aside and say "let's try this another time" but I sat on my shivering hands and willed my heartbeat to slow down (um yeah, I try to convince myself that that method works).

We went through with it in the end albeit with a heart-stopping moment when the looper did not loop! But Jo yelled "REPLAY" and got back on his feet like a pro gymnast doing backflips!

Thank you kind NBT crowd and Reza Salleh for inviting us to play. I shall always be eternally grateful til the end of time forever and ever, always.

-adeline

Halfway Kings perform Happiness with David Knight

2011-01-04T01:35:00.000+08:00

Top 10 Quotes of The Year

2010-12-23T20:38:00.004+08:00

Top 10 HK quotes in 2010

1. “Even if you don't kacau me, I'll kacau myself.” Joachim to Sam Oh of Bus Company.

2. “Sounds like something Tarantino would use while Uma Thurman slices up people with a katana.” Eu Gene of Paolo Delfino’s Short Attention Span Band on HK’s brand of violent music.

3. “Oh, oh red light, I should stop.” Adeline to a terrified Joachim while she almost drives pass a traffic light.

4. “What’s that?” Joachim upon hearing Adeline’s excited announcement that HK got a gig at NBT.

Here we are performing for the very first time at No Black Tie

5. “GAHHHHHH I AM SPILLING OUTTA MY OWN SKIN!!” Adeline when HK got into Junk Records Top 10.

6. “Are you a care bear?” HK sessionist Christine Tee to Reza Salleh.

7. “Hey, Adeline! That voice doesn't sound like you. But that's great!!!!” Gee thanks Yaw Loong of Seremban lineage.

8. “Sini tak boleh nyani ah?” Joachim playing dumb when we got chased out for performing illegally on private property.

Watch til the end to catch cameo voice appearance by the security guard.

9. “Halfway Kings, no chou tau fu for life!” David Knight on HK’s attempts to show him the flavourful side of Malaysian cuisine.

10. “Thanks for bringing back the trip-hop-funk-rock-gibberish-singing style…I’ve been waiting.” Izaad Amir, sessionist for every other awesome band out there.

Curiosity made cats frisky

2010-12-13T00:54:00.002+08:00

Its a graduation,
Its an art infatuation
Is it about fashion?
or maintaining perfection?

Curious?
Swing by the Curio 81 graduation showcase to see us perform with our guest David Knight.

EVACUATE PEOPLE!

2010-12-07T12:19:00.000+08:00

Hey! watch out for halfway kings Live @ no black tie on the 15th of December, there will be some thing VERY different from our usual style. Heck, even SOMEONE different from our usual two!

We will be performing a set for our friend, David Knight, who will be releasing his EP entitled "Evacuate". Come and have a good time!

Not One of Those Fests

2010-11-14T15:21:00.004+08:00

Pics by royajong and Celeste Goh

One of those madcap performances again. Joachim had a paper right smack in the middle of our soundcheck and performance. So we drove to get the soundcheck done, drove back, he rushed for a last hour revision (which was his only revision, ahem) and then sped off to do the exam.

Immediately after he was done, we zipped over to Laundry again just in time to catch Shh...Diam performing (who were kind enough to swap soundcheck slots with us so Jo could make it for his paper). Next up were wildcard winners ASBOON who were pretty damn good. Didn't expect them to make such melodic music when I first saw them get ready on stage.

Mid-pizza, the organiser comes up to us and says there's an emergency and HK would have to go up next. I calmly put down my pizza and say "Well, I guess we should stop eating then."

We're up in a flash, do a 6-song set and sweat like pigs. It was sweltering and the spotlights weren't helping either. No one boo-ed us, so that was nice. Danced around a bit, took off shoes, shoes are a pain, really.

Let's move on and talk about the more exciting bits! Bus Company came on after and got everyone's attention with their additional bass drum mic-ed on reverb (cool or what?!). I think they're the only band where you really see all-round creative output merge so togetherly. There was mouth-guitaring, synthesized vocals, and BEP and The Verve thrown in, I don't know how they keep things co-ordinated, seriously.

They were followed by lotta other bands, Pesawat, Bittersweet and Couple just to name a few. Not gonna dissect every single one here cos YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN THERE! Definitely one of the better festivals we've been to, kudos to Laundry + Monsoon Records!

Halfway Kings @ Laundry festival 2010, 2 - 10 pm

2010-11-11T14:04:00.000+08:00

A laundry fest. This saturday. Come. Much great music.

From halfway kings

We wore no black ties !

2010-10-19T01:54:00.000+08:00

Hey reader. Guess what?

It happened again. A mash-up of acoustic styles as different as the colours of a rainbow. No black tie. Zalila, Reza Salleh, Aiqa Halim, Narmi, Asmidar and Halfway Kings.

You know, sometimes a gig feels like a roller coaster ride. Tonight we did the triple looper and twister at the same time. It started with a short slow climb to the peak and then once we went down, it never stopped.

We played Down & Over, Traveling lines, Square is the shape, Best soldier (feat. Christine Tee on piano) and finally an encore of our cover mash-up. During our first song, my heart was literally cringing. There were so many people there. Then I looked at Asmidar and Narmi and you know what? These guys were smiling. Suddenly things ain't so intimidating any more. There were even smiles and nods from the crowd . After that, we smiled too, and played our hearts out. It helped that Christine,(our sessionist) awed everyone with her jazzy take on Best Soldier. You rock girl.

For the other performers that day, even an essay would not be sufficient so here are my 4 descriptive (self created) words of each act :

1st set

Narmi
Crooner, Clean, Make-the-crowd-eat-out-of-his-hand-kinda-guy, fresh
Asmidar
Emotion, Expressive, powerful, That-darn-good
Halfway Kings
(why dont you fill this up for me in the comments?)

2nd set

Zalila Lee
Soulful ,Guitardrumbeattablashakerbackingsoloist++ ,Fingerstyle ,Unique
Reza Salleh
Rez-Funk, Meaningful,makescrowdplaydrumonknees&tables, smooth
Aiqa Halim
Catchy, Bubbly-sultry, Easy-Listening, reminiscent

Reza;Aiqa;Zal

Ahh. That took some time. I guess the highway from brain to keyboard gets further when not used often.

You know, it still surprises me greatly how much support we received that day. I have never ceased to wonder how our scribbles and notes manage to resonate within somebody else, make them bob their head and even break a smile. Its quite humbling frankly. Another little thing occurred to me that topped off the night. Whoever says musicians are uppity and stuck up, have not met this bunch of people. One of the most easy-going, humble and talented group I have ever met. Seriously.

Halfway Kings feat. Christine Tee (far left)

Its late now. Thanks for spending a moment of your life here. Cheers.

Joachim Sebastian.

Acoustic Mania #1 @ No Black Tie

2010-10-13T21:50:00.004+08:00

We'll be performing at No Black Tie this Sunday alongside Narmi, Reza Salleh, Aiqa Halim, Zalila Lee, and Asmidar. The show starts at 9pm. And with so many performers, it's gonna be crowded, so reserve your seats if you like a good clear view, people!

Pretty excited about this show because we're roping in a certain Ms. Tee to play the piano on one of our newer songs. Jo and I know Christine from, you guessed it, our schooling days back in Seremban! I know, we're such state-ist! We should just go ahead and name our band Seremban instead (believe me, it has crossed this Postishead fan's mind before).

Here's the link to the Acoustic Mania #1 FB events page.

Bring your friends and lovers.

Doppelganger World Open Mic @ Berjaya Times Square

2010-10-07T20:01:00.003+08:00

Hello, HK is feeling so confused right now. We submitted our names awhile ago for some indie fest and waited. And waited. Then all of a sudden we get an email and Wham Bham George Michael, our band name's on the poster!

So catch us this Sunday (10.10.10) @ Berjaya Times Square. We go on at 12:45pm. Join us for lunch after that!

Adeline's brother's bandmate told him that HK was mentioned on the radio when they were announcing the above event. Then Adeline's brother PM-ed her on FB to tell her that. And then she went "oh yeah, this Sunday..."

Lunch offer stands. You belanja.

Photojournal

2010-10-03T23:55:00.003+08:00

This is so late coming but better than never! We wanna thank Koh Jun Lin's Photojournalism lecturer for giving him an assignment, forcing him to cover HK's first gig (a few months ago) at the shrine in which we worship - No Black Tie!

And therefore, for the first time ever, we have a well documented process of how a typical gig day goes for us, and the rehearsals and preparation that goes into it weeks beforehand.

Take a look around. It's a lotta hard work and a whole lot more fun!

Fuyoh Blazer

2010-09-20T19:03:00.003+08:00

Laundry looked quite the charmer after its make-over. New band area and old gramophone sitting in the corner. Glad they kept the disco balls, though, they were always my favourite part. This time was a lot better compared to the last time we were there. Both Jo and I made sure we were disease-free (well, Jo just recovered from dengue) and all, no more "enhanced" performances with the aid of drugstore drugs.

Also, fun times with the crazy Ask Me Again. These guys know how to wring the most outta their youth (if you know what I mean). For more pics of the other bands that night, check out Laundry's blog.

Monsoon Records Night Vol.7 @ Laundry

2010-09-09T19:04:00.004+08:00

Aloha. Mama says to do your laundry every once in a while. So come air it out next Thursday (16th Sept) at Laundry Bar, The Curve. We're performing alongside Ask Me Again and Janice & The Supertank in an event organised by boutique recording company and host of artiste residencies - Monsoon Records.

This is our very first poster with our mugs on it! It was taken in the stairway outside Jo's condo unit. We had to stop every now and then so that people could walk past and stare at us strangely.

If you're dropping by to catch the performance, don't leave without saying hi. We like to talk and bermamak with interesting people ;) Check the FB events page for more info.

Life On Break

2010-08-31T17:23:00.004+08:00

Sorry for being so awfully quiet, HK was kinda on a mini break. But we might just hit some open mics pretty soon to test out some of our newer material! Yeap, we've been writing and we are definitely making some turns musically.

In the meantime, here are some super happening pics of our super happening lives in our super happening hometown - Seremban! We hailed the homecoming and birthday of one of our best girls - Nicole! Here's to birthday parties, cakes and car rides.

Birthday girl

A slice of cake can take you to high places

We be back in business soon, people!

Do Your Laundry

2010-08-17T14:35:00.006+08:00

Some shots from the Moonshine gig at Laundry last Thursday.

Zalila Lee

Jared from Once Upon A Time There Was A Sausage Named Bob

David Knight

For more pics, head on over to Laundry's blog.

Moonshine @ Laundry Bar

2010-08-14T21:48:00.004+08:00

We tried buying drugs and then just sat there and stoned for awhile.

Over the counter ones, that is. And the stoning is the type you do with the aid of tiredness and nothing else. Jo and I were absolutely knackered on the day of our Moonshine gig @ Laundry. Jo had to rush back from classes and I had just roughly 2-hours of sleep the night before when we went for our soundcheck.

We ended up stoning on the couch of this random clinic we came across while hunting for Clarinex and lozenges for my very convenient flu + sore throat combo. The show, as expected didn't really go well for us. The sound guy was kinda pissed saying that I wasn't really singing. Well, he was right.

But wahey, that's the fun part about being in a band. Even the suckiest experiences become funny ones. It'll always be a good recollection piece when you get to tell people how you slept at the Curve and the security guard came and woke you up pointing to the "No Sleeping" sign right behind you.

Yeap, to Moonshine, people. We shall always remember this one.

Cheers,

adeline.

Urbanscapes 2010. An escape for the urban?

2010-08-09T22:02:00.022+08:00

Yes. We were there.

It was a first class experience for Joachim Sebastian. His first URBANscape. (warning , 3rd party POV). A day of colours, difference and attention-seeking. A fertile ground for hidden rebellion.

To Joachim Sebastian, it was a riot. Everything seemed over the top. Special mention goes to the weather. You could have fried an egg on a stool left out in the open for five minutes at urbanscapes..(If you were there, please nod in empathy)

After a good serving of electronic water sounds, poetry, paintings, a house moving session and fashion for sale, it was time to hit the stage.Halfway Kings managed a feedback-full set of three("twee "-credits to nicoleLYL). Although it was a "syok sendiri" act, both Adeline and Joachim really appreciated the support shown by their friends.

Halfway Kings,

the band with the weird name,
the band with a thimble of fame,
a band of two,
not a band of who,
a point of view,
and some songs to spew,
we do it our way,
coz i guess so few give a damn anyway.......... ( we thank you..those who do...we do..)

gnight peeps,

(when the fat lady sings = when joachim starts poetry = danger)

SOME DISTRACTIONS :
( last picture is Shaneil and Rashaad from Crossing Boundries....rocker guys...thanks for the support)

Square is the Shape, Live @ No Black Tie

2010-08-03T01:57:00.007+08:00

Its funny how we take things for granted.

A movie.
A sentence.
A poem.
Life.

We rush through life glancing at the outer galleries of great minds saying "we are", "we were" or "we will".

Never to take the first step.

Always the observer.

--------------------------------------

Today I learn how hard it is to create.

Today I learn to force the first step.

Today I learn to appreciate

A movie.
A sentence.
A poem.
Life.

Just a little bit more.

Cheers,
Joachim Sebastian

credits for co-shooters go to :
BryanLYT
Fu Ken Ho
Albert Ng (the boss who planned it all)
(alphanatics rawk! ahahah )

Chronicles of Sore Thumb: Self-Acceptance

2010-07-31T21:11:00.005+08:00

Photos by Joshua Chay. For more pics click here.

The day started with a soundcheck at 2:15pm. Jo had class at 3 so we decided to take his bike to Ecoba instead. Erm. Yeah. We got quite lotta weird looks, some woman in a taxi actually eye-followed us for as long as she could. You see, there was Jo - Indian macha, and then there was me - Chinese amoi pillion rider with a guitar awkwardly strapped to her back, so we were entertainment on the mundane roads of KL.

It was a full workout, seriously, trying to hang on while the guitar dragged you backwards. Mind you, it wasn't a short ride from Cheras to PJ Trade Centre and back.

The event started with quite a bang. An Honest Mistake was up first, followed by Ask Me Again. We were 3rd up, it was quite a good set but you could seriously hear the noise level drop but after so many shows of being the sore thumb, I've learned to embrace it :)

Kyoto Protocol went up next, as always they put on a whack show. Those guys really know how to have fun on stage. Someone told me the frontman was wielding his guitar like a spaceship (?) but yeah, the crowd was enthralled.

Last act up was Paid In Fiction and then a short break to calculate scores. To no surprise, Kyoto Protocol won. Much deserved and I can't wait to get my paws on their singles. So now, I should be off to complete the last round of assignments that have been in deep freeze for the past week.

Click here to read Junk mag's review of the event.

HK will probably take a break from gigging now and concentrate on finalizing our halfway-written songs. Defrost time!

Take Off My Pants

2010-07-28T12:11:00.004+08:00

Again, picture stolen from Paolo's site

For one thing - Joachim's t-shirt really helped calm the nerves. It was bright yellow with a guy pointing a gun. It said, and I quote "Dun Move, TAKE OFF MY PANTS".

HOW? WHY? Would anyone buy something like that and wear it to No Black Tie? Our cool quotient just went down by 36% with that alone. But thank God the company saved our asses. Besides Reza Salleh and Paolo Delfino, there were a few unannounced acts popping by to play (which is what I loved about the show). Drummer of One Buck Short, Narmi took the stand with guitar and voice, the incredible Zalila Lee turned up and did an impromptu set using Jo's guitar(!), and Paolo's guitarist - Izaad did a short set with his band The Glance.

The place was packed and at one point I saw Narmi squatting right in front of the stage and I thought that was a brilliant idea so I did exactly the same. Ended up taking off skyscraper wedges and sitting on the floor peeping through chairs at Reza onstage.

I would say we put out quite a good set that night. The crowd was one of the best we've had so far. There were actually looking at us this time. Full frontal faces, yo! The open mics we go to largely consist of side profiles and backs.

Just want to say how honoured we are to have played alongside these people. Reza, verging on veteran status was making the crowd eat outta his hands. Funny, tight, owned the place. Paolo and The Short Attention Span Band were the most ambitious of all the performers (full 6-man-band) and I admire them for doing it cos they love doing it. Really enjoyed being a part of that, even if it was for a short 3-song duration :)

Good people, don't forget the Junk Records event tonight. Come as you are. No cover charge. 4 other bands performing!

Half of Halfway

2010-07-27T11:51:00.006+08:00

The only good thing about our lame band name is the endless headlines it affords us by way of extremely clever, thigh-slapping-witty play on words.

Woke up this morning, fumbled around bathroom for toothbrush and it dawned on me that hey, HK's NBT gig IS TODAY!

So despite various reminders on calendars and a jamming session with Paolo Delfino yesterday, it actually failed to register in my brain that today is Tuesday and Tuesday is gig day and therefore gig day is today.

Enough. I feel quite dumb without such incidents being constant reminders of my blurness already. Here's a shot of last night's practice that I stole from Paolo's site. I'm singing back-up on a few of his songs at tonight's gig.

Some call it crammed, some call it cosy, some call it in the pot 9 days old. If you wanna see how many more people were jammed into his room, click here.

-adeline.

No Black Tie

2010-07-25T17:46:00.003+08:00

Just in case you are wondering which event we're more hyped up about...well, I don't know (27th - acoustic showcase, 28th - Junk Records). I can only speak for myself (Adeline writing) and I'm pretty psyched about No Black Tie.

Come watch us and I'll tell you why!

It's gonna be something else, I promise. So far, NBT's gotta be the most perfect setting for HK to perform in since we started gigging. It has the right amount of distance and intimacy at just the appropriate proximity. But that's just all theory gleaned from my time spent peering in the dark at performers on NBT's stage. We'll put it to the test this Tuesday!

Seeing HK on the NBT's calendar affords me some small thrills. This girl don't ask for much. Only that YOU come and join us!

More info on the show here or here (if you've deactivated your FB account).

Bedroom to Studio

2010-07-23T18:11:00.001+08:00

Look what we got in the mail :)

Ain't no cover charge for this one! And you get to see other bands perform as well. What's not to like eh?

We Like the Venue

2010-07-21T13:41:00.005+08:00

What a breather this Wednesday morning is!

The two individual parts of HK have been running round like headless poultry for the past few weeks but it's all good!

So, Junk has emailed us the details for our Junk Records Finale event!

Date: 28 July (Wednesday)
Time: 7pm - 10.30pm
Venue: ECOBA at PJ Trade Centre (map here)

ECOBA will always bring back fond memories of HK's first really failed open mic afterparty where we were sorta mucking about outside the venue. We'll be competing alongside Kyoto Protocol, Ask Me Again, Paid In Fiction and An Honest Mistake. Come cheer us on if you're mobile and have some time to spare ;)

Han Solo

2010-07-17T21:43:00.003+08:00

Hello.

We got in. Junk Record's Top 5!

Kinda at lost for words. Except for "thankyous" which seem to lose their meaning after so much repetition. So I will quote Harrison Ford on this:

"I wrote two speeches, a long one and a short one. I'll give you the short one: 'Thank you.' But it seems there might be enough time for the long one as well, which is: 'Thank you very much."

Sincerely,

Birthday Present

2010-07-12T17:14:00.004+08:00

The show @ Homegrown Space was a special one. Besides it recording the lowest headcount ever, it coincided with my birthday (it's Adeline writing here), haha!

Sound was awesome, perfect for our acoustic set-up as you could hear all the nuances that usually get drowned out in normal open mic events.

And as usual I almost killed a car-load of people driving to the venue. 3 people giving directions and a truck-driver wannabe at the wheel are not the best combinations for a safe journey. But no one was hurt! We even managed an aftershow party later with some of the boys from Crossing Boundaries who were sweet enough to come by to watch us.

Bunch of close friends, great cake, strawberries, new friends, meatballs, 5-way conversations. Thank you for a great night, people!

Here's a recording from our performance - HK's new song "Tongue to the Board"; about moonlight and burying people in the sand. What are you talking bout? I'm not morbid.

Click here for more vids of our Homegrown gig.

Junkesaurus

2010-06-30T17:43:00.004+08:00

Photo by tennsen

Just got the confirmation from Junk, turns out multiple votes count. So C'MON PPL, SHOW US SOME LOVE! Don't forget to keep on voting.

I don't care if we don't win now, but just carry us through to Top 5 so at least I'll die with the satisfaction of having performed live and THEN only judged for what we're worth by the panel. They can say "sore thumb, go stand in the corner now, stop playing with the big boys" for all I care after that cos it ain't gonna matter, we've already shown them what we've got.

Cheers, fellow Kingsters.

Don't forget to come by Homegrown Space on the 9th, 8pm. It's gonna be a partiful party.

Halfway Kings @ Fete de la musique, The CURVE .....

2010-06-27T23:29:00.002+08:00

@ the curve with some of our friends....
Was a pretty good sweaty(from the pics) gig....but I guess its become extremely necessary to get a great plug in acoustic guitar... A big thank you to all who attended and gave our music a try...see ya @ homegrown! :)

photos are courtesy of Mr. Arvind Imran Thampy and Mr. Samuel Anand Sebastian.... good friend and brother... :)

HOMEGROWN....yes we are....

2010-06-27T22:27:00.003+08:00

Dear friends who enjoy our music,

Halfway kings shall be performing at Homegrown in Damansara on the 9th of JULY at 8pm.

There will be raw acoustic music for all to hear Halfway style.

Our page @ HOMEGROWN

Open Mic @ Urbanscapes

2010-06-23T21:14:00.003+08:00

If we can't get into Urbanscapes, well, we will!

HK has been a big fan of events like Urbanscapes since it started a few years back. So we have wriggled our way somehow into performing there. Even if it ain't scheduled, it still gon be cool!

This is how we wriggled in:

Projek Angkat Rumah

Venue : KLPac, Sentul

Add : Sentul Park, off Jln Ipoh, 51100, KL. (Click here for map)

Date : 26th June 2010 (Sat)

Time : 2pm-ish

Can't wait!

HK got on Junk Records!!! I mean, almost.

2010-06-16T00:01:00.006+08:00

We are part of the Top 10!!

Junk Records allows us to record 3 single professionally for FREE!

It's kind of weird. I've been listening to the other acts. We sound really naked next to them. Sore thumb scenario yet again. Naked sore thumb...hmm, thumbs don't normally wear clothes but..

VOTE if you dig our naked music here.

Better yet. Get your friends in on all that naked action too (sorry, it's the excitement speaking).

Because we only get to go through if we have enough votes to float us to the Top 5, where we'll perform for a panel of judges.

thanks babes.

-HK

Fête de la Musique @ The Curve

2010-06-15T21:53:00.005+08:00

This is one of our biggest events so far. Still an open mic but with SO MANY MORE BANDS it's exciting!! There'll be 4 concerts at one go at 4 different places from 10am to 10pm.

HK will be performing at only one of em but we are EXCITED!

Venue: The Curve (in front of Laundry)
Add: The Curve, Mutiara Damansara, PJ.
Date: 20th June 2010 (Sun)
Time: 10am - 10pm (HK goes on at 7:40pm)

Did I mention that we're excited? Click here for a list of other acts performing.

ex-ci-terd.

See you there!

Getting Fresh

2010-06-08T21:28:00.008+08:00

WE HAVE A BRAND SPANKING NEW LAYOUT!!!!

I'm really proud, I'm almost a total noob when it comes to web design (scored a damn C for it in class) so don't be harsh! Still working on it, though. I don't really dig the font. Does anyone know how to fix this? The user interface in blogger is disabled because it's an externally downloaded HTML that we're using.

Any kind-hearted web designers out there?

Oh, here are some pics from the previous Open Mic at For Fresh People. For more pics, head on to our Facebook page.

Really cosy place. Responsive crowd. It was one of the better performances we've had. Two encores and the audience actually layan-ed my C-grade onstage rambling (tears. Kleenex.).

As we were performing, I saw this couple sitting across the room, they seemed really odd and really....familiar. Later when we were done, the guy actually approached me and I found out he was Peter Hassan Brown and the woman with him, dreadlocks, leather jacket and all, was Markiza! Saw them perform once at KLPac a few years ago. See, my memory sticks! Got to meet Aidil, frontman of Couple, who was part of the crowd that night too.

We got to share the stage with so many different acts. All weird and... weird in their own way. Someone was singing Ella Fitzgerald, then it was Miley Cyrus, then it was some song about the roof burning down, then it was us, and then Crossing Boundaries and then some trio singing "Single Ladies" acapella, complete with coordinated dance moves.

Oh and Joachim drove that night cos I injured my hand falling off a bicycle. Vocalists get away with all kinds of injuries and still get to perform! How privileged.

-adeline lucky girl.

Yet Anotha For Ya Teh Savour

2010-05-28T01:04:00.002+08:00

Open Mic @ For Fresh People
Category: Music

Hello, a little last minute, I know. But that's what's so exciting, no? Guerilla ambushing and all. But do come and listen to some moozik this Friday night. Besides it's free food (NO KIDDING) and 20% off drinks (!!). That's a crazy deal.

Venue: For Fresh People Kitchen & Kafe - Greenroom

Add: 6 & 6A Jln Telawi, Bangsar Baru.

Date: 28th May 2010

Time: 7:30pm - 12:00am

Click here for more info

In the words of the Beatles - "Hello goodbye hello goodbye, hello goodbye, hello goodbyeee".

It Ran In the Air

2010-05-24T17:27:00.006+08:00

Jo: Damn coward mosquito. It bit me and ran away!

Addy: Mosquitoes fly.

Jo: It ran. In the air.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is how we roll.

B&W pic taken by TennSen

Here's another new song from HK. Joachim came out with this whack chord progression/tune/whatchamacallit and tossed it to me. It immediately reminded of some poetry I wrote way back when and so I just tried singing the words to it. And that was how "Down and Over" was birthed into the world!

We loike it. Here's a live version of the same song we recorded outside Ecoba (we were just there to use the toilet, I know, we are supercool kids).

Laila's and The After Party

2010-05-22T11:25:00.005+08:00

Hello mamas and papas,

We back from our first open mic! Thank you all that came to listen to us, HK would have just frazzled out in a bunch of nerves if it weren't for you guys. And that surely is not a proper expression but it's all I can come up with that best describes how we feel.

Here's a video of us stuck in a traffic jam bad enough to preserve fruit.

We'd love to show you the performance at Laila's but the camcorder was set in the wrong mode the whole way through the show hahaahh (yes, that's a HK moment for you).

BUT after the gig, we had our own impromptu make-shift Halfway Show. Here's a taste of it.

P/S we got kicked out at the end by the security guards. (lovelyyyy).

More vids coming up soon! And a new song ;)

Thank you Reeve Hue for loaning us the camcorder and also Wan Shin for being the extremely patient camerawoman.

Open Mic @ Laila's Cafe & Lounge

2010-05-12T13:59:00.003+08:00

Open Mic @ Laila's Cafe & Lounge

Since we've finally stabilized as a band, we're hitting the open mics! Our first assault would be -

Venue : Laila's Cafe & Lounge

Add : B-7-1, Blk B, Plaza Kelana Jaya, Jln SS7/13A, 47301, PJ.

Date : 19th of May (Wed)

Time : 8:30- 9:00pm

We'll be playing mostly originals, maybe one cover. Any favs or requests? :)

Oh, did we mention the pre-show jitters? They're starting right now. Outta the uni, into the cafe.

Wish us luck, or better yet, bring the luck. Come see us yourselves.

Click here for more info on other acts featured during the open mic.

We have been posterized!

2010-04-26T23:38:00.005+08:00

by Michelle Lim

This little surprise came in my mail today from an old schoolmate who's now studying Graphic Design in London. I love the quirkiness of this piece! Makes me wanna be in 2D. I'd be so much cooler and speak like Diablo Cody scripted all my words.

Thank you and much love to ya, Michelle!

- adeline

Maybe Please

2010-04-16T13:39:00.003+08:00

After weird intensity comes...something lighter. Hear our second song off our myspace page. Or watch it right here.

I always had trouble finishing songs. This is the very very first one that got written in full. It's not the best, but it's the first :)

Joachim made it waaaay better musically, though. If not you'll be hearing some plonky chopsuey song.

I don't know what that means either.

Square is the Shape

2010-04-09T04:23:00.004+08:00

Photo by Diane Pavitra. Edited by Joachim.

Hey guys,

We've put up one of our first songs on MySpace.

http://www.myspace.com/halfwaykings

A song about squares, and jagged lines and new diseases.

We'll be updating with another one soon. Watch this space! Or better yet, Follow or Subscribe to our blog for instant updates (Refer to Sidebar, yo).

If you're really really lazy to move your cursor, here's the song on YouTube.

Much love,

Halfway Kings

Contrast

2010-03-28T21:14:00.007+08:00

My friend asked who Jo Chiam was. It took me a minute to realise that she was talking about this bugger. It's Joachim Jegaraj, yo!

Nally Woo, the Indian-est Chinese Joachim claims he's ever met!

Really supportive crowd. Much love!

Someone said that the balloons looked like sperms and the moon looked like the ovum.

All pics taken by Koh Jun Lin.

UCSI Earth Hour. Phew.

We were the sorest thumb sticking out that night. I thought it's be relatively easy playing the only acoustic set and being different but boy, was I wrong!

An Honest Mistake was seriously rocking it, like headbanging, sweat flinging, screamo rocking it. And then...

They left and we were next.

Crap and all its cousins. I never felt such a stark contrast before. I didn't dare to look at the audience when Halfway walked up the stage.

Should I say it was good? Well, it was a good experience. It was the first time we had random strangers (instead of our own friends) coming up to say that they enjoyed the performance :)

Got to perform two songs we wrote this time around and we were really proud about it. It was also great to have Nally Woo on board helping out with vocals. That girl can seriously hit the high notes!

P/S Halfway Kings understand the controversy surrounding Earth Hour concerts. But energy 'wasted' during Earth Hour will not be if people that come are made aware and love the earth long-term when they head on home.

Billed Below

2010-03-17T00:49:00.005+08:00

Little band celebrates little achievements. Ours for today is being billed two places below Disagree!!! I know I'm pathetic but I also know we all are.

Ch-ch-check it out.

Also check out our band description. Damn unprofessional compared to Disagree and An Honest Mistake. Picture also satu macam. Don't worry, we take pride in standing out. We're playing the only acoustic set during Earth Hour and I promise you, we'll be a breath of fresh air (I'll make sure Joachim chews his mints before we go on)!

Entrance is FREE, ANYONE can come. So please, bring on the delinquents and bad seeds. I kid. But really, it's a hilltop concert with a hot air balloon ride (this I kid you not) so come support us. Event starts at 6pm, bands go on at 7pm.

-adeline.

We Are COMING!!

2010-03-05T20:28:00.002+08:00

3 words people....earth hour, UCSI..........................be there!

Well I know its been 5 months or more since our last update....but here is the thing peeps... things have happened ...and we as a band needed to overcome them ....but now all that is past, were back and writing some really good stuff. Do come to support us! :) - Joachim Sebastian

Why in the world would they?

2009-09-19T00:58:00.006+08:00

It's been long, I know. We've been kinda bogged down with studies and other responsibilities. And it's hard planning practices that fit all three different schedules.

But meanwhile, Halfway has been featured in UCSI's e-News under the My Take section. Which is good and flattering, except that it was really hard to write about ourselves, cos...I dunno, it's just a weird position to be in la.

Read the article here.

I'm kinda anal about being misrepresented. They edited some parts and made it sound a little more dramatic than it really is. But it is nonetheless great of the uni to be supportive of our little band. And for that, we are really grateful!

Hope to start performing soon,
Adeline.

Awaken ..awaken...you sleepy monster!

2009-08-27T13:42:00.007+08:00

And for many years, our blog lay motionless... the SUDDENLY....awaken it does!

Hey peeps, now we are currently planing our gig lineup... we would appreciate any great ideas or somthing that you would see us do.. Do feel free to drop ideas and comments. We thank you for your support and STAY TUNED for updates.....

This picture here..?..yeah...thats our poster from our last performance!!

STOMP! Photos

2009-07-28T16:46:00.003+08:00

Here are some photos from our last performance at UCSI's STOMP Charity Concert. Credits to Wilson Wong for the pics. Here's the link to our Facebook page:

I LIKE TO BE CLICKED SO CLICK ME!

And this is "I'm Good I'm Gone" by Lykke Li, which we performed that night too. Lots of people were asking about it after the show. So here it is! Saves me the embarrassment of not knowing how to pronounce her name correctly.

adeline.

STOMP! Charity Concert @ UCSI , 24th July 2009

2009-07-26T12:31:00.010+08:00

AND so it began.... our first gig.... OFFICIALLY...It started with our cover of Coldplay's "Violet Hill", followed by a cover of Lykke Li's "I'm Good I'm Gone"...and finished with an original Halfway Kings song - Square Is The Shape....We began our show to a small but enthusiastic crowd.

The entire event had a casual, and chillout air to it..DEFINITELY not as intimidating as we expected. At the end of the day, it was a good start for our journey together as a band. We really wanna thank all of those who turned up and stayed on till the very end to support us!!

Heres a picture of us with REZA SALLEH, Mellina Williams (the bassist of TEMPERED MENTAL) and a waaaay awesome drummer gal, Steph Chan.

To all our fans and supporters (however you may number): Thank you! Thank you .... Thank you.
Halfway Kings ... over and out.

Curry Curry Rice Rice

2009-07-22T23:57:00.005+08:00

Me: Can't I not talk to the audience? I'm so bad at talking to the audience.
Jo: OK, you want me to talk to the audience?

Me: No.
Jo: You should say (puts on thick Indian accent) "Velcome to our band"(puts palms together).
Diane: Velcome to our ben.

Jo and Diane are both Indian.

Seven Nation Army

2009-07-21T13:19:00.000+08:00

Here's an old video with Lam on the guitar (Pemain guitar yang hebatttt). We miss you already! No one fantasizes about a rockstar life out-loud anymore!

UCSI Charity Concert

2009-07-21T12:45:00.001+08:00

It's been super long since this site ditubuhkan but yeah, we're finally getting around to actually posting something up!!

So we'll be performing for UCSI's Charity Concert this Fri (24th July 2009), 7:30pm @ Auditorium, Block C, South Wing, UCSI campus.

We've been practicing real hard (for hours and hours, ya'll) for this with our new line up: Bass, Keyboard, Shaker/Knockin-On-File. Yup, we're so starved for percussion that we're using a file (mainly because my co-ordination is so bad that I can't sing and handle anything else more complicated).

So please come around. Tickets go for RM10, all sales go to Women's Aid Organization.

Oh man, and if we screw up in front of Reza freakin Salleh (!!! he'll be performing too) it'll be the highlight of the month. Maybe we'll start a Wall Of Shame on our Sidebar. hurhur.