Bridging the Blues Day 2 with Skunk Jive

If the event was a buffet, Skunk Jive would have been considered to be the perfect icing on the cake. The main course was good but no one could refuse desserts or extra helpings of it - Skunk Jive was every bit of it and more! By the time Skunk Jive hit the stage, it was around past 10pm and it seemed like some of the audience were ready to be calling it a day. Not Skunk Jive. Throwing in bluesy and funky numbers such as their original "Borrowed Time" (you can check out the video below), Kelvin "Smokey" Ng and the rest of the band managed to retain most of the audience, and even brought a standstill to some of the passer-bys.






Here's a Skunk Jive number which features frequently at their gigs "Borrowed Time". (videoed with permission from Esplanade and the band):



If you're still wondering how you might not have heard of Skunk Jive, then let me reply you in words of the own band themselves "We play the purest of blues in Singapore". Accolades include Jazz By The Beach@Sentosa, Mosaic Festival, Old Brown Shoe, Esplanade Waterfront and more. And notably Kelvin Smokey Ng who a fore-runner in the local blues scene, has honed his harp playing skills and impressed in venues as far as the holy land of blues music, Chicago USA.

"The sky was overcast, the heat sweltering. Guitarist Harry Manx was halfway through his set at the 2004 Chicago Blues Festival when he decided to throw the audience a curveball. Enter stage right: Kelvin “Smokey” Ng. As Smokey took a seat by the microphone, there was some halfhearted applause, along with a couple of groans. Just a day earlier, a Japanese samisen troupe in full kimono garb had played on this same stage, resulting in a muddled attempt at an “East meets West” blues jam. And now here was Manx introducing a Chinese harp player whom he had met in Singapore. I could almost hear the crowd sigh, “Yes, globalization is nice and all, but we would like to hear some blues, please.” True, I could have pointed out to these folks that thanks to globalization, you can indeed buy a Marine Band in Singapore. But I held my tongue; I knew Smokey would give them what they deserved: a rude and bluesy awakening. What followed was a hoodoo-drenched acoustic version of “The Thrill Is Gone,” with Smokey blowing some of the fattest harp licks heard at the festival. He took his first chorus, and passers-by were stopping in their tracks. I had seen Smokey hypnotize an audience countless times, albeit on smaller stages that were literally on the other side of the world. Now the stage was Chicago. Whispers rose from the crowd: “Who is this guy?” Manx was happy to oblige an answer. “That’s Kelvin Ng,” he said. “All the way from...Singapore.” And that, my friends, is how Smokey was introduced to the city of Chicago." - Ken Chang, who has written for Allmusic.com and Bluesrevue magazine.

Jason Benedict Cruz, the drummer of the band shone particularly at the event as well. He was talent-scouted out by Kelvin himself at one of the open jams at Crazy Elephant to join Skunk Jive. Slotting in as the drummer slot with Skunk Jive at the back of a mere rehearsal coming just days before, Jason showed flair, showmanship and groove in the execution of his chops. A drum instructor at Rhythm House which also houses Mr Mark Boatman (from Mean Jeanne and the Blues Machine) and Mr David McGuire (from Heritage), Jason remains a humble and enthusiastic musician at heart who's a firm believer in taking his playing to the next level instead of dwelling on his current achievements.

Hi there, would you introduce yourself?

Jason: Hi! My name is Jason Cruz and I play the drumkit. I've only being with this band for barely a month. I'm 27 years of age and I teach drums as my day job.

Wow you've got a long road ahead of you then!

Jason: Yeah definitely! It's my first foray into playing pure blues as it is. I have grown up listening to this music but never really had a chance to be playing it like the way we did tonight. It's a great opportunity!

Let me just say you were in your element tonight, teetering on the edge of being flamboyant but I think you really kept your playing right where it should be.

Jason: Big thank you!

Do you guys happen to be playing anywhere as of now?

Jason: For the time being, we're doing one-off gigs. We move around quite a bit, to places which welcome blues music. We've got heavy commitments outside and are unable to commit to any form of resident band gigs.

One final question before we let you go. Your take on our local music scene?

Jason: Wow that's a tough question. Over the past few years, I've been noticing as far as musicians are concerned, the standard is going up. Especially the late teens and early 20s. More of our local bands are slowly venturing out and touring outside of Singapore and it's encouraging! I myself am inspired to do likewise actually.

In addition, Kelvin's a firm believer in the nurturing and giving exposure to young, talented blue musicians. 17-year old Joshua Francis and 23-year old Bryne Leong were welcomed onto the big stage and certainly held their own against the big guns, while being nothing short of impressing the audience along the way. Here's a video of Joshua whom Skunk Jive helped to feature at the event.
(Do read on for the interview I had with Bryne Leong)



Other than young Joshua Francis, Bryne Leong was thrown into the limelight on the night. Read on to find out how he kept pace with the rest of the band.

Hi there, Bryne it was good playing there!

Bryne: Hi thanks! Its the 2nd time I'm playing at the Esplanade and its a life-long dream be on the Esplanade stage. Thanks to Kelvin who invited me to jam, whom I've playing and jamming with for quite awhile already. We did a few gigs together.

I can only say you're in good hands if you play with Kelvin.

Bryne: Yeah definitely, when I was 16, 17, I was watching Kelvin play on stage. Playing with him is really cool.

This I have to ask. Blues is not the preferred choice of many in Singapore. Why would you want to go down this route?

Bryne: As any other kid out there, I listened to a bit of everything out there. I listened to punk rock and metal back in 90s and 00s but when you look back further beyond that, guitar players were all blues. I mean Kirk Hammett plays the blues. Angus Young plays the blues. As a guitar player you would pick up from then. For example, guitar player Stevie Ray Vaughn and BB King, I've heard of them but not heard what they do yet everyone respects them. But once you're past that, you'll get blown away.

What do you think could be done to try divert the immense attention the top40s and radio hits musicians are getting onto events such as Bridging the Blues?

Bryne: The tricky thing here is that people want to be entertained in the company of friends and unless they're music lovers in the first place, they would not seek out an awesome playing band. I feel as long as there is booze and music, people are generally fine with it. Ambience noise unfortunately.

I think its a process that people have to slowly discover for themselves. Even more so when it comes to blues music.

Bryne: Everything in modern music came from there and even Lady Gaga herself. You can trace it back.

Well I'm not so sure about the Lady Gaga comment. Haha!

Bryne: Well Lady Gaga came from disco. Disco came from RnB. RnB came from motown and motown came from the blues! As long as there are people willing to hire blues and jazz acts, and these acts are good with people willing to enjoy the atmosphere that they put out, I'll say that's a good start in itself already.

If local acts are getting the recognition that they are deserving, they shouldn't be playing free in front of a public audience. They should be right where they belong - inside the Esplanade Concert Halls.

Bryne: I fully agree. If the bands are good, they should have greater monetary rewards. Playing music is not cheap. The instruments aren't cheap, the rental of jamming rooms, the practice time and the opportunity costs involved don't come cheap at all. If Esplanade could involve greater monetary incentive for the musicians, musicians themselves would appreciate it tremendously. Bars and pub owners should be willing to shell out more for bands if they feel bands can help pull in the crowd though its entirely at the discretion of the owners themselves.