Hi, my name's Justin Tjoandi. Just recently, I decided I should create my own music blog to post all my new songs, gear, or anything music related. After all, music is my passion =) One perspective I hold to is that music never gets old. It's for people of all ages. I'm not gonna give up music so easily. Music lasts forever.
Introductions? Well my history with music is quite extensive... All I can remember is that the first music instrument that I play is the piano. That's the only formal music lesson I took. Classical piano.... Made it to grade 4 (of Royal Pieces) and gave up, not because I can't, but because I took other interests =P Ever since I was little, I have always taken interest in the drums. My old church (in Roxi Mas) has frequent praise and worship sessions other than the ones on Sunday morning. Om Sandy Harris is the usual drummer there. I started watching him play and air drumming. But I never did take up drum lessons until I was in the 6th grade. Didn't play on stage till 10th grade. Oh well... My very first "real" instrument that I knew how to play freely is the bass guitar. Watching Yosi Terroe and Sam Suganda play during MSA devotions. Eventually, I got bassist duties too. Played for Kids on Fire, MSA devotion, and even for the 2010-2011 MSA Band. But just two years ago, I was suddenly struck interested by guitar playing. Most likely due to Hillsong's awesome riffs and Synyster Gates' face-melting solos. There I fell in love with guitars and pedals. So now, I'm a trained bassist, guitarist, and drummer.
Next up, singing and songwriting. Everyone can sing, but not everyone can sing in tune. I'm still working on singing in tune (without the aid of Auto-tune techs, that is). I was accepted in the church singer in April of 2010. This I remember because the auditions were during the midst of Sports Day chaos. This marked my first formal vocal training. I have already written quite a few songs before this time though. The very first "valid" song that I wrote was for my old band TC: The Chasers entitled "More of You". It wasn't that bad, but it was kinda too simple. I didn't write anything after a period of time (around a year or so). Then I received inspiration and wrote 2 songs in a week's span. "Back Again" featuring a more minor tone and "Surrender" that is more melodic than the former. The spark for songwriting turned into a fire. I started writing a lot more ever since then. I wrote a very special song called "Forget Me Not". This is the first song I wrote that features an acoustic intro. Looking back, I was quite surprised at the lyrical content and unique melody. One of the most inspiring month was probably September of 2009, where I wrote 5 songs in total, including "Somewhere Else", "One Heartache", and the 'prototype' of "Again...". I wrote a lot more songs throughout the year (including a holiday song for Christmas and New Year in "New Dawn"). The one that I wrote from my emotions was the song I dedicated for my dear senior class entitled "Precious Moments". After our trip to the Komodo Islands, I couldn't bear the thought of leaving them for uni. I did shed a few tears writing. In Canada, I recalled "Again..." and decided to improve the structure. I finished it and entered it to a contest (but didn't make it). I then came up with an upbeat tune in a minor key. I call it "All for You". Up to now, it isn't fully finished yet but I promise it would be completed and posted soon =) My latest song was "The Good Fight". Three weeks ago, I received a news that broke me deeply... One of my close friends had passed away after years of fighting tumor and leukemia. At the first hour of hearing the news, I held a heavy heart. That night, I had the urge to go to Garageband and press into the software keyboard. 4 chords and it was magic. I told one of my other close friend about the "project" I am making. I told her about how I want this song to be about celebrating his life and the good memories we have of him. I explained how I do not want this to be a typical structural song (verse-chorus-bridge/prechorus). I wrote the chorus but left the verses empty. The intro consists of a verse reading. Then comes the chorus. After a day of pondering, an inspiration from heaven struck me. I messaged a few of my friends if they'd help me with this project. They all agreed and participated. It took me two weeks to finish that song completely. Finally, it was done and I posted it in dedication to our great friend Abraham Singarimbun. The voices in the song are of the people who couldn't attend the funeral due to the distance apart. Two were in Singapore, one in Bali, one in California, one in Oklahoma, and I in Toronto. In this song, I recorded their speaking voices through Skype and mixed it in a way that their voices are synced into the rhythm of the song. I don't know if anyone have done that before, but I would do these new experiments just to make it unique in memory of my friend. Link to the song: (http://soundcloud.com/justincredible-2/the-good-fight)
Music is just amazing. It gives life. Through my contribution to music, I only want two things out of it: that it be an inspiration for someone else and that it can give praise back to the Lord who gave me this talent. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Thank God for music =)
Let music be in the soul,
Justin
