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SINGAPORE: They say that the language of music is universal, but let’s face it - my dad, who prefers Cliff Richard, doesn’t get why I like Metallica or Nirvana, and I’m still trying to figure out why teens like The Jonas Brothers.
But, this month, everyone can get their share of musical delight from four artistes who cater to different age groups — two of whom are in town this month.
For The Seniors
Flavour of the month: Tony Orlando
You know him as the guy who sang "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree", but Tony Orlando actually started his career back in 1961, when he worked with a certain songwriter-producer called Carole King, who wrote his first hit, "Halfway to Paradise".
Of course, it’s his bouncy middle of the road tunes from the ’70s like "Tie a Yellow Ribbon", "Knock Three Times" and "Candida" that gave him massive worldwide hits.
And for the record, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" isn’t just about a prisoner ... Well, kind of.
“The song is really a love song, because here’s this guy who’s in prison for three years and writes home to his wife or girlfriend ... It’s a way of saying I love you without saying ‘I love you’,” he said in a phone call from his home in Missouri.
The song has been used for several causes.
In Singapore, the Yellow Ribbon Project is a prison rehabilitation programme.
In the Philippines, the song was a rallying cry after President Corazon Aquino’s husband was assassinated.
Orlando added: “In Canada, it’s used to support their troops. In the States, when someone is kidnapped, families will tie a yellow ribbon to signal they want their loved ones back.
"I recorded that song in 1973 - no one ever thought that we would have a record with that kind of staying power.”
Speaking of staying power, 64-year-old Orlando said he’ll carry on performing for as long as he can.
“(Comedian) George Burns signed a contract with Caesars Palace at 95! I plan to do the same, hopefully!” he said.
“This is what I’ll do till the day I die. It’s funny, I’ve known nothing else but to entertain.
"I’ve been given a job that I love, and I’m still able to draw people to my shows after 48 years. And after all that time, I’m still two years younger than Paul McCartney and four years younger than Ringo Starr!” he laughed.
So what can we expect at the show? “You’ll hear all those hits, and I like to shock people, so we’ll do some Led Zeppelin. I try to hit every musical base and cover every musical era so that people won’t go, ‘Oh, that’s not my time.’”
Tony Orlando performs on September 16, 8pm at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Tickets at S$78 to S$178 from Sistic.
For The Yuppies
Flavour of the month: Victor Wooten
A list of things a typical five-year-old kid would do doesn’t usually involve being in the opening band for Curtis Mayfield.
But that’s exactly what happened to bass extraordinaire Victor Wooten, who remembers playing with his older brothers as the front act for one of the late legendary soul singer’s concert tours.
“We didn’t know any better and I just did what my brothers were doing. It’s the same way a kid would learn how to speak English. I was just learning music at the same time,” Wooten told TODAY in a phone interview from San Francisco.
Now 43, Wooten is playing with a different band of “brothers” - the trio SMV, with fellow bassists Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller.
They will play at the Esplanade on September 19 as part of their tour in support of their album "Thunder".
But just who are these SMV blokes?
Well, Wooten’s a member of the multi-Grammy winning bluegrass-jazz group Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.
Miller, 49, meanwhile, was the bassist of choice for jazz greats like Miles Davis.
As for Clarke, his credentials include stints with Chick Corea and Jeff Beck. He’s also scored movies like Boyz N’ the Hood and Romeo Must Die.
The idea of three bassists sharing the same stage began during a New York show by Bass Player magazine in 2006.
Wooten and Miller presented the magazine’s Lifetime Achievement award to Clarke. That same night, they all jammed onstage to one of Clarke’s signature songs, "School Days".
“After that, we knew it was time for us to do something together,” said Wooten.
There were clashing egos, as well.
“Marcus would say ‘You guys are being too polite - turn it up a little bit!’ or ‘Victor, we haven’t had that crazy solo from you yet. Do that crazy thing you do’.”
Fair warning though: Their show has absolutely no guitarists. “It’s not that we’re banning guitars. We just don’t need it. We’ve got that covered!
"Three bass players? It can get pretty loud,” he laughed. “But it’s probably more musical than you would expect.”
Mosaic Series: SMV The Thunder Touris on September 19, 8pm, at the Esplanade Theatre. Tickets at S$58 to S$118 from Sistic.
For The Teens
Flavour of the month: Trace Cyrus
If the last name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the elder sibling of reigning Tween Queen Miley Cyrus and son of Billy Ray Cyrus.
He formed Metro Station with co-lead singer Mason Musso, released a self-titled hit album, and now he’s touring Canada with Simple Plan.
Not a bad haul in a space of a year.
“Honestly, I never thought it would become this big,” said the 19-year-old over the phone from Ottawa, Canada.
“We never made these songs to be huge or anything. We just posted them up on MySpace and all of a sudden, kids fell in love with them and that’s kind of what got us started. We definitely have MySpace to thank for!”
By the way, Metro Station got its name when Mason drove by a sign for the metro one day.
“He said, what do you think of Metro Station? And that was it. I wish it had more meaning to it, but it doesn’t.”
Interestingly, the band’s age group is wide: Both Cyrus and Musso are 19, but keyboardist Blake Healy is 26, and drummer Anthony Improgo is 32.
And their style of music - electro pop that’s a throwback to the sounds of the ’80s - also means their fans include thirtysomethings.
“I think the good thing is that many different ages of people can like our music,” Cyrus said.
And the band gets along fine despite the wide age-gap.
“Honestly, we actually tried out a couple of drummers who were around our age, but they didn’t get our style. Anthony was the first guy who immediately clicked.
"And it doesn’t feel like they’re older than us. Anthony can be just like a kid. He gets carded more than the rest of us when we go to a bar. Nobody believes he’s over 21!”
And as for comparisons between him and his popular sister Miley, said he isn’t bothered.
“I guess I’m used to it now. It definitely made me very nervous at first, because my sister has, like, so much publicity,” he said.
“I didn’t know if people would care or pay attention to our music. But I look up to my sister a lot. Because she’s only 15, but she has to deal with all the madness.
“I don’t know how she handles it. I’m very proud of my family, but I’m not pressured about having to live up to anything. I’m doing my own music, just like my dad and my sister make their own.”
But Cyrus said he’s going for gold. “World domination, that’s the plan!” he joked.
“I hope we can continue to do this, at the level where we can be playing arenas and stuff.
"I don’t know man, I just want to keep on playing music and making people happy with our music. As long as I’m doing this I’ll be happy.”
Metro Station is out in stores.
For The Tweens
Flavour of the month: Miranda Cosgrove
We first saw her as the preppy band manager in the film "School of Rock", but now Miranda Cosgrove is Carly Shay, the star of the Nickelodeon TV series, "iCarly".
Cosgrove started in showbiz at the age of three (“I was in a restaurant when an agent asked my mum if I wanted to do modelling and commercials,” she said), and has since appeared in the TV series "Drake & Josh", and in movies like "School of Rock" and "Yours, Mine and Ours".
But it’s thanks to "iCarly" that Cosgrove looks set to be a bona fide singing star too.
Already she sings the opening theme song and a couple of others on the soundtrack CD. And yes, she can actually sing.
“When I auditioned for 'School of Rock', I ended up having to play this horrible singer,” recalled Cosgrove over the phone from Los Angeles.
“So when the creator of 'iCarly' ask if I wanted to do the theme song for the show, I went to the studio to give it a shot.
"I had such a good time that as soon as they came up with the idea of having an 'iCarly' CD, I automatically went, 'Yeah.'”
She also learned to play the guitar on "School of Rock".
“All the other kids were guitar players or drummers. I couldn’t play any instrument, so I started to take guitar lessons and now I play it all the time. That was a cool thing to take from the movie.”
The 15-year-old’s solo album is in the works, which is a fairly pop offering, we’re told. It is “supposed to out sometime next year”.
“Singing’s kind of new for me, so it’s great to go into the studio to write songs and stuff, and be like a pop star or something.”
"iCarly" is on Nickelodeon (Starhub Channel 32), every Thursday and Friday at 5.30pm. The soundtrack is available in shops. - TODAY/ra
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