Penang has long produced some of the best musicians in the country. Yet despite all the talent, recognition is getting harder and harder to come by.
AT THE TIME of this interview, Kelvyn Yeang was in his Tanjong Bungah home/studio helping a friend fix his electric guitar, the guts of which had spilled out. The 27-year-old frowned in concentration as be patiently worked out what was wrong with the now-dead instrument and how to make it sing again.
"I trashed two guitars learning how to fix them," he said, examining a piece of wiring closely. “I took them apart and didn't know how to put them back together. But after a while it all started to make sense.”
The room was small, cluttered with an assortment of plastic furniture, mattresses and souvenirs, including a John Lennon doll that's probably worth something today. A drum set sat in the corner, and three guitars leaned against the wall. CDs and vinyl records adorned the walls. Some of them were even his own.
