The sun finally decided to come out and play on our last day in Gold Coast.


Standing out there in the water was just so soothing. I wished it was a bit warmer so I could take a swim. Maybe next time.


Just check out how clean and clear the water is. It was beautiful.


Digging a hole for myself


...literally


These little pebbles were adorable. Each of them unique. It was very inspiring. Not sure if it was in the songwriting kinda way, but who knows, maybe it just might spark something.




Everyone does the Jetstar jump


I think I prefer mine


It was time to say goodbye to the beach town that spelled holiday in the air. I was a bit hesitant to leave despite the fact that the people in Gold Coast weren't as friendly as Melbourne. It was probably the very thought of saying goodbye to a place that gets to me as I haven't gotten numb to travelling yet. Oh well, Gold Coast, tick! Looking forward to the next trip to discover Australia.

Labels: Australia, Beach, Gold Coast, Holiday

Warning: This post is a picture fest!


We watched Shrek in 4D first and it really set the tone for an awesome day being a child all over again. Shrek in 4D was incredible. It was very well done and we watched it twice because it was that good!


Hollywood Stunt Drivers, the second show we watched. These stunt drivers were awesome!


We were blown away!



This ride would have been cool if it were Summer, so naturally since it was freezing, I passed.


The presentation was good but the taste was poor. I was a tad disappointed.


One of the shows at Wild Wild West. This show was average compared to the action packed stunt drivers.


Yosemite Sam


The Scooby Doo ride was awesome! I loved it so much that I went on it twice. I think I shouldn't mention what it is so that I don't spoil it for people who hasn't been there before. Let's just say that it will be a rollercoaster ride of your life.



Reliving childhood




Groovy


Superman Escape was insane! A G-Force of 4.2 positive and 1 negative. Woot!


The sun decided to come out and play towards the middle of the day.




YEAH! Just got off the ride. It was mind blowing. I waited in the line for about 45 mins for a few mins of thrill. I would have gone again if there wasn't such a long wait. There was a kid next to me who seemed pretty calm at first but once we hit the ride, all kinds on interesting words came out of his mouth. Haha!




The Warner Bros Parade featuring Daffy Duck


Is that a putty-cat?


Scoobs and the gang.


Batman


When I was younger, my Dad played me a cassette tape of Frank Sinatra's My Way. He told me he recorded that version on tape and I didn't believe him. He sounded exactly like Sinatra and ever since then, it was my dream to go to Movie World to see the place my Dad became Sinatra. It ignited the dream to record too and I've got the recording part done in 2006. Now, I finally got to see Movie World. Although, this time around the recording studio was more for a bobble-head music video recording which I gladly passed.



The Parade continued. Flash!


I think these characters are too famous to even bother naming.



Everyone's favourite scardy-cat


Shrek


Cat Woman was as illusive in real life as the cartoon. She comes and she goes as she pleases.


I passed this ride as well. I didn't want to spoil the trip with a headache.


Hard Rock Cafe by night

I think the pictures say it all. Once you walk through the gates, you become a kid all over again. In my head, I expected it to be so huge that you needed a few days to fully enjoy the park but I'm glad we managed to see everything within one day.Simply fantastic!

Labels: Australia, Gold Coast, Movie World, Warner Brothers

It was still pretty gloomy on Day Two but it was okay because Sea World awaited!


Gotta love the bright colours although the photo doesn't really reflect it. We missed the Sesame Street show but I think it was probably too kiddy anyway.


I love the polar bear. It reminds me of Bundaberg Rum. It's kinda cool to see a polar bear here. I mean, it's a bit weird because they are usually associated with the Arctic covered with thick ice and blistering cold. I guess that's why I was so fascinated. Make a trip to Sea World and it will bound to bring out the kid in you.


I guess the fuss over cute penguins has died down a little bit, but they're still pretty cute, no?


One of the staff feeding Reggie The Penguin straight from the bowl. He can't be bothered putting on a show for the folks anymore these days.


The dolphin show was awesome! Somehow I was just lost in it the whole time. The music that accompanied the show was just spot on although the speakers that hung right above us sounded like it was going to fall off. It must have been a broken speaker cone.


Aww...One of the lucky children from the audience that got to play with the dolphins.


A view from the top


The corkscrew roller coaster, similar to the one in Genting. I was surprised that there wasn't a queue for this ride. It a cool ride but anything more than once would have made me sick and spoil my entire trip.


Shark Bay was really cool. You get to see it from the top and it was already way cool to see all the deep sea marine life from that view but then when you go inside the underwater view and this is what greets you as you enter.


A wow moment indeed. I have a thing for the brilliant blue colours. I don't know why. It reminded me of my trip to Aquaria in KL.


There were definitely heaps of sharks but the best part was seeing a real life hammer-head shark for the first time! One more childhood dream to tick off the list.


Ah, the seal show. I was expecting something similar to Tarronga Zoo's in Sydney but this was a pleasant surprise because there was a bit of a play happening.

We pretty much spent all day at Sea World and crashed after that. More of the Gold Coast trip tomorrow. I'm zonked!

Labels: Australia, Gold Coast, Holiday, Sea World

25 June 2009
Arrived in Gold Coast. About a year ago, the wife and I bought crazy cheap tickets to Gold Coast and the day finally came to hit up the sunny coast.

This is what I call the Straight Lines garden. Took this pic while we were in the shuttle bus on the way to the hotel. Oh, Straight Lines because this design is like Silverchair's Young Modern album cover art and Straight Lines was their first single.


I saw this on Discovery Channel once, if I am not mistaken. It sure looks cool from the outside.


This hotel looks awesome and I wanted to have a meal there but there weren't enough meals in a day to try everything.


This was how the beach looked like on Day One. Pretty gloomy eh?


The town centre, on Cavill Avenue.


Surfer's Paradise by day




I appreciate art like this.


For some reason, there seem to be heaps of Irish pubs in Gold Coast as well as Brisbane. I might have to do a little bit of a history lesson to find out why there are so many Irish pubs up in Queensland! I've always loved Irish Stews anyway, so it was a good excuse for one and this stew was AWESOME! Oh, and this was at Lansdowne Road Irish Tavern. Free plug for them.


The steak sandwich was incredibly sumptuous too. I never had a steak sandwich that tasted this good. Those that I've had were usually too dry but this one was juicy and very tasty!


The almighty Hard Rock Cafe. I used to love them and it was sort of a childhood dream to visit every single one in the world and get a t-shirt from each one but then that childhood dream sort of slipped away a bit. Plus, the t-shirts aren't as cool anymore. I guess the times changed. It's still really cool to check out all the memorabilia though. There's just this rustic feeling about it, you know?


Surfer's Paradise by night.


Day One was pretty chilled out as we didn't want to do too much the day we landed. After all, we were on holiday. What better time to relax?

More pictures tomorrow!

Labels: Australia, Gold Coast, Holiday

I am back from slightly-warmer Gold Coast. It was an amazing four days up there in Queensland. Travel blog to follow soon. Now it's time to catch some sleep. Later!

I'm off to seek some warm refuge in sunny Queensland. Gold Coast, here I come! Till then, stay warm. Will see you when I get back.

I think these guys have now become my reference. Love their production. Love their arrangement. Love their writing. Love the vocal parts. What's there not to love about The Academy Is. If you don't know who they are, you have obviously been living under a shell. These guys are awesome! Just picked up their first and second albums from JB Hi Fi because they were only ten bucks each! Score!

Labels: Music, The Academy Is

Oh man, my arm hurts from playing badminton yesterday. We haven't been playing for three weeks now and I guess I over did it. Played a game too many and now I'm paying for it. It was great fun though as there was a huge turn out and it was a great time hanging out with the gang.

Anyway, I am super stoked because I got a call today and got accepted for a job I applied for. I had a great interview on Friday and after the interview, I had a good feeling that I may get the job. Even if I didn't get the job, it felt great being there at the interview. I even got a ride back to the tram stop from the big boss of the company after.

God is so good that He arranged for this to happen so timely. One of the best things that came out of this was the fact that my friends and family were behind me the whole way. Thanks guys!

Welcome to my life. It's non-traditional. I do all kinds of things and I am loving every bit of it. It's funny how much of a mix things are. I get to produce a radio show, mix live bands, record bands, rock out with my own band, organise events and have a day job all at the same time. I thank The Lord my provider for all this! I can't be more thankful. Praise You Lord!

The first line of Broken Scar merchandise is out. AUD$ 20 each. To place an order, please send an email to brokenscarmail@gmail.com or drop me a comment on this post. Thank you!

I felt like a superhero last Saturday when I saved the day by providing an ipod connector cable to the girls hosting the show before us at SYN 90.7. The girls had some problems with their audio playback and I helped fix it simply by swapping the ipod cable. It's nice to chip in and help out whenever I can.

I sometimes feel like over-preparing is a waste of time because 9 out of 10 times I over-prepare or over-pack equipment, things tend to run smoothly. The extra equipment that I had packed would render quite useless. But that leaves us to that one time that something or everything will go wrong and having the right equipment at hand will just make you look like a hero.

I pack extra guitar cables with me when I mix bands. You never know, a guitarist might have rushed to the gig and forgot his cables and when he yells, "Does somebody have a quarter inch guitar cable", I can swoop in and say, "Here you go, Sir". There are also tonnes of other stuff that I pack with me when I mix bands and half of what I pack hardly ever gets used but I am ready when the time calls for it.

I mixed three bands last night at The Espy in St. Kilda. Johnny Uppercut was up first, followed by Madonna and The Final Eclipse headlined the show. I was contemplating whether to bring in all the extra gear or not because I had not mixed at The Espy's basement before. I went back and forth in my mind and I finally decided to lug all that gear down to the show. Boy, was it worth it. The Yamaha SPX 90 II effects unit that I had saved the day. It would have gone well even without it, but it was really the icing on the cake. It made the vocals come alive and made the bands sound awesome. Sometimes, the little things count. I could have just gone with the standard and mic up just the kick, snare and vocals, but I went the extra mile to mic up the kick, snare, toms, guitar cabs and DI-ed the bass. The extra work is definitely worth it. The bands were happy, the crowd was happy and I was definitely happy. All in all, it was a very good night of awesome music.

Labels: Audio Work, Live Bands, Live Mixing, The Espy, The Limelight Hour