we chinese have a saying "how many ten years have we got in life?". it is a rather pessimistic but highly realistic way to look at life.
really, when we were in our 20s, we think the world is our oyster: we were daring, angsty, naive and idealistic. when we hit 30s, we become more mature, stable and begin to know what we want in life. when we hit 40s, we gain wisdom and full control of our lives. for a lot of people, 30s is prime time, for some, 40s. when we hit 50s, it is time to harvest what we sowed and take life easy.
the transition from 20s to 30s is slow, from 30s to 40s is slighty faster and from 40s onwards, you feel life accelerates and so does aging. everything goes downhill from 40s.
however, it is a different story for musicians. musicians don't age, they only get better with their craft. they become more sensitive, more delicate, more soulful, more heartfelt, more musical, more of this and more of that.
so, as a young musician, a local one at that, how many ten years you have got? a lot of local musicians can't even last a full decade. most would have become insurance agents, direct sales agents or ring tone composers, after finding the hardships about surviving as a local musician.
being a local musician, you have either be the top in your chosen field or you better find a day job. there are no two ways. because if you are not at the top of your game then you would be living life on the fringe and fighting for survival on a daily basis. this is malaysia, reality fully checked.
so, it comes as a total celebration that we witness the maturing of roger wang from a young talented guitar player to a maestro that he is today.
from the slim and handsome guitarist who first appeared in NBT 10 yaers ago (where we first met), roger wang has, over the years, gained plenty of skills, fans and friendships, and not forgetting, some undesirable kilos, along the way.
his confession of late that he has acquired a slight blood pressure has prompted him to reduce his pork intake and other unhealthy food , thus allowing him to look slimmer once again.
roger wang is one of the most humble, easy going, good natured, professional and affable musicians we have ever worked with. absolutely no air, no attitude but with plenty of sardonic humor. you would never hear roger bitches or badmouths about his peers, not even the slightest criticism or negative comment. he always maintains neutrality, level-headedness and sense of balance. we believe all these good attributes come from a good family upbringing and a good education.
this year roger celebrates his ten-year anniversary in the music industry. and to commemorate this special occasion, he is coming out with a double-cd complication album which includes selected tracks from his 6 albums to date, plus some unreleased tracks.
the album is aptly called "milestones" because roger wang has reached milestone after milestone with each and every album he recorded with various collaborations.
the first decade has been revelatory and memorable for him with 6 acclaimed albums to his credits. the 2nd decade is gonna begin and we are going to witness an even better, bolder and more exciting roger wang. it does sound like a southpark propaganda!
roger, you sure have many many ten years ahead of you!
