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Fugene remembers growing up in a home where a vast spectrum musical genre was constantly being played. He remembers listening to ABBA, The Carpenters, The Beatles and Deep Purple, old Cantonese tunes and Cantonese opera, this made him more receptive to the various genres, which proved beneficial. Fugene prefers playing Rock, Funk, Blues and music that takes the guitar beyond its boring 6 string function. He began playing music at the tender age of 6, progressing from the electone organ at Yamaha Music School to classical piano at 7. He was trained at Elka Music School primarily and took his grade 5 LCM at 12 before going on to private tutors. Fugene was involved in a number of recitals through out. During this time Fugene picked up the violin while in the primary school string ensemble. At the age of 13 Fugene stopped playing the piano completely. It was during this period, hard rock, grunge and heavy metal bands like Bon Jovi, Mr Big, Skid Row, Extreme, Nirvana and Pearl Jam (just to name a few) rekindled his love and appreciation of music. Initially Fugene wanted to play the drums, but realised he had a limit to that talent. However it was only when a classmate decided to casually teach Fugene a few chords on the guitar that made Fugene realise that he might stand a better chance of being good at it on that instrument. Fugene literally learnt to play the guitar at the 'void deck'. Motivated at the mere curiosity that it was possible to play guitar at lightning speeds, Fugene practiced hard. Often spending most of his time trying to master the technical aspects. During this period Fugene took up music theory again to better understand what he was listening and learning to play. This was also when Fugene met Mark Chan while in secondary school. They started their first band, Crown of Thorns, along with 3 of their peers. While Fugene was still in C.O.T, he also sessioned for Sole Attention. The band provided him the opportunity to play at the 2002 BayBeats and the Parachute Festival. It might seem natural at that time for Fugene to pursue an education in music, he decided to do otherwise and enrolled into the graphic arts program in Lasalle for his tertiary education. Upon graduation and completion of his national service, Fugene spent 4 years in the Advertising industry. During this time he give private guitar lessons and occasionally subbed guitarists. In 2007 while awaiting the B.A program to begin, Fugene was introduced to Alvin Tan and was offered the opportunity to teach at The Music Lab. Fugene took up the job, as he needed to support himself while in school. It was only upon completing his B.A program, Fugene realise he preferred to teach and play music more than anything else and decided to take it up as his career.
Field Experience Guitarist for Planestar Guitarist for Sole Attention 2002 - 2004. Guitarist for Crown of Thorns 1998 - 2004. Various gigs at: Functions & Events, Roomful of Blues, Timber, Fat Frog as a sub guitarist. Various studio session work as arranger, guitarist.
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