Real people, role models

Rock music is often associated with vices such as alcohol, smoking, and drugs. Three musicians show that this isn’t necessarily the case.

By Amy Yeong - 08 June, 2006
AsiaOne Exclusive

Marcus Wong

The lead guitarist for indie-rock band Vertical Rush joined the band in 2003, and quitted smoking around the same time. He recently completed his Honours degree in Communication and New Media at NUS and is now working full time for Sonic Edge Ministries. Marcus also plays guitar and sings for another band - the Sonic Edge Band - and is the director of Sonic Festival, an annual Christian creative and performing arts festival.

In an interview with AsiaOne, Marcus says that his motivation comes from his relationship with God. “Our faith drives us to make the kind of music that we make,” he explains on behalf of Vertical Rush. “Drugs might be a temporary solution to ease a kind of need or want…. But there is something else that can satisfy beyond that gratification, that quick fix… there is a more permanent fix than all that.”

Gordon Khoo

Gordon Khoo was one of the emcees for Project Green Grass, where he also sang with the rock band Surreal. He holds a Diploma in Mass Communication from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and was also an Assistant Program Director of Radio Heatwave, the campus radio station. While pursuing his diploma, he took on various other responsibilities, such as being the emcee and/or producer for annual music festivals such as Sonic Festival and Baybeats – Singapore’s Biggest Alternative Music Gathering for four consecutive years. If you think you can’t pursue your passion for music without sacrificing your education, Gordon is proof that the two are not mutually exclusive.

Speaking at a band interview with AsiaOne, Gordon alluded to his “colourful history” and how band members had at different points in their lives resorted to various “solutions” such as drugs, alcohol or smoking. “A lot of these are temporal, they don’t really last,” he says. He unreservedly credits religion as the turning point of his life, saying “For me, my life changed – I’ve come to Jesus. And it’s something that…I’m not going to let go of.”

Daphne Khoo

If you think that one had to drop out of school to make time for music, you have obviously never met Daphne Khoo.

The Mass Communication student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic was a finalist on the first season of Singapore Idol, and is currently the host of Singapore Idol On Demand. She also dances in a Hip Hop dance group in her school, and sings for West Grand Boulevard. She admits that it is sometimes difficult to juggle her time, “given that I’m an A-class procrastinator,” but credits religion, her family and her friends as her sources of support. “My family is very supportive of what I do. Without them and my friends, I don’t think I’d be able to cope.”

Daphne is a living example that it is possible for a person to handle many different responsibilities and commitments without having drop out of school, or resorting to unhealthy habits just to keep going. “Music...gives me strength and keeps me inspired. It gives me a high that's probably better than what any drug could ever give me.”