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Passion is a word oft used by creative minds. Yet its meaning can be intangibly elusive.

In the case of local indie music, the title itself sometimes bears a burden that only passion can truly provide respite for.

Lest you think that a "pity party" is about to commence in this article, let me assure you otherwise. Instead, this is a "victory party" if anything.

There are three things one may look for in a musician/band - good live shows, well produced album and personality. Cheating Sons passes all three criterias with flying colours.

The band exploded into the scene last year, practically a buzzword for the best local music has to offer and boy did they live up to it. From Baybeats in Singapore to Strawberry Festival in China, they proved their mettle with a relentless energy matched with their refreshing take on rock and roll.

Their music, a robust blend of anthemic hooks, melodies and signature banjo/guitar riffs, is made all the more poignant by the lyrics, which evokes a Bob Dylan-esque sensibility to the way it delivers stories of the common man. Songs like Out of a Job, Ah Long on the Run, The Kids Ain't Right from their debut album, Masters, Wives and Daughter, cuts into the mundane to deliver the raw emotion that is experienced in this city. Haunting but never pretentious, it is a narrative that is intrinsically local, yet relevant to the world in its themes on angst and heartbreak. Very much the band for people who are past the days of bourbon coke and now go straight for the whisky.

We caught up with the Cheating Sons in the videos below. Their album - Masters, Wives and Daughter is available at major record shops and on their bandcamp http://cheatingsons.bandcamp.com, where you can sample their music as well. Stay updated on their facebook, http://www.facebook.com/cheatingsons

Many thanks to Cream Pictures for the use of their premises.

Fans of local indie music will be no strangers to Lunarin. The power packed trio comprises of Linda Ong on bass and vocals, guitarist Ho Kah Wye and Loo Eng Teck, drummer/pianist. Part progressive rock, accentuated with unyielding metal influences and branded with Linda's distinctive vocals, Lunarin has proved its mettle not only in its staying power, but also in carving out a niche in the scene with a definitive sound that cannot be easily mistaken. It really does not matter what you drink to Lunarin, as long as you rock out.

In Part 2 of Elaine Ee's interview with Ms Nicole Seah of the National Solidarity Party, we focus on politics and civil society, and on online discourse.

Here are some excerpts of what Ms Seah said. Please view the video below. [Watch Part 1 here.]

On the PAP:

“I would say that people such as Mdm Halimah, Dr Lily Neo, BG Tan Chuan Jin, these are the people who really give us hope and faith that the PAP has the leaders that it needs to carry us into the next generation.”

"Yes, now we know. Shall we just leave now?" joked Worker's Party secretary general Low Thia Khiang, as he observed the knowing sighs that filled the press room.

It comes as no surprise that Mr Png Eng Huat, a member of the WP since 2006, has been fielded as the candidate for the upcoming Hougang by-election. The current chairman of the Hougang Welfare Committee has worked the ground and participated in grassroot activities since 2007. He is described in his press profile as a man of humble origins, the youngest of a large family. Now semi retired, he worked in the fields of multimedia designing, programming, data broadcasting, and business development.

Want to know more?

Here are clips of the press conference held on Thursday.

Videos by Biddy Low.

You can't tell by looking at them, but Dexter, Govin and Krsna are seasoned musicians who have an illustrious list of performances behind them. They have been featured on Vasantham Central, Okto, the soundtrack to Eric Khoo's My Magic; Krsna recently played to a full house in his first solo show, "One Man and his Sitar", at the Esplanade Recital Studio. But what is most amazing about this trio is how down to earth they are, in spite of their accomplishments. Outside of their roles as fusion musicians, they come across as normal and rambunctious as their youth allows.

Hidden in the compounds of Republic Polytechnic is a rehearsal room in its Cultural Centre. It is filled with gongs of majestic proportions, part of a gamelan ensemble which is brought to life every week by traditional and fusion troupes which practise there.

_Plainsunset

"We don't have a touring industry, we can't go out on the road, where you want to play? Pasir Panjang? Bukit Ho Swee?" quipped Daniel Sassoon in our panel discussion on local indie music.

Well maybe not yet, but some bands can now tick Tiong Bahru off the list.

The harassment began with an email to Miss Priya Bala's personal account. The sender described how he had looked through her profile on her school website as well as pictures of the students and that he was "happy with what he saw". This would be the beginning of many more responses to online ads and fake profiles created with the purpose of disrupting this then primary school teacher's life.

I agree that music and as such the arts transcend borders and nationality.  And it is most certainly true that being evangelical about something is often the best way to alienate the very audience you are going after. But when I read this article, with that smugly sensational headline, I felt my inner local music mormon throw down the D24 durian she was enjoying and engage in a serious case of " Starerism".