The Star - Joseph Loh (3rd Dec 2006)

SUNDAY STAR
3RD DECEMBER 2006

by JOSEPH LOH


TOUCHING HEARTS WITH HIS MUSIC
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For blind people, the sense of touch is one of the ways they perceive the world around them. However, blind singer-guitarist Alfred Ho turns the tables around and touches the hearts of people - with the magic of his music. The music industry is undoubtedly a hostile business but Ho has resolutely stuck to his chosen vocation as a professional musician for more than 20 years now.

It has not been easy for Ho and he laments on how difficult it is to make ends meet but he has never once looked back. Ho describes how he broke into the music business back in the 1970's when he was unemployed despite having been trained as a telephone operator.

"In those days, there was redifusion (the old cable-radio service) and I wrote in to them and eventually got roped in by Patrick Teoh and Royston Goh to do a series of programmes called the TAKE FIVE show."

While the show was an achievement for Ho, it did not get him national recognition due to the limited areas of coverage (mainly in big towns) in Malaysia.

His big break eventually came but it was an accident of sorts. He recalls, "I was asked to appear on a television programme called BAKAT TV and showed up to perform but little did I know it was a competition. Since I had already gone all the way, I decided to participate and I actually reached the semi-finals. After that, I was given the chance to participate in a lot of TV programmes but eventually settled on a job as a telephone operator. But my job brought in only RM190 a month and I had to supplement my income by performing."

Ho's passion for music continued to turn strongly and after 10 years on the job, he took the plunge and moved to Kuala Lumpur to seek his fortune - and has been doing it ever since.

"It was a big risk to take and I was only paid RM10 for a whole night of singing but of course RM10 went a lot further then."

Ho's willingness to take hard knocks only hints at how much passion he has for music. "Music is a part of my life - no, actually it is my life. You may starve me of food but not music. I am either playing or listening to music every day."

Ho remembers the first song he ever learnt to play on the guitar. "It was called NO MORE (the english version of LA PALOMA) and I learnt it because there were only two chords to play."

These days, Ho's repertoire of songs is voluminous and chances are he will be able to play almost any golden oldies they you ask him to. Ho reveals that he does not refer to any notes during his performances nor does he plan it out. So how does he gauge what the audience wants?

"I let them participate where possible. In every show the audience plays a very important part and it is more than just applause. I like it best when there is interaction and they sing along with me. If I can bring joy to people, I am happy myself."

Watching Ho in action shows what a confident performer he is. "There are no inhibitions as far as I am concerned - I do not feel nervous. Some people say I only have to open my mouth to make money but they do not realise the amount of work I have put in to memorize all the lyrics and the melodies of songs to play."

Admittedly, Ho's music is not for everybody and on the surface appears to be less appealing to the younger generation.

"There is more musicality in older music. It is more melodious and you can relate to the words which are very meaningful."

But Ho feels that the younger generation are enjoying the oldies in some way, with the increasing trend of using excerpts of them in new songs.

"For example, some of the old songs are masked with rap in between and they (the artistes) use it because they realise it is good!"

Conversely, Ho does not relate to new music but there are always exceptions. "Sorry to say a lot of the music today does not suit my taste but once in a while there are good ones. A song like ACHY BREAKY HEART for example, is quite good and I will sing it. There are other songs such as RIGHT HERE WAITING and NO MATTER WHAT but they are few and far between."

Regardless of the songs Ho plays, be it old or new, he will not rest on his laurels. Ho concludes, "I am still learning and music is a constant learning process. The day that you say you are good means that you are stagnant. And it is not only music - it applies to everything else in life as well."