A Ballad of Awesomeness

By Marcus Mark Ramos

Brothers On Stage, Brothers Off Stage: ORANGECOVE has stuck with each other for almost a decade already, through thick and thin, all the possible ups and downs along the way. PHOTO CREDITS: MARCUS MARK RAMOS

Offstage, these four chaps would immediately come across as a high-spirited, friendly and playful bunch. On stage, this disposition does not deviate one bit – they interacted with the audience, sang their hearts out and jumped non-stop while they rocked out the stage.

“The crowds that jump and sing with us are the best. They make every musician's dream come true,” said Kenneth, the lead vocalist of ORANGECOVE.

Charisma, co-ordination and flair are the reasons why they were so well-received by their audience at Music Matters Live 2014.

With influences like All Time Low and We The Kings, the quartet possesses a pop-punk and chord-driven sound which perfectly matches their persona. If there had to be a Singaporean Alex Gaskarth, Kenneth would probably be the one.

Throughout the night, they performed their biggest hits, such as I CAN DANCE, YOU CAN DANCE and LA LA LADIES NIGHT, which naturally hyped up the crowd as they got on their feet and started moving to the beat.

It’s not easy for any band to stay together for long, but ORANGECOVE has been inseparable for a remarkable eight years. Being a musician myself, it somewhat made me wonder, “What’s their secret?”

Kenneth mentions that there’s none to it – just pure dedication.

“We do almost everything together. We do have quarrels here and there, but at the end of the day, we see each other as brothers, play music together and mostly importantly, work as a team. At the end of the day, it’s the fruits of our labour that puts a smile on our faces and keeps us going.”

They possessed an admirable sense of camaraderie and trust which was not taught, but developed through their years of friendship and mutual dependence instead.

When ORANGECOVE was first established, they were young and inexperienced, but they were ambitious. It was almost seven years ago when they started performing at free mini concerts and charity shows, mostly playing simple acoustic covers of tracks from their own favourite bands. Today, the beach-loving bunch are living every local band’s dream, playing their own music at large concerts and events such as *SCAPE Confessions, 2XU Compression Run and TONES 2014.

And of course, there’s Music Matters Live 2014. Here, it was their first time playing alongside the numerous bands that had flown in from all over the world.

“It’s amazing to see all the international and local acts playing together at one concert. It’s really an eye-opener for us,” exclaimed Alvin, the lead guitarist.

Through their incredible journey, they’ve also inevitably warmed up to the other fairly well-renowned local bands as well – some of which got their own chance to be part of the large-scale music festival.

  “We had the opportunity of playing amongst so many other great local bands like our friends- Asian Chairshot, WYD:SYD, Gentle Bones and Take Two, which makes it really awesome,” added Kenneth.

These pop-punk aficionados possess just about every trait that makes a successful band, and I for one can’t wait to see what they have to offer in the near future.

Be sure to catch their EP release on June 29 2014 at one of the biggest alternative music festivals, where you can see both local acts and their foreign counterparts perform: Baybeats 2014. You won’t regret it!