Saw Loser

Pug Jelly fans, rejoice! Masashi and Sam have formed a new four-man band. Saw Loser, "best described as the pissed off older brother of Pug Jelly who was most probably dropped on the head at birth", is one quarter American, one quarter [Kiwi], one quarter Australian, and one quarter Japanese. Their upcoming debut album, "which so far sounds like some kind of pop/disaster/punk/chaos/rock hybrid thing" will be ready year's end. Want to hear them live? We've got more details next month. Watch this space. - Lime Magazine

Vanessa Koh
It's one thing to break into the music scene, and another matter altogether to stay in it. For a band in Singapore, it gets even harder due to a lack of space, gigging opportunities and a small music-loving population.

Last year, Pug Jelly was nominated for Favourite Artist Singapore at the MTV Asia Awards. They even played at the Pattaya International Music Festival. To the surprise of fans, Pug Jelly is no more but not exactly gone. They've undergone a facelift and are back as Saw Loser.

This new band is ready to prove their worth. Along with new blood Jimmy (bass) and Tristan (rhythm guitar), the former Pug Jelly boys, Sam (Vocals) and Masashi (lead guitar & vocals) have released their self-titled debut EP, with the single "Mr. Know-It-All" gaining regular airplay.

Change is all in the name of the game. Be it image or style, inventing and reinventing is the only way to go to stay relevant in the music scene. With a mixture of the old and new, it is still somewhat baffling why Sam and Masashi did not retain the Pug Jelly name. Sam explained to MTVAsia.com that a proper clean slate is the perfect way to start afresh.

"We've been through a lot with Pug Jelly and we wanted to start something new, musically -- the way we approach our songs, the way we present ourselves. We want to take it to another level. That's why we started Saw Loser. When we were doing Pug Jelly, it was a learning experience, and we were making mistakes and correcting them. We wanted Saw Loser to start with learnt mistakes and afresh, and know what we're doing."

The young members of this punk-rock band, though spunky and occasionally crazy at times, do have a sentimental and deep side to add to the band's new image. The band's name was actually derived from the movie, Saw where sacrifice was the essence of the plot. On top of that, they made it clear that they were in the music business for a fair game.

"You know the saying, sore loser? I'm really into the whole idea of being fair. We've experience a lot of people who didn't handle losing the right way. The name also came from the movie, Saw. In the movie, the character sacrifices his leg for his family, like he cuts off his leg, to save his family. We really like the idea of sacrificing, for something you love."

Besides dealing with being in the limelight and surpassing the standards of Pug Jelly, these boys have a whole lot more to handle -- each other. All of them come from different cultural backgrounds. Jimmy comes from the United States of America, Sam from Australia, Masashi from Japan and Tristan from New Zealand.

"...different cultures, you have to learn different things about each other's culture. If I were dealing with an australian person, we would understand each other a lot better. There are things that over the last five years, when working with Masashi, I've learnt what I can or can't do. Respect is a big thing."

So what can fans out there expect from this new band?

"We have matured a lot songwriting wise. There's four of us now so obviously there's more to put in."

- MTv

THE BAND ONCE KNOWN AS PUG JELLY REMOULDS ITSELF AS A GROUP WITH A SERIOUS APPROACH TO MUSIC. AND THEY ARE LOOKING FOR RESPECT.

Pug Jelly is now Saw Loser. But sore losers they are not. Teo of the original band members aren't in the revamped lineup.
Of the original Pug Jelly, only lead singer Sam Cooper and lead guitarrist Masashi Kimura remain.
The band's rhythm guitarrist, Chris Verhoeven, left because of artistic differences, while the drummer, Cooper's younger brother, Matt, who is in Tanglin Trust School,had to concentrate on his final-year studies.
Saw loser was formed last October last year with three new members: Rhythm guitarrist, Tristan Zorn, 21, drummer Simone Perini, 20, and bassist, Jimmy [Tuppen], 17.
The name change was necessary as the band did not own any rights to it and was unable to release anymore CDs or perform anywhere under the name of Pug Jelly.
Lead singer Sam Cooper explained that they had a disagreement with someone who had a hand in the band and who owned the rights to the name.
He didn't want the remaining members to continue using the name.
Cooper, now 20, wouldn't name the person but said: "He threatened legal action if we continued to use the name. That is why you didn't see any Pug Jelly CDs in stores after April last year."
After the CDs were sold out in the shops in April, no reprints were issued.
Pug Jelly's last gig was playing the opening act for Avril Lavigne when she performed in Singapore last April.
"The name Saw Loser is a tribute to the person who is not allowing us to continue with the band which I put five years of my life into," said Cooper wryly.
The song Mr. Know-It-All, from the band's EP, has been on the radio airwaves for two weeks now.
The change could be a blessing in disguise as Cooper plans to make Saw Loser a band with more substance.
"There is only so much generic pop punk you can do before it gets boring. So we want to move away from love songs a bit," he said.
Cooper said that he likes pop but wants to push Saw Loser in the direction of more meaningful and serious lyrics and music.
"As Pug Jelly, we were not getting the respect from musicians as the music we were playing seemed quite simple. So now musically, there will be more finesse," he added.
The band has played three gigs so far - one for the Lime Flea market@scape last December, the recent Sembawang Festival and one for the Singapore American School.

VIDEO ON MTV ASIA

The band members have also pooled about $10,000 to make a video of Mr. Know-It-All, which will be shown on MTv Asia in two weeks, while their EP CD will be launched in Hong Kong, Australia, and Indonesia soon.
Things are looking up for the new Saw Loser, but they weren't always so rosy. Cooper said he had a hard time finding new members who were commited.
The band's five-song EP couldn't have taken off too without his father's financial help.
Cooper said that he took it pretty hard when Pug Jelly couldn't continue last April.
"It was like I had a baby and someone took it away from me. It was cool of my dad to help out with the EP. He helped me get back on my feet."
- The New Paper (Show)

SAW LOSER

Who: Singer Sam Cooper, 21; guitarrist Masashi Kimura, 22; and bassist Jimmy Tuppen, 18. Cooper is from Australia, Kimura is from Japan, while Tuppen is from the United States.
They are all full-time musicians and are based here [Singapore]. Drummer Jonathan Ong, 17, a student at the Australian International School Singapore, sessions for them.

What: Two days after opening for Canadian rock chick Avril Lavigne's concert here in April last year, home-grown punk band Pug Jelly called it quits.
It was a crushing end for Cooper, who had poured his heart and soul into trying to make something out of his rock star dreams he had harboured since he was 14.
"We didn't want Pug Jelly to die but we didn't have a choice," he says during a recent interview.
He said the band had been plagued with issues such asmoney, management, and legal implications pertaining to its album rights.
Sitting up suddenly, he says: "It's like someone trying to take a dream away from a kid. It's not right and that person that did that to us is a sore loser."
He refuses to to reveal who this "sore loser" is, although that person inspired the name of the new band which formed September last year.
[Saw Loser]'s original five-piece line-up was shaved to a three-piece, although it's musical direction stayed more or less consistent, but with an added dose of rockabilly.
Boasting a new setlist of original songs, they now handle everything on their own, from dealing with the media to arranging gigs.
As Saw Loser,they have begun to taste the fruits of their labour. They recently ended a 10-day tour of Indonesia where they performed to crowds of up to 60,000 people at music festivals in cities such as Makassar and Pekanbaru. They also have a number of up-coming gigs including a Japanese and Indonesian Tour planned for December to promote their debut album.
"we just want to get our stuff happening and not sit here rotting," he says.
"We can't be doing this when we're 30."

On the record: Their 11-track debut album titled Long Distance Phone Calls was released on Tuesday and is out in stores. Visit www.myspace.com/sawloser for more information.

In the flesh: Saw Loser will perform on Nov 17 at the Singapore American School in a charity gig called Peace Concert 2006 at 8pm. Tickets at $18 are available at the door.

>sujin@sph.com.sg - The Straights Times (Life!)

ARTISTS have long been known to make sacrifices for their art. Singapore-based pop punk band Saw Loser took that principal almost literally.
Formed from the ashes of the defunct Pug Jelly by Australia-born vocalist Sam Cooper, 21, and Japan-bore guitarrist Masashi Kimura, 22 - who have been joined by bassist Jimmy Tuppen, 18 - Saw Loser took its name from an unlikely source: The grisly 2004 horror thriller Saw.
"You know how that guy in the movie cut off his foot to escape? It's like how we all have to make sacrifices along the way to make music," Tuppen told TODAY recently, adding that the main sacrifice he's had to make is being away from friends and family in his home country of the United States.
It's fitting then that the trio's debut album, which was released last week, is called Long Distance Phone Calls.
Although the members of Saws Loser are keen to avoid repeating themselves, fans of the band in its earlier incarnation shouldn't expect things to change too dramatically.
"In some ways, we want to differentiate our music from Pug Jelly so this album sounds edgier," said Tuppen, "But there really isn't much change because the good thing about pop punk is that you can tweak it in so many ways."
More than just a fresh start for the band, tha album is also a reflection of frontman Cooper's coming of age.
"Now I not only listen to all kinds of music but I want to include these new sounds in my music," he said. "Turning 21 was a big step for me because I've grown up a lot."
So, too, has the group, which will become a quartet with the addition of Cooper's 19-year-old brother Matt - another Pug Jelly alumnus - next month ahead of a promotional tour of Japan and Indonesia in December.
Given its foreign membership, it wasn't surprising that Pug Jelly came in for criticism for not being a representative of Singapore band. This despite their nomination for Favorite Singapoer Artiste at last years MTv Asia Awards.
The new name isn't likely to put off the naysayers, but neither is Saw Loser prepared to bow down to pressure.
"There are sore losers out there who did not make things easy for us," said Tuppen. "But we will not back down to these critics." - The TODAY Paper

Strife makes you grow up. Just look at Saw Loser. The multi-cultural trio average 20 years of age, but talk like jaded showbiz veterans. "There were some legal issues," Sam explained when we ask about the band's transformation, since Oct 25 last year, from the quintet Pug Jelly to the three-man Saw Loser. "Someone else who was involved with the band for only a matter of months left, and he owned everything. Pug Jelly was a band I worked very hard for six years for." The punk rock band's new moniker may be an up-yours to that fellow, whom they'd rather not name. "It's a mix of the term 'sore loser' and the movie Saw," says Sam. "The guy in the film had to sacrifice his leg to live. We like the idea of sacrifice because we've had to make sacrifices to be in this band. It's also a reference to people who try to cut you down." We press further about the turncoat but, but Sam, Masashi, and Jimmy clam up, preferring to be distracted by some leggy beauties walking past the Starbucks at Liat Tower. "There are models everywhere!" gushes Jimmy. Okay, maybe they're not that jaded, afterall.
But tell them you detect a more mature vibe in their new album, Long Distance Phone Calls, and they pay attention again. "Really? That's great," grins Jimmy. "We wanted to go with a different musical direction and image. It's still a pop punk base, but we tried out some swing rock on some of the tracks. We're thinking of doing a whole album inspired by the 30's mafia era. Our next album will be scenario-based, inspired by something like a teisted Alice In Wonderland." Saw Loser, who are currently on a distribution deal with Universal Music, may have downsized, but their ambitions have only grown. They have their sites set on regional domination, are in talks to release their album in Indonesia, Japan, and Australia, and will soon be doing promotional tours in the region.Yep, being in a rock band is no longer an extra-curricular activity for the boys. It's serious business. So serious that they've decided to stay in Singapore even after their expatriate parents have left. "We're more familiar with Asia, and we grew up here, says Sam. "It's a good starting place. It's gonna be weird spending Christmas without the family. These guys [in the band] are my family now." He can take heart to the fact that his 19-year-old brother, Matt, is coming to Singapore from the UK to be the band's drummer. "you're the first to hear this!This happened literally last night!" he enthuses.
"We're giving ourselves a lifetime to make it," Sam says solemnly. Ask the new, improved, and more mature Saw Loser if they're about to ditch the tattoos, peircings, and eyeliner and they bristle. " The tattoos and peircings are part of our image," he declares. "If anything, we're gonna have more."

Long Distance Phone Calls in stores - 8 Days

WHO: Local pop punk band made up of Japanese, Australian, and American exports. Former Pug Jelly's Sam and Masashi have roped in Jimmy to form the current trio,
WHAT: The first single 'Mr. Know-It-All' is a radio-friendly hit with lyrics that are too polite for us, especially for a pop punk track. However, 'Big Shot' sounds like 'Schmuck' which sounds like 'I will Always Be the Death of You'. Hang on till 'Train Wreck' where Sam goes acoustic in the opening bars singing about a failed relationship. 'Cross My Heart, Hope You Die' is the album gem with catchier guitar riffs and a rhythm you'll be humming to.
BOTTOM LINE: It seems like a weaker effort from the boys, but we hear they have new and improved stuff coming up. Watch this space. - Lime