Wayne Thunder's Eulogy Speech delivered by San Singer
It was through Wayne's music that we all saw his passion. It was through his music that he barred his soul to the world. I truly believe Wayne was an angel of music that God put on this earth to guide us through our lives. The happiest moments of my life were spent making music with Wayne Thunder. I feel luckier than most of you because I was in the same band with Wayne for 12 years. I was blessed with the opportunity to learn about music and about life from the greatest musician that this country has ever produced. I wanted to share with you some of Wayne's divine lessons and qualities that have been inspirational to me and continue to inspire me in my life.
Wayne was the most disciplined person I knew...
I miss the times when we were living together in Melbourne and struggling to get started. Every single day when I came back from work or from uni, Wayne would be practising his drums. He didn't go out on the weekends. He stayed at home to practise because he wanted to become a great drummer. Even at night he would practice silently on his practice pads. He would even practice while he was on MSN. So he would take some time to reply messages. I never used to set my alarm clock because his drum practising was my automatic alarm clock. I heard Wayne struggle with mastering rudiments at the start and heard him play amazing drum solos. I heard how he pushed himself to improve. It is a truly inspiring experience to witness such dedication. I have never known a musician more dedicated than Wayne. Today, he is by far Singapore's greatest drummer of all time. One of my favourite memories of Wayne was watching his drum solo during our sold out CD launch show in Melbourne. There he was, my best friend playing his drum solo in front of 1000 Australians screaming their roars of approval and respect. I do not believe that there is a single musician in Singapore right now who can go to Australia and command that level of respect from Australians and fellow Australian musicians. There is only one Wayne Thunder on the drums.
Wayne never complained about working hard…
I have never heard Wayne complain about hard work. He was never lazy. He would always say to me, "Bo Pian lah. This is the path we have chosen. I'd rather be working hard than feeling sad about not chasing my dreams." When we first started playing in Melbourne in at this place called the Planet Café in front of 30 people, Wayne said that in two years we would be headlining a sold out show at the Esplanade Gershwin Room in front of 800 people on a Saturday night where people paid $12 to see us. Two years later, it happened because of Wayne's relentless hard work in managing The SUNS. Here's one amazing guy who went to Australia and got The SUNS into the legendary Espy Gershwin Room venue without any radio station, record label or sponsors help. He did it all of this while he juggled two part-time jobs, practising, producing and song writing for a band that he loved so much it became his life. It was very inspiring to see how Wayne could do so many things and work so hard... hardly ever get sleep but still be so happy that with what he had. He was someone who had a tremendous ability to focus on his goals and not be distracted by the material world or by what others thought of him. Wayne not only had the courage to dream, he was the 1 in a million who actually did something about his dreams.
Wayne never gave up…
Wayne was the embodiment of optimism. When The SUNS were struggling, Wayne was our pillar of strength. He never once cracked under pressure. Instead, he would fix all the cracks. When we felt like giving up, Wayne was the guy that saw the glass half full. He would bring up all these rock'n'roll stories about "last time Rod Stewart used to dig graves…it's all standard things we are going through lah. We have to earn it". He felt happy to be struggling and living the rock'n'roll life. There was never one moment that I ever saw Wayne give up anything that he started. The words GIVE UP was something that Wayne could never register in his brain. Whenever I feel like giving up, I think about how upset Wayne Thunder would that his best friend gave up and I try my best to carry on.
Wayne always did the right thing…
He always did the right thing even if it meant that he had to make big sacrifices. For example, when Wayne organised concerts in Melbourne for The SUNS and we packed out the clubs and made some money, Wayne would personally make sure that each band member was paid fairly before The SUNS were paid. This was why we never really made much money from the gigs that Wayne organised because he'd always shared the money with all the bands we played with equally. He firmly believed that it was the right thing to do because all the bands were struggling and they were our brothers too. It didn't matter to Wayne that The SUNS were not rich. Wayne was a true artist. His joy came from spreading his message of love through his music and seeing how his music touched the hearts of people. That was his payment and I'm sure that he has a million dollars in heaven right now.
Wayne had the courage to stand up for what he believed in…
One of the most remarkable things about Wayne is the way that he never compromised on speaking the truth. One of the things Wayne was passionate about was making a difference in the music industry in Singapore. He took it upon himself to start the motion of change in the music industry here. I fondly remember a telephone conversation with Wayne where I just laughed and laughed at the story he told me. He told me, "Eh San, the other day I spoke to the guy from a record label in Singapore. He said he wanted to make a difference in the music industry here and he believed in Singapore music" Do you know what Wayne said to him "Ok. If you really mean that why don't you put your money where your mouth is? Why aren't you funding recordings for bands? The label guy was stumped for words". I love Wayne for that. Wayne always believed that no matter what, we had to say what needed to be said and not to be afraid of saying it. Wayne believed that it was better to speak the truth than to avoid it. He would never water down anything for the sake of 'angkating' someone or because he wanted to try to get ahead in life or get a better sponsorship deal. Wayne was the most honest friend I had.
His love for his family…
I want to talk about how much Wayne's loved his family. For Wayne, family came first. Not even music could get in the way of his love or sense of duty to his family. It was above everything else in his life. Whenever we were jamming or watching TV and he received a call from home, Wayne would stop whatever he was doing to speak to his family. Every time he received a call from Singapore his face would light up with love. And after he spoke to his family. He would come into the rehearsal room afterwards to tell us the funny things his father or mother said to him and we'd laugh along with him. I use Wayne as a role model as to how to be a good son to my family.
His music…
I just want to leave you now by singing a song that Wayne wrote which really captures his spirit. This is my favourite Wayne Thunder Song. The song is called "Let Your Love Shine Thru"
If you think you're feeling down and everything just ain't right
If you're all alone in this great big crazy world and you gonna give up the fight
If you've lost your will, you broke your heart and now you gonna lost your mind
If you ever believe that you can never ever, just once get things right
Take a look on the bright side
Don't let hurt run your life
Rid yourself of ill feelings
You just have to be bold
And let your love shine through to the other side
Let your love shine through and everything will be alright
Let your love shine through it will take you to the other side
Let your love shine through and everything will be alright
Let your love shine through it will take you to the other side
Dear Wayne Thunder, Thank you for being a son, a brother, a friend and our favourite rock'n'roll star of all time. I must admit that I am envious that you got to heaven before me but I'll see you soon and I promise I will write a whole bunch of songs to jam with you when it's my turn to go. God bless your wonderful soul Wayne and thank you for instilling within us all the spirit of Wayne Thunder and dude, thank you for changing my life.
JBoss's Eulogy Story
"When I first got to Melbourne, before I could even unpack, before we even settled on our band name, Wayne passed me a piece of paper, he said it was a contract. The contract was the simplest I've ever seen, hand written and crumpled, it had San's and Wayne's signature on it and with only one clause.
1. One day we will be Rockstars!!!"
After seeing the mass of people turn up at the wake, the radio dedications, numerous posts on blogs, Wayne, I hope that San and I have helped you live your dream, we hope that we have fulfilled the contract. That "One Day" has come and you are a true Rockstar!
Always in my heart Justin (JBoss)
