Saturday, April 24, 2010
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Want Want: Princess Cat
Bangkok garage rock band Want Want jams out to Princess Cat--I am your lover. Want Want is Studiman on upside down bass and Ra Ra on drums.
Rice Farmer Street Party
I am in love with Northeast Thailand, the region otherwise known as Issan: the land of rice fields, rice whiskey, elephants and mor lam music. On May 10th, the village of Baan Talad was sending their 20 year old boys to enter the Buddhist monkhood for three months, a tradition all boys in the village follow. It is one of the biggest parties of the year, involving a three to five hour street procession where the soon-to-be monks are paraded around the village on the backs of elephants; a truck is packed full of instruments and musicians rockin the music of the country.
Issan culture is often looked down upon by the rest of Thai society and the people from this region are characterized as being uneducated country folk. The various forms of music that come from the Issan are often not given due credit. Yet, beginning about six months ago, an Issan mor lam song was being bumped all over the country, including high-society areas of Bangkok. The song, "Man Tong Thon" by Poifhai Malaiporn, is about getting so drunk and having a serious hangover that the only thing that can cure it is to drink more.
Zero Hero at Common Ground
On May 30, 2009, Zero Hero played at Common Ground—a super cool venue located in an old, Chinese shop-house. After chatting with a busker on the street and digging some Frank Zappa tunes, I got to see Zero Hero in action. Great tunes. Great performance. Great venue.
Scream Loud Thailand, a promoter of independent music in Bangkok, was hosting the event. They are one of the groups working really hard to establish Thailand’s fledgling scene, organizing shows and participating in the creation of a new zine—DIRT, which will be available online, soon! Most importantly, Scream Loud Thailand wants to support all types of music, especially anything outside the mainstream boy pop bands.
Got to introduce them to the concept of the Canadian tuxedo. wooo!
Desktop Error
For the holiday season, Silpakorn University held its annual “Oh my God Oh my Gift” festival from December 22-28. Silpakorn is one of Thailand’s top universities for Fine Arts. The festival showcased indie bands and a market where students could hock their DIY goods.
Desktop Error, a Radiohead/Sigur Ross inspired band, headlined on December 23. The band signed to SO::ON, a cornerstone of indie music in Bangkok.
Gold Red: Thai Reggae
Reggae and ska is huge in Thailand and Gold Red, a Bangkok based band, is giving Thais what they want. On June 17, Gold Red held their album release party at Meatball Reggae, a fairly new bar on the Bangkok scene.
Check out the video with the band's singer/guitarist, Te, as he shares what he thinks about reggae in Thailand and his various influences, including Carabow, an ultra classic Thai rock/folk band that still holds clout with bands all across the country.
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