Hong Kong Independent Music Blog

Look at it as a Hiatus.

2009-12-27T15:44:00.002+08:00

First of all, Merry Christmas to all those who actually read this on a regular basis. I hope you all have a great 2010.

I sadly however am going to be putting a hold on running this blog for the time being. Time sadly is the reason. The real occupation is getting busier, and I'd like to focus any excess time into playing/writing with my band.

I have enjoyed doing this however and would like to come back to it one day.

If in the mean time anyone wants to continue writing for konghongrock, and is willing to do it for nothing but passion and a place to chat shit, then let me know.

Till next time friend.

Underground HEAVY 1 Review.

2009-12-27T15:40:00.001+08:00

When one thinks of music /musical activities around Christmas time, the common man would probably not think about an assortment of metal/hardcore bands to go and watch, but that is just what we had on the 19^th of December, when Underground introduced it's new series : Underground Heavy. A move that I think is a smart one. There have been many times that I have been at an Underground and when the heavier then most acts come on, it is clear that there is always a fraction of the room who are either confused/bemused or downright unhappy. This is a shame, because although yes, these bands can be painfully loud and or aggressive to those not used to such genres, they are still quite skillful, even more so then some of our favourite rock'n'roll acts. There's thrashing about and making noise, but then theres the art to harnessing the brutal energy into structured interesting and most importantly tight songs. The first UG Heavy, no doubt offered such examples. On the bill were In Love & Pain, Protoss, Mensheng, Maniac and, lets not lie, the reason why most of the crowd had showed up (band members included) King Ly Chee.

In Love & Pain:

So this is my attempt to write a none biased review about In Love & Pain. These guys are my boys, and I love their work, every time I watch them (which I'm sure I can count on two hands now). This Screamo/Punk group, are in my opinion, the hardest working act in town. If you have these guys on your Facebook, you see basically a post a week from them promoting their latest gig. IL&P are a four piece act that interestingly all share the vocal duties. The best thing about them, is their ability to perform a high energy show and spread this onto those who come out to see them. On this particular evening, IL&P struggled a tad with their general sound. Whether this was out of their hands or not I am not sure, but they will probably agree that they didn't sound as powerful as they usually do. Most bands, would probably be dejected by this, and thus merely 'go through the motions' for the rest of the set. Not an industrious band like IL&P though. They powered through and still rocked out as if they were playing at Wembley. Their six song set contained many great sing-a-long anthems, that all get the blood rising. They go in and out of melodic and heavy moments. All their songs with have just the right balance of both. Check these guys out.

Protoss:

The next beast to take to the Rock School stage was the 5 piece Metal crew known as Protoss. Which of course is a race in the popular video game: “Starcraft”. Not the broom broom kind, but the people-identefier-er-thingy. You know what I'm talking about. The Protoss, are known for their advanced technology and their strict religious code of conduct. I'm guessing what the band took from the name, was the 'take no prisoners' in war time policy. And thus play some pretty brutal music. Good 'fuck you' screams were bellowed by their front man. They work best during their real sludgy cut tempo breakdowns. Recommended for those who are after an ideal head banging opportunity and those with an interest in badass riffing. The guys are very tight and also started the evenings first Circle Pit, which means they do their job in getting the crowd going. Kudos! The Protoss legion (referring to the band here) have interesting song structures and go places sometimes one would not expect. Dare I say , advanced, Protoss? See what I did there?

Mensheng:

Another 5 man strong group who are making their Underground debut appearance. I bet they were over the moon when they found out who else was going to be on the bill for their first UG outing. They took to the stage like seasoned veterans, well they have after all been going since 2004. They play a fairly straight forward mix of metal core, complete with all the expected tastes and trimmings. Good guitarists in this band who trade off quirky lead parts which is exciting to watch and hear. These guys have a good front man who is constantly bouncing round the stage and hyping up the crowd. Their songs are long in length and also move around in an interesting fashion. Everyone is completely engaged the whole time, and look to be having a real good time. During the outro stages of their finale, the singer switches from screaming to Thom Yorke trademarked soprano wailing. Which of course was a surprise, a pleasant one, which worked very well and rounded off a good set.

Maniac:

So it's looking like the average players for a metalcore bands is 5, as confirmed by the 5 men of Maniac who are next to continue XmasMetalFest09. The start of their set had caught everybody by surprise. They kick off with an electronic song being blasted through the house sound system. For a moment, we could very well be at a hidden rave party! Just when you're about to run to the closest 7-11 to get your value pack of glow sticks however, the distorted axes and beatings of the double kick riot through and we're back to moshing and slam dancing. Well not me of course, I'm naturally at the back of the room tucking into Chris B's Cajun French Fries. Which are amazing by the way. I'm constantly in fact waiting for Chris to go on another Cosmopolitan run so that I may jam a fistful down me. But no one wants to hear me go on about my barbaric feeding rituals. Speaking of barbaric however, Maniac are the first band of the evening to get the famous 'wall of death' going. If you are unfamiliar with such a feat, I highly recommend that you youtube it immediately. Not much to say about the music though. It is of course played very well, and you can tell the band have done a lot of work to get it tight, but it's pretty much everything you expect. No real surprises. Maniac perform a good show, and I've realised that if you are to play real heavy music, you need to sell it, and each band tonight has done just that.

King Ly Chee:

From the very start of the night, their was a buzz about the room and I have a feeling it was largely due to the fact KLC were at some point going to unleash hell amongst the Rockschool sanctuary. All the other bands would mention King Ly Chee's name at least thrice during their set and everyone would applaud with great enthusiasm. When the hour finally arrives, there is even a crew who take to the stage to help the guys set up and suddenly the room is quite packed. We are all informed that it is the bands 10 year anniversary, which is an amazing accomplishment for a band from this neck of the woods. The players, and roles within have changed, but the ideals and music have stayed pretty constant. To play heavy as possible, and have people captivated by it. KLC have a strong following, and its their fans which make it a complete package to watch, It is just as interesting to watch the musicians as it is watching some guy nearly breaking the lighting fixtures due to his crowd surfing participation. The guys must be the only band in HK who refer to their audience constantly as mother fuckers, and they lap it up. Riz is constantly running round the stage making sure everyone in the crowd is going nuts. True story here, I once had a guinea pig called Riz, and when the KLC singer is running round the stage, it would remind me of my once furry pet running round his cage. Pretty random I know, but that's what was going through my head. The music follows a simple pattern of, head banging beats, then a freak out section, then repeating, with an occasional breakdown thrown in. It's nothing special but KLC do it well. Very well. They also sound good, which is amazing. It's no secret that the sound system at Rock School isn't currently the greatest, but for some reason KLC sound real crisp and clear, whilst still being heavy as hell. Everyone is singing along to the songs and getting well and truly involved. For me it's an awesome sight to see a band in HK have such a dedicated following. It's like we're watching an international headliner. During the last song, Kevin from Hardpack who has been drumming in this town for ages takes to the stage, and rips out the ending with the band, while a massive circle pit is taking place. What a set, hail to the King!

Looking back on this night, I remember it being actually a lot more fun then I anticipated. The musicianship of all the bands was much more then I expected. Although not my main cup of tea, I truly had a good time. I may even be at the next Underground Heavy.

Underground 88 Review

2009-11-19T14:14:00.003+08:00

The lucky Underground! Numero 88, took place at the venue with the best sound 'The Melting Pot'. A bill which was heavily influenced by sounds coming out of Her Majesty's Great Britain, included: FAD, CYCLE, HOMELESS ALIEN, AMINO SHOWER and THE DAVID BOWIE KNIVES. What I've come to notice about going to shows here, is that it's like one big Fraternity/Clubhouse. Those in the audience and those who take the stage regularly swap places from show to show. You end up knowing or at least recognising most of the faces and it just makes for a chilled atmosphere. A lot of people criticize the fact that, the only people who actually go watch the shows , are indeed those who play in bands themselves. Yes this is mostly (MOSTLY) true, but I think that's a testament to the scene rather than something bad. At least we're all supporting each other right? Food for thought, on with the review:

FAD
Our maiden act are a five piece that play songs that are distinctively of a Brit pop variety. They work well with dynamics, starting off the set quietly with a single instrument being heard, then slowly the rest start layering riffs on top until they all join together, and introduce the band. A nice sly way of doing a quick levels check as well ;) Yes , I read through your plan FAD. This smartly turned out act, have interesting titled songs that do well at capturing emotions. The singer would indicate before the start of a song that 'This one will bring you down' or 'This is a simple, naive and happy song' and they were exactly that. The other thing these guys do well, is the interplay between the bassist and the lead guitar. Their riffs feed and play off each other very well. I would strongly encourage the singer to do vocal warm ups before taking the stage, as there were times that the falsetto notes he were reaching for, were, well clearly being reached for. Work on it my friend. On the whole though, a good start to the evening. A good way to judge a band is to look at the audience. For a while they seemed a little disengaged but for the most they were locked on. Well done.

CYCLE
A four piece act that I need to apologise to, as I wasn't able to hang around for more than three songs of their set. I had to instruct a friend how to get to the difficult-to-explain-where venue. For your information, 'Near a 7-11 opposite a roadside eatery' is apparently not considered good guidance. Anyway, back to Cycle. They started with a cover, SHOCK HORROR! but! it was a Beatles medley, going in and out of songs such as Twist'n'shout and I Wanna Hold Your Hand. Actually I can't really remember if there were other songs, so it may just have been some interesting blend of these two. It was good, which it would of had to have been if you were ballsy enough to cover the Beatles outside of a band room. The originals I got to catch, had a true canto-pop/rock sound, that seem to build up to the moment the lead guitarist ripped out a killer solo. Very good guitar work bud. Sadly that's all I have down on my notes before having to go outside. Sorry once again Cycle.

HOMELESS ALIEN
Another 5 piece that you can tell listen to a lot of Radiohead and Pink Floyd. Then again I guess everyone sort of does. Although here in HK , a lot of musicians seem to feel very connected to the works of Thom Yorke and co. whether it can clearly be heard in the music or if songs are straight up dedicated to the man (as earlier band FAD did). Homeless Alien are a bit of a fan favourite, as everyone seemed very happy to be there listening to them to play their songs. Homeless Alien who of course were on one of the UG compilation CD's. I KNEW I had heard them before! Very tight instrumentation with a guitarist who has great control over his sound, choosing and tuning his effects wisely. Some of the tunes are dreamy with flanged guitar lines, and some are funky with a leading bass line that makes you want to get down. They play a song which was very similar sounding to Becks 'Loser' when it came to the chorus. This to me was their best song. Sadly though, there are times when the tight musicianship is let down by a lack of performance and a pitch finding vocalist. Nevertheless an Encore was being asked for, so job done.

AMINO SHOWER
A 3 piece with a guitarist who could have been the Hong Kong Kurt Cobain. I swear the sweater he was wearing was identical to the famous one that Cobain wears in the highly documented Unplugged show. What I liked about Amino Shower, was their explosive start, it was sort of like, "yes, the bands before us were good, but Hi, we're here to start the rock." A lot of their songs make you think of bigger names, and their music seems to be one big blend of all these names. For a quick example, their first song sounded like a mash up of Muse and The Black Rebel Motorcyle club. Amino Shower, have a song that everyone seem to know called My Facebook Hero, where the crowd sang along to. That's always nice to see. Versatility is one of the top virtues this band have, as every single song was very different. We had a generic punkballad (Think Simple Plans 'I'm just a Kid') then a song where we hear reggae type upstrokes on the guitar. These guys put on a good performance as well, that kept the audience focused and entertained. Nicely done.

THE DAVID BOWIE KNIVES
Class.
No seriously. I've had the pleasure of watching many a DBK show, and they have always been nothing short of great. On this particular night, they somehow managed to outdo their own high standards. Maybe it was due to the late starting time allowing for more beers to be had, pure speculation , but they were really on form. With no disrespect to the other bands, the difference between the DBK and the other acts, was night and day. In fact, I'm sure if you asked the other acts, they would honestly agree. For those of you who aren't familiar with the music the Knives play, it's good old rock'n'roll that makes you shake your hips and let your hair loose. All the songs tell interesting, VERY interesting stories. My favourite song, is surprisingly their slowest one called Money. I have no idea why as well. I think it's because I'm always hella broke. What the Knives do is, play all the small things very well, making their greater sound , tight as hell. Some may say, it's all very simple, but dear reader, simplicity is the hardest thing to achieve. I feel like I've said that too many times before. One of the pinnacles of the mammoth set, was when the Sound Engineer came onstage with his Saxophone and played an amazing little solo. It just added to the fun and good vibe that the Knives always bring, and it can be seen in the audience. My buddy and I were watching this beautiful Chinese girl who was smiling from ear to ear dancing along to the tunes. Her boyfriend was behind her also enjoying the music, and trying from time to time to dance with her, but she wasn't having ANY of it. I think now I truly understand why they call themselves Sex Rock. In a nutshell, The Knives are the only band in HK who can sing "I'm gonna fuck your sister", "Don't suck the dick of that gastropod" and chant 'Bukake"several times, and not only get away with it. Everyone laps it up. Ku-fuckin'-dos.

Monumentous Epic Weekend for HK MUSIC.

2009-11-03T10:05:00.003+08:00

Much happenings takes place this weekend Rockenites (ya that's right, my blog, my syntax)

So, make your choice from:

Congatulations

2009-10-24T15:49:00.002+08:00

To Qiu Hong for winning the HK Final for the Global Battle of the Bands.

I predicted they would be in the top 3, so woohoo!

Runners up were: FBI
2nd Runner up: Tai Tai Alibi

Gonna be a cliche American sports movie here and say: 'HK indie music was the real winner on the night'

The Battle has FINALly come

2009-10-23T13:44:00.003+08:00

see what i did there? clever right?

So tonight, once again is the GBOB HK final. A massive night for the HK indie scene. You best come out kiddies.

The hard working crew for GBOB have recently released edited versions of all the finalists 'Heat' attempt.

The youtube channel can be found here.

Konghongrocks prediction for top 3:

Winner: O.T.O
Runner Up: Gong Wu
2nd Runner Up: Qui Hong

See ya all there!

Underground 87 review

2009-10-22T19:04:00.001+08:00

I recently wanted to check out what Rockschool was like as venue for gigs, as it seems to be part of a lot of upcoming events. When looking at the gig calender, I saw that there was an Underground show taking place, the 87th one to be exact. After not reviewing something for a while, I decided I may as well go along to this, suss out the venue and offer my two cents on each of the bands performance that night.

So without further delay:

Of Moths & Stars:
Chris and Nate make up the total number of band members for this act. An acoustic rock duo who somehow manage to put on more of an energetic show than a lot of bands that I have seen with twice the personnel. The lads have quite a unique sound, it drives like some 'The Maccabees' songs while having the flow of 'Radiohead' melodies. Chris is efficient on the guitar and the whole time I was watching him , waiting for a string to snap. The guy must use picks made out of feather, 'cuz he sure strums the expletive out of that thing! Because vocal parts are shared quite evenly, there are times when Nate isn't involved with the music. Yet instead of standing there like a fruit, he valiantly rises to the challenge and is seen constantly dancing or constantly dancing + playing the tambourine. My favourite thing about OM&S is the contrasting vocals being heard at the same time. Nate's voice is a lot more 'clean' whilst Chris's is quite raspy. Together they compliment each other quite well. Songs were interesting to listen to, with tales being told and even an odd homage to The Beatles' A day in the Life'. There are moments you want to sing a long to, and moments you listen intently to the story. It's no wonder these guys came out of nowhere and are now in the GBOB HK final. Never a dull moment, nice one chaps!

Halycon:
Next up were the four piece of Halycon. A guitarist, bassist, keys player and drummer. Vocal duties were the responsibility of the guitarist with the keys player adding good harmonies. I'm a big fan of female harmonies (the keyboardist is in fact a lady) in rock music. The tunes fall into the genre of Powerpop or Pop Punk if you will. They are quite light on the cheese though so that's a good thing! It kinda makes you want to run at 1000MPH. Whether or not my avg top speed is 5milimeters a minute has anything to do with this imagery is a complete other discussion! All the musicians play with the tightness that comes from being in a band for a while. My only criticism would be the delivery. If they upped the stage presence and showmanship a bit, these guys could be a great reason for leaving your house!

Transnoodle:
Ah, good old Transnoodle. I wonder if it's difficult being in band where people expect nothing short of solid gold from you. I don't know if it's just me, but these guys are great. There's the HK indie music scene, and then there is Transnoodle. On first glance they probably couldn't look anything less like a band, but thank god appearances don't me jack. I've reviewed 'the noodle' a couple of times now so don't really want to go over any old news. Briefly though, its 'Latin ska folk' sounding. What they do well is capture moods/atmospheres. One minute you're in a pirate tavern sipping rum, the next minute you're wanting to shout 'Mazel Tov' at a 'Barmitzva'. One of the many reasons why I think this band is great, is how, in their tunes, they go in and out of more familiar/famous songs. On this night we heard glimpses of Michael Jackson/The Beatles (yet again!) and George Michael. I'm sure those names have never been associated with 'Latin ska folk' before. Stellar performance once again, you can't go wrong when you wear a great hat!

Zoundz:
At this point it was time to get the ear protectors in. These guys are HELLA loud. On another night when I wasn't awfully fatigued I would have really digged this 5 piece nu-metal outfit. Yet I was still able to point out what worked for these guys. If you like bands like 'Disturbed'/'Godsmack'/'Linkin Park' (circa 2002) you would really like these guys. Their set was well thought out from start to finish. It included air raid sirens being played as an intro and programmed drum loops for an outro. In terms of song writing, its sacrificing flashiness for good/interesting songs that move to different places. Thank god. When I saw them setting up , I was expecting instrument jerking off. If instrument jerking off is your thing, I apologise for any upset caused (sorta). The lead singer carried the band well and involved the audience a number of times. One quick word of advice here. Dude, good work with the vocal pedal, but make sure when you check the levels, you make sure you don't feedback when the volume pedal is pressed fully down, as feedback is exactly what happened. And thats not fun for anyone! Guitars both had the great tones you'd expect from a band who brings their own gear. Kudos goes to the drummer here who absolutely slays it behind the kit! Included in the set was Zoundz own arrangement of Beat It. You couldn't moonwalk to it, but it was still great nonetheless. What was with all the homages this evening! Coincidence or conspiracy?

Paranoid:
To take it home was 5 piece glam act Paranoid. I loved it, as soon as this crew took to the stage, everyone in the room was trying to work out the sexes of each of the band members. I can honestly say, to this moment, I am just as clueless as I was on the night. They all looked very glamourous regardless. I wonder what takes more time, re-stringing a guitar, or getting the hair spot on for show time? The songs are all very dramatic and dark with occasional 'hope' sounding moments shining through. I naturally didn't understand what was being sung, but I felt that I still got the idea/mood of the songs, which means that they do a good job in song writing. Unless of course, their songs are about a bunch of rabbits having a picnic in the Garden of Eden. In which case they would be completely off the money. Best thing about the songs, are the control of their dynamics. At one moment it can be near silent with the vocalist singing in an almost Siren-esque voice. Then the next ,the world is ending with thunderous happenings. All in all, they were fun to listen to and intriguing to look act. Job done I would say!

And then that was it! Rockschool has its pros and cons, but overall I'm pretty sure we'll see some great shows come out of it as it solidifies its place on the HK indie circuit. Shows that are coming sooner than you may think. For example a little ordeal some may call the Global Battle of the Bands -HK Final ;).

Till next time dear reader!

Pictures and other reviews available at:

www.undergroundhk.com

GBOB HK Final Preview Special.

2009-10-12T17:55:00.004+08:00

Having seen over 35 bands over the past month, the judges have narrowed it down to the top 15. On Friday 23^rd October, these 15 will duce it out to decide who will be number 1 and thus represent Hong Kong in the 'China Final'.

As I am in an extremely generous mood, I have put together a little preview package so that you can learn about the 15 finalists and choose your favourite. Then of course, you and all your friends will turn up at the final to support this band! So here it goes:

-----------------------------------------

Live Fast Die! (Heat 1)

These 5 guys are a blend of various other punk/metal acts here in HK. Sharing members from bands like, This Is Ammunition, Rat Alley, Dragon Army and Nanahara Shuya (amongst many MANY others) Joe, Art, Steve K, Steve W and Ross have got together to thrash out more punk tunes. I'm talking the real punk here. They describe their music as “an awesome, drunken wall of sound!” and their myspace lists their influences as Guinness, then they proceed to list various cigarette brands. Excellent! With song titles like 'You're a Dick' and 'Nation of Retards' you know you are in for fun for the whole family ... or really not.

www.myspace.com/livefastdiehk

Facebook Group

Trash 21 (Heat 1)

This 4 piece are a 'nu-metal' band first and foremost, but they claim there is more to their music than just the generic stuff from this genre. After my own investigations, I will confirm no lies were told. Their track titled 21 sounded like it was going to be a Korn song but then their vocalist Guy, starts screaming, and Christ, what a scream! The second track they have put up on their myspace is very different to '21' this one is sung and is quite melancholic. It's clear that Guy, KC, CK, and ReD are versatile with their music writing. Apart from hardcore, I hear a bit of goth, emo and alternative influences in their sound. Generally the head bangers dream.

http://www.myspace.com/wuahthecrow
Facebook Group

TRASH 21live in Nset

TRASH 21 | MySpace Music Videos

Peri M (Heat 2)

This 5 piece 'melodic heavy rock' group have been winning fans over with their rocking yet catchy sound. Their lead singer, Aeolus, can definitely carry a tune, and her timbre has hints of Amy Lee (Evanescence) in it. She is vocally very spot on! The music is all quite familiar, and dare I say generic, but I guess not much isn't these days! Either way 介傑 , Turn B, 真吾 , Aeolus and Eunice do it well! Sometimes radio friendly , sometimes very reminiscent of Nightwish (Listen to Light of Candles). They also do a pretty decent and or dramatic cover of Zombie by the Cranberries.

http://www.myspace.com/perimperim

Facebook Group

Qiu Hong (Heat 2)

Basically meaning Red Autumn, Jan, Lun, KC, Hippo and Hin have been kicking ass whilst taking names since 2002. They kinda remind me of a HK version of Refused (when listening to 'Serving People'), at least in they way they get the blood flowing and the body to fight and or flight! Very tight metal/rock sound. May I add that they have a great drummer! Whether or not they match your musical tastes, their on stage energy and performance will h

ave you entertained.

http://www.myspace.com/qiuhong

The Corners (Heat 2)

An interesting yet slightly embarrassing problem here folks. I have never heard of these guys before, nor can I seem to track down any of their music on line. I have however deduced from pictures and information on their Facebook page that they are have a guitarist (Clement), bassist (Julian), drummer (John) and vocalist (Jehan). This foursome play Pop Rock and have made it to the HK final. If anyone has any more information about these guys or where we can hear their music, do let us know!

Facebook Group

Tai Tai Alibi (Heat 3)

Well well well, if it isn't my grunge rock pals! I cannot say I am surprised that these guys made the final, they seem to get better every time I see them. Ok so it's not like I see them a lot but you can tell they have found their sound and know what they are good

at, and thus capitalise on it. Alice in Chains reference from some, I'm still sticking to the Theory of a Deadman comparisson. Great song writing, even better string shredding, and not too unpleasant on the eye. From a purely hetero point of view of course. Keep your eye on this foursome consisting of Tim, Chris, Matt, and Rafael. They made it to the final last year, will they do better this time round? Stay tuned.

http://www.myspace.com/taitaialibi

Facebook Group

Senseless (Heat 3)

Kenny, Elliot, Sailim, Raymond and Yuren make up this Cantonese Pop Punk act. I've seen these guys at an Underground gig before and remember them having quite uplifting music. The way pop punk should be! These guys though having not played scores of shows, have been at it since 2001. With their infectious hooks and catchy quirky melodies, it's no shock they impressed judges enough to get to the final. Good on em!

http://www.myspace.com/hksenseless

Facebook Group

Gong Wu (Heat 3)

Ah! The gang with the attitude and skills. Li, Lawrence, Gavin and 江湖 have been simultaneously 'raising a collective middle finger' and stealing the show for a while now. All four are skilled musicians who rock out. These

guys are probably the favourites to win this whole thing! Their tunes are hard rock served with a wedge of funk. Hella powerful. Not much more to be said really!

http://www.myspace.com/gongw u

Facebook Group

O.T.O (Heat 4)

These guys were harder to track down information wise than The Corners! I have however found out some stuff about them from the UNDERGROUND website. Mainly that they are from Macau! Get this, they are also family ties in the band. The drummer and vocalist is Fabio, while his sister Jools is on bass. Their mother Shelly Grace is the keyboard player! I love it! Again, I wasn't able to hear any tunes, but the reviewer on the UNDERGROUND describes it as 'soft rock with a bit of lounge feeling and also fantastic vocals' Colour me intrigued. Please share info if you have!

F.B.I (Heat 4)

'What the hell dya want from me?' ah! The F.B.I gang. Who still have the catchiest song in town in my opinion (Man Love!) Another band I wasn't surprised to see make their place in the final. This pop/rock/funk blend is made up of Cain, Jerald, Archvictor, and Nice. The

ir songs tell stories and when they perform they make sure thats what they damn well will do, perform!. Another favourite I would say to win this. Actions speak louder than words, so check these guys out.

http://www.myspace.com/firebirdinternational
Facebook Group

Gun You (Heat 4)

This group is one of those bands that mix a whole load of influences together in creating their sound. After watching one of their songs on the stage-tube platform, they reminded me of Peri M a little. They are very tight and posses good song writing skills. It is quite hard to describe their sound. It's very epic, with lots of different sections. Great guitar work can be heard and equally impressive keys. We've got Karen, Leo, Sunny, Mike and Morris in this one.

Facebook Group

Tie Shu Lan (Heat 4)

This Hardcore act consists of Sunny, 啊瘋 , 文偉 and 子通 . From checking out their videos on youtube, it seems these guys have quite the following. Classic dropped tuning guitar with growly vocals stuff. Done well though, their songs move through interesting structures and they also rock out on stage. There seem to be quite a few of the hardcore acts in the final this year, so who will be the best out of em? Tie Shu Lan are definite contenders.

http://www.myspace.com/tieshulan

Nocturnal Rose (Heat 5)

I watched these guys do their heat performance and boy were they good. They somehow managed to take hold of the sound system and make it sound like we were at their concert. Very dramatic songs, played by skilled musicians. It would be interesting to see who would come out in a head to head with Gun You, as they both have similar sounds. Nocturnal Rose are Karl, Shawn, Cedric, Milk and Zorace.

http://www.myspace.com/nocturnalrosehk

Facebook Group

Of Moths & Stars

This two piece consisting of Nate and Chris are newcomers to the HK scene. This didn't put them off from entering the contest however, and good thing they didn't as they easily made the final. An acoustic act that actually put on a good performance and have great catchy tunes. The combination of their voices blend well together at the same time as being completely different. It's rocky, melodic and catchy. Win win win.

http://www.myspace.com/ofmothsstars

Facebook Group

Shotgun Politics

....Well this is awkward. I'll Just say Party Rock. Driving guitars with catchy chorus's. Also new to the scene and just released their debut EP titled Broadcast. Shotgun Politics are Jimmy, Freddy, Niall and Timmy.

www.myspace.com/shotgunpolitics

Facebook Group

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There ya have it. All in all, it will be a great night for local inide music and lets be honest, silly if you aren't gonna be there.

Friday 23rd October
Venue:

ROCKSCHOOL 21-25 Luard Rd and 93 Jaffe Rd. 93號謝斐道及21-25號盧押道

Entry:$130 .

DO IT!

Now is the time to support your favourite HK band!

2009-10-07T15:44:00.006+08:00

The next three days will see the final places for the HK final being decided in the final three heats.

The poster is a bit blurry so here's who's playing on what days:

Thursday October 8 @ Backstage Live Restaurant:
Nocturnal Rose
The Private Broadcast
Cold Air Blue
Shotgun Politics

Friday October 9 @ Backstage Live Restaurant:
Tai Tai Alibi
Staway
Gong Wu
The Jeff Caylor Band
Memoimoil
Senseless
Wild Adam
Iron Foot
Logo
Eli

Saturday October 10 @ The Melting Pot
Lazy Susans
Gun You
Tie Shu Lan
Ocean Boulevard
Quasar
Castle
Home
O.T.O
Bomber
Karat
F.B.I

Hungry Ghosts Reunion Show with support from The Mooches

2009-09-28T16:30:00.006+08:00

Quite often here in Hong Kong you will have gigs at venues rather than going to an established 'gig venue'. Sometimes the atmosphere/decor of a place is an okay match for the gig and other times you just take what you're given. Then there is the rare occasion where the venue and gig were made for each other! Sometimes you'll find this in the most unusual places. Case in point, The Hungry Ghosts reunion show at Bassment. Playing their role as an equally fitting support act were 'Wash'n'Roll' act, The Mooches. There was something about this hidden bar with spray paintings of Yoda and Super Obama on the walls hosting an indie rock event. It being very small of course meant the audience were huddled closer together, making it impossible not to get a slight groove on if the people flanking you are having a wee bit of a dance.

It wasn't that long ago that I remember being at the Hungry Ghosts goodbye show to be honest, but hey, I'm not complaining. Just like the other 30 or so people in the container that is Bassment, we were just happy to be hearing their songs live again. That is after all, the best way to hear Hungry Ghosts tunes. The night wasn't entirely about the Ghosts being very briefly back however. The Mooches themselves have had somewhat of a lengthy break from playing their millisecond long songs. They were also celebrating the gig as their first one out of The Wanch, so kudos to them for that!

The Mooches took to the ... it seems silly to call the allocated corner of the room complete with practice amps set up on red plastic tables, a stage, but anyway, they got up there at about 10PM to kick off the evenings entertainment.

For a make shift set up, the sound was surprisingly quite balanced and generally not bad at all. The vocals were a little quiet but you can't win them all right? The Mooches set played out more like a jam session, but once again with the environment we were in, this style was quite fitting to the general indie D.I.Y theme of the night. Their outfit consists of scene veteran Arthur leading the charge on vocals and guitar. How many bands is this now Art? Tiffany of the Hungry Ghosts also contributes bass in this band. Jasmine, who may just be Hong Kong's equivalent of Meg White features on the drums. She shares the same preference of the floor tom and snare combination that Meg White utilities often. Adriana is the chick on the keys and Ross who plays with Arthur in Live Fast Die plays the, uhh, Washboard. It DOES have gold lettering and a pickup on it, therefore it is a serious instrument! Their songs averaged about 2 minutes in length and are generally quite quirky. Their highlights were a song that repeated the lyric 'I hate this place and the people in it.' Go on the angst! Others were their 'You Make Me Hot' song and an instrumental that was played towards the end. Good old Mooches were always charming, and seemed to have the room entertained. Good on 'em.

After the turn around and more 150 dollar open bar abuse on my part, the Hungry Ghosts started their set. It wasn't long before you realised that you missed having these guys in the scene. They offer something completely different yet very familiar at the same time. There's something to be said for their ability to control and portray emotions in their song writing and translate it to a live performance. It leaves no shadow of a doubt that the foursome (Luke-Guitar+Vox,Paul-Guitar+Keys+Vox, Tiffany-Bass+Vox, Mike-Drums) work like clockwork together, and are very talented.

One of the main factors why the band decided to put their elusive project on hold for a while, was due to Mike having to leave the country. With him being back behind the kit tonight, you can see why they didn't just get someone to take his role and continue. He is an essential piece that is the Hungry Ghosts puzzle. It's the way he drives the song's with the guitars falling into place around his drum patterns, which were always spot on. Don't wanna give the guy too much praise, but he is fucking awesome. Other things to note are the great interplay between Paul and Luke on guitar. I feel that I HAVE noted this before in a previous post so I won't go into it in detail again. But again, never a dull moment there. Their set consisted of all the usual songs that Hungry Ghosts fans have come to love, with their highlights being both versions of 'This Noise' (which featured some of the Mooch members coming up to sing along in the chorus) and what stole the night,: 'White Bee.' Some drunk bald dude not to far from me was creaming himself at how good that one sounded. And then it was all over! It really is a shame to not have the Ghosts constantly gigging anymore. But at the same time, it made this one off show a special one. If you claim yourself a member or a fan of the HK scene. You are quite simply an idiot for not turning up.

BACK BITCHEZ

2009-09-28T16:28:00.000+08:00

After an unnecessarily long break, the blog is back in action. The past few months have been taken up by band commitments and summer holidays. Speaking of summer, not long to go now till this ungodly heat wave is over. Win!

UNDERGROUND 82

2009-07-24T17:13:00.003+08:00

Buses, boats, traffic and decent honest taxi drivers all ceased to exist with T9 strength typhoon Molave visiting our shores last Saturday (18^th July) . I'm sure other things disappeared, places for shelter while trying to get home for one! One thing that wasn't effected though, was Underground 82 which took place at California Club. What a mammoth night it was. Amongst the other great local acts, were twins from Macau 'Soler'. For those not in the know, 'Soler' have been going since 1997 , performing all around Asia and have songs released in Europe as well as regions closer to us. They are also known for writing their own music as well as producing other Asian talent. Needless to say, there was a great buzz about the venue.

CLEMENTINE IS MY SUNSHINE

To open the show was another promising young talent from these neck of the woods. 18 year old Jon Wu who plays under the moniker 'Clementine is My Sunshine' has played opening act to the likes of mega star Avril Lavigne and Swedish (with Argentinian descent) guitar maestro 'Jose Gonzalez'. Many believe that if the underground HK scene was to have a star, 'Clementine is My Sunshine' would be the hottest contender. It's not hard to see why. Wu's tunes and set on this night are charmingly pleasant. It's poppy folk music that is based around Jon's acoustic and more so his soothing voice. 'CIMS' remind me a lot of another local folk pop outfit that go by the name of 'Joves'. It's that same kind of rainy day music that makes you feel snug about being indoors. This association rings through that much more clearly with the rain starting to pour outside, hinting that the typhoon is indeed on the way. The other instruments in 'CIMS's' set are an electric guitar and a keyboard. The backing musicians do their job well as you sometimes forget that they are on stage, yet their small but vital parts help to shape and add texture to the sound that is 'CIMS.' My favourite moments of the set, are when Jon plays the harmonica for 'Dylan' type melodies. At the end of the day, its good music that most people can get into , similar to a puppy. Who doesn't like puppies come on?

PORK

Next on stage were the quintet 'Pork'. Usually when you hear band names, you can sort of try and imagine what kind of music they are gonna play, even if sometimes your guess comes out wrong, you can still play this game. With 'Pork' though, I really had no idea what to expect. I suppose in my head, pork is quite an abrasive sounding word, so I was expecting something pretty in your face. Instead what you got was something pretty. A melodic mellow yet intricate fender sound is a good way to describe their music. It's light where the singers voice portrays many sombre moments and at times its uplifting and joyful. My rain soaked notes remind me of one of 'Porks' songs, which start with a bossa nova type beat, to which I want to compliment the rhythm section for. Other things that 'Pork' do well, are the vocal relationships throughout singing members of the bands. The harmonies were nearly always spot on, so kudos. As a member of the audience, I would have liked to seen more confidence from the 'Pork' ensemble as there were times when the focus in the room left the stage. Maybe they had swine flu? HAHA! No? Fine. Otherwise , a competent set.

SOLER

Cue the girls, cause next up were 'Soler'. I gotta say with all the hype, I expected much more of a turn out, not to say that it was an empty club, but for some reason I was expecting wall to wall to be filled with bodies. No doubt our lovely 'Molave Typhoon' had something to do with this. When 'Soler' finally took to the stage though, there were enough bodies on the dance floor to ensure it was going to be a good time. It was my first time seeing these guys so I was pretty interested to see what all the fuss was about. I've also never seen Canto-Pop music performed before so it was a first for many things. 'Soler' were pretty much everything I expected. Calculated songs guaranteeing a feeling of good times, catchy hooks getting everyone jumping and the usual frills that come with this sort of music. One thing that I wasn't expecting though, was the guitar playing of brother Dino Acconci. I always just thought it was a marketing kinda thing, akin to the 'JoBros' and 'Busted'. He actually plays and plays well. I enjoyed the rare occasions when he busted out a little solo. Another thing that the bro's do well, is sing in a variety of languages, again always impressive. Lots of energy in this set, and you couldn't help but notice the smiles on peoples faces during the exodus of people after their gig. This of course was also expected!

TWISTERELLA

Ok at this juncture I'd like to point out that I was intending on trying to make my last ferry home as 'Molave' was approaching fast and the usual 24 hour service was being put on hold. I of course in typical fashion missed it and in doing so missed most of 'Twisterellas' set. Which is a crying shame, because during the last number which I JUST managed to catch, they sounded good, really good. They had a very 80's synth vibe, which the dancing crowd seem to respond to gratefully. What I can tell you about 'Twisterella' is that, there are four people in the band, and that they bring the party.

THIS IS AMMUNITION

ROAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR

Thats right. The End.

Joking. 'TIA' are a four piece hardcore punk act. I was speaking to Joe the drummer before they took to the stage and he took my pen and wrote their review for me. 'Sexy purveyors of awesome metal treats. They bought it ... HARD' Which to be honest is a pretty good way to summarise the band. Not sure about the sexy part though Joe ... Just looking at the dudes, you knew they were gonna indeed 'bring it' from before the first note is hit. When that note did hit, you again knew exactly what was coming. What was quite interesting about Ammunition, is that, although it's definitely heavy, there's elements which 'lighten' it a little making it more accessible to listeners who normally wouldn't dig these kind of 'metal treats.' The boys put on one heck of a show with the singer and beast of a guitarist thrashing out, in amongst the crowd. Joe beats the absolute shit out of the drum kit and bassist Steve cut himself open from pounding his bass. Badass! The crowd thoroughly appreciated their efforts and head banged in return. At one point I was briefly pushed into a three man mosh pit (so more just drunken individuals flaying about I guess is more accurate). Fearing one of these poor boys may become victim to my pen (of which I was still holding) I decided it was quickly time to end it and continue my journalistic professionalism. (pfffffffffffft) Great set by 'TIA' very entertaining!

COLD AIR BLUE

Unfortunately for this next band, they had to follow a maximum energized set from 'TIA', so a lot of people were knackered and had left by this point. It was also quite late and the rain was now hammering down! 'Cold Air Blue' were a late addition to the show as one of the band members (of which there were 5) were leaving soon and they begged to play a set. Or something like that. (Booze at the time and trying to decipher rain destroyed notes now...) These guys were actually pretty damn good! I kept trying to pin point who they sound like, but it was really hard putting my finger on it. At times it was very grungy guitars and 90's sounding, but then the singer had a similar tone of voice to the 'Good Charlotte' guy. Also there are moments where there were little guitar interludes, which were dressed in delay and reverb, making it sound real dreamy. So I guess you could say these guys play Alternative Rock, but it's pretty unique. You never really knew where their songs were going next and it was interesting to watch! Nice one lads.

Wow what a long great night. Just for the record , and because it's such an epic story, I didn't get to my designated 'crash pad' till 2 hours after this gig. All transport stopped, so me and my buddy were walking around Central in the rain trying to flag a cab down that would take us home for less than 200 bucks! Crazy times! Crazy but good!

Cool Huh?

2009-07-20T19:42:00.003+08:00

Joe from 'This Is Ammunition' made it! Cheers bud. Joe will also be the next muso to feature in the '5 minutes with...' section. Stay tuned.

Weekends in the Sun.

2009-07-14T15:36:00.007+08:00

HK is redichot. (That's a new word I'd like to get spread around, pronounced Ree-Dick-Hot) For the none genius members of our society, that's ridiculous and hot put together!

Over the past redichot weekend (save for the dooms day rain on Saturday) I did a lot of whining about the heat. That and attend 'The Terrible Twins of Rock' gig at Backstage Live Restaurant for a bit on Friday night. Two bands were on show that evening, buddies 'The Sleeves' and 'The Screaming Abdabs'

It was grand to see how many people turned out, as Backstage was rammed by the time proceedings got under way. First to take the stage were 'The Sleeves'. A quintet of five dudes packed onto the minuscule stage. The Sleeves have an interesting promotion strategy in dubbing themselves the worst band in HK and playing in a show with the word terrible in its title. You sort of expect them to come out sounding absolutely god awful. Instead what you get is a tasty blend of Blues, Rock and Britpop. Granted the Britpop comparison was always on the way, due to the accent shining through in the singing style of Sleeves frontman Turkish. (Who's name fits him amazingly well by the way) Their sound actually is quite unique. You take a look at them and you sort of half expect a 'Derek & The Dominos knock' off band to start playing, but instead their sound manages to sound catchy, relateable and fresh at the same time.

The Sleeves do well in the presence buisness side of things. Particular so to be found in singer Turkish and bass player A.G. When the smoke machine wasn't totally obstucting vision (of which many times it was) Turkish would dance in between singing his lines into the mic. I'm not talking about choreographed Beyonce moves, but the dude just goes with the rhythm to the songs. Sorta looks like he just doesn't give a toss, which is awesome! More and more people in bands should do this. A.G himself seemed to be vibing off this care free energy (you know,that or ... booze) and was swinging his bass around as well as adopting the power pose of being on his knees! Good stuff.

I was pleasently surprised in the set 'The Sleeves' put on and do reccomend that you catch them out the next time you are half and half about going to a gig and you see their name is on the poster! Nice one gents.

The Screaming Abdabs were next on and they had quite the introduction. It was a shame that it consisted of not being able to see them due to the barrier of sight the smoke machine once again created. This time a four piece and amongst the line up is the bassist from 'The Sinister Left'. The tunes however are very unsinister and are very fimiliar sounding to many britindierock bands. The singer, who I believe someone told me was Rich? (apologies mate, can't find you guys online?) had a voice very reminiscent to Richard Ashcroft. (The Verve) They infact also have similar hair. Now that I think about it, are they one being? 'Abdabs also put on a good set, however a little on the 'samey' side of things. Good Kasabian cover though!

It was a shame that I had to depart at this point as I was thoroughly enjoying the music. I'm sure I'll catch them both again soon though!
The Sleeves
www.myspace.com/thesleevesofhongkong

Yummy

2009-07-07T14:59:00.001+08:00

Music Video International

2009-06-30T11:39:00.001+08:00

AwesomeAwesomeAwesome

Velvette Vendetta - Beautiful Vision Distorted Album Review

2009-06-28T17:43:00.005+08:00

Recorded at: Mark-1 Studio
Recorded by: Hisakazu Koya

1.Too Late
2.A Gloomy Day For A Funeral Of My Friend
3.Night Before The Snow Storm
4.La Chanson de Depart
5.A Very Pale Rose

Next up in this flurry of reviews, comes from a band with a great name. Velvette Vendetta. Just rolls off the tongue with all sorts of sinister images doesn't it? The double V are headed in the right direction, collecting a mass of gig dates, scheduled for playing one of Asia's largest indie music festivals and of course releasing their EP 'Beautiful Vision Distorted'. My first experience with VV came from reviewing the first UNDERGROUND compilation, of which they were the opening tracks on the CD. I remember them being HK's very own Muse.

This comparisson continues throughout the 5 tracks on the EP. To say however that they are a copy cat act without their own identity would be false. The similarities ARE striking (song structures, chord progressions, vocal style) but they have managed to craft their own sound. It's the kind of music that you could say is dramatically epic. You can sort of imagine huge stage shows full of smoke and pyro going along with the melancholic mood. Most of the songs tend to follow the formula of bringing the tune to a rising crescendo, or having quiet, almost eerie, type of verses, leading into earth shattering chorus's. One thing that got me intrigued, was looking out for the synth noises that dance around in the background. A lot of the melodies sound like they could be made for 80's horror flicks. If VV didn't have the synth and atmospheric noises, the band's sound would no way be as interesting. It's weird how such small subtle touches can make such a difference. This leads me to believe that the Vendetta have a clear vision of the mood they want to create in their music and have gone about achieving it very well. My favourite track on the EP is “A Gloomy Day For A Funeral Of My Friend” yes I know, how delightfully dark. For your information, all the titles are of a similar theme.

The physical packaging was put together very well. I love the artwork and the photo's of the guys are some of the best I've seen in HK. All 5 members are dressed in gothic black suits whilst sporting some great make up. Very very dramatic. I wonder if live they wear all the make up. That could be a cool little touch.

All in and all, a good collection of songs. Pick up if you like ambient fused hard rock.

www.velvettevendetta.com

Purchase at: CD Warehouse, Hong Kong Records, Zoo Records

H3LIUM3 - Skindeep- Album Review

2009-06-27T22:09:00.005+08:00

1.Helium3
2.No One's In
3.Leaving
4.Rule the World
5.Back to Life
6.Twist of Fate
7.It Brings Me Down
8.Home
9.Sundays
10.This Ship is Sinking
11.Come Undone
12.Moving On

Produced by Nick Flavell, Rob Porter & Helium3

It's always exciting when you hold a CD that has come from your own shores. Ok this probably isn't so if you were from somewhere like the States or the UK where they churn it out. Here in HK though, with a tiny (but growing) scene, releases are like a small celebration that something is actually happening! Especially when it's put together as well as the recent release from HELIUM3 (formerly known as Skindeep) cleverly titled Skindeep.
It comes in a real CD case, with real album art, real photographs from photo shoots, and all the real bar codes, production notes, record label logos etc etc. So it looks good, but what does it sound like?
Well first of all its a full LP of 12 tracks, and if I was forced to sum it up in one word, it would have to be “pleasant.” It reminds me a little of 'Michael Learns to Rock', maybe a hint of 'Air Supply' and a trace of 'Jon Bon Jovi'. The songs are mainly uplifting and are about picking yourself up when times are down. Their intro track will tell you , that they themselves are the cure for tough times. “We recommend a radical new therapy, please collect your prescription for H3lium3” If HK actually had decent radio stations here, you could imagine many of the songs appearing on the 'drive home' show. It's very easy listening and some may call it light rock. You can bob your heads to it, but it's never going to get you wanting to slam back the jager bombs and put bricks through windows. In fact, I can picture my mum and her Sunday morning brunch club dancing along to Helium3 at somewhere like Dusk till Dawn.
Now steady on guys, I'm not having a dig, I'm just painting the scene. It's actually not bad at all. The songs are all well wrote, have interesting parts, great chorus's with harmonized singing but most importantly its fun to listen to. Which to me means, mission accomplished for these guys. My favourite track on the CD is “Rule the World” and wouldn't be surprised if they chose this as their lead single. It's got the slick Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) talking guitar effect. Commonly known as the talk box. It has a great groove to it and asks if you want to rule the world. I like! Other tracks to look out for are “Sundays” one of the lighter ballads and “Home” which starts out with an epic but short synth before kicking into the regular slow rock sound. The chorus is harmonized well and is catchy. I can hear this being the second single.
One thing I'm gonna pick fault with, is that it's beyond me why the lyrics printed in the sleeve, do not follow the track listing. Absolutely baffled.
All in all though, it's a good release. It's clean sounding, sets a mood, a little “samey” at times but mostly just good enjoyable songs. It's not flashy but it doesn't need to be. I reckon the Helium3 crew would be proud of it, and so they should be!

www.h3lium3.com

Purchase at: HMV, Hong Kong Records, iTunes and http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_dmusic?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=helium3&x=14&y=20 - (previews available

The Underground "#2 Straight Ahead ...Back to Roots" album review

2009-06-27T01:05:00.005+08:00

Guesssssss whatttttttt IIIIIIII gotttttttttttttt?
A bunch of awesome CD's in the mail. CD's that will be scrutinized at the very hands (or ears) or yours truly.

Today we are offering the 2nd in the compilation series that comes from The Underground. “Straight Ahead ... Back to Roots” is the title. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed/happy that a follow up to CD1 has come out so soon! This means that other peeps have enjoyed that 1st CD as much as I have. Even more impressive is the fact that the line up for CD3 has already been announced. No messing around here in the HK music scene folks!

So congratulations to the necessary people at the Underground and Mark-1 for making it happen again, and yes, it's equally awesome if not better.

So on with it!

Recorded by: Hisakazu Koya except track 3&4 by HIM, track 7&8 by Li Xu, track 13&14 by Guy Yeung
Directed by: Chris B & Hisakazu Koya
Most tracks recorded at: Mark-1 Music Center. (For more album details, purchase the CD and check out the inner sleeve =) )

Disc 1

01. She's The One - The David Bowie Knives
02. Crystal Clear - The David Bowie Knives
03. Dash - Kissing on the Dance Floor
04. Subtle Sexy - Kissing on the Dance Floor
05. No One - The Ember
06. The Last Call - The Ember
07. Sugar - Gong Wu
08. Back of The Line - Gong Wu
09. For My Brothers, Friends n Sisters - Quasar
10. Let it Be - Quasar

Disc 2

01. The Chase - Poubelle International
02. The Battle of Trafalgar Square - Poubelle International
03. Dead Air We Breathe - Homeless Alien
04. Awake - Homeless Alien
05. Rock'n'Roll Machine Part 3 - Thinking Out Loud
06. Gonna Be Famous - Thinking Out Loud
07. I Feel Fine - F.T.T
08. Ride With me - F.T.T
09. Taxi To Wan Chai - Bone Table
10. Bullet Proof Black Sedan - Bone Table
11. Port Royal - Transnoodle
12. Transnoodle - Transnoodle

The David Bowie Knives

1.“She's the One”
To kick off this musical journey, we have one of HK's current hottest acts (they will tell you, I mean literally sexy hot) I have never seen the word sex related to one band so much as I have done with the David Bowie Knives. In fact tDBK's REFER to their music as sex rock. To be honest these guys sound very brit indie to me, but its cool, I'll go along with sex rock. Mainly because I'm pretty certain “She's the one” Is about “Giving her one.” “Her hand went to unzip my fly” is actually a lyric in the song. I'm also thinking the lady in question, is one that is “professional” if you know what I mean ;) ;) Either way, well catchy tune boys. I love the harmonies that lead into the chorus, very pro. Great sound, again arguably not unique, but what is these days? One of my top picks over both the discs, strategic placement putting them on first I feel!

2.“Crystal Clear”
Crystal clear has a much darker tone than the previous track. Still pretty sexy though. Now would be a good juncture to point out the concrete Rhythm section that drive along tDBK's. Very tight, I'm not sure how long they have played together, but the bassist and drummer sound like they could be brothers. This isn't to say that front man Shaun Martin, is crap at his guitar, because ...well he isn't. He's a great vocalist also, lots of emotion comes through in the singing. He sounds a bit like the dude who sings for The Black Keys actually. Compliment. Anyway back to the song, not that we are in danger of missing it, it goes on for over 6 minutes! I particular like the “Doors” sounding break down that comes in about 4 minutes. I feel tDBK's chose this one to show off their musicality a bit more. Fair enough, it did. This one isn't as pandemically (my blog, my made up words) catchy as the last one, but that doesn't mean it's shite. Good on them for showing that they aren't a one trick pony.

Kissing on The Dance Floor.

“Dash”
What a delightful little band name! I believe it is inspired by the main activity that takes place at Neptunes II (self high five!) Dash starts off and I am intrigued as to whats happening. We've got a disco bass line, atmospheric guitar, effect laced vocals and a quirky rhythm keeping it together. I'm having a little difficulty hearing the vocals in the early part, but I can hear the lines “Do you remember the treasures that you are looking for” being repeated. Peculiar! 2 minutes into the song and it breaks out into a more conventional tune. It's got great lala's in the chorus of which I am a fan of. Especially when it stems from the lyric “coco cola”. Just when I thought this song was picking up however, it ends. So, next song.

“Subtle Sexy”
This one almost sounds like its a completely different band. It's bright, bouncy and flows along like the rain being brought by this typhoon. I can imagine more making out on dance floors taking place to this song then the previous one. 1min33 is one of my favourite moments on this CD. Without giving away to much , I'm going to say one word: groovybaby. The lyrics are still fun and quirky, “Like we're running in Africa” Again though, the song ends too soon for me. In their defence though, it is the standard 3 minute length so fair enough. Overall, consistently interesting. Well done KOtDF.

The Ember

“No one”
Bust out the in house moshing! Our first head banging track has arrived and I am loving that the song giving it the most balls, comes from the only all girl band on the CD. \m/ (Thats the bullhorns btw grand dad) Is it journalisticly inappropriate that I point out the girls are hottt? Oh well. Should have paid for a magazine if you wanted integrity. Enough! Back to the music. It's what most people would call “emo” music. (Please save the Sunny Day comments, don't worry, I come from that school as well) Anyways, it IS fairly emotional regardless! Evidence can be heard right from the first line: “This world is full of shame, there's no place for me to hide.” I'm liking the singers voice in the chorus, she holds those high notes quite amicably. The verses remind me a lot of the band “Lost Prophets.” They have that whole melodic guitar picking married with broody vocals thing going on. Quick production kudos here, I love the sound of the kit and especially the bass guitar. Distorted guitar in the chorus's though, not so much a fan of that sound. Guessing it's a metal zone girls? Once again, this is purely due to my taste in sounds. Next song!

“The Last Call”
This one has a reduced tempo from the last one, but the emotional level has not decreased at all. We're still at Defcon 6. In fact there's more screaming and heartfelt singing in this one. This tune reminds me of some of the older “The Used” songs. Slow yet piercing. Granted not everyone is going to like The Embers style, but so what. The girls are good at what they do and in a scene where many many bands sound the same. I feel they stand out quite well, and thats not just because they are a bunch of girls. Props!

Gong Wu

“Sugar”
If you go to Gong Wu's myspace, its clear these guys think the sun shines out of their arse. If you make some of the comments that these dudes make, you best make damn sure you've got the music and performance to back it up. You know what? They do. They really do. Everything sounds immaculate, from the “Yeaaaahs” leading into the chorus to the funk style guitars in the verse. It's rock defined. Major attitude, Major guitars and Major(ly) sounds like it could be on the Terminator sound track. Solid stuff. It pains me a little to say it, but hats off to Gong Wu.

“Back of the Line”
Wait scratch that, this should be on the Terminator soundtrack. You can absolutely hear the Guns'n'Roses influence the guys mention in this one. Now, a quick point to detail here. I'm pretty certain the lyric I'm hearing here is “Back of the Line” but the inner sleeve lists the track as “Black of the line” oops. Musically, it's a lot like the last one. Great structure, good performance from each member, and holy shit the note held by the model come singer towards the end has the potential to shatter some serious glass. Gong Wu have been making a very good name for themselves in the scene recently. It's hard to argue that they aren't a great sounding band. They just are. Fact.

Quasar

“For My Brothers, Friends n Sisters”
For the record, Sanjeev (lead singer) is my favourite singer in the scene. Even though live I feel this band can offer more performance wise, his singing is always so note perfect and has that ability to send a tingly feeling down your spine. It can be real grungy ala “Vedder” and at the same time very stadium rock ala, well 1980. This track starts off very dark with a chorus drowned guitar haunting the sonics accompanied by a mysterious bass line holding it together. The vocal harmonies are the best on the CD, but then again I was expecting this to be the case when I saw they were on the track list. There's no doubt that this is a very moving song. It looks into the harsh times of our home planet. More so on the whole war and violence side of things. It's almost a call to arms to stand up and fight for your rights. Very fitting for this day and age. 4min20 has a great bass shining moment, which has also sold the song to me as being one of my favourites. This is another one that extends the 6 minute mark. In fact it just goes past 7 minutes. Epic!

“Let It Be”
Bold, bold move naming a song that instantly identifies with “The Beatles” but anyway. This one is much happier then the last. It starts off with the trademark Quasar dreamy guitars, before the rest of the band joins in with this great tune that I am going to go ahead and say is a love song. It's very alternative rock, and extremely 80's rock at the same time. I can almost imagine a terribly embarrassing music video for it. Theres not much else to report, and thats not a bad thing. I thoroughly enjoy the mood of it, the chord progressions, the tones , the melodies everything! It's very well planned out. Another one of my top picks! I'm glad I've got to hear Quasar recorded. It has definitely boosted their ratings in my, oh so important books. Some bands DO sound better on tape.

Disk 2

Poubelle International

“The Chase”
Pretty certain it's no big secret that I heart PI, serious amounts. I was excited to see that their names were on the track listing for this CD. I was, however, a little skeptical to hear if their great live sound would translate well onto a recording. Do not panic kiddo's for it does! If you aren't familiar with PI they play indie/garage/pop. They use the formula of simple catchy songs, and they do it well. Damn well. Lots of repetition, interesting lyrics and keeping the audience wanting to dance. Dance'n'roll! This song is another one that tells a tale of lust. “If you want it, come and get it” will get you singing along and continuing to sing for several days after. Trust me.

“The Battle Of Trafalgar Square”
This one continues the trend of bands selecting two extremes of their music. I suppose thats the smart thing to do when given two tracks to show off your band. This one is a little lighter than the last one, but still bouncy and catchy. I'm digging the “Elliot Smitheque” vocal delays. The thrilling threesome stick to their song writing formula, with lots of repetition and infectious melodies. I'm trying to find fault with PI, but its quite hard. They have a distinctive sound, and execute it brilliantly, both live and recorded. Oh wait heres a fault! Both your tracks extend past 3 minutes boys. Liars! Top Pick!

Homeless Alien

“Dead Air We Breathe”
Cute band name guys. I can imagine some great band logos! The music though, not so comic. Not at all. In fact this is one of the most professional sounding tracks on the album. So much is going on it risks feeling over done and claustrophobic. Instead, the outcome is a very polished track. And a great one at that. The band cites “Radiohead” as being a key influence in their song writing. You can absolutely hear “Yorke” and co. in this song. It's ambient, soul stirring , and rocks out all at the same time. Great vocal melodies continue throughout this song. My favourite thing about it, is that if you listen to the background mix, there's lots of subtle interesting sounds contributing to the overall sound. Major thumbs up guys. They get the award for blending technicality with great song writing. It's never too much and at no times is it empty. To me, this is a great achievement in a song which stretches to 6min03. Top pick!

“Awake”
It was going to be a tough one to follow their previous song, but I was interested to see how they would go about selecting their second track. They've gone the opposite way. This one is more uplifting than the previous. At the same time though, they manage to maintain their atmospheric/busy sound. I'm seriously digging the guitars. You'll be pleased to read that yes I have found some faults. Every now and then when the notes of the vocals go high, the singer struggles a little to consistently get there. Usually this could break a band, but in some ways, it adds that little touch of character to a great sound. This track didn't have me as awestruck as the last one, BUT it definitely had more of a unique sound, as opposed to the Thom Yorke worship that took place in the last one. So props for identity.

Thinking Out Loud

“Rock'n'Roll Machine”
Excellent! The Underground lady herself features on an Underground CD! TOL have a very interesting sound. It's grungy, poppy, funky and has a sax in it! I'm not usually a fan of brass instrumentation in rock bands. The sax solo that kicks off at about 3min16 is, well, fucken' smokin'! You can hear that each member is talented at their instrument, but it never gets too show offy, which I think is rad! A lot of people are fans of the whole virtuoso thing, but not this guy. I'm absolutely loving the sultry singing from Chris B. That little phaser that comes in every now and then on the vocals is a great production touch. I'm also digging the lyrics big time. “Psychedelic messenger from the front line” Niiiiiccceeee! Rock n Roll machine indeed. I wanna hear Parts 1+2 please!

“Gonna Be Famous”
When this track kicks in, I Immediately am getting flashbacks of that 90's teen flick “Clueless.” Particularly that song about becoming a supermodel. Cheesey class that song. Thats what makes this one interesting, as it's fairly ironic. It's bubbly and titled Gonna be Famous, but instead of a , “I'm a super star” song, it's basically a big two middle fingers up at the Miley Montanas and Britney Lavignes of our current media fed world. Attitude! Nice one guys. It's basically taken the argument of most artsy musicians and turned it into a song. I am throughly enjoying the dig at auto-tune and lip syncing. Now instead of ranting the realities of the Disney run music scene to people, I can play this song. Thanks TOL.

F.T.T

“I Feel Fine”
Hooray for poppy rock. Po Kei who I'm guessing is the main song writer of this band as well (he is the front man of the Good Fellas) definitely has a style of music that he likes. It's got a lot of overlapping vocal lines, singing about the joys of being happy. Thats just what F.T.T do and in a year where we are broke, unemployed and have swine flu. That's more than welcoming. It kind of takes you to a summer day driving to the beach. Or taking a taxi I guess would be the HK equivalent. There's a great high energy that continues throughout the track and it never gets boring. F.T.T should stand for Feel Two Thumbs(up). It's impossible not to feel ecstatic when listening to their tracks.

“Ride With Me”
The happiness continues straight through with this song. The music is very guitar driven, lots of repeated chords and riffs that blend over different layers of vocals yet again. This song has time for a neat little guitar solo before returning to the bouncy yay-rock. If The Beatles swapped LSD for cocaine, and were given distortion pedals, I'm pretty sure the sounds wouldn't be too dissimilar to those of F.T.T. One thing that I'm impressed with, is that theres a fine line between cheesy and joyous. F.T.T always stay on the right side of that! Nice one lads.

Bone Table

“Taxi to Wan Chai”
Excellent, we finally get a band who set a song in Hong Kong. If Quentin Tarantino came to direct a film in HK and had a scene in Wan Chai, I'm pretty certain this song would make the soundtrack. It's got that rootsy dirty rockabilly feel to it. Dirty and Wan Chai go together like Hugh Hefner and 7 girlfriends, very well. The song repeats the lines “Taxi to Wan Chai” and as I sit here late on a Friday night polishing this review off, this song is tugging at the strings of my Triple O's full heart. (True story, the mushroom burger I had today was scrumptious) The song's basically about a stock broker who wants to get lashed in our nations sleeze district, then take a broad back to a hotel. A cheap one at that. It's all in the lyrics, this isn't my interpretation of anything. I'm sold! Great tune. Top pick!

Bullet Proof Black Sedan
This one shows off the musical prowess of the instrumentalists a bit more. They are all very tight. The guitars in this one remind me a little of “Hendrix.” Big call I know but they deserve it. Have a listen and you'll see what I mean. The vocal melodies somewhat remind me a bit of that “B-52's” song “Love Shack.” That one I didn't like so much, this one I do. Nifty guitar solo in this one also. Now that I think about it, the guitar work on this compilation is very good. I'm proud to say we have some great guitarists in HK. Bone Table have a fantastic sound that is uncommon in HK. Except for maybe El Destroyo, but seeing as both bands share members, its understandable.

Transnoodle

“Port Royal”
Speaking of fantastic sounds. I'm pretty certain there is no band in HK who does what Transnoodle do, at least not as well. Transnoodle have a billion people in the band which plays a blend of ,well, everything. Ska, Reggae, Bossa Nova, Samba, Punk, Rock, Pop and Pirate? Ok so I'm not sure if Pirate is actually a genre, but thats all I can think of when listening to this song. A bunch of rowdy swash bucklers getting absolutely tanked, abusing the ladies and eating their grub in a manner that would offend Prince William. In case you were wondering, yes there is a horn section, and yes it sounds just as good recorded as when you hear them live. Top Pick!

Transnoodle
Transnoodle, by Transnoodle. Excellent. This one starts off with a Latin sounding guitar line, I'm expecting some “Gypsy Kings” to start coming out of my speakers. Instead it goes into this big band sounding song. I can imagine hearing this song in a smoky night club where everyone is smoking, in doors, ban free and loving it. I really enjoy the fact that when the singing style switches up for the chorus, the vocal melodies gives the song a completely different feel, yet it's still very distinctively Transnoodle. It's actually worth buying this CD just to hear the great sounds of Transnoodle. Amazing production on this one!

So thats it!
2 discs of some of the hottest talents in the HK indie scene at the moment. And what a scene it is! I'm not gonna get all emotional here, but when you take a step back and actually think about how many great acts there are now, it's seriously a pleasing thing.

Favourite tracks: She's the One – The David Bowie Knives, Let It Be – Quasar, The Battle of Trafalgar Square – Poubelle International, Dead Air We Breathe – Homeless Alien, Taxi to Wan Chai – Bone Table, Port Royal – Transnoodle.

The only major criticism I have of this one, is that there is no band singing in Chinese! Not that I miss hearing Cantonese or anything. I just feel one track would add a touch more of the HK vibe to it. Still though, please support and pick up a copy of this. I know there's some of you who read this blog who don't come out to shows. Get involved!

Sweet, all done...Taxi to Wan Chai!

Purchase at: http://cdbaby.com/cd/undergroundmusic (previews available!)

A post about absolutely nothing.

2009-06-15T17:54:00.002+08:00

Just thought I'd mention how much fun the CD Release party was.

I opted to booze instead of review for this one, but just wanted to mention the quality in the bands that I watched (Quasar and Poubelle International) and wanted to draw particular attention to the David Bowie Knives. Real good stuff, was the first time I have actually caught them on stage, despite seeing members at nearly every show I go to.

Thanks to all who made the night so much fun, and congrats to the UG on another successful CD and night out.

The one with the Chris B interview

2009-06-10T23:23:00.002+08:00

Evening Rockstars.

As all of you should know by now, the Underground has released their 2nd compilation CD. The CD features 12 of HK's very own indie bands, and boy are there some great names on this one. Personally I'm looking forward to hearing tracks from Poubelle International, Transnoodle and Quasar.

In celebration of this release, the Underground are hosting not one but two parties. One being last Saturday (06/06/09) and the other taking place this coming Saturday (13/06/09)

I somehow managed to get Underground founder Chris B to take time out of party planning to answer some questions on not just the UG but being a rocker (and mama!) in HK as well.

So let it roll!

-------------------------------------

Care to shed the light as to why you go by Chris B as opposed to using your last name, or is this a mysterious secret that will cause the apocalypse if you tell us?!

Well it has much less mysterious origins... Chris is quite a common name and I was once in a band full of Chris's so to distinguish between all of us we used the abbreviation of our surnames. Well that's what I tell people.Actually I was inspired by The Spice Girls and Mel B is so cool, I decided to nick her surname. Next I want her boobs.

I'm sure you've been asked this many times, but for those who haven't heard the news, how long have you had the Underground going for?

Since April 2004, which is over 5 years now!! Over 90 shows. Over 300 different bands have played - phew!

What was your motivation for starting up the UG?

I just wanted to play a gig to try out new songs with a new band, there was never ever any intention to 'change' the face of the live music scene in HK... hahahahahaha. That came later.... ;)

How has putting on a UG show now, compare to putting on a show back when you started?

Great question! Easier in some ways, harder in others! The first 19 shows were free and I had no idea I would do 19 for a start and then I discovered I was rather good at organising shows and motivating bands to play! I think it was easier then than now though....My own fault! Now we have Compilation CDs, Shirts, The Underground crew, people to liaise with, sponsors to keep happy etc. When it all started, I was organiser, photographer, website mistress, in fact everything except Poster designer (although I did make one, which was appalling....)

You've also played in many bands yourself, what instruments do you play?

Guitar but really I'm a singer first. I play the guitar rather simply but you know what, girls with guitars look so cool, so I keep persisting with working on improving my playing, I'd probably be a better guitarist if I wasn't working on The Underground hahahahahaha Oh, I played keyboards for 6 months in the Sisters of Sharon when I broke a finger....

How many UG's have you yourself played?

Wow, no one has ever asked me that, in 5 different bands I've performed at The Underground - let me see which ones - Underground 3, 4, 6, 11, 15, 21, 55, 62, Djizoes in HK, 69 (ahem), CD2 Launch Party A. So that makes 11 of the shows! Hope The UG lets me play some more in the future hahahaha.

On those nights do you switch up between performer and host or is there a "Vice Chris B"?

Well I just had myself cloned so it was quite easy. Actually I usually just ask someone to introduce the band I'm in, at Underground 62 Soler introduced us!! That was very cool! When I wasn't physically at The Underground, I had Yan (Hard Candy) do the MC work for me, plus friends like Manek helped out too. A lot of people have volunteered their time to ensure these shows continue to happen.

Have you ever got to the point where you have run out of bands to put on a show?

No! Waiting list is still bulging....

Whats your favourite memory of the UG?

So many!! Really there are so many. I love seeing bands improve. I love seeing the joy in their faces when they perform (i love that feeling myself). I have some funny ones too.. And some rude memories...

The UG has now expanded out of HK waters, where else are you putting on, and plan to put on shows?

Well you know we are toying with the idea of more Underground shows in China, especially up in Beijing.... However we still need to strengthen Shenzhen and Macau's showcases before we add more cities :)

What are you doing when you are not getting ready for the next UG show?

Just that! Getting ready for the next show!! hahahahahaha Planning things. You know we ran a T shirt design competition earlier on this year and had over 50 entries. We have a winner but I've been too busy to get the T shirts produced. That is my next project, right after talking to you. Oh you mean my day job? I'm a Rock Mum to Chloe & Ashley who are now 2 and half and they seem to like The Underground Compilation CD 2 which they have heard a few times now....

Whats it like having twins? Do you have hopes for them to become the next "The Veronicas"

Well I hope they decide to learn to play an instrument. I'm pretty sure they can sing, especially Chloe who is pitch perfect! It's cool having twins cause they play with each other and hang out together. A sister and a best friend at the same time. Cool for them. Hope they don't fight over boyfriends when they are older....

Having seen many bands over the past few years, what style of music seems to be the favoured amongst the HK bands?

Well I would say pop rock. Plus metal is popular. And hardcore. We've only ever had one jazz band play. And contrary to a paid music magazine, we've never (yet) had a symphonic goth metal band play at The Underground.

What would be your biggest complaint about the HK indie band scene?

Singers who cant sing in key and then say "It's my style" or some crap like that. And then second biggest complaint are the promoters who continue to book bands with out of tune singers, what does that tell the singers? hahahah I understand that bands need the experience of playing live but no one would sit and listen to out of tune guitars, so why would we listen to out of tune singing??!?!

Or is it cause I'm not doing the right 'drugs'? Anyway a few lessons to help singers is never a bad idea. Do you know Evanescence's Amy? She was out of tune (horribly in fact) when they got signed to the record company, the company wrote it into the contract that Amy take singing lessons. The rest is history. Even Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson takes singing lessons, I don't see it 'affecting' their style, do you?? Some HK bands have got great songs, great image and a lead vocalist who sings out of key, which stops them from achieving great success... :(

Agreed completely, now this weekend is the 2nd party for the launch of the new UG compilation CD. How come you decided to have two parties for this one?

Two parties are always better than one, we wanted to give all the bands a chance to play and also have a week long promotion! We love parties! Although we're toying with the idea of having a mini-festival for CD 3 when its launched later this year.... 12 bands in one night!! hahahaha

A long haul gig, be sure to stock up on enough Asahi. How did the idea for the compilation come about?

Bless Koya (Mark 1 music Center) he arranged a meeting with me awhile back and then asked me if I would like to release a compilation CD - I of course said yes and the rest is history! He is the easiest man to work with, to record with and talk with. I couldn't have found a better partner for the Compilations.

Where do you see the UG in another 5 years?

Well i hope people will look to The UG for more credibility when it comes to bands, to see it as being cool and having a super duper role in HK's live music scene. We are not a 'charity' we are an organisation created by me and filled with musicians who want to make a difference. We DONATE TO charity. We all want the scene to get better and to have more shows to go to and more different bands to watch. We don't want to watch them in tiny warehouses or with shit sound. We want more HK bands to support overseas acts. We want more festivals.

So I see The UG being involved (in small or big roles) with all these projects/ideas etc. Did I tell you we helped Velvette Vendetta get a slot at Baybeats (Singapore festival) this year? How cool is that? The only HK band to play! Bands that give their passion, music and love to The Underground get our passion and love back haahahhaa Oh god I sound like a hippy...High Five!

------------------------------

Well I don't know about you guys, but I thought that was a good little chat. See you cats at party B!

FYI

2009-06-03T12:50:00.000+08:00

Brokencyde are just plain not good.

oooooooooooooh Party?!

2009-06-01T16:36:00.004+08:00

Alright kidlings,

It's summer time, and with summer time comes sexy summer parties. Example needed? well how about the Underground CD2 launch (wait for it) partIES, that's right, so awesome that two parties are needed. That's just how Chris B and co from the Underground rolls. I shall probably be at both and by god so should you. There is actually a possibility you will contract H1N1 if you are a no show ... its true.

Here are the details:

(Taken from the oh so reliable Facebook)
The long awaited Underground Compilation CD2 is finally here! This compilation features another 11 great Hong Kong bands with musical styles ranging from reggae ska punk to rock 'n roll.

PARTY A @ Cavern

* Thinking Out Loud (alternative pop rock)
* Homeless Alien (emo rock)
* Bone Table (indie roots rock)
* Kissing on the Dance Floor (dynamic indie pop)
* Gong Wu (funk driven rock n rolll)

Admission: $150 (includes one Asahi, one CD and one lucky draw chance)

Lucky draw prizes: Thai Airways two return tickets to Seoul (Korea) and one night in the Executive Suite at The Fleming Hotel (Hong Kong)

(Bone Table)

PARTY B @ California
* F.T.T. (brit pop)
* Quasar (rock n roll)
* Poubelle International (garage indie)
* The David Bowie Knives (sexy rock n roll)
* The Ember (all girl emo grunge)

Admission: $150 (includes one Asahi, one CD and one lucky draw chance)

Lucky draw prizes:
Epiphone LES PAUL electric guitar

(Quasar)

-------------

See ya there!

International Music Buzz

2009-06-01T15:46:00.004+08:00

This post takes us away from our HK shores. Here's a little bit of whats going on in the music world:

- Our first bit of news comes from ambient hero's Sigur Ros. They are currently in the studio recording a new LP (While not preparing to perform for the Dalai Lama when his holiness visits Iceland on June 2nd) that is said to be "slower" and "more ambient" than their last release which saw them venture into the realm of more uptemo indie pop. Check out the article and more at Pitchfork

-For anyone who is as obsessed with Guitar Hero like myself, you will be happy to know that the creators have various titles scheduled for release before the end of 2009. The current major one in the works is Guitar Hero 5, which will feature both new songs and all time favourites from acts such as : Blink 182, Muse, The White Stripes, Tom Petty, Jimi Hendrix and many many more. For the current list of who is reported to feature on the next game, head on over to NME. Guitar hero will be adding to their artist series (Aerosmith, Metallica) with Guitar Hero: Van Halen, which is also set for release before the end of the year. Needless to say I am super stoked. For those following the Rock Band franchise, The Beatles edition will be available from around September. I might actually switch up allegiances and purchase a copy just for that. Oh sweet world of virtual rockness.

-This one perhaps is not that MAJOR news to the average rock listener, but the band Finch, brings me back to my high school days and will always have a special place in my cholestoral filled heart. Head over to their Myspace, to check out a new song (and songs from their recent EP, yes they are back together!)

-For all you Placebo fans out there, the eccentric trio have been kind enough to release their album to a special site where you can go listen in full for free. There DO seem to be alot of rules, such as, only 5 playbacks allowed and registering for 1337 passwords to get to it, but it's worth it. I wouldn't call myself the biggest Placebo fan, but I definitely enjoyed listening to the new album "Battle For The Sun" from start to finish and look forward to its release. If you are interested in also listening, click here.

-As many of us know, Hong Kong was recently treated to an epic performance in Coldplay's Viva La Vida 2009 tour. Pause for flashbacks. The band have decided to thank fans for their support by releasing a free live album of the Viva La Vida tour. It of course cannot compare to actually being there, but it absoutely helps in replaying the night in your head. Plus its free, so go grab your copy of LeftRightLeftRight

-Right Ozzy fans. The dark prince is suing former band mate/friend Tony Iommi over the trademark that is "Black Sabbath" For those interested , here is the article courtesy of Rolling Stone.

-TRV$ (Travis Barker) fans. Here is a video of Travis jamming along to the current Eminem single 3Am. Not as cool as the Soulja Boy jam, but still awesome.

5 minutes with.......

2009-05-25T14:45:00.005+08:00

Rain Rain go away.

How about this weather folks? To counter the double punch of a Monday and rain. Chill for 5 minutes with Po Kei of the Good Fellas'!

Name Please:
Po Kei
Day Job:
Stylist, philosopher, song writer, beer drinker.
Band Currently Rocking Out In:
Good Fellas
Instrument:
Guitar & Vocals
Instrument You Wish You Could Play:
Piano so that I can cover John Lennon's "Oh My Love"
What's The Worst Band Name You've Been Part Of?
Good Fellas ?!?!?! no no no ... of course not
What about a different band name?
'Night of Threesomes' - This one I used in May with El Destroyo, Poubelle International and the David Bowie Knives (for the name of a show held at Backstage Restaurant Live). What about 'Sgt. Pepper's Horny Heart Club Band'? Let me think about it!!!
Your Band In Three Words:
Three-Chord-Geniuses !!!
Favourite Summer Anthems:
Morrissey - 'Last of The Famous International Playboy' (for hip shaking in the morning)
The Teenagers- 'Home Coming' (for light jumping after lunch)
These New Puritans - Elvis (for head banging at night)
Who Should We Check Out?
The Beatles - Origin of everything I am doing.
The Smiths - Has the best combo in rock history.
The Cribs - My current favourite band
Favourite HK Band?
Transnoodle, no doubt, Transnoodle.
You Would Bust Out A Jam With:
The Dead Weather and I will share the mic with the coolest Alison Mosshart
What Would You Like To Be Remembered For?
The way I jump on stage
Please Tell Us A Joke:
....................... Don't bring your gf to a Good Fellas's show, she will fall in love with us.

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Check out 'Good Fellas' on:
Myspace
Youtube
AlivenotDead

Idol.

2009-05-21T14:17:00.003+08:00

For those interested.

Kris wins American Idol.

I actually didnt watch this season, but thought that Adam dude had one heck of a voice when I saw the one episode.

... hope this did not ruin anyone's day.

New Found Awesomeness

2009-05-06T14:04:00.002+08:00

And this is why New Found Glory are so great.

Selfless Plug

2009-05-05T18:48:00.001+08:00

Don't forget to search for konghongrock on facebook. KHR updates all the time!

Take 5 with........

2009-05-05T12:46:00.006+08:00

Gonna try something new here at KongHongRock. We're hoping to get more involvement from band members in the scene so here's a new segment called "Take 5 with..." We will be asking various hkinide scene members a series of questions and hopefully they shall answer. To start this off we have the drummer of *drums please Max Weinberg* .................In Love and Pain!

In Love & Pain! Myspace

Name please:
Marvin

Day Job:

Email Communicator
Band currently rocking out in:
In Love And Pain!

Instrument:
Drums

Instrument you wish you could play:
Piano

What's the worst band name you've been part of?
Can't think of any, maybe cus I helped name every band I have been part of so I can't hate them, right?! XD

If you had to have a stage name, what would it be? 

ThunderCat!

Your band in three words:

So Freaking Awesome!

Favourite summer anthem:

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

Who should we check out?

Jason Mraz, Damien Rice, Chris Daughtry.. simple, cus they are great singers

Favourite HK band?

Summer Junkiez

You would bust out a jam with:

Josh Freese

What would you like to be remembered for?

A good man, a good friend, and the best husband.

Please tell us a joke:

Pachelbel, Pachelbel, i'll see your ass in hell, i'll see you in hell, Pachelbel (please sing over Let It Be and why?! check this out:

MustGetTicket

2009-05-04T18:54:00.001+08:00

Mamma I've Got Hives

2009-05-04T18:14:00.003+08:00

I'm currently having a 'The Hives'-athon.

Gonna attempt some audience participation here. Anybody have a favourite Hives song?

Please

2009-04-28T21:46:00.001+08:00

don't get swineflu. It's no good.

"I swam in your bowl of soup"

2009-04-27T16:51:00.003+08:00

The Sinister Left

Red Eye Effect EP Review.

Over the past week I have been listening to The Sinister Left's recent EP release titled : “Red Eye Effect” If you ever want to zone out and have some down time for 24 minutes, then this is an EP you should try get your hands on. It is a mini journey through metaphors, floating guitars, drones and hypnotic am radio voices. The CD very much fits into the indie/ambient genre. Some may call it “intellectual” or “art” music and you can see why. The lead guitar parts are never static and are constantly evolving very intricately. Whilst the rhythm lays down an atmospheric platform for the vocals to sit on. The bass takes turns from adding more substance to the great drum patterns and contributing parts to the sections of the songs where the guitars circle around each other creating great polyphonic moments. What the hell am I talking about? Track 4 “Timeless.” Stick that on and it will all make sense.

The Sinister Left have quite a distinguishing sound, especially here in Hong Kong. This I feel can largely be credited to the vocal style of Nathaniel Inciong. Do not expect any stadium rousing sing alongs. Instead what you hear are minor melancholic melodies that are backed up with subtle chantings. This matched up with the prior mentioned guitars and songs structured through movements rather than “verse/chorus/verse” is the best way to describe The Sinister Left's sound for this EP. In a recent post where I reviewed TSL live at Underground 79, I mentioned that the band had a very warm sound of which they have accomplished well to translate into the EP. I can imagine many of these songs being great for soundtracks. Especially for scenes where the protagonist is having a melt down ... or a substance induced trip. For me the opening track 'MSG' is a great example of this.

If EP's are little teasers of a band's offerings, than I shall very much look forward to The Sinister Left's next release. So should you.

The Sinister Left are:
Nathaniel Inciong, Alejandro Dini, Stu McCutcheon and Reginald Brotonel

Myspace

Respect the Re:spect

2009-04-21T14:20:00.002+08:00

Basically the graphic is awful I know, but here is what is going on.

The 1st Heat of the Re:spect X M1 Bar Competition, the winner will go to 17th Jun Final

Date: Apr 22 (Wed)
Time: Start at 2200 til late
Place: M1 Bar (www.m1bar.com)
Address: G/F and 1/F., Hart Advenue Plaza ,5-9 Hart Avenue,T.S.T Tel: 2369 1333

Featuring,
FBI
myspace

Castle

Hungry Ghost
myspace

In Love And Pain!
myspace

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I had the privilege of sitting in on some of In Love and Pain!'s rehearsal last night. Boy do they sound good.

UNDERGROUND 79 Review

2009-04-21T13:49:00.005+08:00

UNDERGROUND HK OFFICIAL SITE

Herro Hong Kong

A wet humid Saturday night found me sheltered in the depths of Hollywood. Well Hollywood RD, namely “The Melting Pot”. It has suddenly occurred to me that most of the reviews I do on the Underground, happen at that melting pot. Interrrrrestting.

Yes, back at the Melting Pot, this time for concert 79 of the Underground series. Four bands are signed on to provide the soundtrack to the event. Pop Rock act Loudspeaker, the Pop Punkers Senseless, the Shenzan Americana (I know, that was my reaction) trio The Three Represents and finally, the band that can create and control the ambiance, The Sinister Left. Something for everyone hopefully then. Except for you cool “hardcore” kids.

Ok then ... first up! LOUDSPEAKER!

official site

Now apologies to Loudspeaker as I missed your epic introduction. I was told it was akin to the start of a Star Wars movie. Thats no bad thing at all! When I arrive, I see four guys on stage (Smallpo, Hung, Ringo and Paul) at the conclusion of their opening number, and they ACTUALLY look to be enjoying themselves. In doing so it proves the ancient saying “thou shall entertain if thou ist entertained” No really it's written in stone. Due to these guys singing in Cantonese, I understood nothing, but I was later told that they were a funny bunch of dudes who sang funny songs. So horray for Loudspeaker for keeping it merry, EVEN in these times of economic hardship. One such joyful tune had the audience involved in a spot of crowd participation. Everyone was required to sing a long to what I thought sounded like Hallelujah! But apparently it was a call to arms...to go to the beach! Who doesn't like going to beaches? Clever clever boys. Their four song set also included free merchandise give away and a harmonica solo. Short and sweet. Nice job lads.

Myspace

SENSELESS, were next to take the cozy melting pot stage. I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but the melting pot's décor and the mood it creates really does merit another mention. I'm gonna admit at this juncture that I was extremely hung over when turning up and turned down a shocked Chris B's Asahi coupons. Where I was standing was a good level to hear the music clearly yet not be sonically beaten up by drum kits and guitars. I found myself happy at this, then slightly concerned as surely only old men find joy in such things. I soon snapped out of it when Senseless (Raymond, Kenny, Yuren, Elliot and Sailim) strike up their opening song, which had classic pop punk stamped all over it. When the guitars signaled the song was kicking in, the audience also took the cue to begin bopping their heads. I'm having difficulty making out what the singer is singing, but silly hungover me didn't realise it was in Cantonese when the delayed brain finally processed it. Note to self, stop being lazy and make an effort to learn the damn lingo. Although I once again wasn't able to enjoy their song topics, I was happy enough to appreciate the uplifting melodies and the backing vocals spot on harmonies. Now the main problem I have with Pop Punk, is that, you maybe have 4/5 different grooves and bands tend to use all. Basically what I'm saying is, I was hoping Senseless wouldn't put on a cliché set. All credit to them as this was not the case. Their second song started off with a great little groove showing the bands versatility. One of their songs even contained a country music style break down. Suddenly I was at a ho-down and was tempted to start line dancing, which nobody wants to see. What I really liked about Senseless was that their songs went through different phases which always kept it interesting. Again only a short 4 song set, but I found myself surprisingly impressed. Kudos.

Blog

I'm on my 3^rd can of Redbull in an attempt to fix this alcohol damaged body as THE THREE REPRESENTS (Pete, Frank and Uncle Jeffro) are setting up on stage. This trio (clever name by the way) have come ALL the way from Shenzhen. What do you do when you are a traveling band from Shenzhen? Bring all your friends of course! I was amazed at the support for “The3'sents” (thank me for that one later) These guys were taking a while to set up so I decided to scope out their bio on the fliers. “Shenzhen Rustic Americana” was what they put for their genre... colour me intrigued... Activity on stage soon came to a stand still and Chris B was up sporting a Cosmopolitan happy induced smile. She let us know that the trousers on her very person hailed from Shenzhen and thus the Shenz..Shenzhanites? Hailed her. Shortly after, my education on 'Shenticana' music began. Then it made sense, it's like what most people associate as country music. It's mellow, it bops along and it tells stories. Just like the first song the band played. “Written for a girl” we are told by the bassist singer. A few years ago I was in Singapore at their annual music festival “Baybeats”. They had an indie band called Brandston headlining the festival. The point of this useful bit of information, is that it sounds very much like The3sents. I picture myself driving on a rainy day, letting the songs distract me from the misery that is traffic. The lyrics aren't embedded amongst metaphors. Instead it's straight forward ala “playing my guitar getting drunk in the city.” Not all songs were about bitchy broads though. The fourth was about beer! Usually a worthy cause for celebration, but not for poor old me tonight. More Redbull needed. As I tried to find my wings, the band had started to come out of their shell a bit more. They were slowly beginning to loose me. Even though it had taken them half a set, I was finding myself entertained by the guys. There was banter in between songs, (topics including under garments of ladies) cigarettes on stage and bonus synth parts. When I met the singer later he gave me a free CD of some of their songs that they were handing out. Great thinking. No one turns down free anything.

Myspace

THE SINISTER LEFT seem to be doing something right. After finishing my notes from the last band, I look up to find the room suddenly more crowded than I remember. The band of four (Nathan, Alejandro, Stu and Chi) have an EP out called “Red Eye Effect” and as it so happens, it landed in my mailbox last week for reviewing. So be sure to check back for that. Please? The only band on the night of which I have had prior listening time. I had heard their two tracks that appeared on the Underground #1 compilation CD. I was impressed then so found myself eager to hear their set for the night. 3 out of 4 are dressed in black, not sure if this was deliberate or guys in ambient bands just happen to love wearing black. Don't worry no fab 5 comments this time. If I had to sum up the sound of TSL in one word...it would have to be “warm.” It's poetically sad yet ironically motivating. The music plays out like a mini opus moving through various phases of reverb and beats. Despite being in awe of every note I heard, I didn't find myself at all excited about how it was being offered. I understand that the complexity in music may mean having to sacrifice high energy performances, but at times it was none existent. Luckily for The Sinister Left, their live sound is THAT special that they make my “bands you must see” list. My hat goes off to the drummer who had great control of the dynamics. Like a conductor the bands volume level would sweep up and down to the bang of the drums. Also he has a wicked name. Chi.

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Gig done. There's a nice little buzz about the place, maybe thats just due to the caffeine onslaught that took place over the past few hours. Seriously though, that can't be to healthy. Everyone seems to be in a good mood and I would be too. I would have paid the admission price (if I wasn't such a cheap bastard who demands his name on the list.) Yet another good evening out for local ,well, regional in this case, music. No... “shithouse”... bands here tonight.

Gigs Ahoy

2009-04-15T15:12:00.002+08:00

Hello All

Hope everyone had a grand Easter break.

It's heating up on these shores, so seek activities that consist of air conditioning. Activities such as supporting your favourite local bands at gigs.

Thankfully for you then, there are many gigs coming up for the rest of April, with many great bands. Aren't you lucky?!

Here are a couple of posters for the upcoming events, hopefully see you at one of them.

The Realm of Music Summary

2009-03-18T15:09:00.007+08:00

Good day.

It has been a while since we have done an update on what's been going on in the music world outside of HK's hazy shores.

So here's some buzzworthy snippets of news and updates we have gathered from the twitternet.

-Blink 182 are reuniting! It seems that Travis Barkers plane crash on September 19th, 2008, brought the feuding ex pals together. At the recent 2009 Grammy Awards the trio (Tom Delonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker) announced that they would play music together again.

Be interesting to see if Delonge puts an end to his beloved Angels and Airwaves. Same for Hoppus and Barker's band "+44'

The Poet himself Bob Dylan will be releasing his thirty third studio album , titled "Together through Life". The penciled in release date is set for April 28th. Apparently the die hard Dylan followers have started to dissect each and every part of the album name and cover.

-Former front man of Soundgarden and Audioslave, Chris Cornell , recently had his new solo album (Scream) taken the piss out of, by Nine Inch Nails man Trent Reznor (via Reznors Twitter account.) Reznor expressed that listening to Cornell's Scream was like was like “that feeling you get when somebody embarrasses themselves so badly YOU feel uncomfortable” Scream was produced by hip hop powerhouse Timbaland.

-Legends Kiss plan to hit the studio to record what devil man Simmons calls a "Meat and Potatoes" album, basically meaning a classinc 70's rock vibe. He also confirmed that this latest album, the first since 1998's Psycho Circus, will be produced by fellow kiss member Paul Stanley.

- Jack White of the White Stripes and The Racounters recently debuted his new band "The Dead Weather." If you were excited like me to hear more of Whites awesome guitaring, tame those emotions. White plays drums in this band. Check it out at http://www.thedeadweather.com/.

-RocknRoll Jesus (self acclaimed) Kid Rock, who has been enjoying quite the comeback recently due to his hit single "All Summer Long" which basically plays on people's love for Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama," Has announced summer tour dates with Skynyrd themselves. Possibly his way of saying thanks for your riff?

-Recently at the Grammys, Radiohead played a rendintion of their song "15 Steps" off of their "In Rainbows" release. Yorke and crew put on quite a show, however managed to somehow offend pop sensations, Miley Cyrus and later Kanye West by "snubbing" them whilst backstage. Apparently Cyrus and West wanted a bit of chit chat, and the legends that are Radiohead were having none of it. Wah wah wah.

-To end this little round up, I will reccomend readers who enjoy listening to acoustic/folk music to check out new artist Lisa Hannigan. Fans of Damien Rice will be no stranger to Hannigan's name, as she was the airy angelic voice which appeared on several of Rice's tracks on both "O" and "9 Crimes." She also played several instruemnts when she was still part of Damien Rice's touring band. After the two parted ways, she landed a spot in Jason Mraz's backing band last year before starting to work on her own solo career. Hannigan has released her debut cd titled "Sea Sew" and you can check out some of the tracks on her myspace.

Stop! it's the FBI!

2009-02-24T10:55:00.002+08:00

Our next review is the release titled Fire Bird International from feel good rockers FBI. I first heard of FBI when I had the opportunity to review the Underground Something Alternative album. Their track Man Love! which they contributed to the compilation was a highlight for me, so therefore I was naturally excited when Cain (lead singer) approached me and asked whether I would be interested in reviewing their own release.

Track list
1. Man Love!
2. The Masquerade
3. Loneliness
4. Gonna Make Love
5. Haunted
6. Ghouls 'n' Ghosts
7. Man Love! (Underground Version)
8. Don't Quit Your Day Job

Fire Bird International is an album of eight fairly different tracks. It's safe to say that FBI have shown their versatility when it comes to making music. What seems to unite the tracks together are the quirky fun lyrics and song topics. Save for perhaps Loneliness which is a down tempo ballad about what some would call love.

I usually like to list some reference bands when trying to discuss what a band sounds like, but it is surprisingly different when it comes to FBI. Some songs have a hint of the Red Hot Chili Peppers while others have a dash of Blink 182.

The album opens with what for me, is their strongest track in “Man Love!” It's basically about showing your bros some good old fashioned heterosexual loving. It's infectiously catchy and gets you bouncing the way a good pop punk track should.

Since being treated to Guitar Hero World Tour for Christmas, and playing through career mode as a bassist, my ears seem to detect good bass lines in songs these days. While listening through this album, my bass line radar was going off. Case in point : 0.57 into “Gonna Make Love” The bass lines on the whole are pretty funky and remind me of some No Doubt songs. I'm talking about the days when Gwen Stefani was making good music.

While reading the album sleeve I noticed a shout out to Underground Chris B's “sexy vocals” on the track Gonna Make Love. Being hopelessly male I naturally had to investigate the so called sexy vocals. Boys, sexy they were! In fact as the song was coming to its end and the vocals becoming more provocative. My trusty laptop couldn't handle the heat and crashed. True story.

Trying to pull some sense of professionalism together after that was going to be difficult, but I managed to find myself enjoying the guitar work. Some of the distorted tones weren't doing it for me, but I was impressed greatly at the clean tones. What does that mean to none musicians? Probably sweet F all, but basically it means that the guitars generally sound pleasant. There's a usual bias that tracks recorded by independent bands sound shite, which is why I'm bringing up the subject of the guitar tones. On that note, the rest of the album is recorded pretty solidly as well.

So, why pick up Fire Bird International? If you like a CD where every song doesn't sound the same, is fun to listen to, and has great vocal melodies then its money worth spending. Best tracks for me are Man Love, Loneliness and Haunted.

Fire Bird International is available in Hong Kong from:
CD Warehouse, HK Records and White Noise Records

It is also available on line via the alivenotdead website and it will soon be available through iTunes

www.alivenotdead.com/fbi
www.myspace.com/firebirdinternational

Lies Lockdown

2009-01-28T15:02:00.003+08:00

For a while now BBC Radio 1 have had their series Live Lounge on the go.

The format is pretty basic, an artist comes in and lays down a couple of their tracks live. What gives it the cake for me, is that the various singers/bands will also record a cover version of a current "hit". It's worth checking out the related videos to this White Lies cover of Kanye West's current autotune single Love Lockdown. There are some interesting surprises, and some you feel embarrassed for. As I type this I have just spotted Pendulum covering Coldplay's Violet Hill.

Make a t-shirt. Make $800 WAH

2009-01-26T18:12:00.004+08:00

To all you frustrated artists out there. Dear friends the UNDERGROUND HK are hosting a t-shirt design competition for their next batch of t-shirts. More information?

RIGHT HERE

The Old Bailey Review

2009-01-26T17:35:00.006+08:00

To continue our feature on Tai Tai Alibi. Here is KongHongRock's album review of their EP The Old Bailey Sessions To own a copy of this CD, please contact the band at their website www.taitaialibi.com
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In an age, where it seems like the "music" we are given by the big shots, tends to be extremely processed and designed solely for the purpose of turning subconsciously addictive cheese lines ala “This shit is bananas" into a mega million dollars. It is therefore refreshing when you get the rare chance to listen to a humble collection of songs whose rawness equals its power. It helps remind you that, hey, there is pure music out there and it CAN actually be decent to listen to.

One such example is The Old Bailey Sessions by Hong Kong rock outfit, Tai Tai Alibi. Not everyone is a fan of the EP format, and feel that paying any dollar for two-six songs is a silly way to spend ones money (especially in these times of doom & gloom) However I come from the school of thoughts, that EP's are the way forward. Perhaps one day I shall write a compelling argument as to why this is so, but for now, this is a CD review, and I could waste an infinity of HTML on my thoughts and views of music.

One major point I like about EP's, especially from new bands, is that for a reasonable price, you get a small catalogue of what a band is all about. It makes the selection of what songs appear on the album a very important decision, as bands have to explain who they are and why they are worth you seeing them or buying their produce again. After all, first impressions are everything aren't they?

What you get when you buy (well I obviously didn't buy The Old Bailey Sessions as I'm a broke bastard, so cheers for the gift fellas) the EP, is exactly that. It's a showcase as to who TTA are. And that's quite simply, a good fucking rock band. I have heard of these guys being described as all sorts of music (again another element which seems mandatory in today's music. Lets classify the soul out of anything possible , if its deemed "cool" we'll play it on our fouth generation iPod Nano's) So I apologise if my calling this release a good old fashioned rock mini album, not on the money for you.

The album make me nostalgic for the 90's bands. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking of Live, Bush, Pearl Jam and not as famous but very similar: Theory of a Deadman. This is not to say that TTA are replicas of a successful formula, as they have found their own voice.

Guitars drive this EP from start to finish. Whether its the crisp acoustics's in A Million Miles Away or the reverb heavy backing guitar riff in A Little More Empty. If you don't like guitar solo's in songs, then 1.This band is not for you and 2.You are a jackass. This doesn't mean you should expect seven minute epic guitar battles between axemen Chris Collins and Tim Hills. All guitar parts sound like they have been planned out as opposed to "cool I can improvise in E pentatonic" like a lot of bands seem to do.

The rhythm section is like driving a Japanese car. It's not flashy or dazzles to the point of needing a pair of sunglasses. Instead its sturdy, rock solid, and reliable. You know you can count on it to get you from A to B.

Vocally, I have mentioned before when reviewing the two songs that also appeared on the UNDERGROUND SOMETHING ALTERNATIVE CD, that TTA are very strong when it comes to singing. Lyrically the guys aren't shabby either. It feels dark but somehow maintains quite a melodic edge.

In terms of production. It's mostly all DIY. The only thing that was recorded by someone else, was the drums. Everything else was done, mixed, matched, mashed and arranged by the band members. So to my surprise, it actually plays rather well. As I mentioned earlier, the record sounds raw, you will hear little imperfections, and parts where perhaps one instruments volume is unexpectedly louder than you feel it should be. Yet it all seems to work whilst maintaining its integrity.

Criticisms I do have about the album cover though. I'm afraid I do judge books by covers, and the cover for The Old Bailey Sessions EP, does not do it for me at all. I want logos! I want images that make me go, “shit that looks sweet it must therefore sound at least a 6/10!” I definitely don't want the colour orange with a “fade out” preset effect. However if my only major criticism comes in the form of a bands DIY album art. They must not be doing too bad a job at all.

For me the tracks to look out for are the high energy, head-banger Lost in You and the one which will get stuck in your head with its great lyrics, Cycle

So why buy this?
-It's actually proof that independent bands can record and mix their own records.

-It's accessible. It's heavy enough to play while drinking Sunday beers with the boys, but not too heavy that your nan will demand that you "turn off that racket and go sit in the garden."

-To prove your Facebook status of "I support Local Bands ^_^xoxo" is actually true, and you aren't just ironically trendy.

-Even if everything I have just wrote turns out to be more bullshit than John McCain's choice for Sarah Palin to actually be a vice president... of a continent. For $100 bucks you have a coaster that opened for the Manic Street Preachers.

Lets kickstart this mother lover.

2009-01-26T16:47:00.007+08:00

In an attempt to try and make this blog more interesting than just gig reviews, this year KongHongRock will be attempting to interview more of the local acts that play in our favourite venue's as well as review their releases.

This month I sat down with Tim Hills and Chris Collins of Tai Tai alibi to discuss everything from eating the Manic Street Preachers cheese board, to how many takes it took for the guitar solos on their recent EP release : "The Old Bailey Sessions" Here is the interview transcript:

Tai Tai Alibi Interview.

TAI TAI ALIBI, WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
No real meaning, it's just catchy. Initially it had some thing to do with Hong Kong. We're Hong Kong kids I guess.

SO DID YOU ALL GROW UP IN HONG KONG?
Yes, everyone in the band now all went to Island School.
(Chris to Tim) - Well I grew up , what? three buildings away from you? in Pok Fu Lam.

WHO ACTUALLY IS IN THE BAND? YOU'RE TIM HILLS..
Ya I play guitar and vocals. I also write most of the songs.
I'm Chris Collins, I'm the other guitarist/backing vocalist/slacker.
And then we got Matt Cartwright whose the drummer. And our new bassist Rafe D'Aquino.

I DID SEE ON YOUR WEBSITE THAT YOU HAVE A NEW BASSIST. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT?
Priorities with certain players, weren't as high as we would have liked.

HOW LONG HAS TAI TAI ALIBI BEEN GOING?
Since ... October 2007

DO YOU GUYS HAVE OTHER JOBS OR IS IT JUST TAI TAI ALIBI?
I don't think anyone is full time.

I (Tim Hills) teach English to undergraduate students at Hong Kong U. It's pretty flexible, it gives me time to work on other things like Tai Tai Alibi.

DO YOU GET THE SAME BREAKS AS ALL THE OTHER STUDENTS AS WELL?
Yes haha... I've been on a summer holiday all my life.

I'm (Chris Collins) a professional musician so I'm
pretty much a bum!

HaHa, SO DO YOU DO ANY SESSION WORK OR ANYTHING LIKE
THAT?
I do session work yes, been playing a couple gigs with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra recently. Apart from that my bread and butter is mostly teaching guitar. I've got a studio in "Old Bailey Street" which is in fact where the album was recorded. Apart from the drums.

Rafe is in the diamond business. So he sells and stuff like that. And Matt is a Hedge fund Investment Banker.

SO GROWING UP IN HONG KONG, I DON'T KNOW IF ITS THE SAME WITH YOU GUYS, BUT I GREW UP IN SINGAPORE WHERE THE ONLY MUSIC YOU WOULD GET WAS THAT PLAYED ON MTV AND RADIO, WHICH I GUESS WAS SLIGHTLY BETTER THAN HERE AS I HAVE NOTICED A LACK OF ENGLISH SPEAKING RADIO STATIONS.
Apart from RTHK who we are big fans of, who recently interviewed us and played our music haha.

There's obviously limited hours in the day where they do play music.

RIGHT BASICALLY THAT'S WHAT I WAS GOING TO ASK, HOW DID YOU GUYS GET YOUR HANDS ON THE MUSIC THAT INFLUENCED YOU
WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?
MTV .. while the music was still good, when it wasn't always R&B and stuff like that. Family, friends and school.

THE INTERNET?
The Internet wasn't as big when we were still in school. We're old! haha. INTERNET? Napster was around when we were in 6th form though.

WE'VE ALL HEARD OF SAY THE SEATTLE GRUNGE SOUND, OR THE BOSTON PUNK SOUND. WOULD YOU SAY THERE WAS SOMETHING SIMILAR HERE IN HK OR IS IT ALL PRETTY ECLECTIC?
Very eclectic. A bit of everything. There isn't really the one sound here ... apart from not being able to hear the vocals haha.

A lot of the local bands seem to have really caught on to the Brit Rock influence. You see that in a lot of the bands now.

Growing up there wasn't many local bands to go and see, but that's mainly because there wasn't many venues. There's more places these days.

SO , TALKING ABOUT THE EP "THE OLD BAILEY SESSIONS" THE NAME COMES FROM A ROAD NAME YOU WERE SAYING?
Ya it's a road in SOHO where I (Chris Collins) have my studio CMC , where I teach at. So we decided to call it "The Old Bailey Sessions EP" CMC are my initials.

AND IS THIS YOUR FIRST EP RELEASE?
Yes

I NOTICED ON THE ALBUM SLEEVE THAT YOU RECORDED IT ALL YOURSELVES?
Ya apart from drums, which was recorded by a friend or ours at a studio in Causeway Bay. A guy called Hubert So.

HAVE YOU GUYS HAD EXPERIENCE BEFORE IN RECORDING?
Ya, mostly home stuff.

SO THERE ARE 6 SONGS ON THE EP , DID YOU WRITE MORE FOR THE EP OR ARE THEY FROM A COLLECTION OF SONGS OVER THE YEARS?
There were others, but these were the more finished ones. Autocrat was wrote in about 06, so then we re-worked it a lot with the band and finished it off. I (Tim Hills) have a problem with finishing songs. The rest of the band will usually go "Ok there's enough time spent on that, let move on" , (Chris Collins) Hence the choice to not have a last chorus in "Strawman" by the way. (Tim Hills) Thats 'cause I couldn't sing it without killing myself!

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO RECORD THE OLD BAILEY SESSIONS?
Most of it in two months. It was a bit of a complicated process. Initially the way we were gonna record it, was to have us all play in my (Chris Collins) studio using V (virtual) drums. Our drummer bought some top of the line ones. So we did that initially, then we layered on more guitars and more vocals. We ended up noticing that the drums were still the weakest element. So we then got rid of the V drums and stuck real drums on top. Which for any kids that are reading this, is the WRONG way of doing it. So that required a fair bit of editing. We could have done it probably in a month. It was just a lengthy process.

It wasn't like two months none stop. We only had a couple of days here and there to work on it. Initially, in the beginning it was to try to get more of a general idea of what we were doing. I think we had a go at "Cycle" then said, "Ok let's keep going." Obviously that's not the right way to go about it, we didn't plan it out or anything.

It was a big learning experience as well. Our full album will be very different.

OBVIOUSLY WHEN LISTENING TO THE EP YOU CAN TELL ITS VERY GUITAR DRIVEN. I NOTICED ON THE SLEEVE YOU CREDIT THE DIFFERENT SOLOS. MY QUESTION IS, HOW MANY TAKES DOES IT TAKE TO NAIL A SOLO?
One take! haha, Once it's written, one take.

NICE! OK GOING BACK TO WHAT YOU SAID EARLIER. TIM WRITES MOST OF THE SONGS, SO HOW DOES THE PROCESS WORK? DO YOU COME UP WITH THE CHORDS FIRST THEN PASS IT TO THE REST OF THE GUYS, OR DO YOU START OFF WITH SOME LYRICS?
It never starts with the lyrics, It always starts with the music. I try and have as much idea of the song as possible, usually before recording a demo. The main sections and vocals, the drums always go on drum machines -DO YOU DO THE DRUMS YOURSELF? - Ya but I can't do all the fills and stuff like that, its just the main bits to get the structure worked out.

(Chris Collins) It's the core of the song, the rest of us will work on
the fine details.

SO YOU DON'T HAVE THAT DICTATORIAL ROLL OF SAYING "PLAY THIS! PLAY THAT!"

...Sometimes! haha

(Chris Collins) If we're acting up haha.

(Tim Hills) I mean you write songs with "key parts" and if you don't have that in there, its not the same song.

RIGHT, LYRIC MATTER, DO YOU GUYS TALK ABOUT
CERTAIN TOPICS OR?
Try to! haha. The lyrics are the last thing that come to me. You write the music, then the melody and then the words to fit the melody. Then make sense of the words. Some of the songs make sense haha ... which is good. Like "A Little More Empty" which is about materialism. Then "Autocrat" is about an oppressive government, It can also be about a certain person. "Cycle" is just about relationships."A Million Miles Away" is just about partying.

(Chris Collins) Strawman is about a man made of straw...

(Tim Hills) haha no it isn't. All my metaphors! gone! What's the last one? ... "Lost in You" ... take from that what you will :).

ALRIGHT FOR ANY GUITAR TECHIES READING, DO YOU WANT TO TAKE US THROUGH YOUR RIG?
(Chris Collins) - I've got a PRS custom 24. Running into a BOSS TU-2 tuner. Into a FULLTONE standard wah. Into a RADIAL TONEBONE distortion box ... which is awesome! Goes through some other stuff ... A volume pedal, amp which is a small little Fender blues junior. It was also used for the EP.

(Tim Hills) - Do you wanna hear about my gear?

YES PLEASE
It's a Telecaster. That's about it haha. It's a Japanese Fender Telecaster custom. I like how it plays.

(Chris Collins) - Super Slinky strings haha.

SO YOU GUYS PLAYED THE BATTLE OF THE BANDS LAST YEAR AS WELL WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
(Chris Collins) One of my bands came third (Joves)

WILL YOU BE ENTERING THE COMPETITION THIS YEAR?
Ya, the format is challenging to say the least. You've got two songs to give it your all.

SO YOU GUYS RECENTLY OPENED FOR THE MANIC STREET PREACHERS. HOW DID YOU GET THAT GIG?
Our drummer got it for us. Me (Tim Hills) and Matt were drinking in a bar and met a couple of guys who are in a production company. They were talking about how they brought the Stereophonics to Hong Kong and then Matt gave them our contact details. We put together a little compilation of some of the songs off our EP. So then they became interested and came to see one of our gigs. It was the UNDERGROUND COMPILATION release party and they said they liked it. Then we didn't hear anything from them for a while, it was about two months. Then Matt suddenly got a call from them saying that they were bringing the Manic Street Preachers to Hong Kong, and asked if we would like to open for them. So then we were like "Hmm? Fuck ya!"

SO HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE AT THAT SHOW?
Just under 2000 i think. Biggest crowd yet.

I WANNA ASK WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR HEAD JUST BEFORE
TAKING THE STAGE?
(Tim Hills) Hmm, don't forget the lyrics?
(Chris Collins) Do I have my pick?
(Tim Hills) You had like 500 guitar picks.
(Tim Hills) Just to have a good time, and make the most
of it.

AND WHAT HAPPENED AFTER YOU CAME OFF THE STAGE?
We went back to our dressing room to hang out for a bit. Had a couple of beers, then the lead singer of the Manic Street Preachers, James Dean Bradfield came in to congratulate us. He saw us play and said he liked it. We chatted about stuff to do in Hong Kong ... very Rock'n'Roll. We invited him out for a drink after but he said he was too old haha. Then we went to the back of the show to sell our EP. We got it ready just for this gig. We actually were still packaging them in the dressing room after our set. Then we went into the Manic Street Preachers dressing room and ate all their food haha. We sat on their sofas and drank their penny-royal tea.

They have an impressive selection of cheeses actually. Their rider was interesting. Boddingtons - which we drank and a lot of mustard. Which we devoured.

WAS THAT YOUR BEST GIG SO FAR?
Yup! Everything came together, there was a great crowd,good feedback. Great pictures. PROOF!

Nice ladies ... our girlfriends. We got an all access pass, you know the important stuff.

DO YOU HAVE A WORST GIG THAT COMES TO MIND?
Worst? It would probably be just because of the venue's sound.

We're a bit anal about sound,if the sound isn't very good, we don't feel very comfortable on stage. But the sound is usually perfect so everyone should come and see our gigs :) It used to bother us , now we're UBER professionals haha nah.

DO YOU HAVE ANY BANDS YOU RECKON WE SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR IN 2009?
The Sinister Left, very good, they are old friends as well. I (Tim Hills) was in another band with the lead singer. And I (Chris Collins) was in a band with the bass player.

So there's a lot of inbreeding with Hong Kong bands. Matt's been in another band with Chris B from the UNDERGROUND (Thinking Out Loud).

I (Tim Hills) Like the David Bowie Knives, Hungry Ghosts, Killer Soap, Qui Hong, who are very professional. Solar are good.

(Chris Collins) Qasar, though I've never seen them play. Whats the sleeveless band called? Gong Wu! An old friend of ours called Andy Bautista has just joined them on guitar. So I'm sure they are very good.

LASTLY WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM TAI TAI ALIBI in 2009?
A full length album, 12 songs. We've written most of them now.

(Tim Hills) That was quick!

So probably to start and finish recording in the summer. We'll start with real drums this time haha!We're gonna sell it and have it available in HMV and other major outlets.

ANY LAST WORDS?
Thanks very much for the interview. Which is your favourite song?

I LIKE TRACK 2, LOST IN YOU. HEARD IT PLAYING AT AN
UNDERGROUND GIG AND THOUGHT IT WAS GREAT.

Parkway from Scratch

2009-01-07T12:40:00.002+08:00

Start it up.

2009-01-07T11:20:00.003+08:00

Hope everyone had a merry holiday season. I know mine was. Very merry.

KongHongRock will be back soon, we have a couple of ideas in the pipelines to spark this blog up a bit so please stay tuned and help spread the word.

Rock on 852, its 09!

Seasons Greetings

2008-12-24T14:29:00.001+08:00

Merry Christmas to all you rockers in the 852 and beyond.

Kong Hong Rock will see you in 2009!

Kongbook

2008-12-11T16:45:00.001+08:00

Citizens.

Please help spread the word of this blog by searching for konghongrock.blogspot.com on facebook and join the "Page" then invite all your friends! Now please....

UNDERGROUND 74 Review.

2008-12-11T15:44:00.002+08:00

Good tidings friend.

Everyone nice and warm? I must say this weather is some great contrast to the skin melting heat we had over summer. This isn't a weather blog though so lets review some music.

This past weekend I once again found myself at the Underground. This time for event number 74. CiXi no longer being a UG location, we find ourselves at the swanky establishment: The Melting Pot. I have to say, I am a big fan of the place. It has the vibe of a 1950's jazz club , with its purple walls and dim drop lighting. I was deliberately even chaining my cigarettes to get the smoky atmosphere going. There are some criticisms however. As a live music venue for gigs (where you want the audience standing front and center) , the location of the stage and general layout of the room makes it a little tight for space. On the other hand though, I haven't been to many clubs/bars in Hong Kong, that have a sound system like The Melting Pot do. It truly sounds brilliant. You CAN actually have a conversation with the person next to you and have the band playing at a loud enough level that they aren't purely ambiance music.

UG 74 for me was a night about great vocal melodies. No screams from anyone apart from the crowd who turned out to see the five great. I have to apologise here to Resurgent and any followers. I encountered transport failures causing me to miss their set. Thus todays review starts with Karat.

Karat
A four piece funk band led by Cherry, who's voice is a match made in heaven for the band. To me, if Blondie and Shiny Toy Guns had a love child and then beat the electronica out of it, the result would be Karat. The band immediately have all eyes on them as soon as they take to the stage. This is because the instrumentalists are all wearing afros and red ties. I'm not usually a fan of bands in uniform, but these guys pulled it off well. After being happy with their levels, and an introduction from Chris B, the band busted out their dancy intro and started their grooving before the vocalist in her blue wig jumped onto the stage from the crowd and greeted the audience, who showed their love for Karat. Nothing like a good entrance to start off a set. Karat proceeded to play a 6 song set full of funky beats that just make you want to shake your thang on the dance floor. Fear not reader, I had only one Asahi by this point, so there was no embarrassing acts of “dancing” from yours truly. On the fourth song, aka “a moody song” Cherry tells us. Karat show that they are not just a one trick pony and play a slower tempo number. Aka the token slow song. Its during this song that Cherry demonstrates her abilities as a singer , going through various runs and taking us on a trip through her range. Like most bands, Karat saved their best song for last, and man dad I like this one. It starts off funky like most of their other songs, but come the bridge they break into a half tempo dub rhythm (who doesn't like reggae beats?) before returning to the normal speed, ooh and a guitar solo! Quick kudos to the guitarist here, great tone and riffs dude! Just before Karat walked off stage, the singer informed the audience “We're Karat, remember us” Don't worry guys and gal, I'm sure they will.

FIFITWO
Just before this next act came on, there seemed to be a noticeable increase of the male population congregating in front of the stage. Was there free booze? No sir, it was due to the arrival of FIFITWO, Taiwan's very own, all girl ,“happy rock” band. What exactly is happy rock? It's a little difficult to describe. If you think about the song “If I had words” sung by the three mice from the movie Babe. Ask Blink 182 to teach them a punk rock version. Then give them ecstasy, thats happy rock, and happy rock is what FIFITWO play. Joly Kate and Sherry are all wearing bunny ears and you can't help but go “aww aren't they cute, I just want to take them home” But not in the naughty way. In the way the fab five get excited about venetian blinds. I have to admit, I thought the act were going to be purely eye candy , with songs consisting of repeatedly thrashing out three power chords. However once you shake the initial Josie and the Pussycats comparisson, you realise that , shit, they actually play music. Music with great hooks, tight harmonies and songs that go through different sounding sections. They also instantly own the stage. They could take the easy route and stand their looking pretty , but no they rock out, they jump around and they interact with the crowd. It's no wonder they have won various awards and competitions in their hometown.

Joves
The next act marked the start of the singer/song writer phase of UG 74. Jovelyn aka Joves is the lady with the soothing voice that can warm gig goer hearts on cold December nights. Musically , Joves songs are acoustic based pop with little hints of jazz and soul. What sets Joves apart from the many other female singer/song writers that she resembles (Marie Digby, Colbie Caillat) is that her songs all tell little stories, as opposed to yearning for the quarter back. Stories the way Tracy Chapman might sing. The sort that are full of imagary that let you play out the plots for yourselves. I look around the room and I notice people are listening intently to the songs, figuring them out for themselves. Credit also has to be paid to the spot on but never over-bearing backing band for keeping the foundations of the tunes solid. On bass is one of the Tai Tai Alibi guitarists, Chris Collins and on the drums is a man whose name has escaped my memory. All I know, is it is not the usual drummer who usually brings mayhem with Shepherds the Weak. I realise this may be a shorter review than the other bands, but maybe in some ways, thats what Joves is like. To the point.

Jeff Caylor Band
Last but by god not least, was the Jeff Caylor Band. Now I have not seen Jeff Caylor or his band perform before, but have been floating around his various spaces on the inter web, and have learned that the dude has his act together. A good web page, good media, and from the turnout that was buzzing behind me at my location on the cool kids table (the Underground crew) Mr Caylor has a good little fan base in tow. As soon as these guys stepped into the melting pot, they oozed confidence and as we would eventually learn, this was not at all misplaced. Jeff Caylor's band consists of himself as the lead singer and pianist, an acoustic guitarist who helps out with the harmonies, a bassist and a drummer. After a quick set up and introduction from Chris B, Caylor counted in the band to their 6 song attention grabbing set. Honestly, Caylor's sound could hardly be called unique, you can instantly draw transparent similarities to John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson and Daniel Powter. But heres the thing, its a formula that has been proven to work. I guarantee even the most devote Eve of Sin fan will have at least been in the vicinity whilst a song from those guys has been played. It's also good music. It gets the feet tapping before the head realises it, and usually the songs themselves are tales of interesting events or emotions. The four that are the Jeff Caylor Band, come across as extremely rehearsed. I know at these gigs, the last two bands are usually the more established or experienced. However on this night it felt as if we were at a Jeff Caylor Band's concert, with very good opening and support acts. Again I feel I have to take my beanie off to the sound engineer, who had the levels for the band spot on. The JCB had the UGoers requesting an encore. Sadly though , due to the house band needing to get on, it was permission denied. Never mind though, as I'm sure it won't be the last time we see the Jeff Caylor Band.

---
So thats it then. No more Underground gigs till 2009. I hear Chris B and her loyal crew have great things planned for 09. When it happens, make sure you're there to find out for yourselves.

2008 GrammyGum

2008-12-11T13:23:00.002+08:00

So as the year comes to an end , we all start thinking about who did it for us in the music world this past year? We obviously all have our own opinions, however some are deemed more prestigious than others.

Here I found the nominations for this years Grammys on Stereogums site. Discuss.

The Conan Anthem

2008-12-09T11:10:00.001+08:00

If you scroll a few posts back, you will find that I raved about the wonder that is The Gaslight Anthem

Happy to say that these guys will be playing on the Conan O'Brien show, which can only mean these guys will be huge in the next two or three years.

You heard it here first.

UNDERGROUND 73 Review.

2008-12-01T17:45:00.003+08:00

This past weekend , I visited UNDERGROUND 73, making it the first time I've ever done back to back UNDERGROUNDS. Membership? This particular UG marked the end of a relationship with CiXi as a venue for the showcase of our home grown music talents. Six bands on the line up, six different sounds, and six more Asahi's please bartender.

Noir
Alternative Rockers Noir had the task of opening up this mammoth evening with their catchy hooks and driving guitars. Their six song set had a mix of both English and Mandarin songs, and just to make things more interesting. They had a go at playing one of my favourite songs from Muse : “Time is running out.” Noir did a good job of trying to get the UGoers in the mood for a gig by screaming a demand to come forward. Lets ignore the fact that possibly two people shifted slightly, it was the effort that counts. Noir have enough grit on the guitars to keep it heavy , while the vocals are kept melodic. A good way to start out the eclectic selection of music for the evening.

Eccentric
Next on the bill were the quantum Alternative Metal band (yup I create my own genres now) : Eccentric. I say alternative metal as the backing music is pretty heavy with metal elements, while the voice of gorgeous singer Kiki, kept the music pretty accessible. Think Evanescence. Eccentric have a rock solid rhythm section with one of the best drummers of the night, and a bassist who rocked a solo. While we're mentioning capabilities, the guitarist demonstrated his skills with a great solo in the third song. Speaking of guitarists, and this may sound a little queer, but I was momentarily in awe of this rockers immaculate straight long hair. If Herbal Essence started a marketing campaign for metal guitarists, they should hook this dude up for the posters. Back to the music though, Eccentric played a well thought out set with songs flowing from one to the next, complete with tight breakdowns and even started the nights first mosh pit. Did I mention the gorgeous lead singer?

Transnoodle
If I had to point out at what point in the night the party started, it would probably have to be during the 30 minutes or so these gents from Lamma took the stage. Transnoodle either have a lot of friends, or a lot of fans (I suppose it's possible to have both), I say this because CiXi was packed when they rocked their set, and basically empty in comparison when they were done. Transnoodle were welcomed onto stage by the back pain plagued Chris B, (gotta love Facebook) who explained that the band used to do Metallica covers. True or not, I would like to see a ska version of “Enter Sandman,” Transnoodle, hook it up. From previous media on the Noodle, it seems that its one of those bands where the lineup could be between 2 and 20 at any time. If my memory serves me right, I counted one guitarist, one bassist, one drummer, one keys player, one horns player, and one hell of an entertaining front man. I've seen in some pictures a second guitarist though. Hmm? Transnoodles sound is a mix of punk reggae and ska. They are infectiously catchy. You look around the room and the people that weren't dancing were tapping their feet. I know I had a little rhythm dancing through my clogged veins. Moments that worked great for me were: the harmonies between the horns and the guitar. The current affair topics their songs were about. Referencing the Georgia invasion, and the vocalists dedication to “The bankers worried about losing their jobs”. The relationship they have with the audience is one full of love. So much love that Transnoodle were left with no choice but to play an encore. A+

Pouebelle International
I would not like to be any band having to follow the set Transnoodle played. However Poubelle International were definitely up to that task, and boy did they bring their A game. As PI were setting their levels, Chris B informs the eager audience that “the last time they played the UNDERGROUND, someone had sex on stage” Needless to say, if I had ears like a dog, they were stood at attention to that statement. Like Transnoodle, PI had brought their gang of buddies and or fans out. Sound check done, vocalist steps to the mic and questions “Are you ready?” before exploding into their 6 song set. For you classification Nazis, I guess you could say PI play garage indie pop rock. I always say its important for a band to remember they are there to perform to the paying gig goer, and a performance was without a doubt what we got. The matching outfits of white t shirts with the numbers 1,2,3 on the trio was a great touch. They also all wore matching Buddy Holly, black rimmed specs. They also seemed to have mates wearing black t shirts with the number 4 on , playing things like tambourines and shakers. PI have great dancy songs, where some even involve audience participation. In one song, the audience were asked “Who drinks Asahi?” to which the correct response was “I drink Asahi” (Heres me waving my fourth bottle in the air screaming F*** ya! Oops) Its obvious PI's preparation for the gig was well thought. That or they are just that damned good.

Eve of Sin
Lock away the young children, cause Eve of Sin , are to put it in one word. Brutal. They basically piss on every time I have described a band as heavy in this review. They are described as extreme metal. Even that seems too mellow for the wall of noise Eve of Sin produce. It goes without saying that the catchy segment for the evenings entertainment was well and truly over. The quintet consist of 2 guitarists, a bassist , a drummer (who also doubles up as a Stand Up Comic , Hi Vivek!) and a vocalist, or scream artist. I thought it was great that before they started their set, one of the guitarists nailed his beer before ripping into the riff of the opening song. Eve of Sin played a 5 song set of shredding, double kick drum assaults and soul piercing screams. I have to say though, for the heaviness of the music, I would have liked to seen the ax players rock out and tear shit up a hell of a lot more. No riot police were called out to this one, though bouncers did put an end to any moshing. On a side note, Eve of Sin have a really cool website : www.eveofsin.com

Thornslaughter
With an emptying out CiXi, Thornslaughter took the stage about 1-1.30. This I have to admit, is a blatant estimation as by then, well, lets just say CiXi had run out of Asahi. Take one look at the name Thornslaughter and guess what kind of music they play. Yes sir, we have a second extreme metal band closing the nights bill. Unlike Eve of Sin, thorn slaughter actually have obvious structure to their songs. You can hear a beginning, a middle and an end. Sure its still shredding and machine gun sounding drums, but you can hear the musicality in it. And for that Thornslaughter get my props (like that really matters to them!) The bassist in this one was busting out the “I own shit” pose I mentioned in a couple of posts earlier, and looked great doing it. Another act with musicians great at their instruments, I wish I could play riffs that fast. Great job Thornslaughter.

All in all, one hell of a good night. Looking forward to the next underground which I believe is the last one for 2008. Jesus, where the hell did 2008 go?

--
www.undergoundhk.com

Underground 73

2008-11-26T17:47:00.002+08:00

UNDERGROUND "Something Alternative" Album Review

2008-11-26T16:47:00.004+08:00

Shalom fellow rockers.

Today I bring you a long post with my first album review. Chris B, the Queen of the underground, was kind enough to mail me this release for my critique. Hopefully this well help those of you with your decision about buying this album.

The UNDERGROUND - #1 Something Alternative
Recorded by: Hisakazu Koya
Recorded at: Mark-1 Music Center and Group Studio

Disc 1
1. The Night Before the Snow Storm - Velvette Vendetta
2. This is Our Rotten Love - Velvette Vendetta
3. Goner - Born to Hula
4. Satellites - Born to Hula
5. Caped Carnival - The Sinister Left
6. The Faux King - The Sinister Left
7. Man Love! - FBI
8. Don't Quit Your Day Job - FBI
9. Broken Carillon - Violent Jokes
10. Glows Like Jellygum - Violent Jokes
11. Let It Roll - Lazy Susans
12. Steel Wall - Lazy Susans

Disc 2
1. Cycle - Tai Tai Alibi
2. Autocrat - Tai Tai Alibi
3. Queen of Diamond Hill - 22 Cats
4. Dickless - 22 Cats
5. Improvisation 01 - Sea Monsters
6. Improvisation 02 - Sea Monsters
7. Come to Me - Forgot
8. Anymore - Forgot
9. Number One - Chochukmo
10. Head to Toe - Chochukmo

Velvette Vendetta

1.Night Before The Snow Storm

I seriously had no idea what to expect when I stuck this CD on. It's been quite a while since I've been in the loop of the HK underground bands music scene. Last time I was involved, metal and hardcore were the colour of the flags the bands used to fly. All bands. Which is why I am pleasantly surprised that the tension filled bass intro to Vendetta's snow storm, leads into actual singing, and not bad singing as well. When the chorus of the song breaks through, I instantly think of Muse, which becomes a dominant comparison as the song goes on. It's everything from vocalist Jacky's, Matt Bellamy type melodies, to the driving guitar progressions and overall structure and mood of the song. Is this a good or bad thing? I'll let you decide.

2.This is our rotten love.

With the opening 3 distorted power chords and the vocalists scream, it almost sounds like we are listening to a completely separate band. This one definitely gets the heads moving with its punkier feel and the chorus of screams. However what works well in distinguishing that we are still listening to Velvette Vendetta, are the synth lines that sit just behind the main melodies in the mix. Eventually the juggernaut first half of the song fades into a more down tempo middle section, which is being edged along by a swinging bass line, before kicking back into the mayhem the tune started with. I can detect a hint of Smashing Pumpkins in this tune whether the band are influenced by them or not. Personally this is the better of the two Vendetta tracks on the CD as it gives the band more of a unique voice, as opposed to the strikingly similar Muse type first track. Either way I'm excited to hear what other goodness is on this bad boy.

Born To Hula
3.Goner

Ello Ello, what have we got here? A Brit indie band that actually sound like the singer could be from the land of St. George himself. Twenty seconds into this track and I'm already bouncing to the catchy-ness of the chords and the lyrics “gone and got ourselves in a heap of trouble” “I went to your concert and I didn't feel anything." If there was a checklist for what makes a Brit indie/rock song. Born to Hula are getting ticks in the boxes

4.Satellites

Like with Velvette Vendetta, satellites demonstrates the versatility in their song writing. This one has what I think is a cello or double bass, playing the bass line, which instantly sells it. I'm a sucker for a cello in rock songs. The melodies in the start of the song remind of something off of Brand New's The Devil and God are Raging Inside of me album. This surprises me as Brand New are far from the world of Brit indie.The trademark clean guitar chords help bring it back to a recognizable sound which I assume is synonymous with Born to Hula. The line “we became satellites” that makes up the chorus, creates great imagery, not to mention will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. It's funny, the song reminds me of being drunk riding in the front seat of the taxi, head against the window looking at all the lights go by dizzyingly fast. Why? I have no idea.

The Sinister Left

5.Caped Carnival

Wow. Thats what went through my head after only 40 seconds of playtime. When reviewing this CD, I usually plug in my headphones, crack open a beer and scribble down notes. When Caped Carnival kicked in, I immediately put the pencil down and lay back, and just simply listened to what The Sinister Left had to offer. I suppose I actually have to talk about what the song/band sound like. It's a unique blend of dreamy delayed guitars, with a rhythm section holding the base of the song together. It has calming, almost whispered singing. Tempo changes, mood changes offbeats and more. Safe to say The Sinister Left know what they are doing. For sure, one of the highlights of this CD.

6.The Faux King

After being thoroughly impressed by Caped Carnival, I had my fingers crossed that the second track from TSL would be just as rewarding. On their myspace, they list their top 5 influences as Radiohead, Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths and Mogwai. Thats handy as if you could stick the five in some form of super music blender, the ending concoction would sound pretty similar to TSL I feel. The Faux King takes you on a mystical journey, instead of sections the song feels like it has movements. One movement consists of Gregorian type chanting. Are you kidding me? Awesome.

FBI
7.Man Love!

Instantly a change in mood from the previous song offered by The Sinister Left. This one has a lighter, more feel good emotion to it, sorta like watching Madagascar 2. It's catchy catchy catchy! and I'm not one to shy away from a catchy melody. On the surface it sounds like a pretty easy song, but after quite a few listens you realise there's quite a lot actually going on in this song. Modulated backing vocals, ska bass lines, dub type drum breaks. It's no doubt a great composition about Man Love! “Not in the gay way baby” we are told right at the end, to each his own FBI. The band's light hearted portrayal and tunes remind me a bit of Smash Mouth, anyone remember them?

8.Don't Quit Your Day Job.

Another catchy dancy little tune from FBI. It occurs to me this band would be great to hire for one of those American college parties you see in the movies. You know the ones I'm talking about, the red cups, the beer bongs, the bongs period. (You should hire FBI for bongs?, won't hear that often) Like the last one, the title of the song is repeated several times throughout all 2 minutes and 20 seconds of it. Ensuring that you will remember the song for hours on end - and FBI for just a little bit longer.

Violent Jokes
9.Broken Carillon

With the fairy like keys intro and the echoy chorus in the female's vocals. I wonder if we're going to hear a goth metal song, similar to something by Nightwish. So I sit and wait for the distortion to kick in. Except it never does. I then realise that the Violent Jokes are an electronica outfit. I thought the production sounded too clean for a goth act! Shadow Kim, who I assume is singing this song, has a very soothing voice, perfect for this kind of music. When the beat arrives 3 minutes in, I am instantly taken back to a restaurant on Chaweng Beach in Koh Samui. The kind with candles and Arabic cushions on the seafront. And thats where I stay for the remainder of this track.

10.Glows Like Jellygum

My little getaway to Thailand is soon interrupted with a more up tempo number from the Violent Jokes. The bass line in this one reminds me of a heist scene. One where classy gadgets and witty dialouge is used to rob some rich smug. Shadow Kim (is the name listed on their myspace) once again shows that she can in fact sing, and sing well with her performance in this one. The music is dark yet dancy, and even through it is an electronic track, The Violent Jokes gives me the impression that they are all skilled at their instrument. Back to the heist.

Lazy Susans
11.Let it roll

I tap my feet along to the kicks that introduce the song and start to do a little groove (not attractive) as this funky little tune kicks in. I hear the lyrics Lazy Susans, in a song by Lazy Susans and I am sold. For some reason I have always been a fan of bands name dropping themselves in their songs. I hear the lyrics “I want to be a Lazy Susan” Does that mean the lead singer wants to sit cross legged on a table and spin around offering Chinese food? I've obviously missed something here, but my friends will tell you that happens often. Anyway, the song once again is a classic indie tune, it's got distortion, its got hi hats the open and close in the chorus, ooohs' aaaaah's and the pleasant clean guitar jangling. Solid song.

12.Steel Wall

You can tell instantly that this song is going to sound very different to Let It Roll. It's darker and not so bouncy. I have a strong feeling the guitarist is a fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, as I can see similarities in his riffs. I of course could be talking out of my arse. The singing, especially in the chorus of this song, has a 50's ballad feel about it. It contrasts nicely with the 90's rock sound of the music. I feel I have to point out the tremolo guitars, just because it sounds fucking cool.

Tai Tai Alibi.
1.Cycle

Hail the grungy/alternative rock band Tai Tai Alibi! Another band which checks the boxes for their genre. I have to celebrate the guitar solo in this one. Its skillful but remains tasteful to the song. I swore I would never use the word tasteful, but it works in this situation so get over it. The Alibi have a great singer, and I wouldn't mind stating that it is the best vocal performance on the compilation. Listen to this song if you like Incubus, Our Lady Peace, 3 doors down. "Do you alwaaaaaaaaysssssssss, Do you alwaysssssss haveeeee to be rightttttttttt?”

2.Autocrat

Not much to say about this one, except that it is evident that Tai Tai Alibi know exactly how they want to sound, and know exactly how to go about doing that. The chorus in this one definitely is nostalgic for the 90's, I'm going to go ahead and say it reminds me of some Pearl Jam. Rumor has it these dudes come from where I live in Hong Kong, so needless to say, these guys are the shit.

22 Cats
3.Queen of Diamond Hill

In this song, 22 Cats, play what I like to call wtfindierock. Which if at the very least, keeps things interesting. I'm having a hard time detecting the lyrics, but I can definitely hear someone sing “homosexual lions” brilliant. If you like the vibe of certain Modest Mouse songs, you will love 22 Cats.

4.Dickless

Who can argue with a song titled Dickless? My canto is none existent so I've switched off listening for gems like homosexual lions, but I have a feeling with 22 Cats, you don't know what is going to come next. The guitars in this one are almost haunting. They could possibly fit into a Tim Burton stop animation. 22 Cats add a very unique vibe to the compilation with what I will describe as their signature sound. Awards for most bizarre to be sent this way.

Sea Monsters
5.Improvisation 01

If it isn't Hong Kong's favourite progressive experimental band. You can tell in the first 10 seconds that we are going to hear some skilled musicianship. With the title being Improvisation, I wonder if the band rocked up at the studio, nailed their instruments for 5 minutes and 11 seconds, sparked a fag then left. I'm going to start spreading that rumor around. Rehearsed or not, there's no denying that there is structure to this piece. The different string players take turns in virtuoso style refrains, before returning back to a central “theme”. Koya's bass parts is something to look out for in this piece. I feel this track needs a better title, so I now here by dub it: LSD Mouse.

6.Improvisation 02

This one promises to be the more calm of the two offerings from Sea Monsters. It comes complete with some dreamy female vocals (not to dissimilar from the likes of Violent Jokes' Shadow Kim) I have to draw attention to the great engineering with regards to the atmosphere/keys player. The panning of the sounds has an almost mind washing effect. Not much else I can say about this song except its Sea Monsters doing their thing. I have since checked the album booklet and see that Shadow Kim is indeed part of this song. Go me!

Forgot
7.Come to me

If anyone is a fan of the band STARS, I strongly suggest listening to Forgot. Come to me has an excellent guy and girl duet going on. In fact you could probably take the vocal tracks and layer them over a pop song and it would sound like one of those love ballads, that are most played on karaoke nights in downtown Makati. Instead what you get with Forgot, is an alternative rock backing, which compliments the vocal melodies surprisingly well. Forgot though, are not to be forgotten.

8.Anymore

With the melodic guitars and synth sounds, I was expecting another epic love ballad. Then I hear the lyrics “does playstation annoy you?” and I wonder whats going on? Anymore is sung in English, which I think is brilliant when a band can perform in more than one language. The music in this one is more progressive rock, with flanged guitars and alternative drum beats. You can tell all band members are competent at their instruments. I especially like the guitar on this track and is one of the standout parts on the whole CD. Its not flashy but does the trick. The tone is spot on for the song.

Chochukmo
9.Number One

The party has indeed arrived with the fun music of Chochukmo. It's hard to nail them to one particular style of music, as there is so much going on. From Latin guitars, to big band swing, to straight up rock n roll. After hearing this track, I want to see how they do it live as there is so much production going on, which makes this tune absolutely lovable. Chochukmo, are number one.

10.Head to toe

The band had a lot to follow with their previous song. True to form, they deliver another great song once again. The music in this one feels a bit more experimental and remind me a lot of one of my favourite bands called Small Leaks Sink Ships. Chochukmo's vocalist has a distinctive voice, which to me is a huge bonus with bands. If you can easily identify the singer, you will never forget the band. All in all a solid way to end a very impressive collection of local bands.

----

So here's the deal, if you are in a band, friend's of people in bands, or generally just a fan of homegrown talent (or want to be) Please pick up this CD. Come on, you get 22 tracks from a diverse selection of 11 bands. It's a great reminder that there is actually a local scene that is crying for more attention. Attention that it deserves. Hell, buy this CD if only to throw at someones face when they say there are no good bands in Hong Kong.

Buy this at the next Underground show. Or from Hong Kong Records or CD Warehouse. Alternatively you can order it online here.
You can also go here. To order it from the Underground website.

Hungry table monsters

2008-11-07T18:41:00.002+08:00

The Fringesong

2008-11-07T18:36:00.003+08:00

Found this gig listing on one of my favourite HK band's (The Lovesong) Myspace.

Venue: The Fringe Club
Date: 28th November 08
Time: 20.00
Cost: TBA
Bands: FBI
Karat
The Lovesong

Taylor with a C

2008-11-07T17:56:00.002+08:00

This guy is good. That is all.

iFourTrack

2008-11-07T11:23:00.002+08:00

Is it just me or does every other person have an iPhone now?

You have one don't you?

This article may interest musicians with iPhones.

sheeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Star Crossed Tattoo Wanch Night.

2008-11-06T13:12:00.004+08:00

Local music promoters Star Crossed Tattoo put on one of their showcases at The Wanch last night. Taking the stage (or corner of the room) were punk act Oi! Squad, new screamo guys on the block Mammoth, and ska/rockabilly outfit The Mooches.

I arrived at the venue just after 9.30 and noticed it was still unusually warm for November. This followed by cussing at myself for wearing two shirts, but fear not, I was soon over it. Not many punters had turned out for the show, mainly just the bands and a few of their friends or entourage. Love that word. I was somewhat joyed at this, as I was really not in the mood for a claustrophobic evening.

It was the first time for me seeing all three of the bands, and first up were Oi! Squad.

Oi! Squad
Their myspace lists the current members as follows : Moi (Vocals), Ray (Bass), Adrian (Drums) and Pierre (Guitar).

As their name would suggest, Oi! Squad are pretty much in your face skinhead "you best bet your bollocks you'll get out my way before I f****** bash ya, you bargain 'unt" OI OI OI punk. Singer Moi looks the part to a T! Complete with red suspenders and a pack or Marlboro reds sticking out of his back pocket. Moi is a great showman and has no qualms about dancing around in the audience while singing to the band. He will also get the gig goers involved by putting them on the spot with his trusty mic for a bit of karaoke (karaOIke?) He also does a nifty trick of putting the mic in a pint glass to get feedback. Classic!

Bassist Ray, gets his groove going by busting out the "I own shit" pose. For those unfamiliar with this important move, it consists of raising a foot and placing it on an object of elevated position i.e an amp, a drum kit , your face etc.

Pierre's guitar lines are pretty straightforward punk progressions but in a couple of songs he rocks out some sweet licks ,dude. He does count in french as well. Why not?

How can I forget drummer Adrian, who beats the drums like they owe him money. That guy was going to town on the kit, with style as well.

My favourite thing about Oi! Squad is the dual vocals of Pierre and Moi. For me the band is best when their songs reach a chorus sing along "na na na na" section.

My only problems with Oi! Squad were that I couldn't hear the vocals. One of their songs has a line which goes something like "There's gonna be a borstal breakout!", and I was hearing "Jeremy was a raghead!" After confusion as to who Jeremy was, and why indeed he was a "raghead" I soon learned the correct lyrics and was called a tit.

A solid solid set, shit YOU tell them otherwise.
www.myspace.com/oisquadhk

Mammoth
When Ross from SCT comes on to introduce the next band Mammoth, he informs us that this is only the bands third show. This makes their short but dynamic set all the more impressive. Amongst the quintet, I spot the drummer for Hungry Ghosts, however this time he has traded in the sticks and strapped on a six string.

Mammoth's sound is best described by breaking it down. Lets start with the rhythm section, a tight drummer comfortable with changing up tempos and has good control over his double bass drumming, which is utilized quite often with the Mammoth tunes.

Their bassist, playing nothing too fancy but definitely contributing to the solid foundations of the groups sound.

The guitaring is what caught my attention. This obviously is slightly biased as I myself am a guitarist (or try to be), nevertheless I can't praise the harmonies of the riffs enough (this is when I COULD hear them however.) They do a nice job of blending their parts together, then doing their own thing again. If you are one who likes the sound of delays and reverb, I recommend you check these guys out.

Front man Danny has a good constant scream which makes up most of Mammoths vocals. Another high energy performer, and wore a great hat. Great hats always = bonus points.

Unlike a lot of "hardcore/screamo" acts in Hong Kong, Mammoth do well to incorporate dynamic and tempo changes into their songs. They remind me a lot of a band called Hopesfall, which is a compliment.

What let Mammoth down was some technical difficulties where the mics kept packing in on them. hey need to tweak their guitar eq's a bit more. There were times when I could see the fingers moving, but sadly it was drained in an abyss of distortion. NICE!, you may say, but judging by the fingering (steady now) I don't think this was the effect they were going for. I would have also liked to see more songs, but hey they are newcomers so I can only look forward to seeing and hearing more from these guys and you should to.

My Google hunting has come back negative on a search for a link for these guys, so when I get this information I shall share with ye.

The Mooches

Last on this eclectic bill were The Mooches. Leading the band was Arthur who is no stranger to the local scene. Since I've known the guy he's played in Spermatic Chord, Nanahara Shuya, Rat Alley and his solo country/rockabillyesque project I once helped him record on a rooftop in Discovery Bay. Random.

ANYWAY, The Mooches, other members is a drummer (Jaz), who I understand has only been playing for a few months now. She was pretty good for that level so kudos to her. The band were missing their bassist (Tiff) and their, get this, washboard, player for the evening. So they went at it ala white stripes style.

Their music is a cool blend of ska/punk/rockabilly. They did have a lot of gelling issues going on but when they got stuck into it, their tunes were great to listen to. The jagerbombs after the 3rd song was the magic touch. I particularly like when they change up the tempos and play off to one another. When they do this with success it's rather impressive, however I can't say that this happened 100% of the time. I do look forward to seeing these guys when they get tighter and their full band is ready for action.

http://www.myspace.com/themooches

All in all it was an evening perfect for a Wednesday. Whatever that means.

---------------

Just thought I'd point out that after the gig I went into Amazonia to catch the awesome cover bands Ice box and Advent Call. Ok I know these guys don't play their own stuff, so its harsh to compare them with the local scene, but in terms of tightness/musicianship , no one has a patch on these two acts. Seriously, go now and watch them.

Yes you did.

2008-11-05T16:19:00.002+08:00

Congrats to America for the nomination of what this blogger reckons was the right choice for the United States Presidency.

You give me an election.

2008-11-04T15:23:00.002+08:00

4th November.

So I'm sure everyone has a secret passion for this current United States Presidential debate. I sure as hell do.

It's a little weird thinking George W Bush will no longer be leader of the 'free world' come January20.

Who will we make fun of?

Oh ya, go Obama.

Festivities

2008-11-03T10:07:00.006+08:00

Holiday season is getting into gear once again. Will be interesting to see if the credit crunch will see little Tommy not get his flash red bike this Christmas.

Nevertheless, the music will still continue.

-Who here remembers Sum 41? I used to be all about The Hell Song and Better off Dead. They are releasing a Best of Album I can think of maybe 2, maximum 3, more Sum 41 songs I did like. Maybe its a best of EP :P. Can this also mean their career is on the out? and for the love of god is that dude still in cahoots with Avril Lavigne? Who do you think pays for dinner? Anyway, album has a US release date of : November 26th 2008. It's titled: 8 years of Blood, Sake and Tears

- I haven't picked up the latest Oasis album Dig Out Your Soul, but here is an interview with Noel Gallagher. No cheating now, which one is he?

-Anyone who knows me will vouch for how much I rate Jack White (The Racounters / The White Stripes), he has teamed up with Alicia Keys to create the theme for the latest Bond film : Quantum of Solace. The Track is titled Another Way to Die.

Now then, the tune itself hasn't quite hit the bells with me, but maybe its a grower. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXpbRndwlLM is where the video can be found.

-Underground 70 is coming up on the 7th November

Start Time:	Friday, November 7, 2008 at 9:00pm
End Time:	Saturday, November 8, 2008 at 1:00am
Location:	Club CiXi
Street:	Shop A, G/F, On Hing Bldg., 1 On Hing Terrace
City/Town:	Central District, Hong Kong

$100 (students $80)
Over 18 only

-Major Props to HK band Killer Soap for battling it out with other great acts in the China finals for the Global Battle of the Bands competition. The lethal hygiene apparatus will fly out to London for the finals wearing China on their sleeves and HK in the hearts. Go The Soaps!

-Can someone please explain to me why small ass Singapore get the Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour come to town, and us in "Asia's World City" don't? It's a little consolation that Atreyu and MUCC have pulled out of the Asian legs. Still, I would have thought there would be quite a few people in the 852 that would like to catch As I Lay Dying and Story of the Year in their own backyard. Also playing on the Singapore leg is local (SG not HK) act A Vacant Affair who's debut LP will be out at the end of the year.

I've seen A Vacant Affair a few times now on my trips to Singapore, and they are a very solid act, 852 promoters, get them across here!

2008-10-24T12:25:00.001+08:00

test

Halloween Underground

2008-10-23T13:30:00.004+08:00

I wonder how many people will be the joker?

Chinabob

2008-10-23T13:15:00.003+08:00

So its the china finals. The war where the victor wears China on their sleeve to duel in Londontown

CHINA FINAL
=======
Saturday 25 October 2008
@ The Cavern, Lan Kwai Fong
9pm punctual start
$100 on the door. (includes one Heineken beer)

BANDS:
The Dovetail Joints (Shanghai winners)
Bolt Action (Shenzhen winners)
and
Killer Soap (Hong Kong winners)

Newisc.

2008-10-17T15:08:00.003+08:00

-Anyone remember Blink 182?

Well, as a little treat, they have uploaded all their albums to their myspace player. Schweet.

-The new Funeral For a Friend album "Memory and Humanity" is available for streaming here.

-Rumour has it Chinese Democracy (Guns 'n' Roses, not Dr. Eggs) is being released November 25th 2008. Here is the track list

Track Listing
1. Chinese Democracy
2. Scraped
3. Shackler's Revenge
4. Street Of Dreams
5. If The World
6. Better
7. This I Love
8. There Was A Time
9. Riad N' The Bedovins
10. Sorry
11. I.R.S.
12. Catcher
13. Madagascar
14. Prostitute

Can anyone blame me for still being skeptical?

-Finally, we know how Travis Barker was recently in a plane crash right? well Shanna Moakler (his babies mama) reckons she has some psychic abilities.

Underground 69

2008-10-15T14:25:00.002+08:00

Day & Age album art

2008-10-15T14:19:00.003+08:00

This is the album cover for the upcoming new release from rock outfit The Killers. Release (US) is scheduled for the 24th November.

The Almost Famous

2008-10-15T14:15:00.001+08:00

A cool article I was linked to about the top 10 alt-rock bands that should have been famous, but instead influenced many other bands to become the big acts they are today.

JamsBio

2008-10-15T01:06:00.001+08:00

Fairly Interesting definitely great for time wasting site. Music related of course.

Most Pointless ...

2008-10-13T22:49:00.001+08:00

yet definitely the most awesome website. idohavealife

Broken Pitchfork Scene

2008-10-13T16:59:00.001+08:00

Any Broken Social Scene takers?

@ Juans Basement

And thus the battle was done.

2008-10-11T18:48:00.003+08:00

Not a bad night, not a bad night at all.

Was a little surprised to find quite a que outside club CiXi come 2300, good to see people once again getting behind the local bands here.

I somewhat question Cixi's location as one for holding gigs, felt a bit narrow to me, but then again I guess to the bands it would edge them on that much more as it would have looked quite crowded from up on stage me thinks.

There were also a couple sound hiccups , but hey where isn't there right?

So there were 11 bands in the finals only playing 2 songs. I think it's hard to judge a bands capabilities with only 8 minutes to go. I reckon more heats and the final round being less bands being able to play at least a 4 song set is the way forward.

My top three performances of the night were Hungry Ghosts, Qasar (sp?) and Amino Shower.

Hungry ghosts came runners up , so I guess I have a LITTLE bit of an eye for talent.

The winners were Killer Soap. An interesting decision. No doubt had good energy levels, and the singers demands for "more fucking noise" were met with great joy by the punters.

However if they are going into the next few rounds representing Hong Kong , I hope they step up their game a bit more. Still worthy contenders to fly the flag though. (TURN UP YOUR GUITARS ALSO.)

So the China finals are held at the cavern on the 25th. Come down.

I was going to go down to underground 681/2 , but I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm too hungover for another night out, which is a bummer as I was hoping to go check the awesome house band at Amazonia after.

NOW those guys have got some fucking talent.

Put on my blue suede shoes and I boarded a plane ... well ferry

2008-10-10T18:52:00.002+08:00

Getting ready to go out tonight which will be awesome for many different reasons.

1. I haven't left the toxic bay of discovery for entertainment purposes , in too long
2. Battle of the bands final!

I'm especially looking forward to catching some buddies of mine on stage, Hungry Ghosts and ... I'm not sure exactly what band he's in but he's playing guitar for one of the other contestants.

Booze,Tunes,LKF what could possibly go wrong?

2008-10-10T15:04:00.002+08:00

Global Battle of The Bands

HONG KONG FINALS
=============
Friday 10 October 2008
@ Club Cixi, On Hing Bldg., Central
11pm start
$120 on the door
$100 in advance (Tom Lee TST, Shatin & Wanchai)
All door entry includes one Heineken beer!

Love for October <3

2008-10-10T12:41:00.002+08:00

I currently came across a band ,from New Brunswick New Jersey, called "The Gaslight Anthem"

And boy are they just goshdarnswell.

They mix an interesting blend of punk/soul/pop and blues.

Singer /Guitarist : Brian Fallon , has a gritty punk voice that will hold its own amongst any of the big name punk vocalists. What sets TGA apart from most other bands though, is that this rough, coarse yet extremely melodic voice is being used to blend with music much more harmonious than one would associate with the singing style.

TGA sing about modern day working class issues and first romances, in that nostalgic manner of Springsteen or Petty. (If you search through youtube you can find a decent cover of American Girl by TGA)

"The 59 Sound" is their current release under Sideonedummy records. Full of some great anthems that will make you want to jump into the buick with Betty lou and grab a milkshake from the diner, before heading out to lovers lane.

PLEASE listen to The Gaslight Anthem.

http://www.myspace.com/thegaslightanthem
www.gaslightanthem.com

Underground 68 1/2

2008-10-10T12:26:00.003+08:00

Inagural Post

2008-10-10T11:53:00.001+08:00

YAY

1 man post party.

God I'm cool