Well, one of these people is leaving us and it’s quite a sad thing in my book… a big loss: Michelle Dai, who has brilliantly held the post of Live Music Editor at The Beijinger, is leaving the job and the city in pursuit of other adventures!

I still remember when Michelle first made an impression on yours truly, with her live music roundup that covered the reunion of giants (he yong, cui jian, etc…)

Earlier this week, while I was having dinner in a restaurant in Gui Jie, He Yong walked in and sat at the table right next to ours. All of a sudden I felt my heartbeat accelerating. In order to explain my feelings to my friend – a financial journalist who has close to zero interest in rock music – I said: “Imagine if the ex-managing director of China Citic Bank just randomly walked in and sat down next to you.”

More than 15 years ago, in the spring of 1994, three men – He Yong, Dou Wei, Zhang Chu (aka “The Three Heroes of Mo Yan” 魔岩三杰 ) – released hugely significant albums at the same time. Later that year, they went on tour to Hong Kong along with Tang Dynasty. That concert is still considered a milestone of Chinese rock music. In the same year, Cui Jian released his third album, Balls Under The Red Flags. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call that year the climax of rock music in China. Too bad that the milestone probably marked the end of a highway. There have been many long discussions about whether the rockers walked further and further away from Chinese people’s impression of rock music or the struggle against “the powers that be” sealed the fate of rock & roll in China. It didn’t take much time for rock music to go back underground.

Why am I repeating all these clichés? Because all the abovementioned rock stars (except Dou Wei) and nine other bands and musicians are likely to set another milestone tonight at Workers’ Stadium at the Rock Heroes’ Concert. The roster also includes names like Xu Wei, Wang Feng, Black Panther, Pu Shu, Zheng Jun, Shuang Zi from the mainland; Qi Qin and Xin from Taiwan; and Huang Jiaqiang (Beyond) from Hong Kong. If Dou Wei were to show up (as some rumors insist he will) along with Luo Dayou from Taiwan, and if Huang Jiaju, the former lead vocalist of Beyond, were to be resurrected for a single evening, tonight’s stage would feature practically everybody who has had an impact on Chinese rock music in the past 20 years.

In any case, you will be able to see Luo at the Greatwall Tanglewood Music Festival. And I was so curious about the rumor of Dou Wei (and Faye Wong?!) presence at the Rock Heroes’ Concert that I screwed up my courage, turned to He Yong at the next table, and asked him if it was true. He denied it.

This is still one of my favorite pieces of hers… it’s got personality, personal story and good/solid background knowledge!As the year went, Michelle’s coverage of the music scene got better with each article, each post and each interview and I’ve learned to seek and respect her opinions…. now, I’ll miss them. I’ve also enjoyed the brief conversations we’ve had about music, tattoos and other random blabbers.

Thank you Michelle! Here’s wishing you the best of luck and success for your future endeavors…

Keep on Rocking!

The first set of answers came indirectly from good friend Kaiser Kuo on his goodbye column that you can read here:
http://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2011/11/03/Auf-Wiedersehen-Ein-Beijinger-Says-Goodbye

This saturday, a very distinguished panel of what i consider knowledgeable China Hands will gather at Capital M at 4 PM and dissect Beijing’s Soul, if it’s got any… Danwei’s Jeremy Goldkorn, David Moser, Kaiser Kuo and author Zha Jianying will be the surgeons in charge of said dissection.

This Saturday, December 3, CET and Sinica will present “The Soul of Beijing,” a live podcast event about where Beijing is and where the city could be going as it barrels into the future, at Beijing’s Capital M restaurant. From the event page:

Where is Beijing headed in the 21st century? What sort of city is it morphing into? Has it found a way to maintain its role as political and cultural capital while keeping its historical character and ineffable personality? Why do we still love it so, despite it’s toxic air, its horrific traffic, its disastrous fengshui? And is it in danger of losing its soul?

Join us for a lively and thoughtful discussion with Renaissance man Kaiser Kuo , author Zha Jianying (”China Pop” and “Tide Players”), sinologist David Moser, and Jeremy Goldkorn of Danwei.com, all long-time Beijing residents.

Tickets for the event cost 65 yuan (US$10.21) or 20 yuan ($3.14) for students, and include a drink.
http://www.m-restaurantgroup.com/capitalm/event-detail/events/kaiser-kuos-sinica-podcast.html

The Soul of Beijing
December 3, 2011, 4:00 PM
Capital M Beijing
3/F, No.2 Qianmen Pedestrian Street (south of Tian’anmen Square)
中国北京市前门步行街2号3层
Tel: (86-10) 6702-2727

I’m actually a bit pissed it’s happening at a time when I just can’t be there on account of bookswap but I strongly recommend this.

note: pictures inspired by Quirky Beijing

Froog has been around Beijing for quite some time enjoying the Beijing’s alehouses, livehouses and other establishments scattered mostly in the gulou area. He’s seen many an establishment come and go, many a band disband and has kept his brand of extremely BIASED sarcasm (some might say grumpiness) intact through it all.
Sure we disagree on a few things ( think donkeys) but we also happen to share an appreciation for all things music in Beijing. Froog has been a fervent supporter of the local scene through it all despite not getting the recognition!

So, here’s to you mistah… one tipple on ‘daze for when we meet in the haze!

1- What’s going on in your world? This is your chance to plug your stuff
My book Big in China came out March 1 and I’ve been out there plugging it and mostly having fun doing so. Ivan Reitman and Montecito Pictures optioned the book’s movie rights and that seems to be moving forward.
I’m really happy to be back in Beijing with my pengyou. After two brief acoustic performances backing book readings at the Bookworm and the Orchard, I am playing at Jianghu tonight with Lu Wei and Zhang Yong from Woodie Alan and very much looking forward to it.

2- Congrats on the book! I read a few extract but not the whole thing yet. Still, I was surprised at how much you sound surprised at the events that happened to you. how was that?

Well, I truly was surprised by a lot of it, particularly the band. I loved to jam and when I met Woodie and he was interested in playing music together, I was really excited. He was a phenomenal musician and he specialized in two instruments I love – harmonica and lap steel guitar. So we started playing and one thing led to another. Each step was fun and amazing and I honestly never set my eyes beyond the step in front of me.

At one point, I was back in the US for a few weeks in the summer and Woodie emailed me that he wanted to talk about the band when I got back. I dreaded it, because I thought he was going to end it, but he said, “I’ve been watching videos of us and I think we can be pretty good – but only if you’re willing to practice more and work on writing songs.” I almost fell off my chair but of course I said yes. Then I sort of realized that we had the opportunity to do something special and really be good – but only if I could step it up. I was the frontman and the weak link, which was a strange place to be. So I sort of shut my eyes and jumped.

3- Talking about the title, Big in China, who picked it? Can you explain that a bit?

I picked it but it was a joke working title for myself as I was writing the proposal. I was mocking myself, really, and always planned on changing the name. When it came time to have an interview with an editor at Harper Collins I didn’t have anything I liked better yet. So I went in and said, “I want to make clear that Big in China is just a working title,’ and she went, ‘I love Big in China! That’s what drew me in.’ So I stayed out of my way and said, “Uh, me too.”

The title remains firmly tongue in cheek, a reference to Tom Waits’ “Big In Japan.” It also refers, of course, to my success with the band, but it’s more than that. I discovered a new level of confidence as a writer and a person here as well. I reached down inside myself and found new levels. I had a reinvention, really, and I think a lot of people living outside their home culture go through similar things.

4- Since the book came out, along with news that it’s been picked up for a movie, you have become a bit of controversial topic in Beijing. Are you aware of some of the negative things being said about your band and your success?

Sure. No one likes to hear people say nasty things about them, but it comes with the territory and I don’t take it too personally. I have no regrets or second thoughts about anything except perhaps the phrase “becoming a star in Beijing” which is in the subhead. I did not write that – the publisher did – but the book is bigger than my band. It’s about my entire life and reinvention here, and I can live with the phrasing.

I started writing The Expat Life column for WSJ.com just four months after I got to Beijing and within a few months it had a pretty good following and a lot of the old China hands and longtime journalists here went crazy and hated all over me. I was a basketball and music journalist with little China experience and it drove them crazy, but I never presented myself as an expert. I was capturing my life and how it reflected a broader expat existence.

The book speaks for itself and everything in it is true. Some people will say we weren’t that big, but it all depends on your definition. We sold out the JZ Club in Hangzhou; played in front of 2,000 people in a theater there; headlined the Xiamen Beach Festival in front of 5-6,000 people, a performance which was broadcast on TV throughout Fujian; appeared on Changsha radio and in magazines there; played the Star Live a bunch, were hired for the black tie British Olympic Committee Olympics dinner. This was all bigger than I dreamed possible and we pulled it all off.

I don’t want go point by point defending myself, but it’s flat out untrue to say we only were popular with a small group of my friends. That is certainly how it started, but Woodie, Zhang Yong and Lu Wei are fantastic musicians who were deeply enmeshed in the Beijing music scene and I’ll put them up against anyone in town – or anywhere, which is why I always had that sense of disbelief that I was up there with them. We were one of the first bands to play Jianghu – Tianxiao the owner was an old bandmate of Woodie’s in Sand. When we played there it would be packed with musicians, and many of them got up and jammed with us. At the time, it was an all-Chinese crowd and I loved playing there. He asked us to be the house band, with a weekly gig, and Woodie and I wanted to do it, but Lu and Zhang are working musicians and needed better paying gigs. Woodie and I never chased the biggest gigs or the most money.

We liked laying places where we were friends with the owners and it was like being a at a friend’s house – Jianghu, the Stone Boat and the Orchard and all fit the bill and we didn’t give a shit about what people thought about us playing there. We enjoyed the gigs and the camaraderie. We tried to balance that with getting some high paying gigs for the sake of the guys really making a living from music. I got offered some big money to play corporate events, but was told no Chinese or black musicians and I told them to fuck off. I wouldn’t do that apartheid shit. My bandmates were my brothers.

Every time I played with those guys was an honor and a pleasure. They are great musicians and people and I don’t put myself on their level at all but I taught them things, too – about dynamics, collaboration and how to jam by simply listening to one another and responding. To me, it was a true collaboration and I’ll be proud of it ‘til the day I die for reasons that go far beyond what you can hear on a recording. I’m sad that we never fully captured ourselves at peak performance, but lots of musicians could say the same about their favorite band.

5- Let’s forget the naysayers for a while and focus on the music for a bit. Do you still feel like you could have a bit of music career, riding the wave of the book and maybe the movie?

Not really. I love playing and my time with Woodie Alan really elevated me. I have played with some great people on book release tours, including Mark Karan, who toured with Bob Weir and the Dead for 12 years and my friend Andy Aledort, a guitar legend who invented tablature, has given lessons to Joe Perry, played with the Band of Gypsys at the Mt, Fuji Rock Festival and has toured with Dickey Betts for 8 or 9 years. Now I can stand up there and bring something to the table with these guys and I owe it all to Beijing and my Chinese bandmates. But it will remain a sidelight. To be clear, I’m a writer who plays music.

6- Woodie is not around as far as I understand to play along this week. What happened to him?
Woodie has left Beijing and is currently not playing music. It really saddens me, but he’s doing fine and I wish him nothing but happiness and success in life. He’s like my little brother and I’ll always be there for him.

7- You’ve just recently come back after a few weeks away… what’s the first restaurant you look forward to visiting in Beijing?
The jiangbing guy near my friend Scott’s house, where I always stay. I love all the food here. Some of my favorites have gone downhill, like Sange Guizhou Ren. I always enjoy Dali and most any hotpot, but truly some of my favorite meals are in little stalls and off of carts.

8- Recently, I’ve personally taken a great interest in the music scene outside of Beijing. Back when you actively toured, what places were you eager to revisit. Which cities would you go out of your way to avoid?
Nowhere to avoid. We picked our spots pretty carefully and didn’t have any disastrous gigs out of town. I would love to revisit Qingdao, Hangzhou and Changsha. We had great gigs at really cool clubs in all those places.

9- Word Association: Please write the first word that comes to your mind:

- Beijing duck: Damn. I didn’t get any this trip.
- Dumplings: Yum
- Big in China: My last two years
- Slide: Woodie
- Shanghai: Eh
- Alan Paul: Thankful
- Polka Dots: Buddy Guy

10- What can we expect tomorrow/friday’s show at Jianghu? Who’s playing? any special guests?
Zhang Yong will be playing both bass and guitar, Lu Wei will be swinging the beat and I will be on acoustic. We have played briefly at readings the last two nights and the chemistry is there, even if some things are a little rough. It has sounded great and been a lot of fun and it will be better.

Peter Schloss will join us on banjo for some tunes. Tianxiao will be on tenor sax for a while – we played quite a few gig with him, because he was our sub sax player when Dave Loevinger couldn’t make it. A few other folks may pop up. We love to jam and always welcome guests to our bandstand.

There you have it folks, straight from the horse’s mouth! I’ve read the comments on the other thread and I’m really flabbergasted at what is being said… It does seem to me like some folks have nothing better to do than criticize and that’s just plain idiotic. I have yet to read the full book and make up my own mind but from everything i’ve read so far, in terms of articles and interviews, Alan is one good guy that happened to be in the right place at the right time and had the nerves and balls to run with it. He seems genuinely grateful and surprised at his own success…. I can’t fault that nor do i have the right to judge it!

See what the fuss is all about tonight, Friday June 17th at Jianghu Jiu Ba when most of Woodie Alan Band reunites for a gig with friends

Pictures taken from AlanPaul.net and Maplewood online

Now, I haven’t read the book or even heard Woodie Alan’s music before, so I was coming into the talk completely without doing my homework! Normally before a show I little to do a little research, listen to douban, check out Rock in China wiki, get a feel for what I’m going to see. But in this case I wanted to appreciate this from fresh eyes and ears, the way someone from outside China would when reading the book, although living here and understanding the music scene does give me a little head start!

Alan started off by telling the small crowd a little about why he came to China and how he meet Woodie Wu, his bandmate and good friend. He spoke about realising the differences in musical backgrounds between himself and the Chinese members of the band, and how he struggled to explain to them how to play together tightly, but still free to jam – a phrase I often use when describing my favourite Beijing band AIS’s performances. It’s an idea that’s often familiar to those with a Western musical background, but something some Chinese musicians don’t find so easy to grasp. He read a little from his book, an excerpt about how he finally got this idea across to bass player Zhang Yong by introducing him to the Allman Brothers. And then he called up to the front the members of Woodie Alan who were there, Zhang Yong, normally on bass, but for tonight on lead guitar, and Lu Wei on drums, and they played a couple of songs.

The intimate setting of The Bookworm was the perfect venue for the stripped back acoustic three-piece. They started with ‘Beijing Blues‘ the title track from their album. I love lyrics and was immediately grabbed by the opening:

“Say the sun is shining, don’t see it anywhere … Got the Beijing Blues, just need some cold clean air“

Who hasn’t felt that living here?! While we may love Beijing, living here as a laowai is not always easy, we all have ‘bad China days’! They then slipped into ‘Wode Baobei‘ with Zhang Yong taking up the vocals. It’s just as beautiful as the LiDong song with the same name, although both are completely different. Alan spoke more about the band, how Woodie Wu, who wasn’t able to make it tonight, plays lap steel, an instrument I love listening to, and how ‘Beijing Blues’ usually opens with Zhang Yong playing guqin, an instrument I have become a huge fan on over the last year. The combination of Western and Eastern influences makes me wish I’d been around to see the original Woodie Alan line up playing back at the height of their success in 2008.

I left The Bookworm with a copy of the book, a CD, which I’m listening to as I write this, and definite plans to be at Jianghu on Friday for the reunion show. As a three-piece they were amazingly tight for a band who hasn’t played together in a year, I’m looking forward to hearing more.

Alan Paul’s book ‘Made in China’ and Woodie Alan’s CD ‘Beijing Blues’ are available from The Bookworm.

BeijingDaze interviewed Alan one of his trips back to Beijing last year, see the 10 questions here.

You can find out more about Woodie Alan here:
Website: http://www.woodiealan.com/
Douban: http://site.douban.com/woodiealan/

Woodie Alan reunion show this Friday @ Jianghu Jiuba

I wouldn’t even have known about it if i didn’t catch wind of a tribute concert that took place March 6th in Shanghai where Suga Mama moved to a few years ago and took residency at The Cotton Club.

I’m left now reminiscing about brunches at the Big Easy listening to her while sipping some great cocktails (best hurricane in Beijing). Memories that seem like they belong to a time far far away but are still vivid as if they happened yesterday….

it might be a little late but here hoping you’re resting in peace Suga Mama… may the Angels enjoy your sweet voice.

1- What’s going on in your world? This is your chance to plug your stuff.
we are finally having this cd release party tomorrow at 2 kolegas! Then i’ll go home for a month, then Mexico for a month and a half, so its the last gig before march!

2- Congratulations on the Album. What took you so long and why do it now?
I’ve been playing with lots of musicians in Beijing since 2002 but I started to concentrate on that french chanson project a year and a half ago when i finally found the musicians I was looking for and the sound I was looking for. So i tough it was time to record it! First I wanted to produce it myself, but we got an offer from a record company, Tree music, so we deceided to do it with them. Its a way to get into more chinese music festivals and they can also help to promote the band.

3- Any reason why release it as “Mademoiselle et Son Orchestre” instead of the other 30 names you have used so far?
hahaha! Since we play together the six of us (2 guitars, 1 clarinette, one drum, a doubble bass and me, vocals and accordion, we really feel like an orchestra, especially when we rehearse in my tiny living room! We are a big gypsy familly and I really love those guys. We have so much fun playing together!

4- Any plans to take it on the road and do a China/World tour for the release?
I wanted to do that CD also because its a great “name card” for a band. With that recording, we would like to go on tour in China and play in Alliances Francaises (french schools all around China for chinese adults). Its a lot of organisation, but it would be so much fun…

5- With all the time you’ve spent here, you must have seen some bizarre things. What’s your top 3 strange stories about being a musician in Beijing/China?
You need to be patient to be a musician in China. Especially when you have to deal with sound ingeneers in events, hotels or bars sometimes… They are funny clowns, not sound engeneers. I remember once for the opening of a french restaurant, we played a first set, than took a break, then came back and when I started to sing, there was a huge echo, way to much reverb, it sounded worst than in a karaoke. I went to see the guy to ask him to stop the reverb explosion, I asked him: “why is there sooooo much reverb now”? and he looked at me very serious (he was not jocking unfortunatly), and he said” Its because you ate something during the pause, some bread may be, and it changed your voice”… then there is nothing you can say to that,… you just laugh. That is our favorite runing joke in the band…
I also often recive calls from booking agents (other funny clowns), asking” wich color is your accordion?”, “can you find 30 russian dancers to be on stage with you and sing in german?”, “can you please try to play violon for us tomorrow?”, “can you sing “jingle bells”? (in july),…etc…
lots of fun…

6- one of my favorite songs “Le Grand Mur” didn’t make it on the CD because the lyrics were too risque, is that right?
Yeah… Because it says “make love”, the copyright censurship bureau of China didn’t liked it and told us that it cant be on the cd, even if there is no chinese translation and french lyrics on the cd book… come on! It was nothing political! Just “make love”! Don’t they make love here in China? I was really disapointed… and I know you loved that song! But we made something special about that. You’ll see tomorrow!

7- You’ve worked with plenty of Beijing’s foreign musicians but you’ve also toured and played with Chinese musicians all over China. Are there any major differences in working with the two?
After a gig, chinese musicians eat, and foreingers drink! haha no,…I dont know…. There is all kinds of musicians, serious ones, crazy ones, chinese and foreingers… I like to work with both.

8- Looking at the lyrics, there’s a lot of fun in the songs but some of the lyrics can almost be sad, especially in the title track ” un cafe pour deux”. Is that based on your personal experience or just following a genre?
Yeah, I wrote that years ago when I was single.Then I was in a relationship for few years, and now that the CD is about to be released, I am single again, so it makes sence again! But actually the lyrics are not sad, I am saying that I shaved my legs, cleaned my room, bought sexy underwear, but nobody is there to take my clothes off… writing that song was just a way to make fun of a pathetic situation, and everybody have been there one day or an other…

9- What is the biggest misconception about Marie-Claude?
That i am French! I am not! I am from Quebec! Kui Bei Ke! hahahah!

10 – The CD release is Tuesday at 2 Kolegas. Are you planning anything special? is it a Mademoiselle only show or will there be other bands present?
We will have special guests! And knowing 2kolegas, that might end in a big jam!

It’s been a weird year in music for Beijing with a lot of knowledgeable folks leaving, disappearing etc… Peter Baird is gone, Pete de Mola is MIA, Tofu not a 2 Kolegas and finally, Jon Campbell, one of the more instrumental behind the scene figures trying to bridge the rock n roll gap between east and west.

You probably know Jon as that bearded guy sitting behind the drums for Black Cat Bone and Random(k)e. Some of you know Jon as that guy sending emails about those weird Scandinavian jazz artists coming to Beijing (hey, how about some Norwegian death Metal? ) Well, he was all that and more!

The web is filled with Jon’s writings about the music scene from 2000 onwards and one can only hope that he finishes the book he’s working on which will hopefully be the Ultimate Guide to Rock n Roll in China. In the meantime, you could do a lot worse than head over to http://www.ygtwo.com/crew/ and read more about/from him.

Jon’s departure brought Random(k)e out of semi retirement for a party at 2 Kolegas a week ago where all the friends, musicians and families came to see the (k)e one last time and pay tribute. Truth be said, I was never a huge (k)e fan and the performances I had seen before didn’t rock my world. The last one at 2 Kolegas was by far the best one I had witnessed and saw the band playing with an amazing intensity.
Emotions were running high and tears were plenty… The Queen of Fuxxxg Everything, Kang Mao herseld, was there to say goodbye and joined the band along with Wu Hao and even Abigail Washburn for extended jam sessions.

Jon’s interview on Beijing Daze a while back is still on of my favorites and I look forward to picking his brain a bit more soon enough. In the meantime, best of luck to Jon with his relocation and one huge salute for everything he’s done through the years and just for being one hell of a good guy!

Stand up and be counted
For what you are about to receive
We are the dealers
We’ll give you everything you need
Hail hail to the good times
’cause rock has got the right of way
We ain’t no legend, ain’t no cause
We’re just livin’ for today

For those about to rock, we salute you
For those about to rock, we salute you

Come back and see us soon!

ah! Helen Feng… A favorite ‘daze crush and one of Beijing’s premier musical personalities winning multiple awards and accolades from the likes of Time Out and MIDI. I’ve been closely following her over the past year ( I swear it’s not stalking) and enjoying every opportunity to see her perform. Plenty of rumors have been going around the city since her disappearance from stage a few months ago following a foot injury at Strawberry Music Festival. I’ve heard from plenty of close associates that she was through with Pet Conspiracy for a while now but I have too much respect for her as an artist to fuel rumors!

Last Friday, following the Free the Birds performance at Zippo Hot List, I had the chance and the pleasure to have an extended conversation with Helen about music, life, leaving Pet Conspiracy, losing an original Free the Birds member etc… She confirmed the split with Pet Conspiracy and gave her OK to make it public after months of sitting on the info. She also took the time to sit down and answer a few questions about it all for my and your pleasure. Here is Helen Feng in her own words for not 10 but 11 questions!

1- What’s going on in your world? This is your chance to plug your stuff:

Working on a Free the Birds album coming hopefully early next year. It’s ambitious and we want it to be more mature than our work in the past and explore some new sonic territories.

I also have a company called Fake Music Media. The idea is that we do what management, promotions, and record labels do for their artists, a long term development strategy in one market (mainly China for now) and we do it as a service where the artists signs us, not the other way around. It’s kind of a new concept. We’re also hoping to do more projects to educate music professional on what the international standards and techniques are. A lot of things in China are fucked, especially for the artists, and I think for the first time, the underground music scene finally figuring out how to get organized, how to take control of their own destinies. It’s a really good sign and we want to do something to help.

2- “Free the Birds (formely ZIYO) ” is how you guys appear on flyers where ever you’re playing these days. You’ve gone on the record saying that the name change was a chance for the band to reinvent itself… is it working? or are you still feeling the shadow of ZIYO hovering over you?

Absolutely, it has to be a gradual process because we still have old songs. We have a name now which is hard to translate to Chinese. We have to stay play quite a bit because this is what we live off of, so even through disappearing for months writing an album in villa in the countryside is an interesting idea, it’s more of pipe dream.

But we just do it, little by little, and we stick to it, and maybe people will eventually start to recognize us again but as something new. Changes are difficult but necessary. I guess we just out grew it.

3- Why “Free the Birds”? I was there at 2 Kolegas for the christmas chindig last year when you were asking the audience about possible names! I don’t recall this one coming up.

Yeah I asked a lot of people. . . the ideas were funny but not that great. I guess I got inspired by the old man with the pigeons outside my window. I just liked watching him fly his pigeons 3 times a day everyday winter summer spring. There was something about that act that was like an act of love, repetative, committed, and genuine. And it was beautiful to watch.

4- You’re no longer in Pet Conspiracy and Mao Mao, one of the original members of Free the Birds, just played his last show with the band. how are all these changes affecting you?

Sometimes we don’t change until we are forced to change, but these changes only make you stronger if you chose not to let self-pity and negativity drag you down. And sometimes they give you new opportunities. I think for me, I have to believe in what I’m doing. If I don’t believe in it, if there’s something about it that makes me feel like I’m lying to myself, or I’m betraying my own nature, then I have to leave. I think many of the people around me are the same.

I think you have to go with your gut. You just know sometimes, that somethings not right but you keep doing it. Eventually it hurts your body or your soul. Either way, it’s better just to follow the compass you have inside you.

5- You’ve spent quite some time in Louisiana.. do you think that influenced your musical tastes in any way, shape or form? Can we expect maybe a Free the Birds version of “Jambalaya on the Bayou” ?

I used to go to New Orleans with my parents on the weekend when I was nine. I couldn’t get into the bars, and I used to hang out on the street just outside so I could here the bands inside but there was always so much music there. Its ground was singing with living breathing music like a stream that ran under the entire city. I miss Louisiana. There were a lot of racism and ignorance, but there was also a lot of warmth and just differentness. There was voodoo, and craw fish broils, and the most amazing scenery in the world. And the Jazz there was just different. I can’t stand most forms of jazz the way it’s played everywhere else in the world now, all technique and form. It’s so taken out of context and soulless. I think if you haven’t lived in the American South, you just don’t know what Jazz is. You’ll never know why the muffled trumpet drags and bends that note if you’ve never cast a fishing hook into a bayou and dragged out a length of spanish moss.

Being in Louisiana is something that helped me realize later in life that music is context. It’s a way for individuals to express what languages and visuals cannot. It’s a level of emotion and expression that’s much bigger deeper and harder to define than anything else out there and that’s why people are so devoted to it, like a religeon. When I get on stage, I sometimes feel like I’m chaneling a Voodoo priestess.

6- You mentioned that we should expect a Free the Birds record at some point next year. How is that coming along? Are you releasing it with a major label again or going the independent route like The Subs and so many other bands have done recently?

I don’t know yet. I spent the last ten years obsessing about the career side of my music, but for this album, it’s more about just getting what’s been eating away inside me down in recorded form. What happens to it after that, I frankly don’t know yet. I get to that when it’s done I guess. I know it’s not the smartest thing in the world, especially considering I’ve always been really keen on self-management stuff, but I have a feeling that the music inside me right now has it’s own path it needs to take, and I’m just a facilitator for it’s birth.

7- I’ve seen your name come up a few times and next to it the label “electro pop” is that a fair assessment of your musical direction/taste?

For Pet Conspiracy yes, but from the electro-side, I’ve always personally more into bands like LCD Soundsystem, or the Faint. I’m into Disco right now, but it’s kind of the taste of late kind of thing. Not a big techno or minimal techno or whatever fan, so for me Disco is kind of this very melodically based fun genre that’s just fun to dance to. Especially the new Super Soul Recordings label which has just some killer tracks that I’m completely devoted to. And just people like Moderat which create amazing tracks that are really cinematic and creates images in your head. I long term loves include Nina Simone, Nick Cave, Debussy, Gershwin, pre-late 90′s U2, Le Tigre, LCD Soundsystem, Fleet Foxes.

8- Word association: write the first word that comes to your mind.

* Beijing: Square

*Shanghai: Money

* Baijiu: Headache

* Yeah Yeah Yeah: Karen 0

* Punk: Mohawk

* Bourbon Street: Ironwork

* Polka dots: Housewife

9- What is the biggest misconception about Helen Feng?

That I’m cool. I am definitely not cool. Cool people terrify me.

10- You’ve been around for a few years around the music scene in Beijing/China. How has it changed since you arrived and what artists do you think deserve more recognition than they get?

It’s hopeful. I think Retros deserve some recognition for toughing it out and getting crazy with the sound colors. Zi Yue for amazing songwriting, Queen Sea for daring to change after all that success, the Subs for just being spectacular, Gouzi for being a live venue guru, MAO for being the first to set the standard for production, Cui Jian for being the godfather, and MIDI for starting it all.

11 – On the “gourmandise” side of things, what are some of your favorite Chinese restaurants in Beijing?

Pho Pho. . . yeah I’m Chinese but I love Vietnamese food. It’s also run by a friend who’s quite possibly one of the coolest chefs in Beijing.

There you go folks! Straight from the horse’s mouth!
Big props to Helen for being open about it all and allowing the story to come out officially on BeijingDaze. I’ve come out of the past few days even for fascinated by her and taken by her personality! She’s so bloody articulate and well spoken, on top of being talented and charming… with just an edge of danger!
One thing that was not covered in the interview is that Helen will be in Europe with Pet Conspiracy for their upcoming tour as her last commitment with the band… lucky Europeans get to see the last hurrah

Goodbye Miss Daisy

wow.. I still remember roughly about two years ago or so, hanging out at TUN on a tuesday night for open mic night with Beijing Rob and Johnny Boy, taking in the music coming from the stage but mostly having some sort of conversation when this angelic voice came out of the speakers, putting any and all conversations to a halt!

We looked up and say this new girl on stage, wearing green kakhi pants and dark top singing like it was he mission and purpose in life! I remember distinctly M turning to me and saying: ” wow.. look at that girl singing and smiling with her eyes” and that was the first time i was exposed to one Daisy Sweetgrass!
She kept coming back for a few weeks and so did we, to watch her and what would become The Redbucks after a little while. I remember joining them on stage at some point along with Rob and Johnny for a cover of the Grateful Dead’s Friend of the Devil just to get a closer look!

fast forward a few months/years, Daisy Sweetgrass is part of Beijing’s music personalities on her own merit as well as that of The Redbucks. She’s one of the sweetest, most charming and talented musicians in town that can melt anyone’s heart with her soothing sounds! I’m a huge fanboy and completely unashamed of it!

And now she’s leaving!

I got an email from the ‘bucks yesterday informing me of her upcoming departure for greener pastures and her last two shows in town, one of which I will unfortunately miss on account of a Silk Road trip… If you haven’t see Miss Daisy perform, do yourself a favor and catch her while you can! And after you enjoy the show, have a conversation with Christine, her alter-ego, to get a taste of those smiling eyes!

Catch her w/ The Redbucks this friday September 3rd at Jiangjin jiuba and Saturday September 11th at VA bar. It’s worth mentioning that as she is leaving, Daisy can’t take all her toys with her and will be auctioning her guitar after the VA performance!!!! Gonna have to work out a proxy bidding strategy on this one!

man I’m bummed!!! man I’m bummed!!!

you can read all about it in Daisy’s own words here:
http://www.theredbucks.com/2010/08/daisy-sweetgrass-bids-beijing-a-dulcet-a-dieu/

and here is the interview she did with ‘daze a while back:
http://beijingdaze.com/tunes/2009/09/30/interview-daisy-sweetgrass/

did I mention i was bummed? This the day the music died….