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Mar
16thDo-Over with Jon Campbell: Red Rock, Worthy Perspectives or How Yaogun Can Save Rock n RollLike I warned yesterday, you’re not done reading the name “Jon Campbell” on this blog, at least not for this week. I believe I’ve already interviewed Jon before before, albeit more for gigs he was playing in. This time around, it’s different! He’s in Beijing as part of Jue Festival and the Bookworm Literary Festival promoting his book, Red Rock::The Long, Strange March of Chinese Rock & Roll. I read the book a while back and I’ve also been following Jon for quite sometime.. this was an opportunity to catch up and get some extra details out of him. 1- How is post Beijing life treating you and what’s been keeping you busy now that Red Rock is out? Post-bj life is great. Mellow. Very not rock and roll, really. But nice. My wife and I own a house and a dog and a backyard and it’s great. I work as a publicist for Harbourfront Centre, a cultural organization and venue on Toronto’s waterfront that hosts all kinds of festivals, events, exhibitions, dance/thatre performances, concerts, etc, most of which is free. 2- I’m curious.. What made you decide to write the book? Was there a sort of Eureka moment or was it a long process? The short answer is that Earnshaw Books put out a call for writers. I answered it. The longer answer is related to that feeling I think many expats have, which is, I have a perspective that is worthy of getting out into the world. I [...]
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Mar
15thQuickslants: Bloozy Farewell, Aussie Slams, Dongs, Mackays, Green Fab and more..After the madness from last week, it feel like this weekend might be an opportunity to get some rest… hum…yeah right! It’s not as charged but just as hectic and this is again happening all over the place! Metal competition for Wacken, Bookworm and Jue Festivals etc.. you name it! Let’s dig in: Thursday March 15 Protect Our Rights @ Mao: A couple of cool little bands will make their way on stage to and have a good time. For some reason, they’re being billed a slightly punk but maybe the word they’ve been looking for is “rebellious”. Kick Ass, Summer Tribe and Longway Band will be providing the goodies. I haven’t seen Summer Tribe in a while and it would be interesting to hear their progress. They tend to travel with a decent sized crew of homies that support them. Electric Shadows @ The Bookworm This is officially called “May Your Pen Grace The Screen”. Electric Shadows curates a special short film screening for BLF 2012. Filmmakers from around the globe submitted films inspired by Luka Lesson’s poem “May Your Pen Grace the Page”. Join us for a screening of the topselections and a live performance by Lesson. starts at 10:00 P.M Friday March 16th Black Cat Bone @ 2 Kolegas: Never thought this name would appear again on the blog but oh well… With Jon Campbell back, how could it not! it had its own post yesterday so you can go to that one for reference. It will [...]
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Mar
13thJon Campbell Brings the Red Rock Home & Pulls Out a Black Cat BoneOf all the good people that have left their imprint on Chinese rock n roll, or Yaogun, as he likes to refer to it, none deserves more kudos than Jon Campbell as far as I’m concerned. He’s been a true trooper, participant, supporter of Yaogun and we do miss having him in Beijing. ( Jon, how about some Norwegian Death Metal Bands??? ) Well, since Jon is coming for a visit as part of the Bookworm Literary Festival to talk about his book, Red Rock, -the quitters retirees slackers good folks that made up hell raising, bourbon and white russian guzzling bloozers- Black Cat Bone will take out the suits from the old closet, put a little deodorant or baby powder on them and head over to 2 Kolegas friday night for the farewell performance they never gave. This will happen after the regularly scheduled show with Devils at the Crossroad, Flaming Heat and End of the World So, the flyer says it all….. This.will.be.rough…… Don’t forget Jon’s talk at the bookworm Saturday March 17th at 4:00 pm. He will be joined by music critic Han Fan in a talk moderated by Nathaniel Davis of Split Works. It’s a joint Jue Festival & BLF event.
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Nov
28thOfficial Band Statement: Black Cat Bone – Lights out, Time for the Curtain FallIt’s a sad day at ‘daze HQ as one of our favorite bands in Beijing calls it quits after many years of bloozing around the city and the country. They’re a band that did set some standards in regards to musicianship, showmanship and professionalism over the past few years and while they might not have a big legacy, sure they left me with tons of memories, both on and off stage.. albeit, said memories might be a bit on the hazy” side… This little paragraph from their CD release is the best way I’ve seen to describe them: Dark crowded room. Hot sweaty dancers. Crowd swaying to the rhythm. You know as soon as you walk in the door something is happening. This is a scene. This is a party. You get yourself a drink and push through to the front of the room. The rhythm is pounding. The singer is growling. The songs are about things that happen in your life. This is hard nosed. This is REAL. This is BLACK CAT BONE Here is the official statement from the band that they have asked me to convey: LIGHTS OUT After eight years of hard rockin’ kick ass blues, BLACK CAT BONE has decided it’s time… Time to take of the shades….hang up the suits….switch off the amps…and turn of the lights. It’s been an amazing eight years…full of great gigs…wild nights…and lifelong memories. We will never forget all our friends who became fans and all our fans who [...]
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Oct
3rdNational Holiday Quickslants: Modern Sky, Super Ningxia, Old What fun, Charity and moreIt’s been a beautiful beginning for october in Beijing with blue skies, mild temperatures and freaking empty roads… oh yeah! For those of us fortunate enough to be in Beijing and enjoying the quiet, it’s pretty cool. That said though, nightlife and music events are plentiful for the next few days… heck, there are so many that they get their own quickslants. Of special not is the charity show on October 8th at Mako Livehouse with Zhou Yunpeng raising money to benefit kids with haemophilia Modern Sky: October 3-5 I’m not even contemplating heading over to this one but it is happening over in huairou and the usual suspects will all be there. If you can brave the transportation issues and the disaster that modern sky run events are, then you should be fine. Head over to the Beijinggigguide for updated schedule of events. Monday Oct 3: Pairs @ Mao: More Shanghai bands doing the trip up north. They’re slapped with a bunch of indie bands but these kids are actually a lot heavier, noiser and more interesting. I’m really tempted to check them out tonight at Mao. They play along with Cassette, Me Too and Next Year’s Love. Buyi @ Jianghu: Haven’t seen my ningxia boys in a little while and I’ve actually never seen them at jianghu come to think about it. Heck, I haven’t been to Jianhu in a few weeks and this sounds like a nicer evening than the potential crapout at Mao. I hear they [...]
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Sep
21stFrom Hell to da Bone: DH & Hellcats along with Black Cat Bone rock YugongHell ‘Bone is what i dubbed this unholly union that saw two of my favorite beijing fun bands come together for a fantastic night of rock n roll at Yugong Yishan: DH & The Hellcats along with Black Cat Bone I’ve reviewed both bands here so many times that it would seem extremely redundant to go over their individual performances again: Both are fun, rowdy, and just generally bring the good moods and good times whenever they play. I’m not sure why it took so long to get both of them together but I’m hoping that there will be a few more appearances by Hell ‘Bone in the future. What was extremely cool about the show was how the bands merged together and swapped members throughout the set, slowly morphing from one band to the other. This only really worked on the covers though has most members of both bands knew them and could play them. Once DH & The Hellcats fully exited the stage, it was time for good old Black Cat Bone action and tunes… down and dirty boogey woogey Rock n Roll. My favorite part of the whole thing was the grand finale with both bands onstage threatening to make it crumble under their collective weights as they were matching each other tit for tat, beat for hat, swinging the night away. It was a really fun night that was marked by a huge contrast in sound quality: The BL and PL periods! BL: Before Lee took [...]
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Sep
8thQuickslants: Mongolian Festival, Intercity Festival, Hell’Bone Night, Lulu Galore and moreThis is the kind of weekend that hurts my head in terms of picking where to go… so many good shows, so little time and I wanna see them all.. yes my precious, I want them all! Mongolian Music Festival at Mako, Pilot Records Intercity Festival in Chaoyang Park, Black Cat Bone w/ DH & The Hellcats ( aka Hell’Bone) just to name a few! Let’s snap to it! Thursday Sept 8 Gou Mao @ Jianghu I’ve never heard of the guy but he’s got a couple of CDs to his name and the stuff on Douban sounds pretty darn good. Acoustic rock with earthy vibes and a slight heavy edge. Plus, I’m thinking I ain’t been to Jianghu in a little while. Definitely an interesting option Friday Sept 9 Mongolian Festival day 1 @ Mako Yes folks, this is taking place at Mako Livehouse in Shuangjing who is making a strong comeback over the past few weeks as a premier live music venue. Headlining Day 1 of the festival is old Friends Hanggai along with rockers Thin Man whose lead singer, Dai Qin is also Mongolian. Shaman Humai, one of the first bands on, seems quite interesting. it should be fun! Miss Lulu Galore @ Alanting Yes, Lulu Galore, of the Burlesque Group fame, is launching her solo dance and music project with this debut performance at Alanting in Sanlitun South.. to put it in her own words: ” Miss Lulu Galore and Sweet Leaf is her latest music [...]
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Jun
22ndQuickslants: Beijing Prom, dazeFEAST, Residence A and more fun weekend goodiesHope you got some rest last weekend folks cause this upcoming one will require some serious stamina from all of you considering all the fun stuff taking place in Beijing over the next few days! so, what we got? Wednesday June 22nd: Misandao @ Mao: Misandao is tons of fun! I love these guys because they’re genuinely punk to the bone, skinhead bootboys that bring on the Oi punk like no one else. I just saw them last week at Mao and they have not lost a beat. Newcomers, The Rudeness, open things with their brand of ska/reggae/punk. Not a bad humpday gig Thursday June 23: Paper Tigre & RE-TROS @ Yugong Yishan: I couldn’t care less about papier tigre but any opportunity to watch the RE-TROS should be cherished.. these cats perform with such amazing passion. Label them whatever you want, they put on a show each and everytime that cannot leave you indifferent. Ember & Jess @ 2Kolegas: Take Ember Swift with her folk pop and the Laowai Song, Jess Meider’s Heavenly Stems and you got yourself a lovely night of lilith fair type music to sooth you soul by. Friday June 24th: Beijing Prom @ The Bookworm: This one is so bizarre that it deserves a mention. Our good friend the Prom Queen has decided to go back in time and party like it was 1990 for those that remember the era. You’re expected to dress for Prom, with heavy emphasis on sequins, then mingle with likeminded [...]
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May
26thBeijing quickslants: Jess Awakening, 2 Kolegas Celebrates and Bluegrass RetrunsWell folks, if the whole fire safety hazard thingy hasn’t put a damper in your going out plans for this weekend, there’s plenty of stuff happening this weekend. 2 Kolegas is turning 6 which pretty much will monopolize my friday and saturday! I’m so thankful I’ll have Sunday for recovery, kind off… Thursday May 26th: Dolan @ jianghu: Hanggai is no longer the only game in town. They’ve got plenty of competition when it comes to that grassland sound from the likes of Ajinai and now Dolan. It’s not the same but they do share similar roots. Check it out Jess @ Great Leap brewery: Jess brings back the acoustic guitar for a double set at Beijing’s favorite microbrewery. Starts a bit early at 8:00 but it should be some good fun in case the freaking rain doesn’t mess it all up Friday May 27: 2 Kolegas 6 Year Celebration part 1: SUBS and BUYI headline the first night of celebration for 2 Kolegas with help from Skarving as wel las Wu & The side effects. Expect a huge party, DJ, alcohol, fun, and a whole lotta rocking going on until the wee hours of the morning. After hours Jam Session will probably also be taking place. ChunQiu Unplugged @ Gulou 121: Kaiser, Yang Meng and the boys will be in Gulou pulling out the acoustic guitars for those that want a chilled out evening. It’s always a joy listening to them do their thing with harmonies and what not. [...]
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May
16thBlack Cat Bone returns: Same Ol’ Less HairI’ve been meaning to write this one up for a while but things been a bit busy on this side of the world. Still, It’s worth nothing that Black Cat Bone, following the untimely exit of their drummer and gentleman extraordinaire Jon Campbell, Have returned to the Beijing music scene. They’ve managed to pick up drummer Brandon Cristiano to take over skin duties but no one apparently sent him the memo regarding hair issues and requirements in a Beijing band. So, a few weeks ago, the guys returned to home base, 2 kolegas, and brought along the friends for a night of blooze like only they can do. I was curious to see the state of the band considering most of the members has become busy with other musical projects such as BlackWater for Dez and Bad Mamasan for Jaime/Toby. The band pulled off a good solid little show with crowd favorites as well as a few originals. They sounded good, tight and Brandon looked like he had been playing with them for years as opposed to weeks. Dez mentioned at some point that they played one song without even rehearsing it so really good on them. It’s good to have the boys back!! The night also included a impromptu performance by Johanna Demker, Tobi’s sister, who is a recording artist in her own rights with 3 records to her name. I had no idea that the Demkers were a musically inclined family. Johanna played more of a folk rock [...]
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'dazeFEAST 2012 - June 23rd at 2 Kolegas.
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