Raw and Unplugged
Check out the four original artists at the first bc unplugged on June 19 at The Wanch (54 Jaffe Road). The gig starts at 9pm and entry is free. words rachel mok

Reign Lee
Reign Lee is an Ontario-born, Hong Kong-based alternative rock diva. She flew to the US to record with Grammy-nominated producer Blake Althen last year and the result is her latest EP, Holding Back the Beast.
What makes the bc unplugged gig different?
My usual setup is very plugged in. I find it refreshing to work within more intimate confines. Sometimes it’s nice to strip away all of the noise and allow the songs to breathe within wider sonic landscapes.
Songs to learn before coming?
Helena, from my album Broken Skylines. I love the energy in the song and there’s been a lot of debate, even in online communities such as MySpace, as to who Helena is.
Built to Last, a song from my new EP. On the recording, the song has a gothic feel – full of Gregorian chants and strings. It originated as a much heavier rock song. It’s always a great addition to the live show and we’re having a lot of fun re-inventing it for the unplugged show.
Burn – this is just a really personal song. It haunts me. Someone recently wrote to me and said they picked up on a recurring theme in my music: a constant wrestling with demons. I would say that while it is not always conscious, that statement definitely sums it up.
My favourite unplugged album?
Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York. Nirvana has always been one of my favourite bands. What I love about this collection of songs is how they were so thoughtfully translated. When all the feedback and distortion are stripped away, we are left with a poignant songwriter. This is a beautiful album.
A few things to take to make the night a blast:
A kazoo or two always seems to elevate the evening.

Scarlett Lewis
Scarlett Lewis started performing as an acoustic artist at the age of 13 and now jams and plays with band mate Ash Pritchard. She puts experiences from life to music, which, in her words, is a kind of cheap therapy.
A few things about my set:
I will sing all original material – some new and some old. The songs I write and perform are about me or a situation – one is a very cynical look at Hong Kong’s financial and social divides. I work with refugees and asylum seekers here and they inspire me all of the time. 
My favourite unplugged albums:
I love John Martyn’s Bless the Weather. It’s a very old album that my mum used to play when I was growing up. The album has so many different styles and influences, like blues, jazz and folk – but they have a flow to them that makes it easy to listen to. His voice wasn’t damaged then and I find it really sensual. My favourite song is Head and Heart. It makes me want to cry and smile at the same time. If you haven’t heard it then you should.
How Hong Kong changed me:
This city has made me realize how much I love playing music. But I never seem to have enough time to write anymore!
A few things to take to make the night a blast: 
Dynamite, a chocolate bar and a T-shirt that says ‘Scarlett Rocks My World’.
Last shout before the show?
Come and support us. Acoustic performers are the most neglected in the world and – even if I do say so myself – the most talented!

Lani Giro
Born in Michigan, home of Gibson guitars, Lani Giro will play songs from his second release 1,000,000 Measures with his baby – a Gibson Blues King acoustic/electric guitar.
A song to learn from my coming set:
Can You is a song many people have highly complimented. When I wrote it, I was thinking about some of the things that people go through after a ‘deep love’ for someone and its ending, suicide being one of them. In the song I try to assure them that all will pass and you will be OK in time – just try to concentrate on who and how you were before the relationship, the smiling happy person that everyone knew. This song was totally effortless for me, taking only a couple hours in total to write and record.
How the city affects me:
Living in Hong Kong will never change me or my music. Some people are the product of the walls that surround them, which to me is sad. No one should live behind walls, but just be part of the broad horizon. Probably the only thing I have changed musically since being here is my choice of equipment. I choose according to weight because it seems I have to walk miles and miles up and down concrete paths and through corridors filled with people with the equipment on my back and in my hands! I always used to take two guitars but not now.
My last shout out:
Tip the waitresses and bartenders well. They work hard for you!

Steve Cray
Front man and lead guitarist of Red Star Rising, Steve Cray returns to his classical/folk roots this time with a set of original songs as well as a few instrumentals.
What makes this show different?
Well, most people here know me as the front man and lead guitarist with Red Star Rising, playing a Fender Stratocaster through 100 watts of Mesa Boogie amp. My unplugged act is very different, just me and a Martin acoustic guitar. Actually, it’s semi-plugged (like most ‘unplugged’ sets), playing through a small Fender acoustic amp.
A song to learn before going?
Crossing the Border. A lot of people who listen to the lyrics think it is anti-war and in a way it is, but not in the way they think. It is actually about evolution. It’s a bit 2001: A Space Odyssey without the apes. The lyrics are about us moving on to the next stage of development and no longer needing war or aggression. A dream maybe, but also an evolutionary necessity. No one knows what the next phase of being is, but my reckoning is that our survival will depend on brain over brawn, reason over irrationality.
My favourite unplugged album:
Bert Jansch’s Birthday Blues and my favourite song from it was Poison. It’s a wonderful folk/blues tune and there’s a recent live version of it on YouTube. (Jansch is now in his 60s but still going strong.)
How Hong Kong changed me:
What I love about Hong Kong is its multiculturalism but I don’t like its go-getting obsession with material success and the superficial lifestyle. It has influenced my writing. Red Star Rising’s (I Live My Life In) Shopping Malls and Finishing Line are about the Hong Kong lifestyle.