Rock Mum

So you think it is cool to be a rock star? Here is what Chris B, mother of the Underground, godmother to many local indie bands, national director of the Global Battle of the Bands and member of four bands (Guitars & Panties, Thinking Out Loud, Cockfight and Sisters of Sharon) has dealt with.

On the typical ‘struggling musician’ period.
“I have busked in London’s underground before… That was a long time ago. People would tell me ‘That is a good spot!’ but it was beneath a little piece of paper with time slots each filled with somebody’s name.”

On maintaining the Underground web site, and more.
“We are re-launching the web site (www.undergroundhk.com). Vivek Mahbubani (Indian comedian and a web site designer) helps with the design and system and Eric [from Inisfallen] translates the Chinese texts. It’s tough, I need to re-enter all the information of our previous shows. We are doing Underground 68 but we also have special theme nights like Asian Rock, so I am actually re-inputting information of 70-plus shows to the new web site! And when the photographers give me 100 photos per band I have to go through each of them and choose which I think are the best. (laughs) We also made a documentary recently. We want to show people and our sponsors, the future of Hong Kong music.”

On putting out the first Underground Compilation CD.
“Me and Koya from Mark 1 Music Studio started inviting bands to send demos for the CD back in February. Forty seven bands applied and we are like, ‘Oh my God! How can we say no to so many bands!’ as we originally planned to release one CD featuring eight bands. At last we decided to do a double CD boxed set with two songs from 11 bands. It is a good way to showcase the best bands in Hong Kong. I think a lot of people will be surprised to hear them. They may go (pulls a surprised face) ‘Oh God, this band is from Hong Kong?’ I am really proud of all these bands. We plan to release a second CD next January or February, and then a third one if everything goes well. (Winks).”

On being visionary – think big!
“People say to me nobody buys CDs anymore. I used to distribute for a Japanese label which only did girl bands. It was popular because the Americans loved it. If you can find a niche market to sell to, it can work. Kids want to be cool nowadays and they would say, ‘Hey I am the first person to listen to this band!’ I am listening to some of the songs in the compilation CD and they are amazing. Better than some of the stuff coming out from the US. NME is talking to us for having NME Night in Hong Kong in January or February, that their DJs will come to play indie music for… not hip-hop (laughs). It is really exciting. People always look to England or the States for music, but it won’t be long – maybe three to four years – the market will emerge in Asia. Hopefully in China and Hong Kong. People will be surprised at our creativity and songwriting.”

GBOB spreading the word – sending local bands over the globe.
“The bands don’t really believe it is true that they can win US$100,000 and fly to London for the finals of GBOB. I told them, when you go, don’t go for three days – go for three weeks, play and see more shows! Hong Kong is easy because I am used to it and I know the people. But in Shanghai… (Pulls a sad face) I don’t know how many people will come…”

On doing the dirty job – say no when you have to.
“More than 200 bands have played at Underground already, but there are still 30 bands on the waiting list. It was embarrassing because in March a jazz band played that had applied two years ago – oops! People think Underground means rock music, but, no, it is about original music. We have a rule, 80% of the set must be original music.”

On top of all that, taking care of 22-month-old twin girls at home – who may want to be pop stars.
“They were singing to Madonna and Justin Timberlake’s Four Minutes this morning – ‘tick-tac, tick-tac’. It was so cute!”

Upcoming gigs:
GBOB local qualifying heat, Date: September 19, 9pm, Venue: Club Cixi, $100
Compilation CD Launch Party A Date: September 20, 8pm
Venue: The Cavern Bands: Lazy Susans, ChoChukMo, 22 Cats, The Sinister Left, Tai Tai Alibi Entry: $150 (includes CD and one drink)
Compilation CD Launch Party B Date: September 26, 8pm Venue: Club Cixi Bands: Sea Monsters, Forgot, Born to Hula, FBI, Velvette Vendetta, Violent Jokes Entry: $150 (includes CD and one drink)
Underground 68 Date: September 27, 8pm Venue: The Cavern Bands: Life in Motion, Audiotraffic, Hungry Ghosts, ART Entry: $100

Lady Diana

Two-time Grammy award winner and the first lady of jazz, Diana Krall kicks off her China tour in Hong Kong. She talks to us about her new album, how to avoid being recognized in public spaces, and Barack Obama on a 9/11 anniversary morning in New York.
Hi Diana, what have you been up to?
I‘ve just finished a three month tour of Europe followed by three weeks in LA for the new record. Yesterday I was on my husband Elvis Costello’s TV show, called Spectacle, where I was interviewed by Elton John (laughs). That is what I’ve been up to.
Talking of Elton John, I read an online interview saying you were actually surprised to find out he still practices his piano......
I don’t know what interview that was. (laughs). But I think it is great, Elton John is one of my favourite artists.
Do you still practice a lot too.
I do. When I am on tour I practice daily with my band during rehearsals, forty-five minutes outside of the performance. When I am recording, I am practicing in my head. It is not about technical ability, it is about creativity. That is a 24-hour business but it is not tiring. That is what we do for living and the core of it is about what is in your head.
Tell us something about the new album?
It is orchestral. I worked with the great writer Claus Ogerman who also did The Look of Love with me. It is very, very romantic. It will be very different from my previous work. There is a 60-piece orchestra, there is bossa nova and it is quiet. I have been to Brazil recently and enjoyed it a lot.
So how has your family – especially the children – changed your life?
It makes my life better. My life is more in focus – it is like a kaleidoscope with it all coming into focus when you have those beautiful children. My husband and I have been as busy as ever but the joy with the family leaves us with little time for anything else. It is extraordinary.
That’s nice. Especially as the world isn’t going too right these days.
Well, that is a long conversation, isn’t it? I think we should talk about music. I think today [September 11] marks a very dark day in American history and I think we should move forward positively with Obama. That’s my whole statement right there. It says a lot. We should move forward with change. That will be a very positive and exciting change for everybody.
Hong Kong will be the first stop for the China tour. What do you know of the jazz scene here?
I haven’t heard any jazz in China! I really would like to hear jazz from China. I went to a jazz club in Taipei and it was great. Can you recommend one for me? (chuckles).
People are labeling some young and emerging musicians like Norah Jones and Jamie Cullum as pop jazz. What do you think about that?
I wouldn’t call Norah Jones’ music jazz. Her music has a jazz influence but her music is her music. It is her own style. It is not an improvising jazz style. You can’t really categorize it. Jamie Cullum is similar. To me jazz is Christian McBride, Cassandra Wilson, Josh Redman… Those are young jazz musicians to me. They sing and play jazz music within the tradition. To me jazz is freedom with responsibility. It is always about improvising.
They are like a door to the jazz world to the younger generation, I suppose.
As long as it is not lips syncing and it is music with integrity, I think it is good. Joni Mitchell is the perfect example as somebody who has true jazz influence. But is she a jazz musician? No, but who cares? She is a great iconic artist taking jazz into her own harmony and making it her own style. There must be freedom for doing thing that and we need the young musicians to know that.

Diana Krall will be performing in Hong Kong for one night only on October 7 at HKCEC Hall 7A. Tickets are $1,280, $980, $680 and $480 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.

Playing on Time

It’s certainly different to name your band after the most painful period for your group, but that is what LA-based trio Until June is doing. “The name was originally our deadline for making it in music. We had been pursuing music in Los Angeles for a few years at that point,” Josh Ballard, the group’s vocalist and pianist, explains. “Frustration had taken over and we decided to give ourselves until June to get a record deal. In May we got our first offer.” That was not a coincidence, though. The band had been doing whatever they could to grab the attention of records companies – including some shameless and possibly illegal stunts like jumping over a record label company’s fence and putting ‘untiljune.com’ flyers on all the executives’ cars. “Needless to say we didn’t get a deal from that but the security did make me take them off the windshields and escorted me out,” recalls Josh.

Although the band is often labeled ‘the American Coldplay’ and compared to piano-heavy rock outfits like Keane and Ben Folds Five the piano player/vocalist quotes Neil Young, Daniel Lanois and Radiohead, Mew, the Beach Boys and Leona Naess among his influences. But the band didn’t really settle into their style until a former bassist and drummer left the band. “It was almost like losing a really close friend. Dan [Ballard, the guitarist] and I had written most of the music up until that point but when Daniel (the current drummer) joined the band, that’s when our music finally changed. Within two or three months of Daniel joining, the three of us wrote about half the songs that are on the record [Until June].”

As all the three members are Christians, they are inevitably seen as a Christian band. And of course, artists hate being labeled like canned food. “We look at our faith as the most important thing to us so we write about it. It can’t be avoided in our writing,” says the singer. “But what drives the three of us crazy is to label it Christian only. I think that has a tendency to turn people who aren’t Christian off. We want anyone and everyone to listen to our music.”

Until June will be playing at Hennessy Artistry 2008 on September 23 at HK Exhibition Centre. Sharing the stage will be England heartthrob Shayne Ward, Taiwanese singer-songwriter Joanna Wang, American-born-Chinese rapper MC JIN and DJ Tom Price. Get tickets with the purchase of Hennessy VSOP at designated bars or clubs, or check out our competitions page as we have five pairs of tickets to give away.

Five Favourites: Catrin Finch
Born in Wales, Finch was the Royal Harpist to HRH the Prince of Wales from 2000 to 2004. She is the winner of numerous awards, including first prize at the Lily Laskine International Harp Competition in 1999, and was nominated for the Young British Classical Performer award at the Classical Brit Awards in 2004.
Who is your favourite harpist?
Nicanor Zabaleta. He was one of my first inspirations, and managed to do such a lot for the harp world during his career.
What is your favourite musical piece to play?
My favourite composers are the French impressionists – Debussy, Ravel, Faure etc. So, one of my favourite pieces is the Debussy dances which I will perform in HK, but I have so many others as well! My favourite concerto for the harp is by Alberto Ginastera. The more music I learn, the more pieces I love playing!
What is your favourite venue to play at?
It was a great privilege to play at the Buckingham Palace and in such wonderful surroundings, but by far the most fantastic places I have played in are the Wigmore Hall in London, the Weill Recital Hall in New York, and to over 50,000 people in the Millennium stadium in Cardiff.
What is your favourite album in 2008 so far?
Duffy’s Rockferry. I think she is brilliant, and she’s Welsh as well, which is even better!
Favourite fashion brands?
So many ... Diesel, Miss Sixty, D&G, Moschino etc!

Finch will be playing with City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong in Queen of Harps on September 30 at HK City Hall Concert Hall. The show starts at 8pm and tickets are $500, $350 and $180 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Swedish Fingers
The Premiere Performances of Hong Kong’s Great Performers Series 2008 returns with Swedish pianist Peter Jablonski. As a prodigy, Jablonski entered the Malmo Music Academy at the early age of 11 and made his debut with an orchestra playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto in G, K 453 the next year. He grabbed the classical world’s attention when conductor and piano maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy invited him to record the Gershwin Piano Concerto for Decca when he was 18. The musician was awarded the Litteris et Artibus medal by the King of Sweden in 2005 and for his visit to Hong Kong this time, the pieces he will be playing include Haydn’s Sonata in D major and Grieg’s Piano Sonata in E minor, Op 7, as well as works by Liszt and Chopin. The concert is on September 29 at HK City Hall Theatre. It starts at 8pm and tickets are $300, $200 and $150 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Nordic Charm
The NOTCH Festival is a showcase of modern Nordic sound and visual culture infused with counterparts from China. This year’s theme will be Comma Coma, meaning non-stop coma, and participating musicians include Tape from Sweden and Efterklang from Denmark joining Kung Chi Shing, Peter Scherr and John Lee from Hong Kong. On the night there will be a visual arts exhibition from Nordic artists Hvass and Hannibal, Klas Augustsson and Jan Anderzen as well as video and short-film screenings. The Hong Kong stop of the NOTCH Festival will take place on October 1 at HITEC Auditorium. Get advance tickets from White Noise Records and Kubrick at $320, or $380 on the spot.