I don’t have a nickname. My family just calls me Virat, which was my name before I changed it to Thawatchpon. They still call me Virat today. When I have kids, I definitely plan to give them nicknames.

I was a shy boy in class and even got teased by friends who called me “buff” (buffalo). Muey is the name that my high school friends gave me. I don’t really know why.

I became a singer accidentally while watching my friends’ band rehearse in a studio. The singer didn’t show so I just took over.

Our teacher forbade us to play at the school festival, but we brought all our equipment and started playing on the field anyway. He tried to stop us but our friends formed a circle around us to keep him away. We were allowed to play after that.

I didn’t know much about the arts because I studied math and science in high school, but I managed to get into Silapakorn University. I wanted to get into a university that had a cool music environment.

My classmates and I liked to go check out ghost houses around town. It first started out as a bicycle gang, then we moved onto motorcycles and finally cars.

After one visit, everyone got into an accident. I am still not sure if it was a coincidence or not. Still, we never saw anything.

Ball [Torpong Chantabupha] was my senior and was chairman of the music club. I begged him to teach me about music. We became close friends and started doing music together as Scrubb.

Eventually we wanted other people to hear our songs. So after graduation we looked for a label that would sign us.

We made our own tape to sell at record shops, posted our songs on websites and sent demos to record labels. We got a job at GMM as sound editors, but still no album.

The turning point was giving Ted-Yutthana Boon-aom, a Fat Radio executive, our self-funded tape. They played it on-air right away. We also played for free at Fat Festival and people in the audience asked for our CD. Then we signed with Black Sheep records.

Our first album was experimental. We mixed everything together. We couldn’t believe we got a chance to do a second album.

We got bored playing our first single “Tuk Yang,” at every show. But, we later realized that we just can’t be fed up with it. Fans love to hear their favorite songs. Now after ten years, we’re still trying to balance what the fans want and what we want.

I have great memories of music festivals. Once in Hua Hin, people were standing in the sea to watch us as the tide was coming in.

I use my everyday life to communicate with people through my songs. It’s like a diary.

Anything can make me feel down, from fighting with my girlfriend to issues with my family. They want me to take over the family business. I still can’t figure out how to bring it together with my music.

I go to bed very late. It’s a good time to do things like write songs, listen to music or surf the net. I just watched Dae Jang Geum on Youtube because I was curious why people are so crazy about this series. Turns out, I love it!

I have started growing a goatee because I admire Yokee Playboy. I won’t keep it forever but I would feel weird if I didn’t have it on my face now.

I don’t like confrontation. If I get mad, I just walk away. Changing locations usually dissolves any bad feelings.

I would love to have an exhibition because I love to paint. But I don’t feel confident about showing my work. Many artists are better than me but don’t get the acceptance they deserve.

Bangkok is a hectic city but it’s full of opportunity. Everything is right here.

I would give more support to music and arts if I were governor. If we have more of these things, kids would be better at thinking for themselves and not just follow trends easily. We wouldn’t have the Krispy Kreme phenomenon if kids learned to be different.

Love is a good inspiration. It gives us a goal. It can help us discover things about ourselves that we never knew we had inside. Interview by Monruedee Jansuttipan and Rattikarn Suwithayaphan