How does performing in a stage play differ from playing in a band?
There are a lot of differences. First of all, you can be yourself when you’re on stage as a musician. You can let your music do the talking. However, in a stage performance, speaking is so important to build a rapport with the audience. The message has to be loud, precise and clear. I think acting is harder than many people think. Personally, I like both but in different ways.

What do you make of the production’s portrayal of a love hexagon?
I was like, “How can I perform this?” when I first saw the script. I can’t begin to imagine what being in a love triangle, or hexagon, is like because I’ve never fallen in love with two or more people at the same time. And none of my friends have had this kind of experience. Personally, it doesn’t seem like a particularly sustainable form of relationship.

Tell us a bit about your role.
My character is Boo Gates, who’s a talkative and annoying nerd. I even did some research about Bill Gates to learn how to portray his personality. But in the end I realized my character is not Bill Gates but Boo Gates.

What’s the hardest thing about acting?
Body language. I haven’t really mastered it yet because I’m used to having an instrument in my hands when I’m playing at a concert. Speaking is also a bit of a problem for me as I tend to shorten words when I talk. I don’t mind if people criticize my performance as that’s just part of the learning process. And the target audience is my fans, after all. It’s meant to be entertaining.

What else have you been up to?
One thing my fans might not know is that I’m really into business. I’m always talking to my friends about investment opportunities, especially House (Sorasak Chanmantana, Slur’s new guitarist and owner of Onion Shop) as he’s already a successful businessman. I recently launched my own business, bigfootsocks, which is all about imported socks. I did this because I think it’s time to do something else apart from being a musician.

When can we expect some new Slur material?
We’ll be back soon enough, I promise. We’ve finished recording 5-6 songs, which we’re probably going to release as singles rather than as part of a full-length album. They are a little more alternative compared to our old songs as we have done a lot of growing up lately. Prepare to be a bit surprised.
Monthakan Chantra