Music is the only constant in my life. It’s so great that I’ve been able to play music with my friends over the last 25 years. Many people don’t realize that NUVO is still a really active band as most of our gigs are now in pubs.

 

Pay attention to your work, not to achieving success. Many musicians only care about being successful and give up when they don’t reach their expectations. Just keep working and don’t worry about the outcome.

 

Pursuing several creative outlets at the same time is healthy. Apart from NUVO, I play in another band with other friends called Benja Band. We only play classic rock songs from international rock legends like Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. It’s my sweet escape from playing ultra-Thai pop songs with NUVO.

 

I plan to slow down my hectic life. Over 25 years in this industry, my life has never been calm. I’ve been busy juggling playing music with other work like acting, voice-overs, and composing songs.

 

I don’t see myself working this hard into my 50s. Although my schedule is full until the end of the year, I plan to focus on the things that I love in the next two years. Now I don’t have time for my parents, my friends, even my long-time girlfriend.

 

I will be fucking mad and never forgive myself if later on I do something and there’s no one there to share it with. I will be like,

“What the fuck was I doing? Why did I need so much money?”

 

I work 40 days a month. Normal office people work about eight hours a day, but I do 14-15 hours a day.

 

Respecting those who work with you is the key to lasting in this industry. Imagine working on the set of a TV series or movie; there are 40-50 people working there at the same time. So you can’t be late or act like a diva, you’ll only be a burden on their lives.

 

I feel blessed to be a part of The Voice. It’s such a good competition where all the contenders are truly talented. This year it’s really tough. More than 8,000 people auditioned and so many of them are brilliant.

 

Playing live music out of town is kind of a vacation for me. Like if I go to Chiang Mai, I would fly there around 11am and get some down-time at the hotel or stroll around town looking for good food before taking to the stage at night with my friends. That’s what I call a holiday.

 

My next plan is to travel. I want to take my loved ones somewhere like India for a few weeks or enjoy a chill time with my parents by the sea. At the moment, though, I have no idea when this can happen. Just looking at the calendar makes me feel exhausted.

 

I love to go to deserted places, away from technology. I like places where there’s no mobile signal, like up in the mountains or in national parks. When people can’t reach you, you have nothing to worry about. It’s a real vacation.

 

Trying to understand others can make your life easier. You can’t avoid meeting annoying people but if you consider what they might be facing, you feel a little bit better. Like when I drive and encounter a bad bus driver, I think to myself they’ve had to drive in that hot bus since the early morning. They have already stepped on that clutch more than a thousand times, stopping at every bus stop and traffic jam. I feel no need to rant anymore.

 

Cycling is my favorite exercise. Running on the treadmill is so boring, just seeing the same buildings out the window. Riding a bike brings back so many old memories from when you were young, only now the bikes are fancier.

 

Bangkok should become a bike city, as cars can’t move around anymore. There was a time when Bangkok had rush hour in the morning and evening but now there’s bad traffic all day. It’s often quicker to go by bike, anyway.

 

The only thing that sucks about riding here is the heat. Many office workers want to ride to work but there’s no shower there for them to get changed before work.

 

Getting married is not an option for me. A wedding is just a social tradition. It’s got nothing to do with two people spending their life together as a couple. Spending millions on a wedding and then getting divorced a few years later is just embarrassing.

 

Protecting your privacy is your responsibility. Many celebrities have privacy problems, but I don’t. If you don’t bring your personal life into the spotlight, then people will respect your privacy.

 

Taking care of yourself is the most important thing in life. When you’re healthy and strong, you will be able to take care of your loved ones.