BK: How did you become a doctor?
Since high school, my parents wanted me to be doctor. At first I wasn’t interested because I wanted to be an architect or an engineer, but after thinking about it, I came around, knowing that I would be able to help people.

BK: What made you start posting on YouTube and Facebook?
In my daily life, my friends were always asking me health-related questions. It makes sense since I’m a doctor. However, it does get repetitive because a lot of people ask the same questions. Also, while there are several health programs on television, I felt that they’re too stiff and technical, so people get bored and don’t really understand what they are talking about. Because of that, I started posting on YouTube and Facebook, so that anyone with health issues would be able to know what to do.

BK: Has anyone ever doubted you are a real doctor?
When I first started my YouTube channel, a lot of people were making comments about whether or not I was really a doctor.

BK: Did you expect to go viral?
Not at all. I didn’t advertise it. I never could expected there would be so many people interested.

BK: Have you ever been hit on by a patient?
To be honest, yes. There was a patient who asked me out to dinner before, but I didn’t agree.

BK: If you were not a doctor, what would you be doing?
I love cafes, especially with bakeries, so I would open my own place.

BK: What are the most common questions you get asked?
People today are much more concerned about their health. The most common are about supplements like vitamins and glutathione.

BK: Are you worried that other doctors will think you make them look bad?
I was at first, but I was always carefully check my scripts to make sure I don’t say anything to upset anyone. I will never make the medical industry look bad. Every doctor I know supports what I’m doing.

BK: Are the patients different on Facebook and YouTube?
Yes. Patients on YouTube tend to be more playful. Sometimes they would watch the video just for fun and leave comments. On Facebook, it’s different. Patients usually visit the page for specific answers. My Facebook fan page is more like a little online medical community.

BK: What’s your plan for the future?
I’ve written a couple of pocket books but I got a little bored. However, my mood for making another is back. I want to write one just about life –nothing to do with health.

You’ve been touring a lot. How’s life on the road?
Had a couple of rough patches to be honest. Heavy travel has been quite draining. Got really sick at one point this year, and I think everyone has been pretty ill. But it’s getting pretty easy now. We’re sort of over our rough traveling part, so it’s all smooth sailing from here.

Are you excited about coming to Bangkok?
Excited and confused. It’s quite overwhelming going to a country that you are basically completely ignorant of – you just have to kind of sit there on Wikipedia all the time- like figuring out what it’s all about. It’s pretty amazing. It’s a privileged lifestyle to be honest.

It’s the first time to SEA for you, but not for your front woman?
Yeah it’s my first time. And this whole year of touring has been my first time out of NZ so it’s kind of mind blowing.

Best part of your rise to success in this past year?
Becoming a successful band outside of NZ is like a massive, whopping achievement. I never really expected to be doing what I’m doing, on the scale that I am, so the whole thing is quite amazing and thrilling. Very, very satisfying feeling to be living and working as an artist. It’s kind of living the dream.

How was Glastonbury?
It was cool, but it was the same sort of thing as every other festival to be honest. It’s just much more massive – such a grand scale. There are many stages – I can’t even remember how many stages there are. Got to venture around and get covered in mud. It was good fun.

You’ve been compared to Arcade Fire and MGMT … how would you describe your sound?
It feels pretty flattering to be a part of that music culture that is essentially the stuff that is inspiring for us. And Arcade Fire was an alternative band that became a pop band –that’s a place where I would love to end up. I’ve always just thought we were a rock band in the most generic sense. A lot of rock bands end up having different names and falling under different genres. I don’t know… it’s alternative music, and we are a rock band in my head. I never wanted to start an electro-pop band or anything like that.

What was the first album you ever bought when you were a kid?
I didn’t buy it. I got given it. It was Tool – Aenima. I was about 9 or 10 years old.

Do you have a music idol or someone that first inspired you to get into the business?
It was never really a business decision for me, especially coming from a place like NZ, where you can’t essentially make a living from music even if you are a very popular artist. It’s very hard to make any substantial career year to year. Because you can do it for one year, then it comes to an end.
For me I just always wanted to be writing music and to be a writer. And it was based on growing up and listening to music. I was a music kid. I was a rock kid. Played guitar. There were a whole bunch of bands that were a big influence on me. I’ve just always been a big alternative music fan.
When I first heard Massive Attack it sort of opened a whole bunch of doors for me. Nine Inch Nails- that’s a really big one. And heavy rock bands like Tool and A Perfect Circle. That kind of alternative hard rock –it was a lot of what I grew up on. Alternative music in general is inspiring.
One of my favorite artists now would have to be Bon Iver. I thrashed that album – the latest one. I listened to it all year.

So what’s up next for you guys? Are you working on anything new?
Yeah, I’ve been getting us ready to start rehearsing album two stuff. And I’ve been writing bits and pieces and sort of finishing off old demos of the years gone by. We’ve done a couple of remixes as well. So I always hope to have been able to do more but the reality of touring is that it’s just very hard to find inspiration because you are so tired all the time and just basically trying to look for food. There’s a lot of material to start with for album two, and at demo time, which is before the American tour, we are basically just going to hang out and demo and rehearse and muck about with music. Start from scratch.

Do you have any interest in playing more festivals?
We did a lot of festivals this year. There is a festival season in UK and all throughout Europe. Things like Wireless Festival and Dot To Dot. Hundreds of festivals. So we were just touring and doing our own shows, but every second day we were at a different festival . That sort of experience is a different style of touring to doing our own shows. Festival shows are so much more concise. And quite a challenge, to be honest. To get all the production right and play the right set at the right time. I think the next album we will definitely go back to the festival circuit again. Alternative music culture seems to thrive on the live music scene and even more so now on the festivals. It’s such a huge part of what the industry is about now. And it’s kind of the bread and butter for a lot of artists now. Doing a festival circuit is where a lot of the bills get paid and the commerce side of being an artist. So it’s pretty important for everyone involved.

Do you have a favorite track that you like to play in the live shows?
It’s different, it changes all the time. It’s like picking your favorite child: It’s kind of wrong.
It’s infinitely flattering and gratifying performing ‘Young Blood’ because of what the song has done for us and how it has connected people. For me, I find it strange when you see a band who has a hit and they get pissed off playing it live because that’s the one the audience responds to and that’s the one that got you where you are. That always strikes me as a little bit juvenile when bands get pissed off at that. Cause they do. Like Nirvana getting frustrated at playing ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ A lot of bands get really pissed off playing their big hit. And they kind of resent it and end up disliking it, but I don’t feel like that at all about ‘Young Blood.’ It’s pretty amazing being able to play that song.

Do you listen to Thai music at all…do you know of any groups?
No, to be honest I have to just plead ignorance here and say that I was raised in a very isolated part of the world. New Zealand is not like any other country in that it is completely disconnected from outside influences and its almost quite a narcissistic country – no, it’s a wonderful place to grow up in; you can dream big in New Zealand. It’s just so culturally isolated that you don’t hear stuff. It’s really hard to hear other music, to get films, to actually know someone who is bilingual. We only speak English.

With all your research that you’ve been doing on Bangkok, is there anything that you want see or are particularly excited to do while you’re here?
I’m not actually sure what our schedule is, to be honest. When we get there, I’ll start thinking about it.

I like it hard when it comes to… fast cars.

The last time I danced… it’s been completely erased out of my memory as that has been a looong, looong time ago. DJs just don't dance.

To work up the crowd… I drop some big tunes and take them on my musical madness trip.

My last best gig was… at the last New Years Eve in London at O2 Academy Brixton. It was incredible with the atmosphere in a sold out O2.

My poison of choice is… Moet & Chandon. Well I don't hate anyone that much to use real poison.

Girls to me are… very necessary on the dance floor, and are something we boys can't do without.

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

Get pumped up at the Alter feat. Marcel Woods gig at Avalon.
 

I dreamt of being a diplomat as a kid, so I tried to get into Thammasat University to study international relations.

I was a teenager in the midst of Thailand’s political unrest in the 1970s. Most of the incidents happened in and around my university.

The unrest made me change my studies from international relations to mass communication. I realized that the information from inside the university was completely distorted when it was reported by TV stations or the radio.

I realized the media are so powerful. They can change what people think. After working in the mass media for more than 30 years, I now know that there is no other profession where you can say something and have millions of people listen to you. This is the influence of the media. If you are a diplomat, you can only talk to a certain group of people.

I was self-trained in directing stage plays while working at AUA [American University Association Language Center]. Back then the stage play circle was very small. Shows would only get 10-20 people turning up to watch.

Kru Lek [Patravadi Meechuthon] asked me to join her team. She wanted to make lakorn for Channel 3 where actors had to remember their lines instead of relying on staff to whisper the words to them. That’s soulless acting.

I continued working on my stage plays as director until Gai Warayoot Milintachinda, my senior friend at Channel 3, asked me to direct a lakorn.

I turned him down for three years. The last time he asked, I thought “Should I give myself a chance?” and finally agreed. I promised myself that I would do my best, then when it was a failure I wouldn’t have any doubts.

I really loved my first lakorn Sai See Plerng because the leading female character was a real bitch. It was new for audiences that the nang-ek is bad. It turned out to be one of the most successful. We got so many awards.

I did a lakorn about corruption ruining a country, a love story called Prakasit Ngerntra. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) liked it because it was telling people about the vileness of corruption. They asked me to join them, and I’ve worked with them for nearly 10 years now.

We’re trying to make a new generation abhor corruption. To see it as a disgusting thing that the older generation has created.

Corruption is the worst crime in this country. It doesn’t matter how much you take from others, even if it’s just one baht, it means you are corrupt.

We have laws; you have rights to speak out about corruption. We are taxpayers so we have the right to monitor our money. Everyone should speak out as this crime hurts our country. That’s why we created a competition to make short films about corruption [www.nacc-shortfilm-contest.com], to highlight the need to speak out.

I felt being a director wasn’t fun anymore, so, in 2001, I decided to move from Channel 3 to work at Channel 7. I wanted to be a producer. I didn’t want to be a boat staying safe in the calm water. I wanted to explore the ocean and discover new horizons.

If Channel 7 didn’t want me, I would go back to the thing that I love most, stage plays. I will do that until I die. Fortunately, Channel 7 accepted me.

I directed a movie Likitrak Katjaimae, which flopped, but it’s fine, at least I tried.

The lowest point of my life would be when my lakorn was put on hold for 10 months. I had to pay all my bills and my employees salaries. I had to work other jobs, directing stage plays and teaching in university to survive.

Lakorn or movies would be nothing without editors. You film them in a random order, jumping from scene to scene. They have to put it all together.

The charm of directing is getting to know new people. When I read a script I want to understand the characters as if they are real human beings.

I love directing stage plays because they are alive. You have real people on the stage, real flesh and blood, the audience can watch them. It is not like lakorn, which is watching the past of those actors’ lives. Watching a stage play means you’re alive, too.

I might stop directing in a couple years; I now feel I need to give back. I am now lecturing at universities, teaching mass communication and acting. It’s the happiest job for me now.

I want to study drawing and singing. I’ve never sung well in my life.

BK: What do you sell at JJ market?
Anne: I have been selling house decorations and lamps for 10 years.

BK: How much do you pay per month for rent?
Anne: I’ve got two stalls, the one on the inside is B35,000 and the one outside is B40,000 per month.

BK: Is there a middle man you have to go through?
Anne: The middle man here would be the actual owner of the rooms. They have to pay their rent to the BMA and most of them allow others to rent out their spaces. For instance, I’m renting my two rooms from someone else, so the rent I pay is up to the actual owner.

BK: Are there any mafia-style gangs involved at the market?
Anne: There isn’t any actual mafia that I know of, but many middle men are like the mafia. Each owner is allowed to have two rooms at the market, but most cut corners by having their family members buy out additional rooms. One owner could own as many rooms as they want and can charge any amount on rent. It’s the vendors who suffer.

BK: How do you feel now that the SRT will be running things?
Anne: I feel good because the BMA doesn’t place much importance on the vendors. They would often make new rules involving vendors having to pay more each year. For instance, they made a rule stating that vendors selling in the areas outside had to pay additional rent because there are more people there.

BK: How do other tenants you know feel about this?
Anne: They feel the same way that I do. We feel that the BMA has been taking advantage of us. They always tried to cut corners and collect more money when they can, and even then they still owe money to the SRT. It raises the question, where did all the money go?

BK: What are some of the biggest problems you and other tenants have in common?
Anne: Right now the biggest problem is selling our products. During the protests and the flood, JJ was like a ghost town, there was hardly anyone there.

BK: What is your biggest concern now that the SRT is in charge?
Anne: What the SRT team will be like. For now, we don’t know anything about them. We don’t know how long they will let vendors rent rooms; we don’t know if they will be stricter or more flexible.

BK: What do you want the SRT to change most about JJ?
Anne: I want them to allow vendors renting spaces to become the actual owners. If their contract ends, they won’t be able to sell things at the market anymore. It’s something we’re all worried about.

BK: Who would you have running the market the SRT or the BMA?
Anne: Even though I don’t know how the SRT will run things, they own the place and I’m sure they’ll do a better job than the BMA. I would definitely go for the SRT.

My parents raised my younger brother and I like hippies. They never forced us to be what they wanted.

Just once, my mom asked me to do something. She asked me to finish getting my degree. I nearly dropped out because my grades were really bad. I had to score thirteen as in a row to pass, but I made it.

I speak too fast. My mom took me to see the doctor because she was worried that I had some condition but the doctor said I was normal. I speak fast because I think fast. I have to say everything before another idea comes out.

I love to push things to a certain point. Then I lose interest. Like when I played tennis, I made it until I went to the junior open then I dropped out. I just wanted to see what it was like.

I hated the music industry after seeing every celebrity get recruited to be a singer, no matter whether they were models or boxers. That’s ridiculous.

I loved to write poems and got awards at school. So when my friends started playing music, I offered to write lyrics for them.

Those songs brought us a first record deal. One of my friends showed our songs to the record company and they loved it, even though we couldn’t play that well.

I was stubborn. I refused to sing “Ta Klom Klom” at first. I told the producer that the song was too pop. I had grown up with Nirvana! But they begged us to do it, so we agreed to record it just once. We said, no matter how bad it is, we won’t fix it or re-record it. It became our most successful single.

When I look back, I feel our first songs fucking sucked. I really hated them. Those who are real musicians will know that we were just crazy kids who played like morons. My friend used an electronic guitar to play an acoustic song. I mean, what the fuck? I recently ran out from a pub because I couldn’t bear to listen to our songs.

And now we’re back, doing music, after being away for eight years. We have more knowledge about music. We’re ready. I enjoy looking at the feedback from both those who love and those who hate our new single, “Korn Wan Sud Thay.”Some say it has a good sound while some say, “What the hell is this song?”

Music doesn’t reflect who you are anymore. I grew up in an era where everyone showed their identity through music, like by dressing grungy like Nirvana, or dressing as a rapper when they listened to hip-hop. Now you’ll see guys dressing like Way Thaitanium but they listen to P’Bird.

One thing that never changes after being in entertainment for more than ten years is that I won’t compromise. I won’t do things that I feel are not right. But I will sometimes change my mind about something, if I judged it too quickly.

I used to think acting in lakorn was nonsense so I rejected many offers. I felt that lakorn is just disposable entertainment. They have the production tools in their hands, so why don’t they do good things instead of having bitches slap each other?

My opinion changed after acting in movies. I used to think acting class was retarded but it actually helped me a lot. And now I love acting. I feel like I’m having an orgasm every time the director says, “Cut! It’s a wrap!” Because that means I nailed it.

I’ve never been famous with the mass audience, so I don’t understand what it’s like to be a celebrity. Now, I really don’t understand what’s going on in our society where “celebrity” is an occupation. They just get paid to show up at events, let reporters take photos of them with a product logo behind them—what the fuck is that?

I’m also pissed off when people judge me just because I have a big surname. There are people who post comments on YouTube on our new music video that I have the same last name as “Praewa 9 Bodies” [an underage driver who caused nine deaths in an accident] so it’s like I might be a bad person, too. I want to kick those behind those comments in the face. They judge me even though I didn’t do anything wrong. I intend to do good music, so why is my music dragged into this?

Money is important but how you make it is more important. It’s not about how much, it’s about being proud of what you’ve got. You can be the richest man if you’re happy.

I’m like a gipsy who’ll do any job that comes my way. Sometime I feel that my life is like being on a boat. It can get stormy, but I like it. I just wish the storms didn’t come so often.

I dream of being a husband who has two kids and four dogs. I wish I could have a wife who can grow old with me. We can hold hands, walk on the beach, just like old tourists in Krabi or Phuket. That’s really nice.

As a child, I was constantly surrounded, and still am, by a cast of female characters worthy of their own feature film titled “Ladies with Balls of Steel.”

My gran was the sort of lady who would smack a rogue rat with a cricket bat. My immediate neighbor drank her whisky from gorgeous crystal glasses and had heady parties all the time.

My mom has been known to take off her shoe and hit a would-be molester in the streets.

I wanted to be a ballerina till we did the splits, and an athlete till I broke my toe. Then there was the whole chef period. Now I watch others do it, and call my job TV host?

Strong, stylish women influence me, as do retro architecture and old world glamour. I love the elegance and attitude of old world charm, minus the women as sex object thing so easily accepted by the Mad Men groupies.

Pure kindness and that sort of lion-heartedness that’s almost missing from the world today inspire me.

I have a couple of Indian ragas sent to me by a pal a few years ago that are on constant replay. They are my go-to tunes to clear any brain fog... this brain gets fogged often.

Impeccable manners are incredibly sexy, especially when they’re not obvious.

Wicked wit is a dying art and the to and fro is the best sort of foreplay without an end product.

Dark alleys are like dirty sex, seemingly forbidden.

I abhor cruelty in any manner. It is incredulous that mankind has become so jaded that verbal and physical abuse, dominance over the poor and marginalized, and megalomania, are now virtues.

It is heartening, though, to see the hollow towers crumbling across the globe.

Last night I had a massive plate of nasi goreng in bed in my hotel at 2am after a hugely long shooting day. Yes, it’s the lazy gourmet’s way, but after making love to a camera and talking for 10 hours straight, I earned it, dammit!

When I have time for a routine it needs to start with a cup of tea, allow for me to check Facebook 20 times, and end with an iPad cuddle.

I subscribe to intelligent fairness. Governments and industries have lost the plot in so many ways, are so mired in rhetoric and believing their own bullshit, it’s like watching train wreck reality TV. What happened to the meaning and expression of humanity?

Stop talking. My life is about connecting, talking, listening and learning. When I need to reconnect, I stop, literally. Plus it’s so nice for the people who love me to receive some peace once in a while.

Famous last words? Are you f***ing kidding me!?

The last time I danced... I was probably drunk.

To work up the crowd... I play the best songs.

My last best gig was... too short.

My poison of choice is... sneakers.

I like it hard when it comes to... a back massage.

Girls to me are... cute.

Groove to the De Luca at DISCO:VERY with Aeroplane and Jeremy Boon on January 6 at Velvet Underground.

We are still playing together after all this time because... we love doing it. Absolutely. It’s our greatest joy.

The most memorable gig we’ve had was at... Amsterdam. It was different and the environment was cool. The people were receptive to our original songs—Dutch society is by nature liberal. We busked in the streets, performed at arts events and parties, guested on radio shows and got written about in Dutch magazines one beautiful summer.

Some of our greatest heroes are... bands and artistes off the mainstream. Super groups like The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jethro Tull, Weather Report, The Doors, Darryl Way, Igor Stravinsky… the list goes on. But of course when we first started out, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones inspired us.

The local music scene is... still developing at a snail’s pace. Today, there are more platforms but local bands are still struggling for recognition. Support for original songs is very limited. Local tunes are hardly heard on radio and TV. The concert scene is awashed with international acts, meaning Singaporeans are spoilt for choice and in turn tend to shun homegrown events.

Performing together with The Rolling Stones will be... like making a full circle. Like I said, they were our early influences, and like the time we opened for Bob Dylan in Singapore, it will be a big thrill.

Heritage will still be around... for a few more years at least. We can never predict what’s going to happen. But even if the band doesn’t exist anymore, individually we will still be playing music until we won’t be able to do it.

Late Nite @ Esplanade: Heritage is on January 13 at Esplanade Recital Studio.

How did you get this role?
I was quite lucky because the film’s casting team came to casts students at communication arts faculty, Chulalongkorn University. I’m a student there and I decided to give it a try and was called in for a second casting. There were many people who looked fit for the part, so I tried my best to be myself and Ple Nakorn liked my personality and chose me for the part.

Why did you decide to take part in this movie?
I really like the script of the film, and the personality of the character is easy for me to relate to. It’s also a chance to try something new. Movies are still more truthful about people and better than soap operas.

What do you think of the title Ruk Wei Hei?
When I first heard the movie title, I was confused. But after shooting started, I realized there couldn’t be a more appropriate name for the movie: it’s a mixture of comedy, drama, and a bit of romance hence the playful name Rak Wei Hei [Hey, I Love You] suits it the most.

Are you worried about the movie’s reception?
I try not to put too many expectations into it since it’s my first movie. I did my best and I just want people to enjoy it.

How is acting different from being a VJ?
They’re very different. Being a VJ is not as hard as being an actress. When acting you have to remember lines, arrive on the set early, and be able to control and portray your emotions. My first scene at the shoot was one where I had to cry continuously. It was late and I was very stressed out. It’s hard crying in front of people but it’s even harder to cry continuously knowing everyone’s watching. It was exhausting, but in the end, I finished the scene and felt proud that I was able to do it.

What are some things that people don’t know about you?
I’m very clumsy. Once in a Channel V event at Crystal Design Center, I was running across the stage to hug VJ Pitta, but instead I fell into a hole on stage, hurt my leg badly and cried, not because of the pain but because of my own clumsiness. Also I love to eat, especially when it’s a buffet. Whenever I’m free, I will go online searching for places with interesting buffets and go there with my friends. Another thing most people don’t know is that I’m quite adventurous, I love the outdoors, I enjoy going to markets and I love going to carnivals.

Is it ever awkward getting recognized on the street?
Once I was about the go home from university and a student approached me and asked for directions. He was hitting on me with very lame jokes and asked for my number saying that he found the joke on the internet and wanted to see if it will help him get a woman’s number. I was rather scared.

What’s next?
I want to work in an advertising agency as a copy writer or a media planner, it’s something that I’ve always been interested in and it’s also my field of study. Still, I love my job as a VJ and would definitely continue doing it for as long as I could.