My year started with… having my wisdom tooth pulled out which wasn’t fun but I had to do it; better now than in the summer!

Now I am taking sometime to… to work on new releases after a year of hectic touring. I'm back on tour at the moment and answering this interview traveling by airplane from Leeds to Skopje.

My musical style is best described as… trance in the broadest sense. I don't like boxes and feel that music can become most interesting when it's approached with an open mind.

I think technology is… shaped by our own requirements as we are becoming busier people. The future is "on demand," and it makes sense. The Internet has paved the way for delivering media instantly to your device of choice.

The most memorable gigs I played were at…Trance Energy in Netherlands, closing for Tiesto at Asta, a legendary nightclub where I was a resident at for many years, and doing my first tours in North America, Asia and Australia.

At my upcoming gig at Zouk, you can expect… energy and flow. I will be telling a story that brings together tracks that I have made with modern dance music, classics and "gems" that have an inexplicable effect on the dance floor.

My last words are… let go.

Let yourself go with Menno De Jong on Mar 19, 10pm. Zouk, 17 Jiak Kim St., 6738-2988. $23-28 includes two drinks.

My year started with… having my wisdom tooth pulled out which wasn’t fun but I had to do it; better now than in the summer!

Now I am taking sometime to… to work on new releases after a year of hectic touring. I'm back on tour at the moment and answering this interview traveling by airplane from Leeds to Skopje.

My musical style is best described as… trance in the broadest sense. I don't like boxes and feel that music can become most interesting when it's approached with an open mind.

I think technology is… shaped by our own requirements as we are becoming busier people. The future is "on demand," and it makes sense. The Internet has paved the way for delivering media instantly to your device of choice.

The most memorable gigs I played were at…Trance Energy in Netherlands, closing for Tiesto at Asta, a legendary nightclub where I was a resident at for many years, and doing my first tours in North America, Asia and Australia.

At my upcoming gig at Zouk, you can expect… energy and flow. I will be telling a story that brings together tracks that I have made with modern dance music, classics and "gems" that have an inexplicable effect on the dance floor.

My last words are… let go.

Let yourself go with Menno De Jong on Mar 19, 10pm. Zouk, 17 Jiak Kim St., 6738-2988. $23-28 includes two drinks.

Where are you now, and what have you been up to?
At the moment I’m in Arizona. Been up to a whole lot of nothing really, kind of taking care of all the stuff that we missed out on when we were on tour. Catching up with friends, taking kids out to baseball practice ... things like that.

What’s the weirdest thing that’s happened to you while on tour?
We got into the after-party for the MTV Music Awards in Europe and we got to meet Jimmy Page. It was a very brief meeting and he was great and all but I doubt he would remember. You know, close human contact with Jimmy Page, that was exciting, weird and "wow." It must have been in 2004 or 2005…

What’s the craziest audience you’ve performed for so far?
We played a show once in Laguna Montana, which was a very small city in the middle of nowhere and we played at this really nice place—really old seats, old theater, and I wasn’t expecting much. But it was definitely one of the rowdiest crowds I’ve ever seen—people are moshing and crowd-surfing. I don’t know how it was even possible because there were seats everywhere … people were just hell-bent on going crazy.

Best part about being in Jimmy Eat World?
I think just being able to play music for this long is probably the best thing. We realize that it’s a fragile thing, you know, not everyone gets the chance to do what they want to do every day. And we’re really grateful for that, that we’ve been able to do that for a while now.

And the worst part?
I think now that our kids are getting a little bit older (the drummer and I both have kids), it’s a little bit tough when we’re gone for a really long time for work. I think that’s probably the worst part. It's a mixed blessing that we get to go for tours that last for a long time, but it’s also suffering to be touring for so long and there’re a lot of things happening.

If you woke up tomorrow and found that you’ve lost your voice, what would you do?
I’d start an instrumental band. You know, I don’t have any illusions … I’m pretty certain that I won’t be playing in a rock ‘n’ roll band forever. But I know I’ll be doing something with music, you know, until I have absolutely no physical capacity to do so.

If you had to do it all over again, what would you change?
I’d probably pick a different band name.

What would it be?
I don’t know, anything. Some one-syllable thing so that no one would ever ask us how we got our name.

Message for your fans?
We’re really excited to come and play! Performing in new places has always been an important thing for us.

Catch Jimmy Eat World Live in Singapore for the first time on Apr 1, 8pm at The Coliseum, Hard Rock Hotel, Resorts World Sentosa, 6577-8899. $115-140 from Sistic.

I’m from Chiu Chow. I moved to Hong Kong when I was 10 to live with my parents and three brothers, who immigrated earlier.

In China I did really well in school. But when I got here things were more difficult because I had never learned English before in my life.

I first realized I was pretty when I was in secondary school. Random guys on the street would try to flirt with me and my classmates began giving me compliments.

In Form 4, I became a part-time model. When I graduated from Form 5, I started working in a boutique full-time, but I realized pretty quickly that there were no prospects there. No matter how well you do there, you will never be able to escape from that tiny store.

I suck at selling other people’s products. Yes, what I’m doing now in a way is selling myself to promote other products. But I’m interested in this, and I’ll spend the time and energy to do it right.

About four years ago, I went full-time. Encouraged by my modeling agency, I started taking part in competitions. It was a great experience and I learned a lot about presenting yourself in front of a big crowd.

I never intended to get this “bikini girl” image. When I went full time, I tried out a few styles, but this is the one people liked. Naturally, people wanted me for that again and again. That’s fine. It’s not like just anyone can be me.

I love myself and my body. If I dislike my body, how am I going to convince other people to like it?

Magazine writers may not like me, but it’s important to remember they don’t represent the whole of Hong Kong.

I’m not very bright. So I still don’t really have a long-term goal in my life. The only thing I can do is strive to improve myself everyday. I do see show business as a life-long career, and I’m determined to succeed in it.

I can’t really change the way people see me. You can only do that very gradually. Once you’re the sexy doll, people will only think of your sex appeal and won’t be interested in the other million things you do.

I’ve been attacked by many people in show business too, not just the media. In this industry, we’re routinely forced to do or say something we might not want to do.

I feel grateful for all the criticism. Without it, I wouldn’t be in the newspapers everyday.

The special “Chrissie Chau pillow” is super huggable and very comfortable and my company is receiving orders for it nonstop.

I never said I liked to be in men’s sexual fantasies, I just said I can’t control what they think. People can like me in whatever ways they want to. Even the most innocent girl in the most proper outfit can become their sex object.

Hong Kong as a city can be open and welcoming. But the individual people in Hong Kong like to say one thing and do another. I believe many people don’t mind what I do, but when they realize people around them are more conservative, they change their opinions to fit in.

I’d never do nudity. There are some sexy stars I look up to, and they don’t have to take all of their clothes off. Angelina Jolie is a good example.

Everyone thinks of me as a sex icon. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the less clothes I wear the sexier I become, or vice versa.

People keep reminding me that there is a price to pay for being successful. It’s inevitable that I’ll lose some of my freedom. But I have to accept that and stay happy.

There was a time when I was shaken and scared by the people around me, and everything they were saying. But then I thought, if this is something I really want, why don’t I just do it instead of regretting it later?

Do whatever you want when you’re still young. You have to stay true to yourself and your faith.
 

Chrisse Chau is playing a DJ set at Richbaby on Friday March 18.

How would you describe your sound to those who haven’t heard your music before?
We play a kind of nomad-rock. It’s basically music without limits. We get a lot of influences from gypsy and old European music, and we put a modern spin on them with elements from more modern sounds like hip hop and electro.

Tell us about your many instruments.
We play acoustic instruments like horns, sax, gypsy guitar, and we mix them with keyboards, loops, electric guitar and bass. The point is to create an authentic sound at the core of a modern sound.

You guys look pretty stylish. Who inspires you when it comes to fashion?
We love the whole steam-punk fashion trend. It’s a kind of mix between old and futuristic styles. We love to talk about retro-futurism, so it’s cool to go on the stage looking like this and then talk about our travel between time and continents with our surrealistic caravan.

What can we expect to see at your gig here?
We play world music and music for the whole world. So, it’s all very international in terms of the sounds and lyrics. We’d like to invite everybody to come inside our caravan, travel with us in time and space. Dance, sing and just have fun!

Catching up with quirky French band La Caravane Passe at Music Day (La Fête de la Musique)

Technique & medium: A still from a video multimedia presentation.

Tell us about this exhibition
The main concept is to portray my family’s beliefs and traditions in raising female family members. The name of the show, Possessed/Poach, is a push-and-pull between active and passive, which reflects my attempt to come to terms with myself and my gender as perceived by my family and the people surrounding me.

What inspires it?
The art-making process to me is like I’m having a conversation with myself. Sometimes it can even turn into a self-scrutiny. For this show, the dialogue has become a lot more intense. Several questions came up, some of which I could answer, some of which I couldn’t. I began to question the rules and regulations in life. The most crucial thought, however, is how I am treated by my female relatives.

What’s a background to this piece?
This is a screen capture taken from my VDO titled Online Processing. It’s a metaphor, aiming to reflect that instant connection between two distant objects. It’s also based on the belief that female family members have to be raised by those of the same sex to please our ancestors.

Who are the women here?
The woman on the left is my mother and that’s me on the right. I make it a point to appear in all of my video works because they’re all based on my own experience.

What do you hope to achieve with this exhibition?
To address some of the questions I’ve had regarding how I was raised. At the same time, it also serves as a reminder to myself and others to accept their family the way they are.

Keeping up with Posessed/Poach Exhibition at Tang Contemporary Art

No one in Carabao ever expected we would come this far. It’s been 30 years now.

We didn’t even know what category our music was. We were just doing music the way we wanted.

Each member of our band is like they were sent by god. We just met and then played together. Luckily, they are all good musicians.

We grew up in the era of vinyl, LPs and cassettes­­—it was our time of huge success. We sold at least a million copies of each album. But all the success seemed to collapse when the digital age arrived. There were so many problems with pirated copies and these days people don’t just want to listen, they want visuals as well.

I accept all change. As Lord Buddha said, “All that is certain is uncertainty.”

I came from the process of political struggle. I cultivated a political ideology. I couldn’t help but talk about problems in life, society and spirit in our songs.

Later I wrote songs about love. It was after I realized that real life isn’t only about politics but also the human side of people.

I am trying a personal revolution after failing to lead society to revolution. I thought that if we went out onto the street it would make society better, more democratic. But today it is all dirt. There are colors making chaos and trouble everywhere. It’s not true democracy.

Our country was still illiterate when we implemented democracy. True democracy happens in a country that’s already advanced in human rights and freedom. We don’t understand the core of democracy. It’s like bread for us who eat rice. People just take the money to vote this way or that. It makes the system crappy.

I am worried for our youth. I don’t want them to be duped in politics and in life. Children might think these people are wonderful but, in fact, they’re saints with wicked hearts.

I want them to learn from our lessons. I might make an album to remind them about our political struggles over the past 30 years.

Don’t rely on the Prime Minister alone. Abhisit’s just an academic. He’s a good person to be prime minister but he is not great at everything. We need to help him.

I used to help Thaksin but he got himself in trouble. Thailand has space for everyone but not enough space for one rogue.

Every part of society has to fix problems together, especially the citizens. All the areas of society are weak. Public servants or politicians don’t serve people, they just look after themselves. It’s like in boxing, when they do deals to try and protect their belts.

Life as a musician is a happy life because we make others happy through our songs.

I won’t let fights spoil our anniversary concert. Last time, we had no experience about controlling crowds. If it happens again I will kill myself.

I decided to make an energy drink [Carabaodaeng] because I saw an uncertain life in music.

I don’t know how to do business, so when I met Satian Setthasit [owner of Tawandaeng Brewery] who had a recipe for an energy drink, I totally threw myself behind it.

Our band can keep playing for another 20 years. We might play until our 70s. I might retire in a coffin.

I think my life experiences are interesting enough for children to listen what I say. They will then have a chance to decide to be something like me or better than me in whatever they want.

No life is easy. I used to wake up at four or five am to play guitar until my fingers were numb. I didn’t know about musical notes so I decided to go back and learn even though we’d already had a huge success from the Made in Thailand album.

I dream of making an international album in English, sung with my rural accent. Now I am writing an English song. If possible, I want to work with international artists like Santana, Neil Young or Bruce Springsteen.

New musicians, don’t think there is no one watching you. To be successful, you have to find your own identity. There are lots of bands in the pool but there are few bands with any real chance. You have to be serious about it.

Teaching children to be honest is a noble virtue that creates their prosperity.

BK: What is your background?
Thanwa: I was born in Pakse, Laos and studied at an international school there before entering the National University in Vientiane. I grew up watching a lot of movies because my family business is video rental.

BK: How did you decide to be an actor in Thailand?
Thanwa: I had dinner with friends last Songkran at a restaurant and I realized that there was a man staring at me the whole time. It really scared me and I thought he had some kind of problem with us. So I ate quickly and jumped onto my motorcycle because it seemed like he was following me. A couple of days later, my friend gave my number to the owner of the restaurant after that man asked the owner to get my number if I came back. So he called me and asked, “Do you know P’A? He’s the manager of Mario Maurer.” And I said no. Then he said he’s a friend of A-Suppachai Sriwichit, a famous agent, but I didn’t buy it. He didn’t give up, though, and asked for my mom phone’s number to talk to her. A week later, my mom called and said the star scout wanted to meet me in person at home. After we met, I decided to come to Thailand to study film at Rangsit University and work as an actor.

BK: Were you worried about moving far from your home?
Thanwa: Yes, I was. It’s like my whole world changed. But in another way, I think it’s kind of cool to live and make money on my own. I haven’t come here only to be an actor, but also to study as well, so it’s like studying abroad.

BK: Any culture shock?
Thanwa: A lot! I understand Thai but I can’t read or write it. P’A hired a teacher to teach me Thai and I had to practice writing Thai from kindergarten textbooks. I really wanted to come to Thailand to learn about the culture because I admire how Thai people respect and love their king. I was stunned and so inspired by the image of millions of people gathered for the celebration of his 60 years on the throne.

BK: Tell us about your first movie Hak Na Sarakham?
Thanwa: It’s like a dream come true because I always wanted to star in a movie that my father would actually watch. I play Thep, a heartthrob in university, who acts like a K-pop figure and doesn’t speak Isaan even though his parents are totally mo lam. The movie is about being who you are, and not being shy about expressing your roots. I want to make my own movie one day. That’s my dream.

You can’t run fast in heels no matter how hard you try, you know. Not even Angelina Jolie, who has a trailer and works like, five minutes a day. The stuntmen in Hollywood might slow down for her but Dinesh, Uncle Cheong and Carl are not going to slow down for me! I know how they are.

New York is the city of broken dreams. I always get very horrified when I see 45-year old women still waitressing and waiting for their big gig. By my eighth or ninth year there, I was already like, “What am I doing?!”

The American mentality perpetuates self-belief so you always think that you’re going to make it. They never think that they might suck. We are always told that we suck, we’re no good and we can never do it but there they’re like, “Oh you’re great, you can definitely do it.”

People here have it too easy. They live with their parents, which means they never have to worry about their rent.

What gives you the impression that I’m a drama queen? There are a lot of actors like that but I try not to hang around them because they drive me crazy.

I have terribly stubborn, stick-straight Asian hair. It just doesn’t curl. When shooting Point of Entry, I told them, “Look, I just cannot have curly hair.” It looks good on screen and all, and I know men have this obsession with curls but it was such hell! My hair went back to being straight every two hours!

Vain men don’t do it for me. Definitely not actors because they’re all vain even if they refuse to admit it. I also don’t like people who talk a lot. I have a terrible sense of humor. What most people find funny I don’t. If you keep joking all day, it would severely annoy me.

I always thought I’d have an easier life as a guy. First of all, guys don’t have to hide behind all that makeup and high heels. Much as I love beautiful clothes, I think the whole shopping experience is traumatic. As a woman, you have to compete with everyone else in terms of appearance, which I think is a complete waste of time.

My male cousins would always bully me by doing things like throw my bag into the dustbin. And because I had to be such a guy about it I had to pretend to be okay. I was always competitive with the boys. I thought whatever they could do wasn’t so much better than what I could. I never felt like I was one level below.

I hate the sound of plastic bags crinkling. My mom, who is a plastic bag fanatic, likes to pack things inside a plastic bag inside a plastic bag inside a plastic bag. When I go on a trip with her, in the hotel room, all I hear is the crinkling of plastic bags! It really drives me insane.

I was vegetarian for five days. I didn’t realize that my options were so severely limited. Anyway, I did it and it’s over. How I felt throughout the experience? Very hungry.

I swam with weights under water for a film and almost drowned. I have this tendency to forget to zip my fly. My friends are the ones who always notice but I have very thick skin so it embarrasses them more than it embarrasses me.

We’ve seen classic cocktails return. Now it seems molecular is getting hotter. Classic cocktails have never gone out of style and now, they’re getting new twists. This is why we now see this hot trend of classic cocktail reinterpretation. Molecular cocktails might draw the attention of the media and the public, but they’re complex to make and don’t wow guests either. Even in London, the best cocktail city in the world, there are only two bars that specialize in molecular cocktails. They’re mostly for bartenders to show off their skills or for competitions.

What’s the next big cocktail trend?
No one can predict the future, but I think that the next big trend will be “Bar Chef cocktails.” By this I mean that bartenders, just like great chefs, will be searching for the best ingredients (not only base spirits but also the sub-ingredients), studying them and creating cocktails that perfectly pair with food.

What do you think of drinking cocktails with food? What works?
Just like wine, all drinks go well with food. And in some ways, cocktails pair with food even better than wine. The key tastes of cocktails—sweet, sour, bitter, umami and ABV [alcohol by volume]—demonstrate a fantastic match with food tastes, such as sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami and spicy. From a health perspective, the alcohol destroys proteins and vitamins and must be supplemented with food, which also gives you a good reason to enjoy drinks with food.

A lot of cocktail consultants come in to new places, design the cocktail menu, train staff for a week, and then leave. What do you think of this?
Bar consultancy is now a hip trend. However, if you do it wrong, then that’s just fraud. To give an analogy, consulting is like raising a baby. It’s split into two parts. Before the bar’s opening is like being pregnant, and after the bar’s opening is like rearing the child. So to provide real consultancy, consultants should take care of everything from pre-opening to post-opening, until the bar is stable and well managed. I’ve seen many bars struggling when missing this balance.

You’ve written a lot about excellent single malts. Is that something you use in cocktails? Or should quality spirits only be had neat?
It’s up to you. Single malts can be enjoyed neat, on the rocks or in cocktails based on the tasting notes. Cocktails can enhance the beauty and strength of a specific single malt while hiding its weakness. However, expensive or aged whiskies with subtle difference are better just enjoyed with good water. In fact, regardless of the price, whisky is a mixture of 40% alcohol and 59% water, meaning that 99% [of every whisky] is the same. Customers make huge investments for that subtle 1% of difference. So to best enjoy the 1%, I recommend that you drink it with just water.

What’s your favorite drink?
I respect and celebrate the diversity of whiskies, and my favorites differ depending on the company that I’m with, the place and atmosphere. If I’m drinking alone, my top choice would be Talisker 18. I love the beautiful balance of its peat, smoky and dried fruits aroma.