Aussie-born Darren Hayes rose to fame as half of Savage Garden, topping charts—and winning all sorts of awards—with singles “Truly Madly Deeply,” “To the Moon and Back” and “I Want You.” Since his split with bandmate David Jones in 2001, Hayes has been a successful solo artist, and his third album is scheduled for release early next year. Before that, however, Hayes is marking a decade in the business with the requisite retrospective—Truly Madly Completely: The Best of Savage Garden—and world tour, which sets down in Bangkok in July.

I could always sing. I remember being five and thinking that everybody could sing like me.

I was always performing. All the way through school, people paid attention to me when I sang. I liked the attention, I guess that’s why I did it.

I was 19 or 20 when I first got into a band. That was Red Edge, where I met David Jones.

Everything is first-person experience. Everything is personal, relationships, a need to vent.

I look at the world and I feel so much, and I’m glad I have a profession where I can let it out.

The people I’m influenced by aren’t really in the charts now. People like Annie Lennox, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel. In terms of pop, Madonna is amazing, and U2—they have staying power.

I tend to be a bit of a loner when it comes to making music.

When I first started, I wanted to be Number 1 and make a lot of money. Today I’m mostly concerned with the quality of my life and the quality of my music. I want to be able to look back 10 years from now and be proud of my work.

There’re a lot of unhappy faces in show business, and I think life’s
too short for that.

I was genuinely really touched by the reception last time I was in Bangkok. I’ve been around for a while but I haven’t really had a hit in a while—and I’m comfortable with that—but when I was in Bangkok everybody was really nice.

I’ve got a bit of a short-term memory for shows: I always think every show is the best.

I’ve been watching a documentary I did about four years ago that’s coming out later this year and there’s all this footage of me in Mexico coming offstage going, “That was the best show ever!” and yet in Nottingham I’m saying, “I think this was the best show ever!” I think if I ever stop feeling that way, it’ll be a really sad thing.

Music is so different today than it was 10 years ago. In the beginning Savage Garden didn’t fit in, really. We were pop when everything else was grunge.

I don’t fit in, and I think that’s a good thing.

“California” and “So Beautiful” were recorded to be part of a Savage Garden best-of album, so I didn’t want to get too far away from the Savage Garden sound. They’re good songs, but musically they’re worlds away from where my heart lies.

I’m really glad I can say that, 10 years in, I still do this because it makes me happy.

Simple yet poignant, the works of Japanese artist Ai Yamaguchi speak of a world where beauty and noble values reign. Held hostage by her absorbing art pieces in the exhibition Fiction@Love currently showing at the Singapore Art Museum, we chat with the soft-spoken artist to find out what makes her tick.

How did you get into art?
Illustration is not what I studied when I was in university. It was more a hobby then. I submitted an art piece for an exhibition in my campus, and received good response. I was then recommended to do some shows in Los Angeles. An old American lady really loved my works in Los Angeles, and that was when I felt that I could share and express my feelings with others through art, and I decided to become an artist.

How would you describe your artistic style?
I feel that I am a successor of tradition, and am more like a craftsman than an artist. I made the canvas myself instead of buying it from shops. Everything is created from scratch. I pursue beauty, which can be found in Japanese traditional paintings. The artists of these paintings pursue utopia in their works. I just want to inherit that kind of idea too.

Why the fascination with young girls with black hair and big eyes in your works?
The subject matter in my works is often nine to 10 years old. In the Edo era, some young girls have to practice and learn to be accomplished geishas. These girls are around nine or 10 years old, and are happy and innocent-looking, but everyone knows that in future, they are going to work and become geishas. So there is a sad and lonely feeling to their plight. At this age too, it’s hard to decipher the gender of children. They are “in-between,” caught at the stage before they bloom into a boy or a girl. The ambiguity associated with this age range and environment is close to what I want to express as an artist.

Would you say your career has been smooth sailing all the way?
I wouldn’t say my career has been completely smooth sailing. It’s not easy to be known, but I’m glad that I have the opportunities to do solo exhibitions, and I’ve met people who know what good art is, and who have inspired me. These few years, things are getting better. I’ve just done a project with Japanese cosmetics label Shu Uemura too.

For your project with Shu Uemura, your design appeared on the limited edition “SHU by ai” cleansing oils. What do you think of doing commercial works like that, as opposed to artistic pieces?
I’ve met up with Mr. Shu Uemura, who is also an artist, and we respect each other. This project may be a commercial one, but I had an interesting experience. I have to work with a different medium—the bottle. As a painter, I usually work on canvas. So, even though it’s a commercial collaboration with Shu Uemura, it’s a new dimension of experience for me as an artist.

Well, apart from Mr. Shu Uemura, is there anyone you would love to work with?
I would like to collaborate with musicians, regardless of the instruments they play. They can be singers, or composers. Music will be good stimulation and inspiration for images, and vice versa. I like to work with younger artists as well, because I’ve worked mostly with older people so far.

This is theater with a twist. Forget the usual routine of thespians just sashaying up and down the stage. In Phobia, be prepared to see a group of performers play with ice, windscreen wipers, celery and egg beaters. Curious, we sit down with director Douglas Horton.

What inspired you to create Phobia?
It is inspired in part by Hitchcock’s late ’50s classic Vertigo, as well as the whole realm of film noir and suspense genres that Hollywood has bequeathed us. The production of this soundscape is also inspired by Foley artists, who were sound effect artists during the ’50s and ’60s. It mirrors their activities. At that time, the entire soundtrack for a film, including the dialogue and hand produced sound effects, was often dubbed after a film’s completion.

What is the concept behind Phobia?
The central concept of Phobia revolves around the activities associated with producing a soundtrack to an imagined film. This focus on sound is punctuated by occasional filmic apparitions performed behind and in the setting. The theatricality, musicality, irony and humor of the work is partly motivated by the absurdities and intricacies involved in producing this sound world. Even the archetypal voices of femme fatale or detective never rest with any one performer.

What is the message Phobia is trying to convey?
Phobia is really an elaborate send-up of filmmaking and the Hollywood thriller. Film noir’s standard repertoire of emotional devices includes suspense, deception, mystery, paranoia and manipulation. In the ’50s and ’60s, these emotional states resonated with a world extremely anxious about communist subversion and the nuclear war. At the center of these works are beautiful, vulnerable and mysterious women. The genre thrived, and continues to thrive, on the fulfillment of male fantasies and concerns.

What is the most unconventional prop you’ve ever used to create a sound effect in the show?
We use celery to make the sound of breaking bones. It’s used while a performer is doing a backward somersault down a staircase in slow motion.

You’ve directed productions such as The Heiress and Sweet Death. How do you think Phobia is different from your previous operas in terms of production?
For one thing, there is no singing in Phobia. And in relation to orchestration, I have never worked with such an odd bunch of instruments!

Lying, coaxing, ego massaging and washing underpants—it’s all in a day’s work for Norman, the dresser behind the thespian Sir in The Dresser. We gossip with Adrian Pang, who plays Norman, to learn more about the two men.

Tell us more about your love-hate relationship with Sir. What do you like or dislike about him?
I’ve been working as Sir’s dresser for the past 16 years, and I’ve become like a mother to him. And like every good mother who understands her child, I know every twist and turn of the rotten bugger’s mind. Yes, he’s a rude, high maintenance, demanding, unreasonable, ungrateful bullying brat—but he’s MY brat.

Sixteen years? What makes you stay at his side for so long even though Sir is a brat?
He needs me. He would have fallen apart if not for me, and vice versa. He had me at “hello.”

Tell us about his quirky habits.
Sir and Her Ladyship have a ritual. Before he goes on stage, Her Ladyship will say to him, “Struggle Bonzo,” which is her term of endearment for him because he reminds her of her pet dog with the same name; and he will reply, “Survival, Pussy,” which is his nickname for her because ... well, never you mind.

What is the most intimate thing you’ve done for Sir?
He occasionally patronizes the local brothels when we go on tour. Once, he brought back with him a “souvenir” in the form of a rather unpleasant infection. Only I, with my years of experience, skills, special mix of bleach and lye soap, was able to wash away the tell-tale stains from his underpants.

Let us in on Sir’s wardrobe. Any exciting finds there?
He has a rather large codpiece—which serves to artificially enhance rather than protect his nether regions.

As a dresser, have you ever lied to Sir in order to make him feel better?
I lie to him all the time in order to keep his ego inflated. On several occasions, I had to hide or break his reading glasses just so he couldn’t read a particularly nasty review. Once, I told Sir that a certain critic, who had given Sir a nasty review for his King Lear, had been killed by one of Sir’s enraged fans. In actual fact, the poor man had laughed so hard at Sir’s portrayal of Richard III, that he suffered a fatal heart attack in the middle of Act One.

How quickly can you help Sir change from one costume to another?
Four seconds is my record, for helping Sir with his change from Bottom to Prospero. It’s for his bold, experimental, (and much maligned) production A Tempestuous Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Whom do you hate more in King Lear—Goneril or Regan?
Goneril, it’s because her name reminds me of a rather unpleasant incident. Remember the “souvenir” Sir brought back after a visit to one of the brothels?

If you can choose to be a character in King Lear, whom would you be and why?
Kent, because he sticks by his King through thick and thin. I can identify with that kind of unconditional loyalty. Plus, in our production, Kent gets to wear some really gorgeous orange tights.

Do you get bored of King Lear? Since you’ve watched Sir stage it 226 times.
No, every time I see King Lear, it’s like watching it for the first time. Though lately, every time Sir performs it, it’s like his first time, because he keeps forgetting his lines, the silly boy!

Do you think dressers have it easier nowadays, compared to you?
I think possibly J. Lo’s dresser has it worse than I.

David Regu

Forty-six-year-old David Regu’s journey into busking began immediately after he completed his national service. He busked for fun at numerous MRT stations for more than 20 years, before auditioning for the NAC and earning himself a letter of endorsement just last year. Now he busks “365 days a year, come rain or shine,” he says.

For most of his life, Regu has done contract work. After a particularly bad year, when he had no work, he decided to busk full-time as a vocalist and guitarist. His obligatory repertoire includes many hit songs, including “Have I Told You Lately,” “A Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Hey Jude”. Although he doesn’t draw the crowd in droves like eight-year-old drummer Ethan Ong does, Regu is thankful that “the crowds’ response has been pretty good so far.” Last year, he was part of a funeral band, which paid him $150 on top of his daily $20-30 busking earnings. It has been tough but “even when cash is low, I need not beg, borrow or steal, as I have something to tide me over,” he says.

Regu has a host of other problems. Homeless and single, he showers at a friend’s office and sleeps on a bench at Riverside Point. To prevent thieves from pinching the pittance that he earns, he says “I sleep under security cameras so that anything that happens to me can be recorded.” However, this has not stopped him from being robbed twice and attacked by gangsters three times. Nevertheless, he relentlessly returns to his sleeping spot night after night.

Regu has been performing in a Clarke Quay underpass for a year now. He has tried Orchard Road a few times, but finds it too competitive there. “I also avoid places like Chinatown because most of the crowd prefers Chinese music, and I can only do English numbers.” To supplement his meager income as a busker, Regu started a cleaning business, but has yet to attract any client. While waiting for good tidings to come his way, Regu remains committed to busking and “will stop only when I die,” he says. There’s definitely no turning back for this admirable busker, who also adds that “busking makes me feel good and has helped heal my soul.” Regu also happily recalls a time when a sailor popped a $50 note into his box. “It was the first and only time that I received a $50 note from a single person,” he says.

Ethan Ong

Arguably one of the most talked about and successful buskers in town, eight-year-old Ethan Ong garners thunderous applause whenever he hits the drums along Orchard Road. This child prodigy busks for the love of it, unlike most buskers in town who are doing it to earn their keep. Coming from a privileged background, this devout Christian sees busking not as a means to an end, but as an opportunity to use his talent and break away from his mundane routine at home. Ethan’s father Bernard Ong, who accompanies him on all his performances, says that busking has contributed to Ethan’s confidence and “is the only way to practice.” Bernard adds, “It would be impossible to do so at our condominium, as the neighbors would get annoyed.” Asked why he busks, Ethan simply answers, “I like to share the talent that God has given me with everyone else.”

Ethan’s favorite hot spot is outside Paragon, where he performs from 3pm to 6pm every weekend. He recalls two particularly memorable occasions when “a lady jumped out of her car to give me money, and a man asked me for my autograph!” Despite the overwhelming attention, the little drummer boy, who reveres drum legends Akira Jimbo and Dennis Chambers, has managed to stay humble. His advice to parents who have kids who want to busk is to “stay committed and let your children enjoy the experience.” Busking is certainly not about the money for the talented Ethan. Although judging by the hundreds of supportive fans who gather around Ethan every weekend to watch him play, he could certainly do well for himself if he keeps this up long enough.

Star Light, Star Bright

We shed light on some of our worst and best buskers.

Leo Lim

Never mind that he’s been performing on the Orchard Road underpass for more than 20 years. This supremely untalented busker amplifies his voice using a battery operated amplifier, and is still going strong despite his non-singing voice.

Star Power: 1 Thumb Up

Gn Kok Lin

We’ll give it to the 72-year-old who can play a harmonica and juggle two tennis balls at the same time. But man, the noise that he makes with those clogs sure is cloying.

Star Power: 1 Thumb Up

David Regu

Regu’s repertoire of songs may be predictable, but his lively renditions more than make up for it.

Star Power: 3 Thumbs Up

Loh How Tong

Harmonica player Loh, who can be found mostly on weekends near the escalators outside Shaw House, plays evocative tunes that are reminiscent of film music composer Ennio Morricone’s.

Star Power: 3 Thumbs Up

Ethan Ong

What’s not to like about this amiable and energetic eight-year-old drummer who draws the crowd whenever he plays? We always keep an eye out for this small wonder every time we’re in town.

Star Power: 4 Thumbs Up

Mashruddin bin Saharuddin

At 53, this vocalist and guitarist with a Stevie Wonder-likeness plays mostly at the Tampines MRT and sings with heartfelt emotions. He’s certainly one of the most soulful we’ve heard.

Star Power: 4 Thumbs Up

How hard can busking be you ask? Follow us as we attempt to find out what it means to be a busker in Singapore.

How long have you been reading?
Ten years.

What drove you to it?
I saw a palmist and he insisted I pursue it. I was surprised he mentioned it because I didn’t think I had an inclination at all. The palmist was so adamant that I bought a book about tarot card reading. After spending a year learning the ropes, I resigned from my job and set up shop in JB. I returned to Singapore three years later.

Have you had weird clients?
Yes. Someone asked me if I could help him connect with Satan, and another asked if he was a disciple of Satan. I stopped the reading immediately.

Have there been people you’ve not been able to read?
Yes, on two occasions. One was not ready for a reading, and the other was blank. I presume he wasn’t ready too.

What do you do to break the barrier?
When someone is tense, I get him or her to relax by asking them comfortable questions or talking about things in general. These usually help. I tried using them on the two clients I mentioned before, but to no avail.

Do your readings come true?
Readings come true when people are proactive in making a change or decision.

Is it hard for you to relay the bad news?
I tone it down so as not to scare them. I’m only direct when they ask for it.

Can you read yourself?
In my rookie years, I could. But now that I do it professionally, I can’t. It would be wrong for me to use the gift for my own benefit. I also don’t read family and close friends. I have to stay detached for readings to be accurate. If there are external disturbances, the cards will be affected.

Do people return?
My clients are mainly repeat clients.

Who are the most believing lot, men or women?
It’s equal.

Has anyone come to you for cures?
Yes. If it’s a medical condition, I’ll ask them to see a doctor then return for a holistic reading.

How can we spot a fake?
You can’t. I don’t do parties or big events because of this. There are many people out there trying to make a quick buck. In my case, I win clients’ trust by telling them why they’re here and what their problem is before they tell me anything. And it is always accurate.

All cards deal a game of chance. Will you be seeking a space at the upcoming resorts?
Definitely not.

Los Angeles-based hip-hop DJ duo Haul and Mason have built their reputation on a unique style of turntablism. More about rocking a party than anything else, they approach a set differently from many DJs, incorporating house-style blending of records, scratching, juggling and effects to create an atmosphere that hip hop fans will love, but that fans of other styles of music can enjoy, as well. Having shared the stage with luminaries such as Jazzy Jeff, Common, Roni Size and Mixmaster Mike of the Beastie Boys, they are no strangers to the fame game. During this their first run of shows in Asia, Haul and Mason will be appearing at Q Bar on Jun 28.

What kind of music do you play mostly?
While we play mainly party rocking hip-hop (both current and classic), it can vary a lot from show to show. We also play a lot of dancehall, reggae, disco, 80s, funk and soul breaks, and sounds from around the globe. There’s great music in just about every genre, and all the DJ needs is a crowd that is open to hear it.

Who inspires you at the moment?
If we had to boil it down to one, it would probably have to be Jazzy Jeff. He has always been one of the most skillful and tasteful DJs in the world but he is also a really nice, humble guy. He actually took us out on tour in Europe a couple months back and while he blows crowds away every time he plays, he doesn’t have a huge ego about it. It is inspiring to see someone at the top of their game who remains a down to earth person.

Are your sets routine-based?
Yes and no. Sometimes we have a whole set worked out start to finish. Sometimes, particularly when we don’t know what kind of crowd to expect, we will just put together pieces of sets we have worked out off the cuff depending on what people are reacting to most.

Most memorable gig so far?
This one is unanswerable for us. Hopefully the upcoming run of shows in Asia will be some of the best ever... See ya’ll on the dance floor!

Walking down the stairs to Tsunami Restaurant at the JW Marriott Hotel, the first thing that greets you is a huge picture of a Japanese girl rendered in vivid, bold colors. This painting is quite characteristic of the style of Belgium-born, Bangkok-based Christian Develter. Having been educated in Antwerp, Christian’s background is in fashion, but he is now practicing fine arts—and from the look of the exhibition at the popular Japanese restaurant, is doing a fine job at getting his work noticed, too. This exhibition focuses on Japanese people—both traditional characters like sumo and geisha, as well as current ones like street funky Shinjuku girls—all in flashy colors and lines (“very colorful,” he says). His paintings can be seen at Tsu until Jun 30.

There are several different types of paintings in this collection. Which one is truly your style?
Actually they’re all my style because when people look at these paintings, what they are seeing is coming from me—no mater what type it is. It’s a combination of colors. I paint oils with a paint-knife. It’s kind of a difficult technique, which I adopted from a very old Belgian style. It makes a strong line in the picture and you can see differences between oil and acrylic painting, for which I use brushes only. It’s like an experiment combining new things.

Why are the Japanese the theme of this collection?
Even when I was living in Europe, before I came to Asia, I was already making a lot of Asian paintings—a lot of Japanese and Chinese subjects. But because my work was going to be shown in this particular restaurant, I decided to only do Japanese. What impresses me is the color scheme: Japanese zen, which is simple, calm and solid. It’s kind of a challenge to use colors in my style in this context while still retaining the Japanese flair.

Where do the people in your paintings come from?
Some are based on old prints, but I mixed them with other materials and with my imagination, making it my own style. They’re not actual portrait paintings.

Did Memoirs of a Geisha have any influence on your collection?
You’re not the first who asked that. Actually, no, because I thought the movie was a Western interpretation of a Japanese story with Chinese actors. My work is based on real Japanese.

The quality of the entertainment business may have gone up a bit in terms of production values. The thing is people have to put more effort into things now, whereas decades ago people wouldn’t have known this much.

In regards to the radio, it’s got a whole lot worse than before. There used to be a number of OK foreign music stations here. There’s nothing to listen to now. For the moment, there is no real foreign music station to listen to.

Some of the boy bands were quite OK when I was 20, but not so much now. And they do play an awful lot of that. A lot of music I think lately is quite soft. When I’m in the car especially, I don’t want something to put me to sleep. I want something to wake me up.

I think hip-hop is OK. I have a CD in my car, but it’s really more for other people than myself. Now everyone seems into hip-hop. So many people dress like they’re straight out of the hood. It’s cute.

Doing broadcasting has developed my character as a person. Having to be outgoing and entertaining forces me to bring myself out. If I didn’t do broadcasting, I would sound quite mundane.

My career went on two different paths concurrently while I was doing DJing and entertaining. I also tried to develop the TV presenting thing. I started doing a purely travel show, which had an element of news in it. This later developed into becoming a news anchor.

I’m trying to infuse news with my entertaining side. I’d rather present more entertaining news than just straight news, which might be too heavy for people at that time of the night.

Not many people know that I’m gay and I don’t go out of my way to tell anyone. I tried to be very out when I was 16 but it’s not really a big deal. My conservative mannerism was holding me back, especially coming from my background.

I try not to go to Soi 2 too much. DJ Station actually gives me a headache. There’s no way to walk inside.

No one would have wanted to come to party in Bangkok if they had to go to bed by 1am. The terrible state of the current licensing laws here in Bangkok is killing the local nightlife. The government thinks that everyone who comes into Thailand wants to hang out with elephants and pagodas.

Everywhere else, the nightlife scene is opening later and later, but Thailand seems to be going backwards. People should be going forwards, not paddling backwards into the past.

The gay scene in Bangkok doesn’t have much variety and it’s quite repetitive. Going out is not just about partying but also networking. At the moment, if you wanted to meet gay people, there are not a lot of options for you.

Gay NGOs are doing well for their part but they’re not really about meeting people. The word NGO already scares people off cause they think it’s going to be work.

A lot of brands are run by gay managers but there still seems to be some kind of strange homophobia in that they don’t want to be associated with gayness. If there is a good quality gay magazine, they should support it.

I don’t see any difference between gay men, gay women and heterosexuals. Being a good gay is no different from being a decent human being.

You studied gems and jewelry science at Srinakha-rinwirot University. Why did you choose this major?
I’ve always loved things that glitter, and nothing is more pleasant than studying what we enjoy, right? Even though I’m not into the designing that much, I love getting involved with the tough production works such as faceting the gems and producing the gem casing.

If you were a gem, what would you be?
A diamond is too precious and I’m unworthy of its “forever” image. Black Sapphire signifies me better. It’s a rare stone and people generally overlook its value.

Tell us a briefly of your past experience.
I discovered my skill for composition while working on soundtracks for student plays at Chulalongkorn University. I then joined the “Write Your First Song” workshop at GMM Grammy, which I completed with only 15 other people out of an initial class of over 300.

Why didn’t you continue working as a song composer at GMM Grammy?
At that moment, I was very worried about my studies. Moreover, I truly needed a break after composing the songs all day and night for three months. But soon, I started to remember a long forgotten dream that I wanted to be a singer, and luckily I was chosen to participate in the final round of the 2005 Miss Tiffany’s Universe Contest.

What did you learn from that?
Friendship is the one and only answer, even though others may think these are just fake, stupid words. Above all, I learned to be more determined in my life. I saw lots of people who never stopped following their dream until they stood at the front of the stage, no matter how many obstacles they had to pass. I honestly learned a lot from their determination and it heated the fire within me

What’s your take on being transsexual?
I was mistakenly born into a world that has only two gender choices, and I cannot be classified by either of them. It has always driven me to be more inspired and creative than others.

Do you ever regret being like this or would you prefer to be straight?
Why should I regret it? Not everyone can have a dramatic life like mine. I would think that people would be jealous of me seeing as my life is less ordinary than most!