When I was studying in New Zealand for four years, I was exposed to a lot of things that were unfathomable to a 14-year-old mind, like drugs and sex and all the other crazy sh*t.

People in Singapore are very spoilt and sheltered. They’ve been pampered from the day they were born.

They grow up in a bubble… the bubble that is their parents’ house.

I first pestered my mom about getting myself a tattoo when I was 18. Of course, she scolded me. When I decided to get it done a year later, she didn’t speak to me for a grand total of one and a half days after that.

I couldn’t get an apprenticeship because of National Service so I ended up teaching myself and started tattooing halfway through it.

Seeing Hounds come together before me was crazy. It has become a lot more than I thought it would be. I’d always wanted to open my own shop because working for somebody was just not working for me. It took me a long time to save up.

I thought about setting it up in Australia but the traditional barber concept was already being done to death there. I’m not the kind of person who will open a shop in a saturated market and take away other people’s business so I decided to start up here, where I was raised.

Local people’s reaction to Caucasians is crazy. Every time people saw a white guy cutting hair, they’d freak out.

Singaporeans lack good morals. The people here stab each other’s backs and climb all over each other, and it’s truly dog-eat-dog.

There’s so much animosity and hate in our society.

I know people that can date their friends’ ex-girlfriends with absolutely no guilt. They just don’t care about friendship.

Everyone here’s just crazy and yet they claim to be religious, which is retarded.

I’m not religious at all. I feel like somebody who’s a good person without the influence of religion is  better than people who behave well because they’re scared of going to hell.

I don’t believe in love. Real love is a bond between two people that doesn’t involve sex. It’s like the relationship between yourself and your parents, best friend, dog or even Vespa. Anything other than that is just lust and obsession.

Freedom to do anything I want makes me happy. Going to the beach, visiting Universal Studios and hanging out after hours at the shop with the boys, a couple of cigars and glasses of whiskey—though I don’t smoke or drink.

I get drunk on vibes.

How did you come up with the idea for the app?
Connected to 230 destinations around the world, Changi Airport is well-poised for travel within the region. So we wanted to create weekend getaway guide that was accessible continuously, anytime and anywhere, providing not just inspiration, but an effective one-stop shop to their next weekend trip. With the high penetration of smartphones in Singapore, an app was the most effective mode in reaching to our target audience. The idea was developed early last year and the entire process took about eight months. 

How did you choose the cities to feature?
Besides the usual weekend favorites Bangkok and Bali, we wanted to highlight lesser-known regional destinations which are less trodden such as Miri, Yogyakarta, Vientienne and Changsha. We have plans to update the app later this year to include even more exciting destinations like Mandalay and Paro in Bhutan.

Do you plan to add new functions to the app?
Yes, we are planning to add new functions, such as allowing users to share a particular destination, an itinerary planner, and maybe a function that allows searching by interest. We are also looking at creating an iPad version of the app.

Why did you choose to focus on nearby destinations?
There are many hidden gems in the region and budget carriers have made travel very affordable and accessible.  After a week of work stress, there is nothing more relaxing and rejuvenating than jetting off to a destination doesn't take too long to reach yet is unlike Singapore.

Download the Weekend Escapades app for iPhone at iTunes and Android at Google Play.

How has the group’s sound evolved over the years?
We’ve moved from noisy to less noisy to clean and back.

Who are your biggest influences?
Our influences change over time so it's hard to say. Right now it's early Soft Machine.

Which collaborations have been the most exciting?
It was very interesting and exciting to write music for Marie Antoinette. In the end Sofia Coppola used songs that we had already released but first we made a couple exclusively for the film. Even though they weren't used, which I don't mind at all, the process of writing those songs with a film in mind was fantastic.

What's the biggest paycheck you've ever received?
It must have been Marie Antoinette. I don't remember exactly how much it was but I think we got 7,000 euros or something like that. But I didn't spend it all in one go. Even though Sweden is expensive I could quit my job and live off that money for about seven to eight months.

What projects would you guys like to work on that you haven’t had the chance to yet?
Tons of things from writing soundtracks to making films of our own. I'd also like to put out fanzines and photo books, and to release records more frequently.

What do you have to say to your imitators?
We'd say keep it up. We all began as imitators. After a while you find a voice that is your own.

For fame or money?
For real.

The Radio Dept. plays April 23, 8pm at TAB

It’s been a few years since you last released new material; are you working on anything at the moment?
Yes, we are working on a new album. We are planning to release it during this year.

For someone who isn’t familiar with your work, how would you describe Melt-Banana’s music?
It sounds like “gagagagakyakyakyagogagaga!”

What’s the weirdest thing anybody has ever said about your sound?
Some people did not notice that there was no drummer on stage.

The crowds at your shows are renowned for being pretty wild; what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen from the stage?
Dogs were running around in Holland, some kids kept doing backflips from the stage in Italy. These are the things that come across my mind right now.

What’s the strangest or most frightening experience you’ve had while on tour?
We hit a deer in the USA and our van broke down. We were afraid of canceling the tour, but many people helped us to keep going, so it was a great experience in the end.

How do you write your lyrics? To some people they might seem nonsensical, but what are you attempting to say?
When I write lyrics, I look up an English dictionary and pick out words that sound interesting to me and have neat pronunciation. And starting with these words, I use my imagination. I don’t think there are strong messages in my lyrics like some political bands’ songs. But there is some meaning at least if the lyrics are made up with words. Maybe some people see, and maybe for some people it is nonsense. I guess it is up to the people who read them.

What can you tell us about Melt-Banana Lite? Do you ever still perform under this guise?
We don’t use guitar or bass, but low-end noise and air synth which is electric equipment like the theremin. If we get an offer to play shows as Melt-Banana Lite, we do it.

In Bangkok you will be playing in a small, intimate art gallery/live venue that can only fit about 150 people; what type of venue do you prefer to play?
Once we played in a very small locked up barn, and we liked it. And we also enjoyed playing in a big arena when we opened for Tool. Actually we don’t mind the size of the venue or number of people. If we have a good enough sound system, we can play a show.

Computers were not a part of everyday life when I was growing up in Nakhon Sawan. It was all pen and paper. Computers were so expensive at that time and yet my dad managed to buy me one.

I became addicted to video games. But one day I realized I wanted to create a game rather than just play one. So I started reading magazines about this stuff and created a game while I was still in high school.

When you’re young you just have so much energy to create stuff. I built Exteen.com with my friend in three days while I was a sophomore at Kasetsart University. I saw a friend’s blog, on a foreign website, and I thought, I want to do this here. It was a great way for people to share their views with others.

Actually, a blog is even more fun than making games. With a blog or website, you get feedback in real time. There’s an art to making people become attracted to your blog.

Adapting fast is the key to growing fast. We delivered new functions to people on our blog as fast as possible. In some case, people would ask for something one day, and get it the next. That’s one of the reasons why we became well-known so quickly.

I just keep getting offered jobs, even though I’m not looking for work. I’m interested in many things so opportunities just keep knocking at my door. That’s how I became a cartoonist, a writer and now I’ll be a TV host for a travel show on TPBS, this June.

My new book Universao (Sad Universe) is about a boy exploring the universe in search of happiness.

Sometimes we have everything, just not happiness. That’s what I’m asking, what is happiness?

I think the best way to find happiness might be to just list the things that make you feel like time passes fast when you do them. Well, I haven’t found happiness, not exactly, but I’m at the point where I’m quite content.

I start things for fun. But then they always get pretty serious. It’s a bad habit of mine, even if it’s also good for me in a way. Like, I started Exteen.com for fun, as well as writing and drawing. And now I have at least five pages on Facebook with over 100,000 likes. It’s a headache to handle them all.

When there are too many people in one place, conflicts always arise. In the beginning, it’s so much fun to get people on your Facebook page. But then the page outgrows you, and it’s not such a fun thing anymore. I’ve had to deal with the police twice because of things people did on my blog platforms.

It’s quite stressful being online these days. There are many conflicts and lots of negative stuff. I choose to avoid those things as much as I can.

People are rarely the same online and in real life. Being semi-anonymous on the internet makes people have a bad mouth. The internet is the key to unlocking people’s true opinions, or their real character.

Social networks are designed to be interactive and instant. You increase those two things enough, and you get less and less reason.

Social networks are very special for Thais. It’s a space where they can express their opinions freely. But sometimes it’s too just too much. I feel some issues should just be discussed in private.

Safety. That’s what’s lacking online these days. Too many online victims, people who don’t know how to protect their identity, and people even getting in trouble with the police for things they do online.

Our internet laws are new and quite hard to cope with. Once, a person visited a factory and made negative comments about it online. The factory forced him to remove those comments. It makes you wonder, can’t we tell the truth?
When talking to people who have a different background from your own, or who think differently, you need to start by listening to them.

Things go too fast with the digital world. Try to slow down. The new trend is to take a ‘digital sabbath,’ when you vow to stay offline for a certain amount of time. It’s about breaking the addiction, just like when people go on meditation trips.

My dream is to create an alternative media on the internet. Many people want unproductive, uncreative things, so social media emphasizes these things—and it generates stress. But I want something that removes stress. I want something that enhances one’s creativity and reasoning.

Bangkok is like the internet. It’s like you are fed up with malls but you’re still going anyway. You feel better and brighter in the countryside but you still live in Bangkok. It’s convenient, and it has so much going on.

Change is good. Change is adapting, it’s reaching for balance, finding out what we like or don’t like. Failure is just a way to find out what you don’t really like.

It’s easier to fail than to succeed. Being lazy, selfish, ignorant—it doesn’t take any effort. But if you set your mind to work, that’s the push that drives success.

Tell us about your background?
I was born in Roi Et province where my parents were farmers. I really admired my dad’s cooking, so I dreamed of becoming a chef. But when I grew up, I decided to study tourism and hotel management and become a waiter.

How did you become a sommelier?
I was working at a steak restaurant and I noticed that people love to eat steak with wine, so I wanted to learn more. I mostly taught myself but I also went to some training programs that the hotel sent me to and got advice from many senior sommeliers. Within a year, I could distinguish between different types of wine. I tried to test as many varieties as possible by pooling money with friends in Phuket who were also sommeliers. Finally, I got a job at Anantara Phuket Villa’ Sea.Fire.Salt as a sommelier.

How do you go about pairing wine with food, especially Thai cuisine?
Finding the perfect wine is really down to personal taste. For me, Thai food is the most difficult to pair with wine because it contains so much depth of flavor. With wine pairings, I must consider the ingredients of the food, what type of meat, sauce, herbs and even how it is cooked. In the final round of Thailand’s Best Sommelier Competition 2012, I paired a white wine with gaeng massaman nue (thick peanut curry with beef) while others paired it with red wine as it contained beef. In my personal opinion, the curry is really heavy due to the coconut milk and beef, so it’s better to lighten it with white wine. It turned out to be the right decision in that competition.

How do you take care of your senses?
I still eat my favorite somtam poo plara as per usual, but I have to have it long before I start my daily work at the restaurant. I also avoid eating things that are too hot because it destroys my taste for a couple of days. I don’t put on strong perfume and I don’t smoke. I exercise to stay healthy because taking medicine also disturbs my senses.

What is your dream?
I want to be a restaurateur who specializes in wine. I want to manage a restaurant and make it famous for great food and great wine with the very best sommelier. I hope to do this in Phuket because I know this place better than anywhere else.
 

What was the inspiration behind the latest single “Learn to Love Again“?
It was inspired by the question of if you did love someone but you broke up with them for whatever reason, can you ever get back together with that person?

What’s the feedback been like?
It’s been amazing actually. When we perform the song live, it goes down really well.

Are you excited about the gig in Bangkok on Apr 1?
I’m so excited! It’s the first time in Asia for all of us, and Thailand is the first stop on our tour. We are ready to go.

How has fame changed your life?

We get a little bit of attention when we’re together, but we’re really just enjoying the moment. We enjoy being with the people who like our music. It’s amazing. The main way that our lives have changed is that we so busy now visiting more places. Two to four years ago we spent our time at home trying to get gigs but no one really wanted to come and see us! Now we get to travel around the world playing to people.

How was your recent UK Tour?
It was the biggest tour we’ve done to date. We finished up about 4 or 5 days ago in Dublin, Ireland. It was so amazing. As it was the Chapman Square tour, we played all the tracks from the album. It was so much fun and the best run of shows that we’ve ever done. The people were all very nice; singing our songs. It was quite cold, though, because it’s winter over here in Europe at the moment. There’s a lot of snow outside; it was a very wintery tour.

Do you feel any pressure being compared to One Direction?
We don’t really feel any pressure from that. We are so different from One Direction, who are a typical boy band where all members sing. We’re a rock band with one singer. I’m the drummer and we’ve got a guitarist and a bassist. We are more like The Script, Maroon 5 or Coldplay. We can say that we are way more of a rock band than One Direction.

What’s the plan after you visit Thailand?
We actually have a new single that we're working on at the moment. It's not from the album Chapman Square, so there will be some brand new music out there very soon. I think it could be the best thing we’ve done so far, so I can’t wait for you guys to hear it.  Interviewed by Thamonwan Poungdee and Kornkamol Porapuckham

H Music presents Learn To Love Lawson on Apr 1, 5pm, at Parc Paragon (Siam Paragon, Rama 1 Rd., 02-610-8888.BTS Siam)

Mono is often categorized as “post-rock”; how would you describe your current sound?
I just think it’s important for the audience to engage, connect, and decide what the music means to them. At this point, I’m not sure how to define our music. It kind of bleeds into a few different genres now, such as classical and instrumental rock. Music can be a visceral, spiritual experience. It has the ability to communicate a sort of transcendence from the chaos of everyday living. Our music has evolved because we’ve changed as human beings over the years. We’ve developed a certain dynamic as a quartet so, hopefully, we’re willing to take larger risks in composition.

Your last album, For My Parents, featured a lot more orchestration than previous releases; what was the response like from fans?
We knew that the response would be mixed, but felt that it was something we needed to do. Our audience has been very supportive so we are thankful for that. Classical music has been a part of all our childhoods so we were always curious about incorporating more orchestration into our albums. This orchestral sound was something we wanted to create specifically for Hymn to the Immortal Wind (2009) and For My Parents. We'd experimented with strings on earlier albums but didn’t feel ready to take the full leap until Hymn... It has been an incredible learning experience.

The title of your last album, For My Parents, and its track titles, suggest a time of reflection and nostalgia. What was the inspiration behind that?
We hope to leave enough space for our listeners to interpret the music however they choose. But the story behind For My Parents came from the understanding that we all eventually lose the ones that made us. It’s the way of nature. How do you stand by the one that created you? How do you stand next to your home, the place that created you? For this album, we went back to our roots. It’s something that we wanted to do while we still had the chance. I think the earthquake and tsunami in Japan (2011) unexpectedly stirred up emotions about our homeland and families. It made us think about how fleeting, and sometimes fragile, moments can be.

Are you guys working on anything new?
Yes, we are already composing songs for a new album and hope to get started on recording.

Your music often gets compared to film soundtracks; is this something you’ve ever considered working on?
Yes, I think powerful storytelling in cinema has influenced us. I love films that tell epic, poetic stories in subtle ways—films that allow space for people's imagination. We’re always open to collaborating with filmmakers.

In Bangkok you will perform at the National Theatre (a beautiful, old, all-seated venue that usually plays host to classical drama); does playing venues of different sizes and styles alter your performance?
Sometimes, yes. We love playing in places like the National Theatre because it has a history and story. But we love to play live anywhere, whether it’s a small venue or a giant church.

How do venues and audiences compare across the world?
It’s a beautiful experience to play our music on different continents and feel no disconnect between us and the audience. This is the universal language of music. We’re all in a room sharing the energy of a song, and in that space we remember that all humans derive from the same source.

What’s the best thing about touring? What’s the hardest thing about being on the road?
Sharing special energies with our fans is the best, and long drives are the hardest.

You last played Bangkok in 2011; what are your memories of your time here?
It was a really amazing show—the lighting, atmosphere, a lot of good energy...we loved it. We hope to bring old songs and new songs to our show in April. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone again.
 

Playing guitar was considered fucking cool when I was teenager. That’s why I started playing guitar at 14 and I’ve never looked back.

You must take your passion seriously to make a living from it. My life as a musician didn’t get off to a good start, as I always got fired for not playing well enough. But I made up my mind to really make it as a professional, so I formed a band with some older friends called The President.

My involvement with Carabao was borne out of frustration. I went to see them play at a pub and asked [Carabao frontman] Ad to play their song “Lung Khee Mao” but the owner wouldn’t let them play Thai songs. I thought, is this Thailand or some other country? Why can’t Thai bands play Thai songs? We reacted angrily by kicking over some chairs. That was 30 years ago.

I love working on solo albums. Working with a large group of people, like in Carabao, inevitably leads to some conflict, which is necessary to make our music the best it can be. I keep whatever has been turned down by the band for my own personal work. It’s an escape for me.

I feel a close bond with all my guitars, as if they had feelings. I gave my favorite one to my son, but he just hung it on the wall. Recently, Hard Rock Café approached us about an exhibition of Carabao guitars. I asked my son about it and he said I could give that one away, which hurt me. I wrote a song called “My Guitar” as a tribute before donating it last month.

Real life is more fun than fiction. No two lives are the same. The Young Bao movie scriptwriters tried to twist my story, but I made them change it three times so that it stayed true to reality.

Writing books is my favorite hobby. My next one’s going to be pretty risky as it’s going to be a tell-all about my adulterous past. I had to confess all this to my wife, who’s already forgiven me. I now feel clean.

I don’t want to create the illusion that my family is always happy. I always tell the truth about my bad behavior to my friends who later slip some stories to my wife.

I really respect my wife for her patience and her perspective on life. She knows me best. Now I dedicate my life to her. I bring her with me everywhere, whether Thailand or abroad. She deserves this.

Live life according to your age. As a young musician, I gallivanted all over the place. Now, as I’m getting older, I just want to sit at home and do gardening. I hope to lead a peaceful existence some growing fruit and vegetables at home.

Teenagers would rather listen to their friends than their parents. I used this knowledge to my advantage when my son was in high school. He always argued with his mom because he played too many video games and it was affecting his grades. I called his girlfriend and told her that if she wanted to be with him, she had to make him study harder and play fewer games. It worked! He became the top student in his class.

Blocking kids from doing stupid things doesn’t help them learn. We should talk with them openly so that they know what the consequences of their actions might be, then let them decide whether they can live with it or not.

If you achieve your dreams, don’t go looking for more. As Ad says in this song he wrote, “Talay Jai,” life is like tuning the radio. I’ve already found my frequency, I don’t need to go any further.

I’m pretty much retired, but I still love hitting the road to go on tour. I’ve found my happiness, so I’m never tired when it comes to doing what I love.

I try to be as fit and healthy as I can. I used to carry all sorts of heavy stuff and it nearly broke my back. I feared that I wouldn’t be able to move and that this would affect the band.

Lam Morrison is my idol. Though there are many great guitarists all over the world, he is number one in Thailand. It’s so cool to see him play live. He inspires me to play better. I hope I can jam with him someday.

I love wearing straw hats everywhere I go. It’s just so comfortable as Thailand’s weather is really hot. One of my hats even raised more than B300,000 for charity. It just so happened that one of my fans gave me a 50 euro tip, which I decided to put it in my hat that I had placed on the floor—the donations kept coming. Finally, I put that hat on a Buddhist altar!

You don’t need to be clever all the time, just don’t do stupid things. That’s enough.

Life is like Russian roulette. Everyone should realize that we are all lucky. Earth could be hit by a meteor at any hour, so simply living is the most important thing.