For the uninitiated, describe WU LYF in three words.
Kill Your Friends.

Your debut album, Go Tell Fire To The Mountain, was recorded in an abandoned church. How was the recording process?
It was all about passion because not many would have braved the harsh, freezing environment in that huge church during October and November. All we could do was drink whisky and make music.

How did you come up with that gruff, Tom Waits-esque vocal style?
An accident. I really don’t know how to sing, it’s only through playing more gigs that I’m learning how to.

Demystify what WU LYF’s heavy pop is all about…
It’s quite simple actually; we came up with a bunch of songs that connects the notion of heaviness with pop sensibilities.

How’s the second album coming along?
Well, we are structuring it around a road movie and have already worked on three songs. It should be out April next year.

Finally, what the hell is Ronaldo in a Barca shirt doing on the band’s website?
He’s always been my all-time favorite footballer but it also explains what we’re trying to do with the LYF membership is similar to FC Barcelona’s concept of socios.

Catch WU LYF alongside 13 other indie acts at the second edition of St Jerome’s Laneway on February 12. Tickets are now on sale at $135 from Sistic.

What are the most important factors when making fried fish?
There are three important factors. One is using only wild-caught fish, preferably cold ocean species. Two is not to overuse the cooking oil; make sure you change it regularly. And third, cook for a short time at a high temperature, sealing in the juice (and blocking out the excess fats).

What is the biggest mistake bad fish and chips places make?
Using old dirty oil with cheap, fresh water fish that don’t have clean flavor, and sometimes even have a muddy taste.

Why do some recipes add ingredients like beer or milk? What’s the difference?
Beer is used for its carbonation rather than its flavor. It helps make a light batter. As for milk, people use it to remove the fishy flavor and help tenderize the fish. But it usually turns out soggy and bland. However, good fresh fish doesn’t need either.

Are there any fish that would be bad choices?
Intensely farmed fresh water fish which are grown using antibiotics, growth stimulants, antifungal agents, and food made with ingredients of dubious quality. You are what you eat, right?

What would you recommend drinking with fish and chips?
I would recommend eating fish & chips with any good lager beer or a Sauvignon Blanc, although the beauty of fish and chips is that it goes well with pretty much anything, even a glass of cold milk—my favorite when I was a kid.

BK: What inspired you to be a volunteer?
Years ago, a senior in my community on Soi Charoennakorn 25 got a chance to appear in front of HM Queen Sirikit to receive an honor, because he had donated blood so many times. That really inspired me to donate blood, so I could appear in front of the queen. My dream came true when I was 19. I was full of joy. I took her speech to be my motto: “Be a little bit less selfish, sacrifice for your society a little more, then we will live happily together.” I have been volunteering since then. It’s been nearly 40 years now.

BK: How did you learn to catch snakes?
I just observed others and started catching snakes myself. I taught myself about snake species and their life cycles, so I would know right away what snake it is and how to handle it.

BK: What’s the most difficult type of snake to handle?
The Burmese python. It’s big and fierce. It can bite and choke you to death. But most snakes don’t attack you if you don’t disturb them. So the best thing to do is to just stay away and monitor from afar if the snake is gone or not. For me, snakes aren’t the most dangerous creatures. It’s actually the paper wasp—it’s fierce, can attack without warning and the poison from a single wasp can kill you.

BK: Have you ever made a mistake?
Many times. The most recent was while catching a Burmese python; it was really the case of a lifetime. I tried to catch it while it was on a tree, which was really dangerous. I was bitten so many times. I got more than 200 puncture wounds from its fangs.

BK: How can people contact you?
My phone number is 089-043-8445. Anyone is free to call. When people find snakes, they call the police and the police call me. Even the Flood Relief Operation Center (FROC) gave my number to people in flooded areas, but I can’t always go. They just throw jobs at me without any support team. I don’t have a boat and a team so I can’t go everywhere.

BK: How much do you earn?
I don’t ask any money from people that I help. It depends on their generosity towards me. If it’s too far to go on my motorcycle, I ask them to pay for my travel expenses.

BK: What do you do with the snakes that you catch?
I keep them at my house before I find the right place to give them away. If it’s poinsonous, I’ll give it to Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, where they make serums from poisons. For non-lethal snakes, I just find a place to let them go.

BK: What are you doing now?
I am a caretaker at the Marine Department in Bangkok. I have been a civil servant for 28 years. Normally, I wake up in the morning and water my plants before driving my motorcycle to the office at Sipraya Road. I open up the building and take care of everything before everybody comes. I didn’t graduate from high school. I only studied till the fourth grade.

BK: Is it hard to catch snakes at your age?
As for my actual catching skills, I have no problems. But I have health problems and kidney failure. I can’t get into the water because there’s a hole in my chest for blood transfusion pipes. I just realized I had renal problems last year, when I had terrible pains in my stomach. The doctor found that one of my kidneys was totally gone, and the other was only working at 80% because of a blood clot. I am lucky that I am a civil servant and my social security covers all medical expenses. I have to have a blood transfusion every week.

BK: Why do you still continue to catch snakes?
It’s my happiness. I don’t drink, don’t gamble. My happiness is helping people. It makes me sleep well at night. I also gather people to donate blood—at least 1,000 bottles a year. That gives me the most happiness.

When I was eleven, I had to save up money to buy a motorbike. My parents would have shot me if they found it. When they did, they ended up giving it away to the maid that took care of my house.

When I was a teen, I had a modified motorcycle, and I used to race a lot. One time a stranger and me lined up at a light and raced through the shipping container yards of Klong Toei. He hit a truck and I saw his eyes and brains splatter on the truck.

That was the day I said I’m never racing illegally again. I nearly shit myself because I was so scared.

Sometimes in England when I was having problems, or I was stressed out, I would go take my Yamaha R1 and just go out on the freeway from Oxford to Reading and hit 300kph. After that, I’d feel like it’s going to be a perfect day. I wouldn’t be stressed about my girlfriend or work or anything.

I pushed myself hard and I really began my life in England. That’s where I started my first three companies. If I had done this in Thailand people would have thought it was all thanks to my father [a prominent businessman]. But I made it in England, without any help.

If you want to just do a job, you’ll never succeed. You have to start something. It doesn’t have to be big, but it has to be something you really love.

I always love trying stupid things. People think I’m stupid, but when they think you’re stupid they don’t see you as a competitor. When you look smart, people just try to size you up.

Everyone knows what they want out of life. But they just look at the sky and dream. The people who actually make it are the people who look for that staircase to the sky. Others never get there because they don’t actually look for the way to get there.

It’s not about having mountains of money or credentials—just have loyalty, never gossip about people and help people as much as you can.

When you make a donation, keep it secret. If you donate something and then tell everyone about it, you’ve got your reward by everyone thinking you’re a good guy. But if you keep your good deeds a secret then karma will come back and reward you in a much bigger way.

Drifting [a style of driving] is like having an orgasm. There really is just nothing else like it. It’s such a release.

I’ve pretty much tried everything. I’ve had a lot of fun and experimented with a lot of different things. But I’ve never gotten addicted to anything. Except speed—not the drug, actual speed—and anything that can pump up my adrenaline.

Sometimes I’ll take my Lamborghini down to Pattaya and watch the needle climb above 340kph.

The older I get the more of a chicken I become. In the past I wouldn’t think twice, I would just blow by other cars. Now I try and predict their every move.

I’m really scared of karma. That’s the only thing I fear in life.

I really don’t find many things exciting now. My friends have told me that I’ve already used up all the excitement in my life.

I have way more guts than I have brains.

We’re just a small species living on the earth. If the earth wants to change, it will change.

I’m tired of red and yellow. We’re a country of 63 million people in the south of Asia. People should concentrate on being happy or becoming successful or something.

I don’t really listen to anyone. I have my own ideas and I only follow them.

DJ Sugarstarr

SH: It's great to have you in Shanghai as we definitely need more quality electronic dance music parties these days. Please describe your sound to us in one sentence.

DS: Funky-Electronic-Techhouse-With-Vocals-And-Soul....The widest range of the hottest new Housemusic...

SH: Have you played in Shanghai before? What's your impression of the city?

DS: Nope. It's my very first time and I'm really excited to rock the crowd in your colorful city.

SH: Your DJ name is Sugarstarr with two 'r', right? Though it's often misspelled as 'Sugarstar'. Is there any story behind it?

DS: When I started DJing in the late 80s several of my favorite artists came up with a RR in the end of their names: Gangstarr, Atlantic Starr or Edwin Starr. But also the Beatles' Ringo Starr gave me this inspiration.

SH: You will be DJing alone in Shanghai. Will the energy and style be any different from when you're playing as a duo?

DS: I'm definitely more in action when DJing solo, what I definitely love to do. When we perform as a duo it's more like back-to-back which offers lots of space to animate the crowd while the other half is preparing for the next transition. The selection of tracks varies just slightly, as we always try to mix our own productions in combination with the hottest new tunes.

SH: 2011 is coming to an end. Have you had a satisfactory year of 2011? What are your plans for the New Year?

DS: 2011 was special in every kind of way. While only releasing one single per year in the past, we already had four in this year. And all of them gathered excellent response with several top-positions in international Charts. For 2012 we already have five new singles in petto as well as big plans for a huge album release. By the way, three of our upcoming singles will have their world premiere which I will play at Zeal. I'm so curious as to how the audience will react... ;-)

Jay Sebag

SH: Is this your first time in Shanghai? What are your expectations?
JS: First time indeed. Huge expectations since it's THE city of the future, one of the few destinations i was dreaming to go to. Everything's brand new, fresh, super modern.

I can't wait to see how the audience will respond here; i know people are gonna be fashionable and classy; I'm curious to see if they will let themselves go crazy or if they will act posh and precious.....we'll see....very excited to go to Shanghai.

SH: Do you know how long your performance will be at the Shanghai show?
JS: The live PA is always much shorter than a DJ set, but it is meant to be intense, and filled with high energy!! It's around 25 to 35 minutes.

SH: You've lent your voice to many big name DJs. Who did you enjoy working with the most?
JS: Tough question; can't offend nobody!! My answer might sound politically correct in a coward way but.......I did enjoy all of them for real!

Martin for how worldwide big it's been, DJ Yass for our long time friendship and his soulful and sophisticated taste in music, the Syke for the funk-electro super energetic production they come up with. Also my buddy Rodney Hunter from Vienna, with a hybrid hiphopish electro-funk. I like it when it's funky, in case you didn't get that!!!!!

SH: Where did you learn music? What is your own music like, when you're not working with international DJs?
JS: I started with 10years of classical piano, followed by many years of piano bar, which is for modern music, the best school possible!

The stuff I do beside dance is way more down tempo, like soulful singer-songwriter type of songs. U can check my writings for other artists such as Amel Bent from France (''Où je vais', 'Tu n'es plus là') or Exile from Japan ('Forever Love', 'Negai'), it gives an idea of what i do for my own projects as well.

SH: What's the most bizarre behavior/reaction from the audience you've ever seen?
JS: Good ones would be girls getting crazy, trying to touch my feet on stage or offering to follow me after the show....Bad ones would be guys showing jealousy by trying to mess the show up, being noisy or even trying to get on stage.......Of course both situations are pretty rare....Unfortunately for one of them. Guess which one!!!

DJ Sugarstarr & Jay Sebag @ Zeal, 10pm November 25.

Interesting band moniker—who came up with it and why?
Well, it was a band name waiting to happen. I decided I had to use it even before I had members for the band.

To get a song out on LA FM after playing for a month is a pretty formidable feat, how did that come about?
Getting a song on LA FM is the power of the Internet in full force. Big props to local music blog The Hamster and The Guppies for being influential. An LA FM DJ emailed me after listening to our track through the blog and that’s how we snuck into their airplay.

The band’s music seems dreamy twee enough, why then is it not possible to get airplay on local radio?
We haven’t tried approaching local stations because I think local mainstream stations don’t understand the lo-fi movement. I doubt the DJs even know bands like Dum Dum Girls exist. If you look at the playlist of Kxlu 88.9FM, we came on after Seapony and before Big Troubles. I much rather be in company of those bands than the Biebers and other teen idols.

If you had to describe the band as a literary character, who would it be?
Bret Easton Ellis’ alter ego in Lunar Park is the most apt. Stars of mild then descend into madness. Just like some of our tunes, especially “Dream”. The verse captures the feel of a really old song, and the chorus is dark and very effects driven.

Catch Obedient Wives Club playing alongside the likes of Plain Sunset, Cheating Sons, In Each Hand A Cutlass, Ingride and Run Neon Tiger at the local music celebration Lepa(r)k! on November 19 at Tiong Bahru Park.

I was 18 when I wrote my first song. It was about hope and frankly it was terrible.

No fan, stale air, scorching lights and you are still whacking the drums; now that’s what I call a proper workout.

The thing I miss about being fat is that no one would bat an eyelid when I pigged out on a large pizza, six chicken wings, a pint of ice-cream and a 1.5 liter bottle of Coke. And that was just a single meal.

I still shudder when I recall my first time on air alone. It was a five-hour shift and sharing my supposedly funny experiences during the week totally backfired. It was a stinker but luckily I didn’t get any hate mail.

Rain or shine, I have to run daily, it keeps my heart pumping and is a great stress reliever.

Finishing the 10km Sundown Marathon in 40th place was remarkable, considering that I was obese two years ago and couldn’t even run 600 meters.

I have always been intrigued by politics. At 19, I was the youngest Singapore ambassador at an APEC conference in Chile.

It was fantastic experience learning from some of the world’s biggest leaders like Colin Powell, but speaking to Helen Clarke was intimidating. She would bore you down with an earth quaking stare before answering questions.

I tend to change my hair color a couple of times every month. There is no pattern to it but red and two toned orange looks best on me.

My fondest childhood memory is the smell of my dad’s cologne. He used to be a financial director at Dunhill and I used to hug him for a whiff of that musky scent.

I am a watered down Peranakan but I still uphold the traditions and I can’t resist the great cuisine too.

The biggest drawback about being a DJ is that I hardly see my parents during weekdays.

I am the odd one out in my family because my parents are totally not musical and can’t even hold a tune.

My grandfather taught me humility and life-long learning. At 91, he was still learning how to write Chinese and didn’t mind asking me a question or two to clarify his doubts.

Opening for Hoobastank and Paramore was fun, but the greatest satisfaction I received was from one of the first gigs we played at Ren Ci Nursing Home.

We had to wake up early on a Sunday and perform with a crappy karaoke system in a small room filled with 30 seniors. But it was truly a life-changing and touching experience.

Ben McBride

Executive chef at Bistro Soori

Why we dig him: A fresh arrival on the local culinary scene, McBride’s responsible for some high notes in our recent flavor memory bank. Anyone who insists you can’t trust a skinny chef clearly hasn’t tried his food yet, although in this case we reckon lean’s probably more apt. This hotshot’s one of those strong, silent types, with a manly five o’clock shadow to boot.

Dish to die for: Just the thought of his foie gras duo ($21) makes us weak in the knees.

The lowdown: Unfortunately for us, this 33-year-old is off the market (we’ve met the missus and she’s gorgeous), so back off ladies.

Little-known fact: McBride comes from a long line of cattle ranchers; in fact, his family still owns the oldest family-run cattle ranch in Texas. Oh, and he has a serious addiction to Dr Pepper.

Mark Richards

Chef de cuisine at Keystone Restaurant

Why we dig him: After several stints overseas at establishments like MoMo and Ondine in Melbourne, this local’s back; and boy, are we glad. Sure, he whips up some mean fare, but who can resist those puppy-dog eyes and cheeky grin?

Dish to die for: We love our beef, and Richards’ signature Rangers Valley filet mignon ($58) with brown butter is one fine piece of meat.

The lowdown: We almost didn’t believe him when he told us, because this 36-year-old doesn’t look a day over 30. Sorry to be the bearers of bad news, but Richards is already in a committed relationship.

Little-known fact: He once slept on park benches in Melbourne two nights in a row when he was too broke to pay the rent.

Tim Ross-Watson

Owner and chef of The Garden of Eden

Why we dig him: He really is a bit of a dish, and proof that they sure do grow ‘em cute in the UK. This Londoner has called Singapore home for almost four years and serves up some yummy, avant-garde nosh in his very own establishment. Ross-Watson works out twice every day, so it’s no surprise that he’s got a banging bod. There’s also the whole bad boy vibe; with tatts on his back, hand, hip and a half-sleeve on his left arm.

Dish to die for: His rendition of Jelly ‘n’ Ice Cream ($15) brings back warm, fuzzy childhood memories; you could say it really hits our sweet spot.

The lowdown: Interested parties will be pleased to know that this 27-year-old hottie is single and very much available. Yes girls, you read that right. There’s hope yet.

Little-known fact: When he’s not working his ass off, working up a sweat or indulging in Jack Daniel’s on the rocks, he admits to praying a lot. On Sundays, you’ll find him at City Harvest Church. We suspect the female population’s attendance might enjoy a spike this coming weekend.

Randy Torres

Sous chef at Krish

Why we dig him: This fine gentleman has a wholesome all-American appeal, complete with a laidback boyish charm; pretty much exactly the kind of guy you’d want to bring home to meet mom and dad. Not to mention, the fact that he’s easy on the eyes doesn’t hurt either.

Dish to die for: We’re willing to drag our lazy asses out of bed on the weekends for the absolutely scrumptious crab cake Benedict ($16), only available during brunch.

The lowdown: He’s 30, but we reckon he’s an old soul, in a good way. According to our very dependable sources, Torres has very recently started dating someone. Dang it.

Little-known fact: Torres is a bona fide romantic, and not afraid to say it (brownie points). We’re talking about someone who believes in the good ole fashioned things like buying flowers, writing poetry, and cooking dinner for his special someone from scratch. He even unabashedly admits to not just watching but actually enjoying rom-coms.

My mom [famous singer Suda Cheunban] forced me to study music when I was young because she couldn’t bear that her daughter not be good at music. But she never wanted me to be a singer.

She threatened to tear up my RS contract if I stopped studying, when I was set to release my first album in 1998. She wanted me to do something else, not this fleeting career.

Looking back, I am amazed by what I accomplished. It was really hard work. I had to study and work at the same time. But I loved it, and I was young, so I didn’t feel tired.

I’ve never lied to myself about anything that I’ve done. I don’t see offers as opportunities to make money. I have to be happy about them, because only then I am confident that I will do a good job. I also don’t want to be a burden for anyone. Entertainment projects involve loads of people. And if I can’t pull it off, others will suffer, too.

I faded out of singing to work as a radio DJ. I had to train for nearly a year before I could host a radio program at RS, then I moved on to Virgin Hits 105.5.

iHere producer Rosie Wongsurawat [John Winyu’s sister] noticed that I could speak good English, even though I never studied at any English schools. We created an English internet TV show called Good English with Momay, but it wasn’t that successful.

I loved watching instructional make-up clips on Youtube and always did my own make-up. I found out that these clips are really popular. These women aren’t famous but they get millions of views.

We first did the show as a women’s lifestyle program called Momay Paplern but the make-up clips were the most popular, so it finally became a make-up show.
Thai girls always hire a make-up artist for their special day. But can’t you be pretty every day? I try to give tips to girls so they can be pretty by themselves. Just a couple of good pieces of cosmetics can make you shine.

I also have “enough is enough” moments where I will go out without make-up. It’s because I am too exhausted. And I want my face to take a rest.

I buy every cosmetic piece I use, and try it on myself, so there’s a lot of credibility. It’s important to screen products for the audience because they will use my test as a reference. I won’t let any product on-air if it’s not good enough, though people try to pay me to do that. I would be rich by now if I accepted all the money I’m offered.

Beauty with awareness is important. I never want to have white skin because I know that I am yellow.
We live in a commercial world where we are fed with images of beauty that make Thai girls desperately want to be light-skinned.

I don’t like the Thai education system. Good education isn’t just about giving you knowledge but also about giving you an idea of what you want to do in your life. Thai kids just hear that you have to study so you will be successful, then go to famous universities so that you’ll have successful lives. But it’s not always true.

I love to read and collect books. Books are the only media that don’t disturb you while you’re absorbing the content. Not like the internet and TV, which always have something popping up to distract you.

I force myself to travel twice a year. I love to travel alone. My favorite destination is New York. I go to The Metropolitan Museum of Art every time I visit. I can spend days in there.

Travel gives me peace of mind. I wish Bangkok would have more museums and galleries. It’s just full of malls.

I dream of having my own cosmetics line and I want to do it globally. I know it’s going to be hard but Anna Sui or Bobby Brown wouldn’t exist if they hadn’t started somewhere. I hope to do it in the next five years.

BK: How did your interest in design and architecture grow?
I studied arts but I always loved architecture. I did my masters in interior design but realized that the inside and the outside of the structure can’t be separated. Then I finally studied architecture in the US before moving back to Thailand eight years later.

BK: What about disasters?
I lost my only sister when I was 11 years old. She drowned while trying to save her boyfriend while on a volunteer project. I am now an only child. And I’m still scared of water. The tsunami in 2004 terrified me. I dreamed about huge waves moving inland while I was trying to run away. I would always end up dead. I had to keep asking myself if it was real. Also, I got all those emails that Bangkok is going to sink. It made me paranoid. When I came back from the US, there was a huge construction project near my house It made the whole house shake. Once, there was a heavy rain storm outside, too. It made me imagine awful scenarios for Bangkok.

BK: How did Design for Disaster come about?
I changed from being afraid to wanting to confront the problem. I decided to study disaster management at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). The program was about how to handle situations like earthquakes, floods and wars. I created Design for Disaster (D4D) as my thesis project two years ago. Making people realize that disasters are close to us is the most important thing. The problem is they either don’t believe that it’s going to happen, or they just accept it as unavoidable. We need plans to protect ourselves or at least mitigate the impact of disasters.

BK: What will the apocalypse look like?
The great threat in Bangkok is floods and political conflicts like we saw last year. Another one is the threat of earthquakes in the West. But even though our designs come from the fears that Bangkok might be at risk, we can apply our research as a model for other cities. No matter what the disaster is, there are always some similar problems, like food and water shortages.

BK: What are you currently working on?
I plan to make a guide book that comes from our design competition “Tong Rod” (Need to Survive) which contains ideas on adapting things in your house when you’re trapped in a disaster. You can find more information at www.facebook.com/DesignForDisasters.

BK: Do we stand a chance?
This flood incident has made people more aware and we can now build an “immune system” to prevent things like this in the future. It has also convinced me that everyone has different skills, so you should use your particular skill to help people. Running this project has been exhausting but the generosity of those willing to help others is really inspiring. It’s good to keep things going, because when people see others doing good, they will join this force and know there are other people who are doing good things with them.

BK: Isn’t it too late? We are sinking, right?
Yes, but Bangkok for me isn’t just a place. It’s an abstract idea. It’s an infrastructure where creatures and things live and share cultures and histories together. So Bangkok doesn’t have to be here. If it wants to be safe, it should go somewhere else. Don’t stick to the land you’re on, it’s sinking. Remember, you are just a speck of dust in the universe. You don’t have to adhere to anything.