The Beijinger Blog - Interview

Fall on your knees and bow to greatness, oh punk rock infants of Beijing, for the founders of Hardcore Punk is coming to town!

thebeijinger — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:12:29 +0800

DOA, the band that Henry Rollins called 'one of the greatest live bands of all time', and that Dave Grohl, Sonic Youth, Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have all cited as one of their major influences is finally here for their first ever China Tour! Frontman, Joe 'Shithead' Keithley was kind enough to give the Beijinger his time to shed some wisdom, tell us about the past, present and future of the band, and get the word out to all you aspiring Beijinger punks that he wants to hear your music!

New Year with the Queers

thebeijinger — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:26:54 +0800

Having racked up an impressive resume in the last 20 years releasing a flurry of albums, co-headlining with the likes of NOFX, Screeching Weasel and Green Day since the late 80s, and even being honored with a personal invitation from Marky Ramone to tour Europe and Asia in 2007 as part of his band, punk rock cult legends, the Queers, are finally kicking off their first tour in China on New Year’s Eve at the MAO Livehouse. The Beijinger talked to frontman, Joe Queer, about his experience in Beijing, his views on the local punk rock scene, what Ursula Finally Has Tits means to him, and how he plans to ring in the new year at the Mao Livehouse.

the Beijinger: You have already been to Beijing before with Marky Ramone in summer 2007. What do you think of Beijing?

Interview with Mr. Graceless

thebeijinger — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:23:30 +0800

Mr. Graceless is:

Amojo: guitar, vocals
元帅 (Yuan Shuai) : bass, vocals
官僚 (Guan Liao) : drums

How did you guys meet and form the band?
Amojo: I met Yuan Shuai at university, and he already knew Guan Liao from high school.

What colleges do you guys attend?
Amojo and Yuan Shuai: Beijing Transportation University.
Guan Liao: Beijing Aerospace University. (They are all engineers).

So, you don’t study music?
No.

Are you busy?
Very busy…

Review: Pet Conspiracy at the Song Club

thebeijinger — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:26:59 +0800

Pet Conspiracy – Song Club – Thursday, December 18, 2008

Cranking out a medley of sounds from 80s techno, Japanese punk rock, indie, and old school electronica, Pet Conspiracy delivered a short and energized show at the Song club last Thursday… and deliver they did.

Switch On Tour: Electronic Audio and Visuals from Switzerland and China

thebeijinger — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:39:14 +0800

--Exclusive Interview with Organizer, Michael Vonplon

Switch back ten years ago and you’ll find the roots of this weekend’s SWITCH ON touring event. The cross-cultural event linking Swiss and Chinese electronic artists kicked off last Friday in Shanghai, gathering together more than 350 clubbers. The tour arrives in Beijing this Friday night at Tango with BaiCai’s special guest, Luciano, founder of Cadenza Records. The outstanding DJ and prolific producer is headlining the two-story extravaganza that will run between Mango and Tango’s main floor. On Saturday night the tour closes at White Rabbit with a notable line-up of live acts, visual artists, and DJs.

Interview: Black Cat Bone at Yugong Yishan

thebeijinger — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:00:09 +0800

Last Saturday, Yugong Yishan hosted local blues outfit Black Cat Bone’s album release party. It was a fun night, with dancers from Beijing Swing setting a frantic pace on the floor and special guests Abigail Washburn and Woodie Wu adding a bit of variety to the show. Jonathan Alpart caught up with band before the show and asked them about how they got started, who's the biggest bad ass in the band and what Des is hiding in his beard.

For those who missed the rip-roaring show, the band is playing again tonight at Mao Livehouse along with Finnish rockers Moses Hazy and local rockabilly-ers extraordinaire Defy. See this week’s newsletter for more details.

Keep reading below for Jonathan’s expletive-ridden interview with the band:

Win a Copy of James Pants' Rhythm Trax!

thebeijinger — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:00:28 +0800

James Pants will perform in Beijing this coming Saturday and thanks to the good people at FREE the WAX, we have quite a few copies of Pants' Rhythm Trax! CD to give away. To win these ten tracks of instrumental goodness, all you have to do is pretend for a moment that you too work for Beijing's expat press and are about to publish an interview with the popular Mr. Pants - what clever title would you use to headline the piece? Feel free to either leave a comment or send your ideas to blog@thebeiinger.com before 2pm on Friday Nov 21 for a chance to win a copy of Rhythm Trax! Keep reading below for the Beijinger's nightlife editor Jonathan White's interview with Mr Pants that first appeared in the Nov issue of the Beijinger magazine.

Nov 22
James Pants
RMB 70.
10pm. White Rabbit (133 2112 3678)

The James Pants story starts in Texas on the night of James Singleton’s high school prom. Eschewing the usual post-prom rituals, Pants sought out Stones Throw Records founder (and DJ) Peanut Butter Wolf at a gig he was playing in town and asked if he wanted to go record shopping. Pants may have missed out on kissing his date but that moment led to an internship at the label and, over time, he was put on the roster. Since then, his eclectic first album – think Too Short meets Cameo meets Serge Gainsbourg – and humorous videos have been winning over fans and critics alike.

the Beijinger: As the first artist from Stones Throw to come to China, do you feel a sense of responsibility for representing such an illustrious label? Do you feel like a trailblazer?

James Pants: Now you've made me nervous... I don't know if I'm a trailblazer, but I'm definitely the most excited artist on the roster regarding the dim sum.

Genetic Musical Mutations: Interview with Gebruder Teichmann

thebeijinger — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:00:09 +0800

As punk rock child prodigies and teenage electro-rockstars, it’s not so far out there to say that DJ brothers, Andi and Hannes, better known today as Gebruder Teichmann, have music running through their veins. The energy and finesse generated at their live shows no doubt come as a result of their life-long experience as musicians and performers. As Gebr. Teichmann prepare for their debut show in Beijing on Nov 15, I had a chance to ask the composer-musician-artist-visionary-siblings more about what-why-and-how it is exactly that they’ve come to make such innovative music, beyond just being born with a gift for it naturally.

Carissa Welton: Coming from a musical family, how were your artistic talents nurtured from a young age?

Above & Beyond Tonight at GT Banana

thebeijinger — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:00:17 +0800

Above & Beyond placed as number six in DJ magazine’s Top 100 disc jockeys in 2007. Now they have risen to number four for 2008. They play at GT Banana on Friday November 7 and we were lucky to catch up with Tony from the trance trio for a chat before their debut set in Beijing about weddings, Radiohead and DJ teams.

the Beijinger: When did you start Djing, what made you start and who were your early influences?

Partying in Beijing: What's Changed and What's Stayed the Same?

thebeijinger — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:00:30 +0800

Australian author and Asialink Writer in Residence at The Bookworm Linda Jaivin, will be talking about and reading from her new book, A Most Immoral Woman (which is due to come out in March next year) at the Bookworm tonight. The book is a fictional recreation of a rather spicy episode in the life of the wonderfully complicated Australian journalist and adventurer George 'Chinese' Morrison (on a side note, Jane Macartney, The Times' correspondent in Beijing, delivered the annual Morrison Lecture two weeks ago - details here). The event marks the author's last public appearance as the writer in residence at the Beijing Bookworm. So, if you haven't had a chance to get down to hear Jaivin talk already - or even if you have - be sure not to miss what should be an entertaining and hilarious evening. If you're unfamiliar with her work, take a look at Fiona Lee’s interview with the author for some idea of what to expect. Personally, I regard The Monkey and the Dragon as one of the best China books around. Tickets are required, so it’s worth calling the Bookworm to confirm that there are still some spare seats.

While researching the historical novel that she'll be reading excerpts from tonight, Jaivin spent a lot of time peering into the journals of foreigners who lived in Beijing around the turn of the 20th Century. Given this, and her presence in Beijing as a foreign journalist for much of the 1980s, we decided to quiz her on the history of laowai life in the city and particularly about how various foreigners who lived in the capital during different eras amused themselves. Keep reading below for her replies to our queries about how laowai partied in Beijing during both the Legation Quarter days at the turn of the 20th century and the tumultuous 1980s. Jaivin also offers a few observations of how things have changed in today's "Olympic city."