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THE ROCKER’S GUIDE TO HONG KONG
Pete Jackson
NOT GONNA LIE READERS, I’ve got quite
the soft spot for Hong Kong. Maybe it’s the
Brit in me that enjoys driving on the left, an
abundance of Marks and Spencer goodies
and plenty of references to dear old Queen
Victoria. Maybe it’s the fact that there’s
an abundance of islands to explore and
mountains to climb which are kind of absent
in Shanghai, but I kinda like the place. So
in between stuffing my face with Dim Sum
and standing in line whilst sending fervent
supplications skywards to the visa gods, are
there opportunities to rock out?
U
nlike Beijing, Hong Kong’s independent
music scene isn’t something you hear
about much – to the point where a
surprising number of people aren’t aware that
there even is one. However, this month, two
awesome HK bands are making it over to play
as part of Rat On Swamp Dog, a mini-festival
organised by Nate Sidoti and Pairs’ Xiao Zhong.
Meet Tigerbombers and Say Mosquito, Hong
Kong’s rock ambassadors to Shanghai.
For those that don’t know you – say hi and
introduce yourselves and your bands. Who
are you and what do you play – styles,
influences, etc.? What are the stories behind
the bands?
STEVE - Hello Shanghai! My name is Steve, and
I play guitar and sing in Say Mosquito. We’ve
been labelling ourselves as rockabilly gypsy punk
recently, but that doesn’t always fit depending on
the song. We just play fast weird music and have
lots of fun doing it.
MAGGIE - My name is Maggie and I play bass and
sing soft backup vocal in Say Mosquito. I grew up
listening to cheesy, boring cantopop. Luckily my
brother started digging Green Day when I was 15
SHANGHAI247.NET
which was when I got interested in the Western
music scene.
ART - Hi, my name is Arthur, I play guitar in
Tigerbombers. I’d say we’re a rock & roll band in
the most traditional sense of the word, but one
that exists in a world where Phil Spector and the
Ramones have happened.
How much exposure do you get to mainland
bands? Are there many mainland bands that
are much on people’s radars over in HK?
MAGGIE - Round Eye and Hedgehog. Round Eye
is crazy! I remember Chachy having saliva hanging
from his mouth to his shoulder, but he was so into
the playing! It finally came off... Hedgehog has
this cute little drummer who seriously rocks.
ART - I think the local crowd is more hip to
[mainland bands], but some the stuff does make
its way down. The drummer of PK14’s an old
HK guy, I really like their new record and Fanzui
Xiangfa killed it when they played here with
Fucked Up.
Can you bring us over some milk powder?
Seriously. We love that shit over here.
MAGGIE - We sell it for like $8888 for one can.
Please email us to make your quotation.
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