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Kenting calling

By David Frazier
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Mar 30, 2001, Page 7

PHOTO: DAN NYSTED, TAIPEI TIMES

Only a few years ago, the so-called "underground" bands of Taiwan like the Clippers, LTK and Sticky Rice were largely defined by their cult followings and gigs played in basement pubs. In the last 12 months, they've been releasing CDs and showing up on MTV. Live music in Taiwan, especially rock, it seems, is finally coming of age. Next weekend Taiwan's youth will celebrate this phenomenon with the seventh Spring Scream, the music festival that has both accompanied and supported this movement from a time when it barely existed.

Spring Scream Snake, the name of this year's festival, will be held from April 5 through April 8 in Kenting at the Liufu Ranch (六福山莊), the same venue as in the last two years. Like live music in Taiwan, the festival continues to grow, this year adding a third stage and hosting 155 bands and solo performers.

The new three-stage format will be more democratic than in years past, as top acts won't play back-to-back sets on the same stage. "We'll try to keep things rotating, so there won't be bands of the same style playing one after the other," said concert organizer Jimi Moe.

Clockwise from top left, rockers FeiWu light up the crowd at last year's Spring Scream; Sasquatch's Scott Ezell howls into the sky; and Tokyo jam-a-holics Miracle Saru groove it up in Kenting. PHOTO COURTESY OF SASQUATCH

In addition to non-stop musical performances, Spring Scream will offer a film festival, art displays, a half-pipe for skateboarding, a ping pong center and athletic club, an intra-band basketball tournament, the usual line-up of vendors and food stalls and a geodesic dome.

The festival's main thrust, however, continues to be live music. Below is an introduction to a select few of the bands that will play.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF TCM

FOREIGN BANDS

Guardian Alien (USA: eastern ragtime hip pop rock)

In a previous incarnation, Guardian Alien was known to Spring Scream as Banjovi, that hip-swaying mama of a banjo band that has awed Kenting crowds in years past. Then last year the group's banjo virtuoso, Guy Davis, showed up at Spring Scream to sit in with Q, but was cheated from interpreting the guitar solo from AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long when a wind gust tore loose a banner and nearly carried the drummer off stage. Davis later made up for it with some incredibly trippy electric banjo on the second stage, playing a surreal Flamenco type scale. In addition to Davis' phenomenal skills, Guardian Alien fuses the vocals of Christina Honeycutt (also formerly of Banjovi), percussion and the often huge and billowing sound of the chromatic concertina. This is definitely not a band to miss.

Seattle's Guardian Alien will land in Kenting for the first time. PHOTO COURTESY OF GUARDIAN ALIEN

Mimie-chan (Japan: ska, cosplay)

Mimie-chan's Ozawa says "Ahh." PHOTO: DAVID FRAZIER

Last year Mimie-chan amazed and bewildered the Spring Scream crowd with the entrance of Daiper, a sumo-esque and non-instrument playing band member who finished the set wearing only a pair of too-small spandex underwear. The year before, the band played in silver stretch briefs, stuffed full of things they found in their hotel bathroom. But that's just them being Mimie-chan. The band was born when a male punk trio added a horn section of three cuddly women and started playing red hot ska, much of it put together by Maru, the bass player. The music is as outrageous as the stage antics, and if it doesn't move you to dance, you are probably dead.

Chthonic calls out to its slaves. PHOTO COURTESY OF TRA

Miracle Saru (Japan: psychedelic rock, trance)

Miracle Saru showed up at last year's Spring Scream on a whim after someone in Thailand told them that the festival was a good party. So they showed up in Kenting and blew everyone away. Their jam moves from 1970s power guitar riffs to drum beats that are so deep they are almost electronic. One minute you are swimming in the music, the next you are pulsing with it. The six piece ensemble is from Tokyo, where they play a couple gigs a month. The band's lead guitarist, Kazz, is an accomplished studio guitarist who has played with everyone from drummers in Niger to Japanese pop idol Sayuki.

LTK dress like cops in drag to preach its own version of the law. PHOTO COURTESY OF TRA

Dzapdau Dau (拾豆豆: Hong Kong: cute punk)

This three-girl band from Hong Kong used to be into noise, but now just wants to make songs that are simpler and, well, happier. The result is punk with a cheery, poppy edge. A year ago, the band came to Spring Scream as M2R, but changed its name after adding a new bass player.

It's cute, it's punk, it's Dzapdau Dau straight from Hong Kong. PHOTO COURTESY OF DZAPDAU DAU:

Q (USA: bluegrass, randomness)

In a Superman-Clark Kent type of dichotomy, the seemingly phenomenal and overachieving hee-haws of Q are actually ingenious and philosophical slugs from the slacker culture of Austin, Texas. On stage, they combine a stand-up double bass with a banjo and use songs to tell their bizarre and hilarious tales (Ted Turner done stole my girlfriend's soul/Now she's workin' for CNN Espanol?).

Hayashi Kiichiro (林樹以郎: Japan: new age)

One of the more reliable phenomena to witness at Spring Scream is how the crowd's jaws seem to go slack in unison when Hayashi gets on stage. Playing an acoustic guitar through a hulking sound processor lugged all the way from Osaka, the music Hayashi produces is a trippy, explosive wall of sound. "Machines are pretty innocent tools, it all depends on our idea," he said. Last year Hayashi was accompanied on stage by a didgeridoo player and a ghoulish basho dancer who ended the show in an extended head stand.

TAIWAN BANDS

Nipples (rock)

Comparisons to Sonic Youth are inevitable. Nipples was founded in 1998 with the American band as a model, and over time singer/guitarist Little Flower and bassist/singer KK even struck up a romance much like the duo's heroes Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon. KK says their music is "like the anatomy we're named after, sometimes hard, sometimes soft." The sound is gritty and intentionally lo-fi and their lyrics rarely rise out of the gutter, giving them a visceral appeal that leaves you either entranced or sets you running the opposite direction.

Show Girls (鋼管辣妹: hardcore: rap metal)

A thrash band with a sense of humor, these are young men who do funny things. They perform lame circus stunts to the backdrop of a medium-hard groove. Yes, a groove. And one of them mans a chih-ling (the Chinese type of yo-yo with a string and two sticks). So they can do more than just bang guitars, they can entertain.

Nicole Darcy (達妮: rock folk)

One of only a few veterans of all six Spring Screams so far, Nicole Darcy is also one of the few musicians who will get up on stage and play by herself. She's composed over a hundred songs in Mandarin, her themes encompassing everything from songs of conscience to the quirky things that happen in the life of an English teacher.

Chthonic (閃靈: black metal with Taiwanese characteristics)

The only Taiwanese band to ever play at the Fuji Rock festival in Japan, Chthonic has time and again proven it is good at what it does -- which invariably includes face paint, pupil-less contact lenses and lead vocalist Freddy singing in the voice of the beholder. Musically, they provide a combination of hard metal riffs and symphonic overtures, with some pieces even using the erhu.

Silence of Spiral (沉默螺旋: hardcore, rap-metal)

The group's frontman and MC has his hair up in cornrows and raps with a matching I-wish-I-was-from-Compton attitude -- until the band behind him decides it's time to thrash. They're pretty hard and full of teen rage, but not especially fresh.

Milk (barnyard funk, miscellaneous groove)

A seven-piece chicken fetish ensemble composed entirely of foreigners from Taichung, Milk thrives on pure zaniness. During a set, vocalist Erin King spends about half his time squawking, strutting and flapping like a chicken while other band members accompany with a variety of farm noises.

MC Hot Dog (MC熱狗: hip hop)

After playing one of the dopest, hypest sets at Spring Scream last year, Hot Dog blew up large and signed with one of Taiwan's major recording labels, Rock Records. Rolling with the beers and blunts, he raps in Mandarin, while his home boy Jerry kicks the rhymes in Taiwanese. And like all good rappers, they have t message -- "teachers suck" and the record industry is wack.

Psychedelic Kindergarten

(迷幻幼稚園, goth, punk)

They paint their faces like dapper zombies, wear black, and do all that other goth stuff. Yeah, tortured minds are cool. The band, influenced they say by Siouxie and the Banshees, has three women and one man and will release its first CD on Crystal Records sometime around Spring Scream.

Sasquatch Alternative Folk and Modern Dance Troubadours (folk, groove)

In the past Sasquatch has mostly been folk singer Scott Ezell by himself, creating a soul-searching sound stripped down to voice and guitar. But for this Spring Scream he's added five more musicians -- two hand drummers, a bass and a mandolin -- for a fuller and more groove-centric set. There will also be modern dance accompaniment. Most of the songs are new compositions that Ezell will release on his second Sasquatch CD later this year.

Sugar Plum Fairy (甜梅號: modern rock)

If Taiwan were to have its poster child for a college rock band it would have to be Sugar Plum Fairy. But that isn't to say their music is contrived or simple. Rolling distortion a la My Bloody Valentine sweeps into complex post-rock guitar arrangements overlaid with incomprehensibly mumbled lyrics. The four-man lineup also sticks to the tried-and-true college rock song formula of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, then a wild, flailing crescendo. Their show at Spring Scream last year was one of the festival's highlights, with a projected visual display consisting of wacked-out photography.

LTK (濁水溪公社: post-punk, performance art)

LTK continues to be one of the best bands in Taiwan, and not just on account of their music. In past stage shows, they've dressed in drag, destroyed chairs with hammers and performed countless politically charged skits. At Spring Scream 1999, they acted a scene in which a Taiwanese Aborigine rapes and sodomizes a Chinese Taiwanese tourist. When they're just playing, as they often do, drums and bass come down like sledge hammers and the guitar ups the power even more. LTK will release its third CD later this year.

Clippers (夾子電動大樂隊: nakashi, stand up comedy)

Often called "taxi music," nakashi is a kind of Japanese organ music that Clippers creator, lead vocalist and keyboardist Hsiao Ying (小應) has adapted for his rock ensemble. Sometimes the schtick is so good, you can't even tell whether or not he's being ironic. Stage shows can be downright loopy, with much credit going to the two dancing girls, Li-li and La-la, whose names make a pun for "chaos" in Taiwanese. But the songs are what really speak to the crowd, expressing everything from the neurotic and repressive experiences of youth to quixotic satires of pop culture. Few would question that there is a certain amount of genius at the root of this band, but lately they've been repeating the same jokes too often. Let's hope they freshen up their act.

Dribdas (jamboree gulash)

Back together for a rare reunion, Spring Scream organizers Jimi Moe and Wade Davis will reunite with their long lost drummer to take to the stage as Dribdas, filling gleeful ears with their never-ending funk and non-sensical lyrics. The appearance could very well reopen the debate as to whether the group's name is simply "sad bird" spelled backwards.

Vic (modern rock)

The four-member band works with a slow, moody tempo, allowing the voice of female lead vocalist April Chen (陳昱穎) to float in and across lines of bass, drums and two guitars. Musical parts tend to overlap in interesting ways, and the lead guitar goes for a penetrating, clawing sound, somewhat similar to Radiohead.

Anarchy (無政府: punk)

A very tight group of political rockers, they advocate a pro-Taiwan stance with their lyrics and hold high the flag of punk rock nihilism with their lifestyles. In a way, they serve as leaders for Taiwan's young agnostics. Their first CD, Anarchy, sold its entire 2000-copy print run within two months of its Dec. 31, 2000 release. Still, their music occasionally sounds a little too much like Rage Against the Machine.

Taipei Times staff writer Max Woodworth contributed to this article.

Spring Scream Tickets

Four-day concert passes for Spring Scream will not be available at the concert site and must be purchased in advance. The passes cost NT$1,000 and are necessary for those who want to camp at the concert site. One-day passes cost NT$500 and may be purchased at the door. Advance tickets are available at the outlets listed below.

Taipei

Zeitgeist (聖界), 122 Chunghsiao E. Rd., Sec. 2, B1 (忠孝東路二段122號B1); Apa Studio, 127 Hoping E. Rd., Sec. 2, 3F (和平東路二段127號3F); Underworld (地下社會), 45 Shihda Rd. B1 (師大路145號B1); and Roxy 99, 218 Jinshan S. Rd., B1(金山南路218號B1)

Taichung

Napoli, 424 Hwamei St. (華美街424號); Grammy Music & CD, 26 Feng Chia Rd. 2F (逢甲路26號2樓); Max Street Wear, 9 Feng Chia 2nd Rd., Alley 20 (逢甲二路20巷9號); and Y2K, 422 Chungmei St. (中美街422號)

Tainan

Armory Pub (兵工廠), 82 Gungyuan S. Rd. (公園南路82號); and Xue You Music Shop (學友樂器社), 556 Dong Ning Rd. (東寧路556號)

Kaohsiung

DNA, 77 Minsheng 1st Rd., 4F (民生一路77號); Bachungjou Live House (八重洲), Wu Fu 2nd Rd. #163 5F (五福二路163號5樓); and three locations of Max Street Wear, Wu Fu 2 Lu, #169, 2F-211 (五福二路169號2F-211), 38 Yutsu 2nd Rd., 2nd St. (玉族二路二街號), and 88 Wenhwa Rd., 1F (文化路88號1樓)

Transportation

Spring Scream will be held at the Liufu Ranch (六福山莊), located just inside Kenting National Park (墾丁國家公園). The site is about a five-minute drive or a 30-minute walk from central Kenting. Since there is no automobile parking at the Liufu Ranch, organizers have requested that those with cars park in Kenting proper and take the Spring Scream shuttle bus, which will ferry concert-goers between the concert and the park entrance approximately every 15 minutes.

Spring Scream will also charter buses to Kenting, leaving from Taipei and Taichung late on the evening of Wednesday, March 4. Bus tickets cost NT$500 and may be purchased at Apa and Zeitgeist in Taipei and Bhoom and Napoli in Taichung. For additional information on Spring Scream, check http://www.springscream.com.

Raving around the

clock in Kenting

For those who simply must have their dance music fix, there will be at least two raves being held in or near Kenting next week. One is a six-day party ending a day before Spring Scream and the other will be held on the same dates as the music festival. Both raves have a fairly standard line-up of DJs from around the country.

WHAT International Moonlight Party

WHEN & WHERE Long Beach, Kenting (墾丁大灣沙灘), March 31 through April 4.

TICKETS NT$1,500 for 6-day pass or NT$350 per day, available at Rock Candy in Taipei,

tel: (02) 8773-8578;

View Pub in Hsinchu, tel: (03) 521-9909;

O No Cafe in Taichung, tel: (04) 2327-8610;

Music Church in Kaohsiung, tel: (07) 282-9101

WHAT Kenting Tribal Massive 2001

(2001墾丁電音舞祭)

When & where Kenting South Ocean

Camping ground (墾丁南海岸露營區),

from April 5 to April 7, 9pm to dawn.

TICKETS NT$1,000 for 3-night pass (presale only) or

NT$450 per night at the site, available at

Tower Records in Taipei, tel: 2389-2025;

Blue Records in Taichung, tel: (04) 375-6114;

Music Church in Kaohsiung, tel: (07) 282-9101;

X-Large in Tainan, tel: (06) 282-4140; and

The Fan U.S.A. in Pingtung, tel: (08) 737-5337|
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