At the beginning of his shows, James Brown was introduced by his myriad of nicknames: Mr Dynamite, Soul Brother No. 1, Sex Machine, the Godfather of Soul, and the Hardest Working Man in Show Business.
With all due respect to the late Mr Brown, LEO37 (real name Leo Shia) needs to borrow from one of those nicknames, as he is becoming one of the hardest working men in Taiwan. He and his band will be performing next Friday at the From the Beach to the Bar after-party of the Ho-Hai-Yan Gongliao Rock Festival (貢寮海洋音樂).
In the past month alone, LEO37 emceed while the Bounce Girlz played a set of electro and dubstep after alt-rockers Pitchtuner at Revolver. He deejayed a two-hour set of old school and underground hip-hop gems at the Havana pool party. Then, he organized and co-hosted From the Top, a spoken word musical jam session that showcased LEO37’s skill rapping with a beatboxer, the reggae collective Black Reign’s new band, Roots Rebellion, and Alita de Bone, freestyling previously unheard Rock in Hose material.
Photo courtesy of Joe Russo
And you don’t stop.
LEO37 then fronted his band for a two-hour sit-down show at Alleycat’s in Tianmu. Finally, he and Ed Schaefer, the drummer in his band, were the entertainment between the plays at all four of shows the Taipei Players theater group held last weekend. Once a play ended, the spotlight hit the funky drummer and super-bad LEO37 came out of the background encouraging the non hip-hop drama crowd to pay their respects to the man that started it all by getting the audience to yell “James Brown” over and over again before dropping into verses referencing Brown’s works.
“Truthfully, there’s never been a time when music wasn’t part of my life,” LEO37 told the Vinyl Word. “Both of my older brothers are musicians and they always had me immersed in something, from Miles Davis to A Tribe Called Quest or Quincy Jones to Fishbone. I was real lucky.”
For the past three years, LEO37 has been spending half his years in North America touring and recording and half in Taiwan with his girlfriend and family. The two places differ musically because, “In North America right now, as a whole, the bar that’s been set for performers and artists is generally higher than here in Taiwan. More people experimenting and trying new things while still maintaining and displaying a super high level when it comes to their craft. I’m not saying Taiwan doesn’t have that, it’s just few and far between.”
LEO37 wants to make sure he doesn’t offend anyone. “With Taiwan though, even though the talent pool may be thinner, there’s a real intangible excitement here that you just can’t put your finger on. If you asked me six or seven years ago who I was listening to in Taiwan, I’d say nobody,” LEO37 said. “But now you have Go Chic, Soft Lipa (蛋堡), Kou Chou Ching (拷秋勤), Matzka (瑪斯卡) and more. All these road-tested, independent artists that are really making a mark not only here, but internationally for the country. It’s exciting to be here because you’re actually witnessing the birth of a movement right now. Things are changing and Taiwan will have its day. No doubt.”
With his relentless work ethic and boundless personal charm, LEO37 will not only be witness to the movement, but also one of its leaders. When questioned about his future, he said, “I’m not in this to be famous. And I understand how ridiculous that may sound considering I’m a front man, but I’m not. I’m just trying to make a living while keeping my integrity in tact. This is what I love. And what I know. It’s really that simple.”
■ Revolver in Taipei will be closed and relocate to Fulong beach at 56 Fulong St, New Taipei City (新北市福隆街56號) from Wednesday through July 10, where they will host all-night parties starting at 10pm. Wednesday and Thursday are Kid Killer and Yellow Fever. Friday night is LEO37 and Robi Roka. July 9 it’s the Deadly Vibes, Colour Wolf and myself, Marcus Aurelius. Admission is free and the parties last until the sun comes up.
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