Dig The New Breed: Voices From The South Pt II

Dig The New Breed: Voices From The South II

Big News Coming Soon!

Big news is on the way....

New Indie Music Blog

The never-ending duty of supporting Taiwan Indie has a new home, Indie Rock Taiwan.
This blog will feature many articles, links, updates about new releases, etc.
Check it: http://indie-rock-taiwan.blogspot.com

The Mercury Bar

Started up by Voices From The South director Don and Maho lead singer A-Chang, The Mercury is going to be Kaohsiung's best spot for eclectic live music shows. The premises features a pub on the first floor, where you can choose from a vast menu of beers, highballs and cocktails, including martinis. The menu also includes western pub snacks such as burgers, hot dogs, nachos, onion rings, fries and Mexican quesadillas. Weekly specials include $50 NT draft beer on Wednesdays, and on Friday/Saturday nights, buy 2 beers get one free!

In August, the second floor will be renovated to include a stage for live performances. There have already been negotiations with The Wall in Taipei and Womb Bloc in Kaohsiung to host shows here!

The Mercury is located at 46 Li Wen Road in San Min District, Kaohsiung. It is two blocks west of Bo Ai Road, and Li Wen road is between Yu Cheng and Ming Hua Roads.
Hours of operation: 9:00 PM-2:00 AM every day
地址:高雄市立文路46/48號 (富國路與立文路交叉口-慶聯有線電視旁邊)
電話: (07) 550-8617
(Don):0953336410
(阿昌)0916949017

U LOUD Music Birthday Bash

To celebrate U Loud's anniversary, a special show will be held in Kaohsiung featuring every band on the label's roster. But, we are getting ahead of ourselves. First, it should be noted that Kaohsiung's finest punk/ska band Shy Kick Apple have recently been signed to the label after lengthy negotiations. Things are beginning to look up for Kaohsiung's scene, as the folks at the Taipei-based company are starting to show keen interest in the southern bands.

Anyhoo, on July 4th at the Pier 2 Arts District, come check out a lineup that will blow your mind: Shy Kick Apple, Fire Ex, KoOk, Orange Grass, Sugar Plum Ferry, as well as clione-index from Japan and international stars Cthonic!!

Check our previous post for Kaohsiung's Design Festival for the location and how to get there!! The Fourth Of July takes on a whole new meaning for Kaohsiung denizens this year!!

VFTS Screening In Tainan!!!

On June 2nd, the Tainan premiere of Voices From The South will take place at Li De University in Tainan. 5 bands will be featured, including Fire Ex, The Hindsight, and three local bands. Admission is free, so bring as many people as you can!! See some kick-ass rock and roll, learn about the indie scene in southern Taiwan, and perhaps be inspired to start your own band!
More information is available at Li De University's Hot Rocks Club site!

Kaohsiung Design Festival Band Lineup

This year's Kaohsiung Design Festival is being held at the Pier 2 District, and each and every day of the event will feature live shows from Taiwan's best bands!!! Included in the performances will be a rare show for Kaohsiung native 小倩, the leader of The Peppermints (薄荷葉), as well as heavy hitters Sugar Plum Ferry, Aphasia and Orange Grass. The cream of Taiwan's indie crop will all be at this event!

Each day of the festival has two bands, and show times start at 6:00PM. The Kaohsiung bands' times are:
May 1 (Friday) Shy Kick Apple
May 3 (Sunday) Orange Doll
May 8 (Friday) KoOk
May 10 (Sunday) Fire Ex

Tickets are $199 each day, and that allows you access to all of the other displays/events at the festival. More information is available at the official festival site.

Finally... The Official Website!

Well, the movie festival circuit has run its course, Maho is on hiatus, and there's trouble brewing within one of the other bands, but we are undaunted. At long last, we have created an official website which will allow everyone to see the film in its entirety, absolutely FREE!! We figured it's the best way to let the maximum amount of people see it, rather than showing it a festival once every two months. So, come check it out at www.voices-from-the-south.com! Enjoy!!

Shy Kick Apple Live @.... Shi Hu Elementary School??!!

For this semester's bake sale/fundraising day on April 1st at Shi Hu Elementary School in Kaohsiung, the morning's entertainment was none other than everybody's fave punk/ska act Shy Kick Apple. No, they didn't sing nursery rhymes or Sesame Street tunes, but performed their usual songs to an audience of students ranging from Grade 1-6, as well as parents and teachers. They started their set at about 10:30 AM, which is roughly about 12 or 13 hours earlier in the day than they are usually booked to play a show. However, they did sell some CDs, and spent a good 15 or 20 minutes after their show signing autographs for the students and posing for photos. Way to get those kids started on music at a young age!!

Spring time, nothing doing

A very slow time of the year for bands. Three KHH acts (Orange Doll, KoOk and Shy Kick Apple) are confirmed to perform at Spring Scream this year. Maho were accepted, but have decided not to partake this year, as band guitarist A-Fang has been far too busy with his job to devote any time to rehearse.

The Tainan screening of VFTS originally slated for March 28 has been postponed until after Spring Scream. The Taichung show will also occur sometime in April. We are currently working on a website that will have the entire film streamed for free.

VFTS Screening at "PUTS SOUND 8"

Dates have been confirmed for this month's screenings. Voices From The South will be screened in Taipei on Feb. 14, 7:00 PM, at 第十巷活影空間 , and Feb. 15, 2:00 PM in Kaohsiung at Womb Bloc. Both of these dates are part of the Puts Sound 8 Film Festival.

Puts Sound started out as a humble, one-day event deep in the basement of ATT in Kaohsiung many years ago. The idea was to showcase the best of Taiwan's underground/indie music, with a focus more on the post-rock/indie-guitar sound rather than the punk element. Now, Puts Sound 8 has morphed into a week-long, two-city event! Shows have been confirmed for Taipei at the Underworld (88 Balaz, others) and The Wall (Sugar Plum Ferry, Sorry Youth, others), and Kaohsiung at ATT (with Voices From The South-featured band Shy Kick Apple, as well as Sugar Plum Ferry and Taichung's Damn Kidz).

The organizers have also planned a week-long film festival featuring indie-rock-related documentaries from Taiwan, China and Malaysia! As well as Voices From The South, filmgoers will get to see the documentary about Taiwan's legendary band L.T.K. The best part is, all the films are FREE ADMISSION!!

Come get some culture, come learn about underground music in Asia!

Happy Lunar New Year!

The month of February will bring with it a few shows of note. There are four screenings of "Voices From The South" confirmed, we will post information and band lineups once we have the exact details. One show will be in Tainan, one in Taichung, one in Taipei, and one here in Kaohsiung. In the meantime, check out some footage from Saturday's "Gathering" show from Womb Bloc. Two vids this time, one from Orange Doll and one from Shy Kick Apple. Happy Lunar New Year!

Orange Doll Unplugged at Womb Bloc!


Shy Kick Apple Unplugged at Womb Bloc!

Pre-Chinese New Year Show

January has been a rather quiet month for the Kaohsiung music scene. The only gig worth noting is the pre-Chinese New Year show, "Gathering", which will be held at Womb Bloc on Saturday, January the 24th. As is the custom at this venue, all the bands will be doing unplugged sets. The lineup includes 橘娃娃 (Orange Doll),害羞踢蘋果 (Shy Kick Apple), 波力港 (Polygon), 角落 (The Angles), 榆鈞 (Yu Jun) and BRC. As Womb Bloc's person-in-charge Chloe says, "We want to have a special gathering of all our Kaohsiung friends to put on a show, 'cuz this is a very special time, right before Chinese New Year." This is one of the biggest and most diverse lineups Womb Bloc has ever presented, so if you're not going anywhere for the holidays, do come and check it out! Tickets are $250 at the door, and showtime is 6:30 PM.

Thanks, Taipei!!

Well, everyone involved with last night's premiere at The Wall is very, very pleased with the turnout and the evening's events. A complete surprise, since there were only two advance tickets sold as of Dec. 27th! A crowd of over 70 people showed up to see the movie and these Kaohsiung bands. This may seem like a small number for a typical Taipei show at The Wall, but for a bunch of lesser-known bands from the south of Taiwan, this is a huge victory!! Perhaps this is the first step towards Kaohsiung bands breaking into the tough northern market.

The film was well-received by the Taipei crowd, who laughed at the right moments (unlike the Womb Bloc show, where all the jokes went right over the heads of the home-turf audience). Immediately after the last credit rolled, the curtains parted, allowing KoOk to play an absolutely deafening set. This was by far the loudest I've ever heard them. Shy Kick Apple were next and played a very inspired set, with singer OEJ joking with the crowd, making light fun of the differences between northern and southern audiences. He also made references to the film itself, volunteering to "Speak English" to the audience, and even copying lines he said in the film!! Super-funny shit! Orange Doll were third on the bill, and played very well despite sound problems that plagued their whole set (their afternoon soundcheck didn't really do them any good at all). The soundboard folks worked hard to keep the glitches to a minimum, but it was still very distracting, and very disappointing that a brilliant set was marred by technical problems.

The final band was Fire Ex, who rocked the place in usual fashion. Sam admitted to the crowd that he was actually nervous about this show, because of the documentary screening, and also because that this was a big, big show for Kaohsiung bands. Here was a golden chance to prove their mettle to the Taipei audience.

A link to some absolutely stunning photos from the show:
David On Formosa's Flickr Sets


Post-show, kind words came from everywhere: The Wall's manager Orbis, White Wabbit Records' owner KK, Fire Ex's manager Mango, the actress/musician Enno, the president of Dreamosa Films Cheng Wen-Tan, and of course from the musicians themselves. Things are happening with the film, and are also happening because of the film. The Chinese paper Liberty Times wants to do a story about the film and the bands. Folks from other cities are inquiring about where and how to see the documentary. I would never be so audacious as to even attempt to predict what changes or opportunities this film might create, but after last night's show, it seems that my original (and only) motive to get these Kaohsiung bands more recognition is on the right course indeed!


Anyways, here's some video from the show, Orange Doll with a song from their self-titled EP, "逃到墾丁去".

Voices From The South Goes North! 在台北放映！

中文板: 從南方來的聲音

"Voices From The South: Kaohsiung's Independent Music Scene" will be shown on January 3rd, 2009 in Taipei at The Wall!! Also, four of the five bands featured in the film will also be performing live!! Fire Ex, KoOk, Shy Kick Apple and Orange Doll will rock the place after the screening of the film. Tickets are $400 NT, and includes a free drink, and as an added bonus, TO THE FIRST 50 PEOPLE WHO BUY TICKETS, WE WILL BE GIVING AWAY A FREE DVD containing live performances from all five bands (Maho, Fire Ex, KoOk, Orange Doll, Shy Kick Apple) and outtakes/scenes that were not included in the film!! Four bands, a free drink, a movie, and a free DVD! Not a bad deal for $400 NT! Advance tickets are available through The Wall's website. Come celebrate the first weekend of the New Year in a really fun way!!

The Coolest Thing I Ever Saw...

...was at the park tonight. Shy Kick Apple, in preparation for their first-ever unplugged show at Womb Bloc December 19th (see the previous post), rehearsed in the park on Ming Cheng Road Thursday night, December 18th, with nothing more than acoustic instruments and a bag of Taiwan beer. There was not another living soul in the vast expanses of the park at this hour, other than the band and me.

In the whole year I've spent filming all these Kaohsiung bands, I've never seen anything cooler than seven guys sitting under a tree in the middle of the night rehearsing. Even their flute player, who's now in the army, came back from Taipei to take part in the Womb Bloc show. Wen-Han played a melodica, PiPi played an acoustic guitar instead of bass, and Popo played his drum parts on a cajon borrowed from Fire Ex's drummer Indoa. There was a bit of a chill in the winter air, so everyone was bundled up in heavy coats and hoodies as they worked out the unplugged arrangements of their songs. At precisely 12:35 AM, a policeman came by and told everyone to shut it down, as the neighbors (who were hardly within earshot, as the nearest building was at least 200 yards away) decided to be tight-ass bitches and phoned in a complaint. The band complied with the cop's order, and trekked off to the nearby steak house for a late-night meal, lugging all their gear with them.

Those who will be at the Womb Bloc show are in for a real treat, as the unplugged versions of their songs are just as cool as the electric ones!!

VFTS @ Womb Bloc!!! 在子宮藝文放映！！

Only the second public screening to date! If you missed it the first time, here's another chance! On December 19th, Womb Bloc Arts will be screening Voices From The South after live acoustic shows from three of the five bands from the film! Fire Ex, Shy Kick Apple, and the FIRST-EVER ACOUSTIC SHOW from KoOk will take place on this evening, and the screening of the film will follow!!!

Location: Womb Bloc Arts 2F, #18, Lin Nan Street, Ling Ya District 高雄市苓雅區林南街18號2樓
Date: December 19th, 2008
Time: 8:30 PM- 12:00 AM
Bands: Fire Ex, Shy Kick Apple, KoOk
Tickets: $200 NT

It will likely be the last chance to see the film for awhile in Kaohsiung, as we will be doing a mini-tour of the island, with shows in Taipei, Taichung and Tainan in the works.

OR from Shy Kick Apple/Fire Ex talks about VFTS

This article originally appeared in Chinese on the Megaport Association website.

Voices From The South: S.K.A./Fire Ex Guitarist OR

Two years ago I got an unexpected phone call from a Chinese-Canadian guy who said in unclear Chinese, “Hi, I’m Don from FYI South, I want to interview Shy Kick Apple for the magazine.” During the course of the interview, we drank a lot of beer. In addition to discussing Shy Kick Apple, we told him about other bands and the underground scene in Kaohsiung. Don’s reaction was one of amazement; he rightly believed that the indie scene should not be like this. Afterwards, whenever S.K.A. had a show, he would almost always be there. Each time I would see him his first words to me would always be “Hey OR! Beer?” Over time, everyone got to know more and more about this new friend with whom we could practice English and drink beer.

One day I got a phone call saying Don wanted to make a documentary about Kaohsiung’s bands. This news made me feel both nervous and excited. Finally, more people could get to understand Kaohsiung’s music scene. Even if just a little, that would be just fine. Our surroundings are not like that of the north, so it’s easy for us to become idle. Because of this, we all know we must work a little harder.

Once, Don came from Kaohsiung to Dan Shui to film Fire Ex. It was only a minor thing, he needed a sound recording to use in the film. When we finished our show, I saw him sitting alone at the side of the stage looking dejected and angry, smoking a cigarette. I asked him what was wrong, he said the sound recording was corrupted and it couldn’t be used. He blamed himself over this little thing, and he felt that he made a mistake. I also blamed myself for not paying attention to this matter and helping to avert the mistake. After I consoled him, he immediately threw all his equipment bags on his back and walked off into the sunset to return to Kaohsiung. Watching him walking away, I almost cried. But of course, in his hand was a bag of beer…

This documentary not only shows Kaohsiung’s bands, it also shows his care and love for us. I often think that maybe we’re not important people, but we definitely make up a page in Kaohsiung’s history. Thanks to this documentary for capturing these bands for posterity. So, see you at MegA on the 18th. I hope everyone can have some drinks, enjoy the bands and the movie. If you happen to run into Don and have a drink in your hand, don’t be shy and say to him “Thanks and Cheers!”

Sam from Fire Ex talks about VFTS

This article originally appeared in Chinese on the Megaport Association website.

Voices From The South: Sam Yang, lead singer for Fire Ex

Never before has there been a person who possesses such an earnest attitude towards Kaohsiung’s music scene. We all love Kaohsiung and love our bands as a matter of course. However, there’s a guy from Canada, a guy who at all times can produce a bag of beer, who picks up a digital video camera and with great conviction tells us that he too loves Kaohsiung and its bands. Furthermore, he tells us he wants to carefully document the scene, and let the whole world see it.

At first, we all thought this wouldn't be such a difficult task. But after watching him and a couple of friends working hard filming every single performance, and arranging and filming band interviews, we slowly started to think that is not so easy after all.

One day, Don called me up and said “Join Us lost all the sound recording files, can I come film your show in Dan Shui?” I told him that this was only a small-scale performance, and it was not too convenient to get to the location of the show. Nevertheless, he still decided to come. Below the setting sun in Dan Shui came the man carrying two bags of equipment and a bag of beer. He came all the way from Kaohsiung. Immediately, my esteem for him went off the charts. The degree of importance he attached to this project far, far exceeded my imagination.

Folks in Kaohsiung haven’t really said thanks to him, so I want to tell you, Don, you’ve done an excellent job. We all admire you and want to thank you. On the 18th, let’s party! We wanna get you drunk!

As for what changes or influence this documentary will bring about, I don’t even want to take a wild guess. After all, I’m not a professional movie critic. I do hope that we can look back at this precious movie again and again when we’re old. I also hope it can let more and more people know about Kaohsiung rock music. Of course, if Don can make a bit of money from the movie, that would be good. At the same time, I hope the film will carry the sounds of all of our bands’ laughter throughout all of Taiwan.