Homegrown my ass
I'm sick of the word "homegrown". Everytime I read a report or a feature on local artiste (be it Stephanie Sun or the Suns) in the papers, they will always use "homegrown". How homegrown can they be when Stephanie Sun was groomed in Taiwan? When the Suns did one of the bravest thing by packing up, heading out to Melbourne and working their asses off to make a music career. All this with no help from the very institutions (radio station, press, etc) that has the power to make a difference, to seed and build a sustainable industry for domestic music. Homegrown my ass.
In the 80s, when Dick Lee's Mad Chinaman was released, it sold a pathetic few hundred copies. A despondent Lee nearly wanted to throw in the towel. Then a Japanese producer heard it when he was here on holiday and he went "hey! this is good shit". Brought it back to Japan, got a label interested and released the album. It became a huge hit and when news of that streamed back to Singapore, radio stations, the press and the public suddenly went "hey! this is good shit" and started buying it. It went multi-platinum selling more than 20,000 copies here. Before or after the success in Japan, these are still the same songs. What does it say about Singaporeans? That we need validation all the time from others before we know what's good shit? Like Kevin Mathews sang on his I Love Singapore, "The flipside of prosperity will leave us all braindead".
Last weekend saw a slew of local gigs. Friday was RNDM at Homeclub (Vallium, Vertical Rush and others). Saturday was even better... there were three gigs happening- At Gas Haus (Great Spy Experiment and others), Timbre (Documentary In Amber, Love Experiment and
Stoned Revivals) & the Arts House (ETC, Pat Chng & Highrise). Sunday was smashing (Force Vomit and Bangkok's Futon) at Barnone, with FV playing one of their best set I've seen for a long time. And tonight is Monday Sessions (Ocean Band, West Grand Boulevard and KL's KLPHQ).
I'm sure there must be other gigs over the weekend I wasn't aware of. It wasn't like that before. Not even in the "heydays" of the 90s. Certainly not in the 80s when there were only 1 or 2 gigs featuring English language original local music (now get this...) the WHOLE freaking year. Yes. 1 or 2 miserly gig a year. Pathetic. So last weekend I punch my fist in the air triumphantly and grin like a mad Singapore boy.
In the 80s, when Dick Lee's Mad Chinaman was released, it sold a pathetic few hundred copies. A despondent Lee nearly wanted to throw in the towel. Then a Japanese producer heard it when he was here on holiday and he went "hey! this is good shit". Brought it back to Japan, got a label interested and released the album. It became a huge hit and when news of that streamed back to Singapore, radio stations, the press and the public suddenly went "hey! this is good shit" and started buying it. It went multi-platinum selling more than 20,000 copies here. Before or after the success in Japan, these are still the same songs. What does it say about Singaporeans? That we need validation all the time from others before we know what's good shit? Like Kevin Mathews sang on his I Love Singapore, "The flipside of prosperity will leave us all braindead".
Last weekend saw a slew of local gigs. Friday was RNDM at Homeclub (Vallium, Vertical Rush and others). Saturday was even better... there were three gigs happening- At Gas Haus (Great Spy Experiment and others), Timbre (Documentary In Amber, Love Experiment and
Stoned Revivals) & the Arts House (ETC, Pat Chng & Highrise). Sunday was smashing (Force Vomit and Bangkok's Futon) at Barnone, with FV playing one of their best set I've seen for a long time. And tonight is Monday Sessions (Ocean Band, West Grand Boulevard and KL's KLPHQ).
I'm sure there must be other gigs over the weekend I wasn't aware of. It wasn't like that before. Not even in the "heydays" of the 90s. Certainly not in the 80s when there were only 1 or 2 gigs featuring English language original local music (now get this...) the WHOLE freaking year. Yes. 1 or 2 miserly gig a year. Pathetic. So last weekend I punch my fist in the air triumphantly and grin like a mad Singapore boy.
9 Comments:
love this entry joe - nat
We're past the first 5 years of the 21st century. It's bloody-hell-about-time.
well said my good man!
I totally agree with you.
nat, love the music.
jeanne, i think its gonna take a while more.. a long time more...
gotta give u mad props joe...u gave us love and support back when we were nothing and after all these years yr still at the front row when i face the audience!
One thing I love abt this FV line-up. Look at Dino and Lalat. Matching guitar and bass! Woooo... so sexy! so cute!!!
Joe,
It's very nice reading your passionate take on the music scene in Singapore.
A couple of things:
1) I'm not sure forcing a quota on radio stations will help local music very much in the long run. In my experience, a quota leads to a short term boost in the "industry" (such as that is), but it is not a translatable currency - it holds no real value and is not a worthwhile measure of success.
What I mean is this. For a band, making it to the radio on a quota offers little more than the temporary gratification of hearing their song getting airplay. However, it's a bit like the handicapped parking slot. Put this on your presskit and take it to the UK or the US, and it will be a taint more than anything else.
Ultimately - and this is very, very important - the music itself MUST stand up, without endorsements, without context, without references. That is the only way to get more exposure, especially internationally.
2) Having said all this, it is also true that there is a certain prevalent mindset in Singapore whereby people prefer "international" acts over local ones, with such absurd outcomes as a way-past-their-prime Rolling Stones filling up a stadium at hundreds of dollars a seat where ye olde band from Clementi will have their work cut out for them to get fifty people into a bar at a ten dollar cover charge.
The fact that the Sembawang Festival in January bombed so massively was a harsh lesson - people simply aren't going to listen if you don't already have a name and it's near impossible to get an international name here, so it's a vicious circle.
The fact of it is gig-going (as the concept exists in Europe and the US) is a novelty here. People as a rule do not want to spend their Friday nights with a band that they have never heard before in a sweaty, smoky no-name bar. It's not worth it when it's much more comfortable just heading down to a comfy, popular club playing covers of familiar material. It's a shame, methinks, but there we are and changing mindsets takes years.
3) What The Suns did is perhaps the only thing left to do. I'm of the opinion that Singapore lacks the critical mass to launch a band to anything higher than getting their picture in 'Banter'. If a name has to be earned, it has to be earned somewhere where there are significantly more gig-goers (and I can't begin to emphasise how important gigs are for exposure, and how much more valuable they are than the radio - people remember gigs they go to).
What can local bands do, in the face of something potentially this disheartening?
I would say record. Record, and jump at any chance to play and not stop at any costs. It's easier to record and get your music on the net than ever before. There's a whole world of terrific independent small bands out there. Join the club. Book shows in neighbouring countries. Success isn't about magazines and airplay. Success is about lots of people enjoying your music for what it is. Work like hell, and things will happen. They will happen slowly because that's how it is. Don't rely on the fleeting success of getting into something by virtue of being "homegrown". Rely on effort and persistence.
That having been said, the scene here is certainly a good deal better than it was even five years ago. Things are beginning to move and this is always good news.
Joe,
It's very nice reading your passionate take on the music scene in Singapore.
A couple of things:
1) I'm not sure forcing a quota on radio stations will help local music very much in the long run. In my experience, a quota leads to a short term boost in the "industry" (such as that is), but it is not a translatable currency - it holds no real value and is not a worthwhile measure of success.
What I mean is this. For a band, making it to the radio on a quota offers little more than the temporary gratification of hearing their song getting airplay. However, it's a bit like the handicapped parking slot. Put this on your presskit and take it to the UK or the US, and it will be a taint more than anything else.
Ultimately - and this is very, very important - the music itself MUST stand up, without endorsements, without context, without references. That is the only way to get more exposure, especially internationally.
2) Having said all this, it is also true that there is a certain prevalent mindset in Singapore whereby people prefer "international" acts over local ones, with such absurd outcomes as a way-past-their-prime Rolling Stones filling up a stadium at hundreds of dollars a seat where ye olde band from Clementi will have their work cut out for them to get fifty people into a bar at a ten dollar cover charge.
The fact that the Sembawang Festival in January bombed so massively was a harsh lesson - people simply aren't going to listen if you don't already have a name and it's near impossible to get an international name here, so it's a vicious circle.
The fact of it is gig-going (as the concept exists in Europe and the US) is a novelty here. People as a rule do not want to spend their Friday nights with a band that they have never heard before in a sweaty, smoky no-name bar. It's not worth it when it's much more comfortable just heading down to a comfy, popular club playing covers of familiar material. It's a shame, methinks, but there we are and changing mindsets takes years.
3) What The Suns did is perhaps the only thing left to do. I'm of the opinion that Singapore lacks the critical mass to launch a band to anything higher than getting their picture in 'Banter'. If a name has to be earned, it has to be earned somewhere where there are significantly more gig-goers (and I can't begin to emphasise how important gigs are for exposure, and how much more valuable they are than the radio - people remember gigs they go to).
What can local bands do, in the face of something potentially this disheartening?
I would say record. Record, and jump at any chance to play and not stop at any costs. It's easier to record and get your music on the net than ever before. There's a whole world of terrific independent small bands out there. Join the club. Book shows in neighbouring countries. Success isn't about magazines and airplay. Success is about lots of people enjoying your music for what it is. Work like hell, and things will happen. They will happen slowly because that's how it is. Don't rely on the fleeting success of getting into something by virtue of being "homegrown". Rely on effort and persistence.
That having been said, the scene here is certainly a good deal better than it was even five years ago. Things are beginning to move and this is always good news.
Hi Joe, I take your point about Singapore bands not being groomed here. I hope you don't frown too much at the name "Homegrown Bands" that the library used for its documentary at library@esplanade, LOL. I must admit your perspective (which is valid) didn't occur to us when we chose the term. We just took what was the popular terminology. Still, I feel that the meaning of "homegrown" isn't just limited to "home-groomed". However weak my argument may seem, I feel the bands -- the individual Singaporeans -- grew up here, where they call home. That's how I understand the term to be. Cheers.
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