It's So Bizarre, It's Off the Map
Is a trip to China a worthwhile career move for the Urinals? Will this trip improve our chances of playing the East Coast of our own country? Will we get a lucrative recording contract that will propel us to the next level of obscurity? Probably not, but as is typical with our haphazard musical career, it'll be an adventure. We don't even expect to sell any merchandise or garner an online sales tsunami either - the typical price for a CD in China runs between $2 and $3, notably below cost for our releases. We're taking this plunge because, as fate and (Emily's) tenacity would have it, we can.
Emily's been working on this venture for about a year and a half. Originally, the plan was to have us attend the festival in May of 2004, but things didn't work out. There were initial doubts of course - someone with no booking experience that we're aware of, from a culture not known for its contributions to contemporary popular culture, arranging for us to be subsidized by what is thought of in the West as a monolithic, humorless, tyrannical bureaucracy. It's beyond comprehension, especially given the content of our material, which has not as yet been reviewed by Beijing (I envision a scenario where, immediately after our first number, the Senior Minister of the People's Culture is hauled off to a labor camp on the Plateau of Leng.) And yet, here we are, with airline tickets in hand, visas in preparation, and arms inoculated. As David Nolte told me, "it's so bizarre, it's off the map."
Things that could work against us:
1) The band was known as 100 FLOWERS at one point;
2) The band name has not been directly translated into Mandarin, but instead into a phonetic equivalent whose meaning is "Distant Promise" (sounds like a Yanni record, right?);
3) When it's not about the carnal, our lyrics tend to be critical of culture and politics (primarily our own, but still...);
4) We're decidedly middle-aged, a condition which hair dye will not disguise (I was recently asked to do this, btw, to improve our appeal to the soon-to-be-conquered Asian Market.) Nor should it - pop music comes in a variety of flavors, and our approach is no-less valid than the next wave of youthcult superstars;
5) We'll be using unfamiliar equipment - will it work? Will we get a soundcheck?
Things that could work for us:
1) When we're on, we're on;
2) We have faith in the material which, in the context of this festival, will most certainly stand out as unique.
Regardless, we're happy to be the sole American band on the bill. We get to represent our country in the best way we know how -- let the International incidents begin.
- John
Emily's been working on this venture for about a year and a half. Originally, the plan was to have us attend the festival in May of 2004, but things didn't work out. There were initial doubts of course - someone with no booking experience that we're aware of, from a culture not known for its contributions to contemporary popular culture, arranging for us to be subsidized by what is thought of in the West as a monolithic, humorless, tyrannical bureaucracy. It's beyond comprehension, especially given the content of our material, which has not as yet been reviewed by Beijing (I envision a scenario where, immediately after our first number, the Senior Minister of the People's Culture is hauled off to a labor camp on the Plateau of Leng.) And yet, here we are, with airline tickets in hand, visas in preparation, and arms inoculated. As David Nolte told me, "it's so bizarre, it's off the map."
Things that could work against us:
1) The band was known as 100 FLOWERS at one point;
2) The band name has not been directly translated into Mandarin, but instead into a phonetic equivalent whose meaning is "Distant Promise" (sounds like a Yanni record, right?);
3) When it's not about the carnal, our lyrics tend to be critical of culture and politics (primarily our own, but still...);
4) We're decidedly middle-aged, a condition which hair dye will not disguise (I was recently asked to do this, btw, to improve our appeal to the soon-to-be-conquered Asian Market.) Nor should it - pop music comes in a variety of flavors, and our approach is no-less valid than the next wave of youthcult superstars;
5) We'll be using unfamiliar equipment - will it work? Will we get a soundcheck?
Things that could work for us:
1) When we're on, we're on;
2) We have faith in the material which, in the context of this festival, will most certainly stand out as unique.
Regardless, we're happy to be the sole American band on the bill. We get to represent our country in the best way we know how -- let the International incidents begin.
- John
posted by Kat at 7:18 PM
2 Comments:
I'm from Los Angeles and am living in Beijing at the moment. I can tell you that while people may not be familiar with the Urinals, they will still come to check out the band. There are also plenty of foreigners here who would be very interested in seeing a non-Chinese band as very few of them play here.
From surfing with the Shah to surfing the human wave at the People's Park. decker dogg says 'rock on!'
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