1. What did you learn about Australia whilst there?

I learned that aussies say “heaps” a lot which reminded me of california where people in san fran area say “hella” in the same context. We did see kangaroos in a wildlife park. And we never met even slightly an unfriendly person the whole time. Even the guy that threatened us with deportation if we didn’t sleep at his house. Fierce but strangely friendly.

I learned that friends in Adelaide drink rain water; that being polite and friendly are in most cases the way to people’s hearts. I missed seeing so many kind people. I learned about the australian fight throughout the world wars and their role in turn of the war. I learned that health care is partially subsidized and that Fox constantly has pumped the television with fear, death, murder and investigative, sherlock-holmsean-panick-driven solutions to problems. And that most Aussies are as laid back as Chengdunese. I learned heaps more but I could go on forever. 

2. Were you impressed with any bands/musicians in particular?

I was impressed with how supportive bands were, how they helped each other out so much instead of competed with each other. Everyone was interested in making the sound good, cables set properly, amps and drums provided for etc. Musically, I enjoyed hearing touching lyrics and songs that meant something to the bands. The fashion show got left in the background and people put their hearts on the table. That was great. And nobody talked down to us because we weren’t Aussies. We’re definitely coming back. That is a scene to develop and build.

3. Were you able to get a sense of the Australian music ‘scene’ on your tour?

We stayed at friends’ houses almost teh whole time and most of the places we were in all had their own bands. So, we got quite a feel for the scene regarding its domestic side, cooking, cleaning and eating together, seeing the machine from the inside. It was great. This is the soul of it all because without the formulated intent and concern for sharing etc, you can’t have a scene also part of a social evolution. This is in contrast to a scene that may try escaping itself by simply trying to disdain other musicians and place all ears into spectator-mode. Music should be a gathering of people and their stories and that is what I gathered from the scene.

4. What Australian words/phrases did you manage to learn in the end and how did you use them?

“Heaps”, “Have a Go…”, “indubitably”, “G’day”, “mate”, “I’ll have ANOTHER Coopers,” “Cheers.” “Bogan” and a few others that I can’t remember exactly. They all came in handy. Its a pretty jovial society so it made using local words really fun. We even hada go at the accent at all hours of the day and night to enhance humor and increase periods of laughter.

5. What was your favourite part of the trip outside of playing shows?

The weather, the beaches and the sunshine, along with Byron Bay and the amazing people. I had such a good time partying with people, meeting new people, seeing their artwork and sharing things from the heart. I enjoyed the genuineness of people. This was my favorite.

6. What would you say to other Chinese bands thinking of playing in Australia?

Go there. Experience a different kind of comaraderie; share music not to be famous, but to share stories and share feelings, emotions, and laughter. I think China needs these things in order for the music industry to develop. At its current state, it will be controlled by shoe companies and computer companies and real estate companies. Scratch the fame element and do it because its fun and meaningful. This is what it is all about. 

1. What do you know about Australia in general?

(Joshua) There was a massive batch of England’s most wanted criminals sent there as some kind of punishment and the jailmates said, awesome, this place is beautiful. And I guess that’s how surfing started. And that’s why Australians say “mate” all the time because they were all at one time cell-mates in English prisons. Its a largely uninhabited Island continent that remains the home of a wonderful indigenous tribe of elders that see the world through a long history of fading wisdom.
(Robert)   Couldn’t say I know a whole lot, actually. Geographically, its pretty far away (from Canada, USA), and we only get the standard mainstream stuff that gets out. (Thanks, AC-DC!!). We do, however, have a few Australian friends where we live, and we think Aussies are laid back, considerate folks. They give us some lowdown on things Australian sometimes.  And ya, our history books in school taught us about the prison thing. I also learned that the (in)famous Captain Bligh was a governor down here after The Bounty  mutiny business. Think thats pretty sweet. 

2. What do you know about the music scene there?

Hard to say what we ‘know’ as opposed to what we ‘think’ about the scene here. Without physically being here, its always hard to gauge a scene, obviously.  The impression is that Australia being so isolated is conducive to a vibrant music scene and culture.  Whether that is actually true or not we will be able to tell you later.  I have noticed the amount of aurally pleasing tunes heard on the mainstream JJJ station.  You have some pretty decent mainstream rock acts down here, and that’s a great thing. Havent had a radio on in years where I come from. Bands like Wolfmother and their ilk keep the true meaning of rock going. 

3. How are you managing the pressure of being Chinese cultural ambassadors in Australia?

Thanks a lot for blowing our cover, mate!  Being spies is always a hard job….In truth, never really thought about that before. We aren’t ambassadors for anything except our style of music. We left China behind for now, and are just focused on being here.  China is just so different than here, so from a personal standpoint, its really difficult to explain how things operate there.  China is like another planet, and that has never been more evident than now, when we were given the grace and hospitality of your country. We are all in love and awe of Australia so far, and thats the bottom line truth of it!  China has its cool elements, don’t get me wrong. We wouldn’t have it as a home base if it were otherwise, but its great to be back in ‘civilization’ again.

4. What Aussie slang are you learning to interact with your audiences?

Trying to stay away from that. Dont want the blokes down under to think we are making fun of them.  Dont want to get hit over the head with an empty flaggon, cobber! Foster’s sucks!!!!

5. What are you hoping to see and do in your free time in Australia?

Aside from ‘everything’, you mean?  We want to experience as much as we possibly can when we are here. This place is absolutely incredible, so we don’t want to miss a thing.  Drink beer, get laid, lots of coke. You know, rock star stuff. (kidding?).  We want to see as much nature as we can. Living on the Planet China doesn’t quite afford the natural splendor.  So, ya, see lots of animals, trees, deserts, blue seas. And of course make as many mates as we can.

6. Australians coming to China worry about the smog and lack of freedom - what are you worried about in Australia?

Aside from getting attacked by wombats, nothing really.  We were warned that Australian Customs agents were cunts, but let me tell you…its was easy breezy coming in.  They must know that any cunt can come in here with a guitar, and not make a fortune.  In China, ‘lack of freedom’ isn’t seen on a grassroots level for expats. Its quite an easy lifestyle. Of course, if you go there, kiss the sun goodbye. Vitamin D is a drug, dude. And we’re high on it.  In sum, how the fuck can we be worried about here?: this place is paradise. You don’t know how lucky you really are.

++

Proximity Butterfly tour is already under way so get out and see them whilst you can!

1. What did you learn about Australia whilst there?

i thought there is way too many asian people ,haha. and much better music scene than i expected.

2. Were you impressed with any bands/musicians in particular?

there is a lots of good band played with us , i especially like rites wild / strangers from now on / tv colours / kasha

3. Were you able to get a sense of the Australian music ‘scene’ on your tour?

yes, the music scene is very active and diy , lots of show we played were diy shows , the vibe of the show is very different from the club show . We played one backyard show in Canberra , 250 people showed up , we were really shocked , cause in beijing you can never put up a house party .And we stay in Melbourne for 5 days , its my favorite for music , and the last show in Melbourne was the best .

4. What Australian words/phrases did you manage to learn in the end and how did you use them?

good on ya , mate!? ha ha

5. What was your favourite part of the trip outside of playing shows?

Beside the shows , the best part of traveling in OZ is the clean air and the beautiful Nature . and we took the ferry trip in Sydney , and i recorded the video and sound of the trip . the sound mixed of sea water and the machine was really beautiful. 

6. What would you say to other Chinese bands thinking of playing in Australia?

you will love it 

original post here: http://the-riotact.com/carsick-cars-house-party-a-review/58413

When Robert sends me an invite to something it’s usually a smart move to pay attention.

When the something is a house gig in the Inner North being headlined by a band from China who’ve played supports for Sonic Youth how could I resist?

For the record the band is CarSick Cars and they even have a Wikipedia page, which is more than can be said for me.

The organisers had cunningly put the main act on in the middle of the lineup just to make sure the band could play before the police arrived.

And with the loud music crashing through O’Connor’s leafy streets and hundreds of hipsters crammed into the backyard this was wise thinking.

The lyrics were incomprehensible, the sound was fuzzy, the music was the distortion laden affair you’d expect from a Sonic Youth support (although two loads of distortion heavy ambient indie rock would be a bit much for most), but nothing mattered, because the crowd was loving it.

There was crowd surfing going on for god’s sake. At a house gig!

The crowd danced, drunks knocked over the indoor lamps serving as stage lighting, large numbers of men peed on the shed despite beer being in short supply.

For a $5 cover charge it was ludicrously good value.

I mean who wouldn’t pay $5 just to see people climbing on a hills hoist to try and get a view of the band?

My only regret was that I didn’t take a better camera to the show.

House gigs seem to be taking off at the moment. We’ll have to hope that Canberra’s suburbia can cope with the ruckus.

1. What did you learn about China whilst there?

No one cares, nothing matters.

2. Were you impressed with any bands/musicians in particular?

A band called “Duck Fight Goose” in Shanghai were really really cool, far and away the most interesting band we saw over there. Definitely worth a look!

3. Were you able to get a sense of the Chinese music ‘scene’ on your tour?

 It hasn’t really fragmented off the way things have over here. People would go out to see live music/rock music but there wasn’t much correlation between any of the acts that we saw or played with. Kinda hard to spot a defined “scene” in our time over there.

4. What Chinese words did you manage to learn in the end and how did you use them?

ni hao-hello, xie xie-thankyou, pretty self explanatory,  ni hao piao liang-you’re a beautiful girl, this was generally met with giggles and some words we didn’t know how to respond to. 

5. What was your favourite part of the trip outside of playing shows?

feasting and being merry.

6. What would you say to other bands thinking of playing in China?

Its a wild way to see the country. If you don’t suck you’ll play some great shows. do it. 

After about 12 hours in transit we got into Beijing. Taxi drivers hoon like no ones business. You can smoke virtually everywhere and shit is cheap.

Our first show was at D22. It was quiet. One support band pulled out at the last minute and the other one played for seemingly ever. We played like shit heads that had been feasting and drinking all day but it was good to get a show out of the way.

The next day we hauled ass to the first of many massive, busy, confusing train stations and travelled to Shenyang to play at a Cafe. We were not optimistic. Things got better when we were packed into our contacts car, he played some shoddy funk music and drove us to our hotel. He was really impressed we knew what funk music was. He asked if we played solos. We said no. 

Shenyang was cool in a “glad we don’t live in this monstrosity” kinda way. It remained probably the most overwhelming city we visited. It was just built up and ugly as fuck. and seemed like a perfect place to play some abrasive music. The “Cafe” we played ended up being pretty awesome, There was a spiral staircase, a fountain and Letterman style stage setup. 

The show was starting and finishing early, it was populated by uni students who had to be back in there dorms by midnight or they, i dunno, might never get to leave that city. The bands before us sound checked a lot longer than they played. We played, many horns were thrown, people really dug it, we felt really good after a bullshit show the night before. We finished up drinking some fine cocktails and patting one another on the back while the second round of entertainment started in the cafe, a pretty killer acoustic trio playing soppy love songs with Michael Jackson videos playing on the projector behind them.

Another train and we were in Dalian. This was a sea side city, I wouldn’t have known straight away had it not been for the screens on the sides of skyscrapers showing various sea life. 

It was a Sunday, we were the only band playing. It wasn’t hugely promising but a Korean barbecue and many many beers put us in high spirits. Initially they weren’t going to charge people for entry to the show, but at the last minute they decided to kick people out and make them pay to come back in, to our surprise they did. The crowd enjoyed it. They wanted photos with us. There were some babes. We felt money.

(with S.A.M.E./This Town Touring tour manager Yang Yu)

The following day we went to the beach. There was an absence of sand but between fun rides, motorised boats, and an abundance of beer it made the childhood beaches of Perth seem like fuck all. In cabs on the way back to the hotel Sam and Nate were mistaken for Indians by the taxi driver, I didn’t mention before but up until this point everyone thought we were Russian. I guess Russians are pretty cool.

That night we were on a sleeper train back to Beijing. The following day we played a show at Mao House which is a pretty pro venue (read: too big for us) It was an average show. Not bad, but neither us or the crowd were hugely excited.

After another single scoop of the big smoke of Beijing, we arrived in Xinxiang to a near smorgasbord of friendly people who shouted us food, drinks and some clothing. We got to Ark Livehouse, By the way of a deafening response from the 40 strong crowd and their healthy appetite for heavy Chinese liquor, a great pivotal point in the tour was reached. After we played Big Black came on in the bar. It was good. Babes were everywhere.

We only got to spend 12 hours in Wuhan. We played another Korean bbq fuelled gig - a damn loud Korean bbq fuelled gig, at Vox. It was hard to get a true scope on how it was received but we had fun. Afterwards we chewed beetle nut, drank whiskey, ate meat on sticks and did our best to avoid ex pats.

(everyone leaves their mark at Vox in Wuhan)

We entered the mammoth metropolis of Shanghai. The show that night was the best one of the tour with the Yuyintang bar ram-jammed full of excitable people and some top notch support from Duck Fight Goose. After getting over the disappointment that we wouldn’t be able to go to Happy Valley, a monolith of a theme park outside of Shanghai we took solace in street drinking around cops and military and just wandered around the city.

The night ended with an all out assault of a club we found in a shopping mall, leaving us to pass out in a hotel for the last time and pick up what was left of the scraps of our physical health the next day. We drove to the airport and maxed out our allowance of duty free liquor and smokes to take back as appropriate souvenirs to our grime-filled friends and house back in Footscray. That was 13 days of great stuff.

1. What do you know about Australia in general?

very big country compare to size，people love sport, and of course the famous kangaroo 

2. What do you know about the music scene there?

i know little about the scene there, its seems so far away from china, i saw a video about this DIY festival called “format” in Australia, looked really cool. We would love to explore more when we are there .

3. How are you managing the pressure of being Chinese cultural ambassadors in Australia?

We never thought we are represent any kind of cultural , we are as same as all the Australia musicians , picked up instruments  made some noise and wrote some stories about our life in beijing. People are curious about everything come from china cause is so far away from their life, but at same time, you will never ask a german band how they represent the german cultural.

4. What Aussie slang are you learning to interact with your audiences?

I haven’t catch up on that, i hope our friends there will teach us some. but we never try too hard to interact the audiences when we tour outside china before, i think the best way is giving them the best show.

5. What are you hoping to see and do in your free time in Australia?

I know the air is super clean in Australia, so we will breath as much as we can and enjoy the nature. you know the air in beijing is the worst in the the earth.

6. Australians coming to China worry about the smog and lack of freedom - what are you worried about in Australia?

Maybe too much freedom, and of out control sometimes HAHA. I never been there before, i hope there won’t be too many drunk audiences.

What do you know about China in general?

we know china is massive, we know that almost everything we own was made there, and we know that nobody who lives there has ever seen us play. beyond that, not too much! someone was trying to tell me there was a wall that stretches across the whole country…? sounds impressive…

What do you know about the music scene there?

we’ve heard that in the last 10-15 years things have relaxed a little censorship-wise, and there’s a whole bunch of new, weird indie bands that have started up. we had the pleasure of playing with PK-14 in australia last year, so we know there’s at least one good band over there….looking forward to checking out some more.

How are you managing the pressure of being Australian cultural ambassadors in China?

hah! i suppose we do represent australia, but first and foremost we represent ourselves…we’re not a good example of a typical australian band…if anything we’re probably going to make australia seem cooler than it actually is….there’s no pressure, we’ll be sure to bring the pain at every show…as long as everyone knows not to question any aspect of our character, there won’t be any problems!

What Chinese words are you learning to interact with your audiences?

we’re trying to get the basics down: “hello”, “suck this”, “more beer please”… we’re definately going to be struggling, and there will no doubt be much confusion…we’re not very good at speaking english, let alone a whole other foreign language…our music will hopefully do most of the talking…

What are you hoping to see and do in your free time in China?

anything, everything…we don’t know what to expect, really…we’ll check out the wall i guess, just to verify it’s real…personally, i want to eat some crazy shit: dogs, snakes, pandas etc…real curious to see some chinese bands too…we’re leaving most of the itinerary to our tour manager, so hopefully he shares our passion for strip clubs and we all have a cool time…

Chinese people coming to Australia worry about the spiders and snakes here what are you worried about in China?

syphillis. terrifying stuff.

An Aussie record label teams up with Beijing-based This Town Touring, putting its name and bands behind the power of the Chinese rock scene

By Dan Shapiro

Read complete article here: tenzenmen records: Indie rock from Oz to the Middle Kingdom | CNNGo.com http://stage.cnngo.com/shanghai/drink/tenzenmen-records-indie-rock-oz-middle-kingdom-097533#ixzz1OjzWkHZa

Die! Die! Die! @ D22
My second trip out to the Wu this year was for a punk band from my hometown, Dunedin. I’ve been away from home long enough not to have seen these guys play live before, but had heard the name and a check of their douban & myspace during the week confirmed they were worth the trip out north. A friend had pre-warned me their shows are infamous for using every inch of the venue and they definitely did that. First song started and lead singer Andrew was already climbing the speaker stack to play to the people on the balcony! Check out this video Alex from beijinggigguide.com got of the last song from where we were standing, just out of the moshpit. And the music? Loud distorted noise punk, very bass and drum heavy, and a lot rawer and heavier than their current record Form, which I had been listening to during the week.