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They
look punk, sound punk, act punk - but Hang On The Box, Beijing's
premier girl punk band, swears that they're really, um, not. And
you know what? It doesn't matter. These feisty young musicians
will let whatever names you call them roll right off their backs
- unless they happen to learn more curses in English, and then
you'd better watch out. The band recently released its European
debut:"For Every Punk Bitch and Arsehole," and is ready
to break out of the Asian scene. In search of a new label and
poised for world domination, vocalist Wang Yue, drummer Shen Jing,
bassist Yilina and guitarist Yang Fan are the most punk rock non-punks
in China.
WOMANROCK:
I
enjoyed seeing the band in New York with Shonen Knife last fall.
What do you do to prepare for an overseas tour?
WANG
YUE:
I
take a bunch of vitamins to insure my body is no problem at any
time, and I take a black marker for writing the song list of gig.
Also many costumes.
SHEN
JING:
I
take lots of vitamins for my body, some little Chinese snacks
coz I really don't like the food there. Also we will practice
hard and I will read a lot of English info coz I'm the only one
who will translate a lot for band during the tour.
YILINA:
Practice
and the clothes.
WOMANROCK:
When
I saw you play in October, there was one particularly rude audience
member who eventually got thrown out of the show for jumping up
on stage. How do you handle disrespect from the crowd?
WANG
YUE:
In
China, [it's harder for] girls playing in a band. It's easy to
get this kind of thing. Especially at the beginning, it's almost
at every turn. But now, we don't care [about] them at all. We
might have cussed them before, but now we don't pay any attention
to them, and they can't influence us. My English is not good,
but if it would be as good as my Chinese, I definitely will cuss
them in the words which will kill them.
SHEN
JING:
On
stage, the instrument is in our hands and everything belongs to
us at that moment, so who would care about them?!
WOMANROCK:
I
read in BUST that a couple of you have had to play shows with
black eyes because you got beaten up for being in a band. It's
hard to imagine musicians facing that kind of violence. Have things
gotten any better since you started out more than five years ago?
WANG
YUE:
More
and more people love us too much, not like before. And many old
rock stars feel we have [surpassed] them already. They may not
express that, but they know it. I feel in the Chinese music circle,
nobody appreciates music... I mean, if you're old and you have
[been] playing for long time, [whether] your music is good or
shit, you are the king anyway.
SHEN
JING:
I
think some things have changed a lot, but it's not all. I don't
expect anything in the Chinese music circle. They're the shit
forever, and I want to kill them forever; I hate them. That's
why we want to put more promotion abroad. This is the only one
way - without that, I want to commit suicide.
YILINA:
Most
of the faces in the audience at our gigs are Hang On the Box's
real fans, so we don't get any bad words at that moment, haha!
WOMANROCK:
A
lot of Hang on the Box songs have a feminist message. How does
addressing sexism fit in with whatever desire you have to just
be in a band and have fun?
WANG
YUE:
It's
hard to answer, I haven't thought about it. There're many things
I'm not satisfied with in life, also about the relationship between
the female and male. Because I'm not pleased with it, then I take
my lyrics to reflect that rage. I think that will influence many
people. In a new song I cite a part from the movie "A Clockwork
Orange": "WHAT KIND OF A WORLD IS IT AT
ALL? MAN ON THE MOON, MAN SPINNING AROUND THE EARTH, AND THERE
IS NO ATTENTION PAID TO EARTHLY LAW AND ALL THE NORMAL."
Also, a new song is named "NO MORE NICE GIRL: GIRLS SO ROCK
IS NOT BAD." The nice girls don't play rock, so we don't
need more nice girls.
SHEN
JING:
If
I don't play in a band, I also will take another way to do that.
Playing in the band is a kind of release from the heart about
my youth and every affair. It's pertinent to everything in my
life, so if I didn't play in a band, I might try to be a DJ, to
write a book... or to use another way of art to express it.
WOMANROCK:
The
band is very energetic on stage. What is your favorite part of
performing?
WANG
YUE:
I
feel the last gig we played with Shonen Knife was the worst one
of Hang On the Box in the whole tour. The light on the stage was
too bright, and that's what I hate. My favorite part is when the
song from beginning to the last is all harmonious, and at the
last part when we're almost finished, I can keep a pose with the
melody to disappear together.
SHEN
JING:
I
love when I hold the drumsticks. It can be alive with my emotion
together on the stage, and I love to play drums and sing the chorus
together, coz that will make me look so kool!
YILINA:
I
can relax on the stage, and the audiences are all devoted to our
sound. Also, I like when I can take it to the same level as when
we're rehearsing.
SHEN
JING:
You
know, sometimes we feel a band, they can practice very well, but
on the stage, they might do some mistake of the song or the sound
effects... some things are not as smooth as when they are in rehearsing.
WOMANROCK:
What
does being "punk" mean to you?
WANG
YUE:
We're
not punk! NO!!!
SHEN
JING:
I
love many retro punk bands from the '70s. Besides that, nothing
else about this question [pertains] to me.
YILINA:
It's
none of my business.
WOMANROCK:
Do
you all have jobs besides being in the band?
HANG
ON THE BOX:
NO!
WOMANROCK:
You
are a Chinese band on a Japanese label with mostly Japanese bands.
How do you think the Chinese scene differs from the Japanese music
scene, if it does?
WANG
YUE:
We
first recorded in 2000; that's our first album. It's all in English,
so no one would release it in China. Then we were discovered by
Benten. They produced us and they even took us to the world! The
first Japanese tour was excting; we found Japanese audiences are
better than Chinese. But when we been to the US, we felt there
is the best. We have some [cooperation] with Benten now, but we
don't belong to it. We feel we don't suit in Asian, the
rock scene is not that good here, right now. We're trying to find
a new company who would really promote us. There're lots of new
sounds which come out everyday, but we feel we're better than
most of them. The bands like CLOUDDEAD, Liars, Modey Lemon ...
they're so excellent, but why do people still like to listen to
Linkin Park, The Vines... ? There are too many things that are
ready to improve. Some bands are too shit but they would get out
their CD anywhere. We're a lot better than them, but we can't
get out our
new CD. That makes me feel sick.
SHEN
JING:
The
music info is quite abundant in Japan. Also, most good bands,
if they choose to play in Asia, they would only go to Japan. So
it's good for the music scene. The [government and media] are
[open-minded] about the new culture, and that's good. Japanese
musicians are all skillful on playing instruments. The Japanese
work hard and keep improving on their music careers, that's what
I admire a lot. In China, people are still conservative. I can
say Hang On The Box has been beyond them for 10 years. Maybe we
should wait for 10 years, then they would discover us for real.
YILINA:
Japanese
bands all have good skill, their live level is professional, and
the bands compete very hard. But the really great ones are not
many.
WOMANROCK:
Wang
Yue, you list "Di Di Di" by Hang on the Box as one of
your favorite songs in your bio, and you seem very confident in
performance as well. Were you born to be a rock star?
WANG
YUE:
I
don't know if I should answer this question in the Chinese way
or the Western way. If in Chinese, I will say I don't know. But
in the Western way my answer is: Of course!
WOMAN
ROCK:
What
is next for Hang on the Box?
HANG
ON THE BOX:
Finding
a new company and recording our third album. We could get a chance
to tour Europe, coz the people there, they really need us!
Andrea
Benvenuto is a freelance writer in New York City. She contributes
to Venus, Rockpile and WOMANROCK.
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