It's been an especially busy week for me in Shenzhen and rather than create a long post about what it's like to be a musician in China, I'm going to keep an ongoing series of the gigs I play. Hopefully you can get a sense of this city and how western music fits in to modern Chinese culture.
My Bands
I have been fortunate to work with the same core group of musicians for several years now. Every Wednesday I play at Futian Live House Lavo (err, no relation to the Vegas spot). Do you see anything unusual about this band?
Probably not, except that it's mixed. Yeah, believe it or not Chinese musicians and Foreign musicians playing together professionally wasn't so common until recently. If someone hires a band for an event, they usually want a Chinese band or they will pay more for a band of all foreigners - and often at the expense of quality if they don't actually hire real musicians.
Many articles can be found on the internet talking in detail about the foreign "monkey show" gigs, and while that still happens in Shenzhen, the pay is much lower than hiring musicians and it's rather degrading, not to mention the fact that you might be committing outright fraud (I know from experience).
Well, things have improved since I started working full time as a musician two years ago but this past weekend I was reminded of the love affluent Chinese have of all things European...
Last Friday at Shenzhen's OCT Interlaken Hotel, the center of a large recreation of Swiss, Dutch, and other European elements. This was a wedding for some higher-ups at Shenzhen's Huawei. I apologize for the picture quality, as we were pressed for time.
Is this Dutch or Swiss?
Pierre on horns
Our lovely waitstaff
It reminded me of the time I played with ten other musicians under Shenzhen's own Arc de Triomphe (next to the miniature Kremlin in Window of the World). All in all a good gig, well managed, good food, and my first time playing with a wonderful singer from the Philippines who I hope to see again very soon.
Right after this gig I had to rush back to my steady restaurant gig, a German restaurant, and we played jazz and Chinese pop songs until after midnight. I hurried home and tried to get as much sleep as possible because I had to be up at 6 the next morning for another event. The fun thing about all of these events is that I honestly never know what to expect. I usually am not told or I don't ask what the actual event is but it turned out to be the grand opening of a luxury import car dealership - complete with wine room and Italian tailor. Why there is a wine room in a car dealership, I'll never know but it seems like a terrible combination. I had a few pictures but the whole event ran late and I ended up sleeping on a couch in the back for most of the morning. We played three songs on the whole gig.
That night - back to the German restaurant and the next day - Lamborghinis!
I'm not sure if these should be seen or not...
There was a Ferrari on the other side but it was looking dusty AF.
Our agent, Pure, having a bit too much fun on the job.
I'm actually completely desensitized to the luxury cars after living here for so long, but a special thanks to Anna for making us all take pictures. It was far more fun the show itself.
I say that because when it comes to shows like this, the quality of the music is often very low and this is thanks to the lack of something all of us musicians take for granted back home - SOUND GUYS!
In the US, there are usually adequate sound guys attached to any music venue or PA rental company. In China, most sound system guys are self-taught electricians. There just aren't many programs for sound engineering in China and most Chinese people don't see it as a legitimate career choice. Of course, some gigs are better than others and there are pro sound guys available but most charge a premium and our only hired to set up high end club systems and music festivals. The sound quality at the "Lamborghini gig" was laughably bad and the frantic nature of these events often leaves little time for a sound check and the sound check itself is often pointless due to the equipment set up (not necessarily the quality) and the lack of training of the person in charge of the board.
I will say that this has improved since I have started working here, but problems that pervade many aspects of Chinese culture (like extreme nepotism) of course show up in the music scene.
I'm back to the Shenzhen bar scene this week, where the real music (and real sound guy) happens. I had a wonderful gig at local brew pub TAPS last night and spending most of today preparing for an upcoming concert with an original jazz fusion project. More on that later.
Let me know if you have any questions in the comments and follow for more China and music related content!