Lee Hom's " Forever 1st Day " Album Diary

89/08/19~89/08/25 @ Part 11

Dear Friends,

This week has been full of inspiration, and flew by in almost no time! The most significant thing that I accomplished this week was my participation in a movie written and directed by Leslie Cheung (Chang Guo Rong), called "Wu Yan Cao" which is part of the government's anti-smoking campaign. This movie will be shown in health classes in schools across Asia and hopefully will deliver this positive message in a powerful, and not-too-preachy way. I can't wait for the premier in Hong Kong on September 26th.

Cast members include Chang Guo Rong himself, Mei Yan Fang, and Muo Wen Wei; I have been spending my days this week acting with them. They are all talented, brilliant, and pleasant to be with, I feel so lucky to have had this opportunity. I am proud to have been part of a movie that promotes quitting smoking. One of my favorite scenes is a very intimate and romantic one between two young lovers played by me and Karen. In this scene, Karen gives my character a gift, to show him how much she loves him; the gift is that she will quit smoking. In this movie, quitting smoking is portrayed as an act of love, and gesture of generosity. I find it much more powerful than using scare tactics, listing the hazards of smoking, typical of most health class movies.

What made the filming even more enjoyable was that this movie, because it is a public service, did not have any commercial overtones; there was absolutely no business involved (for once!), and everyone was working hard simply because they loved what they were doing. The vibe on the set of "Wu Yan Cao" made me feel like I was back in school working on a play with my friends at Williams College. I am convinced that this is the way art always should be.

During my senior year in college I composed and directed the musical, "The Bite That Burns!" as my honors thesis. The cast included 20 of my friends, the orchestra included 20 of the school's best musicians, the costumers, lighting technicians, sound technicians and set designers were all students as well. Everyone worked like dogs, and did it for free. We all simply wanted to make this musical the best that it could be. During the course of the year, as I directed rehearsals, I began to realize a very precious feeling of comraderie between the hundred people working on this project. By the end of the year we were like a family, and when the show closed, several of the cast members cried because they had grown so attached to the network and the feeling of working together. Believe it or not, the entire production cost was under $2,000 dollars US, and we ended up actually making quite a bit of money for the Williams College drama club through ticket sales.

It is this comraderie, or team spirit that is something often sadly amiss in the "real world" of commercial music. I wish working in the real world was just as simple and innocent as it used to be in school, but we live in a world where musicians have to coexist with businessmen. A record executive friend of mine once told me, "Take two pop stars, one is an excellent musician but a mediocre businessman, and one is an excellent businessman but a mediocre musician, I would bet that the second artist has a more successful career, because today's music industry is not only about music". Regrettably, I must admit that his words are true. But I don't care, I would rather be a great musician.

Weeks like these are especially enjoyable. It has been like a breath of fresh air to work on this project "Wu Yan Cao". These days, when I'm not shooting, I'm usually practicing my violin on the set or writing new songs. I will most likely have some new songs, not an entire album, released before the end of the year. I'll tell you more about those next time!

Imagination and Love,
Homeboy