Brain Failure - Punk Band from Beijing

WELCOME TO OUR HOME
(Chinese pls click here)

¨     How you guys form Brain Failure?

(Xiao Rong) I start played in band since I was in school, then I found there’s some venues had rock music , at that time like CIR, and “new Pans” at that time.  After seeing some performances, I made some friends and start the band.

¨     How Brain Failure meet Badnews, your agency company?

At 2002, the boss visited Beijing with their bands, and they saw our performances in a CD cafe.  He said our performance was so excited and shocked like Bob Marley at 70’s.  so Brain Failure began to cooperate with Badnews Music Publishing.  But we are not only follow the other playing some “Japanese” music, we both having the same goal.  We want to make it into international, we hope that the big rock and roll market like America, also like our music.

¨     What did you mean that “Japanese style”?

There’s some teenages in Asia always follow the Japanese culture, not just dress like Japanese, but also make themselves like a Japanese.  And we don’t like this, feel like they lost themselves.  When we played in Shaghai, before we played, there were two bands, and people asked where were they come from.  We said both were from Japan, but actually, there’s only one from Japan.  And those Chinese looked more like Japanese!!

¨     If there any performances you feel so special and unforgettable?

Every performances are very special for us.  In China, the Midi Music Festival is very unforgettable, there’s a big stage and all audiences were so crazy. When they did the mush pit, we ate lots of dusty from the stage!! Although every shows were so crazy, we would review after the show and get ready for the next time and make it better.

One time we played in Ireland, ST Patricks Day, we were the opening band for DROKKICK MURPHYS.  There were 2000 people, and they totally into our music.  Our drummer did the stage dive at the last song, but he couldn't get back to the stage , and finally those professional securities sent him back to the stage through the special channel!!!

¨     There are many punk bands in China, but most of them just played for a few years, how can you guys played so long? Is it become a part of your life? Will you guys fright?

This really became a part of our life, actually we do have our own life.  But music brings us together, we feel good to playing music together and we have fun.

¨     I know Brain Failure will donate all the money from this tours to those victims in earthquake.  In China, there are many good news and bad news recently, you guys live in the Capital of China, Beijing, any feeling for that? Say like the gap between riches and poors is getting greater, people in lower class still being exploited and neglected.

Living in Beijing have lots of pressure, because of many issues on  political, economic and cultures.  It getting more crowded, those new rules and buildings make Beijing becomes more modernization.  in the other hand, it lost some historical and domestic live.  The gap still there, however, China is a developing country.  We hope it can change step by step, so people can be more security and can be protected by the society.  Everyone want to live in a peaceful way, but it take times to achieve it.  People shouldn't just blame on everything.

¨     There are many different cultures getting in Beijing, and Beijing is the centre of Chinese culture, so if there anything impactions?

Yes, actually it really impacted us.  Because we play rock music, about 8 to 9 years ago, while we just started the band, we were really into “Western style Rock” music.  Because in both China and Hong Kong, those rock music were more underground.  We wanted to see some live performances, and that time, there’s not much rock music’s CDs we could find in China.  Therefore we wanted to form a band, see how far a Chinese rock band can go for.   And to us, it is easier to getting information and more Western culture infecting China, so the feeling was not as strong as many years ago.

¨     When you play in other countries, how you let those people know about the Chinese Rock and Roll?

We have to get the common language first, and that is the language of Music.  Not just say we know English, we can talk to them and they understand.  What I mean is that, say like American like rock music, instead of bringing those new school music, we played old school style, which is the most foundation language in music.  And when you know these sources of music, and use this as a bridge to communicate with them.  They would realize “OH! You know our music !” and they would then willing to talk to you and feel like both of us having some common interest in music.

¨     There’s an old man in HK, named as “the King of Kolwoon” then MC Yan (LMF’s member) combined his drawing and graffiti.   So if there anything like this in Beijing? (Combining Chinese and other cultures together?)

Yes of course.  In China there’s everywhere, especially in some smaller city.  I saw in Liuzhou  there’s a wall next to the beach side in a small City in Guangxi, there’s 1km long and the whole wall was full of graffiti!! That was so beautiful so kool!! You can never imagine a small city would full of graffitists!! But it’s not much graffitists would combined Chinese patterns into it.  But on music, Second Hand Rose, is like that, they sing in a very domestic way from the North East part of China. That is very local culture from China.  Maybe Hong Kong just difficult to get information from China, but like myspace, we can post a lot of our music and videos on it so people can see and listen to our music.

¨     So beside Punk, any music you like?

We listen to all kinds of music, even pop music, course there’s some good music in pop.  (Xiao Rong-Vocal) “I like Jay Chow” (Ma Jiliang-Bassist) “I like Lesiley Cheung’s former songs” (Xu Lin-drummer) “I like Alan Tam, he’s my idol while I was student.”  And we all like Teresa Tang (a very famous singer in Asia, who died in 1995) whose vocal was very sweet and her vocal is very beautiful!!  I think all music can influence people must have their values, there must be something good in these music.  And we also like funky, blue, jazz etc.

¨     Why you like Punk more than other music? If there anything impact you guys?

We are not only into punk, just because punk is so simple and direct to the point.  We start from punk then we hope our music can go further, make it better and enrich our music.  Start with punk rock because punk is free, relax and funny.  In both China and Hong Kong, educations were so disappointed, that's too serious.  Just like some metal it's quite serious.  So as a teenage we wanted to have a big change just totally different from our education.  And punk is the one.

¨     DIY such a very important element in punk, did you guys do any DIY stuff?

Yes we did some Demo before, in the very beginning, we record some demo and sold it on our shows.  Before the “Wuliao Jundui” we also made some cassettes.

¨     There’s a HongKong movie “Beijing Rock” it said that those Beijing bands were so poor, just doing music and didn't work at all.  So is it truth?

Of course not! Actually those bands just like us. They wont be so poor.  That movie was not true, that’s not Chinese rock and roll.  There’s some new bands are so good.   They spend their spare time on music and in the other hand they have their jobs.  They wouldn’t like those bands at 80’s, only play music and do nothing else.  That’s bad, teenagers don't be like them, and their music was not that good.

¨     What do you think about recently the Beijing Olympic Game always link with some political issues in China?

That’s bull shit! There’s no linkage with sports and political issues.  Because Le baron Pierre de Coubertin(who is the best known as the founder of International Olympic Committee click here for more information) promote the International Olympic Game which was a SPORT game, let people join together and peace.  Therefore, if those people want to put those political issues on the Beijing Olympic Game, that is totally wrong and opposite to the Olympic Game propose.  It’s true that there are many problems in China, but you cannot put the western value on China.  It needs time, it is impossible to change within a day! That’s impossible when you wink up and China becomes much better! It has to do it step by step, China is in process, and it becomes better. Roma didn't build in one day

¨     Last year, Brain Failure had been to one of the art festival in Turkey, how’s that? If there any festivals or place Brain Failure want to play in there?

Actually that was an art activity, there were many things about art, and it’s quite fresh to us.  Not just only rock and roll, but all kind and different media of art.  We want to play in all festivals, like when we were in Turkey, there was a festival call “Rock & Coke” sponsored  by Coca Cola.  There are many great bands, we really want to play in that too.  Actually in Turkey there entertainments develop better than China.  Because in China, we don’t have any big festival like that held every year.  Even we have Midi music festival and Li Cheung music festival in China, but those cannot compare with others.  We mean that artists are the most important value in those music festivals.

¨     If there any songs you really like it and really representing Brain Failure?

Our song “coming down to Beijing” (Beijing To Boston) was one of that, to be honest we have a lots of song like “coming to the USA” were also like that feeling.  Those you can listen from our myspace.

¨     If there any theme in the new EP “Beijing calling”?

There’s a song “A Box on the Broken Ball” from our new EP, this is the message we want to bring it out.  Because we live in Asia, a very small and crowed place, we want to take Beijing Olympic Game as a chance to connect with the world.  China is a developing country, so we hope people from other countries can communicate with us through this game, with the most honestly and deep from their heart.

¨     Any thing or message you want to bring out from your music?

We can’t say we are talking about some serious issues, because our country still developing.  We just want those people can be responsible to their nationalities, they have to accept who they are not the other cultures.  I think people should know themselves and their nationalities before they want to connect with the outside world.  It is meaningless if they don’t even understand their own cultures.

¨     What do you think about the teenagers? Since after the earthquake, some people said something really mean, which shows that some teenagers’ ethical and values are really wrong, will you worry about that?

We didn't think about our next generation, but I think those are some extreme issues, those were so crazy.  A normal person wouldn’t say that.  So don't put your focus on that, people still so kind.  I think family taking an important role, but we couldn’t say much on their families.  Our family also worried about us when we were young, but we already grow up didn't we?  I think after the earthquake, people will take care on the teenagers more.  In Changsha, there were many students wearing their uniform and group together in a plaza, encouraging for victims, and many places in China also have some students like that.  In Hong Kong, it’s so fake, people don't speak any Mandarin. If we talk to you in English, that feel more strange, because we both are Chinese.  But seems we don't have any common language.  I think people know Mandarin, their education level maybe higher….. just like those people we met, they didn't speak any Mandarin, but they speak in Cantonese.  (actually in some new generation, children even don't speak any Chinese, but English!) that's so sad.  We have a friend brought up in America, but his family push him to speak in Chinese when he’s at home.  So I think that's depends on the family, not just children, but if their parents push them to speak in Mandarin (or Chinese) they will know that, unless their parents also don't want to speak in Chinese.

¨     There are many bands change in their music and not as good as before, but have Brain Failure ever feel like “I can’t comes up with any idea!” ?

We haven’t try that, we think our music just do even better than before.  Not just having lots of ideas, but there are many things happening in our life.  Everything can be a topic, if we want to talk about that, we can make it into music, that's infinite.

¨     Beside music, what do you guy do? Any other interest?

We all have our life and interests.  Xiao Rong (vocal) already had a family, he enjoy having dinner at home after busy life and tour. Wang Jian(guitarist) likes playing online games and CS like those teenagers in China, having very serious problem.  Ma Jiliang (bassist) likes stay at home and playing piano.  He likes IBOOK, IPOD, and he wish he can own an IPHONE one day!! Xu Lin (drummer) likes playing football, yoga and every sport.  

¨     Have you ever think about if one day you guys don't play music any more, what will you do? Just being an old man?

Just like that old guy, playing computer games….when I get old, maybe spend more time on my son.  (when you get old, that should be your grandchild !!!hahahaha….. - Xiao Rong) we want to earn more money so our family can living a better life.  Playing music and playing other things just “play”, just want to be happy.  We didn't think that long term, all those things are so natural, since we start the band, we never think about what we will be.  Just so natural, and do our best.  We are not from first class, our parents didn't plan everything for us, so we didn't think about that.  We have our goal, but just short term.  We want to do our music better, and more people like our music, getting a publishing company.  Hope more people know our music in Hong Kong.  We want to let more people listen to our music like our music.  And improve our performances, perform in more different venues, and getting more audiences.