2010 Mar 18 Secret Machines: Brandon Curtis Works Them Out
"My brother Andrew lives in Beijing and I am excited to visit him again!"
- Brandon Curtis
Before conducting this interview with The Secret Machines (www.myspace.com/secretmachines), I went through all their albums – days later, the psychedelic thunderstorm of “First Wave Intact” and the innocent love story in “Alone, Jealous & Stoned” are still living in my head. As the band prepares to tour Beijing (Mar 19) and Shanghai (Mar 20), we talked to Brandon Curtis, vocalist/keyboardist/bassist, about the music that brought them to this point.
the Beijinger: How did The Secret Machines come together?
Brandon Curtis: We all met in Dallas, Texas. It was a relatively small music scene and people of common interests sort of gravitate to each other.
tbj: Who would you consider as your musical influences?
BC: Neu, Can, Kraftwerk, Gong/Steve Hillage, Swans and Scott Walker – plus (the obvious ones) Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles.
tbj: What are you listening to right now?
BC: Birdsongs of the Mesozoic’s Magnetic Flip.
tbj: Your top five all-time favorite albums?
BC: The Rolling Stones’ Exile On Main Street, Fennesz’s Endless Summer, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (“Eroica”), Cocteau Twins’ Victorialand, David Bowie’s Station to Station.
tbj: What was the story behind “Alone, Jealous & Stoned”?
BC: I was thinking of it from the point of view of a very young person, and the first connection with the great vast nothing, which is sure to be full of happy people. The song is about great distances and naive heartache.
The Secret Machines play "Nowhere Again" at MTV
tbj: Your opinions on music reviews?
BC: I think good music reviews talk about the music and how it affects the listener on a personal level. Great music reviews are about personal experiences that happens to also be universal, sort of “It's about me, but also everybody.”
tbj: Does it offend you when the press keeps going on about your famous friends (i.e. David Bowie)?
BC: No, it's flattering. But it's not real, so I don't really pay any attention.
tbj: Have you been feeling as part of the scene after moving to New York?
BC: We are definitely of the independent sort, not really associated with any scene or group in NYC.
tbj: Have you ever been to China before?
BC: I have been to China twice. My brother Andrew currently lives in Beijing and I am excited to have the chance to visit him again!
tbj: Name three things that come to mind when we say China.
BC: Lots of people, long train rides and amazing food.
The Secret Machines play at Yugong Yishan on March 19 (Friday), RandomK(e) and Girl Kill Girl support. RMB 200, RMB 150 (advance). Door opens at 8pm. 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu (100m west of Zhangzizhong Lu subway station), Dongcheng District (6404 2711). 东城区平安大道张自忠路3-2号(地铁五号线张自忠路站往西100米)
You might also be interested in :
Out Now: the Beijinger – January 2012 – Enter The Dragon
Happy New Year, Beijing!
This month greets not one but two turns of the year. To mark that unusual fact, we've dived into our dressing-up box and come up with ... our third annual live-action animal-costume comic-strip Cover Feature. This one is all about a dragon and the trials and tribulations he faces in the Beijing property market. We've all been there – trouble with the landlord, noisy neighbors, overzealous baoan – so here's a tale for the ages. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be in a state of frenzied anticipation for next year's Snake comic strip.
Watts Going On? Recycle, Reduce, Reuse at the Bookworm
Jonathan Watts’ book, When a Billion Chinese Jump, has been a clarion call to the world on the realities of China’s environment. Here, the Guardian correspondent tells us how people are taking the news.
Sonic Shredder: Marnie Stern's Playlist
Once described by Venus Zine as the “greatest female guitarist of all time”, American musician, songwriter, and guitarist Marnie Stern is known for her finger-tapping talent and shrill vocal. The 34-year-old New Yorker, who's been growing up listening to The Who, AC/DC and other staples, is now bringing her experimental ecstasy of indie rock groove to our northern capital.
"I never like anything I do," she says. "Maybe for a week, but then I'm like, 'Ooh! Are you crazy?' I'm into this one, though, because it's so palatable and poppy it's hard not to. It's like Rihanna or something, right?" See what she's working on this Friday at Yugong Yishan, or something.
But before the sonic shredder cut your ears, she'd like to share a few tracks on her playlist with us. Well, not exactly, cuz' we sort of asked her to.
Curse Lifted: An Interview with Zuoxiao Zuzhou
"I hate optimism out of insensitivity."
- Zuoxiao ZuzhouFor the past five years, this guy has been making headlines for pricing his albums from 30 kuai to 500 kuai. He’s also known for being a contemporary artist/poet/soundtrack composer working with Ai Weiwei and film director Jia Zhangke. Born in 1970, alternative rock singer-songwriter Zuoxiao Zuzhou (literally means “left-little-curse of the ancestors”) founded Beijing East Village with many avant-garde artists in early 90s, and their controversial artwork Adding a Meter to the Nameless Mountain (为无名山增高一米. See photo, below) shocked the Chinese art world in 1995. Meanwhile, ZXZZ's rock band "NO" released Trip to Temple Fair (庙会之旅) and The Missing Master (走失的主人). Both albums are filled with spacious guitar chords, tribal drum beats, sound experiments and volatile vocals, which scared many people for sure, but also gained him a loyal fan base.
Melodic Migration: Andrew Bird Flies Into Town
"Words can deceive."
- Andrew BirdThis Saturday (January 30), Chicago singer-songwriter Andrew Bird (www.andrewbird.net) comes to town with his violin, loop machine and guitar. Keep an eye on them in Beijing as Bird broke his beloved violin during a show at Chicago Civic Opera House last year. We couldn’t resist asking him about that...
