DJ Hooker:
www.espdjs.com, VT Salon YiTong St

DJS VS LIVE BANDS

--- By Charles McHale, Don Quan and Pieter Vorster Translated by Picker Chen and Uvia Cheng

Whatcha up to tonight? If it's music you're after, you'll no doubt choose based on your music taste or mood. For the music lover, Kaohsiung has a couple of venues to see a smoking hot live band or work up a sweat dancing to a DJ. By international standards they may seem few, but that's a lot more than what was on the scene even just a few years ago: the Kaohsiung scene has exploded in the last 10 years. Today live bands and DJs battle to draw crowds and get the best venues to play. This month FYI South checks out the differences in the music and where it's going.

The DJ's flow is a loop, an endless stream that we enter and exit on the dance floor. Hip Hop, House, Techno, Electronica, Break Beat, Acid Jazz, Jungle and Drum and Bass are all atmospheres. The DJ as a persona is a shaman, a guide connecting the dancer to that Nirvana in the head and body. A live band is about the moment, a beginning and an end. Classical, Blues, Country, Jazz, Reggae, Rock, Funk, Punk and Indie; all denote a time and a place, an era. The musician, particularly the singer, is an idol, a savior we identify with through the distinct emotion of their song. But possibly the greatest distinction between DJs and Live Bands is that a band relies on people playing together in real time.

DJ Andrew Ford dates the beginning of the war to the advent of mass produced, recorded music in the 1920s. It's important to realize that technology drives change, but not without a ghost in the machine. When electric guitar-fueled, amplified music took the stage in the 1950s, the rock trio sent the standard 12 piece dance band packing. For club owners, it was a choice of paying three musicians or 1twelve. Economy is a cruel master. What happened to the 12 piece is happening to bands today. Clubs hire a single person, the DJ, to entertain for an evening.

The true birth of the DJ as a live performer began with Hip Hop in the late '70s. Scratch DJs with two turntables and a mixer controlled the volume from each record. While Scratching is a skill unto itself, with its own world competitions, mixing is the test of talent at the heart of every DJ. As equipment became more sophisticated, mixes got better and better.

Some DJs aren't satisfied with just doing shows and become producers. Making records is the next level in DJing. Studio production allows complete control of the music and the knowledge of studio techniques feeds back into making better performances. MIDI interfaces connect computers with a vast array of sound equipment. This technology brought the laptop to the stage, adding to the mix and even replacing the turntables completely. Laptop battles are live interactions of people generating sound on their computers. The battles range from dance parties to listening music and is definitely taking sound in new directions.

In south Taiwan the scene is only getting better. DJ Rob Solo has been on the music scene for four years. There are too many others to mention, but Lim Giong and Digihai deserve note for spanning electronic and live music. Digihai is a band that plays live with a DJ. Lim Giong played live music before switching to electronic music. His album "Insects Awaken" from last year includes electronic music and sound collage from samples he recorded around Taiwan.

There's nothing wrong with a little healthy criticism, so FYI South asked bands and DJs what they thought of each other. The responses varied but DJs tended to defend their art and bands leaned toward dissecting what kind of DJ was acceptable as a musician. DJ Andrew Ford makes the distinction that people go to see a band for their music but, in a DJ situation, they come for the club's atmosphere. DJing is more about party management.

Originality and egotism is where bands, DJs and their fans have the most friction. Do DJs just play music recorded by other people, dodging the bullet of egotism, while wanting recognition for their skills? Are live bands self-indulgent egoists, whiny about the originality of their own music, when they play a genre that's been played out?

Nobody ever got anywhere thinking about those questions. The real battle between DJs and live bands is how to bring better music to Kaohsiung. Psycho, the guitarist from Luan Tan, started playing 20 years ago. He's watched the music scene grow from almost nothing to what it is today. What he says holds true for both bands and DJs:

"People always say copying is a process for learning, but if you don't use your head it only limits you to a smaller and smaller world in music. The challenge for musicians today isn't just to play their instruments well, but to be more creative and original."

SLAM / LOVE / HATE
"Any Monkey can call themselves a DJ, It takes four monkeys to call themselves a band".
Andrew Shepard, Public Radio

"What do you mean? I like both, but I'm a DJ, so I like DJ music better."
Young Blood, O-Brothaz Sound System

"They're from a different mother. DJing is recycled art. It's like the difference between driving a train (DJing) and a car (Live Bands), with a train your stuck on the tracks. "
Moshe Foster, Public Radio

"As a promoter it's much easier to set up a DJ performance. All you need is the turntable and a guy that clearly enjoys what he does."
DJ Rob Solo

"Folksy and Whiny (some bands)...A DJ is definitely live music."
DJ Marcus Aurelius

Thanks to all the DJs and Live Bands who gave their opinions and ROCK Taiwan!

VENUES TO CATCH THE BEST LIVE BANDS:
ATT - Best place to see up and coming bands in the south.
83, JianGuo Road, Kaohsiung (near the train station)
(07) 285-8530

Room 335 - Hands down the most consistent eclectic mix of live music in southern Taiwan - everything from rock to jazz to salsa. Different artists every week.
47, KangLe Street, Tainan City
(06) 228-4778

Street Arena - (cover bands)/outdoor cafe/park in FengShan, with seating for several hundred people, live music (mostly cover bands).
77, ChingNian Road, FengShan City (Behind the Carrefour.)
(07) 799-9338

Blue Fantasy -live music nightly, with high-profile Taiwanese artists and a very talented house band. More for the mainstream palate. (See page 23 Nightlife listings for address.)
Beaver Dam Bar - Hippest bar in Pingtung City, currently features live music every Thursday night and will add live shows every other Saturday of the month. (See page 24 Nightlife listings for address.)

The Dick and Cowboy -live music every Friday night. (See page 23 Nightlife listings for address.)

Don Quan's Picks
Don Quan regularly writes the In Yer Ear section for FYI South, and knows just about everything there is to know about live music down South. Here's his short list on who you shouldn't miss:
MaHou - Punk rock for, you know, kids (Kaohsiung)
Full House - rockabilly trio, doing it the old-fashioned way (Tainan)
Extinguisher - fast and furious, perfect antidote for those ants in your pants (Kaohsiung)
Shy Kick Apple - ska/punk (See page 33 of this issue for full article - Kaohsiung)
We Will Love Each Other Forever - atmospheric, droning alternative pop (Kaohsiung)
Orange Dolls - Pop for pop's sake (Kaohsiung)

DJ Andrew Ford: www.DJAndrewFord.com

DJ Hooker:
www.espdjs.com,
VT Salon YiTong St