Scat attack

By Suwitcha Chaiyong, Photographs courtesy of Baitong Records

Latest Chiang Mai band etc. have jazz pumping through their veins

Did you Know: Famous jazz musician Louis Armstrong dropped out of school in the third grade and took up music while roaming the streets of New Orleans.

With the blazing success of Hum and Lanna Cummins, Northern artists are the hottest trend in Thai music these days. Looking to join in the fun, etc. are another Chiang Mai band making a name for themselves.

Their debut pop jazz album, etc., is already a hit with listeners. The first two singles, �Pod Ya Kueang Pom Loei (Please Don�t be Mad)� and �Chao Chai Nidtra (Sleeping Prince),� caught listeners� ears and have been getting serious play on both radio and TV.

The band was formed in Chiang Mai by four friends � pianist Manluck Toomkanont (Soh), 26, bass player Porachaya Ramyothin (Mint), 27, keyboard player Sothinan Chai Langkarn (Bee), 26, guitarist Pairote Tommaros (Ole), 27 � who studied music together at Payap University and shared a love of jazz. The band wasn�t complete, however, until vocalist and drummer Apiwat Pongwat (Neurg), 25, joined later.

The guys from etc. were recently in Bangkok and paid Student Weekly a visit. At first the guys seemed tired as we talked about Bangkok�s awful traffic and how they missed Chiang Mai. But as soon as the conversation shifted to jazz, their eyes lit up and things really got going.

Student Weekly: What is so fascinating about jazz?

Soh: The charm of jazz is in its improvisation. Each time we play, we can create different tunes under the same theme. When we recorded in the studio, each record won�t have exactly the same notes or the same sound.

Student Weekly:  You guys have won many musical awards � from the first prize at a Payap music competition to first prize at the Nescafe Open Up Music Challenge 2000. What are your secrets to success?

Bee: We practice a lot. Also, in the competitions, not many bands played jazz music, so we didn�t have many competitors. There were lots of rock bands.

Ole: Generally, the rock bands usually showed off on their guitars, but our band focuses more on the keyboard.

Student Weekly: You guys played in a pub for three years. What kind of experience did you gain from that?

Neurg: We learned a lot about how to deal with many different types of audience, from drunks to girls with crushes.

Student Weekly: The songs on etc. are very romantic. Do any of you guys consider yourself the romantic type?

Soh: No. Our best friend and assistant lyric director, Jirawat Tuntranon, wrote the songs for our band. He usually uses sweet and beautiful words. We all like his songs.

Student Weekly: Did you have any limits placed on you when creating your album?

Mint: Yes. Our producer, Chumpon, worked closely with us because we had never worked in a studio before. We wanted to put all the ideas we had on the album, but that would make the songs too complicated and hard to listen to. So, the producer showed us how each song should be.

Student Weekly:The last song, �Ngam Tae Mae Ping (Beautiful Mae Ping) � has a traditional Northern sound. Why did you decide to put it on a jazz album?

Ole: We are Northern people. We wanted to have a song that shows our culture. The song was hard to sing. It took long time to sing in the traditional style.  

Vocabulary

scat (n): a style of jazz singing
blazing (adj): extremely hot
fascinating (adj): extremely interesting and attractive
improvisation (n): the act of inventing music, the words in a play, a statement, etc. while you are playing or speaking, instead of planning it in advance

caption: The members  of etc.  band, from left:  Soh, Bee, Neurg, Ole, and Mint.