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Music Sweet and sourBy Suwitcha Chaiyong, Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb Hard rockers find a good balance
Screaming guitars, thumping drums and powerful singing are typical ingredients in heavy metal music. Underground rockers Sweet Mullet certainly feature these elements, but the five guys � singer Dulyakiat Lerdsuwankul (Tao), 29, guitarist Narudom Tantananon (Un), 23, bassist Pisut Losithong (Tee), 27, guitarist Pranat Thammagosit (Pap), 26, and drummer Vithawat Pakjamsai (Moo), 24 � also offer plenty of sweet sounds on their new album, Light Heavyweight. In 2003, Sweet Mullet released their debut EP, Panaphobia, which received positive feedback from indie music fans. This led to the band being signed by GMM subsidiary Genie Records. That label introduced the band to a larger audience by including them on the Showroom Volume 1 compilation. Their song �Tob (Answer)� turned out to be a chart-topper. The success of that track allowed the band to release Light Heavyweight, which has produced the hits �Plang Khong Khon Ngo (A Dumb Man�s Song),� �Lom La Lai (Melting)� and �Lap Kham Wan (Sleep Until the Next Day).
When Student Weekly recently met up with Sweet Mullet, we found that despite their offbeat appearance, the guys in the band are fun and friendly. The guys chatted about their music and the challengers of winning over a mainstream audience. Student Weekly: How did you guys come up with the name Sweet Mullet? Tao: I was watching a TV programme of funny home videos. In one of them, a guy with a mullet haircut fell over, and an arrow appeared, pointing to his hair with the words �sweet mullet.� I thought it was hilarious! Student Weekly: You sold about 500 copies of Panaphobia. Was it disappointing to lose money on that release?
Tao: The recording studio cost a lot of money, and then we sold the CD for only 60 baht. We didn�t think about our investment carefully � we just wanted to get our songs out. Un: We were satisfied with the result in the end because people got to know us, and we built up a strong fanbase. Student Weekly: Light Heavyweight is your first album on a major label. Have you changed anything to meet the demands of a bigger audience? Tao: The label gave us total freedom in making the album. We knew that we could reach a mass audience, but we still wanted to keep our underground style. We want to play music that we enjoy and love.
Student Weekly: Does the title Light Heavyweight relate to boxing? Tao: Not at all. It�s a description of our album, which has both light and heavy tunes. Student Weekly: How do you guys define your musical style? Tao: We�re a rock band that has a variety of styles, from soft to metal. We like to have beautiful melodies in our songs. Our sound can be sweet and strong at the same time. Student Weekly: How did you get Sleepless Society producer Nueng Narongrit to co-write �Sleep Until the Next Day�? Tao: I�d almost finished the song, but it still needed some work. No Danai, our producer, recommended that I talk with Nueng because he�s an expert in songs about sleep. We got together, and he wrote the second part of the song. Student Weekly: What�s that song about? Tao: It came from my personnel experience. I woke up the day after breaking up with my girlfriend, and I felt terrible and didn�t want to stay awake. I wanted to sleep until the next day, rather than lie awake thinking about my ex. It drove me crazy. Student Weekly: Does the heavy music you play ever attract any violent fans? Moo: People aren�t violent just because they like heavy music. Tee: Our fans are always nice, even though they sometimes look fierce. Once I met a fan who looked like a hit man, but he was really polite!
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Moo collects unusually shaped 10 baht coins.
