Music

Wanna go?

Take a seat while Armchair share their travel tales

By Nuttaporn Srisirirungsimakul, Photographs courtesy of  Smallroom

Did You Know : The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.

With Thailand having hot season, hotter season and really hot season, the traditional four seasons really aren�t something many people here get the chance to experience. But as the temperature begins to cool and the rains start to fade, Armchair are infusing the Kingdom with a taste of Spring.

On their latest album, the four guys � vocalist Anusorn Maneethed (Yong), keyboard player Atit Sornsongkram (Aun), guitar player Jatuthaphong Rumakhom (Pueng) and bassist Peerapol Leelasethakul (Jor) � are starting fresh, welcoming a new member, drummer Sombat Sawadpanich (Khoi), to the band.

They have also taken the opportunity to spice up the music a bit. �Every song on this album has a spring in it,� Yong said. �Our fans can bounce and sway to our music.�

To mark the livelier sound, Armchair chose the swinging �Pai Duay Kan Rue Plao (Wanna Go With Me?)� as the first single from Spring. But just where are Armchair going?

Guitar player Pueng.

Vocalist  Yong.

Bassist Jor.

Keyboard player Aun.

Student Weekly recently met up with Yong and Aun to find out their favourite holiday destinations. Here�s where they�re taking us.

TRIP TO THE LOO

Many people think life as a rock star is one of non-stop travel and discovering exciting new places. This isn�t always the case.

�Actually, I hardly travel, because I�m always in a studio making music,� Aun said. �But recently I went to China with my girlfriend, her family and Pueng, the guitar player.�

The group headed to Jiuzhaigou in Szechwan province, a place famous for its idyllic scenery. The place definitely lived up to expectations, Aun said.

�My favourite attraction was Jianzhu Hai, or the Cold Bamboo Lake, where the movie Hero was filmed,� Aun said. �The lake is emerald green, and I was overwhelmed by its serene and magnificent beauty.�

But coming in at the top of Aun�s list of most memorable Chinese experiences is a much simpler attraction � the Chinese toilet.

�The bathroom in a hotel is totally different from the public toilets at tourist attractions, you know,� Aun said. �The loo I went to didn�t have a door. Instead, there were low ridges providing personal space. Also there was no toilet to sit on, so I had to balance myself over a water trough. After finishing my business, I just walked out since there was no water to flush the toilet. The locals would flush water through the drain only once an hour. However, despite its unbearable smell and appalling conditions, I kinda like the Chinese toilet. It was very primitive and fit very well into the natural surroundings.�

ISLAND WOES

Yong said that he too really enjoys visiting new places and that one day he hopes to travel the world.

�Unfortunately, like Aun, I have been busy with making the albums and the concert tours,� Yong said. �But whenever we have free time, we like to go to Koh Samet together and just sit back on the beach, play a guitar and enjoy ourselves.�

The guys were all recently on Koh Samet to hold a farewell party for their former drummer Tum, who was leaving to study in Japan. Yong said they wanted to do something special for him, so they decided to go on a squid fishing tour � unfortunately, there was a bit of a problem.

�We paid 3,000 baht for the boat, fishing equipment and everything,� Yong said. �However, once we were out on the sea, our boat was attacked by huge waves. We all got seasick and threw up our dinner. So we had to head back to the shore after only half an hour. Luckily, we managed to catch enough squid to grill for our supper.�

Vocabulary

infuse (v): to make somebody/something have a particular quality
idyllic (adj): peaceful and beautiful; perfect, without problems
loo (n): a toilet
trough (n): a long narrow open container
appalling (adj): shocking, extremely bad
squid (n): a sea creature that has a long soft body and ten short arms around its mouth