1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,640 Welcome to Students Incorporated, a podcast exploring the topics of business, education, 2 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:16,160 technology and design. 3 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:17,840 I'm your host, Mr. Jason. 4 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:23,960 Join me weekly as my team and I produce content that's informative, positive, fun and uplifting. 5 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:28,440 Episodes include student conversations, interviews with thought leaders and inspirational stories 6 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:30,040 with an international flavor. 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:34,000 This podcast is created and produced with the help of students from the International 8 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,200 Community School of Bangkok. 9 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:41,200 Hello, I'm Mr. Jason. 10 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:42,320 I'll be your host today. 11 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,360 I'm joined by my co-host, Premi and Rebecca. 12 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:49,880 We also welcome Mr. Christopher to this episode as our guest musician. 13 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:54,320 This episode has been titled Music is Life and we're excited to dive into the life and 14 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,940 journey of a musician along with some music fun at the end. 15 00:00:57,940 --> 00:01:02,400 So stay tuned as we get into our first segment right after we get our quote of the day and 16 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,200 hear some headline music news. 17 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:08,440 Our quote of the day comes from Edward Bower Leighton. 18 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:13,720 He's quoted as saying, Music once admitted to the soul becomes a sort of spirit and never 19 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:14,720 dies. 20 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:19,360 This quote communicates that music has the power to deeply affect our emotions and can 21 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:20,800 create lasting memories. 22 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:26,280 It has the ability to transcend time and connect us to our past, present and future selves. 23 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:31,120 When we listen to music, we invite a piece of the artist's soul into our own, creating 24 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:35,000 a connection that resonates long after the music stops playing. 25 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:36,840 And that's our quote of the day. 26 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:42,280 A significant event that happened early last month was the 2024 Grammys, where most of 27 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:46,440 the attention was directed towards Taylor Swift winning the Best Album Award for her 28 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:47,440 Midnights. 29 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:51,880 Additionally, most of the major awards were won by a woman, with Billie Eilish's What 30 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,680 Was I Made For from the Barbie Movie winning the Best Sound of the Year Award. 31 00:01:55,680 --> 00:02:00,940 While there were many outcries during the event overall, the event went smoothly without 32 00:02:00,940 --> 00:02:04,560 any major disturbances except maybe for interest. 33 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,880 Following the battle that modern songwriters face against the rising use of AI to produce 34 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:13,800 music and also copying artists' voice, many prominent music artists such as Nicki Minaj 35 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:18,580 and Cardi B have voiced their support of the No AI Fraud Act, which promises artists to 36 00:02:18,580 --> 00:02:22,240 defend their fundamental human right to their voice and likeness. 37 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:26,640 By establishing a federal standard preventing the use of AI to copy voices and likeness 38 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:28,520 of artists without consent. 39 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:34,040 Coming all the way from Japan, the four-man band Rat Whimps, which has produced a variety 40 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:38,560 of well-received music from movies such as Your Name and Weathering With You, will be 41 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:45,520 performing at UOB Live at M'sphere on May 23 as part of their 2024 tour, The Way You 42 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:51,160 Yawn and A Cry of Peace, which will cover seven different Asian countries. 43 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:57,520 The event went on sale last week, so if you're interested, hurry up and snag a spot. 44 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,280 Thank you for the quote and the news. 45 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:03,760 To kick us off in this first segment, we'll get some insight into Mr. Christopher's journey 46 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:05,440 into music. 47 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:09,520 Also make sure you stick around for our second segment as you'll have a chance to enter 48 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:12,080 our Guess That Song contest. 49 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,080 Now let's get into our first segment. 50 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,080 Premi will start us off with our first question. 51 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:18,640 Hello and welcome to the show. 52 00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:21,080 Thanks for bringing your guitar to the studio as well. 53 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:25,240 To get us started, could you please introduce yourself and tell us what you are doing? 54 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:26,240 Hi. 55 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:27,240 Thanks for having me. 56 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:28,520 My name is Mr. Christopher. 57 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,100 I'm a middle school art teacher here at ICS. 58 00:03:31,100 --> 00:03:32,720 This is my second year. 59 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:38,560 I teach middle school art and I also help out with student ministries and mentor the 60 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,760 student worship band for middle school. 61 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:45,920 I play music on the side, so earlier this year I started a band, so we've been playing 62 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,200 some gigs around Bangkok and really having fun with that. 63 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:54,280 My free time I really enjoy live music and going to concerts, so I attend a lot of shows 64 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:58,800 and concerts and stuff like that. 65 00:03:58,800 --> 00:03:59,800 Thank you for your self-introduction. 66 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,760 We're honored to meet you, Mr. Christopher. 67 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:06,520 Can you share with us how your journey in music began? 68 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:08,760 What were some of your earliest inspirations? 69 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:09,760 Sure. 70 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:11,600 I've always loved music. 71 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:15,580 One of my first memories of music was being back in elementary school. 72 00:04:15,580 --> 00:04:21,160 We have these UIL competitions and one of the teachers recommended me to go for music 73 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:22,160 memory. 74 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:26,800 It was like listening to old symphonies and you had to be able to name not only the name 75 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,120 of the song but also the composer. 76 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:35,160 I scored the gold medal in it because I was really able to remember everything. 77 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:36,920 Music's always been really important to me. 78 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:42,040 It's kind of how I process my own emotions and everything. 79 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:44,000 Growing up, I've always been interested. 80 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:45,880 I always wanted to learn how to play guitar. 81 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:51,200 I took some lessons when I was a kid but it never really stuck. 82 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:58,280 But I really started getting into music in middle school and high school and I was playing 83 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:04,360 around with friends, trying to play in bands and going to concerts and stuff like that. 84 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:09,640 I remember growing up we had cassette tapes and my first cassette tape was the Teenage 85 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:11,920 Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtrack. 86 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:16,880 And I can still remember some of the songs from that. 87 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:21,280 When I was in middle school, I joined band in middle school so I played tuba, trombone 88 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:23,880 and baritone all the way through high school. 89 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:28,320 Was in marching band and all that fun stuff. 90 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:31,360 Did you take music through your high school year? 91 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:34,600 I did not and that's one of my biggest regrets. 92 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:40,120 As someone who plays music, I learned how to play music but I didn't really learn the 93 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:45,800 theory behind it, how to write melody, how to just kind of sit and jam and then just 94 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:47,120 kind of figure it out. 95 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:52,360 As I've gotten older, I'm starting to pick up those skills and everything but I'm really 96 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:57,640 good at reading music and I can even sit down a lot of times and figure out the key and 97 00:05:57,640 --> 00:05:59,760 start playing along. 98 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:04,000 But sitting down and trying to write my own melody and stuff like that tends to be the 99 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:05,880 bigger challenge for me. 100 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:08,440 So you have perfect pitch, right? 101 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:13,680 I don't know if I would say perfect but there was one time I was in a store and I was just 102 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:18,200 humming along to the song and a lady said, oh you've got perfect pitch and I was like, 103 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:19,760 didn't realize that but thank you. 104 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:23,600 You definitely aced the course. 105 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:28,720 But funny thing is I love to sing now but I did not know that I knew how to sing until 106 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:32,800 probably I was I think 21 or so. 107 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:37,100 I happened to, I was going to a concert and we were waiting for the band and they had 108 00:06:37,100 --> 00:06:41,720 a karaoke room and I'd never done karaoke before and they were like, just try it. 109 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:43,000 Was that how you figured out? 110 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:44,000 That's how I figured it out. 111 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:45,000 That's crazy. 112 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:49,280 So one of my big regrets is when I was in high school, my favorite musical of all time 113 00:06:49,280 --> 00:06:51,040 is Little Shop of Horrors. 114 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:56,800 It was a movie from the 80s with Rick Moranis and we did that my senior year of high school 115 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:01,560 and I wanted to try out for the Dennis part but I did not have confidence and I was like 116 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:03,160 so shy. 117 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,720 So I ended up doing stage manager and it was great but I always regret it. 118 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:12,000 And I could have been a great dentist if I'd known that I could sing. 119 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,000 Crazy how you figured out though how you found out. 120 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:15,000 That is one story. 121 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,480 And we also understand that you're also an art teacher. 122 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:24,200 How does your work as an art teacher influence your creative process in music or vice versa? 123 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:31,040 I think for me any art and I try to connect this with my students as well is that art 124 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:36,800 has to mean something, it has to reflect some part of your life or some part of your experience 125 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,960 to make it meaningful. 126 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,720 The best art in my opinion connects to the life of an artist. 127 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:49,840 Me as an artist if I sit down and I try to work on a piece of art and I'm not connected 128 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,200 to it emotionally in some way then I will never finish. 129 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:58,640 I have a portfolio of probably a hundred different artworks that I've started and only halfway 130 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,840 finish because I just had no connection to it. 131 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:06,240 But then when I am connected to it there are those times where I can just sit down and 132 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,560 hours will go by as I'm working on it. 133 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:15,200 I did a portrait last year and I was just so intrigued of like the curve of this person's 134 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:20,120 ear and the flow of the hair and because that person was really meaningful to me it made 135 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:24,480 the artwork that much more important to finish. 136 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,360 So I think the same thing with music. 137 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:34,200 If I don't connect to the music in some way then I lose interest and I get bored and when 138 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,480 I do connect to something it becomes really meaningful and really valuable. 139 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:43,400 That's insightful and I've always admired those who are teachers and can create masterpieces. 140 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:49,960 Could you tell us about any artists or bands that have helped influence your musical style? 141 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:54,520 Sure the band I play in now we play kind of a mix of what I call Texas indie folk and 142 00:08:54,520 --> 00:09:00,040 country since I come from Texas I come from a city called Houston which is a big city. 143 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:07,760 I grew up with country music but when I was in high school I got really into punk rock 144 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:16,540 and a lot of rock bands and stuff like that going into more heavy metal type stuff. 145 00:09:16,540 --> 00:09:21,960 Around the early 2000s it was kind of when a lot of indie rock first kind of started 146 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:27,920 hitting and that completely changed my musical tastes. 147 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:32,360 So I have like a wide variety of things that I really enjoy but I would say these days 148 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:36,820 mostly lean towards indie folk and country. 149 00:09:36,820 --> 00:09:41,340 Some of the greats like George Strait who's known as the king of country from Texas Willie 150 00:09:41,340 --> 00:09:44,480 Nelson who I've seen many times in concert. 151 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:50,380 He's 91 this year I think and still putting on concerts which is awesome. 152 00:09:50,380 --> 00:09:55,880 My favorite band of all time is a band called Tool which I've seen many times. 153 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:59,400 I used to love a band called 311. 154 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:05,280 There was around 2004 is probably when I was reflect is like my favorite year for music 155 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:08,880 which is kind of that indie explosion and there was a label called Saddle Creek that 156 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:11,760 had a lot of my favorite bands at the time. 157 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:17,800 Bands called Rhylo Kiley, Bright Eyes but those were super important to me. 158 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:23,000 Things like Death Cab for Cutie, Postal Service because it's not just the instrumentation 159 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:28,520 but it's the words behind it and it was a really meaningful time for me so that influences 160 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:32,240 a lot of my music as well I think. 161 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:33,240 That's a lot of genres. 162 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:35,200 Here's a follow up question. 163 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:40,440 Are there specific ways you incorporate that into your own music? 164 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:47,040 So like I said I like to play music that I connect to so I learn to not only play in 165 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:52,080 a certain style or technique but I learn kind of the structure and progressions and really 166 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:57,160 how to build dynamics and I think dynamics is one of the things you really have to learn 167 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,940 as a musician or as an artist. 168 00:10:59,940 --> 00:11:04,460 It's not just the words, it's not just the melody but how are you kind of creating an 169 00:11:04,460 --> 00:11:06,280 experience for somebody. 170 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:10,920 Like if you're saying words that are you know really sad and you're trying to convey a sad 171 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:15,000 emotion then how is the music building towards that emotion? 172 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:20,080 How are you drawing the listener in to be able to experience the same thing that you're 173 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:22,360 trying to say? 174 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:27,360 I always try to tell my students when they're finishing their artwork that you know you 175 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:32,480 as an artist you put your artwork out there and you have your experiences, you have your 176 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:37,400 worldview, you have your understanding of what your art piece is but then somebody that 177 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,480 is not you is going to come and look at it and they're going to come with their own experiences 178 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:46,900 and their own worldview and their own thoughts about life and they might have a completely 179 00:11:46,900 --> 00:11:54,680 different interpretation of the art or the piece and that's part of the fun of art and 180 00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:59,520 music is you can connect to it in different ways and something that is very meaningful 181 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:04,280 to me in one way might be completely meaningful to someone else in a different way and I think 182 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:07,800 music kind of transcends that idea as well. 183 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:12,680 I love that, that's really true though with all the interpretations as a writer myself 184 00:12:12,680 --> 00:12:18,040 I hear this a lot and I get this a lot too with writers when I'm writing my own pieces 185 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:21,760 and then versus how other people see that work and then how they interpret it and I 186 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:28,420 think there's a long-standing question I love to ask whenever I'm analyzing literature. 187 00:12:28,420 --> 00:12:31,600 One of the questions that comes up is like so what is the meaning behind the piece? 188 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:36,880 Is it the meaning that the author intended for the piece or is it the meaning that readers 189 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:42,920 take away from it and like what is valid or like what should be the way it is? 190 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:47,120 Where does the line intersect and is there like a right meaning or right interpretation? 191 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:51,920 Right or wrong, that's a tough balance on that one. 192 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:57,240 I kind of feel like any character that's out there kind of carries a piece of the author 193 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:01,960 within some ways because it is an author that's kind of coming up with their thoughts and 194 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:08,760 their behaviors and their ideas but sometimes you know you're creating this thing and then 195 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:13,680 you put it out and when you put it out you do have to let it go and you have to let it 196 00:13:13,680 --> 00:13:19,760 breathe and become its own thing so I don't think I could give you like a black or white 197 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:20,760 answer on that. 198 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:21,760 It is not black and white. 199 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:24,920 It's kind of all mixed in. 200 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:29,680 Sometimes it is nice to be able to separate the art from the artist. 201 00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:31,680 Yeah that for sure. 202 00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:35,040 Yeah I hear that too a lot. 203 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:39,320 There are a lot of songs that I like that I probably would not like the person who made 204 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:41,080 them very much so. 205 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:42,600 Yeah that makes sense. 206 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:46,840 Okay next question is could you describe your creative process? 207 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:51,120 How do you go from an initial idea to a finished song and what challenges do you face along 208 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:52,240 the way? 209 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:54,440 I usually start with the words. 210 00:13:54,440 --> 00:14:00,140 I was a big writer in my younger days so I used to love writing poetry and to me writing 211 00:14:00,140 --> 00:14:04,600 lyrics is kind of like writing poetry and many times I get inspiration that just kind 212 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:11,600 of comes from I'm a big people watcher and I love that you know interactions and stuff 213 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:15,640 and something might happen or I might rhyme something and then I try to sit down and write 214 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:21,080 it down or keep notes but then I'm like if I don't have anything to write it down I'll 215 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,520 be like oh I'm gonna really remember this one I usually forget which is kind of sad 216 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:30,120 but I like to start with the words and I feel like that's kind of the easiest part for me 217 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:35,160 is being able to figure out you know the stanzas or the verses and the chorus. 218 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:38,280 The challenge for me I think is really trying to figure out the melody. 219 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:42,280 I might be able to figure out like a chord structure but trying to come up with a really 220 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:47,560 really nice doesn't have to be intricate but nice flowing melody to a song that's trying 221 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:52,920 to capture that emotion or capture that feeling that I'm trying to go for becomes the challenge. 222 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:57,640 I might start with like a chord progression and then I'll try to like either hum or sing 223 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:02,520 a melody on top of that chord progression and I tend to record myself so I have a lot 224 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:07,680 of these recordings of myself where it's just playing guitar and I'm you know on top of 225 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:12,000 the guitar so yeah and then later you kind of have to take those things and it's almost 226 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:16,040 like a puzzle putting them together and trying to get them to fit and that's probably the 227 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:22,060 most challenging part is trying to you know take that idea with the emotion and the melody 228 00:15:22,060 --> 00:15:23,720 and trying to mix it all. 229 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:29,680 Wow that's a lot of work whenever you imagine the amount of work that goes into each song. 230 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:33,760 Can you share a memorable live performance experience you've had? 231 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:40,060 I'm a big concert person so I love going to concerts and I have gone to this music festival 232 00:15:40,060 --> 00:15:44,000 called Coachella California which is probably super famous. 233 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:51,240 I went to Coachella eight times but the first time I went was 2004 which I was talking about 234 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:57,280 kind of my indie era you know and at that time was the first like super huge music festival 235 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:03,480 we did a road trip like I live in Houston which is about 22 hour drive from LA so we 236 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:07,400 did a road trip and drove from Houston to the desert of California we camped in the 237 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:13,640 desert and went to the festival for a few days and at the time was the lineup was probably 238 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:17,440 the most amazing lineup I had ever seen at the time. 239 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:22,320 Headline the first night, the Cure headline the second night and pretty much every indie 240 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:28,840 band at that time that I had wanted to see was there and it was just one of those moments 241 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:34,660 that like just really impacted man like I really love this this moment right here make 242 00:16:34,660 --> 00:16:39,720 you feel alive you know and I have Coachella kind of kind of now has become this really 243 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:47,680 over commercialized thing and they used to get really you know interesting artists or 244 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:52,760 reunions like I think that was I saw a band called the Pixies who hadn't had a show in 245 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:56,860 maybe 15 years and they reunited for that. 246 00:16:56,860 --> 00:17:01,640 When I saw Radiohead they're notorious for hating their song creep because it got so 247 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:06,080 so famous so they just never play it live and they actually played it live there and 248 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:09,920 Tom York just completely wrecked the song it was it was hilarious you know and then 249 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:15,120 the Cure it's like one of them you know most well-known bands of all time did a greatest 250 00:17:15,120 --> 00:17:18,960 hit set where they played some songs that they hadn't played live in 20 years and it's 251 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:24,920 just like those special moments you know being able to to be there for that and all the different 252 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:30,520 times I went to Coachella I had experiences like that like seeing Prince or going to see 253 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:37,400 Daft Punk and it was the first time that they did the pyramid or the flaming lips and flaming 254 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:41,960 lips are known for you know putting the singer in this big inflatable ball but it was like 255 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:47,440 the first time they tried it was like I was there at that at that moment and you get to 256 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:52,720 meet all these cool celebrities and stuff a funny story about meeting Danny DeVito if 257 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:55,280 you ever have time we'll tell you about that. 258 00:17:55,280 --> 00:18:01,440 Will you bring a notebook and a pen with you when you go to concert or like music shows? 259 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:07,840 Actually I used to so I kept I keep all my concert tickets so especially when I was younger 260 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:11,680 I used to have to go to Ticketmaster to buy them and you got ticket stubs now it's just 261 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:16,720 kind of like an email confirmation so it's not as cool you know but I have a couple photo 262 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:22,160 albums that have all the concerts I went to all the way from I think 1996 up to present 263 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:27,520 day and had some cool experiences where I got to meet a lot of the musicians I have 264 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:34,280 a lot of autographs and I met Chris Martin of Coldplay you know one time backstage but 265 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:38,240 actually when I first started going to big shows like that like I have a notebook that 266 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:43,560 I took to Coachella where I like wrote down stuff that I wanted to remember and sometimes 267 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:47,280 I forget it so it's nice to go back and look at it and be like I remember this moment I 268 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:50,240 remember that you know which is really cool. 269 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:55,000 That's really sweet that must be like a whole bunch of pages of concert tickets. 270 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,880 I mean that's a big storage box. 271 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:02,320 I kept all my concert t-shirts too so I have some concert t-shirts that go all the way 272 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:03,760 back to the 90s. 273 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:05,800 That's crazy. 274 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:11,840 Okay now for our final question in this first segment looking ahead do you have any upcoming 275 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:14,920 projects or goals that you're excited about? 276 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:20,720 Yeah actually last year I ended up starting a band here in Bangkok and it was one of those 277 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:27,520 things where I think I was just feeling kind of down and just a little bit lonely where 278 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:32,120 like we just kind of moved to Bangkok and I wasn't really connecting and finding friends 279 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:35,960 and I was like I'm just gonna like always wanted to do a band so I'm just gonna do it 280 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:41,080 and I put out some feelers on Facebook like hey this is this is what I'm looking for anybody 281 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:45,040 interested in getting together and playing and then had a handful of guys that reached 282 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:52,480 out and we ended up meeting together and playing and really connected so we ended up starting 283 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:57,920 a band and I happened to be at a show at a place called Speaker Box. 284 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:02,480 I went to see this Thai band called Wicked Lights which is kind of like a Thai version 285 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:08,120 of Bon Iver but I was really excited to see them and I just happened to talk to the owner 286 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:12,320 and it was right when I kind of started the band at the time only had like one committed 287 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:15,920 person and I was telling the owner about it and he's like well if you ever want to play 288 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:20,880 here you know let me know and I was like really and I was like I took that as a sign of let's 289 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:27,160 just do it you know so kind of stepped out and in faith and we just had a concert this 290 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:30,760 last weekend which was kind of our biggest crowd to date I think is about 40 people that 291 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,640 was there and it was super fun. 292 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:42,280 So the band's called Lone Star Lament we play a mix of Texas indie folk and country. 293 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:45,340 Right now we're just kind of playing cover songs so we're kind of trying to learn to 294 00:20:45,340 --> 00:20:50,640 jell as a band but we're going to start working on some original music and stuff like that 295 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:55,640 but we tend to play about one gig a month it's about what everybody can commit to but 296 00:20:55,640 --> 00:21:00,320 it's just been really fun to just get out and play you know. 297 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:04,880 I've had so many experiences being like in the crowd and like man I wish I could be on 298 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:10,000 stage and now it's kind of like making that dream come true a little bit so. 299 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,640 Okay there you have it that's the end of segment one and yes we'll be right back after this 300 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:21,400 short PSA. 301 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:25,520 Listen up people the concert season is upon us here in Bangkok there have been some big 302 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:34,200 names already like K-Pop NCT 127, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Novo Amor, Rod Stewart and others. 303 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:37,920 Don't worry if you've already missed these groups here's a list of upcoming shows in 304 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:38,920 March. 305 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:44,760 Wave to Earth at Union Hall in Bangkok on March 9th, the famous Tom Jones will be performing 306 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:49,760 at M-Sphere March 14th and if you're into head-banging heavy metal Slash will be in 307 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:54,040 Bangkok performing on March 15th at Centerpoint Studio. 308 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:58,880 And finally on March 30th Bruno Mars will be performing at the National Stadium here 309 00:21:58,880 --> 00:21:59,880 in Bangkok. 310 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:07,340 Get your earplugs and your friends together and go enjoy a concert this month. 311 00:22:07,340 --> 00:22:11,660 We are back with part two and we still have Mr. Christopher in the studio and he's brought 312 00:22:11,660 --> 00:22:12,980 his guitar. 313 00:22:12,980 --> 00:22:17,520 To start off this segment we're going to have a little contest not for the podcast team 314 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:19,360 but for you our listeners. 315 00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:24,360 Here's the rules Mr. Christopher will play a few seconds of a popular song in a specific 316 00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:25,540 genre. 317 00:22:25,540 --> 00:22:28,080 If you know the song make note of it. 318 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:32,180 After he has made it through all the songs we will announce a way for you to respond 319 00:22:32,180 --> 00:22:34,600 back to us with your answers. 320 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:39,800 The first two responders who have the most points correct will win a special prize from 321 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:42,720 the Students Incorporated podcast team. 322 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:44,800 Here's how we count up the points. 323 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:48,700 You get one point for getting the title and artist correct. 324 00:22:48,700 --> 00:22:52,460 You get a half point if you get one or the other correct. 325 00:22:52,460 --> 00:22:59,440 There are five regular songs worth one point and one bonus song at the end with two points. 326 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:00,440 Let's start. 327 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:01,440 Over to you Premi. 328 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:03,000 Okay this sounds fun. 329 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:06,560 The first song falls into the music genre of classic rock. 330 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:10,520 Mr. Christopher are you ready to play a few seconds of our first song? 331 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:11,520 Let's do it. 332 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:13,240 Anything you want to say before you play this? 333 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:14,240 No. 334 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:15,240 Alright so let's get started. 335 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:27,000 Thank you. 336 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:30,680 Hopefully our listeners are up on their classic rock music. 337 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:34,240 Okay our next song falls into the country music genre. 338 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:49,080 Mr. Christopher we're ready if you are. 339 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:53,400 Thank you and a quick message to our listeners if you need to hear the song again just rewind 340 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:54,400 and replay. 341 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:55,400 Easy. 342 00:23:55,400 --> 00:24:00,040 Okay our next song falls into the genre category of hard rock or rock and roll. 343 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:23,760 Go ahead and play the next song Mr. Christopher. 344 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:25,420 We're on to our next song. 345 00:24:25,420 --> 00:24:27,840 The next song is the genre of pop music. 346 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:48,160 Mr. Christopher go ahead and play when you're ready. 347 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:49,880 That was fun thank you. 348 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:52,280 And our next song genre is indie. 349 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:57,480 Typically indie music is produced and released independently from a commercial record label. 350 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:25,800 Mr. Christopher go ahead when you're ready. 351 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:31,400 Thank you our last song of this contest is our bonus song and it's worth two points. 352 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:33,120 No hints on this one. 353 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:45,360 Mr. Christopher go ahead and play our bonus song when you're ready. 354 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:49,520 Now that we have made it through all our songs here is how you can send in your answers to 355 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:50,520 us. 356 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:55,920 So please send us an email with your answers to studentsincorporated at gmail.com. 357 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:57,600 Make sure you include your name. 358 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,560 Again send your answers to studentsincorporated at gmail.com. 359 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:09,000 That's s-t-u-d-e-n-t-s-i-n-c-p-o-d-c-a-s-t at gmail.com. 360 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,400 Now moving on we've asked Mr. Christopher to help us in this last segment with some 361 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:14,400 music. 362 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,720 Anything you'd like to share about this song before you play it? 363 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:23,180 So one of the big ideas of my band is that we play music that has a tinge of sadness 364 00:26:23,180 --> 00:26:24,460 to it. 365 00:26:24,460 --> 00:26:29,320 Not in like a boring way or a melancholy way but in kind of the way of where we think of 366 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,160 misery brings us together. 367 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:35,960 You know brings us together to kind of celebrate the things that are kind of sad in life. 368 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:42,360 So it doesn't necessarily mean that when something's sad it's just like depressing and really just 369 00:26:42,360 --> 00:26:43,360 down right. 370 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:48,280 There are so many songs you can think about that have fun or like a positive message but 371 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,360 just has that tinge of sadness to it. 372 00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:55,680 It's kind of based off of a movie that I used to love called High Fidelity that had John 373 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:58,800 Cusack and Jack Black in it. 374 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:02,400 And one of the quotes from the movie he's talking a little bit about is depression and 375 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:03,560 he says, 376 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:09,100 Do I listen to pop music because I'm depressed? 377 00:27:09,100 --> 00:27:13,080 Or am I depressed because I listen to pop music? 378 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:15,600 Or is it like one of those cycle things? 379 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:20,640 So the idea behind the band is to celebrate those songs because everybody I think can 380 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:21,640 figure out a song. 381 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:28,560 So this song is like actually when you think about it quite a happy song but it's actually 382 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:32,840 one of those things that takes something that's really happy and really beautiful but it's 383 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:34,360 also got a tinge of sadness to it. 384 00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:38,320 It's kind of you guys seen the movie Up? 385 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:42,840 I will never forget watching the first five minutes of Up and then just crying my eyes 386 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:48,060 out because it's the story of that love story and where the old guy, his wife passes away 387 00:27:48,060 --> 00:27:49,060 at the end. 388 00:27:49,060 --> 00:27:53,080 So this song is kind of about that where it's a beautiful marriage and everything but how 389 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:55,120 much time do we have together? 390 00:27:55,120 --> 00:27:57,000 Maybe 40 years, something like that. 391 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,200 Eventually one of us is going to have to live life alone. 392 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:03,640 So beautiful song but has that kind of tinge of sadness to it. 393 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:13,680 So it's called If We Were Vampires by Jason Isbell. 394 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:41,400 Stop the lawn flow and dress a chore, old light coming off of your skin. 395 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:48,400 The fragile heart you've protected for so long. 396 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:55,400 Oh the mercy in your sense of right and wrong. 397 00:28:55,400 --> 00:29:00,400 Snatch your hair and search it slow in the dark. 398 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:05,400 Hold your nails, leave in love's watermark. 399 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:12,400 It's not the way you talk beyond the rules. 400 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:18,400 Your questions like corrections to the truth. 401 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:24,400 It's knowing that this can't go on forever. 402 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:30,400 Like me one of us will have to spend some days alone. 403 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:41,400 Maybe we'll get 40 years together, one day I'll be gone, one day you'll be gone. 404 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:46,400 If we were vampires and death was a joke. 405 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:52,400 We'd go out on the sidewalk and the smoke. 406 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:58,400 And laugh it all to love us in their plans. 407 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:04,400 I wouldn't feel the need to hold your hand. 408 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:09,400 Baby time running out is a gift. 409 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:15,400 I work hard to the end of my shift. 410 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:21,400 And give you every second I can find. 411 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:27,400 I wouldn't be the one who's left behind. 412 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:33,400 It's knowing that this can't go on forever. 413 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:39,400 Like me one of us will have to spend some days alone. 414 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:50,400 Maybe we'll get 40 years together, one day I'll be gone, one day you'll be gone. 415 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:57,400 It's knowing that this can't go on forever. 416 00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:02,400 Like me one of us will have to spend some days alone. 417 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:26,400 Maybe we'll get 40 years together, one day I'll be gone, one day you'll be gone. 418 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:39,400 Thank you. 419 00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:45,400 As we end this episode, Mr. Christopher has reminded us that music can take on a life of its own. 420 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:48,400 It's something that has the ability to connect to our hearts and souls. 421 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:50,400 It can also connect us together. 422 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:55,400 Thanks again for sharing your talents with our audience and for helping remind us all that sometimes 423 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:59,400 we just need to stop and listen to the music. 424 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:06,400 As always, this podcast would not be possible without the hard work and support of our international student production team. 425 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:12,400 All music and sound effects are courtesy of Pixabay.com, a vibrant community of creatives 426 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:15,400 sharing copyright free images, videos, and music. 427 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,400 And we are signing off until next time. 428 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:43,400 We are Students Incorporated, because your voice matters.