Myself on vocals and rythm guitar
Mark on bass
Cameron on lead guitar
Leila on keys and vocals
Ben on Drums
Influences
Creedance Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, The Doors, Son House, Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, Robert Johnson,Ten Years After, Black Sabbath, Carabao, Crosby,Stills,Nash and Young, Ennio Morricone, Iggy Pop And The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, The Jayhawks, Nick Drake, Dolly Parton, Lorretta Lynn, Love, T.Rex, David Bowie, Nirvana, Queens Of The Stone Age, Steppenwolf, Type O Negative.....That'll do Pig.
I formed my first proper band at the turn of the century in Budapest. There was myself, Hugo Chakrabongse esq, and Porn, the set designer on the sixteen part Thai soap opera we were shooting in Hungary in which I was making my debut onto the Thai entertainment scene. The Band was to be called 'Siplor' which means ten wheels. It took a while to find the other members, so it was to be just vocals and bass for about a year. Its hard to find credible musicians to join a band where the lead singer is best known for questionable acting in questionable soaps. By the time we started recording our first album I had been in three such series called 'Lakorn' in Thailand and was also one of five hosts on an after school variety show called 'Gang of Five'. Even when one of the hosts was axed for lewd behaviour and drunkeness in public it was still called Gang of Five. The upshot of all this weirdness is that I had the funds to properly equip and fund a Band; Myself on Vocals, Mai on Guitar, Porn on bass and Do on Drums. That done we recorded our first album 'Siplor'.
It was met with critical disdain. It bankrupted the nascent record label we were signed to. Undeterred we played in every flea pit and dodgey discotheque that would have us. The setlist was our original material(mixed reactions), Creedence Clearwater Revival and Jefferson Airplane covers and the theme song to one of the soaps I was in, a cosy fortyfive minutes of condradictions for an already confused audience. Having gathered our fanbase in the outer provinces, who were frankly glad that we even showed up, if not when we were playing, we approached GMM Grammy, the biggest, baddest Label in Thailand with the Demo for our second album. With veteran swiss/loation 'Carabao' member, Theirry Meakwattana, on production duties this Album 'Monruk Siplor' was a beast, focusing our sound to be more like the psychedellic countryrock band we thought we were.
This album was a huge success for Siplor, and we managed to get people to pay to have us play, eventually becoming a headline act and playing to crowds up to twentyfive thousand.
The next logical thing to do was to make a selfindulgent third. We recorded it at 'Center Stage'; Carabao's classic studio with vintage gear. Although well received the tour for this album was cut short when the Tsunami of 2004 hit the soutern coast of Thailand on Boxing day. Luckily for me I was in the north of the country but we couldn't carry on playing. Soon after Aerd Carabao, lead singer and frontman of legendary Carabao invited Siplor and other like minded acts and bands to put together an album of original songs about the Tsunami on a charity album called 'Sub Namtar Andaman', translates as ' Drying the tears of the Andaman' my small contribution was a song called 26.12.04 in english .This may seem odd to the western reader but there is a long tradition of topical songwriting in Thailand. Topical songs and protest songs are known as 'Peuh Cheewit' in Thai which means 'songs for life', I call it blues. It was mainly 'Peuh Cheewit' acts on the album.
Our fourth and final album was mainly recorded at home on a 16bit soundblaster sound card. It was made at the begginings of the then brewing politcal crisis; it was an angry record called 'Ngun Ngun Thong Thong', released on Warnermusic Thailand. At this point I had become a full blown long haired beardy weirdo, venomously opposed to 'the man'. We found ourselves playing to crowds of angry demonstrators on which ever street they managed close down, we were part of the Peoples Alliance For Democracy, Fuck Yeah!
These protest went on for a while but the powers that be don't like protracted disputes so the Army moved in and ousted the government. Like I said, Peoples Alliance For DEMOCRACY! It was time for a change of scene.
I have since moved to london, recorded an album of songs in english as a solo act.My collaborators are music moguls and ecstasy icons who shall remain nameless for now, for legal reasons. So tune in, check out and I'll see you around.
hey there... hows it all going? my name is Sam,, i've kinda gone down the same path as you with regards to the Thai Lakorn road,,,, my band has recently signed a deal with RS. The album is finished now, and will begin to release singles and album when i get back from London. The album will be sold in english as well as Thai. I am the songwriter, producer and i also mastered the music. I would just like to have some advice and your opinions on things really... i listened to you music and it sounds very good indeed, it sounds very professional. You have any plans with your music? what's in the pipelines... am asking because one of the reasons why i am in london now, other than visiting family, is that i am pushing my music with english labels in London. Do you have any thoughts? I ask, because you're kinda doing exactly what i wanna be doing... i.e. take my music to England. Although we have signed to RS, we can negotiate abroad, and the contract is quite flexible.
Anyway, waffled on a bit...
hope to hear from you soon, am in London til 25th July, so if you have any band dates, would love to have a look.
Sam.
BTW i started to act just as you were doing your 10Lor band in Thailand. But I don't think we ever met.
Hey, where are you now? heard that you're back here already. By the way, if it's true please let me know cause i wanna join People Alliance for Democracy with you man haha.
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