I recently had the pleasure of playing and touring with an Australian outfit Called Godswounds.
Math rock, alternative, game music blah blah blah. people struggle to label or classify what is just essentially good music played by people who love the art.
Lachlaan and Mule brought their special brand of mind fucking to Taiwan for an extended tour an when their guitar player Joe Lee had to bow out of the Japan tour I stepped in. Little did I know what I was in for...
I have been on lots of tours with lots of bands in my career I have been fortunate, but this was 6 weeks of fun; laughing, joking mindfucking, tasteless jokes, horrid social commentary, mean spirited ethnic jabs at our Celtic heritage and a never ending stream of "yer mum" comments.
In fact I was to learn that "yer mum" is the appropriate reply to any question.
The following is the Letter lachlaan sent out to all involved good and bad on his way out the door...
Quote:
Muel's gone, Joe's gone and I'll be gone in four days, so I feel it's about time for some words of thanks and affection.
On behalf and in tandem of/with Godswounds I would like to thank you all so much for the experience we have had over the last half a year. You are a beautiful and generous community and we're a better band and better people in light of the edification we have received by being here.
It's very easy and often rational for a community to approach foreign bodies with trepidation, we were often told this would be the case. We have experienced very little of that. From the moment we arrived we were treated with the open hospitality of open souls.
We'd only played our first show in Australia when we were invited here. The audience was mainly people who'd already known us from other bands and/or our friends and family. When we came here, we didn't have this buffer, you guys knew us first and foremost as those antipodean monkeys playing weird-arse music. At first, we were mainly exposed to the foreigner community, but then, from about our third show on, things started to change. It was amazing because you guys didn't know us outside the band so you were choosing to come of your own proclivity. And at each show, we'd be blessed with the opportunity to meet new and amazing people who would open up to us, tell us what they enjoyed, would have the generosity to buy our CDs. It's been an amazing feeling and so overwhelming to meet more of you each time we played. That cross-section audience at the Jan 2nd was cripplingly beautiful. It was overwhelming, to say the least. We had people from the first show right through to new friends that we'd met that night. We are better as musicians and as people because you never stopped nourishing us with support and the dynamic, variety and strength of your characters. It is heart breaking to leave this, but it's such an incentive to come back we know it wont be long before we return and we hope you continue to share the escapade with us. The following are personal messages in a public forum to people that figured heavily in our adventure here, people who helped us find our feet and explore and learn about Taiwan. These people are SO important in this community (In my view) and in the "Taiwan Scene" and we would be NOTHING without their toil, their blood, their tireless support and their prodigious talent. Here we go...
Steve Leggat, (www.tawaingigguide.tw) thanks so much for all your help, dude. The love you have for the scene here is inspiring to say the least, and the work you do for it without "hassle" is pretty awe-inspiring. You've been one of a line of big brothers to us while we were here and I certainly don't think all the opportunities we've been blessed with would have opened to us if it wasn't for your sagacity and the respect people have for you here. And Phoebe, thanks so much for threatening me with violence pretty much every time I see you and for helping me with my dyslexic Chinese and being our package receiver. You guys are awesome, it's been a lot of fun.
KGB crew and Antoni, you're a great fella. Thanks so much for the hamburgers with beetroot, for the inspiring optimism, for the friendship and the quiet diplomatic words of experience. Not looking forward to my last KGB burger in a while in the next few days. Obviously, not the burger itself, but the forboding...You get what I'm saying. Tomer, thanks for the sandwiches and the free shots! (Muel got mine, just so you know...) Hope all goes well with one of the best band-name/flyer combinations I've seen in my entire life.
I'd like to thank the awesome people we met at Lost Lagoon (MOSS fucking rock!) and Tristan and Chad for pulling the thing together and having the courage and audacity to allow 2 untested bands, (Well, let's be honest, one band and a guy with a name that was even more recognisable than his shiny cod piece) from a country of convict lineage who were suggested by a guy with ADD and a penchant for obtrusive hypothesis to play at a make it or break it festival. It's been schooling to listen to you. You guys have really helped me learn a lot about the community here, particularly the living and dying foreigner scene. Melissa, one of our first CD buyers! Thanks for hanging out every time we came to Taichung, bringing your friends. Good luck with your tattoos, man! Thanks to the rest of Taichung, to Gavin and the Reniculous/Point crews, to Dave for travelling all the way from Tainan to see us and then seeing us again IN Tainan, to Divebomb, to Reider. Lightlounge staff, thanks so much for your professionalism and your tolerance for some of the audience.
Josie, dude, you're beautiful. Thanks so much for helping us. Thanks for helping Muel, Joe and myself in MANY different ways and your amazing courage and strength. You talked once about how you loved the character of Australians. To be honest, I think it's your character that all Australians should be striving to match. Thankyou so much.
Mark and Alleycats. What a delight to meet you, sir! Thankyou so much for letting us play for your ripping establishment. We were pretty skint a lot of the time we were here and I don't think you know how much that Pizza on Sunday meant to us at times. It was fantastic to meet you. Thanks for introducing me to Three Trapped Tigers and I hope some day I can meet up with the generous offer of playing a Godswounds gig there in addition to songs Joe printed out 20 minutes before playing.
HUASHAN! Thanks for the live recording, thanks for the great sound and the beautiful surroundings!
RISK and liberated rhytms! Your store is fucking great! One of my favourite memories from being here is how we can some how understand each other. You speaking to me in Chinese and I to you in English. Probably learnt a lot of my Chinese (and Taiwanese) from your influence, man. Thanks. Bazooka!
Darren at 89K, thanks so much, man. Your ears are phenomenal and it was a pleasure to jam with you. Thanks so much to the guys who turned up at our gig there who we didn't really get a chance to meet.
Agnes Huang, you're an amazing lady and maybe a kindred Celt in previous lives, thanks so much for helping us get on our feet. Your generosity, wisdom and vicarious ambition have been humbling to say the least. Your friendship is priceless. And nothing is apt to show my gratitude for your company. Catherine, thankyou so much for your friendship! Thanks for coming to our gigs and being so supportive!
Chosen at UNDERWORLD. Dude. Thankyou so much for the funnest gigs we probably had in Taiwan. You were so generous for time and opportunities in your brilliant space and I'll always remember and be grateful for that. Keith your art is brilliant, man, so glad to meet you. Thanks for putting us on rotation. Slater, your ears are quite possibly two of the best on the island. Thanks so much for your amazing professionalism. One of my biggest regrets in leaving Taiwan is not having the opportunity to record with you behind the desk. Dizzy! Great to meet you, dude! Thanks for the kind words. Ashi, you are a legend, my friend, in Death Metal trio form, behind the light desk, and as a human being.Thanks for your openness, your support and your fucking brutal band. Thanks so much to the staff of UNDERWORLD. Thanks to AAN and Drum&Keyboard for playing with us there.
Katrina and Bobwundaye! Thanks so much for the conversations, the shoulder of support, the nachos and the tolerance.
Travis and Bliss. AHAHAHAHAAHAA! How funny was that stage? I thought I was going to die. Thanks for the laughs and for the informative views of the origins of the human fear of snakes. Nadja, great to meet you!
David Chen, you were our first international review. Thanks so much for your support, man, it's been great chatting with you out and about. Muddy Basement Ramblers! Thanks to Alita and the rest at Taipei Times, we're so grateful to have been in print in your newspaper.
Hualien! The immortal Justin Yore, thanks for making us aware of one of the most beautiful places in Taiwan. Terry, Cool-Chad, Dave, Peisyuan (Cunt-Face), Mr. and Mrs. Breast-Groper, Nick and all the wonderful people at PEACEFEST(What an amazing place to perform!) Nick and Sway, Mooney and all our friends at OneWayCafe, KIMBO, Gareth and Ryan from Highway 11, (Where's that magazine, anyway?) Yaichen and the assortment of nomadic artisans we met at the hostel, Sue and the ALLSTAR PUB (thanks for much for a great time, Sue!) , the Aborigine boys and their songs! We met countless amazing people at PEACEFEST and at our first concert at the ALLSTAR. Hualien seems to be a hive of them. Thanks for existing.
TAITUNG! Barry, you took us even further into this beautiful country, thankyou so much for inviting us to Taitung, for the edifying conversations, the Hermann Brood and the scenic trip into Dulan. Sonia, thankyou so much for your generosity and being a better saleperson of our CD than we were! Playing at the Sugar Factory was a Mazuan blessing and getting the chance to meet and play with Hawaii and Afa was a surreal experience. Dave and Pei Lu, our Earthquake friends, hope to see you soon. Hawaii, it was an honour to play at the Dulan Cafe, thankyou so much for your incredible hospitality. We hope we get the chance to return again, soon!
Meine kleine Schwester, Sarah! Du bist super! Your support for us has been so humbling. Thanks so much for asking us to play at Fujen University, even though I thought it was a High School at first. Thanks to Spike and Scooter and all our friends in the music club. thanks for letting me sit in with your band! Steve, awesome to meet you. Tiff, a pleasure as always, EmoKid. Thanks for the great conversations and the company. Good luck with your bassistitis, a malady I know all to well.
Greggo, you multi-fraying, cunt. Thanks so much for putting us on the bill for the Hungry Ear, that gig was brilliant. Thanks for the brainstorming sessions, thanks for introducing us to Atsushi-san. Here's to the blue line.
Gary, Yuwo and Sappho! You guys are amazing, we wish we'd gotten play there sooooo badly. Hopefully next time. You guys are awesome and Gary, you are the surely the grandest musicophile on the island. Thanks so much for the chats and showing me your sound collages.
Frank Huang, you autistic-savant. The only thing that equals your remarkable talent behind the lens and in the dark room is your generosity with it. I hope we get the chance to work together again, soon. Good luck!
Gareth, you are brilliant, man. Thankyou so much for the photos. You're a sensitive and gifted artist, and, in my opinion, the best narrative-driven photographer I've met. Your work captures an event, it doesn't look like a mad dash to find something to put in a portfolio. It lives and breathes its world. It has been wonderful to meet you and Shauna. Shauna you are such a wonderful lady. Thankyou so much for the beautiful gift and for your deep and thoughtful conversation. I will miss the generosity and warmth of you two very much. flickr ID: Khanagraphy
Mr. Joe Henley and Ms. Jill Su. I contacted Taipei Metal before I even landed on Formosan turf because of the strength and passion that I could see in you guys before I even got there. It's been great to be part of events organised by you guys and to see how passionate you are about the scene, and how much you do for it. I hope Revilement fares well with all the upcoming excitement (As I'm sure it will!) and I'm looking forward to hearing Joe's voice on our project together. Fag.
Tony, my brother in sound and kaiju. It has been a breath of fresh air to meet you, man. Your artistic integrity is astounding. I admire your work and your attitude so much. Thanks for letting us be part of the Blood Orange family, thanks for introducing me to the living god that is Masa Mike and for the Blood Orange shirt! It was wonderful to meet your family and I'm so looking forward to the art to come...Jubba, you Rhodesian Doppleganger, you. A pleasure to meet you. Great fun to play with you at Roxy Roots, hope we get the chance to do it again some time. Kater, John, Jeff, all the best guys! Hopefully I'll get to see your respective bands in action soon!
Chard, I was listening to the Tic Tac before I even got to Taiwan and I'm so happy and honoured we got the chance to play with you. You're an amazing musician and I hope that one day I can play with the same conviction that you do. You and the Tic Tac are captivating to watch and you are a beautiful human being. It has been a vicissitude to meet you.
Jeff "Spoon and Straw" Stoddard. You fucking powerhouse. I still remember how surreal it was the first time I played with you at Shilin. It's not often you get the chance to play with someone who was part of what made you the musician that you are, but this has been one of those occassions for me. It's hard for me to articulate how grateful I am that you came to Japan with us and harder still to articulate how much respect for the energy that you gave in performance when you did. You reassure things in me that "contemporary culture" has done its best to mollify. You're like a Tesla Coil of art, finding the points of conduction in the landscape around you and charging it with your capacities as a practitioner. You illustrate the idiom that living your life with passion and courage isn't exceptional. It is compulsary and anything less is a pallid submission to the vaccum of mediocrity. Thankyou so much. Yaohsien, it has been wonderful to meet you. Thankyou and Jeff so much for your hospitality, your love of animals and your value for intelligence and clarity. It has been an honour. Truly.
I am positive I've missed people that have helped us and I'm sure there will be re-edits of this, but for now thankyou so much for all you've given us, Taiwan. Thankyou so much for opening your heart, we're looking forward to returning. With or without a bassist.
Taiwan Up.
Godswounds Out.
THE BANDS!!
ROUGHHAUSEN, The Tic Tac, GO CHIC, New Hong Kong Hair City (Mac You're a fine soul and I wish you'd go back to San Fran and play with your "friends" aka: Musician I've worshipped my whole adult life. Mike and Mark! Daniella! And that Canadian guy on guitar.) AAN, ASHEN, Horsemen, Blood Orange, Until Seeing Whales Eyes, Freeloaders, Chill Da Dog, Windmill (Chris, you're a gentleman and It was great to meet you and your partner,) MOSS, Lee Kwuang, Boyz and Girl, SummerBred, My Skin Against Your Skin, Revilement, Bugs of Phoenon(sp, Gareth?) ,Drum and Keyboard, GOREPOT, Bazooka, Sonic DeadHorse, Sunset Rollercoaster, Reader, A bunch of awesome guys we saw at Sappho, Dawid Vorster, DIVEBOMB, Collider, Muddy Basement Ramblers, VARO...
Like the thankyou's, these are subject to change, prolonging, e.t.c. Suck it.