If you've ever seen him in concert, you're sure to remember the name. Dirt Star is the indie-pop, punk-rocking guy with a Keebler elf haircut and cosmonaut suit. He might have been writhing around in his own spilled beer in front of the stage when you saw him. That might ring a bell.
He and his band of outer-space musicians have been frequent visitors to Spring Scream in years past and semi-regulars at Taipei's Underworld. Now he's returning from his adopted home of Shenzhen, China, to release his debut album The Score here in Taipei.
He's planned a weekend of events, starting with the album party and show at the Living Room tomorrow night, followed by a "Greet Dirt Star mini-show plus interview and autograph session" at Mo! Relax Cafe on Sunday afternoon.
Shino (林曉佩) and Hong Kong hip-hop DJ TKO will make cameo appearances at the Living Room gig.
But why put a DIY punk/indie-rock band in the Living Room?
"My original idea was I wanted to have 50 rockers in one room, really tight and sweaty and packed," Star said in a crackly phone call from Shenzhen. "I've never been there. I'm really excited."
What's the music like? Star says his shows were once described as "a rocket blasting off without a pilot" and that they are "as entertaining as the universe is vast," but even listening to the CD on your home stereo keeps the dopamine flowing.
I could make allusions to half a dozen obscure bands that Dirt Star sounds like (vocals reminiscent of Dynamite Hack!), but the best way to taste the band's fruity flavors is to sample the couple of tracks offered online (http://www.bubblegreentea.com).
Star put The Score together with a little elbow grease from Wan-ting (晼婷), the former Ladybug and current 7" Vinyl Records engineer. They cut the guitars and vocals to tape, "or rather hard disk" Star points out, then he stole away to his secret cave in the verdant hills of Shenzhen and went mad-scientist with it.
"The album was finished over a year ago," Star said. "Then I basically revamped every song like 20 times in a year."
His long-time collaborators K Sauce, Ant, Yen-hui, and Wen Feng provided the riffs, words, drums and squeaks, though not necessarily respectively. Star's not saying who did the squeaking.
The production quality is worth a mention. The Score was mastered at Hong Kong's Noise Asia Records by Dickson Dee, who deserves kudos for bringing the sound out of the box and putting it in the listener's head. He's kept Star's freshman effort from sounding like one.
Lastly, to get The Score in the hands of the multitudes, Star and his friends set up Bubble Green Tea records to "help bring the indie subculture of Greater China to the world."
Their Web site, promotional efforts and the album itself are enough to make you think "Gee, these punk-rock kids have their act together," which isn't something you'd normally think about punk-rock kids.
The launch party for The Scoreis tomorrow at 9:30pm at the Living Room, located at 3F, 8 Nanjing E Rd, Sec 5, in Taipei (台北市南京東路5段8號3F). Entrance is NT$300 and includes two drinks. Star's mini show will be at Mo! Relax Cafe on Sunday at 3pm. Mo! Relax Cafe is at 20, Ln 60, Taishun St, Taipei (台北市泰順街60巷20號).
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
Last week the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said that the budget cuts voted for by the China-aligned parties in the legislature, are intended to force the DPP to hike electricity rates. The public would then blame it for the rate hike. It’s fairly clear that the first part of that is correct. Slashing the budget of state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) is a move intended to cause discontent with the DPP when electricity rates go up. Taipower’s debt, NT$422.9 billion (US$12.78 billion), is one of the numerous permanent crises created by the nation’s construction-industrial state and the developmentalist mentality it
Experts say that the devastating earthquake in Myanmar on Friday was likely the strongest to hit the country in decades, with disaster modeling suggesting thousands could be dead. Automatic assessments from the US Geological Survey (USGS) said the shallow 7.7-magnitude quake northwest of the central Myanmar city of Sagaing triggered a red alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. “High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” it said, locating the epicentre near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay, home to more than a million people. Myanmar’s ruling junta said on Saturday morning that the number killed had