Aspiring musicians, rock stars and singers, rejoice. Last night was the first in what will be ongoing Thursday night open-stage jams at the Diner’s recently opened second branch.
The tradition of a jam night hosted by expats in Taipei had its glory years from 2004 to 2006 at Citizen Cain (大國民), where bands like Public Radio, Johnny Fatstacks, Creepy Susan, Billy James and Big Brass Balls Band got their start.
Due to noise complaints and frequent police visits, the Cain’s Thursday Live Jam was discontinued, and a lot of people have had a big, black hole in their week since then. So Jesse Morden-Green, of alt-country band Johnny Fatstacks, decided it was time to recreate the experience.
PHOTO: ALITA RICKARDS
“For a lot of people, jam night was a coming of age music-wise. People got comfortable playing in front of other people there,” he said, somewhat wistfully, in an interview at the Diner on Tuesday night. “All it takes is that one song where you get the response, you hear someone say ‘that was really good.’ There’s that feeling when you get a positive response and it’s honest.”
Though the music is central, Morden-Green said the social aspect is equally important: “It’s the one night where everyone gets together and plays music, listens to music, drinks, laughs and hangs out. It’s totally not pretentious.”
He decided to hold jam night at the Diner after meeting with the owners, who he said “are the warmest, friendliest, most amazing people — they have so much faith and confidence in this night.”
For Morden-Green, it’s important that this time the night be hosted by a Taiwanese-run establishment.
“The main focus is on a blend of foreign and Taiwanese musicians. I want local people to feel comfortable singing a Chinese song. Before [at Canadian-owned Citizen Cain] it was all whiteys singing English songs, and the crux of this place [the Diner] is the blending of both cultures,” he said.
He encourages anyone who wants to make music to come and sign up for a three-song, 15-minute set. “Don’t be shy. Come expecting a really good group of people, both performers and the audience. Whether you want to play or listen, have great food, a chat, a few drinks — it’s just a really great place where foreigners and Taiwanese can come together. Music is bigger than culture. It breaks down the boundaries.”
Last week saw the appearance of another odious screed full of lies from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian (肖千), in the Financial Review, a major Australian paper. Xiao’s piece was presented without challenge or caveat. His “Seven truths on why Taiwan always will be China’s” presented a “greatest hits” of the litany of PRC falsehoods. This includes: Taiwan’s indigenous peoples were descended from the people of China 30,000 years ago; a “Chinese” imperial government administrated Taiwan in the 14th century; Koxinga, also known as Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功), “recovered” Taiwan for China; the Qing owned
In Taiwan’s politics the party chair is an extremely influential position. Typically this person is the presumed presidential candidate or serving president. In the last presidential election, two of the three candidates were also leaders of their party. Only one party chair race had been planned for this year, but with the Jan. 1 resignation by the currently indicted Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) two parties are now in play. If a challenger to acting Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) appears we will examine that race in more depth. Currently their election is set for Feb. 15. EXTREMELY
Jan. 20 to Jan. 26 Taipei was in a jubilant, patriotic mood on the morning of Jan. 25, 1954. Flags hung outside shops and residences, people chanted anti-communist slogans and rousing music blared from loudspeakers. The occasion was the arrival of about 14,000 Chinese prisoners from the Korean War, who had elected to head to Taiwan instead of being repatriated to China. The majority landed in Keelung over three days and were paraded through the capital to great fanfare. Air Force planes dropped colorful flyers, one of which read, “You’re back, you’re finally back. You finally overcame the evil communist bandits and
They increasingly own everything from access to space to how we get news on Earth and now outgoing President Joe Biden warns America’s new breed of Donald Trump-allied oligarchs could gobble up US democracy itself. Biden used his farewell speech to the nation to deliver a shockingly dark message: that a nation which has always revered its entrepreneurs may now be at their mercy. “An oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms,” Biden said. He named no names, but his targets were clear: men like Elon Musk
RSS