Chen Jhen-chang's Special Place in Kaohsiung's Music Scene／前進高雄音樂場景
Chen Jhen-chang's Special Place in Kaohsiung's Music Scene
◎Recount by Chen Jhen-chang ◎English translation: Wendy Wei Chang
◎Photo by Yang Shih-jie
Chen Jhen-chang is the owner of Paramount Bar. Although, he is very experienced at running bars and organizing activities, it is music that is his real passion. He recalls his years in high school when he would listen to loud, intense music, with his very first rock'n'roll album being Guns N' Roses. Back then, the only way to acquire information about foreign music was to either listen to the radio or read Yu Kuang Music Magazine. While doing my mandatory military service in Taipei, I began to listen to a lot more music. Taipei had more resources for music lovers, so it was easier to find the albums I wanted. I used to visit a comic book store, where piles upon piles of albums were stacked against the wall. The owner also liked to listen to rock'n'roll. He recommended that I go to see shows at the Roxy, where I met Sho-sho, the guitarist from a band called Groupies. Sho-sho told me the type of music I liked, was known as 'punk rock.' So in order to understand punk, I started to look for books about it in bookstores around National Taiwan University in Gongguan.
When I graduated from high school, I began playing guitar. I also studied folk guitar during my military service. But, it was not until after I completed my military service that I returned to Kaohsiung and started a band with some old friends. At first, we weren't very good, we tried to write our own songs with simple chords. At that time, we'd practice at Doremi Music Store on Bade Road. A lot of songs were composed there but never played.
The band was initially called 'Circus Monkey.' At that time, bands in Kaohsiung had short names, so audiences could shout them while they were performing. We realized Circus Monkey was a relatively long name compared to the others, so we eventually abbreviated it to 'CM.'
On June 25th, 2009, (the day that Michael Jackson passed away), my friend Don and I opened our live music club named 'The Mercury,' located near Hanshin Arena Shopping Plaza. Don was in charge of the bar on the first floor, and I was in charge of performances and activities held on the second floor. The Mercury was located inside a residential building, so after a while the loud noise would often made the neighbors complain.
On New Year's Day 2014, we opened Paramount Bar. This was located in an independent building, so the drums did not bother anybody. Bands wouldn't have to worry about keeping the volume down during performances. The stage was also bigger and the bar could accommodate up to 120 people.
If anyone wants to get into playing music, I would advise them to practice at either Doremi Music Store or 91 Studio on Sintian Road. They are both very professional, with a cozy atmosphere and wide range of music equipment. They even have recording studios, and bands can practice there until midnight. Many musicians also teach at 91 Studio. The studio is a great place for Kaohsiung's bands to record albums and create their own brand of music. There's also a new music club in Dayi Warehouse. It has been professionally designed and is fully equipped. It is quite likely to become a popular place for out-of-town bands to perform.
Kaohsiung's music scene continues to develop and has some really excellent music festivals. Megaport Festival seems to be one of the most popular. Everyone who attends always has a lot of fun. However, Kaohsiung could use more live music, so people will come out and adopt it as a hobby, like they have done with karaoke or the movies. I hope one day people will get excited about going out to see live music and make it something they regularly do with their friends. Hopefully, Kaohsiung will continue to develop, and really terrific music scene will eventually emerge.
前進高雄音樂場景
◎文／許哲寧 ◎攝影／楊士傑
高中時想聽一些又吵又激烈的音樂，特別跑去唱片行問老闆有沒有推薦的卡帶？老闆塞給我一張Guns N'Roses的專輯，我人生中第一張搖滾樂唱片，在當時還沒有網路的年代，想獲取國外音樂資訊，除了聽廣播、就是閱讀《余光音樂雜誌》，才發現不是所有西洋音樂都是搖滾樂，同時還存在許多不同類型曲風。真正啟發我大量聽音樂，是到台北當兵那兩年，台北資源豐富，比較容易挖得到想要的CD，以前喜歡去一間裡頭堆滿整面牆壁專輯的漫畫店，我都會向老闆借隨身聽播來聽，老闆自己也非常熱愛聽搖滾樂，推薦我去「Roxy」看表演，在和「骨肉皮」的吉他手秀秀聊天後，他說：「你喜歡聽的這種音樂就叫做『龐克樂』！」於是我開始在台大公館附近書店，找關於搖滾樂歷史的書籍，研究龐克樂起源和各個年代的發展。
其實高中畢業時就曾經接觸過吉他，在部隊裡也會看一些民謠吉他教本，退伍後回到高雄，才開始找以前的同學朋友們聚在一起玩團，因為技術並不成熟，我們沒有Cover別人的作品，反倒嘗試用簡單的和弦寫歌創作，最初樂團取名「馬戲團猴子」，不過當時高雄團的名字都很短，觀眾會在樂團上場表演前呼喊，「馬戲團猴子」總有點拗口，就縮寫成「馬猴！馬猴！」，才變成「馬猴樂隊」，那時我們都會去八德路上的「真善美樂器」練團，在馬猴樂隊時期，還有很多我自己創作的詞曲沒有拿出來演出過。
2009年6月25日，Michael Jackson逝世當天，我和朋友Don一起在漢神巨蛋附近經營的Live House「水星酒館」開幕了！Don負責一樓的酒吧，二樓的演出事務、活動安排、節目企劃由我負責，找過許多樂團來演出。過了這麼多年，水星因為開在大樓底下，很容易因為聲音過大被鄰居抗議，近年來在邀團上會儘量避開太重、太吵的音樂。我也開始尋覓一個沒有鄰居會抗議的空間，便促成2014年元旦「百樂門酒館」的誕生，百樂門的房子因為是獨棟、沒有跟隔壁房子連在一起，大鼓的聲音不會穿過水泥傳到隔壁去，能夠讓表演者更自在的演出，舞台更大、觀眾可以容納120人。
除了長久支持的練團室「真善美樂器」外，我也推薦新田路上的「91音樂工作室」，有點像台北的阿帕，那裡面裝潢非常舒服乾淨、器材也非常專業齊全、甚至也有錄音設備，有的時候如果想要半夜練團，事先打電話過去也可以安排，同時也有許多高雄的樂手在那裡做教學，跟他們學習樂器，是影響到高雄獨立樂團創作的基地。在大義倉庫的「LIVE WAREHOUSE」雖然開沒多久，不過專業跟場館氣勢是不會輸人家的，當初他們要在駁二駐點的時候我就覺得，這裡應該會讓外地的票房樂團在排巡迴行程的時候，認真考量的一個地點，因為這裡要甚麼設備都可以滿足、器材也都很專業，是很重要的一個表演場所。
高雄最值得推薦的音樂祭當然就是「大港開唱」啦！又近、又方便，不用擔心回不了家，雖然乍看之下好像跟台北的「野台開唱」沒甚麼兩樣，但是實際走進來其實可以感受到在大港聽歌的觀眾好像都放得比較開，玩得很歡樂（笑），不曉得是不是因為高雄人的關係、還是地點位在港邊的化學作用，隨興大器的特色、沒有在跟你吹毛求疵，進來就是盡情放鬆開心的玩。
以經營者的角度來講，其實看了高雄十多年的音樂環境，這裡的音樂產值還是不行，無論是Live House 的經營者、門票銷售、觀眾數量、甚至是樂團的多樣化…都還不成熟，消費習慣也尚未建立起來，同類型的音樂太多，有的時候在安排節目表的時候，譬如說邀請迷幻的樂團來，就找不到適合的共演表演者，儘管現在越來越多表演的場地，不過最重要的還是期盼消費者能夠把聽樂團現場演出當做假日的消費習慣，就像是我們放假會去唱卡拉OK、看電影那樣，希望能有一天大家是以「週末有誰要來表演耶！要不要一起去看？」當做平常的休閒娛樂心態，進而建立起地方音樂的文化環境。