in the sky with diamonds

One of the common complaints I always hear about HK is that the music industry is weak, cantopop sucks, people like crap music, and the live scene pales in comparison to other cities.

I'm currently working on a feature for SCMP right now on this issue, and I must say, after talking to a lot of good folks, I realized that things aren't too bad.

We have venues like Sense 99, which is essentially a free venue for artists to do their shit. Not just musicians, mind you, but poets or painters or stage performers. The owner of the venue makes no money off it--the place is strictly for artists to share their stuff.

Then we have guys like Mr Justin Sweeting, who balances a day job and 17 other gigs organising shows and promoting bands... all out of passion.

We got guys from the Wanch, and Chris B of underground, working hard to keep the live music scene alive and to promote live bands.

The number may be small, but the passionate folks are here. I keep hearing about HK lacks culture, this and that bullshit. But then I walk on Hollywood road and I'm amazed at the awesome mix of oldschool Chinese culture with White folks culture. We got a barbershop, a legit fucking barbershop--like those ones that brothas go to and talk sports in Harlem--that doubles as a jazz/blues bar at night. Or I'll go to Kwun Tong or Shau Kei Wan and visit a warehouse where bunch of hippies live together doing art. I went to an exhibition the other day where these three freaking french dudes live together and one's dressed like Turtle from Entourage.

So yeah. The music scene isn't too bad here. The right pieces are here to build a puzzle.

What does suck, is the sports scene. Now that, is a sad, sad scene.