Dennis A. Amith interviews PROTOCULTURE (2002) - PAGE 2

Continued from Page 1

DENNIS: Did you have any role models or did someone influence you to become a musician?
JEFF: I can't say that I did. Obviously, my teachers had an enormous influence on me but to say anyone was a role model, I don't know.
ED: Not really but there were drummers I enjoyed hearing like Larry Mullen Jr. and Stewart Copeland.

PHOTO: Ed Quan of "Protoculture" playing the drums.

DENNIS: If you had one memorable event in your life as a musician or in your music career as a whole, what would that memory be? ED: The very first show that my first band played. The band was called South of Main. We rented this gymnasium and put on our first show. We had the lights and concession stand. The excitement of playing for people for the very first time. The show went on for two hours without an intermission. I'll never forget how sore I was the next day. JEFF: I'd have to say the making of our first EP. It was so exciting to be in a pro studio seeing your vision realized. It was a long road getting to that point.

DENNIS: What was the first instrument that you got hooked on as a musician? What was your first instrument?
JEFF: Guitars! Still love 'em. My dad had these old Ventures albums in his collection and they all had pictures of guitars on the covers and sometimes pretty women too. (laughing) The Ventures are an instrumental surf guitar group. They're still performing...amazing.
ED: Drums, definitely drums that boom and crack! I learned the recorder as my first instrument in elementary school. Yikes! But I could play "Mary had a Little Lamb".

DENNIS: What is the most satisfying and most frustrating aspect of being an Asian musician?
ED: Satisfying...You stand out from everyone. Frustrating...You stand out from everyone.
JEFF: I don't really consider myself to be an Asian musician, but rather a musician who happens to be Asian. But if I had to pick a satisfying aspect, I guess it would be the uniqueness. The most frustrating aspect is probably the uniqueness as well. Nobody in the industry has had the balls to come out and say it but it's an issue. How do you market a couple of Chinese guys to middle America? The North American entertainment industry would have us believe that the world is only black and white and that is very wrong.

DENNIS: Before I get into your music let's talk about your group name. The word Protoculture is known by many fans of anime (Japanese animation). Do you get a lot of e-mails from anime fans wondering if you guys are an anime band? Are you guys big anime fans?
JEFF: You'll have to ask Ed about that one. He came up with the name.
ED: Zilch. (laughing) I think it's really cool stuff, but not an aficionado. I really enjoyed watching the Robotech series, Star blazers, and Battle of the Planets.

DENNIS: Let's first talk about the lyrics. One really good aspect of your group that I keep reading is about your lyrics. How the lyrics revolve around consciousness-raising and spirituality. A term I have seen pop-up to describe your music is "new age" but if you had one word to describe your music, what word would that be and why?
ED: "Song"…`cause to me that sums it all up. When I think of the word "Song"…I think about melody, good lyrics, expression, clever arrangements, passion, feel.
JEFF: "Onion". It has layers and layers man. Just kidding. I would say "intelligent". We don't dummy-up our song to appeal to the masses. We simply write what we like.

DENNIS: Let's talk about your three-song EP. The first two songs deal about life but on the third track, "Such a Good Thing" you get into the serious topic about the Japanese-American internment. Will we be hearing more songs in the near future that touch on serious issues or perhaps carry political messages?
JEFF: I think so. I wrote the lyrics to "Such A Good Thing" because it was an issue close to my heart. My wife is Japanese, so there is a family connection. Ed contributes a lot in terms of the lyrics, and he tends to be more politically influenced than me.
ED: Absolutely. I'm not a radical humanitarian but I do like write about things that concern me. Often global, sometimes not.

DENNIS: Your EP has received really good reviews and people are praising your lyrics and your music. Do you guys try to find a fine balance in the music or would you prefer people to key into the lyrics more than the music or the other way around?
ED: Ideally, we'd like them to key into the whole thing but it's cool if they dig certain aspects more.
JEFF: It doesn't really matter. Everybody hears music differently, but music is unique in that the response is always instinctual and immediate. You don't analyze why you like something. You just like it. The analysis comes later.

DENNIS: Your next album was "Intangible" featuring five tracks. Let's talk about the tracks in the album. The first is "Face your face embrace"? JEFF: I wrote the chord structure and melody on acoustic guitar. Ed and I collaborated on the lyrics. ED: Face is about letting your real self out into the world. Musically, the songs harkens back to the a 70's feel with a swirling Hammond organ, big guitars and drums. DENNIS: What about the song "coughing up the bones" and "today's Picasso"? ED: Bones tackles a lot of issues happening in North America in a vague way. This is raw and crunchy…meant to be heard at high volumes. Jeff can tell you about Picasso. JEFF: "Bones" is a simple rocker. There's that side to us. Ed wrote the lyrics. I wrote "Today's Picasso" in response to a friend of mine who was going through a separation. It's about accountability. Some people seem to go through life trying to avoid the tough decisions we all have to make.

PHOTO: Jeff Jang of "Protoculture" playing the guitar.

They coast through life because they don't want to take responsibility. But in the end, they are unhappier. We are all pretty lazy and afraid of failure but running away from your issues only makes thing worse.

DENNIS: What about the title track "Intangible"?
JEFF: That one worked out quite well. We're both very proud of it. I'm a huge jazz fan and I think my guitar playing reflects that. I was playing around with the concept of modality and the riff just appeared. The chord progression in the verses is actually the same as the "Peanuts" theme song, written by Dave Brubeck I think. Not intentional, just something I noticed after. It's a real lazy, down tempo tune in the vein of Pink Floyd. We were playing around with the word "intangible", Ed came up with the first draft, and then I revised it so it would fit the melody better.
ED: I would have to say this is my favourite. Intangible discusses the elusive ideas people hold as being the keys to happiness and success. Downtempo and dreamy. I love those Rhodes! Hypnotic guitars, warm and fuzzy bass.

DENNIS: Of all the songs that are on both CD's, was there any song that was really challenging to make or record?
JEFF: They were all challenging in their own way. If you're well rehearsed, it's pretty easy to play the right notes. But it's not always easy to capture the emotion of the song, and that's what people respond to. Musicians respond to great technique, but everyone else is either moved by the song or not.

DENNIS: Are there any plans for a full-length album anytime soon?
ED: Not at the moment.
JEFF: No immediate plans, but it would be nice someday.

DENNIS: You guys are getting quite a bit of press as a two-man but are you guys still looking for musicians or are you guys planning to stay as a two-man band?
JEFF: We're really open to anything. We'll write and perform with other people as long as it feels right.
ED: Me personally, I would love to have more and more people collaborate and join in on the creative side. The more creation the better.

Photo: Jeff Jang and Ed Quan of Protoculture.

DENNIS: As for being a two-man band, how are your live performances. How are you guys setup during your live performances and what kind of comments do you get from people who are shocked that it's only the two of you? JEFF: Pretty good thank you. We play to pre-recorded backing tracks. Since we recorded them, we don't feel like it's cheating. Ed's friend Goby Katt has played bass with us for the last two shows and that has gone over well. ED: Basically, we have live vocals, guitars and drums. Everything else is played from backing tracks on our CD player which goes through the house PA. Lately, my friend, Goby Catt, has been joining us on bass, which has been excellent. Most people are shocked that there are only two of us pulling this off. JEFF: I like to have Ed at the front of the stage, since he is one half of the band. Plus, it adds to the visual component. The backing tracks go through the P.A. and we get a monitor feed. We used to go through our own P.A. first and then to the Front Of House, but this new way is cleaner and it keeps stage volume down. Ed plays to a click track going through headphones. There's definitely a tradeoff to this system, but what we lose in terms of improvisation, we make up for in consistency.

DENNIS: What has been the highlight for Protoculture so far?
ED: For me being able to record our songs in a nice studio with a producer. As well as having guest players add their flavor to our songs.
JEFF: This may sound corny and Zen-like, but for me, it's simply when a stranger comes up to you after a show and gives you a compliment. They don't have to say anything, so when they do, it means a lot.

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