Okay, he’s (finally) not wearing his dangling denim suspenders, a development which I applaud and celebrate, but I remain unconvinced on the matter of these glasses:
Like me, you might be alarmed at first by the clear presence of odd dangling pieces on his righthand side (our left, facing him), but I’ve looked at about a dozen pictures from the event, including a whole string of them here, and I’m convinced that these pieces are just odd and dangling, but not actually denim suspenders. But the glasses… I’m sorry, I know plenty of people disagree with me here, but… no. Too big, too thick – as I have been saying publicly for more than two years now, I actually love the bespectacled look, just not this pair.
Ashin emerged from the studio to appear at an event for the Porter Bag Design project, and that picture is him standing in front of his design. He explained some of the items “in” his bag – things like a guitar, a clear shirt, and a “happiness secret weapon” that he can pull out to help improve the atmosphere when needed. Actually though, he clarified, his REAL secret weapon is Guanyou – just pull him out and crack some jokes and everyone is smiling again!
The band has been hard at work in the studio – so much so that they are wondering about how they’ll rehearse for upcoming events (like that Chang Yu-sheng concert at the end of this month or the Linkin Park show in October). Still, though, they managed to find the time to watch the China vs. Chinese Taipei baseball game (hah! I *thought* that would be the one to watch!). Ashin said he could hear the disappointment of their loss from across the sea, but that he hopes everyone will continue to support and encourage the Chinese Taipei team. (They finished fifth over all, though there were some disgruntled remarks that the Chinese authorities – you know, the “Communist Bandits” – scheduled them for the last game on the 14th, against Japan, and then for the first game in the morning of the 15th, against China… so the athletes themselves managed only three or so hours of sleep between games; it was the only case of this happening during the games. On the other hand, China may have won that game, but it came in dead last on the baseball in general. The medal games are tomorrow; the US is up against Japan for a bronze, and it is up to South Korea to stop Cuba from repeating their Athens victory.)
Ashin was asked about his finances, and how he invests and manages them. He answered that he has no real knowledge about finance, but at least he doesn’t have any Swiss bank accounts… heh. This is a reference to the scandal emerging in Taiwan over former president Chen Shui-bian, who apparently misreported campaign finances and whose wife wired millions in excess funds to a Swiss Bank accounts… they’re also being investigated, along with their daughter and son-in-law, for money laundering, and Chen faces embezzlement charges as well. Chen apologized last week for the campaign funds part; the rest is still suspected.
One aside on the Linkin Park show – there is some concern about the order of the performances. After the first band goes – whichever band it is – will the audience be dead for the second (or vice versa)? There was another report of fan complaints that the two acts were not suited for one another, including the age-old accusation that Mayday’s music is not really rock from some Linkin Park fans (these must be fans in Asia, because I can’t imagine many Linkin Park fans in the U.S. have the foggiest idea who or what a Mayday is). But no doubt they will all soldier on despite these doubts.
Okay, in other news, one of Mayday’s more bizarre recent activities was an event to welcome kids from Taiwan back from space camp. The kids attended the camp in Alabama, USA through the sponsorship of Mass Mutual Mercuries Life. The company also sponsors Mayday, so the band was there to play with the “little astronauts.” They had a contest with miniature floating parachutes, which I am sure you can replicate at home with some computer paper and a step stool, if you are so inclined. Beyond that, they are in the studio. The new album wait continues.
I love his glasses. But why did he sign his name in roman characters instead of in Chinese?
^I think a lot of singers do that, not just Ashin, though the Roman characters come out kind of strange pretty often, like those things that Jay Chou obviously believes resemble the letter “J,” which look much more like check marks to me.
I can’t say I couldn’t see the complaints about Mayday and Linkin Park’s compatibility coming, but really, Mayday’s stuff is some of the closest stuff to “rock” in Asia that isn’t so indy that nobody’s heard of it. If the Linkin Park fans are worried over the lyrics about angels, wings, and rainbows (if they did bother to look up lyrics translations, that is), perhaps they should check some other songs, like, I don’t know, the Taiwan version of “爱情万岁.”
… ok the glasses aren’t looking quite so good here. Maybe it’s the hair.
Maybe cos if he signs his name in chinese, foreign customers who purchase the bag won’t be able to read his name? (i’m guessing the bag will be available for sale at Porter shops worldwide?)