Blog 2 - The Song That Wrote Itself.

Its really interesting, when you have a million stories to tell, figuring out where to start.

I was going through some songs tonight and working on the web site and I told my daughter Amelise the story behind the song Come Back Soon. She said to me, start with that one Dad. Hmmm. Thanks for the advice Ammi!

So, OK! It was September 1999. And tensions were really high in East Timor due to the Indonesian led violence that was occurring after their vote for independence. The decision was made to send in our troops as peace keepers. Send them into the unknown. No one really knew what to expect.

Now, in hindsight there are a hell of a lot of questions our politicians need to answer. In hindsight the whole exercise has a smell of oil and gas around it.

But while this maybe a smell hanging over our soulless politicians, it must be clearly stated that most of the Australian public, and more importantly in this case, all our military personnel, smelt of genuine sincerity. We and they - were genuinely concerned for the East Timor people. They had supported us in World War II and democratically decided on a new vision for their future. Yet militia backed by the Indonesia military were murdering East Timor people. 

And this was not new. We had even had some of our journalists murdered by Indonesian military in ET in Balibo as far back as 1975. We had turned a blind eye even as far back as then.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-21/henriss-address-the-oil-injustice/6790978

In 1999, the mood of the nation was - “no more”.

So that was the national mood as I turned up to my regular gig at The Wharf Hotel in Mooloolaba one Saturday night in September 1999.

Before we started the gig, I got talking to one of the security guards at the venue. He did this security job on the side. He was actually in the Air Force and was on stand-by for going to East Timor. And it was a really intense conversation. On the surface he was very stoic. Underneath I could tell he felt really unsure and was concerned about whether he would be coming back to his family!

Wow! I had never experienced the level of intensity I saw in his face and read in his voice. My life had been pretty sheltered. Definitely never had to deal with that level of uncertainty.

Now don’t get me wrong. I had experienced some pretty intense moments in my youth. I may not have grown up on the gun riddled streets of Compton and the Bronx, but there were challenges on the streets of Wilston and the Grange in Brisbane. We had to survive Church youth group socials!! Yes Stevie, I remember you spinning out in your really cool Honda in the rain on Maygar Street, ending up on the crest of a hill facing on coming traffic. And yes Ken, I remember you pushing your car to 100 miles an hour on the way to Boys Brigade Camp, just as your hood (bonnet) flew up. (Sorry Mum and Dad, you probably don’t know those stories). But hey I jest. I thankfully have not known what its like to face gun fire.

I played music and generally that was pretty safe, with most people clapping us and wanting to be friends. Although - I can remember one intense evening. We had finished playing at Mooloolaba and were working our way through the crowd to the back room, when I heard a commotion. I turned to see my long time mate and percussionist, Mark Chomyn, pinned against the wall by an Amazonian! She was berating to all around, the things that she wanted to do to Mark that evening. He actually looked very scared. And with good cause. I am sure that some of the things she was saying could not be survived by a mere mortal! We actually protected Mark out of the venue that night :):).

But back to the story!

On the night of talking to the security guy, after our first set, I went backstage and wrote Come Back Soon. Actually it wrote itself.

I came out after the break and played the song. The crowd loved it. It touched a nerve.

Later that week I jumped into Red Zeds studio and recorded a solo version of the song and put it on my web site, simply in honour of the troops heading to ET.

I was lucky that legendary Qld radio personality Dave Daly was on my mailing list! At this time he was doing the morning show on HOT FM in Townsville, where most of the first wave of troops came from. He played it on his show and they were inundated with calls. There were wives calling in tears having pulled off the road because of the emotion.

I actually didn’t know about this until Terry Johnson, called me to let me know. TJ was the head of Queensland’s number one brewer XXXX in north Queensland. XXXX is an iconic part of Queensland culture. It did not surprise me when TJ said they would put forward some funds to record the song and let’s see how it could be used in a positive manner.

The Queensland Premier at the time, Peter Beattie also endorsed the song.

And used positively it certainly was.

Firstly, it was adopted by numerous family support groups (of the troops) and numerous supportive events were arranged. 

The Defence Department set up a project called Images of INTERFET which documented the whole ET experience. Come Back Soon and a film clip shot by WIN TV was an integral part of that project. It raised funds for two orphanages in East Timor.

About a year later, troops from the 6th Battalion in my home city of Brisbane were heading to ET, Many of the population did not know that families were still being separated from their serving loved ones. Public support was not diminishing in genuineness, its just that the media were not covering the situation that closely anymore. I felt this was wrong.

So I presented to the radio network AUSTERIO (MMM) a proposal to run a campaign called Adopt a Digger. We got Australian Defence Force  approval, as well as the support of General Peter Cosgrove.

The concept was that MMM would play the song and we would encourage schools to fund raise ($50 each) to adopt a digger. They were given the soldier’s first name and photo. The kids then did projects that they sent to their soldier. All funds raised were paid directly to the Red Cross. It helped a new generation understand the work or diggers were doing and let the soldiers know that people were caring.

I had the honour of singing the song at many events, some attended by General Cosgrove and the then Prime Minister John Howard.

I got to meet many of the families of the troops and was even sent poems written by soldiers which I turned into songs. https://nikphillips.bandcamp.com/track/chocolate-mr

In Come Back Soon, I was blessed to be given a song that wrote itself and blessed to meet so may wonderful people through the whole process.

Well, that’s the Come Back Soon tale.

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Hey Hi - Blog 1

In this section, I am going to share some thoughts randomly. I spend my time often being awake late at night, and seriously, it's hard to believe that cable TV can keep getting any worse. So sometimes I may just "meander"!

Next week I am back in the studio working on some songs for a new album. Yeah, I still call them albums. By that, I am not meaning vinyl, CD or any specific platform. These days, they all need to be included. What I mean is a collection of songs that really should be heard together.

That's something I think people really miss out on today. When I was a kid, I'd hang out for a new release of my favorite artists. I'd get the album (vinyl or cassette) plug in my headphones and play it at least 5 times all the way through. A good album took me on a journey. The song list was important, as was dynamics and the lyrical journey. They were all aspects that made it feel like I knew the artist more personally. I gained insight into who they were.
You simply cannot get that through a single. One song is like bumping into someone on the street and talking about the weather. Over the 40 - 45 minutes of a full album, you have time to get beneath the surface and actually make a connection.

And to me, that's what music is about. It connects us, not just to each other, but to something bigger than our sum.
Our whole universe and physical realm are built upon scientific and mathematical principles that simply cannot be explained as chance. Music, harmonic structures, scales etc, are based on physics and maths. They are built upon universal principals.  I don't for one minute pretend to understand this, but I know I connect with it.
Just as air sustains my life, I do not need to understand the complexities of how its made, sustained and functions, in order to benefit from it.

I believe that music and in fact most art connects us to a higher existence.  Some people (like me) call that God, others an unknown presence or universal energy. The terminology doesn't matter nor does the fact that this is something we merely sense, but cannot logically identify. I've often read about people who have had near-death experiences, claiming to hear the most beautiful music they have ever heard, while not being able to describe it. Was this a real experience or an inner brain reaction? I don't know. What I do think is that in those moments/seconds/hours, they have tapped into the real energy and vibrations of the universe. And I am sure that if we could hear the perfection of the universe, it would be the most beautiful music imaginable.

I think when we make music we tap into some form of that energy/vibration. Now, of course, most of the time we all just scape around the edges, do our best, but never really connect to the source. Occasionally someone does really tap into it, and true art is created.

But I think its that search for such a connection and the feeling of comfort artists get in being in that realm, which drives artists forward. I also think that not being able to sustain that connection, between the physical world that we know and the spiritual world we sense through the artistic vibrations, is why so many wonderful artists have struggled to deal with daily life.

I am constantly amazed by how so many business people, who have spent their lives focused internally, have a desire to connect with music. I think it fills a void in many lives.

Now I have no illusion that in recording my new "album" I will reach such spiritual hieghts. But shit, I may as well give it a go!

MUSIC AND BUSINESS - THE CHINA REALITY - PART 4

Blog 4

Li Jie is a short, loud, confident personality. Any room he walks into, he commands attention. Probably about 40% of Chinese people will know his name. 100% will know his music.

While he is a recording artist, he is primarily a song writer and producer.  Like me, he has written 100’s of songs. But unlike me - we calculated that he has written and produced what would be regarded as 235 “hit songs” in China.

He comes from the province of Liaoning in North Eastern China. Many artists have followed him from there to Beijing, and almost like a godfather, he has greatly influenced the careers of some of China’s biggest names such as Sun Nan, Na Ying and Song Zuying.

He is known to most as Jie Ge (Brother Jie) 

He started his working life selling vegetables from a roadside cart. Then worked in a sock factory. He made it to Beijing and was accepted to study with China’s leading song writing master/ teacher.

He won a one of China’s first TV talent shows in the early 80s and formed a band called Expression who had a few hits. His big break came with the writing of Five Star Red Flag. Recorded by Sun Nan, this became  massive hit. Every Chinese person knows it like Australians know We Are Australian.

It is listed by the Government as a national work of importance.  (At the Official Celebrations of the 60 Year Anniversary of the Government, it was the only modern song used in the televised march past and was turned into an 11 minute version).

More recently his song Pure Land went to number 1, as the theme to one of their top rating TV series in 2012. After a long established career, his achievements are still building.

He has won awards such as the Pride of the Orient from CCTV. He records over 400 hours of music a year for the network, has written many film scores and performed with all the top artists in China on

the biggest TV shows.

He calls himself China’s first child of music. I agree. I have worked with many amazing producers over the years and he is one of the best.

He is mates with China’s political and media leaders. I was the only western artist to release music through his company Oriental Music. He was a major gateway for me to all the highest levels of the music and media industries.

He wants to known as the guy leading the development of music between China and the west.

Li Jie on stage with Sun Nan

While he writes many commercial songs, he has a recent  CD called Music on Lotus. This is a sensational album that is more passion than commercial – it combines modern production with traditional Chinese sounds, instruments and Buddhist philosophies. It is a “World Music” masterpiece – in my opinion.

https://open.spotify.com/album/0k4tgIn31f4qYw0YLB54ju?si=eGhsJiBET9K8nbCbPVjG9Q

 I  released some re-makes if Li Jie’s biggest hits. A western artist, doing such famous songs, with the original artist, was a major industry news story. TV appearances followed.

April 2013 – Driving to the CCTV studios, I was actually feeling  a bit nervous for the first time in many years about a performance.  Since we had recorded Five Star Red Flag and shot the film clip, the feedback we were getting about the song, from within the industry, was great.

For the last eight years, I had thought, wow, if only I could get to the stage where I was appearing on CCTV(China's biggest TV network) – that would be really achieving something special. And here I was.

The show I was heading too was a two hour special on Li Jie and his career.  Also on the show would be a range of major stars, whose careers Li Jie had helped shaped. I was the opening act. Instead of starting at the beginning of his career, they were opening with the future – me and his relationship with the west. With this show, they were actively trying to “cool up” CCTV programming, using a more relaxed program format – and having a westerner involved – all meant there will be a lot of marketing  associated to the show.

In Australia, people don’t get it - no one cared – but this was all pretty big!

China has 1.3 billion TV viewers. CCTV is the biggest network by far.  In China they say there are two world markets – China and the rest of the world, both as big as each other. Here I was at the heart of the China market.

The show was being filmed by CCTV4. This is probably the coolest station of the CCTV network. It is the most western, in that it has subtitles on most shows, and as well as running across the whole nation, it also goes out to over 100 other countries.

It is very, very rare for a westerner to get on CCTV. The network is the Government’s voice in many ways. Now I don’t just mean politically, I mean, nothing runs on the network that isn’t Government approved. Being on CCTV is a massive statement of acceptance.

This show was seen by about 70 million people. 

You may have seen the amazing new CCTV building in East Beijing. One of the world’s most amazing architectural designs. Well unfortunately, they weren't filming shows there at that time. We were heading to the older studios in west Beijing. Entering the building, security wasn't as full on as I thought it would be for the headquarters of China media. Pretty relaxed actually. There are many studios in the building. Tonight they were also filming a show similar to The Voice in the biggest studio, so there were many general public people in the building. The circular hallways were filled with on-lookers, technical people and Chinese stars.

The studio we were in had a huge stage and seating for about 150 audience members. The rehearsal went well. Other acts, who are friends of mine and all associated to Li Jie’s company Oriental Music were there - Sun Tribe, Hou Xu and others.

When I did my rehearsal  I stayed pretty much center stage, letting the cameras do the work. Always feels a bit unnatural to me.  As I finished the director asked could I move more and work the crowd, like a live concert- ah thank you – gotta love that. That is my thing!

Oh and the technical guys were just the same as everywhere else in the world. While the artists are nervous, excited – the floor crew are calm, basically bored – some things never change!

Green room – everyone’s relaxing – scoffing food – laughing. It’s a good group of people.

Show time. I’m side of stage with Na Ying and Sun Nan. These singers are two of China’s biggest stars. Kind of like Robbie Williams and Jennifer Lopez! Apparently I would be introduced, sing, then they get introduced, we chat ….. Oh – I just remembered. Sun Nan was the original singer of 5 Star Red Flag, the song I was about to sing – it was an iconic hit for him. I hope he likes my version, he could shoot me down in one sentence if he doesn't like it!! Shit shit shit.. Just relax…..

The performance went really well – worked the crowd. You could tell they were very surprised by the new version of the song and loved it.  Sun Nan was very complimentary and Na Ying suggested he includes this version into his shows. Ah yes please – he is only one of China’s highest paid singers.

After my performance I had to sit in the front row of the audience through the rest of the filming, pretending to understand what was being said. Laugh when everyone one else laughed, nod your head when the host does … it was fun. 

It was a good day. I like good days…

A few others come to mind. Not all strictly music related. Now the thing with music in China is that it often aligns with business interests. Many of the Government and business leaders have arts and Chinese literature backgrounds.  They  also have a national obsession with singing.  Music in general is a passion.

Add to that that I am a westerner singing their songs – it draws a lot of attention. It touches an emotional factor.

In China music gets utilized by businesses in two ways. Firstly, media coverage is very expensive and difficult to get. Companies will often align with artists and create cross over music/business marketing plans. Secondly, events created around music and the arts are often used as meeting grounds for business development.  Every city has an arts festival – generally to develop business alignments as much as celebrate music.

So while in Australia, music is rarely associated to business activities, it is common in China.

One of the more fun performances was at an event for the CICPMC. This stands for the China International Council for the Promotion of Multinational Corporations  - rolls of the tongue, hey!

Set up by the Ministry of Commerce, they help multinational companies in managing operations between China and the west. Their membership comes from China’s top 1000 companies and the top 500 western companies.

One of my close friends is the China General Manager and manages the relationships with all the big companies.  He is an economic adviser to the United Nations and was involved in developing the Zhuhai  Agreement, which lays out the way that multinationals should morally act.

Being the 1^st westerner to perform at their annual conference, in front of Ministers and global corporate leaders was a fantastic and unique experience and led to many amazing connections. One of the songs I sang, had an associated film clip which we had shot at Sirromet Wines in Brisbane. It was great to be able to highlight Australian product to such a high level audience.

Another memorable “business day” happened in 2011.

Through a mutual friend, a meeting was set up with a Mr Y. (Won’t use full names here). I really had no idea who we were meeting, Charlie had a rough idea – apparently he was the son of a pretty powerful Government person. We met. He was a lovely man, mid 50’s, reasonable English. He was a Doctor by trade but for about 20 years had been an independent adviser for many of China’s biggest companies, working often on projects at the request of the Chinese Premier.

At the end of the meeting, Charlie was looking pretty white (for a Chinese guy).  He is used to meeting high level people, but even he was a bit shocked by this meeting.

Ends up Mr Y’s father was basically the number two guy in the biggest Economic Ministry in China for over 30 years. He is the only living person to have been involved in formulating every Five Year Plan the Government has developed, (which are the plans the country follows religiously).

During the Cultural Revolution, when all the leaders were being purged at one stage or another, his father avoided that because, even through the madness, someone had to try to run the country's economy.  Though now retired, he is currently Chairman of an organisation made up from China’s top 150 economic people who advise to the Central Government.

So basically the son, Mr Y, had grown up all his life with the people who now run the Chinese Government and the biggest Companies. He grew up with them in Government estates, schooled and played sport with them.

Through Mr Y, who is now a very close friend, we have been able to introduce some Australian companies to the highest levels of some of China’s biggest organisations and companies.

The advantage for Charlie and myself is that we are not corporate. We meet these people through music and that creates a level of curiosity.

When Government and Corporations go to China, all the parties have agendas and meeting plans outlined. Each side is “competing” with the other. In our case, we make the friends, then business questions come to us on the back end.

Nik, Charlie, Sun Tribe and the former Australian Ambassador Ms Adamson.

I am fortunate that I can get a very good understanding of what happens internally within the big Chinese companies and am then able to assist international companies in travelling through that vast maze. 

But what is most exciting to me is that a lot of the potential for companies lies in the digital media and e-commerce sectors, which have boomed in the last few years and literally have changed the country. These sectors grew out of the music and media industries.

But the real opportunities will be created as the people of China and other countries get to know each other better.

I look forward to seeing where that is heading to.

Building The Bridge - PART 3

BUILDING THE BRIDGE

On my first couple of trips to China, I stayed at the China Hotel in Guangzhou. There was a Bus Boy there named Billy. I gave Billy one of my CDs. He was learning English and told me he would go home, and  sit intently studying my lyrics. One morning Billy gave me the greatest compliment for a writer – he said “Mr Nik, your music is different, it really makes me think”.

Exploring communications with Chinese people has become a passion for me.  Whether it has been performing at China’s biggest Universities or major Government Conferences or in small clubs, getting the chance to cross over languages, find common ground of entertainment and also open up new ways of communication has been very exciting. My music career has encountered some very high profile experiences, but many treasures have also been found in simple moments….

It was a crystal clear morning, just below zero degrees Celsius. I was on the side of a small mountain, overlooking a tranquil scenery all covered in light snow and ice. The mountain is actually a graveyard covered with pathways and small and large tombs.

I had been offered a very special honour to visit Charlie’s Grandfather’s grave, with the other male members of his family – his Dad, Uncles and some cousins. It was Chinese New Year’s Day 2012. This was a very traditional event. For about half an hour they stood relaxing and catching up. It’s a very interesting group of people – his Grandfather had been part of Chairman Mao’s inner circle of the Long March and around me were a couple of Government Ministers, a Chief of Police, Chief Magistrate – but today they are simply family sharing quality time. 

Next they let off a string of fireworks to chase away bad spirits and to let the Grandfather know they were there. They left some personal gifts, took a moment each to pray, then we went to the foot of the hill and burnt some special paper in a raging furnace. This was symbolic of sending money into the after world. To be included into that family experience is something I will never forget. Tradition and family underpin so much of the character of China.

The night before, New Years Eve, had been pretty crazy. We were in Zibo, Charlie’s family’s home town. In Australian terms you would liken Zibo to Toowoomba, a smaller regional city with pretty powerful economic and political ties – except Zibo has about 4 million people.

From about two in the afternoon until midnight, the sound of fireworks was constant. We had a great meal with the extended family, then we settled in to watch the Spring Festival Concert on TV. This is China’s most watched TV program – viewed by more than a billion people. It showcases China’s biggest names, top up and coming acts – has comedy, dancing – it’s great variety TV. Watching the show, I had no idea that quite a few of the people on the show would become involved with me in the coming months.

After the show, at about 1 am, we realised we hadn’t let off the fireworks Charlie and his wife Vikita had bought. So Bi Jie picked us up and there we were, in minus 10 degrees Celsius, lighting fireworks in a City Square in Zibo.

Bi Jie - is a traditional female  singer based in Beijing. Her first pop music project was the duet she sang with me – Reach Around the World Reach Around The World. This is the song that went to number 4 on the China National Radio Network (China’s biggest) chart.

For a country so big it can be a small place sometimes – let me tell you a story.

We were in Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong and one of my favourite cities.  I had written Reach Around the World and it seemed to be an ideal song to show how we can use English and Mandarin together. We were looking for a female duet partner to record the song with and there was a young TV star we auditioned in Qingdao. Her voice wasn’t really right for the song.

At the time, Li Shanxion – who I had performed with at the second Guangzhou Tourism Festival - was also in Qingdao as a guest for a regional talent contest. He asked me to join, I did a guest performance on the show and we then had dinner together at one of his favourite restaurants – it was a Chinese medicine restaurant. The whole meal consisted of a variety of insects, roasted caterpillar larvae, never before seen vegetables …. I was actually glad to drink the rice wine that evening.

Shanxion was pretty well connected in the Beijing arts community and suggested we talk to a singer he had recently met at a festival who had greatly impressed him. So Charlie was on the phone talking to this singer -  the conversation became animated.

It works out that Bi Jie’s home town is Zibo and she and Charlie went to junior school together. So here, in a country of 1.3 billion people, through a third party, we had hooked up with a childhood friend of Charlie who was perfect for our project. OK-  that’s weird.

My whole journey in China seemed to be surrounded by similar coincidences. Glenn A Baker is a famous Australian music journalist and had caught up with me in Beijing. Through conversation it came up that he had been talking about myself and China to his friend Andy Summers, guitarist from the Police.

Then a few weeks later in Brisbane, Charlie and I were having dinner with legendary music journalist Ritchie Yorke. Ritchie was a great mate. He was John Lennon’s publicist, basically broke Led Zeplin in the USA, wrote the official biographies for people such as Van Morrison, was editor of Rolling Stone in Canada … respected by all. Like Glenn, he has followed and highly supported my work in China.

 At the dinner was a guy named Mike Howlett. Mike lectured in Brisbane, but as a producer he created albums for acts such as Flock of Seagulls, Martha and the Muffins, Joan Armatrading.  But probably most importantly, Mike was the guy who brought together Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland – The Police.

Next thing you know I am getting emails from Andy and chatting on the phone with him. He had a new band in LA called Circa Zero and wanted to do something in China.

We decided to hook up and spent a wonderful week hanging out and showing him the music industry there. 

My friends from the band Blue Tomato helped me look after Andy that whole week. Taking him to the Great Wall, music shops, clothes shops, fantastic restaurants. Andy made the mistake of saying he loved lamb at our first lunch. I think we went on to visit every major lamb restaurant in Beijing. He was over lamb by the end of the week.

We stopped outside one of Beijing’s few punk music clubs. There was a Chinese punk standing outside – done up like he had just stepped out of 1977 Britain. Andy went to take his picture, to which the guy screamed at us “f….off”. We burst out laughing. Great punk reaction. If only he knew that he was talking to one of the real developers of that musical period.

Not many Chinese know much about the Police. Or the Beatles, Led Zeplin, Hendrix. China only started opening up to the west in the early 80s. So they know people like Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Sting as a solo artist. Before you think that’s strange, remember they have major stars who in terms of real numbers are actually more successful than most western acts, yet hardly any westerners know about them. So in reality we know less about them than they do about us.

Of course the musicians in China know these artists and Blue Tomato were well aware of Andy and they had been greatly influenced by the Police.

A couple of days before Andy was to leave, he made an offer to play Every Breath You Take with the band at their club. I have never seen people more excited. That night the club was full. We walked in. Photos of Andy were on the walls, he was on the video screen, cameras were everywhere. Many top local musicians were there. While various western major artists visit Beijing, none join in on a local level. I sang with the band. Then Andy got up. It was great.

After the song we ushered him out of the club and into Li Jie’s Hummer and headed to a Jazz/Blues club called CD Blues. There Li Jie had organised for a string of Beijing’s top recording musicians to be there. Andy went on to jam with them. In the west it would be like having Eric Clapton, Stanley Clarke and Phil Collins jamming with him. It was awesome.

Angie was with me on this trip and she sang Bleeding Valentine with me.

Andy left Beijing amazed at the level of musicianship, the size and scope of the industry, but also at how disconnected the Chinese and western industries are and how unique my position is being at the center of it all.

We have encountered the same feed back when working with people such as Shakira and Extreme or industry gurus from companies such as Warner Music.  I am constantly amazed at the gulf that exists between China and the west in many ways. The music industry, between big companies, between Governments. The bridge we are building into the heart of the major media centres that run out of Beijing is very substantial.  I think my main point of difference has been that I haven’t been meeting people with business agendas in mind.
Most Australian companies and Government people go to China with agendas in place. They swap cards. They meet Chinese who also have agendas in place. Everyone is wary, cautious ….. and generally little is achieved beyond positive statements of good intentions with little or no real results. Very rarely do both sides really understand or communicate what they actually want and need – or know how to achieve mutual results. And at the end of the day most people want the same thing, a fair and equitable result based on a strong relationship.

I however meet people at music events and social gatherings and I am surrounded by friends who are major stars with high credibility. This delivers me quick credibility and acceptance with the group I am meeting. Its only after sharing music, food and wine that I then discover that the people there are major Government Officials, TV producers, Heads of the biggest Music and Media Associations, owners of power stations or coal mines or build satellites! I am a novelty to them and they see that I am supporting the development of Chinese Culture. They like that.

Often in the days that follow such get togethers, I will be re approached with a question like, “We are in this business. We know you have connections in Australia. We have never dealt with Australia before….we would like to. Can you help us”?

And it’s not always about business. Sometimes people just want to be better friends.

Carving A Pathway - PART 2

Blog 2

Travelling in a people mover between Qingdao and Zibo one night, the driver ran over something that ripped some wiring that was under the car. Here we were, 9pm, stuck on the highway in the middle of nowhere.

We got out to look at the damage.

Within 5 minutes a tow truck pulled up. We hadn’t called anyone. Oh.... there were camera’s on the highway – our breakdown had been spotted and the "lads" in uniforms were sent out. (China love their uniforms! When I first went to China I found it daunting that they seemed to have army guys even doing car park attending - then I realised they were just car park attendants, in uniforms! Dah!)

They told us to hop back in the car, then hooked us up to the truck and towed us about 10 kms down the road to a road house. Out the back was a mechanics shed. They knocked on the door and woke up a young mechanic. He grumbled a bit, but then told them to put the car over the pit.

Then they sent us into the road house, to buy a beer (gotta love that). 20 minutes later he had fixed the problem, we were on the road and it had cost us 100RMB – about $17AUD.

These days I am not surprised by anything in China.

Unlike my early trips – Then I had no idea what to expect then.

Roll Back – 2006.

Guangdong is China’s largest economic province. It has 100 million people and over 100 million visitors every year. It’s in southern China – what used to be called Canton.

The annual tourism festival invites performers from around the world, to perform at the opening ceremony which is held in a sports stadium. The stage takes up the field, there are more than 3000 performers involved, Jackie Chan usually sings at it – its televised nationally. You also perform at a televised concert at the Memorial Hall and other smaller events. Its run by Guangdong Foreign Affairs Department. I became the first artist to be invited back 3 years running.

The first year I performed with Mark Chomyn my long term percussion partner and Mark Hayden (Red) a very close friend going back to my school days. We were amazed by it all, took it all in, and most importantly made a lot of friends. We were always the last guys hanging around at events, taking the time to have a drink with officials – joining in rather than just participating.

The second year, I took a 5 piece band. We did extra TV shows and repeated the process of making good friends.

Media stories started appearing, talking about my songs, calling me Queensland’s Ambassador etc.

Having seen this media, a marketing company based in Sydney, but operating in China approached the Queensland Government and were introduced to me. They saw that I was creating a unique presence and showed me how music and business can develop together in China.

They set up University and club shows for me, made new media connections.

In May 2008, I was booked to perform at some clubs in Shenzhen. A week before, a massive earthquake had hit Sichuan Province, killing over 80 000 people, injuring over 400 000 and leaving 5 million homeless. The country was in shock. My shows were cancelled because days of mourning had been called for. It amazed me how emotionally effected the country was as a whole. I only had to say to my friends, that Australians send their best thoughts and people would start crying.

Watching all of this I wrote a song called Hold Their Spirits High. The media company presented the song to Guangdong TV and I was approved to record the song with one of their most recognised and established media personalities Lin Yi. It was translated into Chinese by a very talented guy called Stephen Tse and into the studio we went – my first time singing in Chinese.  Everyone was surprised by how well it went.

It was quickly decided that a TV concert should be held as a fund raiser in downtown Guangzhou, with the song being an international feature. They quickly found sponsors (I tried to get interest from Australia – no one wanted to know).  I had 2 days to learn how to sing the song live. I was terrified!!

All went well. More than a million dollars was raised for the Red Cross. In the end the Queensland Trade Commissioner attended on a personal level. Later I brought Lin Yi to Australia and we shot a film clip on the Sunshine Coast. The song received pretty substantial TV and radio airplay for about a year in Guangdong. It created more media coverage for me.

It was at this stage that I got my first lesson in “all is not always as it seems”. While the media company was doing a good job in marketing me, a few strange people were being introduced into the picture, trips to Australia were being suggested for people I did not know. The vibe was turning strange. I couldn’t understand conversations, but I was losing faith in my inner circle. While I can never prove anything and will never mention that company, I think my situation was being massaged to facilitate trips and visas to Australia for people that had nothing to really do with me. The thought of that had never entered my mind and I was basically shocked. My naivety was being dissolving. I now know that is a pretty common trick that you always have to watch out for.

I spoke to certain Queensland Government people about it and was told, “oh well, just be aware of it but they are doing a good job so carry on” ……Hello!!! I had no intention of getting into any grey areas in China! At this stage I began losing faith in Queensland Government advice.

So I decided to totally walk away from that company. I didn’t know who knew what, who I could trust – should I just walk away completely? In the end I thought no; I actually trusted many of the friends I had made.

I was uniquely invited to a third Guangdong festival, got myself there alone at my own cost and set up meetings with everyone I thought I trusted, to see if there was a way forward for my music career in China. I was surprised that friends flew in from Beijing, Government people in Guangdong supported me – it was a tense but surprisingly positive trip for me. In the end I decided that I should continue on the journey; a  lot of people shared the vision of what could be developed through the cultural bridge that was being built around my music.

Now, my guide and assistant on this trip, appointed by the festival,  was a wonderful young lady named Vikita. She understood the issues I was working through and was a great translator and assistant in all my meetings. But everyday she would disappear for a while on very long phone calls to her boyfriend in England.

On my last day, heading to the airport, Vikita said that I should really talk to her boyfriend. He loved music, business and knew China very well. So I did. Thanks Vikita – it was a call that changed my life.

The first time I spoke to Wu Chao (Charlie) on the phone he was in London, where he had been studying international business for 8 years. We hit it off straight away. It was one of those rare times in life, where it immediately felt like I had known this person for many years. This was reinforced when we met in person 4 months later.

His Grandfather had actually been part of Chairman Mao’s inner security team during the Long March. His Dad was a Government Minister  in Shandong, Uncles all held major positions. He understood China Government and business very well. He went to London at 16 by himself, endured some really difficult times for a young guy away from home, succeeded in getting his degree and learnt a lot about the west.

I also discovered an issue that we will never resolve – he is a massive Manchester United fan. I follow Liverpool. It is a scar on our relationship that we will always carry with us!

Charlie is the greatest communicator I have met. Whether it is the person working in a take away food shop, the taxi driver, the CEO of a major company or Government leaders, Charlie will be good friends with them within a conversation.

We decided it was time to take my journey to Beijing. This is the home of all media in China. All the media and music stars go there – it is the epicentre of Chinese media power- and also almost impossible for westerners to get a foot hold into. Almost impossible!

Charlie started connecting dots, introducing me to new networks and educating me on Chinese thinking, at personal, business and Government levels. He protected my interests, and put everything on the line for what we are doing.

Charlie and Shakira

One of his childhood football friends, had been running China’s largest pop music label for 10 years. He  knew the music industry realities. He worked as a label manager to some of China’s biggest stars, ran some of the biggest music festivals, his friends ran the major internet entertainment portals, radio networks and media channels. He liked what we were doing.

Mind you we got off to a slow start. Nothing happened for quite a while. We all met up on one occasion in their home town Zibo. We went out with their brothers.

Now here is a couple of cultural points.

1.       You will often hear  Chinese people refer to their brothers or sisters. They may be referring to siblings, close family friends, or best mates.  Often a group of best mates will actually go through a ceremony together, where they become brothers for life.

2.       Now when these lads get together, often some very serious drinking is carried out. And generally they all drink  Bai Jiu – Chinese rice wine. Man, if you have never had it, be very, very scared. Some of this stuff can be 70% proof and they can drink it like beer.

Actually, one of my least favourite aspects of Chinese society is the way the guys will often “drink for emotion”. They go very hard, get very drunk and yes, very emotional.

On this occasion, let me say that the lads put some positive pressure on the record executive to get  things rolling – why was he not acting quicker, what was going on …. Well the brother power worked and things kicked on.

My song Reach Around the World, went to number 4 on the China National Radio Network Chart. This is China’s biggest radio network, with globally more than 600 million listeners. This was a global first for any western artist.

Weekly press releases were coming out about me and stories appeared on more than 300 000 internet sites. We shot a great film clip in Beijing, it was getting strong internet exposure. We still didn’t have the power to crack national TV, but I was developing some market acceptance. I was being introduced to very high level Government and business networks. Things were really taking shape. I was very excited. Back in Brisbane I thought, alright finally some real market presence. This will be of major interest to music companies, Australian companies, Government sector – they all want access to the Chinese market, right?

I couldn't have been more wrong……

Dazed and Confused - But Going Pretty Well in China! - PART 1

Blog 1
In thinking about a photo to put on this blog, I came across this one.

I look tired, dazed and confused – yep that sums up a lot of my time in China.

For those who don’t know me, I am an Australian musician, based in the comfortable city of Brisbane. I have been a professional musician here for over 30 years. I have released 6 albums (CDs), had a lot of critical acclaim and moderate success.

And now I spend a lot of my performing time in China….

In 2008 I signed with a Chinese Government record company, released a song which inspired some events that raised a lot of money for the Chinese Red  Cross and the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. I’ve had a song get to number 4 on China’s largest radio network and then signed with a company run by one of China’s most successful song writer and producer. I sing in English and Chinese (though I cannot speak Chinese), I have friends who are mega stars there, who are Government and corporate leaders. I have appeared on major national TV shows that went out to 100's of millions of people. There are over 300 000 internet stories floating around about me in China.

And all of this at a time when most of the world’s biggest stars, couldn't get to do anything in China.

The story behind all of this is quite epic.

I don’t talk about it much, because it is so big, I’m never sure where to begin. So I thought …. Maybe I should write about it.

And in doing so, maybe I can share a bit of knowledge about a country and people, that I never expected  to have anything to do with, but now have come to love and enjoy.

My journey is full on, crazy, exciting, confusing and amazing – which brings me back to my picture – much of the time I am - tired, dazed and confused.

It had been quite a day.

The photo was taken in Beijing November 2013 at about 10 pm at night. We had spent the day shooting my new film clip for a song called Flying Red Flag (Wu Xing Piao Piao). We had started doing make-up at about 5 in the morning.  The first location was in Tienanmen Square, in front of the Forbidden City. There was Charlie (my manager and great friend), Johnny (Charlie’s cousin and our major assistant) a make-up girl (who Johnny spent most of the day chatting up), director, 2 camera and sound guys and Leo and Sanni from the music company Oriental Music.

So with this team and equipment in hand, we walked towards Tienanmen  Now this was the day before the Central Government’s national conference was due to begin. Tourist from all over China had flocked here. The square is surrounded by the main Government buildings. Security is usually very tight here, on this day of was extremely full on. People were being searched, there were police and army – and us rocking in to shoot a film clip!! I was – let’s say concerned.

Anyway we started filming. I was singing, crowds were gathering, security was circling. The guys kept telling me relax – yeah right. Mingling with the crowds, in front of the famous Mao picture, singing to tourists. At one stage a security guy came rolling up to Johnny on one of those Segways. Asked what we are doing, in a very serious tone.  Johnny, being the natural guy he is, came up with the great line “We are shooting a film clip for an Australian singer”. The soldier looked at me, nodded his head, and rolled away.  I was dumb struck!

About an hour later, we left, having got the required shots. I was still confused about how we did that!

Next scene, the Hutong area and the rickshaws. Hutongs are older areas, with little alleys. People live and work here. The ones in Beijing are very trendy. The guys had organised for 5 rickshaws to ride through them while I sang, waved and laughed my way with the locals. I scaled ancient walls, stood on cars and generally acted the fool. Much more relaxing than in Tiananmen!!

I sang walking through traffic, had many people coming to meet me – it was great.

Next scene – the commercial center of Beijing. With the CCTV building behind me, my favourite shot of the clip was in this scene. With traffic running, people everywhere, there is a guy on roller skates going down the road. Love it.

After surviving numerous traffic jams, we eventually made it to the Great Wall about 5pm. It was freezing cold, light snow on the ground and not a soul in sight. I had never seen the wall so empty. It was wonderful. I was getting very tired by now, but I ran up stairs, jumped cameras and kept thinking, bloody hell, how amazing is this. Little Nik, feeling like he was owning the Great Wall.

As night fell we made it to Wangfujing, a major modern shopping area. There was a square there where a group of women were setting up to do some mass crowd Tai Chi dancing. They joined in singing with me. Next, in the middle of a major intersection, the general crowd in the street joined in for some time freeze shots. I mixed and mingled - and eventually lost my patience a bit. I was so tired.

Then came that photo.

This was the last day of my trip, (I think it was my 25^th trip to China). In the morning I was flying home.

I had been in Beijing for 3 weeks. During that time we had some business associates visit. It’s quite amazing, but my music and media work has actually opened up doors and relationships with some of China’s biggest political and business leaders. More about that later, but on this trip, we had been assisting with communications between a major Australian mining company and China’s biggest investment holding company. This company owns 25 power stations and 15 ports. They manage China’s reserves of natural resources. They are worth over 90 billion USD. And Nik and Charlie are assisting them in their international communications. Insane.

That had been a very stressful week.

I had also started working with Oriental Music. Oriental is owned by Li Jie. He has written and produced 235 major hits in China and developed the careers of more than 10 of their biggest stars. He wants to turn his company into the major gateway for Chinese and western musicians to work together. I am the 1^st western artist with the company.

Li Jie has become a very good friend. More about him later, but he is like so many of my friends over there. We cannot talk to each other. I am not fluent in Mandarin, he has very little English. But the vibe is right. This has been one of the surprising parts of the journey for me - I now realize that words often get in the way. To look beyond the sounds to the energy surrounding a person, has been new territory for me.

I had first met Li Jie 6 months earlier. Charlie said we were going to meet some music friends who were well known in China. We arrived at a small bar and went up onto the roof. About 20 people were sitting around a table, with dozens of beer bottles and a guitar being passed around. I was handed the guitar, sang, and we all had a typical Aussie style night. As it progressed, I began to understand that these people were major entities from National Music Societies and companies, famous and emerging artists, writers, TV producers …. And the leader clearly was Li Jie.

Now, at the end of the trip I was tired and keen to get back to Brisbane. I was met in the morning of my flight by Xiao Fang and the other members of a local covers band called Blue Tomato. They are actually some of the best musicians I have ever met. Again, we can’t talk, but are very close friends. They insisted on taking me to the airport.

In the past we had performed together at the club they play at 7 night a week, they have cooked 2 am BBQ's for me on closed freeway overpasses, we hung out for 10 days with Andy Summers from the band The Police (lost and found him again on the Great Wall), we've drunk and eaten at back alley restaurants until dawn. They have recorded with me, met and looked after my family and generally taken me into their world.

They have shown me just how similar Aussies and Chinese are in many, many ways.

Look, I know I see the best of China. I know it has many faces.

China is bigger than a country, it is more like a continent. You cannot take a blanket approach and say Chinese people are like this, or this happens in China, or this is going on with the economy or people think this way …… it would be like saying all of Europe is similar.

Some of the population live in massive cities and have high standards of living, some are in extreme poverty.

The northern people are very different from the south and the western minority groups seem to be a blend of Chinese, Russian and Indian.

While Mandarin and Cantonese are mainly used, there are actually over 130 languages across China.

If you go to China on a typical tourist bus trip, expect to see tacky places where everyone wants to rip you off - just like Hollywood! I suggest that people should go to China, hire their own guide, car and driver – and get out and meet the real people. I have found the real people to be very warm.

My favorite example of this – my family was visiting with me on one occasion. We were in a Shandong city called Weifang. We ended up stuck pretty much in the middle of nowhere outside of town, on the highway, close to midnight. Across the road was a dingy little run down restaurant. It started raining. We had no hope of getting a cab. The restaurant owner came across to help us find one. When that failed, he phoned his brother, woke him up and got him to drive down and be our taxi into town. We paid regular taxi prices, were looked after – it was northern hospitality at its best.

Anyway, I am going to write a few of these blogs. They will be about the people I have met, the things I have seen and experienced. Some people will say, I am telling a one sided story about China. Maybe, but its my story. 

And central to all most of my stories is a guy called Wu Chao. Charlie who? Charlie Wu!

I’ll write about him and other special friends next!