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……