City Weekend intervista Joe King!

Il sito cinese City Weekend dopo il primo live di Shanghai della band a intervistato Joe. Nella intervista, che troverete riportata qui sotto (in Inglese), Joe parla delle sue aspettative della Cina, delle sue aspirazioni per scrivere una nuova canzone e accena che stà lavorando a un progetto solista..."I'm working on a solo project right now" ....

The Fray's singles How To Save A Life and Over My Head raced to the top of the charts seven years ago, bringing them world-wide success. Now in Shanghai for the very first time, the American indie band perform two shows for their fans. We were lucky enough to attend their opening performance last night at the Muse Mixing Room. As the crowd gathered around the stage, the evening had an intimate feel, as if front man Issac Slade was serenading us personally. The group were extremely excited to be performing in China, interacting with the excitable audience throughout the show. A highlight was definitely Slade’s leap off the stage for an epic crowd surf finale. We sat down with lead guitarist Joe King on the eve of the band’s first live concert, as he discussed their musical experiences so far and what’s in the works next for the Colorado natives. They play their second and last Shanghai show tonight.


City Weekend: Who is your musical inspiration?
Joe King: Im influenced by a lot of different musical styles but for me there is nothing better than a great live show, it’s a religious experience. Bruce Springstein is one of my idols, because he doesn't do it for money, you can tell he plays music because he truly loves it. If I could do a fraction of what he's done I will feel extremely lucky.

CW: This is your first time to China. What do you think so far?

Joe:  My expectation of china was so wrong. You have these pre-conceived notions from home that are completely false. The people here are great, it’s a beautiful place. I love it. Hope we can come back, its great to come and play a small rock show compared to the other big shows we have previously done. I cant wait to see how the crowd responds and the support from our Chinese fans.

CW: What is your favourite thing about being an artist?

Joe: The biggest reward is playing a show and hearing the fans singing along with you. The song is no longer ours, it belongs to the audience. It's their life, it's their story. They are there to experience it with us and I love that.

CW: Have you had inspiration for new songs whilst being on tour?

Joe: Being on the road is my favourite time to write. I like to pull ideas from different cultures--you meet people and hear their stories, and that adds to your life which you can then put into music form. The song becomes tangible, you know the moment the inspiration came.

CW: Have you had time to explore here? What is your favourite place of shanghai so far?
Joe: Just walking down different streets, scouring each area. I particularly liked the old antiques and propaganda posters. Just seeing every day life was quite amazing.

CW: What is the best part of making a new song?

Joe: It's the infancy stage of a song that becomes my favourite. You create something and it comes to you, you are lucky to have it. You take pleasure out of this thing that happened. You go through the phase of listening to the song all the time.

CW: So what's next for you?

Joe: I'm working on a solo project right now. As an artist you either innovate or you die. It's been really fun creatively, I feel like a new artist again writing from a new place. It's an adventure,and it's also like a drug too. You don’t know where its going to go but that’s part of the excitement.

Fonte: City Weekend