Yaogun websites are, though less so these days, rare; yaogun websites celebrating eighth 
anniversaries are nonexistent, save one. IndieChina has just reached that mark. Begun as a basic 2004-era source of yaogun info heavy on the BBS, its focus shifted from an initial emphasis on overseas artists before going more heavily Chinese in content. Pretty soon, gig- and tour-organizing followed, and a record label, 1724.
Category: Red Rockers
The artists rockin’ in the PRC
Sad Yaogun News
Reports of the death of producer and musician Chen Yuli, from a car accident in Paris, have made the rounds, and China Music Radar does a good job of summing up Chen’s contributions to yaogun. In short: Chen was an accomplished producer of many young bands (and, oh yeah, the Beijing Olympics), and played with Arrows Made of Desire. He will be missed.
More of That Scene from a Scene
Over at Beijing Daze, Badr posted a video of the scene that opens Red Rock, which made me realize that my search for footage of that event had been too-long dormant. The Scene takes place on May 4, 2010, the final day of the Midi Music Festival, when heavy rains forced the festival to stop the action. By this time, Midi was claiming to draw upwards of 20,000 people per day to the festival; a long, strange march from their days of a few hundred students and their friends back in the inaugural 2000 edition.
Hanggai, Toronto Part II
CBC Music, the online musical companion to the national broadcaster, asked me a few questions about why the world Must Hear Hanggai, in advance of their Toronto performances. I answered them, and you can read ’em, here (or by clicking the nice image at right). Find out more about Hanggai’s performances at Harbourfront Centre‘s Planet IndigenUS Festival by clicking the magic words. Hanggai is coming back to North America in September, so stay tuned…
Turn-Of-The-Millennium Beijing
In a recent interview with China-music website Pangbianr, Jerry Chan talked about his early days in the Beijing punk scene. The article comes in advance of an event centered around former Beijing punk scenester and author of Insperable: The memoirs of an American and the story of Chinese punk rock, Dave O’Dell.