When Moyan Sanjie, who symbolizes the "golden generation" of mainland rock music, held a concert in Hung Hom in the 1990s, Huang Guanzhong, who was present at the scene, felt that "this is the hope of Chinese rock", and the era of rock and roll has arrived. It wasn't until the second decade of the 21st century that Ricky formed his band and took to the stage.
Between Ricky and Huang Guanzhong, there are several generations of rock musicians. Now, they can finally sit down and talk about rock 'n' roll.
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Huang Guanzhong, as an absolute predecessor and Ricky's "idol", did not want to monopolize the definition of rock and roll, and most of the time he just laughed and listened to Ricky talk about his understanding of rock and roll.
If he hadn't been remembered early, it would be hard to see from huang Guanzhong that he was a leading figure in rock and roll, who seems to be no longer angry and a good husband and father in the standard sense. Huang Guanzhong carefully controlled himself, not wanting too much creative emotion to be detected by his family. But on stage, he changed into something else: holding a guitar in his hand and singing with his arms raised.
Ricky doesn't look "like" rock 'n' roll either, dressed more like a fashionista, with funky eyeliner and no loud voice when he speaks. But when it comes to rock and roll, Ricky instantly lifts up the spirit: "Rock and roll is a spirit, not a musical genre." In his view, rock 'n' roll can isolate him from the people around him and his daily life. Huang Guanzhong nodded, agreeing with Ricky's statement, adding that rock music is sometimes like alcohol, and popularly speaking rock and roll is a bit "winey and bold".
Rock 'n' roll has been passed on from generation to generation, and now to Ricky and a younger generation, in whose music it's hard to hear the melancholy anger of their predecessors, instead of being relaxed and jumpy. For Huang Guanzhong and Ricky, rock music does not have so much external orientation, and they want to face themselves in music. Some of Huang Guanzhong's creations in recent years have been completed but not published, and he wants to keep them for himself.
Neither Ricky nor Huang Guanzhong chose to live in someone else's definition, which is perhaps the most important meaning of rock 'n' roll for both of them. Rock people across the era were brought closer by the music, they participated in the same show, became teammates, performed the same track... In the eyes of Ricky, who considers himself a fan of Huang Guanzhong, this is something that could not have been imagined before. Ricky's nervousness and shyness when he first met "idol" Huang Guanzhong are gone, and now he can face each other and talk about life and music, and what rock and roll is for the two of them.
Huang Guanzhong: Rock and roll is a skeptical eye
Once, Huang Guanzhong would wonder in the face of the excitement shown by his fans when they saw him: "Why are you so excited, is it really because of music?" Is music that great? ”
From the very beginning of the incomprehension, Huang Guanzhong is now more and more accepting of this matter: "I represent a stage in their lives, and I can awaken their memories." For fans, either in college, or earlier, even when their parents were young, Beyond's songs were already in their lives, and when they thought about it, Huang Guanzhong realized: "Oh, it turns out that we have become part of other people's memories." ”
This is impossible for the singer to change, whether he likes it or not, Huang Guanzhong can only accept it and try to find his place under such established conditions. Beyond's time has passed, Huang Guanzhong still thinks about those days from time to time, and the night before the interview, he also dreamed of the time he used to be, "after all, this is the most important part of my life."
Huang Guanzhong used to see the world with a skeptical eye, even his own life. In the current understanding of rock and roll, Huang Guanzhong feels that "rock and roll is a skeptical vision." In his view, the world is too big for anyone to fully control, and the world seems to be changing all the time. When you begin to seriously consider a certain concept, some people who have experienced in life will mostly feel timid, and it seems that none of the persistence can withstand serious scrutiny. But when Huang Guanzhong tries to face this ever-changing world, the only thing that can ensure that it remains unchanged is his music. Sometimes rock 'n' roll is a bit like alcohol, just as drinkers dare to say something they usually don't dare to say and do something they usually don't dare to do, rock 'n' roll has the same effect on musicians and even listeners. "Of course, without affecting other people."
Coming to "The Brother With Thorns" really surprised the outside world, but Huang Guanzhong really wanted to step out of his comfort zone and let people see the many sides of his life, not just live in the imagination of everyone. In the show, he did show a side that was not known to outsiders before: always smiling, and also taking the initiative to care about others. This shattered the imagination: rockers should be unsmiling, low-minded, and even cold. Huang Guanzhong was happy to see this, which was exactly what he wanted to do, and he hoped that people would mention himself again in the future, no longer the Huang Guanzhong who accidentally ran out of anger as soon as he held the guitar.
Ever thought about leaving the stage?
"Of course I thought about it, especially when I was tired." Even if there is no stage, he will definitely live a good life, but at this stage, Huang Guanzhong still decided to face his heart calmly: admit it, Huang Guanzhong still belongs to the stage.
Ricky: I'm waiting for the highlight moment
Standing on stage, Ricky is reminiscent of rock stars Prince and David Bowie of the 1950s and 1960s, and even in the eyes of some people, Ricky is full of shadows of the two of them.
Ricky was not angry, but felt very happy, and he generously admitted that he had indeed been influenced by that generation of singers. "Seeing them in me shows that I'm not imitating them badly." Ricky bluntly says he spends a lot of time "imitating" his idols.
This year Ricky felt that there should be an album, and since February, he has been thinking about it, whether he can have a big Hit, how to play the album, Ricky repeatedly thought about these questions, worried about coming, worrying about going. Thinking too much of it, it delayed the production of the entire album. When he says it now, he feels that he was a little too optimistic at the time: for the creator, trying to create a Hit song is often counterproductive, which is beyond the control of the creator.
Ricky had previously finished fourth in "Summer of the Band", with good grades, some advertising and business found it, and his life began to change. Some partners invited him to write advertising songs, he wrote a lot, but there was not much time left for himself to create. The EP published in 2020, now in Ricky's view, is just a cutscene.
Ricky knows better than ever that this is not the day he wants, and he still wants to make more progress in music like his music predecessors who have loved it for many years, "that's the real highlight moment".
In 2020, Click #15 members adjusted, Yang Ce quit, and Ricky had to stop for a while. This time was precious to him, and he was able to get a little out of the days of "getting on track": "The better way to go down is to stop for a while and think about what you really want." 」 ”
Ricky is from Shijiazhuang, and he never felt that the city was so depressing, but he didn't know why everyone wanted to find an exit, and the musicians wanted to take what they believed to be the extreme. In 2007, Ricky began to perform in Shijiazhuang, and even though there was no audience below, every musician was as energetic as he was at Hung Hom and Wimberley Stadium: "Shijiazhuang's energy is like this. ”
Shijiazhuang has a large number of outsiders, and the people living in the city are diverse, and there are always people who cannot fit into the so-called circles, and they seem to be less prosperous. Ricky is also a person in his own definition, who is always taciturn even if he is well dressed in the crowd, and he is not very fierce in the show. Rock 'n' roll seemed to belong to the last frontier of his heart, and he hated being fixed and defined. When he was twenty-five years old, when people in the circle talked about Ricky, his first reaction was "the one who sold the piano in the drum building", so much so that Ricky decided to close the piano shop and form a band.
If Ricky is measured by the most common ruler of the public, he is not a rock musician in the "standard sense", he does not seem to be so bitter and vengeful, always introverted and soft, and even often touched by what happens in front of him and weeps. "Everybody has to worry about things, but I want everyone to see me on stage a little more dashing." And, of course, who defines the criteria?
Huang Guanzhong: What do you imagine me to be?
Ricky: I imagine you're the kind of person who doesn't talk too much and makes yourself very clear.
Huang Guanzhong: Is this true in reality?
Ricky: In reality, you know a lot about how to get along with people who like you. Especially in this show, you know that there will definitely be people who like you, and you know very well that neither block the distance too far nor want the people who like you to always be fans. So people are comfortable with you and don't feel like they'll always talk to you like a fan. Treat you like a big guy, and you don't like that feeling.
Huang Guanzhong: Yes, I don't like that. Will you still listen to our songs now?
Ricky: Listen, I knew you were coming before I came to the show, and I took out a lot of songs and listened to them. I thought, if I could adapt your song one day, which one would I choose? What I thought at the time was that I could change "The Indispensable One". Beyond's songs are not a matter of listening or not listening, basically as long as I go to KTV with my friends, everyone has to sing. Many times Beyond's songs are also a memory point with old friends.
Huang Guanzhong: Actually, I didn't like this feeling before, I used to hear other people singing our songs on KTV, and I would think that it was very rockless, I didn't want it. As a result, decades later, almost every KTV has our song. Now when I sometimes go to the KTV, when I hear a lot of people in the room singing our songs in the hallway, there is a sudden change in my heart.
Ricky: What's changed?
Huang Guanzhong: I'm starting to think there's nothing wrong with that either. Since it can make a group of drunk people so happy, I think our song is also playing a very important role, which is also a merit. Now sometimes I feel like this is real rock' roll.
Ricky: Do you worry about repeating yourself creatively? I'm referring more to musicality, including fingering or musical techniques for playing Solo. Of course, there are always changes in the way you want to express the lyrics.
Huang Guanzhong: I was worried that I would repeat myself, but later I wouldn't. I listen to so many different kinds of music in order to broaden my horizons and hearts, and with so much accumulation, I no longer have to worry about these problems. In our daily lives, do we have to consider what language we use every time we speak? No, what you're talking about is what matters.
Huang Guanzhong: What was your reason for not choosing to join our team in the first place? Is it really to seek a breakthrough? Is there a breakthrough?
Ricky: There's no breakthrough, but I just don't want to do the same thing. I know that after I go, I will still do the same thing. This is repetitive because we already did the same thing on the first stage.
Huang Guanzhong: So it was really different later?
Ricky: It's not different, it's just that thing going back and forth. I found that you didn't ask for anything, you certainly didn't ask for it all the time, when did you stop?
Huang Guanzhong: Actually, I have requirements, I have specific requirements, but its brand and appearance are not so important to me.
Ricky: So what exactly are your requirements for the violin?
Huang Guanzhong: My requirement for the piano is that it should be for my taste, as long as the piano is very compatible with me, I don't care about the price and other things. If you look at the price alone, I think the expensive one is easy to find, as long as you spend a lot of money. And it is really rare to find a piano that can like its character. I always felt that as long as I held it in my hand, it was the best piano.
Huang Guanzhong: Are you afraid of being told that you have been participating in the show? Wouldn't it be a little scary to participate too much?
Ricky: Getting used to it.
Huang Guanzhong: Actually, I am too.
Ricky: A lot of my friends are in the underground rock circle in Beijing, and it's hard to get a chance to appear on the mainstream stage. So it's good to have these opportunities, but I hope I don't really become a mainstream artist.
Huang Guanzhong: Are you afraid that you will become a mainstream artist?
Ricky: I'm afraid. I know it's unlikely, but if I had to take a lot of ads every day, I would be assimilated. If you reach this stage, you will no longer want to make music well, because there are other pursuits and responsibilities. My intention is certainly not this, I still hope to have good works like the people I like, that is the real highlight moment, not to appear on the commercial or magazine cover every day. This one is also highlight, but not something I wanted at the beginning.
Huang Guanzhong: In the end, everyone remembers you decades later, it must be your music, not the advertisement.
Ricky: You're not going to be happy when you're old, thinking about when you're younger and spending a lot of time shooting a lot of ads and covers instead of doing work that satisfies you.
Huang Guanzhong: I agree with you very much, when we were old, we wouldn't tell our sons and daughters that I was a cow, and when I was young, I shot so many advertisements.
Ricky: I remember asking you, if I go to Hong Kong, can I go to your house? You ask me why I said I was going to my house? Or will you take me to the "back seat of the second floor"?
Huang Guanzhong: Yes, no problem.
Ricky: I want to go to the "back seat of the second floor" and exchange one of my pianos for one of yours.
Huang Guanzhong: Actually, my piano is not a very expensive piano, just like I just said that I have feelings for it, you want me to hand you the instrument with feelings in my hand, you must use it. So you have to take a handful and compare it to it.
Ricky: The next time you go to Hong Kong, you can send me a piano that is not so emotional. I just need to take your piano, but I really can't play this piano, I should just leave it at home.
Huang Guanzhong: You have a chance to go to Hong Kong, I will take you to see it.
Ricky: It's not realistic for me to play the piano you gave me every day, and I want to put it there and treasure it.
Huang Guanzhong: If it is not suitable for you, it is useless to give it to you. If you give it to you and you hang it aside, the piano will be pitiful, it will be very sad.
Ricky: Just find a piano that you often hang around and give it to me.
Huang Guanzhong: Okay, no problem. You kept telling me not to treat you as a fan, but you would suddenly ask me to help sign a name, which was really divisive.
Ricky: The idol is still a thing that can't be rushed, and I will always leave a place for it in my heart, and I don't want to break it myself, because it's very cool. Have you ever had this experience communicating with your idol?
Huang Guanzhong: Unfortunately, my idols have left.
Photography by Richie
Executive Producer SHERRY
Interview, writing Xing Mincang
Styling Elva
Edit Fufu
Yellow Guanzhong Hairstyle Paul Leung. Mobius
Huang Guanzhong makeup Cui Xin
Ricky Makeup & Hair Zheng Xingke Colin
Producer Lu Duowen
Assistants Anita and Luo Qiuyu