China’s indie music scene may mainly be in the realm of the wenqing (artistic youth or hipsters) but a self-described dashu (uncle) band has struck a chord. With a sound rooted in classic blues, the decidedly old school Hoochie Coochie Gentlemen has won Chinese Golden Music Awards, infiltrated a hit CCTV show and are bringing their annual national tour to Guangzhou (Dec 10 @ T:Union), Shenzhen (Dec 11 @ B10), Shanghai (Dec 16 @ Yuyintang) and Beijing (Dec 24 @ Jianghu Bar).
“It’s very fun to go to different places, see friends and eat different things,” says the group’s frontman Chen Yafei. “Taking a break from our everyday life is always exciting.”
With his raspy voice and Great Depression era uniform of suspenders and newsboy caper, Chen channels the spirit of a seasoned blues man who somehow has found himself in Beijing.
“Like most of my peers, I grew up listening to music from Hong Kong and Taiwan. However, I was really hit hard with the rock bug when I discovered bands like Nirvana and Guns n’ Roses,” he explains.
The group found instant critical acclaim. Their 2012 albums Sky Blue and Sadly Dying With You won Chinese Golden Music Awards for Best Blues and Jazz Musicians.
Their hard-touring work ethic and budding acclaim brought the group to the attention of CCTV’s hit reality competition show, Sing My Song – a show designed to spotlight songwriters in which Mongolian fusion innovators Hanggai took home the top prize.
“As a band, we discussed it and thought it was a good way to promote ourselves,” Chen recalls. “It wasn’t that fun. We wanted to sing ‘Black and White’ but the program didn’t think it was suitable. In the end, we performed a song we spent about an hour on. But we met many friends during the process.”
Spending much of his 20s in rock and punk bands, Chen credits his blues conversion to a Beatles compilation.
“I heard some of their blues rock covers and went back to the store to buy a Buddy Guy record,” he says. “Immediately, I was fascinated. This was the first time I heard music that fit my ideas.”
Taking their name from Willie Dixon’s blues standard, ‘Hoochie Coochie Man,’ Hoochie Coochie Gentlemen formed in 2009 mixing blues with jazz and folk elements.
“As you get older there will be a lot of changes in the world,” Chen notes. “The way you express your opinions will naturally change. That will affect your music.”
The title song of their 2015 album has managed to find a sizable audience. Sales for the disc have been strong for a Chinese independent band and Chen fondly recalls selling out of copies following an impromptu street performance on Chengdu’s famed Kuanzhai Alley.
“We found that audiences really dug into the album and listened to all of the songs,” Chen smiles. “Most importantly, we are very fond of it.” With the band’s growing profile, Chen proudly notes: “There are more and more blues bands, which we are very happy to see.”
However, they’re not content to rest on their laurels. Following their 13-city national tour, Chen says the group plans to “write more songs, then write some more.”
While he teases that Hoochie Coochie Gentlemen’s next album is still in the songwriting phase and may not come out “for another 17 years,” Chen finally relents with some details.
“We will likely add more brass because there are a lot of great musicians like China Philharmonic Orchestra trumpeters Lu Xiaolin and Zang Tianshuo, as well as saxophonist Hu Zhiliang who are interested in collaborating with us,” he says.
“But as is our custom, we will play the new songs to see the audience’s reactions before deciding whether to add it to the album.”
Guangzhou: Dec 10, 8.30-10.30pm, RMB80-100. T:Union
Shenzhen: Dec 11, 8.30-10.30pm, RMB80-100. B10
Shanghai: Dec 16, 8.30-10.30pm, RMB80-100. Yuyintang.
Beijing: Dec 24, 8.30-10.30pm, RMB80-100. Jianghu Bar.
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