Gu Club Underground Chiang MaiOne of the popular dreams of teens is very simple - music. Yet, people in the adult world usually say music is nothing much more than just having fun. Music can’t provide a good and secure career and it will only steal one’s time that is needed for progress in life.
However, there is always a channel to get out of a narrow space. There are quite a few youth groups that head towards their dreams. In Chiang Mai, a group of youth has walked a long path; from the beginning, like any other teens, the love of music brought them together to play and sing. They then formed a band, and started to compose their own songs and record them. Yet, the goal wasn’t merely a music album. They continued to weave their dream to provide a space for others who share the same interests. Then, the Gu Club Underground Chiang Mai began.
Gu Club was formed five years ago by a group of young bands that wanted to create their own space, and to declare to society that their love of music and music itself can be serious.
Guile, one of the club founders, related that there are nine bands and more that 80 individuals members. “Now we share the cost of rehearsal studio rental in the evening. And if the song is ok then we record it.†Gu Club used to have a small pub where people could go to meet, talk, enjoy music, perform. However, the pub is temporary closed due to lack of time and funds.
Apart from the daily gatherings, the club organizes concerts. A recent one was the 3rd ‘HEAD HIT THE WALL’ concert at the end of January. The group rented a restaurant with a sound system, and invited bands from other province to jam. Most audience members were young people who are fond of the kind of music that is rarely heard from mainstream media. “It was the first year we could cover the expenses. We were able to cut down our PR expenses because some people already know our work.†Guile wants to make it a yearly event, but funds are always a problem.
“We used to request permission from the authorities to use a public space. We hope the wider public can just come to relax during the weekends. But once the officer saw our faces, our request was turned down.†He laughed, opening his sleeves to show the tattoo on his arm. Tong, a young man with half of his long hair dyed red added that the group was usually assumed by adults to be aggressive and violent. “Our music is rock or punk, but that doesn’t mean we are violent. There isn’t even a single rude or obscene word in our lyrics.â€
Gu Club Dreams that one day it will do a tour with the networks in other provinces, and establish a small record company to sustain their work. But in the short term, the hope is to reopen the pub. This time it should be made more accessible for other people.
“I don’t want adults to just say they want teenagers to spend time on sports and music in order to get away from drugs, and then what? No action. There is no need to complain that kids are always at the computer game shops. Hey! If we want to play music, we must struggle so hard; renting a rehearsal studio is much more expensive than a computer game,†Another guy said.
For how long have young people needed to struggle to make their dreams come true? Where is the support from adults? Is it because sincere and sustaining support takes too much time and energy that what we see is easy and shallow? Or do we want to really insist that performance contests and reality shows are enough for youth to express themselves?
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