Today we are featuring an interview with young musician Andrew Kong. Andrew writes his own music and lyrics and offers a soft, melodic and relaxed alternative to Bay Area's usual rock scene. Read on for more.
1. How did you start playing the guitar and learning to sing? Was this something you always wanted to do?
Andrew Kong: Actually, my first instrument was the piano, which I started playing when I was 7 years old. Then I picked up the Alto Sax at age 9 and I didn't start playing the guitar seriously until I was 11 years old. My dad is a decent guitar player and he is what inspired me to begin playing the guitar. Although, pretty soon, once I fell in love with the instrument, I passed him up on the guitar and began to teach myself. One night when I was 12 years old, just out of the blue, I was inspired to write a song. I closed locked myself in my bedroom for 3 hours and when I left the room, my first song had been written; it was entitled "Ordinary". When I wrote this song, I had no idea how to sing, but I was still just a little kid. A couple years later, my eighth grade graduation came around and I was asked to sing this song at the graduation ceremony. So, it was my first time ever singing for anybody, and I sang for over one thousand people all by myself with just my acoustic guitar, a folding chair, and a vocal mic. From then on I was hooked and have been singing and performing ever since.
2. How do you get the inspiration to write the music and lyrics? Which do you find toughter to do of the two?
Andrew Kong: This is a very interesting question, because most of the time, my inspiration is not a particular thing or event, but rather an emotion or a feeling captured during a certain moment. I think that's what's amazing about a song; it's ability to capture an emotion in the words and music. The music and lyrics, to me, are completely intertwined and should both equally express the songwriter's intent in the song. It seems like nowadays, many songs that I hear on the radio are all about hooks and rhymes, rather than meaning and feeling. The lyrics seem to have become unimportant in modern pop music, and I believe that the listeners would get so much more out of their music if they really listened to what the songwriter has to say behind the melodies. When I write a song, I usually write the music first, followed by the lyrics. Sometimes it is the other way around, but for no reason in particular, I usually take the first approach. For me, the music comes more naturally, and the lyrics I usually think about more to make them express exactly how I feel and to make the listener see what I see in the song.
3. Some of your songs have full instrument arrangement. Do you play these instruments yourself, you program them on a computer or you use a band?
Andrew Kong: Ya, all the instruments except the drums on "My Enemy" I recorded live. I played all the instruments, but on the last track, "About a Boy", my sister Gaby Kong played the bass. Because I do not play in a full band, the only way to record al the instrumental arrangements in my songs is to overdub the instruments.
4. What kind of software do you use to write, edit and record your music?
Andrew Kong: I recorded my entire cd 2 years ago on a Boss BR-1180 Digital Recording Studio. It is not computer based, but is actually very flexible and easy to use. The recording quality is also surprisingly good, especially for a free standing studio in its price range. I just bought a Macbook Pro and am experimenting with the music creation/recording program Garageband. This amazing program comes free on the Macbook... (it's one of the main reasons I bought a Mac-- for the music programs).
5. In the event you get a label contract, but the label asks you to re-arrange/re-write and massively modify your work in order to sound more "commercial", how would you respond to them?
Andrew Kong: Oh man. What a difficult question. I think ultimately, I would agree to rearrange or rewrite my music, but only if I was the one changing it around. I wouldn't want another songwriter rewriting my music. The problem with rearranging songs is that they may lose some of their power and emotion during the rewriting process. If commercialism were to replace the quality, message, and emotion in a song, I would draw the line and probably not allow my songs to be rearranged.
6. The Artist Formerly Known as Prince said recently that there is not enough money to be made from track sales because the major labels get most of it and piracy doesn't help the situation either, and he suggested that the only way a singer can make money is touring all year long. Do you agree, and how do you feel about the situation?
Andrew Kong: I think that a singer can make money without touring all year, but with all the music piracy nowadays, it keeps getting more difficult. I believe that for a singer to actually make a substantial amount of money in the music business, he would have to sell a LOT of albums and be successful on tour, but not necessarily all year round.
7. What is your opinion about iTunes, CDBaby and other online music outlets? Do you feel that this is the sole future of music distribution?
Andrew Kong: I think that online music outlets like iTunes and CDBaby are very important for the survival of musicians in the modern music business. These outlets are the best way to prevent music piracy, and through these sites, the musician actually makes some money from his songs. I feel like this IS the future of music distribution because in this digital age, the quicker you can get it and the easier it is to put on your iPod, the more likely it is to sell. First there were records, then 8 track, then cassettes, then CD's, and soon all these will be things of the past with only Mp3 files as our means of recorded music. An actual tangible recording will be a thing of the past.
8. You are 18 years old, and on a path with lots of possibilities. Will you go to college or university, or you will follow the path of an entertainer and musician immediately?
Andrew Kong: I am currently attending my first year at UC Berkeley and plan to get a degree in 4 years. After I graduate, if I feel like the music business is the place for me, I will pursue a career in music, and will be comfortable knowing that if it weren't to work out, I had another profession to fall back on. I am trying to not slow down in my music career while in college. So basically, I am trying to balance the life of being an entertainer with the life of being a full time student.
