About underground rock bands in Wuhan. . .

Shuttle through bars, big and small, singing their own rock, unknown to the public, but enjoying it. This is a huge underground rock band group. Because of pure love for music, we came together to pursue our dreams and happiness.

"Playing music is a very expensive thing. Most students who form underground bands have no financial resources. In order to pursue their musical dreams, they can endure poverty, such as walking five kilometers to repair a string and eating only two steamed buns when they have no money to eat ... "When we heard such a description of the living condition of Wuhan underground band from colleagues, we were moved: What kind of obsession and dream is that?

This is a kind of extreme happiness.

After some probing, on the evening of 15, we came to the Vox bar in Lumo Road, Hongshan District, the base camp of Wuhan underground band, and happened to meet the last "Wuhan Special" performance here before the Lunar New Year. On the dark stairs, a young man in his early twenties is busy selling tickets. Don't underestimate him. I heard that this boy named Li Lixin formed many bands, and he came here to work part-time just to listen to the songs of other bands and learn from each other.

On the small blackboard on the wall, there is a recent performance notice, which says that there are four local Wuhan bands performing that night-Artificial Lake, Expeditionary Force, Paradise in the Air and 9inSummer. Li Lixin said that these are excellent original bands in Wuhan, and each band has its own unique style.

Entering the first floor of Vox, there is no gorgeous decoration here, and the four walls are all painted dark, with a lot of graffiti on them. On the wall behind the stage, it says "the sound of youth, the sound of reeds". According to reports, this "young voice, free voice" is the spirit of Vox.

Under the colorful lights, a band called "PolyGardon" is breaking out in the audience. Two long-haired boys wearing cowboys screamed while playing the guitar: "We just started, the sun has set ... the red star shines, shining in China ..."

Pictured: Qian on the stage is the lead singer and bassist of 9 insummer, while she on the stage is a female graduate student who completed the three-year course in just one and a half years.

Under the white light, a pair of red lips and incisive songs hit the young heart. The hall of more than 300 square meters is boiling, people dance with the shocking rhythm, there are no ambiguous lights, no naked performances, only music and rock! What brings people is the ultimate happiness.

Hu Pengcheng, the lead singer of Expeditionary Force, claimed to be a "lonely and lifeless literary youth", but we can see that this is his self-mockery. The young man is full of energy and passion, very simple and sunny. The four songs that the band sang that night were his latest creations. After graduating from college, he didn't find a job, so he set up a recording studio to record songs for other bands and charge a small fee to maintain his basic life. He said that his family is very open-minded. As long as he is doing something meaningful and happy, they all support him. He is not too worried about the future. "There are clothes, food, favorite music, and what are you dissatisfied with?"

This is an inner voice.

During our visit to the band, we found a soul figure in this circle, that is, Zhu Ning, the boss of Vox, whom all members of the band affectionately call "Zhu Ning Brothers".

This 37-year-old Chongqing man started to get in touch with rock and roll at the age of 24 and got out of hand. 1995, he gave up his job and went to Beijing to learn drum sets alone. /kloc-0 came to Wuhan in 1996 and formed the famous "Bread of Life" band. His "Death Fun" band toured Europe ... He stayed in Wuhan 14, and he can't remember exactly how many bands he formed, except some.

During the tour around the world, Zhu Ning thought that every city has a Livehouse for original bands to perform. Why can't Wuhan have it? So, in 2002, he opened Vox in fujiapo, Wuchang, but because he didn't know how to operate it, he soon couldn't support it. It was not until 2005 that Vox reopened near China Geo University. Vox can't be operated by selling performance tickets, because 70% of the ticket income of each performance will go directly to the band, so it needs to be operated by bars. But the essence of Vox is still Livehouse: there is no waiter here, the band is the absolute protagonist, all the guests come to listen to the song, there is not even a desk and chair in the hall, and everyone who comes stands and listens; All kinds of bands, no matter how famous, are willing to give them the opportunity to perform as long as they perform their original works. He said, because the most touching thing about rock and roll is that it can express many different voices, the real inner voice. "

Pictured: It is the boss of Vox and the "Big Brother Zhu" in the hearts of young people in the band. Even the cat called "old employee Zhang Wu" likes to work with him.

This is a pursuit that does not feel bitter.

In the interview, an experience called "Hua Lun" deeply touched us. Zhu, the lead singer of the band, graduated from the Chinese Department of Hubei University. Now I am a counselor in Hubei Institute of Economics and Management. He started playing music in college. In 2004, he and several classmates founded "Hua Lun". Now it has toured the country 1 1 city and released an album.

They put the tour poster named "Silver Daydream" all over the walls of the rehearsal room, which shows that their dreams are pinned here. Liu Jia, the bassist of Hua Lun, said: They were still students when they toured in 2007, so they had to pay for the performance themselves, and there was not much money left. After returning to Wuhan from Dalian, they took the cheapest and slowest green leather train for more than 30 hours, with no seats and no place to stand. Going to Chengdu to perform, everyone has no money to eat at noon, and auditioning at night, everyone is growling. Everyone started rummaging through their pockets. Only Zhu still has a bank card in his pocket, and there are only a few tens of dollars in it. They can't get it out at the ATM. Finally, they had to find a supermarket where they could swipe their cards and buy some snacks to fill their stomachs. After the performance, we got the performance fee. At the next stop in Chongqing, we decided to be extravagant. We ordered two servings of each dish on a table, and many people finally threw up. In the eyes of Zhu and Liu Jia, this hard journey of music made them sing their own songs and get to know the "buddies" of bands all over the country, which made them happy.

To this, Zhu Ning also feel the same way. He said: "Many people mistakenly think that people who engage in bands live a very poor and decadent life. Actually this is a misunderstanding. Outsiders say that music is bitter, just because they don't understand the happiness; If people in the band say they are bitter, it is just an excuse not to work hard for themselves. Making music costs money, and it takes a lot of time to rehearse and create. In fact, what do you do without paying? How can it be bitter to pay for something you like? "

This is a colorful way of life.

On the night of 15, the lead singer and head of "9insummer" band was a girl, which was very popular.

This 24-year-old Jiangxi girl is called Qian. She has long yellow hair and bangs, and her face is covered with pimples. She smiles sweetly, and her eyes always reveal a kind of passion and impulse. She joked that unfamiliar people thought she was a "good girl" from her appearance, and only after watching her performance did they know she was a "crazy girl"!

Pictured: The PolyGarden band rehearsed carefully in the rented house in Guanshan.

Growing up under the care of relatives, Qian is a curious girl who likes photography, painting and singing. When she was admitted to the university, she told herself that she must go to a completely strange place and live her own free life. 16 years old, she was admitted to the Finance Department of South-Central University for Nationalities. After studying, she learned guitar, drums and bass, and formed the band "9insummer".

Although this girl is crazy on the stage, in fact, her life track is meticulous: after four years in college, she gets a scholarship every year, and when the bonus is paid, she goes to add equipment to the band; After graduating from college, I lived a miserable postgraduate life for two years; Then, it took her another year and a half to complete the three-year postgraduate course; Now facing graduation, she is not in a hurry to find a job. She opened an online shop and a physical clothing store, and earned considerable income every month.

In the eyes of his classmates, money is somewhat mysterious. Every day, he carries the piano on his back and walks alone. A lyric pops out from time to time. Shen said that many of her songs came to her mind while walking and taking the bus. Sometimes when she has a flash of inspiration, she immediately reads the lyrics to her mobile phone and records them. When she talks to herself like this, she often attracts strange eyes from others, but she doesn't care what others think. "The most important thing is to live a colorful life. Although the conditions at home are very good, I don't buy luxury goods. Clothes are all bargains from dozens of dollars. Playing band is my luxury. When I stand on the stage and sing my own voice, I feel that I just live better than others. "

It is understood that most underground bands in Wuhan are formed by college students, so it often happens: within a few years, when they are at school, there will be a lot of bands. When these people graduate, a number of bands will disappear. After a few years, freshmen will grow up and new bands will appear. There are also many band members who have been insisting since graduation. For no reason, they never wanted to live on this, just to be with music.