They’ve returned after 2 years to fulfill a promise dated September 2001. And if you think it’s tough for a band to undergo National Service for 24 months and still sustain a fan base while young and commercially failsafe bands like F4 and 5566 take a huge helping of the pie in your absence, then maybe you aren’t Mayday.
The Taiwanese rock band was in town to promote their upcoming concert, In Space In Time In Love Infinity, which will be held on October 25. For many die-hard rock fans in Singapore, this is a much-anticipated event.
“We hope that this concert is not only for Mayday fans. Regardless of whether you’ve liked us for quite a while or just started accepting Mayday, we hope you will join us at the indoor stadium,” said Monster, the guitarist and band leader, sincerely in Mandarin.
What sets this Infinity concert apart from the rest is that it’s exclusive to Singapore and Taiwan. UrbanWire makes up for the lost time with the winning rock band and tells you why we’re all hyped up for Mayday’s upcoming concert.
Take it slow, Mayday…
After a 30-minute wait, the 4 members of Mayday, each wearing different retro-designed jackets, strode confidently into their press conference at GoodWood Park Hotel on Oct 4. Ashin, the lead singer, was conspicuously missing.
Before anyone could shout ‘Mayday’, Matthew, the bassist of the band, apologized in Mandarin, “So sorry to have kept everyone waiting, something just cropped up and we had to attend to it.”
Fondly known by fans as Masa, Matthew added, “We’ve a very tight schedule because of our new album and the Singapore concert coming up.”
“We are using time as if there are 48 hours a day. Ashin even fell sick and thus can’t make it for today’s press conference,” explained Masa.
Despite not being able to be physically there, Ashin still made an appearance via a phone call.
“I just left the hospital after getting an injection for my flu,” said Ashin, who sounded rather weak when Mayday called him. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to turn up today,” he apologized, stating that he would join the band the next day for other promotional events. We say take it slow, Mayday, we’ve waited this long, we can wait a little more.
The Fish and the Swan
The guest star for the concert will be Malaysian singer Fish Leong. “We have this affinity with Fish, in fact, we actually staged our 168 concert in Taiwan together. Fish will definitely sing “Cai Hong” as it was written by Ashin and the song was published in both Fish’s first and our third album,” Masa said.
“I’ve always liked Fish’s vocals and [I’m] looking forward to working with her. For the concert, I’ll be playing the piano, while Fish will sing. However, we have yet to decide on the song. It all depends on how my piano skills are then,” he added, smiling bashfully.
As much as Ming, the drummer of the band, prayed that everyone had forgotten about a certain costume, a reporter gently reminded him of the Swan Lake ballet he performed as a reward for the 40,000 more fans who turned up at their Taiwan-Taipei Infinity concert.
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The group burst out in laughter as Monster stood up excitedly and animatedly described the swan costume that Ming wore that day with big hand gestures and detailed descriptions.
Smiling awkwardly, Ming explained in Mandarin, “It was sort of a dare that I had with the band… they were saying [I should do it] since I had a bit of foundation in dancing. I agreed to it, not knowing the consequences. ”
Grinning, he added, “Besides it was sort of fun and brought the concert to another height!”
When asked if Singaporean fans would be rewarded for good concert ticket sales as well, Ming paused and answered sheepishly, “Well, I can’t remember where I placed the costume already.”
Swan Lake and ballet dancing aside, another hot topic of the day was Mayday’s progression in their dance classes. Singaporean fans have been yearning to know how Mayday has been faring with pop boyband Energy’s dance instructor.
“Well, actually Monster and I are addicted to that kind of dancing since Taiwan’s concert, and we have been practicing hard to perfect the moves, so we hope its something that everyone will look out for,” revealed Stone, the guitarist.
Besides the interesting and perhaps amusing dance moves that you can anticipate from the concert, Singaporean fans will also have the honour of listening to Mayday’s songs from their new album scheduled to be released only at the end of October.
“After being separated for 2 years, we’ve individually learnt new stuff, just like Stone and Ming; they’ve been overseas to London and Los Angeles to further their knowledge of music, Masa served his NS while Ashin and I took part in other productions. Also with the recent visits to China, we’ve come into contact with folk music and techno. These are all new elements that we will be incorporating into our new album,” stated Monster.
Besides Infinity and the release of their new album, Mayday’s schedule will be packed for the rest of the year. The 5 will be taking up major supporting roles in a movie starring pop idol Wilson Chan. Stone holds the heaviest role among the 5 playing Wilson’s elder brother. The movie touches on friendship, kinship and love, familiar themes for many, in particular, fans of Mayday.
The band is also working on a book to help aspiring teens interested in forming their own bands. As the group has extremely high expectations for the book, Mayday fans and aspiring rock bands will have to hold their breath till early next year.
If you can’t stand another long wait, catch Mayday in action at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Oct 25 for their In Space In Time In Love Infinity concert. Tickets are priced at $69, $99, $129 and $149, available at all Sistic outlets.
