DT movies & encounter

Very nice article in The Star Online:

Wednesday September 23, 2009
Making movies
By SETO KIT YAN
Singer-songwriter David Tao delves into filmmaking.
IT HAS been three years since David Tao released an album and it is because he has been pursuing another passion of his – filmmaking. Although Tao made his mark in the entertainment industry as a musicmaker, he is fast turning into a filmmaker.
Early this month in Taiwan, he released Adoration (An Lian in Mandarin), the first short film he directed, which starred Taiwanese actress and lingerie model Cheryl Yang.
“Actually, my biggest dream is still filmmaking. Hence next year, I’ll be making my movie.”
A graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, with a major in psychology and a minor in film, Tao says his upcoming film will be a musical love story over an hour long.
“For the time being, when I’m shooting my film, I’ll just have to put my music aside. I don’t think that I can make music, produce an album, film my movie, all at the same time. That would be spreading it too thinly.
“So for the next year or so, my whole focus will be on making the movie. Moreover, I’d like for the success of my movie to far exceed that of my music or albums,” says Tao who was in Kuala Lumpur to promote his latest release, Opus 69, recently.
This 14-track album is Tao’s sixth studio album and has his signature R&B/ rock vibe, though it leans more towards the latter.
Like a journal that traces memories of his music-making days back when he was 16 or 17 years old, Tao says Opus 69 is the kind of music he wants to make now, combined with the raging teen rebel attitude he had then. This is further reflected in the fun and adventurous word play in his carefree lyrics.
“I feel like it is an album where I write the kind of lyrics I want, sing the kind of songs I want, play the kind of music I want. The sound comprises lots of guitar, drums and base. It’s a very easygoing album, yet presents a very clear concept.”
Born in Hong Kong in 1969 to Taiwanese entertainers – actor/ singer/ composer Tao Da Wei and Chinese opera singer Wang Fu Rong, music-making is inherent in Tao’s blood.
Having spent more than 20 years penning songs, the singer-songwriter says he still enjoys the intial stage of music-making most.
“It’s composing, not mixing, arranging, or creating. The stage where I’m trying to figure out what I want to say and how it comes out as notes.
“It’s actually the very first stage, of how I really feel about something. It is most painful sometimes, but also the most revealing.”
This led to some musings about Opus 69. “It’s based on two things, really. The year 1969 was when I was born. Also, I believe that in the 60s and 70s, not just music but culture, ideology, politics, social movement... all these things influenced me a lot.
“This album is not just about me. It has a lot of my own stories and my ideology in it. And, it has a lot of the atmosphere of the 60s and 70s.
“There are songs about war/ anti-war, songs about naked love, very revealing, and also songs with a bit of humour.
“I think a lot of today’s music doesn’t have that, they are very detached and don’t reflect much on the composer or the singer.”
While some critics have deemed his latest album too frivolous, Tao is not overly concerned about conforming to musical conventions.
“I’ll accept everything in life. Have a sense of humour and you’ll live a happier life,” says the 40-year-old Tao.
His career aside, he days he is ready to settle down and start a family. The man just wants a wife and kids to go home to.
David Tao’s Opus 69, distributed by Galaxy Music, is available in local record stores.
(Reposted from The Star Online)

Here's a sweet little DT encounter courtesy of Malaysian fan Ling when David was in KL recently (thanks a lot bloodbubble *_*):

It was a Thursday night (10/9) when my friend and I met David Tao at the hotel in KL. David was in town to perform at the T Music Festival that Saturday. About a week or so before his arrival, my buddy keepjfish had sent me info on David's KL itinerary. I passed on the info to my friend Jessie, who's also a huge DT fan, and we made plans to meet up at the hotel that Thursday evening to wait for David to return after his afternoon press conference.
We arrived at the hotel about 6ish in the evening after work. The lobby was crowded as there was a buka puasa dinner in the restaurant upstairs. We waited for almost 2 hours, many guests came and went but still no sign of DT. By then we were nearly dying of hunger so we went off for a quick dinner nearby the hotel, hoping that DT wouldn't have returned to the hotel when we were out for dinner.
After a quick-ish dinner, we went back to the hotel and it was all quiet by then. We could see guests at the buka puasa function slowly disbursing, but yet still no sign of DT. Alas, we discovered then that DT has returned to the hotel around 8:30PM when we were out for dinner! We continued to wait, and by 10:30PM, David came down from his room and we managed to catch him as he was leaving the hotel. He was dressed casually in jeans, a white tee and a grey jumper (hmm was he cold?)
He was accompanied only by his manager and approached us when we called him. He was such a sweetie, we chatted for a bit. As he was not in a hurry, he took the time to answer our numerous questions. (I think it looked like we were interrogating him haha) I asked if we could take photo with him, and he was very obliging :D My friend then asked if we could take individual photos, and David replied 'sure, why not?' *OMG* (at this point I thought I was gonna faint LOL) I brought along a CD and DT signed it for me.
It was surreal and until today I can't stop grinning like a silly monkey each time I think back to that fateful Thursday evening.