Life of DT

So DT has been caught 'dating' & fans are outraged. May I gently remind them that (1) DT is male & single (2) it's not a sin to go out with a 22 yr old unmarried woman even if that woman is 18 yrs younger (3) he has never promised his fans that he will stay celibate until he is married (4) even as an idol singer, he does have his rights & privacy, who are we to judge?
Surely as fans who have listened to his songs -- Do I Do I from his first album, Let's Fall in Love from Black Tangerine, 2night in The Great Leap to Play in 69 David Tao, we would know that he does have this lascivious side to him or we would nvr have all these wonderful songs. The trouble is that he LOVES sexy hot mamas ^_^ but that's not a crime just a weakness. In RE DT he claimed he was being used & is probably still being used. Ever noticed that most times he was 'caught', the lady in question is usually in showbusiness, not very famous & in this way, acquired her 15 mins of fame. Anyway I don't understand why all this angst abt him being seen with a beautiful young woman. Are we so innocent that we think that 40 yr old male celebrites don't go out with gorgeous young girls if they have the opportunity? Even an ice queen like Faye Wong went out with a gorgeous young man 11 yrs her junior.
David presenting a Beatles album to Ang Lee during opening of Taking Woodstock in Taipei. Apparently Ang Lee's next movie will be Life of Pi. I am a little nervous how he is gonna handle it, not with too much of his sticky sentimentality I fervently hoped like personalising the tiger or having laughable moments when Pi connects with the tiger in a human way. Life of Pi is great cos even though it's a work of fiction & fantasy, Yann Martel treats the reader with respect by never letting the tiger be anything but a majestic animal and yet he created a marvellous character called Richard Parker. Pi never ever get close to the tiger cos he knows that the tiger can only regard him as either provider of food or a meal itself. This is the reality of life. Tigers are not very Disney friendly to humans especially when they are hungry. Fans should be wise to view DT in the same way too. He is not this sanitised version of your idol. He urinates & farts just like an ordinary man ... and he has never pretend to be anything else.

Surviving DT

The first time I heard 69乐章, I was immediately captivated by the song Surviving Leopards. It is a strangely quiet song with an underlaying sense of utter hopelessness. During David's online chat in Bejing, he explained the meaning of this song. First he asked if anyone knew where in the world is the greatest surviving number of the endangered species, snow leopards? The answer is of course China where there is only about 2-3k left. He was driven to write this song when he learnt that the snow leopard is unable to roar so it is silent when it is being slaughtered. He compared this to the current destruction of our planet Earth & nature. Both too are unable to call out when it is being slowly destroyed until it is too late. So once again, thank you DT for being able to touch me with your masterful songwriting. I now know why I have unshed tears in my eyes whenever I listen to Surviving Leopards.
I feel that DT himself is a Surviving Leopard. Once again he is being criticised for suddenly changing his music style, 69乐章 is said to be not selling well & his market worth is in question. The media & critics are trying to drive him to a quick death cos David refused to conform to their ideal of a talented songwriter who produced only beautiful music to their ears. I wondered if Picasso got the same kind of criticism when he turned to Cubism. Before he turned to the style that he is now famous, Picasso produced the most hauntingly beautiful fine artwork. Who can forget the sensual Femme where he used only three lines to depict a woman's derriere?
But why should he go on producing the same beautiful artwork over and over again? Used two lines to draw a woman's body *roll eyes* He was an intelligent man who needed to be challenged so he turned to Cubism. Perhaps the same can be said about David. His latest album is a cacophony of music that to me is like Cubism. Cubism engages the eye with multitude of viewpoints, David heightens our aural acceptance of music & leaves us to decipher what he is trying to say. Like Surviving Leopards or Play with its playful play on 'gay' ^__^. Don't forget that the Stonewall riots which started the gay rights movement happened in the year 1969. So for those who think David's latest album is too 'frivolous', maybe they should go back to their history books :P
I love that he mentioned Don Quixote cos if I were to chose a word to describe 69 David Tao it would be quixote, a crazy David going wild about the music he loves & yet still so righteous & idealistic as ever. A freefalling David at last fighting windmills ^__^ I found this quote in Don Quixote which perhaps describes it best:
"When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? To surrender dreams - this may be madness; to seek treasure where there is only trash. Too much sanity may be madness! But maddest of all - to see life as it is and not as it should be." Some good news is that the mini-movie Adoration dvd will be released this month. Can't wait to watch it! Also there will be a series of concerts in Taiwan starting 10/16. David was also invited to be a guest speaker in Fudan University in Shanghai. He asked a rhetorical question: Why songwriters in 1969 were able to use music to reflect current affairs but not songwriters in 2009? He didn't give an answer probably cos he didn't want to be too controversial ^__^

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.