Cibo Matto

"Cibo Matto: the girls next door" (interview by Deb Black), Shout, Sept 99, the up-and-comers issue, p.32-6

Norwati "Watie" Sadali

"What a Girl Is Driven to Do" Asiaweek, 12 Nov 1999, p. 59

Click pic to see more complete image

"Better known as 'Watie' of the all-girl group Elite, Malaysia's homegrown Spice Girls, the 23-year-old was convicted of drunk driving last month and is now paying the price. It's not just the $475 fine either. The authorities immediately barred Elite from appearing on radio and tv, leaving KRU, the group's management company, no choice but to suspend her for three months in the hope that the ban might be lifted. Watie, meanwhile, says she took to the booze because of mounting criticism of her lifestyle -- accusers say that she dresses too sexily, has too many boyfriends and to top it all, that she can't really sing."

(Sounds like all the makings of a bona fide pop star. This hottie needs to get away from the fray by chillin' on a different shore, someplace where no one knows her and where her lifestyle is regarded as perfectly normal. How about L.A.?)

Jacintha "Ja" Abisheganaden

"Ja's right for the Part". Asiaweek, 12 Nov 99, p.59

(Well it so happens that the Singaporean singer, Ja, was there in L.A., early October, recording her second jazz album.)

"Tipped off by a music journalist friend, [movie] director Ron Shelton listened in and evidently liked what he heard. Shelton (Tin Cup, Bull Durham) got her to sing the opening track for his new movie, Play It To the Bone. (It was released in late January 2000)… Between caring for her eight-month-old son (she has remarried after her divorce from songwriter-producer Dick Lee), Ja is also working on two other albums for the new millenium, including her third jazz collection. 'Jazz is my first love,' she explains."
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CoCo Lee

"CoCo Motion". A Magazine, February / March 2000, p.31

Andy Lau

"andy lau... King of Hong Kong". A Magazine, February / March 2000, p.31

Fuji Rock Festival '99

"This is Tokyo; This is a party" by Simon Bartz, tofu magazine, Fall / Winter 99/00, 2nd issue, the [commercial] issue, pp.54-5

report on the 3rd annual Fuji Rock Festival

Everything Thai, #1, Winter 2000

The reader is challenged to identify 7 male popstars and pop groups. Hints and photos are given.

Basement 31

"What the hell is that noise coming from the basement?" (interview by Heidi Guttierez), Bamboo Girl, #9 (Jan 2000), p.79-83

Dennis Au, CoCo Lee, Telly Liu

"Reaching for the stars" by Tracy Jan, Taipei Journal, 10 March 2000, p.4

This article is subtitled, "Talented Asian Americans see Taiwan as a springboard to fame in the entertainment industry. They come here to broaden their fan base and gain industry inroads."

Most of the article is based on interviews with Au and Liu.
The 24 year-old Au, was born in L.A. and moved to Taipei in '98. His R&B group, G-Force, recently released their first album. "It's hard to make it in this industry, but it's easier here than in America," said Au. "In the States, Asians encounter discrimination and face a glass ceiling, especially in this business."

The article says that Au models to support his music career, and has appeared in several music videos (including those of CoCo Lee), television commercials, and clothing campaigns.

Liu, also 24 years-old, was born in Brazil and grew up in the States. He graduated from UCSD, majoring in EE and Chinese Studies. Before graduating, he studied Chinese at National Taiwan University in '97. His modeling career started at that time, when a friend took him to a local modeling agency. That year, he appeared in runway shows, print ads and tv commercials. He recently had a role in a Chinese (Taiwanese?) television movie, playing an army enlistee.
  The article continues: "Starting his career in Asia, Liu admits that he's had to make a few cultural adjustments. Though he can speak Mandarin, he said he still has to be careful not to offend people who may mistake his bluntness for cockiness.
    'The most frustrating part is communicating with locals in the business... People in Taiwan often mask what they really mean by being less direct or too courteous.'"

Liu echoes what Au said about an starting an entertainment career in Taiwan versus the U.S.: "I don't think that people here [in Taiwan] really understand what it means to live in a racist society... For me, acting only became possible when I came to Taiwan."

Something about Flying

"Rockers or doctors?" by Vicki Cheng, (Raleigh) News and Observer, 16 May 2000

RZA (Wu Tang Clan)

"Shaolin Temple's Prodigal Son; Monk Shi Yanming's return to Shaolin after his defection" by Chen Xing Hua, Shaolin Temple, Spring 2000, pp. 76-80

Hip hop star, RZA, is a student of this "most flamboyant of the Shaolin Temple graduates". After being in the States for 7 years, Shi returned in September of last year during the 6th international Shaolin Temple festival. He was accompanied by a 50-person entourage, which included RZA. Shi recalled touring the temple:

After we saw Great Grandmaster Monk, Shi Suxi, my students performed in front of the Temple and RZA, the abbot of the Wu-Tang Clan, rapped on the stairs of the Shaolin Temple. That is the first time ever. Nobody has done that. Even if people didn't understand what he was rapping, people could feel his positive qi and respect and deep understanding."

The author ends the article: "Following Shaolin Temple, Yanming and RZA pressed onwards to the next martial mountain, Wudangshan. That's right, the hip-hop abbot of Wu-Tang Clan went to the real Wutang, but for that story, you will have to wait for an upcoming issue..."