Chasing Sparrow
The first time Chasing Sparrow caught my eye, they were in cartoon form. On
my first few visits to the Wall complex, I noticed these cool comic book style
stickers showing the band in super-hero poses that had been stuck all over the
place, and I have to say I was intrigued. At the 2004 Formoz fest I had the
chance to see them play but I missed it. I was about to leave the Fire stage,
when Peter from 8mm Sky pulled me aside and said to me gravely, "Don’t go…" But
I told him that I had to go meet some friends and I missed out on one of
Taiwan’s best post-punk bands one of which I would come to know as friends and
really appreciate musically.
(Lai-Q (Photo: Eatbrain))
In the meantime, I remember meeting drummer Lydia and artist James at the
Underworld for a Tin Pan Alley show. They were selling stickers that James
designed for the 7 Inch Vinyl bands Varo and Chasing Sparrow. When I approached
the merch table, Lydia told me that she remembered seeing me often at Spin.
Although I had never met them there, the dark underground club had been a
favorite hang out for both me and the Chasing Sparrow kids. I told Lydia and
James that I wish I knew them before Spin closed, then I took some flyers and
James gave me one of his original stickers.
I finally got a chance to see Chasing Sparrow at a Wall performance and was
incredibly amazed. I was happy to find some original indie punk that really
rocked and was interesting to listen to. I was drawn in by lead singer Yoz’s
high-pitched, almost screaming vocals which punctuated through the progressive,
yet often minimalist music. Furthermore, you can tell the band really gets into
the music from their stage presence. By the end of the show, Yoz ended up lying
on the floor just screaming into the mic. Levon from Tizzy Bac and Green!Eyes
said to me, "This is a rock band with courage!" And I believed him.
(Lai-Q and Yoz (Photo: Eatbrain))
The members of Chasing Sparrow have all put in their fair share of time in
the underground scene. Bass player Graffiti and drummer Lydia work with the
founder of 7 Inch Vinyl Records Wan Ting on her indie-electronic project Varo.
Lai-Q had once been a member of the screamo group Fall of this Corner and Yoz
holds a place in underground history as being the drummer of the influential
Sugar Plum Fairy.
I got to hang out with Chasing Sparrow a few times before I left, most often
at the Underworld with another good friend of the band Stan. After one show I,
remember climbing trees with Yoz and Yu Chain from Green!Eyes. Some of Yoz's
friends were worried because he fell and had to go to the hospital a few years
ago, but this night was just fine.Yoz and Lydia both gave me a lot of
encouragement for this project. I was really happy to catch them play at Spring
Scream 2005 before I left.
(Lydia (Photo: Eatbrain))
Spring Scream ended up being a good atmosphere for exchange this year with
the help of The Deported bringing NY bands like Dynasty, Team Sasquatch and
Dynamite club, all of which truned out to be favorites of the 7 Inch Vinyl kids.
I was happy to see Lydia at the Deported's performance who seemed to really like
that harder punk style. I would love to see Chasing Sparrow, The Deported and
Fall of this Corner on a bill together.
I’m still waiting for a solid Chasing Sparrow recording, but I heard that
they were in the process of putting out a split with Fall of this Corner which
will make for a nice collection of Taiwan emo/post punk. Chasing Sparrow have a
song on the Lobo II compilation by White Wabbit Records called "Modest Sparrow,"
in tribute to one of their influences Modest Mouse.
