Over
the next few weeks all eyes will be on China for the Olympics, but
funnily enough there are some who just don't really care what plays out
at the Bird's Nest Stadium.
The Beijing rock scene has never had
it easy, struggling simultaneously to resist government censorship and
to make its voice heard over the manufactured pop that dominates the
musical landscape in China. There is a small audience for Chinese rock
bands, but it's not enough to support them financially. Even a member
of a fairly established band with a staunch following might be going to
work at IBM by day and playing gigs by night. In that sense, this
genre of music is quite untainted by the industry and the musicians are
playing for the love of it without much hope of fame or fortune.
The
Converse Love Noise tour aims to give Chinese rock a bigger platform and will try to distract attention from the Olympics by taking two Beijing bands,
PK-14 and
Queen Sea Big Shark
on a specially-designed tour bus through six cities, beginning and
ending in Beijing. Along the way, the bus will pick up local bands, and
documenting the ups and downs of the entire tour and the climactic
event in Beijing will be two brave Dazed Digital correspondents.
Sarah Fakray: Blogger
Ellis Scott: Photographer