>>PREVIEW
MEDICAL
Saturday, August 13
Ship & Anchor Pub
We’ve all felt disillusioned at one time or another, having what some might call a quarter-life crisis. This usually takes place in our 20s, when we have all the drive and ambition in the world, but our goals still elude us. This can be a frustrating time, when questions of what to do with one’s life can make a person feel like they’re not doing enough.
Most of us brush this nagging feeling aside and accept our restlessness as simple growing pains; however, some people jump off that path and take the high road. Choo-kien Kua is one of those people.
Earlier this year, the resourceful guitarist was dissatisfied with how his life was panning out and decided to get proactive. A veteran of the local punk scene and member of Calgary’s Warning By Sea, Kua found himself in a bit of an artistic rut. He was working a full-time job and writing material with his band, but still felt like he could be doing more.
In January 2005, he decided that he wanted to see the world and came up with an idea to tour Germany with a solo project called Medical. He was certain that he could book a tour, write material, record an EP and leave by April.
While in Germany, he played with some amazing artists (Decibully), travelled to Prague, was interviewed on European radio, co-hosted his own program featuring Alberta bands, and even got an idea for a zine based on his experiences overseas. To say his trip was life changing is an understatement.
"It was important for me to do a solo project and get a lot of things off my chest musically and lyrically," Kua explains. "I think it is really healthy to express yourself. The whole point of (Medical) was really for me to be creative on my own terms – sharing music and having an adventure."
It may surprise fans of the punk-infused Warning By Sea to hear that Kua’s solo album is an acoustic project. Many of the songs feature Kua playing softly on guitar and singing quietly with a heavy emphasis on lyrics. The end result is Blankets To Keep Us Cold, an intimate six-song album that evokes ideas of having a room of one’s own.
"The whole album was written in a month while I was working full-time. It was kind of funny in retrospect, but exhausting at the time," he says. "I would lock myself away for entire weekends and record demos to a shitty cassette deck and emerge in a daze. I had never written this way, but it was a good idea at the time."
Kua found it liberating to express his ideas without having to compromise; however, at first he also found it difficult to write apart from the band dynamic.
"I think it’s actually harder making an album as a solo performer. You have to think about all the aspects of the song, how it will sound live versus the recording," he says. "You don’t have people there to encourage, help or inspire you. It is very liberating not having to compromise, but you’re always your worst critic so you end up over-thinking a lot."
He did get some help from his musician friends such as Warning By Sea drummer Kirk Johnston and friend Erin Blanchard, who sang backup on the record.
"Most of the people I knew were generally encouraging when they heard about the project, but really had no idea what to expect given my other band," he says. "Most people had no idea I could actually sing. They were used to me shouting."
Kua understands that people see him primarily as a punk performer, but says the transition to singer-songwriter territory was surprisingly easy. Although he has always written personal material in the past, Medical gave him an opportunity to connect with his audience in a way playing punk music never could.
"I think music is a very universal language, in that it reflects what the musician is feeling or the message they are sending," Kua says. "I find most musicians are more diverse than we would like to think. In my experience, punk artists have a lot to say and are generally very emotionally extreme, and it’s pretty much true with acoustic performers, too."
Kua hopes to continue with Medical in the future and admits that the entire process has been like one big adventure.
"I felt right writing the songs this way," he adds. "I think my mindset was to be honest and it felt very therapeutic to share." |
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