[music, news] Sing along with Unplugged '97

[AnHai Doan <anhai@cs.washington.edu>]

Sing along with Unplugged '97

Unplugged, a contest for budding composers and singers in the English
language dedicated to pupils and students in HCMC, has become
increasingly popular, attracting the interest of many people. Though
Unplugged '97 was concluded long ago, ten pop-rock bands crowned there
will meet with a young audience at a musical festival to be held at the
HCMC Youth Cultural House on June 1.

"A Couple": two music-loving friends

At Unplugged '97, for the first time "A Couple" performed in front of an
audience of mostly students and was immediately given a standing
ovation. "A Couple" is a band of two young students of Hanoi Foreign
Language College, Ton That Long and Nguyen Thi Minh Hanh, both aged 23.

"For us, music is as indispensable as a best friend. It helps us relax
after hours of study and work," said Ton That Long. At the contest,
accompanied by That Long on the guitar, Minh Hanh performed with all her
heart and soul the melodious words of  love in the song entitled "And
I'll Make Myself Your Girl" with which they won second prize at the
contest.

..(And i'll) make myself your girl
Only you in my heart.
O-only you make all my dreams
come true and bring the sunshine
to my life and make it a beautiful life.
and I'll make myself your girl...
Ev'rynite I go to sleep,
Kiss good-nite you'd  always do.
And tomorrow morning comes soon
You would come and take me go for a while.
Then you'd say under the sunshine:
* Girl, I need you, I need you and I love you
Don't ever let me down - I would never stay apart
And "Yes", I say, "I love you."
And I'll make myself your girl...
And "Yes", I say, "I love you."
Ev'rynite and day, I will say a prayer
da do do da do, da do (2)
(Feeling...) Ev'rynite and ev'ryday...
I will say a prayer...
Sorrow will disappear...
Only happiness seen in our eyes, in our smiles...
With your smiles, you sure bring me high.
Strong emotions inside can not hide.
Deep in my heart and all in my soul,
You are forever my only / endless love.
Oh, babe, nothing else do we need.
We walk together all the way.
We live together all our lives.
Morning sunshine makes my hair bright
Give me a smile, you'd say...(to*)



"The Friends" with friendly hearts

At Unplugged '97, the pop-rock band "The Friends" won the fourth prize
for composing and performing in English. The group was also awarded a
special prize by the organizing board as it was the only prize-winning
band manned by high school pupils.  

The band has three members: Nguyen Minh Tri, 19, leader cum composer of
English language songs for the band; Nguyen Chi Hieu, 19, lead singer -
they are both twelfth-graders at Marie Curie Senior High School in
District 1, HCMC; and Nguyen Quang, 22, bass, who is a freshman at the
HCMC-based Hanoi Communication and Transport College.

What makes them good together is that they are all gifted at singing and
song writing. In the coming Unplugged contest, local audiences will have
a chance to meet these performers as representatives from the
Architecture College, as both Tri and Hieu are fond of architecture and
have registered to take part in entrance exams into this school.  


"Girl & Girl": two young confident and earnest girls

Despite being a first-timer at Unplugged '97, "Girl & Girl" found itself
in the list of ten pop-rock bands qualified for the final round of the
contest with a score of 100. It was a great surprise and fantastic
encouragement for this young band.

As its name implies, the band members are two young girls: The Van, 20,
a sophomore of English at HCMC College of Education; and Bich Ngoc, an
eighth-grader at Ha Huy Tap Junior High School in Binh Thanh District,
HCMC. The Van accompanies Bich Ngoc (singer) on the piano. They prepared
for the contest within a a fortnight, and spent just two nights setting
music, words and harmony for "Take Me with You," the song they performed
at the contest.

The Van and Bich Ngoc love to listen to singers Celine Dion and Mariah
Carey, and are strongly influenced by the music of Trinh Cong Son, a
famous Vietnamese composer. 



"Little Wings" flies into the sky of Rock

Perhaps many people still remember the band Little Wings at Unplugged
'96 with its musical skills and spirit on stage. This time at Unplugged
'97, Little Wings appeared with two veteran members, Ho Quang Hung and
Le Quang Minh (students at the Law College), and two new young rockers,
An Khe (Economics College) and Hoang Quy (Technology College),
enthusiastically playing the alternative rock. "Don't Surrender", a song
composed by the band which attracted audiences and was highly praised by
the judges, brought them the champion cup of Unplugged '97. 

Their idol is the American rock band "Green Days". Quang Minh once said:
"Little Wings hopes to spread its little wings to fly into the immense
sky of rock music."



Don't surrender!

Don't ever leave tender looks behind you
Things close to you cannot be found in another world
Don't surrender!
You can never find out paradise, just one simple reason that you never know:
Paradise is here, paradise is your life.
Just live and let live.
Well you know, you know, you know it's gonna be alright.
And you'll see the sunshine moon at nigh leading your life.
Wind and stars are free and it's just right. Life is ahead, here you are let's see what going on.
Hey man I know.
Just don't let it show.
Don't hide yourself and remember
Nothing but surrender.



"Co La": nice impression

The band whose home is the farthest from HCMC and created a unique
impression is Co La. The impression came from the different way of
playing accompaniment of its members, as well as the use of a slider on
the guitar's strings to create other sounds, or using the back of the
guitar as a drum. Being ranked fifth in Top Ten of Unplugged '97 was a
fit reward for the attempt of the members of the band from the ancient
city of Hue: Le Duy Thang (Medical College, vocalist and accompanying
guitarist), Hoang Trong Buu (Education College, bass guitarist), Nguyen
Huu Tam (Culture and Art College, lead guitarist) and Tran Cong Tam
(Education College, drummer with his guitar).



"The Faith" - a strong passion for metal rock 

"The Faith" has found itself in the top-ten of three consecutive
Unplugged contests. With heavy metal rock, the band has attracted the
attention of audiences through its new performing style. "The Faith"
comprises Le Quang Tuan, 21, guitarist, a student of Open University;
Chu Tue, 21, guitarist, a student of HCMC College of Finance and
Accounting; To Quoc Dung, 21, guitar bass, HCMC College of Technology;
Tran Anh Tu, 23, drummer, Dung's schoolmate; and Hoang Ha Giang, 22,
Communication and Transport College.

The song that they performed at Unplugged '97 was "The Dying of the
Light" criticizing the meaningless motorbike road races of young people.
They also performed famous songs of two foreign singers they idolize,
Savatage and Metallica. They strongly believe that metal rock is
attractive to young people, but it is hard to play it as it requires
complicated harmonizing skills. 


"Black Eyes" sings about worries in life

The band's name, "Black Eyes", characterizes the view of Vietnamese
youth of pop-rock as Asian people usually have dark-colored eyes, which
are typical of the Orient. The band comprises four young men, Do Thanh
Lam, 21, singer, who is a student of HCMC College of Social Sciences and
Humanities; Mai Anh Duy, 22, guitarist, Lam's schoolmate; Vu Duc Tuan,
20, guitarist, a student; and Huynh Ngoc Nghia, 22, drummer, a student
of Hanoi Foreign Language College.

"Black Eyes" usually composes ballads and slow rock styles in both
English and Vietnamese. The songs focus on worries of life such as the
trouble of war and orphans. At Unplugged '97, "Black Eyes" sparked the
interest of audiences with its own song about the living environment
entitled "Please Keep Us Alive!" Do Thanh Lam said that if they have the
opportunity, the band will play professionally."

 
I'm nothing to you

In your eyes, your soul or your heart.
In your eyes, your soul and your heart.
You're my everything but I'm nothing to you.
Something I've done can't make you care for me.
I know, I know you're an angel.
I know, I know you're an angel.
I know, I know I'm nothing to you.



Green Hope makes impression with anti-drugs song

It can be said that Green Hope, a band of the HCMC College of Natural
Sciences, comprising Minh Duc, Phuc Dung, Thien Vu and Thanh Lam, made a
strong impression with the judges and audiences with a self-composed
song entitled "Over again", concerning a hot issue: drugs. Tran Minh
Duc, head of the band and composer, said that the source of inspiration
for this song came to him through a meeting with a former drug addict
who has now given up using drugs. Words in the refrain have been written
with a view to encouraging those who are trying to quit drugs.



Le Anh Tuan Kiet: "Guitar Mot Minh"

At the final round of Unplugged '97, Le Anh Tuan Kiet was the only
entrant with one member. Born in 1972, Tuan Kiet (first in the photo) is
currently a student of Foreign Trade College. At the qualifying round,
the image of "Guitar Mot Minh" (playing guitar alone) received loud
applause and a rather high mark (101 marks). He was ranked seventh in
Top Ten of Unplugged '97. "I am not content with what I have achieved. I
hope that everything will be better at the next Unplugged '98!" See you
there, young singer!



"Distance" - the largest band

"Distance" band from HCMC College of Architecture, is the only band in
the ten winners of Unplugged '97 to include a mandolin player. In charge
of this musical instrument is Nguyen Thi Phuong Nam, a 20-year-old
student. It is also the "largest" band with a membership of seven: Quoc
Bao, Xuan Trieu, Rep Hung, Tri Dung, The Nhan, and two girls, Xuan Mai
(drummer), and Phuong Nam.


Quoc Bao, the band's leader, said "Distance" will take part in the
coming Unplugged contest, and will try to win a higher place than this
year.