There is a stillness -- borderline boring -- to Scrubb's chosen mode of visual expression. The constant of stony faces and stock-still poses that embellishes all of the band's album artwork, editorial photo shoots and magazine covers is bequeathed on us too, as Torpong "Ball" Chantabubpha and Thawatpon "Muay" Wongboonsiri laugh through gritted teeth that it is actually a strain for them to smile for the cameras or to assume the role of a dancing monkey.
The lead singer shudders at the thought of having to become one, had their concert next Saturday not sold out.
"Then we'd have to go on all those morning TV shows to promote the concert," Muay groans. "My space is to be playing music on a stage, whether big or small. My space is not to be in a TV. We may get to sing on TV, but it's not even our own band or it's usually lip sync. People may know us more, but I don't feel like it's our place to be at all. I mean if it's necessary then sure, but we avoid it when we can. I'm not a singer who is a celebrity."
It's true that no sheen of stardust coats them -- the bespectacled pair still have no stylist lest the appearance they need to make is a really big TV spot or live event. Muay has grown out of wearing shorts to perform, but the pair still insist that what you see on stage and offstage will be the same outfit. They'll go shopping for clothes themselves at Platinum or Chatuchak Market. If you pass them on the street, you will walk right past them because they look too normal to be one of Thailand's indie pop heavyweights with 18 years in the field and a fan base that spans all generations.
"Scrubb 18+ Toh Laew Tum Arai Gor Dai (I'm Old Now And Can Do Whatever I Want)" is the duo's third concert in 18 years, a peculiarly minuscule number for a band that successfully teeters on ground that can woo both the cool indie crowd and mainstream listeners. Keeping mum about what audiences will see next week, Ball confesses: "People don't really know this, but our label knows that we shirk big concerts all the time. We couldn't get away again this time. Personally, we feel that we just happened to be lucky to have worked a long time so people know our songs, but talent-wise, we've always said to each other that we aren't that great. And that brings about the persisting image that we aren't good enough to be able to play a three-hour concert that can create enough happiness and fun that people will feel that their ticket price is justified. What's special about it is the fact that we've actually agreed to give a concert."
"Oh, what's special about this concert is there is nothing special about it," Muay jokes. There is no list of guests or comedians to reveal, although the pair assure that there will be small details they've put a lot of effort in to. Clearly, this is not going to be some Gaga-esque affair, spangled with a glittery castle in the backdrop and hey-look-at-me! antics, but no matter, because this is a band that has never needed to peacock. Their guitar melodies, which speak volumes as loud, if not louder, than the dynamic lyrics, as well as punchy beats (because Ball started out as a drummer, before he picked up the guitar) are enough to keep the fans sated.
A sweet sense of nostalgia for the schooling years always comes with Scrubb songs that touch upon universal feelings of wanting to turn back time (Yorn Wela), or the ever-rejuvenating hope that that person might be the one (Kon Nee). It sounds like another incredulous quip, when Muay reveals that it is always a thumb-twitching ordeal for the pair whether they'd actually sell any tickets.
"It's actually a thrill that we worry over every time. Our concert probably only sold out because people must have assumed that this is going to be our last concert ever."
We know it isn't so, because Muay says he's already compiling and collecting information for a future album, while getting ready to tour until he's sick of their latest album launched earlier this year. Aptly named Season as a play on the Thai word seesan, which means colourful, this seventh album is supposed to be by far the perkiest offering from Scrubb. Punctuated with happy sounds and young voices like Vin Siriwong of Sqweez Animal, Season sounds more cheerful and fresher than ever, even though its founders are now well arriving in their 40s.
"What's changed is when I was younger, I used to go out every day and I had a backpack with me so I could just crash anywhere," says Muay. "Going out gives you a lot of information because you meet a lot of people, strange places and stories. As I've gotten older, I stay at home more and don't really go anywhere so a lot of stories that come to me now are from books or from talking to friends once in a while. I want to talk about myself less, so our music has become more neutral. It may be a love song for a girlfriend, but can be applied to friends, pets or anything you love."
Seasons may sound more upbeat than the previous albums, but Ball, who does much of the ironing of the music compositions, says that working on all of the seven albums have been completely different.
"It's a balance between things we like and will still keep doing and new sounds we've never done and want to experiment with. But naturally, we've been around for a while and have gotten to say everything we wanted to say already. The second half of our journey is like, what else haven't we talked about or would like to? It's normal that we'd want to talk about new things. That means it's a new chapter, which of course, brings change."
If you missed grabbing tickets to Scrubb 18+, find consolation that the duo will still play at clubs, weddings and whatever gigs they get. The new headache for the pair these days is not finding a place to crash, but rather, getting the set list right, when their fans come from such a large range.
"Having a diverse range of fans moulds us to fix the playlist according to our venue and to do our research," Ball explains. "Our sets are usually an hour where you'll hear newer songs like Roi Yim, but also Koo Gun. There are hits we always have to play, but there's a 20% space for shuffling around -- unless we get specific requests for only B-side, obscure songs from long ago that super fans want to hear.
"We actually tried avoiding weddings and celebrations too at first, but then sometimes the bride or groom calls us up themselves because they want to surprise their significant other," the guitarist adds. "They say that our songs have been part of their time together, when they courted each other, and they want us to be in that moment with them in real life. This is always a present for musicians, when your music becomes the soundtrack to someone's life."
College and campus shows however, are places where Scrubb also feel at home.
"Because it's best to start propaganda at this age," Muay interrupts jokingly.
Playing at university campuses and high schools will always have a place in their hearts because this is the audience who will remember them the longest, they say. But mostly, it's because campus stages were the very places that gave the duo their start. Muay and Ball first met as a freshman and senior respectively at Silpakorn University while studying education. Due to the faculty's small male population and their shared love for creating music, they naturally gravitated towards each other and would form what eventually became Scrubb.
What they've had to weather included no one understanding their indie tunes, family opposition and the lack of staff -- even a soundcheck guy -- which meant the duo has always held onto other jobs alongside Scrubb. Today, Muay finds time to host his "dood" music events to give a platform to budding artists, while Ball teaches artist management at his alma mater and also works as A&R at the record label What the Duck. Yet, all these side gigs almost take a back seat to being musicians and this is what is so magnificent about their journey that dates back two decades: that their hobby had turned into a profession.
"I'm proud because I wasn't even that great starting out," Ball reflects. "We didn't wait to be godly talented, we just kept producing songs and ran to opportunities ourselves. Playing music was always about having fun for us, there were no thoughts that Scrubb had to feed us."
"In the beginning we lugged our amps everywhere ourselves and didn't even get paid," Muay says. "Having our team and equipment ready, and even a van, is beyond what I've always dreamed of.
Eighteen years in the music industry is no mean feat, which Muay notes is not just about talent.
"It's all about your mindset, because music is a creative job. You need to be feeling good first before you can share that good feeling with others. It's not logical like numbers. I feel that when bands form, it isn't just about the best musicians coming together. It's about being nice to each other and wanting to play music together. And we try to make it like that."
The album Season is available for sale at next week's concert and at all major CD stores.
Ball:
I like music festivals because as you grow older, you become less of a super fan of one artist, but want to see a couple. Big gigs like Summer Sonic are great for updating myself and it's fun. It's in Japan so it's not too far to travel and the ticket prices are not too high. There's no visa hassle, unlike going to Belgium. Some years I just go without even knowing what the line-up is because I just like to be in that atmosphere.
Muay:
I always try to convince those around me to go to Fuji Rock. I'm very impressed with their overall picture of location, decorations, people who go and how clean it is. There's a culture of festival-going that Japanese people really have down, where they carry around their own cigarette ashtrays, pee in the right places and you can leave your stuff lying around and it won't disappear.
On their playlist currently
Korean band Adoy, Kings of Convenience's Erlend Øye, Mac Demarco, Adam Green and whatever that's playing in the band's van.
