Drug & Candy Mixes Cultures, Covers Winehouse

Many bands struggle to communicate and stay civil, even when their members share the same background. One might expect those problems to be compounded in a troop that has a Russian guitarist, an Italian bassist, and a drummer, saxophonist, and singer from China. But when Luli and her cohorts in Drug & Candy begin to play, those differences disappear.

“All the members speak English or Chinese, or both. So if two of us are having trouble the others will help translate,” the singer (who was born Liu Yixuan, but also goes by both Luli and Lully) says. “With music, communication is easier.”

Drug & Candy’s members have especially bonded over their love of jazz, blues, and modern purveyors of those genres like Amy Winehouse. On Friday at Fubar, Luli will take on that late songstress’ look and sound – from the beehive hair to the brassy voice – as she and her bandmates dedicate the evening to Winehouse covers. Below, Luli tells us more about how she has been inspired by the talented, troubled British diva.  

How did Drug & Candy form?
I’ve worked as a jazz singer in Beijing for a long time. I’d gotten to know all the members of this band playing different gigs around town over the years. It took a little while for us to come together and play like this, but once we did we realized how much we love each other. I've always wanted to make a band like this, and we are going to complete some original music soon – hopefully it will have some of the same style and beauty that Amy’s songs had.

Tell me about how you fell in love with Amy's music, and how it inspired you to form a band dedicated to her music.
I really like her style of writing. I’m a songwriter as well, and I really admire her craft. I really appreciate her style of music, and we have a lot in common in term of the way we sing.

What's your favorite song of hers to perform, and why?
It’s very difficult to choose, but I would say Back to Black. It’s the title track from her second album. When she wrote it she had completed her first detox and had had her first bit of success, but was heartbroken because of the problems she was having with her boyfriend. It’s such a beautiful and sad song. I love that that album won so many Grammys, because it was her last release (reporter’s note: a posthumous Winehouse album titled Lioness, was released in 2011, but it failed to have the same success as Back to Black).

Have you ever been to rehab?
[Laughs] I will say: “No, no no!”

You're obviously not just a fan of Amy's music, but also her look.
Yeah! I have even more tattoos than her, I think (laughs). Amy had a great 70's style. I really like how she revived that vintage fashion.

Is it difficult to adopt that fashion?
It's so hard, it takes way too long to put my hair in a beehive like that. But it's worth it because I love how it looks.

How do you do it exactly? Does it take a lot of hairspray? If so, how much?
It takes everything that you can possibly put in your hair. When I'm getting it ready I look like a grandma that hangs out at the salon all day (laughs).

Amy's death was so tragic. Do you think people focus too much on that, and not enough on how passionate, funny and creative she could be?
It’s difficult for ordinary people to understand the pressure that people like Amy are under. And it’s very sad when people may pay more attention to a musician’s personal life than her music. For me, she was just a girl who really loved music.

Drug & Candy performs at Fubar on April 24 at 10pm. For more information, click here.

Photos courtesy of the band