We Did Not See This Coming: DDC and School Bar Announce Offbeat New Ventures

Kyle Mullin | Sep 9, 2018 4:57 pm | Add a comment | 1972 reads

Like a beloved but ever enigmatic musician breaking into an improv-heavy solo while performing their biggest hit, two of Beijing’s most successful livehouses are branching out with offbeat new ventures.

DDC Expands, All the Way out of Beijing

Dusk Dawn Club (DDC) owner 69 (Jincan Zhang) has been teasing his Facebook friends for weeks with cryptic updates and photos about opening a new live house. He went on to shock many of those onlookers on Sep 4 by posting: “The new DDC Dusk Dawn Club ready to go!” along with photos of the space. The real kicker, however, was the location on the post: Changli, way out in Beijing neighboring province Hebei, and about as far from Beijing’s highly condensed, Gulou-centric indie rock scene as a typical hutong hipster could imagine.

Details are scant about the new DDC, with 69 only telling the Beijinger that the new space will be a venue for shows while also boasting a studio for bands to record in. He promised to divulge more at an official announcement event at the original DDC near Zhangzizhong Lu early next week, so fans of the energetic, spectacled livehouse owner will have to wait with until then.

School Bar Lives up to Its Name With New Venture

Felix Liu, co-owner of the notoriously rowdy School Bar, has also made major buzz in Beijing’s music scene by announcing the opening of his very own music training school, aptly titled Let’School, and located on Dongtucheng road a few kilometers east from his livehouse (the address in Chinese is 北京市朝阳区东土城路13号院内). Guitar, bass, drum, and ukulele lessons will all be offered there, along with primers on production and other courses (rates vary, for more information click here or scan the QR code at the bottom of this post).

Liu, a tall and lanky born-and-bred Beijinger with close-cropped hair and an ever mischievous grin affixed to his face, has seen School Bar evolve from a scrappy dive to one of the capital’s host music venues, with a slicker revamp in recent years and an ever-eclectic lineup of gigs. He runs the venue with his friend and local indie rock vet Liu Hao (of Joyside and Casino Demon Fame). The bar’s increasing success has given them enough resources to try something new, and after announcing the opening of the training school this past weekend, Liu went on to tell the Beijinger: “I started thinking about starting a training school. After all, I called my bar School. So I wanted to be a real ‘school’ and teach more people to pick up the instruments to form a band.”

He went on to confess, with a chuckle, that he also wanted to found the training center “because I like the movie School of Rock. It is very cool.”

And while that goofy hard rocking comedy may be a major muse, Liu isn’t clowning around when it comes to the facility or the lessons. The teaching staff will be made up of top-notch local musicians who are all active in Beijing’s independent music scene. “They have rich stage experience and are real rockstars,” Liu says of those teachers, before going on to describe his vision for the lessons, one that is energetic and fun loving, rather than rigid and dull.

Liu admits that there was no shortage of challenges while readying the training school. ”Because we are good at opening bars, performing shows and booking shows, starting a training school is a brand new field, and we need to learn slowly.” However, he thinks the fun and upbeat spirit of the new training center will help nurture local talent of all ages, and inspire students to follow their passion rather than being sticklers for technique. He adds: “In short, our slogan is: watch the show, come to the school, play music, Let’School!”

After announcing Let’School’s opening on WeChat, a number of Beijing musicians and gig promoters were quick to share the post and give kudos. One such champion of the training center is Ai Jing aka AJ, who heads up Haze Sounds, a promotional branch of the Showstart ticket platform focused primarily on bringing international acts to China. He thinks students will be happy to enroll there, especially if they are fans of local bands, explaining: “I think there are a lot of people who want to learn to play, and learning from someone they see as idols will definitely, encourage and motivate the learning part.” What’s more, AJ believes Let’School “also gives the musicians a chance to make some money, because many of them don't get paid that much from playing their own shows.”

Alison, who fronts the rising shoegaze band Wondersea, echoes AJ’s thoughts, adding: “I like School Bar. I think the headmasters Liu Fei (Felix) and Liu Hao manage it very well. They love rock music. So I think the new school guitar and drum courses will be very good.”

For Dave Carey, who plays in the local alt-rock duo Nocturnes and is also a music teacher by day, School's new training center is a major boon for the scene. He says: "I think that it’s incredible, something that Beijing really needs. There are so many great bands in Beijing, playing really original music, but there’s also of course a large part of the scene that wears their influences perhaps a little too heavily on their sleeves. Maybe you could say that this is down to how arts and creativity are taught in China, or just that the scene is still a fledgling one in some ways, but I think we stand to benefit as a whole from hearing more musicians who have something original to say. In this regard, School’s training center could be a turning point."

Both of these offbeat ventures will run in tandem with the original livehouses, the owners of both saying that their flagship locations will remain in operation as normal. After a year and a half of seemingly nonstop closures in Beijing’s nightlife scene, a period in which veteran music venue Mao Live bit the dust on Gulou, local musician and fans seem to be taking heed that two top tier livehouses are not only surviving but thriving enough to start such left of center projects. As Carey puts it: "DDC and School are both doing such great work. China is so much more than just Pop and EDM, and without DDC or School people could forget that. The fact that they seem willing to take risks in continuing their brand in other ways just makes me respect them even more."