The Rocker and His Most Beautiful Sound
For millions of teenagers who grew up in the age that fame and success is a few clicks away, a life in the limelight is their ultimate dream and they will do everything to have a taste of that even if it lasts for weeks or months. For Mr Thanachai Ujjin, also known as Pod Moderndog, the songwriter and lead singer of Thailand’s biggest alternative rock band, success was a nightmare that he had to wake up from as soon as possible.
When Moderndog released its debut album ‘Serm Sukhapab’ (Good for Health) in 1994, that nightmare returned following an overnight hit of the single ‘Busaba’. Suddenly, he was that little boy in Grade 4 who suffered sleepless nights, fretting over the final examination results for fear his no.1 ranking would drop.
Instead of letting fears and worries gnawing at him day and night like in the past, Thanachai however decided to face them. He went to study music in New York to arm himself with his beloved art that helped him create the second album ‘Café’ only to realize that those feelings remained there and seemed to get worse because of Café’s continued success. This time, his solution was to equip himself with the knowledge and mental tool; he entered monkhood to study the subject of the mind.
It’s been 30 years since Moderndog’s burst into the music scene, Thanachai says he has managed to overcome them and is more comfortable with the idol status as well as the ‘legendary rockstar’ his fans call him.
First of all, happy birthday. It was your birthday (May 24, 1971) a few days ago. How did you celebrate it this year?
Thank you very much. I usually don’t focus on this kind of thing, but my birthday happened to be the period I was in Japan to play at Tokyo Dome. My team had planned a trip for me in secret so I went out of the city and stayed in a hotel room with Mt. Fuji view. It was great.
What have you been working on lately?
I’ve been working on three projects. The first one is a collaboration with songwriter and music producer Boyd Kosiyabong. It’s going to be similar to our previous project, pop music kind of thing. The second one is of vintage style. The last one is the second part of Balloon Boy, my side project. Basically, I don’t know what to talk about but I’ve already written 12 songs in the last three years, just melodies, no lyrics yet.
It’s not that I’ve lost interest to share my stories or don’t want to share them. It’s just that nowadays when I feel something, the feeling end very quickly.
Is that the reason why there isn’t any new release since your last album eight years ago?
Let’s say that my communication method has changed. Painting has become my new way of expression, particularly abstract art that represents nobody doing nothing or how it is done.
That concept is similar to your thoughts on the third album (Love Me, Love My Life) that you wanted to it to be a flop.
I was young at that time and so I didn’t understand what I was doing. Now I know it was a process of downsizing my expectations and the public’s expectation. I was just trying to do whatever to divert people’s attention away from our band.
Was it the stress and pressure about the need to beat your own records?
Exactly. I was only 23 when our first album was out and became an instant hit. That 23-year-old man had no mentor to guide his overwhelming feelings and all other things that came his way.
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