There are thousands of bands you can see play live. There are only a handful you MUST see. One of those bands is The Flaming Lips and luckily for us, they’re playing Hong Kong on the 13th of November. We had a brief back and forth with the Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne about the Brouhaha tagline subjects: creative.culture. So read on to hear his thoughts about the city, kick-starting art, tweeting and turning boredom into motivation. Here are his nuggets of wisdom.

Wayne, what are you expecting from Hong Kong?

Once we’re there we can live in the moment and will be sure to enjoy the sights, food, meeting new friends and all the experiences.  It’s one of the benefits of being able to travel around the world and experience these things.

For those who’ve not experienced a Lips show, how would you describe it?

What we do is overwhelm you with stuff.  Whether we use balloons, volume, our emotion or whatever – we get your full attention.  When everyone is engaged like that then we can all create something special together.

You want any group to command people’s attention.  The worst thing I’ve seen happen to a lot of bands I love is that the audience gets distracted.  That energy and power of the crowd is part of the experience and when a band loses the attention then the whole show suffers.

You’ve embraced Twitter (@waynecoyne) – what got you into that and kept you doing it?

What I like about it for myself is that it forces me to, five or six times a day, pause and question what am I doing? What’s interesting right now.  It gives me a good reason to do something. Even if it’s a waste of time or the greatest thing ever, I can tell people about it and am no longer compelled by just my own interest.

We need a flourishing music and art scene – what is the first step to take?

I think you already have made the first step through the frustration and felt the need to take that step.  People are often so complacent that they don’t feel the need to participate in their own culture.  I live in a place here in Oklahoma that is often so empty of culture.  But you have to remember – art isn’t made in a place and not made by collaborations or encouragement.  It’s made by weirdos who just have to make it.  You do what you must do.  And if you don’t feel like you must create art/music/film/skyscrapers or whatever, then you probably shouldn’t.  I don’t wait for permission. I’m so stupid and insane that I wake up every day and just do it, whether people care or not.

What makes you really, really, really bored?

I try to remember that boredom is really nothing.  It’s a state of mind, and if I’m bored that’s my own fault.  There’s always something to explore – to read, to draw, to listen to.  When people say they’re bored, I think there’s so much you can do.  I can always do yoga and get my mind thinking.

What’s a surefire way to combat it?

A good way is to not be around boring people, and preferably ones with money to spend.

What’s next for the Lips?

We’re playing around with the idea of releasing a track a month – record something, mix it and get it out and have that schedule for a year.  We’re thinking about that.  I like the panic and the immediacy of having to put something out. It would be absurd but could be great fun and fantastic.

After Asia we have our annual Halloween and NYE shows in Oklahoma to look forward to. This is when we can get our most freaky with 10,000 people all sharing an evening together.

Flaming Lips tickets cost $620 and are an ESSENTIAL PURCHASE from www.hkticketing.com or HMV, with two fantastic support acts thrown in, in the form of The Raveonettes and local heroes The Merriweather Deer.

Take yourself, your friends, your family and anyone else you’ve ever met to have your minds blown and lives affirmed by the spectacle that is The Flaming Lips live.

Stay tuned for the Brouhaha guide to The Flaming Lips – coming soon.

In the meantime…

Tags: flaming lips, hong kong, Interview, live, the raveonettes, wayne coyne
Posted in Features