Rock star looks to a rosy future
WHEN Beijing-based rocker Rose Lo Ji lost an eye during a wild birthday party in 1993, it changed her life in more ways than she could have imagined.
'I used to be very desolate, living day by day without any purpose. But the accident changed all that.
'Now I perceive the world with love and it is the only thing that is worth thinking about,' said Lo, who is currently in the territory to promote her first Mandarin album Choose to be Strong.
The 19-year-old was reluctant to go into details of the accident, saying revealing what happened to her would mean reliving the ordeal.
All she would say is that the devastating accident changed her outlook on life in more ways than one.
To soothe the pain and ease the concern of her fans, she used the title song of the album to tell them that she had chosen to bounce back to life, instead of rolling over and playing dead.
At the time of the accident, she was leading the Beijing rock band Compass, which later on split up when Lo went solo.
Her shattered vision, however, did not tame the wild rocker, who names Bon Jovi and Guns n' Roses as major influences on her music. Her rock n' roll is still rebellious and cynical with a loud and clear message.
'My album is about the constraints that society exerts on our generation, about the old-fashioned and stubborn education system in China and about my own feelings.' Yet she recalled that after the accident, she felt so numb that clear thinking was out of the question.
She said the teaching practices in China were what angered her the most. 'There is no 'why'. There is only 'it should be'.' At the age of 13, Lo was fascinated by a movie about breakdancing and decided to leave her grandmother - who took care of her after her parents separated - to join a performance group.
Fate had it that a singer in the group had fallen sick, and the leader chose Lo as replacement.
'Then I was spellbound when I heard a Bon Jovi song at a friend's place. That was the first time I heard rock n' roll. My friend told me that the only place in China that I could find rock n' roll was Beijing - I headed straight there.' Her talent attracted the attention of the manager of the 'father of Chinese rock' Cui Ging, who signed her up.
And since then, rock n' roll is all Lo thinks about.
She says the best part about performing is that it allows her to release all her pent-up emotions.
But she thinks rock n' roll in China is in 'hibernation'.
'It is because the Chinese Government is opening up and becoming less suppressive than before - which means people have fewer political grievances to express through music and more opportunities to make money.' She predicts a new kind of music will emerge in China - music dedicated to love, rather than politics.
When Lo returns to Beijing, she will work on her second album and she hopes to release her first Cantonese album in July.
