Upclose with Kjwan
A household name in the Philippines, Kjwan are one of the hottest Pinoy rock bands around. John Robertson talks to their drummer J-hoon Balbuena, born and bred in Hong Kong.
HK Magazine: Do you claim to be the best drummer in Asia?
J-hoon Balbuena: No, no! Definitely not. I won some Carlsberg competition for that title once, but that was ten years ago. There are tons of awesome drummers in Asia.
HK: What’s your connection with Hong Kong?
JB: I grew up here for 20 years before going to the Philippines in 2000 for college. I played with some bands in the Hong Kong scene and still keep in touch with friends there. Ultimately I plan to come back to Hong Kong; I still feel it’s my home.
HK: Describe your current band’s sound.
JB: We started with really in-your-face classic rock riffs. Then I tried to bring in some blues-influenced stuff, some hip-hop and drum’n’bass, because that’s my original background. The other guys are more into grungy Pearl Jam stuff. We have a lot of musical differences.
HK: I hear the Filipino gig crowds get rowdy though.
JB: The crowds in the Philippines are insane. You get stampedes where the bouncers just can’t control them and you end up with lots of casualties. When King Ly Chee came from Hong Kong, they really weren’t expecting it. The mosh pit went crazy for them and they loved it.
HK: Has the Asian underground scene become a lot more integrated these days?
JB: Definitely. Before you had to be a big label band to get around because it was so centralized, but now it’s so easy to get in touch with other musicians and record groups in other countries. We’ll have Malaysian or Hong Kong bands getting airplay and gigs in the Philippines, and we try to get the same over there.
HK: Your band’s catchphrase is “Bastusan na.” What does it mean?
JB: “Get nasty!”