Funs Want magazine interview- February 2010 issue
The star of this edition’s Funs Want would be Luo Zhi Xiang who has recently released his seventh album 「Rashoman」.
On the day of the photoshoot, Xiao Zhu who just ended his New York photoalbum shoot arrived on the set, unwell. Although he was running a flu, he meticulously picked the clothes for the magazine photoshoot, patiently listened to every question posed by the editor, showing a professional front.
Through this round of Fun Want’s cover feature special plan, we would reveal Luo Zhi Xiang’ new album, various happenings during his trip in New York, the current situation of Luo Zhi Xiang’s private life, and some fashion tips.
COVER PEOPLE INTERVEW
1. You newest album「Rashoman」is your seventh album. Have you tried out any new music styles?
The new music style I’ve tried in this album would be rock, it is also the first time I’ve tried singing rock. Like Hi my sweetheart’s theme song and 「習慣就好」(I’ll get used to it) which 阿沁(A Xing/ Real from F.I.R.) composed for me would fall under the faster type of rock, while the other would be a slower type of brit-pop. At first, I felt unfamiliar to rock styled songs, and was unsure whether if I would be able to sing it well. Bossnova was also another new music style I picked up, I hope this album would give everyone the feeling that Luo Zhi Xiang has grown up (after listening to it), it would not be like the sixth album where the music style was restricted to Luo Zhi Xiang’s liking, and be very much different.
2. Now we shall talk about the special points about this album, are there any songs that turn out better than you expected?
「為什麼要在一起」(why were we together)！The composition of this song used a Jazz accompaniment , it’s my first time trying it out and I’m very satisfied with the results. Someone who listened to this song commented that I was the god of songs (meaning he’s really good at singing). Before this album was released, I picked Elva Hsia and Rainie Yang to sing a duet with me, the tracks (In Your Eyes & WOW) are also in included in this album, and with the rest of the other new songs, totaling up to 12 tracks. It’s counted as something I’ve specially arranged for the fans.
3. The hardships of your dance classes in New York-
Hardships…there aren’t any. On the other hand, I ended up saving a large sum of money for the company because the classes scheduled were very long, but they did not know that I had a strong foundation for dancing and can learn really quickly. A class that was originally four to five hours long was completed by me within two hours. After that I had an extra three hours to spend my money. Haha. I ended up making us of the time to shop, thinking back, I regret slightly… (laughs) I helped save money for the company, although I spent my own money.
4. You thoughts of going to New York for the album photoshoot
Everyone’s just like The Flash. The year in New York is really dry, hence static is easily produced. Once you accidentally bump into someone, you’ll be electrocuted! When you go shopping, you’ll see an entire street of people being electrocuted, everyone seems to be dancing around. You wouldn’t dare to touch any lift buttons either, for fear of being electrocuted. It’s pretty exaggerating.
5. Which part of New York do you like? Was there anything that gave you a lasting impression?
I like new York’s SOHO, because there are quite a lot of strange things in SOHO. One of which includes some of the American clothing designs which are still not really famous, and hence are much cheaper. I feel that we should seize the chance and buy clothes from such brands, if we were to wait until they’re famous, the prices would end up much more expensive. The weather in New York is really cold, I still remember that when we were doing the photo shoot, everyone took the chance to go shopping when they had the time to. During the photo shoot, everyone involved dutifully carried out their jobs, but your eyes would often end up looking around to see if there were your favourite shops nearby. At a glance, it seems like everyone’s doing their job, however their eyes keep following onto the things they would want to buy. As soon as there was the chance, like before the car comes (to pick them up), everyone would quickly put down their equipment and charge towards to the shop they want to shop in. Even I disappeared, as the temperatures them was minus two degrees Celsius, very cold, I had my coat on, but there was one point of time, I took off my coat and rushed towards the shop I wanted to patronize!
6. About your work schedule this 2010
After this I would be seeing a doctor, doing for a facial, because I would be heading to Japan to promote Hot Shot, (laughs), a new concert tour would also start this year. As the previous time I held my concert ending in New York, I’m happy that the new tour this round would include even more different countries, as compared to my previous tour, the new world tour would seem more like a tour that encompasses the whole world.
7. Tell us about one of your wishes for your brand STAGE
I feel that fashion has increasingly more restrictions, it is becoming smaller and smaller, it isn’t as rich as the past, and there isn’t much left to excite the consumers, even the strategy of having joint brands and introducing new goods has been used.
I feel that we must jump out of this circle before being eliminated. I hope brands would be able to go further in future, just like when I went to Harajuku in Japan, some of the brands from before have already disappeared. Harajuku’s speed of elimination when it comes to fashion is very fast, last time it was hip hop, afterwards it switched to matching different styles of clothing together which then changed to follow the Korean style of dressing. And now, it has changed once more to another style that is matching leggings with shorts.
If brands become are able to appeal to more people, then not only the teenagers would be able to wear the clothing. My goal in future is to wish that such a mix and match style can be worn on formal occasions. For example the STAGE BLACK collection, for clothes that are of a darker shade of black can not only be worn on 100% Entertainment but for stage performances. This is one of the plans we’re working on, and I hope everyone would look forward to it.
8. Your plans for the New Year Holidays
In the past I used to have autograph sessions on the first day of Chinese New Year, but for this year I would only have events where I can meet the fans starting on the fifth day of Chinese New year. I hope to spend more time with my family and friends, as it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to gamble a little to relax, it’s a tradition for us Taiwanese people. Thus I hope that during this holiday I would have more time to truly relax and have fun.
9. Something that you’re recently most addicted to
Zoo keeper, it’s a game I must play everyday before I sleep. Sometimes when I come back home, rest for a moment, check if there are any Stephen Chow movies (on the television), if there are, I’d rewatch them, if there aren’t any, I’d keep switching channels, watch variety shows, after watching I’d tidy my things, wash some clothing, vacuum the floor (I have mysophobia). After my bath, I’ll do a facial, and go online to see if my fans have left me any messages. Lastly I’ll play Zoo keeper as the closing to my day, and the next day regret why I didn’t choose to sleep earlier… (laughs)
10. The image for the album this time round strongly promotes the theme「accessory trendy man」, since you’re accessory trendy man, could you share with us 5 accessories that you cannot not have this winter?
Previously my hairstyle for 「Trendy man」received quite a few compliments, I even see some people on the streets with similar hairstyles as me. It is from that point of time that I would like more guys to know that they can be more daring when it comes to dressing up, and that they must know how to use dress themselves up with different clothes and accessories. As compared to the Western style of dressing, Taiwanese people are considered more conservative; I hope to let everyone know that we can go through different factions and dress ourselves. For example there are many handphone chains for the females out there, you could also pick one or two clips and pins, and attach them onto hats, turning them into unique accessories. There are many things you can make by yourself.
One should rather try first and be defeated later, and be courageous to try. I like to dress myself according to the function I’m attending. The keywords to me for this winter would be: skiing ‘look’. Recently I love to dress according to the theme ‘skiing’.
My closet’s clearly divided into the different categories, 56 metre square large. It’s divided into the t-shirts, suits corner, long sleeves, checked shirts corner, jeans corner, shorts corner, and the accessories cupboard to place my hat, sunglasses, watches, bracelets, necklaces and other small accessories. Therefore it’s easy when I want to find my clothes, and I can easily get an idea of the clothes I’d like to match together today.
Five accessories (you were right to ask me about this): legging, winter boots, leg warmers, beanies that cover over the ears, gloves and scarfs.
I think the secret to wearing these accessories would be confidence. Once you have confidence, you’ll look good in any type of clothing!!
Source: Funs want magazine February 2010 issue & i22370323@ show4ever.net
Translation: litmus@ Show Luo International English Forum
by litmus Wed Feb 17, 2010 5:19 am
his last sentence is true & he has that part all covered 
Show-Biz!
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