I was born in the USA as my parents were living there at the time. My father had won a doctorate scholarship so he brought my mother with him. We came back to live in Chiang Mai when I was three.

I formed a secret gang called “Men in Black” to agitate at my school when I was in grade 11. I did it because I didn’t like that our school had accepted twice as many students as they could manage. Many of them had connections with school officials.

We climbed the school wall to break in at night and put up posters saying “no privileged children” on the wall. The teachers knew who did it but they had no evidence, so we didn’t get caught.

I started listening to music because my father listened to an English radio station in Chiang Mai where he was a newsreader. The station played international songs.

The first album I bought was Mariah Carey’s Music Box. I remembered that I went to the record shop intending to buy an international music cassette without knowing any of the singers. I ended up picking Mariah’s album just because she looked so pretty—well, back then she did.

I instantly fell in love with her music after I played the cassette. After that, I bought all of Michael Jackson’s albums and started to buy music regularly.

I started to play drums in grade nine after I asked my senior at school if I could play in his band. I also taught myself to play guitar mostly from Tommy Emmanuel’s finger-style music. I formed a vocal group with four of my friends.

I never studied music formally but I tried to listen and wrote down the notes.
I sang and played percussion in a pub every night during university. But it became impossible to do so in junior and senior years because classes were tough. Plus some of the professors were friends of my father, who is also a professor there. So I couldn’t skip class after playing music all night.

I became a member of ETC when the former lead singer of the band, Deer, got a record deal with another band, Acappella 7. The head of the band asked me to fill in. It took four years for us to have our first album in 2004.

I play drums very well when I’m heartbroken. Once my friend told me I played so beautifully that it sounded like the feelings came out of the drums. That’s what I love most about music. It’s an emotional outlet.

I’m very glad that Sorayuth Sutasanajinda [Channel 3 anchor] chose our song as Lin Ping’s song. At some concerts, the audience even asks us to play “Lin Ping’s song.” That’s pretty funny actually.

I personally think Lin Ping and our song, “Sing Mee Chee Wit Tee Riak Wa Hua Jai” (“A Living Thing Called Heart”), are perfect for each other. Plus, we’re from Chiang Mai. A Chiang Mai panda and a Chiang Mai band, it’s like we were destined to meet! But I’ve never seen her.

The first days of my monkhood were really confusing when I was ordained earlier this year. I was so worried about my work. I couldn’t rest my mind. All my life has always been so busy.

My advisor monk told me to practice meditation. It allowed me to look into myself and discover the cause of my suffering. It was like waking up in the middle of an invigorating waterfall. It was the brightest moment.

I wanted to stay in the monkhood a little longer but I had to get my projects done. Now I still try to find some free time to practice meditation.
I want to enhance my music skills as much as I can. I also focus on getting better at drums because I want to be a professional in this field.

We’re releasing our songs in EPs because we feel that every song in the album is single-worthy. We don’t want any of them to be left out. Our new album, PUSH, is out next year.

I hate exercising in fitness centers. It always makes me feel uncomfortable. I love wake-boarding. If I’m free, I go for half a day. I love the water, the sun and the vastness of the sea.

If I were the governor of Bangkok, I would implement ways to improve fast transportation. I might build a special motorcycle lane and create a formal motorcycle taxi system.

I want to be like Joey Boy. He has achieved all that he has wanted and has become an expert in the field he loves. He no longer makes music just for money, but because he truly loves it and wants to help others. I want to be like that too. Interview by Kanyanun Sunglaw and Nuchanat Prathumsuwan