Brass Knuckles' Tour Diary for Société Perrier [Gallery]
DJ crew Brass Knuckles have been spreading their infectious beats and parties way beyond their Miami homestead. The trio just recently concluded a six-date tour of Asia that found them exploring and learning a lot about the continent while of course shaking cities like Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore down to their foundations. During their travels, they logged some of their adventures for us in an exclusive tour diary. Here thet talk about climbing the Great Wall, learning to haggle and getting their drink on in many LED-lit nightclubs.
1. We were given a lot of false information about Asia before coming here. If the person giving information hasn’t actually been to Asia, don’t believe a word they say. Westerners have a lot of misconceptions about Asia. Everyone said we would get sick from the food we ate, not to drink the bottled water and you don’t need to be vaccinated to be in Asia.
2. We were lucky to not get sick from eating street food. After our show at Spark in Beijing we were taken to eat Korean BBQ, and it was amazing. We had meat on a stick and chicken wings that were all cooked on a grill on the side of the street. You really can’t escape spicy food in Asia. Pork, chicken and shrimp are a major staple in what they eat.
3. The big architectural boom in the last 20 years has presented Asia with some of the most modern and intriguing buildings in our time. You see geometric shapes that you would never imagine seeing as a building structure.
4. Mao Zedong said, “He who not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man.” This is a belief in China that once you have climbed the Great Wall you become a true man. It’s safe to say that Brass Knuckles are officially true men!
5. Asians love to drink. When someone says Gan Bei you have to chug the rest of your drink. No questions asked. Patron is actually banned from China. There are ingredients in Patron that are illegal in the country, and they also feel that it would compete with their local alcohol called Baijiu (40-60% alcohol).
6. Parts of China can be a consumer's paradise. There are no fixed prices on any product. Everything is negotiable from shoes, custom tailored suits, purses, wallets, electronics... you name it. After being showed numerous markets in China our negotiation skills were top notch.
7. From our experiences in playing in almost every major market in Asia we realized that Asians are heavy into high energy house/electro and are up-to-date on today's music.
8. We learned that flip cup is a huge game in Hong Kong. The night before our show at Club Play we went to check out the club and were entered into a flip cup competition. We came in first place, won a magnum bottle of Moët and took home 1,500 Hong Kong dollars.
9. The nightlife scene in general was very impressive. Models and bottles is standard everywhere in Asia, and the hospitality and service is unlike anywhere else in the world. The second you put your drink down it is filled up right away. We all know that LED is the future but in Asia it is actually reality in every club. From walls to ceilings, in bath rooms everywhere and everything is LED. We saw the biggest LED screen in the heart of Beijing that was bigger than a football field, and you can actually send text messages right to the screen and it is displayed.
10. When we first got to Shanghai in China we realized that Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were all blocked from usage. After speaking to some friends of ours we found out there was a way to break down the great fire wall of china. But we did not do so because we wanted to respect the laws of China.
Images courtesy Brass Knuckles
