You can’t escape it. It’s all over the newspapers, magazines and TV. China’s meteoric economic rise has brought a new dynamic to the world. With its seemingly limitless production, it was perhaps inevitable that China would soon unleash a talented new rock band upon the world. But the analysts could never have predicted this. Enter CHINASTYLE, four English quarters of a whole slab of infectious, grooved-up, new wave rock, whose destinies were woven together in the Far East.
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Rick Parkhouse – Vocals, programming
Tim Parkhouse – Guitars, harmonies
Ben Smyth – Bass, harmonies
Jason Bowld - Drums
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So how did China bring together two brothers from Dorset, a drummer from Stratford and a bassist from Woking? In April 2005, Rick and Tim were about to embark upon their first tour to China with their fledgling pop punk outfit, Get Amped, when their drummer pulled out of the tour at the 11th hour. As well as riffing for Get Amped, Tim had been playing drums for a nu-metal band, This Illusion, and had been taking lessons from rock drummer extraordinaire, Jason Bowld, (Pitchshifter, This Is Menace). Tim asked Jason to fill in for the tour, and one brief rehearsal later the three were on a 14-hour flight to Shanghai, en route to Henan International Festival.
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An instant chemistry and camaraderie formed, the early core of the band had bonded. The vast crowds and open-mindedness of the people in China also really inspired the band. Rick describes the effect China had upon them, “We became more outgoing, energetic, experimental and carefree on stage. Ever since that first tour, ‘china style’ had been a catchphrase for the band, and we would use it to psyche ourselves up for big gigs: ‘Come on guys, let’s rip this one - do it ‘china style’!’” Back in the UK, Get Amped had changed their sound completely, and Jason, now permanently behind the drums, was pushing for a fresh start to the project. The brothers agreed, but then was not the time for a change – in a matter of weeks they were to hit the road for a troubled tour supporting chart-toppers, Rooster. Rooster split halfway through the tour, tensions ran high, but Rick, Tim, and Jason forged a close relationship with bassist, Ben Smyth. They shared, amongst other things, a love for touring in the Far East. Rooster’s fanbase was particularly rabid in Japan, and the four traded stories, and hatched Machiavellian schemes. Hanging out between shows, talking candidly about the future, CHINASTYLE had formed in everything but name. Ben saw out Rooster’s final gigs in Japan, and on his return, in a dank rehearsal room somewhere in the depths of Berkshire (after a quick check on the internet to make sure that ‘chinastyle’ was not some kind of bukkake site) CHINASTYLE was born.
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“The fact that China is a country of such awesome diversity also seemed to sum up what we wanted from our sound and musical direction,” explains Jason. With uber-solid rock grooves tying the sound together, the band have been able to interweave soaring melody, rich harmonies, with synths and syncopation. Like a revved-up Depeche Mode, but with guitars and bigger amps, CHINASTYLE both excites the senses and haunts the soul. And like the country that gave them their name, this is a band with its eyes firmly on a wide, open future.
Visit Chinastyle Official Website
Watch Chinastyle Video of Single ‘Trip The Light Fantastic’
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