I never learnt how to play a musical instrument, and although I think I produce fairly acceptable vocals when I burst into song, not everyone is of the same opinion. Yet music has been an important part of my life, as it has for so many others like myself, who are devoid of the skills to make a musical instrument sing.
I come from Birmingham, the second largest city in the UK, and when I was 15 or 16 years old I started to head out with my friends to see live music performed by some of the biggest bands in Britain, or even from around the world. We had small, to medium, to stadium-sized venues, and a whole host of smaller pubs and nightclubs, which we flocked to, to enjoy an exciting night out. It was fantastic to see a band playing live – actually there in front of us – the rock stars that we had only previously seen on our small TV screens, There was always a palpable feeling of excitement and a buzz of electricity within the concert halls, as we waited for our heroes to hit the stage. I was hooked from the very first rock concert I went to (Irish blues / rock legend Rory Gallagher, as I recall).
When I moved to Thailand in the late 1980s I was amazed by the strangeness of the exotic new country I found myself in, and for the first year or so there was a wealth of stuff to see, do, and learn. Of course, as I travelled around I made new friends, and some of them were into music, too. We set about looking for somewhere to go to to satisfy our longing for live sounds. Bangkok was very different then to the Bangkok of today, although it was still a huge metropolis. It wasn’t, though, on the tour list of the megastars like Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, or Pink Floyd, for example. But there were several places to go to for your live music fix, although on a smaller scale.
Places that stand out in the memory from my early days in Bangkok were Brown Sugar, The Saxophone, Tokyo Joe’s, Imageries, or The Rock Pub, and these little haunts slaked our thirst for live music, with some accomplished musicians that we were able to see strutting their stuff for only the price of a pint of beer … or a Mekong coke, which was even cheaper. It was at this time that I discovered Thai rock and pop music, and I soon became a fan of Asanee Wasant, Carabao, and Caravan, and I had also started to understand Thai traditional music, such as Luk Thung (a little).
Then the 90s and 2000s came along and bigger bands started to hit Thailand on their tours, although they were still few and far between. I did manage to catch Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Genesis, Deep Purple, Rod Stewart, and Britpop stars Suede, though, amongst several other notable bands that are a bit hazy to recall due to rather too many glasses of Singha. The noughties marched on, and although the biggest bands still hit the shores of Thailand infrequently, the quality of the bands we could see in our local music venues, nightclubs, hotels and pubs continued to grow. Whether you were a rocker, a jazz or blues fan, or a folkie, there was something to look forward to on your night out,
Prior to the lockdowns there were two places in particular that stood out, Apotheka, and Live Lounge, that showcased an eclectic mix of musical styles. Both of these are sadly no longer with us. But Bangkok is nothing if not dynamic, and two new places have recently opened up, with more on the way.
As we continue to see more freedoms for travelers, and after Thailand fully opened up its doors again on July 1st , the two new places tourists can head to in town to join the local crowds of music lovers are The Green Room on Sukhumvit Soi 7/1, and 29 Music Bar and Grill, Mermaid Hotel, on Sukhumvit Soi 29. These two great new venues join the excellent, and already well-established Queen Bee, which is owned and run by the ever-affable John Branton, Speakerbox, and Smalls, run by the legendary nightlife entrepreneur David Jacobson. If you are from the US, or are a fan of dive bars, you shouldn’t miss Fatty’s Bar and Diner, in Dindaeng. Matthew is a muso himself, and along with his own band, Matthew Fischer and the Fishes, there is a regular music program at Fatty’s where you can catch some of the best bands or soloists in town … up close and nasty!
Let’s take a quick look at newcomer Green Room. Some of my friends had been telling me about this place for about a month or so before I went along with them to check it out… and I was glad  I did, because on the night I went the talented local legends Soi Dog Blues Band were on the bill, playing their first gig in many months, You would never have thought that they had been away for so long and they really were right back into their swing. The Green Room is a pretty small venue, and much of the area at the front is taken up by the stage area, to give the bands a bit of room to move, and engage with the audience. It’s located right next to Nana BTS station and offers some of the best live bands in Bangkok, playing everything from rock and blues, to rhythm and blues. Whether you’re looking to relax with a few drinks or get together with friends for night of live music Green Room Bangkok is the place to be. The Midnight Ramblers recently played there, and they brought the house down, with their set of rocking ‘Stones covers.
There are many excellent already established venues around town. Let’s start with the Otto Bar. The highlight of Otto Bar at the junction of Sukhumvit and Soi 22 is definitely the phenomenal rock bands and other visiting guests who play there. The house band can play just about anything – rock, punk, indie or blues, and play it note perfect. There are visiting rock bands and special guests, too. If the full rock experience, including ear thumping volume, full-on light show, thundering drums, rock god vocals and epic guitar solos is your thing then Otto's is definitely highly recommended. No cover charge, beers are fairly priced and you can order in excellent burgers or chilli
 
If you like rock and heavy metal, another good place to head to after dark is the Rock Pub on Rachathewi. A great choice for those who like their guitars loud and their bars on the dingy side, this long-running rock 'n’ roll bar has been going for over 25 years, seeing both international bands (such as Dragon Force, Take Him Down) and local talent take to the stage.
Parking Toys is well worth a visit. Although it’s not in the popular central areas of Bangkok, it’s really not that difficult to get to by taxi. Parking Toys is on Prasert Manukit Rd, near to Navamin, in Ladphrao district. Parking Toys is a hip bar and eatery known for its great selection of live bands. Parking Toys is decorated in a vintage retro style, with a 60’s vibe thrown in, with a nightly lineup of great live music, featuring everything from jazz, rock, pop, ska, and rockabilly. At Parking Toys, you’ll find yourself dancing all night, with a crowd that is mostly Thai. But the word has started to spread amongst the expat community, and also to the tourists who keep their ear to the ground. And as a bonus, the prices of food and drink are reasonable, and the serving staff are cool.
Smalls is set in a three story shophouse on Suan Plu , off Sathorn Road. Smalls is the brainchild of David Jacobson, the nightclub whiz who started the famed Q Bar in Bangkok several decades ago. The decor is decidedly Parisienne, and the on-point signature cocktail list is enhanced by a large selection of absinthe drinks, with a traditional absinthe spigot sitting on top of the bar counter. It's also well a visit on Wednesday nights for the music, as there is some great live jazz, featuring the picking prowess of Dan Phillips and his quartet, who play every week, and the bar also has plenty of special nights, when some of Bangkok’s top stars can be  seen performing.
 
Maggie Choo’s, with its 1930’s Shanghai-inspired theme, has quickly become a firm favourite hangout for those with an appreciation of quality live music in Bangkok. If you’re going for the first time, prepare to be amazed by the décor of the place: set in an old bank, things like the original vault doors, pretty models rocking back and forth on giant swings, and even a birdcage in the lobby are all Instagram-worthy material. Aside from your pretty amazing surroundings, though, you will also be amazed by the quality of the music that you will hear … jazz, blues, soul and funk all feature heavily most nights of the week.
 
As a finale to this little look at live music in Bangkok, I was lucky to talk to one of the stalwarts of the Bangkok music scene, the personable and erudite Irishman, Keith Nolan. He has been very busy recently setting up a brand-new live music venue, on Sukhumvit 29, on the ground floor of the Mermaid Hotel, slap bang in the middle of the busy Sukhumvit entertainment area. Let’s listen to what Keith has to say:
I first got to Thailand in 2000, and started playing the piano around town, jamming in some of the old music bars in Bangkok like Imageries and others that are now long gone. I met some famous and well-known Thai musicians and was invited to jam and record with some of them over the next few years. That was a great experience for me and I am honored to say that I have become firm friends with some of these talented musicians. There are many many Thai musicians I respect who are decidedly world class performers, such as Kitti Guitar Gun, Carabao, Sek Loso, Eddie Autobahn , Asanee Wasant, FLY, Silly Fools, Simon Henderson, Bruno Brugano, all the local blues and rock musicians, and such a lot more.
There were so many great live music venues, but unfortunately a lot have gone under because of Covid, and only a few have reopened. However, the light is coming back, there are new places opening again, many in China Town area, plus a few in Sukhumvit. Recently I was asked to help open a new live Jazz and Blues music venue at The Mermaid Hotel called ‘29 Music Bar and Grill’. Feel good music with a great snack menu to complement the drinks, in a small and groovy place, and we have already started live music nights with some of the best local bands, such as the Y Not band, and my own band, the Cotton Mouth Kings …we play R & B and Blues, my first love. I am lucky to have become friends with some famous international stars during my musical career, and in the future you can expect to see some of them dropping in at ‘29’. As well as the best of what we have already here in Thailand.
 
It’s a great place to meet after work and a great place for musicians, artists and writers to mingle and meet, so it’s an exciting venture, and an exciting time for me and all the music lovers and other creative people in town.  There are wine and cocktail specials all week. Jazz jam on Sunday afternoons from 4pm to 7pm. Salsa dancing on the first and third Friday of every month.
Wednesday night is Ladies night with wine and cocktails. And this is just the beginning, more is on the way!
 
 Hopefully 29 will continue to grow as Covid fears lift around the world. Bangkok is such a vibrant city, Thailand is such a great country to visit, and the buzz surrounding this new venue is something I didn’t expect. I hope those who read this piece will come along and give us a go. When I’m on a break from playing, come and say hello, I look forward to meeting you.
I have been down to 29 several times myself already, and I will definitely be going again. Top new venue in town! Now that the Covid Devil has been somewhat tamed, we can all start to enjoy our lives again. I hope that this article has given you some idea of where to head on out to … ‘If music be the food of love, play on’ …’Music makes the world go round’… ‘Music is the soundtrack of your life’ …  see ya around town!
All of the venues mentioned here are on social media, check out their Facebook pages to see what is up for grabs on the night you are planning to go out.
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Expats and high-profile Thais are being targeted in a new and sophisticated ‘Call Centre Scam’ with perpetrators claiming
to be senior Thai police officers. The scam begins with victims being contacted by someone claiming to work for the customs department who says they have intercepted a package from overseas containing drugs, ATM cards and bank books that are linked to “national-level moneylaundering
investigation.”

t this point, they are transferred via a video call to a man wearing a police uniform who claimed he is based at Ranong Police Station in southern Thailand. According to a Bangkok businessman who was cheated out of hundreds of thousands of baht, the “police officer” proved extremely convincing, seated in what looked like a genuine police station, chatting to his colleagues in the background and saying that the police needed his help to catch the money-launderers. The man was assured he was not suspected of any wrongdoing and even shown photos of six men wanted for questioning.

However, since the businessman’s name and personal details had been discovered in a bank account, not his, holding an unexplained sum of more than 13 million baht, he needed to prove his innocence by making a personal visit to the station in Ranong, an extremely
inconvenient journey of several hundreds of kilometres. If he refused, an arrest warrant would be issued.

Alternatively, the businessman was told, he could send the ‘police officer’ access to his bank account so it could be cleared of any money laundering. Having been lulled into a false sense of security by the quietly spoken and clearly educated scammer who added to his credibility by displaying a copy of the man’s ID card, he did as instructed – thus enabling the scam, with all his money being subsequently stolen from his account. How did an otherwise sensible businessman fall for this scam?

The Coronavirus has been a scourge on our lives for the past three years, with many of us facing long days of quarantine wondering how to use this unexpected break from our usual routine.
I found a solution. Since a young age I have always loved books, whether they were being read to me at night by my mother before I went to sleep, or when I proudly finished reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears by myself at the age of four.
Although I use a computer to write every day, I have never been a big fan of reading a book online, or on a laptop or smartphone. It just feels so much nicer to have something physical to hold, feel, read … and smell!  Indeed, the smell of a new (or very old) book is satisfying in itself … the content within is the added bonus.
Since the dawn of the digital age the publishing industry has been going through challenging times. I looked at what has been happening in the print industry in the UK since Covi and discovered that the news is upbeat. Just as there has been a big surge in the sale of vinyl music albums so there has also been a boom in purchasing physical books – and the ‘bricks and mortar’ bookshops have been busy, full of customers browsing the shelves, and buying printed books.  In 2020, over 200 million print books were sold, the highest number since 2012.
Many people turned to books for entertainment, with some doubling the amount of time they spent reading.  The movie industry, Netflix, other streamed services and the TV have also helped. There are a lot of first-time readers who want to delve deeper into the movie they have just watched, or they want to read the book before they go to see the movie.
The pandemic has shown that reading is still an activity highly valued by millions of people, particularly in situations whereby increased leisure time has,  and is, becoming the norm.  While recent results have shown that the publishing industry is undoubtedly sustainable, it also has to be flexible and innovative.
Are we seeing similar developments in Thailand?  Let’s look at independent publisher River Books, and seek the opinions of its owner Khun M.R. Narisa Chakrabongse.

A Bangkok resident for over 26 years Christian Schulz nevertheless still keeps very close ties to his childhood home in the south western part of Africa. Even the onset of Omicron early December did not stop him from visiting his many friends he grew up with together in his beloved Namibia. Christian was also able to catch up with Namibian wild life conservationist and author of ‘Capture to Be Free’, Annette Oelofse, and experience firsthand the passion she has for her work.
Africa has seen numerous female conservationists like Joy Adamson raising lioness ‘Elsa’  documented in the 1966 film ‘Born Free’; Diane Fossey’s dedication to mountain gorillas in Central Africa (inspiring the Academy Award–nominated film, ‘Gorillas in the Mist’); or Jane Goodall, spending years working with chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania, just to mention a few.
Had these courageous women inspired Annette Oelofse or was it her own desire to fight for the survival of the wild rhinoceros in Namibia against the growing number of poachers? Together with Annette’s late husband Jan (a world renowned conservationist and animal trainer who started as a mass game capturer and whose knowledge and passion for wild animals earned him the role of animal trainer for the classic Hollywood film ‘Hatari’ featuring John Wayne and Hardy Krueger) and her son Alex, Annette founded ‘Mount Etjo Safari Lodge’ in the heart of Namibia.
While Namibia is home to many varieties of African wildlife this private game reserve on 36, 000 hectares of land not only hosts but also shelters many of those not protected in this wide open and rugged land. Rhinos have always been a top priority for the tireless conservation efforts by the Oelofse Family, and the sanctuary was rewarded in 1993 for being as one of the very first rhino custodians for the black rhino custodianship program in Namibia.

W​ith so much emphasis on sensible and healthy eating nowadays, the growing presence of Thammachart Seafood retail outlets and supermarket counters right across Thailand is a welcome development in helping to upgrade the nation’s diet and provide nutritious food for all.
Established in July 2007 by wife and husband team Yeeran and Julian G. Davies, Thammachart Seafood has grown into a major force based on a simple but important premise: “We are creating a healthy lifestyle community through healthy eating.”
Operating in more than 190 stores nationwide with 700-plus staff, the company is well on its way to achieving that vision.
Each Thammachart Seafood counter as well as the company’s own brand retail operations offer the highest quality and sustainably sourced seafood, including fresh seafood, frozen seafood, value-added seafood products and a number of gourmet imported items.
With two young children of their own, this enterprising Thai-British couple is perfectly placed to understand the need for safe and nutritious seafood for their family and the community at large.

I​arrived in Thailand on January 4, 1991 and a day later I found the British Club. Even at only 32, my knees had suffered a lot due to the excessive rigours of rugger, snow skiing and me developing into something heavier and bigger than my genes had intended.
But within two weeks the tropical heat had solved all my knee woes and I was a veritable spring chicken again. I had also found the British Club’s Rugby Section which comprised, as the species dictates, of massively gregarious, outrageously boozy and about as unfit as any un-rejected overweight army conscript could be …to a man!
My background is a simple tale of a public-school boy who gave up a prospective career life of easy City banking fortunes and chose instead the penniless contractor option. But during those early years I joined Windsor RFC in Berkshire UK where my Queen still lives. This was thanks to my Uncle Robin who had just left Saracens in the mid 70s. That’s the 1970s not 1870s!! That was a fabulous introduction into club rugger from the much protected and closeted school game to the seriously blood spilling activities of local derbies and seasons of drinking, singing (not me, I was banned from singing!), Easter tours and comraderie.
My first game for the BC (British Club) was against the Navy at some pitch in north Bangkok and, appropriately for a Navy game, a season starter during the Monsoon - and it had rained all morning. Not UK rain, but as Terry Pratchett would say: “It was like the sea with slots in!”. Upon arrival there was no pitch, just a lake with vague white lines shimmering through the murk. The game had no specifics other than our opposition exhibited none of the graceful Oriental manners I expected but punched, kicked and bit like Dervishes. We had heavy cotton long sleeved shirts and within minutes we were all sloshing about with orangutang arms and no hands! One of the immediate and heartfelt wardrobe results after the match was to have all our jersey sleeves cut off!!

Despite Covid lockdowns and a huge decline in tourist arrivals over the past two years, Pattaya-based musician Barry Upton has been busy recording a 13-track album ‘Barry’s Tropical Beach Café’ which has now been released worldwide.
BTBC is an album of easy listening tracks, featuring various different styles that bring minds the likes of Sade, Matt Bianco, soft reggae / jazz infused with South American rhythms. The vibe of a tropical beach is easy to imagine.
To produce the album, Barry assembled a team of backing singers and musicians, including longtime expat Mark Hodgkins, a highly regarded sax and horns player from the UK.
Barry found fame as a musician on guitar and vocals after joining Eurovision winning band Brotherhood of Man in the early 80s, a few years after their song ‘Save Your Kisses for Me’ won the Eurovision Song Contest.

Chris Wegoda: 
The Comedy Club Bangkok ​
“During the two-year hiatus we’ve been keeping comically fit, working behind the scenes, and planning for the re-opening of The Comedy Club. We’ve already started our gigs again, since late January, and I’m happy to say all our regulars have returned, telling us how much they’ve missed the shows.
The ball has really started rolling now and we are once more having weekly shows, check our social media sites. We’re very excited for 2022, hopefully things will settle down quickly now, and we will soon be back at full strength. A good hearty laugh is great for the lungs!
Expect our usual top-quality live presentations with all our usual staples; stand-up comedy, open mics, showcases and headliner shows, plus ‘improv comedy gold’ with the much-loved Tinder and Deathmatch shows. All of this, along with the workshops – which are attracting newcomers all the time – we’re really looking forward to bringing back the laughs into Bangkok!’
It’s been fun starting everything up again, and there will soon be new specials in the pipeline, and headliner shows, plus brand-new improv gigs. What’s more we now have a regular Monday night comedy meet-up for anyone wanting to get a taste of making up comedy on the spot … for free!’
As the restrictions on entry are increasingly being relaxed, we have a selection of huge international comedians set for 2022 …  think Netflix and movie-star level comedians. They will be coming to do shows at some of Bangkok’s best concert venues. I can’t divulge any more than that right now, but with any luck this could well be our biggest year yet. And the buzz is already out that we will be opening some new smaller venues around town, so keep your eyes peeled! You heard it here first!”