80s or 80s for age的八卦，Yahoo名人娛樂都在討論

Here's another story for all of you... in honor and celebration of my late father and hero, whose happy-go-lucky, cheerful and humble personality was the highlight of my childhood. I was so lucky I got to live with him in the last year of his life, as the assistant manager of an oil palm estate in Teluk Anson. Living with him, I learned to ride the gardener Ayya's Raleigh bicycle twice my size, was best friends with Kumar, Storekeeper Maniam's son, and life was simple and beautiful. My Papa learned to speak Tamil so he could communicate with his workers effectively, lovingly and respectfully. And they LOVED him so much, they would cook the yummiest food for us almost every day. The evening my Papa had his second fatal heart attack, hundreds of estate workers were there at the Teluk Intan hospital to pay their respects.

And much respect and undying love for my beautiful and strong mother, who had to play both father and mother to us at such a young age with no help from anyone else. I used to wonder how she could afford to bring 3 kids up when she earned a tiny salary of RM1,200 as a secretary (this was in the mid 80s) "We don't need to ask anyone for help or for money. We may not have as much as other people have, but you and your siblings will never go hungry." Mom fought cancer stage 4 fiercely, refusing chemo for 15 years, outliving the doctor who gave her only 6 months - a true cancer warrior.

Happy Father's Day... I miss you both and wish you could be here to share my life, a few little achievements and my dreams today.

I'll always be so grateful to you both for being my inspiration and my drive to work hard, stay humble, stay strong, give my best and to be the best version of myself I could ever hope to be 💜

#TiaraJjourney #MyParents #TiaraJLifeStory

眾神護台灣專輯的設計師蕭青陽今天獲得美國獨立音樂獎（IMA）最佳包裝設計獎！

Thank you Congratulations to everyone！
謝謝大家！ 恭喜大家！

http://www.independentmusicawards.com/…/art…/qing-yang-xiao/

Responses to “Qing-Yang Xiao”
Gioia says:
One of the greatest designer I know. His album design works are something you can keep in your life. Every once a while you take out, they bring back to you all the memmories… 03/13/2012 at 7:35 pm


DESCRIBE YOUR NOMINATED WORK:
75 years ago, Macy’s grandfather left his family behind, boarding a boat in Keelung port in Taiwan heading for Osaka in Japan in pursuit of his dream as a jazz saxophonist, and he died there….75 years later, Macy, disappointed at her career as backup vocalist in Taiwan, decided to follow his grandfather’s footstep. She hopped on a plane, all alone, going to New York to pursuit her dream to make jazz music. Thus born the record After 75 Years. When I heard of this story, I realized this record is not just about music. It is also dream, memory, and passion. It is a journey across time and place, linked by family bond that was translated into 6 letters that travelled through the time and music. The envelops, stamps, papers, boats, pen handwriting, Japanese and Chinese characters, photos, and the last email. All of the proof that told the hidden secrets of the family touched me immensely and let me sink into deep thoughts. The one-year-and-half work was enjoyable, especially because it gave me a chance for the first time to fly from Asia to New York to bask in the soulful jazz music of local jazz bars. Only then did I realize the feeling of Macy’s grandfather when he embarked on that lonely trip chasing after his dream.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THIS PROJECT?
When Macy flew from New York to Taipei to talk to me, sharing the music and story with me, I suddenly realized that this time I would not be just a designer but a director to re-create those memories of dreams on printed paper. The process of patching different memories and stories into one whole piece once made me feel melancholy too. But the result gave me much more happiness.

WHAT WAS THE CONCEPT & PROCESS? DID YOU & THE BAND COLLABORATE?
In fact, Macy’s team had already done a design in New York. But one day, Macy accidentally saw an interview of me on TV talking about my works and ideals, she decided to engage me. She flew all the way from New York to Taipei and persuaded me into doing it. She has more confidence in me and myself, believing that I would translate the deep emotions and music of east and west into an artistic expression. The profound love and courageous pursuit of dream moved me so much that I decided to take this job. Without the same devotion and conviction, I couldn’t have made it cause my pay was already used up by the time I found the photographer and copywriter and flew to New York for the shooting!

WAS THE DESIGN/IMAGE YOU CREATED USED IN ANY OTHER PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS FOR THE ARTIST? PLEASE DESCRIBE:
Packaging design isn’t just sugar-coating. I always think that if one can express his heart through music, the packaging design should also deliver the emotions and thoughts of the music. It should touch people’s heart just like the melodies inside of it.

DESCRIBE WHAT IT WAS LIKE WORKING WITH THE MUSICAL ARTIST:
Each time I work with musicians, I feel like experiencing a different life. I enjoy listening and this has enriched my life.

WHAT OTHER INDEPENDENT MUSIC PROJECTS HAVE YOU WORKED ON?
Though I have always lived in the island of Taiwan I can listen to western music and the creative works via radio and other media. All these have become my nutrition and I always try to integrate various elements to create something new and unique. After 28 years in the business, the chance to always do something i haven’t yet done before keeps my passion alive and the opportunities to work with different talents are sheer pleasure to me. My works might seem more independent than independent. I did design for an album which features two grandmas from an indigenous tribe recording their tribe music in Spain. Another album features a children choir led by a principal at an elementary school located at a 1000-meter-high mountain in praise of God. Or a genius boy who hasn’t grown since the 5th grade flied from a small village on Taiwan’s east coast to Vienna to look for his dream. And there’re more…..Last time, I was very honored to receive the best packaging design from IMA for Island Story. To celebrate it, local government at my hometown held a press conference for me, allowing me to share my thoughts with the world. I made a vow there and then, saying that “I’d want to go farther into the mountains or the seaside to do the design. I want to contribute my skills and capabilities to those who still have dreams for music, even in the remote countryside.” The nomination of After 75 Years once again helped me realize my dream.

WHICH MUSICIAN’S WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH NEXT?
I’ve done it for 28 years in this island and now I’d like to work with musicians outside of my country. I haven’t done anything like reggae, punk, folk, world music, contemporary, blues, trance, break beat, big-beat, etc. As long as it’s something different, I’d like to give it a try.

WHAT ROLE WILL ALBUM ART/PHOTOGRAPHY PLAY IN A DIGITAL/STREAMING WORLD?
The age of digital music highlights the importance of physical texture of the packaging design. Like After 75 Years, if you haven’t touched it and flipped it though, you couldn’t have enjoyed it as much.

HOW HAVE CHANGES IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AFFECTED YOUR CAREER & ART?
From 80s to now, the world has gone from vinyl, cassettes, walkman, CD, to MP3 and more. The evolution from analogue to digital music as well as the device has also made me grow. But whatever the tool is, I think man is born to sing. That will not never change.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO SUBMIT TO THE 11TH IMAS?
My friend in the US helped me apply for the competition of last year and this year. I changed my mind of not wanting to venture out. Now I want to share my works with people all around the world.

WHAT PHOTOGRAPHERS/GRAPHIC DESIGNERS/ARTISTS INSPIRE YOU?
They have different antenna that transmits different message than I do. Collaborating with them help me develop imagination I never had before. I love working with those geeks. Each time, we make each other’s eyes wide open!

WHAT’S YOUR MOST MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE?
In 1995, I was the first Asian ever to be dominated for packaging design at Grammy. Ever since then, I’ve started to promote those records that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

FINISH THIS SENTENCE: THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS… WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN THE WORKS FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR?
The music industry is about dream and passion. After finished the 2-year project of Story Island and one-year-and-an-half After 75 Years‘, I am now looking forward to meeting with musicians that share the same passion and dream as me.

WHERE CAN FANS FIND YOUR WORK?
My website: http://www.shout.com.tw
My blog: http://blog.yam.com/shoutstu
Mt FB: http://www.facebook.com/shout.cc
My emails: shoutstu@ms24.hinet.net shoutstu01@gmail.com
Or Google Qing-yang Xiao 蕭青陽

《悟》
*scroll down for English version

除了I am hungry 之外，I am old 應該是我在這次旅途中說得最多的話。關於這種感覺，年齡不是重點，心態才是。有人可以在80歲依然年輕，亦有人可以在20歲已經歷一生。

這次尼泊爾的旅程，我基本上都跟從前的我在一起。她是一個剛服完兵役的以色列女生，很有想法，對世界好奇，有一種不顧一切的精神，相信自己可以征服一切困難，而這些特質其實都屬於那個她心中好想成為的自己。

我一直說自己轉變很多但又說不出實際的改變，直到我遇到她又彷佛明白了什麼。我們心中都幻想著自己是一個怎樣的人，可能勇敢、可能聰明、可能改變世界、亦可能兩袖清風。但當幻想跟現實有距離，我們應該忠於那個自己？原來我不是轉變了，就只是停止了幻想，接受了原本的自己。

與其說旅程令我得到，不如說經歷讓我放下。我停止幻想自己無所不能，學習面對無能為力的感覺。我停止跟我其實沒有興趣的人裝作健談，明白我們不需要去討好全世界。我停止對自己無意義的嚴苛，去證明給別人看我是優秀的，畢竟旅途上可以依靠的就只有自己。

我們太渴望未來，太用力去成為那個閃閃發亮的人，但我們又怎麼會知道那道閃光會不知不覺刺傷自己？不過不要緊的，趁年輕就捱一點苦吧，然後某一天你會開始想念那種苦味，那彷彿帶有一點青蒽的味道。

《Comprehend》

Except from "I am hungry", I think " I am old" is the thing that I am telling everyday in this trip. About feeling old, age may not necessarily matter, but attitude. You can always live young even you are in your 80s, and of course feeling living forever in your 20s.

In this journey to Nepal, basically I am always staying with the 4years ago me. She is a girl from Isreal who knows clearly about what she want in life. She is curious about the world and well prepared for any challenges. To be exact, she just got every characteristic that a girl she dreamed to become.

I always say I have changed a lot these years but I can't tell you exactly what have changed until I meet this girl. All of us wanted to become a perfect-me. That person maybe brave, maybe smart, maybe has the power to change the world, or maybe he/she doesn't give a shit for anything. But what if the real-me and the perfect-me don't get along, who should we be loyal to? After all I found out that I didn't really changed these years, I just stop dreaming about the perfect-me, and learn to be the real-me.

To say what I gain from my journey, I would rather say travel teaches me how to let go. I stop thinking about I can handle everything by myself, and learn that people need help sometimes. I stop pretending I am interested to talk with the people that I don't care, and understand we can't make everyone happy anyways. I stop being unreasonably strict to myself, and realise it is stupid to make your life harder just for telling others I can be strong.

We are so desperate to become the perfect-me, and we have no ideas what we have done to ourselves. But it doesn't matter, I always believe that we need to get hurt before realising what is going on in our life. I mean, in fact we are still young , so why not? And one day, we will look at those scars and smile. Yes, everything happens for a reason.

(Pokhara, Nepal)