The interview begins outside of Evocation’s
practice room where they rent out to bands like Shepherds the Weak.
Terence just showed up after getting off work from Wildfire Pizza in
Stanley and he brought a whole box of pizza to share with everyone.
We start the interview sitting outside with all
6 members present: Terence (clean vocals/randy blythe dude), Glenn
(bassist extraordinaire – watch him slap the shit out of any bass
guitar), Mushie (guitar, Nicholas Tse-look alike), JR (guitar, “I used
to be thin…then I joined this band”), Mike (drums/awesome awesome guy),
and Richie (screamer, First Blood wannabe).
Mushie: Shit I broke my string…
Glenn: And you don’t have any new strings?
Mushie: {looking at JR} No, do you?
JR: {shrugs his head} Nope…
Richie: Hey Riz! Look at this! The new Hong Kong hardcore style of
wearing your shorts…
{I turn around and look at Richie with his shorts jacked up to his chest
and he’s moshing like a moron! Hahaha…}
Richie: {he starts singing...} They drew first blood not fucking me…
Riz: OK!!! Can we get started please!!
Glenn: Yeah let’s get started…
Riz: So how did you guys all meet? Wait – who's the “leader” of this band?{Everyone points
to Glenn…and then…}
Terence: That fucker over there {pointing at Glenn}
Glenn: {farts in response to Terence}
Riz: So how did the band start?
Glenn: Ummm…{the rest of the band argues about how it started…no one seems
to be able to remember}
Terence: It started with Mike and Glenn…
Glenn: NO! It started with Adrian!
Riz: WHAT? Who the hell is Adrian?
Glenn: Dude! It’s that tall guy who played basketball at the
hardcore/metal festival you did at the Warehouse a long time ago. You
ALWAYS ask this question when I mention Adrian’s name…
Riz: {laughing} OH YEAH! Okay…so what happened to him? He started the
band and you then kicked him out?
Glenn: {laughing} No…he just introduced Mike to me because he knew I was
looking for a drummer and Mike was looking for a band member…
Mike: {nods his head in agreement}
Glenn: …then we had our first jam with just the 3 of us, Adrian played
guitar
Riz: What did you jam on?
Glenn: Just some old Filipino songs…then after that jam I told Adrian to
bring this guy named Mick up who we were going to ask to play guitar…
Riz: So how did you meet the rest of the guys?
Richie: I met Terence playing basketball
Terence: …and Mushie too
Richie: Yeah and Mushie, we played basketball together…They drew first
blood not fucking me…
Glenn: Then one day these guys came up to Stormy Weather when I was
bartending there…
{Then we go into some chaos here while all the
guys argue about why they came up to Stormy Weather in the first place.
They seem to agree that it was because it was Glenn’s birthday…then
Glenn drops the bomb on Terence…}
Glenn: Dude! All I remember was later that night I
heard Terence singing Craig David songs out on the street with Julie
May…
{Everyone starts laughing!}
Riz: Wait wait wait…hey Terence…
Terence: {Hiding in the corner embarrassed about Glenn’s recollection of
his Craig David singing days}…Yes…
Riz: {laughing} So tell us about Craig David! {everyone laughs}
Terence: Nothing much…
JR: {JR helps Terence answer the question…} “I love rimming asses”
{everyone falls on the floor laughing!}
Riz: Well Terence?
Terence: JR already answered the question…{more laughs}
Glenn: Anyway, that night when I heard Terence singing like that I told
Mike right away that Terence should sing because I knew he could
sing…then at the next jam I asked Adrian to bring that guitar player
Mick up.
Richie: …and Mick brought Mushie and Mushie brought me…{everyone laughs}
Glenn: Yeah and Terence was there and we just started jamming….
Richie: …then I remember that when they were taking a break from
jamming, I was so bored from watching them jam, that I just picked up
the microphone and started beatboxing…
Glenn: …then Mushie picked up the guitar and started playing the Mission
Impossible riff by Limp Bizkit {everyone starts laughing}…He also came
up with a riff on top of some bass line I had and it was the first time
we thought that we could actually write a song. So after that I remember
asking Adrian if he could ask Mushie to join us instead of
Mick…{everyone laughs}
Riz: {laughing} And then what happened?
Glenn: Well it was cool…Mick couldn’t really commit but Mushie could
because he was like us, we all had no jobs at that time! {everyone
laughs}
Riz: So until this there was still no name for the band?
Terence: No…
Riz: So why did you guys decide on having two singers?
{They all try to remember how Richie got in the band…then Richie
sings the First Blood lyrics for like the millionth time during this
interview They drew first blood not fucking me…}
Terence: Oh you remember how! He was doing that
Rage Against the Machine thing! {everyone screams in agreement}
Glenn: Yeah, Richie could rap, beatbox and Terence could sing.
Now, at this time we all noticed that Mike snuck
off into the Evocation bandroom. Then when he came out he had a whole
roll of toilet paper in his hand. He tries to quietly sneak by us as he
goes to the toilet to take a shit. We ALL start laughing and realizing
that right in the middle of the interview he needs to take a shit! The
funny thing was that he was trying to be really sneaky about
it…because he knew what was going to happen when we all found out. And
he was right…
Riz: Dude where are you going?
Terence: Are you going to take a shit! {everyone laughs and we chase Mike
as he goes into the toilet}
Riz: Shit! I wish we had a camera right now!!!
Terence: Yeah shit! OH WAIT! I have one!!! {Terence runs off to get his
camera…we all start laughing again…}
Then all of a sudden it got really quiet and
that must’ve been a sign to Mike while he was busy taking a shit that we
were up to something, so he screams…{we have this video up in this
interview!!!}
Mike: FUCK!
Terence: {sneaks his camera over the stall and films Mike wiping his
ass…} Hey Mike, say hello to the camera!
Mike: {looks up at the camera} FUCK! SHIT! {And since Mike’s such a
sweet guy, he didn’t get angry and instead just laughed at Terence}
Everyone is dying on the floor laughing while we
look at the video that Terence got from Mike wiping his ass and then
Mike comes out and says…
Mike: Man! You guys!
Then at least for 10 minutes we’re all laughing
and trying to calm ourselves down from all that craziness…
Riz: Ok ok – let’s get back to it. So where did the
name Milk N’ Cookies come from then?
Glenn: Well I remember that our first real jam was on September 11, 2001
the same day when the planes went into the World Trade Center!
Riz: Woah! That’s crazy that the start of Milk N’ Cookies was on 9-11!
Glenn: Yeah we jammed twice that night…
{Glenn goes on a long and boring
story about meeting at Adrian’s house for dinner, then jamming, then
going to a bar, and then jamming again at 1am in Yau Ma Tei…}
Riz: So what about the name?
Glenn: I remember that at that jam Mike said he needed to go home
because it was late…
Mike: {starts laughing} Oh yeah!
Glenn: And then I started making fun of him saying “Why? You need to go
home for your mom’s milk and cookies?”
Mike: {starts laughing…}
Riz: Man Mike! Your mom is really part of you! {I’m referring to the
fact that Mike admitted to all of us earlier that day that he doesn’t
buy any of his clothes! His mom actually buys him all his clothes!!!
DUDE!}
Glenn: {laughing}…and then Mike said “Hey! Let’s call ourselves Milk N’
Cookies!”
Richie: {laughing}…yeah we had some other really stupid ideas…
Riz: {laughing}…what were some of the other names?
Glenn, Richie and Terence: Corned Beef, Sardines…{everyone laughs}
Riz: {laughing} Why names like these?
Glenn: Well at that time there were bands like the Filipino band Cheese
and other bands like Korn…so we chose that name…{then Glenn starts
reminiscing about the band’s early days…}…back then we were only jamming
one hour a week…{looks at Terence…} remember the computer games?
Riz: What?
Terence: Oh yeah!
Glenn: We were all computer gaming fans!
{They all start laughing and start getting
really excited to talk about their computer-dork days…}
Glenn: Medal of Honor dude!
Riz: That’s the game you guys used to dork-out to?
Glenn: Yeah we used to jam for an hour and then go to this cyber café
in Wan Chai and play computer games until 4 in the morning!
{Everyone laughing…}
Richie: We even had our own team and nicknames! {everyone laughing in
embarrassment…}
Riz: WHAT?!?!? DORKS!!! What were your names?
Richie: We were called Battlestar and our names were…
Glenn: Mushie was “Battlestar Soul 5”
Richie: Terence was “T-Runs”
Glenn: Mike was “Mike”
Richie: ...and Glenn was “Dirty Sanchez”
{Everyone still laughing...}
Glenn: Yeah man, the 5 of us used to play until 4 in the
morning...
Richie: Right around this time Terence was working at the Go-Kart place
at the old airport…{everyone screams “OH YEAH!!!”}
Riz: Oh shit? Really!
Glenn: …yeah he worked there as a mechanic…
Richie: Yeah and every month he’d get 11 free tickets so we’d go!
Riz: DAMN!!! Was that shit fun!??!? I love go-karting!
ALL OF THEM: Hell yeah! It was so much fun!
Terence: This was also around the time that they were SO broke!
{All start laughing…}
Terence: Glenn and Richie only had enough money saved every month that
they could pay for buses and ONE pint of beer! {everyone laughs}
Richie: {laughing} Yeah me and Glenn would just count all the change in
our pockets and see if we had enough money for buses…
Glenn: {laughing}…and one pint of beer! And we used to borrow money from
Adrian! {laughing}
Richie: Dude! Remember we used to go to Adrian’s house and say “Hey
Adrian, do you have anything to eat?” {everyone dies laughing!}
Glenn: {laughing} Yeah and we’d eat everything in his house…the two of
us! {laughing…}
Riz: So when was Milk N’ Cookies’ first show?
Glenn: Well Mike used to play in a blues band called Helter Skelter and
a guy in that band called Vince came and watched us once…
Terence: That wasn’t the first show – the first show was at Wan Chai
LIVE
Glenn: Oh yeah! We played at Wan Chai LIVE early in the afternoon…
Riz: Was anyone there?
Glenn: I remember that we played with Arthur’s band. And the only reason
I remember Arthur was because he was Filipino. I remember we played 3rd…
Richie: They drew first blood not fucking me…
Mike: The first and second band were basically the same band. They
just kept changing members which was weird…
Terence: So we were really the second band…
Glenn: There were people there but once it was our turn, the bar
COMPLETELY cleared out. No one waited for us…it was just our friend
Mick…
Terence: No, there was that guy up on top…
Glenn: Yeah, he was ONLY there because he was stuck there and couldn’t
leave! {everyone laughs…}
Riz: {laughing} So what songs did you play?
Richie: We played half covers and 2 original songs…
Riz: What covers?
Glenn: Deftones, Coal Chamber, Incubus…
Riz: What were the original songs?
Glenn: A song called Mushroom Soup and I can’t remember the other
one…{he’s totally lying…and he looks at Terence…and Terence tries to
hide away…}
Richie: {Then screams out…} Dude, it was called Summer Girl! {everyone
laughs and Glenn says…}
Glenn: {fully embarrassed} SHIT!
Richie: Shit! Why are you embarrassed? Its an interview so we have to
tell him…
Glenn: {now laughing in embarrassment…}
Riz: {totally confused but amused at how embarrassed Glenn and Terence
are…} What’s the deal with this song?
Glenn: Ok ok…it was just some funk song we made up with made up lyrics…
Richie: Yeah, it was half Limp Bizkit lyrics and…
Glenn: …and half some famous pop song at the time…{everyone laughs}
Riz: OK – so how did the show go over even though no one was there?
Glenn: I just remember being super nervous…we had never played a show
before so we were nervous. I remember that Mike broke the snare drum!
Mike: {laughs…recollecting that moment…}
Glenn: So that was our first show and then we didn’t play again for
another 6 months…
Riz: Where was the next show?
Glenn: Our next show was because of Vince from Helter Skelter…he came to
see us play once and said that we should try to play at 48st. – that
place in TST.
Riz: Wow – you played there?
Glenn: Yeah and by that time we were a lot tighter and more confident so
we really went down well there! I remember we played with Cry – who are
Audio Traffic now…
Riz: Sounds pretty cool!
Glenn: Then we got offered a show at Stanley Plaza by Dolores and I met
her online or something…
Riz: Why did she contact you?
Mushie: Cause we’re gay…{EVERYONE LAUGHS}
Riz: Holy shit Mushie!!! That is the ONLY thing you’ve said in this
interview so far!!! {everyone laughs}… “cause we’re gay”!
Glenn: {laughing}Anyway, Richie and Mushie couldn’t play…
Riz: Why?
Glenn: That’s when we started working and stuff…so me Terence, Mike and
Vince played that show as an acoustic project called Lakeside Sessions
{everyone starts laughing}
Riz: {laughing}
Glenn: {Starts really laughing loudly} Dude!!! This is right at the
start of when Terence was going into his Incubus phase! {everyone starts
laughing}
Riz: {laughing} Oh! This is the highlight?
Glenn: NO! The highlight was 6 months later…{everyone’s laughing}…he
started growing his hair out long like Brandon {singer of Incubus}…
Richie: Like the “Drive” video…
Glenn: He even got his hair curled like Brandon! {EVERYONE LAUGHS}
Riz: {so shocked…} WHAT THE FUCK?! You mean you got your hair permed?!??!
Terence: {embarrassed}Well kind of…
Riz: You mean with the curlers? They put curlers in your hair?
Terence: No…I just wanted it wavy like Brandon’s hair…not permed…
Riz: Oh thank god! {laughs}…I thought you got your hair permed and SUPER
curly!!! {everyone laughs}
Richie: {laughing} Man! He even bought that African drum called Djembe
just like Brandon!
Riz: Why were you so in love with Incubus Terence?
Terence: Nothing really…it was just all about the Science album…
Riz: {laughing} This is so funny dude…we started the interview with you
singing Craig David songs…and now Incubus! {everyone laughs}
Richie: They drew first blood not fucking me…
Riz: {laughing} Dude Richie…you’ve sang those lyrics at least 5
times in this interview so far! {everyone starts laughing…then Richie
pretends he’s playing the Djembe and Mushie starts singing some weird
tribal shit…everyone laughs}
Glenn: Our next show was our first show with the
local bands…the show was No Boundaries organized by our friend Dolores…
Richie: Yeah that was cool…
Glenn: We were so nervous because it had Lam Kei, VS, Hardpack…
Riz: Hardpack with Joseph playing drums?
Glenn: Yeah Joseph on drums and Nelson was still there…but that was such
a cool show because when we played no one left like in the expat shows…
Riz: So you think there’s a difference between expat and local shows?
Glenn: Oh yeah totally! At the expat shows everyone leaves after their
friend’s band is finished playing…in the local shows there’s more
respect and people stay for everyone… |
