Pluck & Courage: Redbucks’ Christine Laskowski on Beijing Bluegrass
Memphis native Christine Laskowski moved to China in early 2008 looking for adventure. Since then she’s led a double life – journalist by day, musician by night – and after starting up The Redbucks, Beijing’s only homegrown bluegrass band in the summer of 2009, she has been performing in music clubs around town as her alter ego Daisy Sweetgrass.
What sparked your interest in the bluegrass music genre?
I honestly didn’t know much about bluegrass music my senior year of college. Fast forward to Guangzhou about a year or so later when I’d finally grown exasperated by my own inability to play an instrument and to understand the fundamentals of music theory. So for my 23rd birthday I bought a guitar and set out to learn to play it. The first songs I learned on guitar were bluegrass songs. For one thing, they were simple (3 chords, usually) and they were the songs that reminded me of my friends from home.
Who is your favorite bluegrass artist?
I’d have to say Dolly Parton. I’ve always had a predilection for women singer/songwriters. She’s just such a cool lady and is an incredible songwriter and storyteller. I remember the first time I heard “Jolene,” I think I listened to nothing else for the next week. “Jolene” was one of the first songs I taught myself to play on guitar.
What inspired you to start a bluegrass band in China?
It just sort of happened. I came to Beijing interested in playing music, and it just so happened that the components of a bluegrass band were here and they were willing to have me in their band. I think the key is that we all just have so much fun playing and performing together.
How long have The Redbucks been together?
All six of us have been together since June 2009.
What convinced you there was a niche for bluegrass music in Beijing?
It’s not just the kind of music we play, I think, but the instruments that really get people’s attention, too, especially Chinese people. They see the banjo and ask, “What is that? It’s like a pipa!” People really seem to appreciate the music. And then of course there are actual die-hard bluegrass fans that come out of the woodwork telling us, “Thank God! I’ve been dying to hear some good bluegrass in Beijing!”
What is the story behind your stage name, “Daisy Sweetgrass”?
Everyone in the band has a bluegrass name. Chip is “Jimmy Yeehaw,” Luke is “Hobo Luke,” Chris is “Bonedaddy,” Amy is “Amy Spice,” and Jackson is “Two Sheds.” I don’t know how they came up with it, but I went to practice one day and Chip and Luke christened me with the bluegrass name Daisy Sweetgrass. I loved it, and of course continue to use it as a performance alter ego. I even have a website (www.daisysweetgrass.com) and even my parents lovingly call me Daisy or Miss Sweetgrass sometimes. She’s kind of developed into this character all her own, wearing her red and white polka dots and acting sassy.
What inspires Redbucks’ songs? How are they unique to other bluegrass music?
Whiskey! Well, The Redbucks only have one original tune to date and it’s “The Gobble Gobble Song,” which derives its name from a practice at a friend’s apartment where they had a bottle of Wild Turkey we were helping ourselves to. Honestly, it might be my favorite song of ours. Not just because we wrote it, but it’s a powerfully catchy tune. Our plan for the next month is to do a lot more writing, so expect to hear more originals from us come November.
Which venue is The Redbucks’ favorite place to perform? Why?
You talk to any musician in Beijing – make that any musician in China – and they’ll probably all tell you the same thing: a good sound system and someone who knows how to use it makes all the difference. Venues like 2 Kolegas, Jiangjinjiu and Jiang Hu have been really good about sound, and have been won derful venues to play at. Not just for the vibe of the space itself, but the owners, staff and of course the people that go there. What’s particularly great about a venue like 2 Kolegas is the room people have in front of the stage to dance. We played two really great shows there recently because it was one of the first times people had room to kick off their shoes and get rowdy. The Redbucks are big proponents of rowdy.
What are your favorite venues in Beijing to take in some live music?
Most of the gigs The Redbucks play we got because we just decided to ask at the venues we thought had great live music, like Jiangjinjiu, Jiang Hu, 2 Kolegas and Gingko. And while we have never played there, East Shore Jazz Cafe, D-22, Yugongyishan, and MAO Live are also some of my favorite places to see live music. The diversity in these venues musical offerings shows how dynamic the music scene is here in Beijing.
Where do you go for some good ol’ southern comfort food?
If I need it, I usually just make it for myself at home. Of the things I really crave though, homemade mac n’ cheese and barbecue top the list. For the mac n’ cheese, I’ll go to Grandma’s Kitchen where they do a pretty god job. For barbecue, well, I haven’t tried any in Beijing. I’m too afraid to be served a shredded pork chop smothered in dark, spicy ketchup. I’m from Memphis and therefore a bit of a barbecue snob.
Any plans to take The Redbucks on the road and play gigs outside of Beijing?
We’d love to, but we don’t have any immediate plans to tour or anything.
2 Kolegas (两个好朋友
12 Liangmaqiao Lu (inside the drive-in movie theater park) north of Chaoyang Park, Chaoyang District. (6436 8998) 朝阳区 亮马桥路21号（燕莎桥往东1500米路北汽车电影院内）
Jiang Hu Liveshow Bar
Daily 7pm-2am. 7 Dongmianhua Hutong, Jiaodaokou Nandajie, Dongcheng District. (6401 4611) 江湖酒吧, 东城区交道口南大街东棉花胡同7号
Jiangjinjiu Bar (将进酒吧)
Daily 2pm-2am. 2 Zhongku Hutong, (between Drum and Bell towers on the west side, a few doors south of The Drum and Bell), Dongcheng District. (8405 0124) 东城区钟库胡同2号 (鼓楼北门)
Ginkgo Bar
Daily 10.30am til late. 199 Andingmen Nei Da Jie, Dongcheng District. (6402 7532) 安定门内大街199号交道口附近
D-22
Tue-Sun 7pm-2am. 242 Chengfu Lu (two doors west of 13 Club), Haidan District. (6265 3177) 海淀区成府路242号
MAO Livehouse (光芒)
Daily 4pm-late. 111 Gulou Dongdajie, Dongcheng District. (6402 5080) 东城区鼓楼东大街111号
Grandma’s Kitchen
Daily 7.30am-11pm. 1-2/F, Bldg B, Jianwai Soho, 39 Dongsanhuan Zhonglu, Chaoyang District. (5869 3055) 朝阳区东三环中路39号建外SohoB座1-2层
