Triple threat Shirley To

Shirley To had been working on the production side of the music business in Hong Kong when she had her eureka moment. While standing behind the scenes watching other musicians perform, she realized she wanted and needed to make her own music.

Shirley attended the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and was trained as a classical pianist until she was 18 by one of Hong Kong’s top music instructors. She began exploring other instruments and picked up her first bass at age 15 and made her mark on the music scene playing bass with the Hong Kong Rock Band “Vagabond”.

Never one to question her heart, she packed her bags and moved to LA to pursue her dreams where she studied at the Musicians Institute. Her studies paid off and she has collaborated with artists such as Juliette Lewis (US), Paulina Rubio (Mexico), Jerzee Monet (US), Amanda Lee (Hong Kong), Jordan Chan (Hong Kong), Kahala Tomomi (Japan) and G.E.M. (Hong Kong).

Shirley is also known as “Toonyun” (roughly pronounced as “Doe on Un”) and released her first EP, ‘3’. The records first track, “If I Were Catwoman” has been compared to the music of Bjork while the second track, “My Happy Drunk Bossa” is a bossa nova featuring a french horn that reminds one of the music of Latin America with its mix of soft jazz and pop. The third track, and one of my favorites, is a beautiful piano ballad full of sadness and longing.

When not playing with her dog, Lydia, she can be found working on her new EP, “Just So You Love Me” and will be releasing her new song, “Golden Lotus” soon. She has also acted in commercials and films.

ASIANCE: Shirley, when you first got into making your own music, what made you decide to come to the US?

ShirIey: I came to the US to study Bass hoping to become a professional musician and go back to Hong Kong and work. Half way through my study, I started getting many opportunities to audition and play in bands. I realized that I could pursue my music career in the US instead. As for songwriting, I started writing when I was in Hong Kong and I stopped writing for about 10 years, until last year after Juliette’s residency in Paris. When we finished the US/Canada tour, I decided to write more seriously again. We do different things at different points in our lives and I chose to write songs now and I’m very happy about it.

ASIANCE: Who were some of the bands and musicians that influenced you the most back then?

ShirIey: Many..… First, I have to make it clear that I like all kinds of music. There’s always something you can find in a piece of music: ideas, creativity, beauty, or most interestingly, ugliness. I love creativity the most because that’s always the element that gives me a thrill. To name some of the many artists I love: Bjork, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Debussy, John Mayer, Suzanne Vega, Bauhaus, Pink Floyd, Joao Gilberto, Garbage, Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau, The Bad Plus, Ani DiFranco, Chaka Khan, The Cranberries, Lenny Kravitz, James Brown, Joni Mitchell…..I can go on and on….

ASIANCE: Originally, you were trained in piano. What made you become interested in the bass and stick with it?

ShirIey: I started playing piano when I was six. Then when I was 15, I started hanging out with my best friend Cecilia and we spent a whole summer jamming and writing songs together. We wanted to put together a band but since we both played the keys, one of us would have to switch to another instrument. Since I was a bit taller by asian standards, I thought maybe I’d look ok with a bigger instrument. That was really the reason when I chose the bass, no kidding. But then when I started playing it, feeling every note resonating through my body, like I was singing the groove, I totally fell in love with it. Bass guitar is IT.

ASIANCE: You play something called the F Bass that only has four strings. What makes this different than other bass guitars and why do you like it better?

ShirIey: Yes I ordered my F when I was still in Hong Kong. A 5-string bass would be heavier and since I only feel the need for a low D, I simply use a D-tuner. My bass guitar is a very fine instrument, literally a piece of art. It has a very balanced body and is relatively lighter than other basses I tried without compromising the sound quality. It’s very easy to play, my left hand moves smoothly along the neck. On top of that,

I’ve played my bass for many years now so I know very well how to get my sound. I always get compliments after gigs about her sound and look (yes my basses are my wives). I also have a Fender Jazz bass that I use mainly for long travel. It’s not the most fancy bass one I can get from Fender but it serves the purpose, gives that signature Fender Jazz Bass sound and the look. I wish to have other basses too because every bass has a different character but my F Bass got all the qualities that help me in all kinds of working situations and so I think it’s perfect!

ASIANCE: Tell us about your experience playing with Juliette Lewis.

ShirIey: I will have to say it’s one of the most memorable and beautiful experiences in all aspects of my life. The first year we toured, we were like living together for 9 months. Through Juliette, I got to travel a lot and visited many places, made many nice friends and saw many different cultures that opened my mind. With that, I started asking myself many questions and that woke me up to songwriting again. Juliette always encouraged us to write. When we did sound check, she would initiate jam session and I loved it very much. Touring is not as extravagant as most people think. It gets really boring sometimes like when waking up in a different city every day. So whenever there’s opportunity for me to get creative, I got really excited. What Juliette amazed me the most is her performance. As a performer myself, I admire often her daredevil mentality on stage. She’s so determined and confident, which I found it very helpful for me to learn. She’s also an extremely funny person. We had a lot of nice and funny moments that I’ll never forget in my life. One more thing about Juliette, we got to do radio performance sometimes and I bow to her from head to toe for her ability to come up with smooth, funny, clever and witty answers in her interviews. That’s a lot of talent you know.

ASIANCE: One of the bigger concerts you performed in was with GEM. How was playing with her and which do you prefer? A large concert or a smaller venue?

ShirIey: GEM is such an amazing talent. She’s so young but also so mature about her career. She’s willing to listen which is hard to find for people at her age. But that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have her own ideas and opinions. She’d voice out her thoughts when appropriate. And then being such an amazing singer and songwriter, I’m extremely proud of her. I wish I was so together like her when I was 19.

Playing with her meant a lot to me. GEM’s concerts were the first big concerts I did in Hong Kong. I only played with my band on smaller occasions before, so my parents never really saw me on a big stage like that. I invited them to see the show and afterwards I saw how happy they were, that meant the whole world to me. Really. And my best friends too. We used to play in a band together called Vagabond. So they knew exactly how much it meant to me to be able to play in hometown.

I don’t know which I like better. To me, the most important thing is to have a good performance. In smaller venues, I can usually control my sound better. In bigger ones, it’s really up to God sometimes.

ASIANCE: Now you are writing your own music and lyrics. What inspires you to write and which do you do first, the music or the lyrics?

ShirIey: I write most of my music and lyrics and sometimes I cowrite with other writers. I love that because I love being inspired by other wonderful ideas and merge mine in them to make something majestic. Usually my inspiration comes from a movie, a book, an incidence in life or a conversation with a friend that brought back emotions or feelings in the past that generates enough materials to create a story. Many times I create music and melodies first and then when I got the idea what I want to write about, I’ll start writing the lyrics. I have a new song called “Golden Lotus”. I intentionally forced myself to write lyrics and melody at the same time to challenge myself and I am very satisfied with it. I think I’m going to try doing that more in the future.

ASIANCE: When you perform your own songs, do you still get nervous in front of an audience?

ShirIey: YES VERY MUCH! I didn’t start singing seriously until last year so I’m still a baby as a singer. I can jump, dance or flip on stage being a side woman, but performing my own songs as a singer and playing bass/piano at the same time really challenge me at a higher and newer level as a performer. Although I’m nervous, I look forward to performing them. I practiced like 50 times a day for my last performance and I think my neighbors know my songs by now.

ASIANCE: Your songs are very diverse although each well crafted. Do you think you are searching for your sound or that you simply like a wide variety of musical styles?

ShirIey: As I told you earlier, I love listening to different genres of music and I think that’s why I write my songs in different styles. Also, when I first started writing again last year, I intended the songs for other artists. I didn’t plan to sing them myself. Then I realized that it might take a while until people sing my songs and I hate to see my songs sitting there not being released. So I decided to sing and release them myself…..and I’m quite happy with how they are. And to be honest with you, I want to be just like this and this is how Toonyun is.

ASIANCE: You also got bit by the acting bug, having appeared in the film “Ghost Month” and more recently “The Mikado Project” with Tamlyn Tomita. Is this something you enjoy and want to continue doing?

ShirIey: I’d definitely love to be in movies again. Acting is a LOTTA fun!!! I didn’t get to meet Tamlyn and I’d love to meet her someday.

ASIANCE: You are also interested in fashion. What styles and designers do you like?

ShirIey: Like music, I like many different styles. Some styles I like to see on myself and some on other people. Music and fashion are the two biggest loves of my life. My fav designers are Balenciaga, YSL, Miu Miu, Alexander Wang, Helmut Lang & Ann Demeulemeester.

ASIANCE: Tell us a little about “Just So You Love Me”. What can fans expect?

ShirIey: I will have 4 songs (and maybe a bonus track) and they are all in different styles AGAIN. But this time, I asked the same guitarist Pelle Hillstrom and drummer Jamey Tate to play all the songs hoping that I can create some kind of unified sound within different styles and I’m already hearing it happening. I’m totally excited about releasing and sharing them with everyone.

ASIANCE: How is Lydia? (Shirley’s dog)

ShirIey: Lydia had just learned how to give the hand. She’s been with us for a month now and she knows how to sit, lie down and again, hand hand. She’s very attached to me, to my surprise. She’ll not walk out of the bedroom until I’m up. She waits for me to wake up every day without making any noise. When I leave home, I put her in an enclosed area to keep her safe but many times she found the most impossible ways to get out. At first I thought she was a stray dog and that’s what she would do. But then I realized that when I was home, she’d not go anywhere but just sit next to me. So I think she was trying to find me when I was away….. Poor Lydia.

ASIANCE: Where can you see yourself in 5 years?

ShirIey: I’m hoping that I could tour with my own band and play my own music for a living. Not that I don’t like playing with other people which I DO, I just feel a lot of satisfaction through performing my own music.

ASIANCE: Any advice you might have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?

ShirIey: Wow…never thought of that question. (thinking thinking thinking….) I didn’t plan to be doing what I’m doing now. But every time I want to do something, I do it with 200% enthusiasm and all my abilities. I make sure that I do my best so that if failure comes, I’ll not have to regret anything. And when success happens, I can feel double the satisfaction because it’s really my true ability that contributes to the success. I always have this thought in my head, “if one loves something enough, he’ll find every possible way to do it.”

ASIANCE: Anything else you would like to say to your present and new fans?

ShirIey: My new EP will be released in November and after that I’ll start rehearsing with my band and gigging out. I will try to do more online performances or record the shows and put them back online for everyone to watch. I have many French friends and they are very supportive of my work and I hope that someday I can play in France again to thank them. I’m very happy that I get to know so many people from different parts of the world through my music. Thank you.

My website:
http://www.toonyun.com

Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Toonyun/179407145425117

Youtube page (videos):
http://www.youtube.com/user/shirleygirlie1?feature=mhee

Music Video:

Myspace page (audio):
http://www.myspace.com/565229066