If you are among those who inhabit the Bangkok night, you may have heard of or even joined a party by Trasher, Bangkok, a group which celebrates 90s pop music, from Top-40 hits to guilty pleasures.
The beginnings of Trasher, Bangkok date back five years ago, when a group of friends from Silpakorn University, hopping from bar to bar in Bangkok, were looking for their dream party. They wanted to be out on the floor at a club playing their kind of music, where they could dance like nobody cared. They couldn't find such fulfilment, and to solve the problem they started the party they desired.
"Many people think it is so 'uncool' to say it out loud that you like pop songs," said Tichakorn 'Jojo' Phukhaotong. The 27-year-old is a Trasher, Bangkok co-founder and deejay who prefers to be called "song selector".
"Everywhere we go they play Brit pop or indie music, but we want something more pop, a singalong that we can enjoy with our friends to bring back memories. To give you an example, our idol is Britney Spears."
One of the reasons people love Trasher, Bangkok is that it is one of the most gay-friendly parties in town. It is, to me, the only party in town where people with different sexual orientations come together without attitude. You will meet top fashion designers, a handsome male model dancing next to a drag queen in an out-of-this-world outfit or a studious-looking boy who has the most ridiculous moves you have ever seen. It is unpretentious, and that's what the best parties should be.
Their first event attracted about 50 people, and today Trasher, Bangkok has grown to become one of the city's favourite party organisers, attracting more than 1,000 people a night. In the beginning, its popularity escalated from word of mouth among people with similar musical tastes, but what truly put Trasher, Bangkok on the map was the arrival of social media.
Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton posted Trasher, Bangkok’s video parody of Rihanna’sWe Found Love on his page.
"During the first few years, we promoted our party in the old-school way. We designed our handbills, and went to other parties and handed them to people," said another founder, Saroj 'Ark' Kunatanad. "When social media became popular, it gave us new way to reach our peers. Especially in the last three years when Facebook was widely adopted by Thais.
"We could easily connect with our party-goers, and these websites keep them updated with our events."
Still, only those on the party scene were familiar Trasher, Bangkok's reputation during the early years. Only last year, after the floods, did the group become the talk of the town, after putting their creative energy into a parody music video of Someone Like You, by British diva Adele, which became a hit when posted on YouTube.
"It was out of boredom," Saroj recalled. "We couldn't go to work during the flood. Some of us lost our jobs. So, when the flood was over, we decided to make a video for fun. Luckily, many of us work in showbiz and have some experience, and also one of our friends happened to look a tad like Adele."
With a surprising feedback from a number of viewers, Tichakorn and Saroj took on the challenge of making parody videos to promote their parties. And their third production, where they gave a Thai twist to Rihanna's chart-topping number We Found Love, resulted in international fame. The video was lauded for its production values, although Saroj revealed it only cost 3,000 baht to complete the clip.
The video, however, went viral globally, after world-renowned celebrity blogger Perez Hilton shared it, which gave them a shortcut to reach international peers. Today, the video has been viewed more than 900,000 times, and counting.
"We Found Love was our big step," said Tichakorn. "It was the first time we had people from other countries, especially in Southeast Asia, following our videos.
"It is the video that our ladyboy character 'Jenny' became our viewers' favourite."
Each Trasher, Bangkok video has Thai humour yet is universally amusing. The most popular video, however, is their parody of songstress Katy Perry's The One That Got Away, which has reached more than one million views. Perry herself tweeted about the video, expressing her appreciation. For the parody of pop queen Madonna's Girl Gone Wild, the singer's manager and the producer of the original video both tweeted about the Bangkok version of the song.
"Since we have tried the parody videos, now we dream of doing something more challenging. Maybe a short film, or a feature film," said Tichakorn.
Tichakorn and Saroj revealed that some of the comments from LGBT viewers leave them with big smiles.
"We have many young gay followers, and somehow they find what we are doing inspirational. They even think we are their idols," said 25-year-old Saroj.
"In our videos, we have transsexuals and plus-sized women, and other misfits. Many of our viewers can relate to these characters, and that makes them appreciate our videos even more."
Next month, Trasher, Bangkok is going to have its debut at the famous Big Mountain Music Festival. On top of that, Trasher, Bangkok named their stage Soi 2, after the gay strip on Silom Road. Concertgoers can expect a wild night with tunes from the late Whitney Houston, pop idol Spears to upbeat Thai country music, and a chance to be yourself.
Check out previous videos by Trasher, Bangkok at www.youtube.com/user/trashtele and join the fan page of the group for their upcoming parties at www.facebook.com/trasherbangkok.
Share your views and news about queer culture and gender diversity issues at yanaponm@bangkokpost.co.th.
Trasher, Bangkok founders Tichakorn ‘Jojo’ Phukhaotong and Saroj ‘Ark’ Kunatanad.
