Rocking on to become brand, from band

Liang Long (L) performs in the United States with his Second Hand Rose band in October. The band's fi rst US tour was well received. Photo provided to China Daily

Liang Long's first memory of New York City is unpleasant.

In 2007, he played a bar gig with his rock outfit, Second Hand Rose, for a dozen people or so. Ticket sales grossed about $100.

"Why did you want to perform in the US?" asked American music producer Matthew Corbin Clark, who was among the few present. (Clark had worked with Cui Jian, the "godfather of Chinese rock music", since 1996.)

Liang replied: "I don't know."

Seven years later, the 37-year-old has an answer.

"We want to show you what Chinese rock 'n' roll is," Liang said when Second Hand Rose performed at the Modernsky Festival in Central Park's Rumsey Playfield on Oct 4 and 5.

The outdoor event marked the US debut of the festival established in Beijing by Modernsky Record, China's biggest indie label.

It kicked off Second Hand Rose's first US tour, which also took the band to Boston and Washington DC. About 80 percent of tickets for each show sold out.

"I'm happy to see half the audience were Westerners, who are really interested in what's happening in China and what music young Chinese are listening to," Liang says in a cafe near Beijing's 798 art zone.

He says he's still excited weeks after the tour.

"My favorite TV series is A Native of Beijing in New York. When I sat on a Central Park bench, I felt like I was the lead from the TV series, Wang Qiming, seeking his American dream," Liang says.

Shen Lihui, who founded Modernsky Record in 1997, says: "Second Hand Rose's core is how they think and observe things from a Chinese perspective."

Liang chose the word "secondhand" as a reference to how Chinese rock mostly copied Western styles when he founded the band 15 years ago in his hometown, Heilongjiang province's capital Harbin.

"I didn't know what kind of music I should play," he recalls. "I just followed the others playing heavy metal and punk. The first two Beijing performances were total flops."

Liang won acclaim - and courted controversy - by dressing in drag onstage. He donned a qipao (a traditional Chinese dress), and sported heavy makeup and waist-long hair.

He was also disappointed that the lineup changed frequently.

Liang returned to Harbin at the end of 2000 and played in a band that performed at weddings and funerals. He earned about 50 yuan ($8) a day and wandered around farmlands in his spare time.

But he felt more hopeful one day while listening to farmers sing errenzhuan, a northeastern Chinese folk music. "Even though errenzhuan is everywhere in my hometown, I heard it carefully for the first time," he recalls.

The genre's rustic lyrics, ironic references and flamboyant jokes provided the inspiration for Second Hand Rose's ethos.

Liang wrote 10 songs in the following 19 days, including the hit Cai Hua (Picking a Flower). He then joined forces with traditional Chinese instrumentalist Wu Zekun, bassist Li Ziqiang, guitarist Yao Lan and drummer Sun Quan.

The turning point came in 2003 when the band released their debut album, Second Hand Rose, and staged a concert at the Beijing Exhibition Center Theater. They swept up awards and accolades nationwide that year. Cui, the country's rock guru, called them "geeks" of Chinese rock.

But Liang opted for a hiatus in 2004. "The band, including me, had become complacent and arrogant," he says. "I needed to pour cold water on us."

The sabbatical was partly inspired by the band's manager since 2001, music critic Huang Liaoyuan, who reminded members of the virtue of humility.

Huang had planned to swap band management for writing when they met at a bar in 2001, but found himself compelled by Liang's musical vision.

"Many Chinese rockers like Cui Jian were at the time classically trained," Huang says.

"But Liang had no musical background. To me, this was an advantage."

Second Hand Rose ranks among China's best-selling indie outfits. Liang's aspiration is to go beyond being a band to become a brand.

The band launched its fashion label Hong Pei Lyu, or Red&Green, at a Brooklyn teahouse during its US tour.

Liang also initiated an ongoing exhibition in Beijing's 798's Asian Art Works to review the development of rock music in China.

"What we need to do now is slow down, think and observe. I don't want to become a band performing simply for money just like a group of clowns."