Local guitarist Jun Mak Chi Chon (麥子俊) shared his music story with The Macau Post Daily last week at his studio in Nape. He encourages everyone to follow their dreams and passion.
Mak was born in Macau. He obtained a bachelor’s degree from the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) with a major in English and Chinese Translation and a master’s degree in Museum Studies from the University of Queensland (UQ).
Mak studied at Yuet Wah College and had the opportunity to play French horn in the school’s brass band starting in Form One and continuing for several years. When he was in Form Three, he formed a band with his friends and started playing Canto pop songs of well-known Hong Kong bands such as Beyond.
Afterwards he got interested in listening to different styles (trash metal, heavy metal and math rock) by foreign bands such as Metallica, Megadeth, Bullet For My Valentine, and Chon. He started to compose songs with other band members.
Mak’s favourite band and artist are Chon, an American progressive rock and math rock band, and US singer songwriter guitarist John Mayer. He noted that Chon’s music is known for its use of complex harmonies with heavy emphasis on extended chords, as well as the odd time signatures and polyrhythms typical of the progressive rock genre, while Mayer’s guitar skills and compositions inspired him a lot.
According to Wikipedia, math rock is typified by its rhythmic complexity, seen as mathematical in character by listeners and critics. While most rock music uses a 4/4 meter (however accented or syncopated), math rock makes use of more non-standard, frequently changing time signatures such as 7/8, 11/8, or 13/8.
Scamper (跳躍號)
The name of his band is called Scamper, he pointed out, adding that the verb “scamper”, according to the Oxford Dictionary of English, means to “run with quick light steps, especially through fear or excitement.”
“As our band’s music genres – pop punk, rock, metal and funk – are actually mixed together, and the rhythm is relatively strong, I hope that our audience and our band feel excited and enjoy the music together. Scamper mainly plays non-mainstream genre and we want to play the music we love despite popularity”, Mak said.
Scamper members (from left) guitarist Jun Mak (麥子俊), drummer EL Joel Alves (歐梓倫), vocalist Angus Chao (周家耀) and bassist Edmond Lei (李健輝) look on during the 2019 Live in HUSH Full Music concert at Hac Sac Beach.
Scamper have been active in live gigs and one of the most exciting ones was the performance as opening act on August 16, 2009 for US rock band Linkin Park at the Cotai Arena in Venetian, Mak underlined. Linkin Park won Grammy Awards in 2002 and 2004.
Upon returning to Macau from his studies in Australia, Mak worked in the back office of a local casino-resort hotel for about three years and at the same time was active in performing with his band during his free time in Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland. Mak said that his job and performances resulted in more and more schedule conflicts. The performances in the mainland tended to be on public holidays which also tend to be the busiest time for the local hotel sector, Mak pointed out.
Therefore, he reached the point where he had to decide what path to take – and he decided to follow his passion. He started give guitar lessons in a local music centre for two years (2016-2017), and that was the right time for him to review his guitar teaching skills so that he could teach learners step by step, Mak said.
In 2018, Mak and his three band members decided to set up a music centre called Redwood Arts Education (虹木藝術教育) which provides classes such as musical instruments and pop music singing. “Redwood is one of the highest plants in the world, meaning the centre allows students to see the world of music from a higher and different perspective under the guidance of teachers,” Mak said.
Mak poses at Redwood Arts Education last Friday.
In November and December 2018, Scamper went on a winter tour in various cities in the mainland such as Suzhou, Hefei and Changsha as well as in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities such as Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Zhongshan. Mak said that this was a valuable experience for him and his band to share their music with broader audiences and other bands in the mainland. However, no one could foresee that an unexpected pandemic (COVID-19) would restrict people from travelling and all kinds of public activities have been suspended due to the viral menace. Mak said he was glad that Scamper took the opportunity to tour the mainland before the novel coronavirus epidemic erupted.
Jun performs at the Cotai Arena in Venetian for the “Get well SIM! Performing Arts Festival 2020” (好起來SIM ! 演藝盛典2020) on September 19, 2020.
Iki-do (粋堂)
In 2020, Mak and his band members also set up an art learning centre called Iki-do in the same building as his music centre which provides various types of art classes such as handicraft and painting. He said Iki-do is a Japanese name meaning that the centre is a place replete with the right amount of temperament and charm to study art.
Mak also told The Macau Post Daily that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a big challenge to many people’s lives including himself. The two centres’ business have been greatly affected by the temporary suspensions of classes whenever new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Macau thus creating confusion and anxiety in the city, apart from the impact on business earnings. Anyway, Mak said, he is doing his best to cope with changes and all the ups-and-downs in life.
As Mak has been eager to further his guitar studies in a music school, while also having to take care of his business in Macau during the pandemic, he decided to attend an online programme at Berklee College of Music based in Boston, Massachusetts. “I’m attending a rhythm and groove guitar course which is a part of the General Music Studies of the school and I support anyone to build up their skills and to follow their dreams in whatever they love to do”, he said.
Mak’s Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channel can be reached through the same account name: chonmakesmusic
Scamper’s Instagram & Facebook accounts are scamperofficial
