#ArtistAtHome is a series of portraits and profiles of local artists by Christopher Edmonstone. Read all about it and see the archive HERE.
Meet the lord of the manor, Louis Wu.
I first met him in 2014 while shooting the Ponderosa Arts & Music Festival, where he was subbing in on bass for the Gay Nineties. You might also know him from his other bands Fake Shark and Hot Hot Heat.
Louis grew up in the Vancouver suburb of Langley and it was there he met soon-to-be bandmate Kevin Maher, in high school. After graduation they started Fake Shark - Real Zombie, his first 'real band' in his parents basement. The idea of the band was to parody the hardcore 'scene' in the suburbs and to cause general confusion and chaos.
Louis Wu at home
Despite subscribing to the punk ethos, the band has seen some fan behaviour that they weren't quite expecting. Louis shared with me one of the worst experiences he has ever had on tour. It was on Fake Sharks first UK tour in Edinburgh in 2007. It seemed a bad omen when, on their connecting flight from London to Edinburgh, the airline lost all of their instruments. The promoter had to act quickly, so they borrowed gear from friends. Louis ended up playing a pink Hello Kitty guitar which he confessed was 'actually kind of rad.' The band didn't know what to expect from punk shows in Scotland and as soon as they begun to play it rained spit, beer and beer cans! Louis said "They yelled shit at us and we continued to incite them. It escalated to one band member punching a guy in the crowd and another member smashing a borrowed instrument. Everyone walked off and I was left standing alone after 15 minutes with just a Hello Kitty guitar and a crazy mob." Fearful about what else might go down, the band hid backstage for a bit to plan their escape but when they tried to leave the crowd didn't want them to go. Unbeknownst to the band, this was the way punk fans in Edinburgh displayed affection - they actually loved the music! Regardless, said Louis, it was still "the most agonizing 15 minutes of 'performance' I have ever experienced."
Many thanks to Louis for hanging out and sharing tales from the road. Last year they released the chart topping single 'Cheap Thrills' - you can listen to it and keep and eye for show dates on their profile page.
