The Ko Shan's last stand

IT is set to be a long and definitely loud farewell on Sunday night when Hong Kong's headbangers bid a sad goodbye to their stomping ground at the Ko Shan Theatre, which is closing down for up to two years. From 6 pm, more than 10 bands will take to the stage for one last rock around the Ko Shan and among the line-up are names such as Huh?!, Anodize, Zigzag and Midnight Party - bands that have led the march towards an increasingly popular heavy sound. Many Hong Kong people probably have never heard their names - they are not as famous and handsome as Leon Lai or Andy Lau, nor has their music ever made it into the radio stations' top 10. They may not have fans waiting all day outside their apartments asking for autographs, but they are serious about what they do. And it is at the 11-year-old Ko Shan Theatre where these ''metal heads'' have been able to play before an increasingly enthusiastic audience - because it is the cheapest venue in Hong Kong. The Ko Shan's closure on July 4, the day after the concert, is a blow to many rock groups, which already have a hard time finding outlets for their music. Eager to have a voice of their own in this market, they got together and formed the Heavy Metal Association (HMA) early last year and began staging their own alternative events - this Sunday's finale will be the seventh Dark Entry gig at the Ko Shan. The HMA has tentatively planned to hold two concerts at either the Queen Elizabeth Stadium or the Academy for Performing Arts. But its chairman, Cheung Yee-sik, pointed out that holding concerts at such venues could cost between $20,000 and $30,000 more than the Ko Shan Theatre. The revitalised Ko Shan is scheduled to reopen in early 1996. But the changes will mean it will then accommodate only 1,000 people instead of the present 2,600. The back, open-air section will be removed, Marianne Kwok Yuen-man, manager of the theatre, said. But Mr Cheung is confident both the heavy metal sounds and the musicians' association will survive this setback. The association earned enough money last year to survive the theatre's closure, he said. And it seems the exponents of Hong Kong's alternative sounds are not going to let their audience get away that easily. Zigzag's thin and pallid guitarist Wong Kwok-kit, or Vampire as he is called, said: ''Hong Kong only has the so-called mainstream music. Nothing else is allowed to exist. ''In fact, Hong Kong has excellent technology and musical techniques, but the record companies never try to accept new ideas. ''Most commercial songs today are either copied from other countries, or repeat old melodies.'' Teddy Liu Wing-kit, Zigzag's philosophical 28-year-old vocalist, shares Wong's view. He thinks that Hong Kong people are too backward: ''I'm not talking about the economy. When the people in general reject new things, they are backward. ''Hong Kong people are more backward than mainland Chinese. People there are like sponges, absorbing many things. They already have many different styles of music.'' He thinks that his band's future is promising because society is undergoing significant changes. He likens today's Hong Kong to Britain in the 70s when punk rock became popular. If the economic recession of Britain produced punk, political uncertainty here will also drive the Hong Kong people to seek a new style of music. Heavy metal provides the Zigzag members with an escape from reality. Vampire said he and other group members used to rent a house in the countryside and played music there day in, day out. ''Yes, we were kind of anti-social,'' he said. Now, they practise in a studio that's less then 100 sq ft, in a tenement building at Yau Ma Tei. All have full-time jobs - their music is still not making them rich and famous, but to be able to express themselves is enough. ''When we were still kids, we were idealistic,'' Liu said. ''We thought we had a mission to remonstrate with society and save the world. We are more realistic now. We know we should also make more money to afford better instruments and record our own music.'' For many Chinese people, heavy metal is no more than long hair, cross-shaped earrings, black leather boots and worn-out jeans. Liu, however, believes that it is a form of catharsis for teenagers: ''Anyway it's better than fighting on the streets or fooling around with girls all the time.'' Perhaps the Zigzag members are more realistic than before, but they still have lots to complain - and sing - about, even though it won't be in the Ko Shan Theatre for the time being.