“I realized that I really enjoyed and missed playing music.”
Nic Tse’s journey with The Lovesong, Hong Kong’s emo/post-hardcore band, started in 2005. Since then, twenty years passed by. When I interviewed him in July, Nic was a full-time tattooist looking forward to his new job at an international school. He had already worked in the education field for a total of 8 years, for both language centers and international schools. Fatherhood led Nic to return to teaching.
This time, Nic is going to be a secondary learning support assistant. Although his prior experience of being a classroom teacher was by no means discontent, he prefers working in learning support more. “I want to devote my time and focus on the students, rather than the more administrative side of teaching.”
Nic got his first tattoo 17 years ago, and a couple of years later, he decided to learn it as a hobby. Eventually, tattooing transformed to a job, having always preferred works that revolved around interpersonal relationships, whether it’s his tattoo clients or students. Indeed, the Mei Wah Tattoo studio felt oddly welcoming and comfortable—perhaps being a fifteen-year reservoir of relationships and chitchats. For him, tattooing is “almost like therapy.”
From college, Nic played in bands all around the world—Australia, United States, United Kingdom and Netherlands—until he decided to settle back in Hong Kong. In Netherlands, the culturally supportive Dutch government funded his band, The Spirit That Guides Us, to go on tours. In Chicago, he played in post-rock band Unwed Sailor with Christian Wargo from Fleet Foxes and Josh Tillman from Father John Misty. Also, Nic performed a few times alongside Sufjan Stevens (around 2001) before the album Illinois blew up. Back then, Sufjan had a day job at Penguin Books.
Albeit, his most memorable accomplishment during the early years of his music career wasn’t about playing in a band. With the absence of telecommunications back then, Nic sent handwritten letters to bands abroad that he enjoyed. When American punk band All You Can Eat sent a letter back, he helped the band put on a show in Hong Kong, booking a session in the Wanch, another at the Fringe Club, and renting a cheap hotel in Chungking Mansions.
Upon returning to Hong Kong in 2005, Nic participated in the local bands such as Whence He Came, The Lovesong, Elf Fatima, and Noughts and Exes. Notably, Nic joined The Lovesong, originally a solo project of his brother’s. In Whence He Came, he played as a keyboardist instead of his usual instrument guitar. Yet, he recall the rehearsals being particularly enjoyable. The band members were not only experienced musicians, but skilled collaborators as well.
The Lovesong went on a hiatus after one of their guitarists left for America, and Nic’s brother wanted to focus his time on other things. “Classic story of us getting old and having other things in life take priority.” Overall, musicians of his generation, including himself, began focusing more on full-time jobs and their parenthood.
For 2023’s Clockenflap, the band returned on stage, where he retrieved his passion for music. “I realized that I really enjoyed and missed playing music.” His girlfriend also wanted to play in a new band, so together they formed Catscare, along with Paul MacLean on drums, another musician he’s known in HK’s music scene for over 20 years, and runs Sunset Studio in Kennedy Town.
For now, Nic hopes to finish recording a demo of Catscare and send it out to promoters around Asia. His goal with his new band is to tour around the region, and eventually North America and Europe. His last tour was at around 2009 with The Lovesong. These days he travels 5-6 times a year to tattoo in different countries, but he has never went on another band tour. Nic wishes that the audience inside and outside of Hong Kong will be able to enjoy the performance of him and Catscare.
Photo from Venus Leung.