A guitar that gently weeps
Piyawan Wongsawang, daughter of the late music mogul Lek, pays tribute to her father with a charity concert
The only daughter of Lek Wongsawang, Piyawan Wongsawang was quick to take charge of his publishing business when her father died unexpectedly in October 2010, turning out the music magazines The Guitar and The Guitar Mag without missing a single issue.
She pays tribute to Lek and thanks him for passing on his passion for music to her with the charity concert, “Plern Pleng Kub Lek Wongsawang”, which is being staged on Sunday at Siam Niramit.
“As a child, I dreamed of having my own music business,” says Piyawan, 36, the executive editor-in-chief of Wongsawang Publishing and Printing.
Music’s been in Piyawan’s head and heart for as long as she can remember. She listened to it all the time while a student at chulalongkorn University demonstration School because her father worked a radio programmer and had piles of vinyl, as well as controllers and turntables.
“I recorded my favourite songs from vinyl to cassette tape and played them in the car on the way to school every morning. At high school, I was more serious about music. I’d look for information about the albums and songs, search out artists’ biographies and the songwriters’ histories. I even used to categorise my music into hot releases, easy-listening, dance, rock and trance.”
In her teens, Piyawan, who’s known to friends and family as Boom, wanted to be a sound engineer. However, her parents refused to allow her to study music or even learn an instrument. So she taught herself guitar.
“My mother hired a guitar teacher for my elder brother but didn’t allow me to take lessons. I remember finding an article about [Thai duo] Asanee-Wasan Chotikul who said they wanted to play guitar but had no money to take a class. Then, they read my father’s ‘how to play guitar’ magazine and practised. I decided to do the same and the first song I played well was their ‘Kor Khoey Sanya’,” says Piyawan, who likes funk, soul and R&B in addition to jazz, dance and DJ music but rock. Her favourite artist is Barry White.
After finishing high school, she went to the US to study marketing at New Hampshire College and then to Boston University for her master’s degree. When she came home in 2002, she landed a job at EMI Music.
“Marketing is a science between media communication and business,” she admits. “My father set a rule: we have to work for at least one year and apply for a job by ourselves without mentioning his name. He taught my brothers and I that we must be employees before becoming employers.
After undergoing her “training” at EMI, Piyawan was finally employed by her dad, becoming part of the editorial department for such magazines as Star Fashion and Hair, while her brothers took responsibility for the publishing house. Nakapone, the oldest, was put in charge of administration and running the overall business.
“I knew nothing about the process of putting together these magazines. Star Fashion was my first responsibility but really didn’t match my character. For the past two years, I’ve been running The Guitar and have adjusted its look and come up with a marketing plan featuring events and concerts,” she says.
Among those events were “The Legend of The Guitar” in 2010, “The Magic of Love” in 2011 and “The Guitar Mag 1st Decade and Anniversary Award” earlier this year.
How does she account for her music magazines surviving when virtually all others have been forced to close?
“I think it’s down to our consistency and quality. We have personnel with skill and experience in scoring the guitar chords of songs, good quality publishing and popularity of branding.
The charity concert, though a little late, marks the first anniversary of Lek Wongsawang’s death. It features a show by “Academy Fantasia” artists Padcha Anekayuwat, Wiwit “Tee” Bowornkiratikhajorn, Ratchaphol “Music” Yamsang, Annop “Por” Thongborisut and Channarong “Off” Morchit, and a concert.
“We will take the audience – fans of his – back to the past with music from the 1960s, the heyday of my father. We’re recreating an old atmosphere along with his image and voice from his days in the radio studio,” Piyawan explains.
The concert will feature performances by Suda Chuenban, Chanthana Kitiyaphan, Vasu Sangsingkaew, Satawat Tungkharat, Vinai Phanthurak and Thitima “Waen” Sutasunthorn taking to the stage along with special guests Korn Dabbaransi, Dr Somsak Chalachol, Dr Boonkiet Chokwattana, and Dolchai Boonyaratavej. Jakkrawal “Nueng” Songthongyutitham is the music director.
“Songs of the past were created by men. Those of today are done by machine. Likewise, songs of the past had meaning. Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowing in the Wind’, which was written 50 years ago, goes well with the Thai society these days. Especially the reprise, ‘the answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind’, seems suitable for our politics,” says Korn. “Lek Wongsawang wasn’t just only a radio programmer. He’s a legend of the music circle.”
So what is Piyawan planning for future?
“We would like to do a guitar contest and make the Guitar Mag Awards an annual event. I’ve thought about an international concert but not right now, the situation just isn’t right.”
Torch passed
“Plern Pleng Kub Lek Wongsawang” starts at 2 on Sunday at Siam Niramit.
Tickets cost Bt500 to Bt2,000. Call (02) 262 3456 or visit www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.
All tickets include the limited edition of “I.S. Song Hits, which inspired Asanee-Wasan to play guitar.
Proceeds will go to the Chaipattana Foundation to help people who suffered in the floods and to the Heart Disease Foundation for Children.
