Todd Lavelle lives in Bangkok — on Happyland Road, in
fact. He's probably one of the most famous Western faces in all of Thailand.
Ever since the 1980s, this buzzing musical performer has both entertained
and educated with happy touring music festivals from the beaches of southern
Thailand to Bangkok, Japan, New York City and beyond. So renowned is he, in
his adopted home-land, that the Thai people call him Todd "Thongdee", or
"Good Gold". Having appeared on countless TV shows, authored several
social-education books, released 10 music albums and reached number one on
the Thai charts, it's no wonder he's so well recognized.
Life hasn't always been rock 'n' roll tours, though. He
was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to attend Bangkok's Chulalongkorn
University after completing a BSC in the USA. His research on the
ethno-pharmacy of Thai traditional medicines and herbs took him to some wild
places in Thailand's north to study with the Kingdom's most revered shamans.
He worked for a while in border camps, helping Karen refugees deep in the
jungles of the north. A stint with Greenpeace then had him busy campaigning
to save the Gulf of Thailand.
After
completing an Advanced Studies In Thailand programme at Chang Mai
University, the intrepid knowledge junkie returned to the USA as a
university lecturer. With no time to stop and catch his breath, Todd then
landed in Hawaii to work on his MA in Southeast Asian studies. The
long-haired scholar has since published papers on the political history of
the Khmer Rouge and the Democratic Alliance of Burma. But the lure of music
proved too strong to keep him off a stage. Now he sings for a living.
His most memorable performance, or non-performance, was
in front of 50,000 people in Bangkok in February of 1991, during a military
coup. He was pulled from the stage by the Thai Army as many of his songs,
back then, targeted the military powers of those turbulent times.
Most recently, Todd opened the Pattaya Music Festival
with his Back to the Beach repertoire celebrating musical tales of life in
the south. Many of his songs are influenced by the islands of Samui, Phuket
and the Andaman coast. During the last high season, Todd Lavelle and his
band The Reason had the crowds of Patong returning night after night to his
stage at Patong Beach Hotel. The reason? He's so darned entertaining to
Thais and foreigners alike.
Todd
sings both Thai language and English lyrics, the melding of two cultures
adding special meaning for his audience. Combining jazz, blues, rock and
acoustics, with drum-loops and otherworldly sound-scapes, he sounds like
Neil Diamond and dances like a ladyboy — much to the amusement of the
audience. He likes to tease, in a light-hearted way, his Western listeners.
"Where are you from? Estonia? Is that next to Yokohama?"
Thongdee has a big social conscience. His new music
compilation CD, book and VCD mini-movie titled "Back to the Beach" are based
on stories from his travels, of war and nature, full-moon parties, ladyboys,
fishermen, sea gypsies and island myths.
"I had many interviews and laugh-ins with fishermen,
business people, transvestites, travellers, and even monkeys," he says. The
latest project took two years to complete, and involved discussions with
island locals in schools and villages regarding topics ranging from sex and
drugs to nature and family.
Todd grew up in the mountains of Pennsylvania with, in
his own words, "hardworking people who laughed a lot". His biggest hero, he
says, is his late dad, who gave up his own musical career to devote time to
his children. Thongdee commits each and every performance to his father, who
taught him that “life is about opportunity, not suffering”. When John Lennon
was killed, his peace-loving dad broke the news to young Todd. “Boy!” he
said. “They shot that Lennon guy — they can't do that.”
Todd says that two other big influences on his life are
his sister Kim, who spent 20 years working with handicapped people, plus the
youth of today: "Kids are really good teachers."
This singer has a constant itch for learning and teaching. “My biggest
mission is to remind people of their life choices and their power.” And so
the boy from the mountains spends most of his time touring the country,
performing at festivals, schools and universities — sharing his knowledge,
learning some more, and helping, in his own way, to empower the youth of
Thailand.
Thongdee can be found hosting the new TV show “Oh, My
God”, which celebrates Thai culture in new ways on Channel 9 every Sunday, 3
pm. His Back to the Beach storybook, VCD and English by Song series is
available nationwide. at 7-11 stores from April 2004.
And Todd promises to come back to Phuket sooner than
you think.
www.toddeastwest.com
