Musician, a hard existence

In Thailand you still come across them, the musicians for a living who take care of the musical entertainment in certain occasions.

Several years ago, the same band played night after night at the Country Road establishment on Sukhumvit Soi 19. I will not soon forget the guitarist with his long head of hair dyed red, complete with a hairband, and around his left trouser leg a piece of cloth that was supposed to represent the American flag. As he played, Foy made a kind of welcome gesture with his guitar towards incoming customers that he had never seen before.

Country Road had to make way for the new Terminal 21 department store a few years ago. Foy plus band disappeared from sight and he could not be heard at the branch on Soi Cowboy either, because two regular bands were already playing there.

One of these days I ran into Foy after years in Bangkok and learned he's playing with Country Road again. No, not on Soi Cowboy, but on Sukhumvit Road Soi 7, he said and gave some information where the opportunity where he recently made his sounds again is located.

The narrowest street in Bangkok

It can hardly bear the name street or alley and is in fact no more than a passage that has not even been given a name. You just walk past it and yet not one but two new businesses have opened there, both of which are called Country Road. Every evening a 5-piece band plays in both places.

We are going to clarify the secret alley. When you walk into Soi 7, the well-known, renowned and maligned Beer Garden is located on the left-hand side. Directly in front of this place is the said alley whose existence is obscured by a simple eatery. What you have to do as an entrepreneur in such an environment will remain a mystery to the non-Thai.

It's just too crazy for words when you notice which businesses are already located here. For example, you see a kind of cage with a kind of fairground-like pull machine that serves as a gambling device. You will also come across no less than three hairdressers, a few small eateries and a massage place. I almost forgot to tell you that there are also a few bars in this unsightly alley.

Country road

In the first Country Road you come across are two large pool tables that take up almost the entire space. A band plays every night. Although I have no knowledge of pool billiards at all, the combination of pool and music band seems to me a very strange one. In my opinion they completely contradict each other. Sitting on a stool in the limited remaining space you have to be careful that some pool player with his long stick doesn't rob you of your manhood. Then case number two of the same name where Foy and his band have to entertain the attendees.

You don't have to be a math genius, and neither are the Thai, that with the few guests who have found their way here so far, even the band members can't be paid. This small establishment cannot accommodate more than thirty guests, but the excellent band plays without even the slightest pause all evening, regardless of the sometimes very small number of people present. Is it all financially feasible? In my opinion, the Thai uses a completely different calculator. Musician: it is and remains a hard and uncertain existence.