David Wong is a violin player who has produced videos on YouTube for several years. He has done violin covers (of course) for songs such as Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe, Swedish House Mafia's Don't You Worry Child and fun's We Are Young but he generally plays all genres. His self titled cover EP was just released recently so go check it out! We talk about how he first came to love the violin, the process he does doing a YouTube video and his new EP. We have included the full audio interview below and below the player is the full text interview for your reading pleasure…
When did the violin first become a part of your life?
David: I started playing violin when I was four. Basically my mom asked me if I wanted to play violin or piano and I picked violin. I couldn't tell you why. I stuck with it ever since. There was a small year or few months where I picked up Cello but that definitely did not stick. I've been playing violin since I was four so for 22 years, almost 23.
What was the first song you learned how to play on the violin?
David: Twinkle (twinkle little star). That was definitely the first song I ever learned.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDKBMvHJcFY
I know you majored in Asian studies as well as music. In regards to your Asian studies major, what have you done with it that has helped shape your life?
David: That's a good question but unfortunately not so much. I took it because I started taking Chinese cause I'm half Chinese. I started taking Chinese cause there was a two year language requirement. I liked a lot of the aspects of the Asian culture and Asian cinema and I used to like anime a lot but I don't watch much anymore. I played a lot of video games. I got really into DDR. That being said, I don't do much with it now. I had a lot of friends who were Asian. I guess I'm not using the major as much as I'm definitely using the music more.
I know you do a lot of YouTube videos and you cover songs of any genre. For you personally, what's the process of doing a cover and does the process change from one genre to the next?
David: That's a solid question. It really depends on the song and what kind of cover I'm doing. To start off, when I first started doing covers, basically the process is, I usually tend to cover songs that are stuck in my head whether I like the song or not. I do them all by ear besides maybe one or two, I've never really written out any of them. Most of the covers that are on my YouTube channel I started and put out within a few hours.
What's a song that you would like to cover but you have never got around to doing it?
David: That's a really good question. This one is really random. You know Megaman 2? It's just such a weird thing to do (and) it's a lot of effort to put in for a really short song so who knows if there's going to be much interest. That's definitely one of them. A lot of guitar solo stuff that I haven't gotten around to like Metallica's One.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4tr2ZToxGU
Can you tell us about some of the ideas you had for your new EP that you wanted to accomplish?
David: Well, I think for this one I saw it as being almost like a demo, like a take home thing. For what was going on it, for the cover tunes, they had to get licensed and everything. Basically the goal was to put together the best ones. So, the stuff that's going to be on the EP, all things where I play all the tracks or that I worked on for almost the entire track.
For you, what is it about music that you believe makes it such a great healer and emotional connector?
David: I think especially for me, music has been a way of expressing myself. I always seen it as a very emotional outlet, anything that I feel definitely goes into the violin. I've always been a very connected player when I'm playing. I definitely play with a lot of feeling. I close my eyes a lot which is something I'm trying to get away from cause I know it can distance you from the audience but I always find myself closing my eyes as a very internal process when I'm playing. But I think that musicians tend to be some of the most passionate people for what they do mainly because I think one of the reasons is as a whole musician is a very underpaid profession. I think it's true that musicians really love music because they are just trying their hardest to do everything they can even if they don't make it. A lot of people are still trying.
What kinds of struggles have you personally encountered that have helped you become the person you are today?
David: One of my biggest faults is sometimes I'm a little lazy. Sometimes I'm a lot a lazy. I have a lot of ideas and I have a lot of things I want to do and sometimes I don't do them. I'm getting a little better at it but I think my biggest struggle is really kicking myself and completing things and pushing myself a little bit harder. It's held me back for sure but it's getting better and I'm liking more things and getting the opportunities to do bigger and better things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRq92pV7SDg
What are some of your favorite Asian films and/or anime?
David: I love Oldboy. Anything Miyazaki. Jet Li, Tony Jaa.
Can you give us some words of encouragement for those who have struggled to follow their dreams?
David: The biggest thing I usually tell people is that you have to be patient with yourself. Everybody runs differently and it's very easy to give up. If you really believe that you are good enough and try hard enough and push yourself to get there, then you totally can. There's a reason that there are people that get there. It's because, yeah some people get lucky, but the general amount of them have just been pushing and pushing so that they end up at the right place at the right time. "Preparation meets opportunity." I really like that quote. I think you just keep doing what you're doing and if you think you are doing a good job and you're getting better at it then I generally think people are successful. I think the people that generally fail are if they just stop or they decide to not do it anymore for one reason or another. It's not necessarily they fail at life or they fail at all, they just stop and decide it's not for them and go and do something else. I think persistence is really key and if you love it, then just keep doing it. The more you work at it, the better you get.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igXzRCfLa8Y
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