I've had to adjust to karaoke as a modern reality that obscures our hunt for what we're truly after.

Everyone's a singer now, thanks to karaoke, for better and for much worse. But the live band is now becoming ancient history in Thailand, Cambodia, and Burma.

Almost all the bars in Southeast Asia are lady bars. The listener and participants who interact and frequent the clubs are exclusively male who become actively involved with the ladies, not the music. Coming to them to listen only to the music is not what people do.

Old is unwanted. You don't find Thais going to the thrift store. They want new clothes. They want the newest cell phone.

I like traditional music. I listen to a lot of it. There is no particular reason to present these recordings. I love what I do so I find ways to keep doing what I love. Music is certainly not all that interests me. I hear things my own way and I present them. Sound is inspiring and I can be quite obssessive with certain sounds.

In terms of perceptions of the culture, most people don't think about music. They're not concerned with it. They don't take their musical legacy seriously.

There hasn't been a true breakdown or effort to break Thai music into genres. They're not into dicing and slicing everything up.