On the rise

After almost two years of doing small shows in Beijing night clubs, things have finally paid off. In the spring of 2012, China's biggest indie rock company Maybe Mars found Mr. Graceless and decided to sign a contract with them, and promised to help them produce their first album. In retrospect, the three guys still vividly remember the day they signed the contract: "We had always treated music as merely a hobby of ours. We'd never thought it would really get serious", as they recalled.

The Tree Ever Green

Not so long after Mr. Graceless became joined Maybe Mars, the company started producing their first album, named "The Tree Ever Green". By that time, Qiushuang, Shuai and Jiulong had already done plenty of shows, and they knew every song like the back of their hands, but to actually record them was another story. Recording was both exhausting and time-consuming, and every song took at least a week to finish. However, the three young talents all think of it as the best time of their lives. "It was like being pregnant. You get to see your belly growing every single day. It was full of joy and proud", Qiushuang said. "Our studio was at Beijing Dancing Academy, so everyday we got to see plenty of skinny girls wearing tights walking by us. That was definitely the best part", they joked.

Music for music's sake

The album turned out to be great, and the guys were happy about it. China's indie rock culture is still at its initial stage. Most people outside of Beijing and Shanghai would never know bands like Mr. Graceless their whole life, not to mention watching shows and buying CDs. "It sounds cliche, but serioiusly, we are not doing this for money. We knew from the day we decided to make music together that we would probably not be making a penny. We go to work, and use the money to make music. That's what we do, and we'll keep doing it", Jiulong said with a smile.