Liang Long, lead singer and songwriter of indie rock band Second Hand Roses, sings at a recent performance. [Photo by Zou Hong / China Daily]

"I put on heavy makeup because I was not confident enough to perform in the beginning. I felt safe behind the mask and I could go wild naturally onstage," says Liang. "I never thought about the makeup seriously until more fans told me that the way I look matches well with the ideas in our songs. Then I decided to make it as a symbol for Second Hand Roses."

"Second Hand Roses is good at mixing diversified elements. The more different those elements are, the more interesting the result will be," says Liang, adding that one song from the new album is a remix of We Will Rock You by Queen and there are others which mix with old Chinese folk songs.

The first and most successful element the band has fused into their music is errenzhuan, a folk song-and-dance act that was popular in Northeast China.

Liang says he was inspired to include errenzhuan, which he grew up with though he didn't like it at first.

As an angry young man living in Beijing, Liang felt lost, his ambitions stymied. He returned to his hometown Harbin in Heilongjiang province and worked for local groups, who played music at weddings and funerals to make ends meet.

"Those two months made me feel real," he says. The experience also inspired him to write one of Second Hand Roses' most famous songs, Cai Hua, or Picking Flowers.

Renowned music critic Huang Liaoyuan, who is also the band's manager, met the musicians in 2000 and was impressed by their style.

"Though they have only released three albums in 15 years, each one is unique and pioneering in Chinese rock music history," he says.

"When all the rockers yelled out their anger through rock music, Second Hand Roses used a hilarious approach to express their thoughts, which was very refreshing for me then," he says.

With the help of Huang, the band is also working on its first theater drama, which will be completed next year. According to Liang, the story will be based on his early experience as a security guard in Beijing before he founded the band.

"We will push our music up to another crazy level because we want to be different," Liang says.

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