網購高手

從小想當超級巨星的她，如何一路走到自己心深渴望的舞台？


站在14樓的EMI，電梯打開的瞬間，夢想是否也開始轉動？


沿途的等待與失落，該怎麼保持信心、不斷堅持？


平凡如你我，如何有勇氣去爭取自己真心想做的事情


生命中的交叉路口始終困擾，也因此在不斷的迷路之中，找到可行的方向。


這條路，我們該怎麼走？只有自己能回答。

書中，訴說著她到異國築夢的過程，如何因為喜歡唱歌，就讓自己唱歌的心情；她是怎麼看在我們再熟悉不過的城市以及台北人。RITA用她的文字、攝影記錄生活，一個開朗樂觀，勇敢尋夢的女孩子，相信每個女孩當能像她一樣，走出自己的路！找到自己的答案。

有時候這些夢想非常真實，讓我覺得成果就唾手可得。我知道我很可能有機會讓這些美夢成真。人的心靈和想法真是奇妙的東西，只要兩者同心協力，即便再怎麼遙不可及的事物也會出現在眼前。如果你夠專注堅持，夢想就在不遠處。

作者簡介

梁璟裕RITA

從小在加拿大溫哥華成長，為了尋找自己在歌唱行業的夢想，2005年搬到台北，就像無數個平凡女生，有著一點點的勇氣、一點點的堅持，將自己的故事寫下去。兩年了，因為逐漸完成的夢想，所以期待著、努力著。生命的際遇總是令人玩味，最後，他沒出到唱片，卻出了一本自己的圖文攝影書--請問EMI怎麼走？

We said yes. 我們答應了

We’d been lucky enough that summer to have after-hours access to a small studio that belonged to a friend of Yuen’s. Before that, we recorded in his bedroom, or Bosco’s basement, or in empty houses. By that summer we had been together about a year and a half. And in that time we’d spent countless hours writing and recording, trying to create something special- something that the Asia hadn’t heard yet.

那年那個夏天我們非常幸運，能使用Yuen的朋友那間業餘小錄音室 。在那之前，我們只能在Yuen的房間、Bosco的地下室，或是空屋裡錄音。樂團差不多成立一年半，那時的我們花了數不清的時間寫歌、錄音，想要作出很獨特的音樂－亞洲沒聽過的音樂。

‭***‬

I met Yuen a short while after I had competed in the New Talent Singing Auditions in Vancouver. We had been paired up for a World Vision charity concert- he accompanied me on piano while I sang. A few months after that I joined him and a couple of his friends, Bosco and Julian, to perform in a song writing contest. Yuen’s song won in the hip-hop category and that’s really when it all started.

認識Yuen，是參加溫哥華的比賽(New Talent Singing Auditions)之後不久。我們兩人搭檔參加世界展望會的慈善演唱會－我唱歌，他替我伴奏。幾個月後，我們和他的朋友Boso及Julian，一同參加歌曲創作大賽，Yuen寫的歌獲得Hip-Hop組優勝。一切就是這麼開始的。

We discovered that we had something great together and decided to form a group so that we could combine our talents and come up with new material. Although we were all very different- an Engineering student turned Psychology major turned music producer, a hair and make-up artist, a Taiwanese playboy, and me, an English major- we all had something very much in common. We had all been infected by the music bug and each of us desperately wanted success in the music industry.

我們發現我們合作時會有新的火花，所以決定組個樂團，結合大家的專長，創作全新的音樂。雖然我們都各不相同。一個原本唸工程系後來轉到心理系，現在又變成音樂製作人；一個髮型造型師；一個台灣的花花公子；還有我這個唸英文系的學生，但是我們卻有共同之處。我們都中了音樂的毒，每個人都想在音樂這個領域大展長才。

We spent time and time again cooped up in basements writing songs and recording vocals. And after we had laid down the tracks Yuen had to spend an additional 15 hours (and sometimes more!) putting it all together so that it was just right. Before we had the studio, we had to endure the stifling heat of Yuen’s bedroom as we recorded. We couldn’t turn the air conditioner on or open the windows because of the noise. And even when we took those measures, sometimes the entire track would be ruined anyway because of an airplane flying overhead.

我們花了很多時間，把自己關在地下室寫歌和錄音。錄完後，Yuen還必須花上額外的15個鐘頭（有時候甚至更久！）把所有音軌集結在一起，這才算大功告成。在這間錄音室工作之前，我們必須在Yuen悶熱的房間裡錄音，沒辦法開冷氣，也不能打開窗戶，外面的聲音太吵了。雖然我們都已經這麼做了，有時候剛好有飛機從我們頭上經過，整首歌還是要從頭來過。


Of course, as it always is in a band or any group of people working together, we had conflicts and disagreements. Our own personal issues and agendas often made things difficult to say the least. And on many occasions we faced opposition from our families. Sometimes, I didn’t even want to be in the group anymore… I had always dreamt of being a solo-artist and being in a group sometimes felt amiss. Sometimes, it just felt like doing it on my own would be so much simpler. But I knew that if I didn’t have the three of them to spur me on, I probably wouldn’t have gone as far on my own. Where one person was lacking, another made up for it.

當然，和每個樂團或一起努力的團隊一樣，我們曾起過爭執，也有意見相左的時候。我們的私事和行程往往會湊不攏，而且偶爾也會面臨家人的反對。有時候，我甚至不想再待在樂團裡…我從小的夢想是當歌手，待在樂團裡總覺得不太對。有時候我也覺得如果只有我一個人，事情應該會簡單得多，但是我知道如果沒有他們三個人鼓勵我，我一個人應該沒辦法有這樣的成就。只要我們其中有一個人有不足的地方，其他人就會補足。


After we had a full album of demos, we started sending them out in the hopes of getting our big break. We had a lot of interest from management companies and agents, but it wasn’t quite what we were looking for. One day, a radio DJ that I had met called me and said that there were some representatives from a record company in Taiwan that wanted to meet us. They had heard our music and it had peaked their interest. So, we met them. They liked us. And then they asked us if we would come to Taiwan to meet their boss.

我們錄完一整張專輯的試唱帶後，就開始到處寄發，希望能有出道的機會。很多經紀公司和我們連絡，不過那並不是我們想要的。有一天，一個之前認識的電台DJ打電話給我，說台灣的唱片公司代表想和我們見個面。他們聽了音樂後很感興趣，於是我們就去了，他們很喜歡我們，問我們是不是願意到台灣和老闆見面。

We said yes. 我們答應了。