An iconoclast's power

Members of the band at Houhai Lake in Beijing.[Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

"My 2-year-old daughter enjoys your songs very much. I took her to your show in Beijing's Star Live last December. She likes listening to the song Beijing Surfers, before she goes to bed every night," says a woman, who claims have been a band fan since she was a university student. She watched Queen Sea Big Shark's performance for the first time at the Strawberry Music Festival.

"It feels good to see these people, who have been with us for years," say Fu, giving the woman a big hug.

Born in Beijing, the 30-something Fu was born to a pianist mother and a doctor father. She attempted to learn piano but failed.

"I was not a quiet girl. I was very naughty and couldn't sit down for hours to practice playing the piano. Thankfully, my parents are open-minded and they are very supportive of my choice," say Fu.

With a bachelor's degree in architecture from Beijing University of Technology and a maste'sr degree in graphic design from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Fu was influenced by the indie rock bands in the capital then, including Joyside and PK14. She founded Queen Sea Big Shark with guitarist Cao, her classmate Beijing University of Technology.

Then Cao introduced the other two members of the band.

All the band members are Beijing natives and they often hang out around Beijing's Houhai Lake, once a peaceful, scenic spot that's become a tourist site.

"We just wanted to have fun with music and didn't plan anything," says Fu.