Seriously Joking—Won Fu(b) | 不只幽默而已——旺福乐团(b)

While their jokey side is well known to music fans in Taiwan, there is also a hidden depth to Won Fu's music. In Xiao Min's analysis, given his tendency to be a bit preachy, little life lessons or buried bitter memories are often stowed away in his lyrics. Not wanting to be too earnest or serious, though, he wraps everything in a layer of sweetness and joy. While there is depth beneath that coating, Xiao Min is also fine with the idea that although fans might not get his hidden messages, they're at least having fun. If you've never seen a Won Fu performance, it can be hard to really grasp their philosophy of placing humor above all. Both on stage and off, there is raucous laughter and a party atmosphere, with occasional improvised talk-show-esque interjections by Xiao Min.

With their bright, cheery style, Won Fu has already had invitations to perform in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Canada. In October 2009, they also received a massive US$90,000 sponsorship from the Government Information Office to play in four cities in the US—Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle—on a month-long tour.

Released in the fall of 2009, Won Fu's latest album Won Fu Loves You is a bit warmer than past efforts. The peaceful, love-filled single What's Wrong with Love is Beatlemaniac Xiao Min's homage to The Beatles' classic All You Need is Love. He says that partly because everyone's already seen the humorous, fun-loving Won Fu and partly because the members are getting older and going soft, the band has realized that there's nothing wrong with a plain old, sweet love song. If they can get more of their fans to really let their feelings out and make the world a nicer place, then that's a beautiful thing.

     在乐迷已熟知的搞笑面貌底下，旺福的音乐其实有着『深藏不露』的一面。小民自我分析，其实他骨子里是个爱说教的人，常在歌词里『偷渡』人生道理，或是一些暗藏心头的酸苦回忆，但又不想搞得一本正经，因此总以蜜糖般的欢乐糖衣包装，不过他仍是一派洒脱，若乐迷听了没接收到个中意涵也无妨，至少还能让他们觉得开心。若没亲自瞧过旺福的现场表演，很难彻底参透他们奉幽默为最高指标的人生哲学：台上台下笑闹成一片的派对气氛，以及三不五时穿插一段的小民即兴脱口秀。

　　特色鲜明、风格讨喜的旺福，迄今已受邀至日本、香港、新加坡、加拿大等地演出，2009年 10 月更获新闻局大手笔赞助 9 万美元，至美国洛杉矶、波特兰、旧金山、西雅图等 4 个城市，进行长达一个月的海外巡演。

　　在 2009 年秋末发行的最新专辑《旺福爱你》中，比起过去的风格更增添了几分温暖。听来充满爱与和平，主打歌《爱有什么不好》正是身为披头四发烧乐友的小民，向该团经典名曲 All You Need Is Love 致敬之作。他说，有一部分的原因是大家都看过幽默逗趣的旺福，也有部分原因是团员们年纪渐长，心态变得柔软，更加体悟到唱些带点复古的甜蜜情歌也没什么不好，若能影响更多乐迷及早表现出内心情感、给世界多一些抚慰的话，更是美事一椿。