



Article 3
Jan 2, 2015

Tong: An Unexpected Voice
By Joshua Puit
They say you should never judge a book by its cover, and I have to strongly agree with that statement. Many times though, we do judge people by their appearances, and at first I also did when it came to Sivadon Thongdee (Tong). I was unsure of how he would sound, but I found an unexpected voice coming from this man, and I was truly shocked and surprised (in a good way). We should all remember that looks can be deceiving, not to judge others, and sometimes we'll find people that have unexpected surprises, just like Tong.
The first video I came across of Tong was Beautiful by The Smashing Pumpkins. He only does vocals in this video, but he also plays guitar in many others. While the music was playing, I really didn’t know what to expect while I waited for his first words. As soon as he started to sing, I was immediately blown away. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and then I questioned if it was really even him singing. Going through his YouTube channel (Rangsit Bureau of Music), I could see that he has posted hundreds of videos. The videos dating back to 2010 were not enhanced/produced like his recent uploads, they have the raw video and audio. From seeing and hearing those videos, I was back to a state of shock and awe.
Of the many videos that I watched that Tong has posted, my favorite was a cover called Say It Ain’t So by Weezer. It was a video that was posted in 2011 and has reached 1,268 views. His voice obviously sounds different than Rivers Cuomo (lead singer of Weezer), but he still sounds amazing to me. I love how Tong can sing softly, but can project very well. He has a lot of dynamics in his voice which is very impressive. He plays guitar very well, and he shows a lot of emotion throughout the song. I really liked the fact that he was so into the song while performing.
Another favorite of mine, was a duet with a girl named Jennie. They performed If I Ain’t Got You by Alicia Keys. Jennie plays guitar in the song, and she sings here and there. Tong and Jennie’s voices together sound absolutely great, which is no wonder why the two have another YouTube channel together (Tong and Jennie). Although I must warn you, the Tong and Jennie channel is not in English (maybe one or two songs are). Even at the beginning of their Alicia Keys cover, they speak in Thai. At the beginning of listening and watching Tong’s videos, I didn’t even realize he was from a different country (Rangsit, Thailand). Which was another reason for me to be so impressed by him; because most of his songs are in English. He does have original songs, which sound great to me, but I couldn’t understand the lyrics because they are in Thai. Regardless of not being able to understand the vocals, his original songs still sound great, and you should check them out.

There was another video I liked called Keng, Jennie, and Tong Jam Session. It’s another song that is in Thai, but even so, the three harmonize together brilliantly. Keng’s vocals were great, and his guitar playing was spectacular. He makes playing guitar look easy. Jennie and Keng also have their own individual YouTube channels (Jennie: Jennieguitar; Keng: atipkeng). I definitely recommend taking a listen to Tong, and Jennie and Keng are worth taking a look at as well. *Jennie and Keng’s channels are in Thai.
Ultimately, Tong is an amazing singer to me, and he’s a decent guitarist. I could almost guarantee that you will be just as surprised as I was once you hear him sing. I honestly like his older videos a little better though, because his more recent videos sound slightly over produced. Maybe a little too much studio magic was used in the mixes, but either way, he’s still a great singer. He actually reminded me of a few people here and there. He almost has a combined voice of Chris DeMakes and Roger Manganelli (Less Than Jake), with a hint of Nate Barcalow (Finch). He has great range and projection, and I really believe his voice will blow your mind.


Other noteable videos of Tong that I recommend:
-Handle This by Sum 41
-Dear God by Avenged Sevenfold
-I Miss You by Blink 182
-The Taste of Ink by The Used
-Scars by Papa Roach
-Invisible by Skylar Grey
Check out Tong's social media sites: