Boys to-do-list

They're coming back! The US pop punk band Boys Like Girls will head to our shores again for an event at ION Orchard mall next Friday.

In a recent phone interview with lead guitarist Paul DiGiovanni and bassist Morgan Dorr last Tuesday, they told M the things they're looking forward to doing when they get into town for a special meet-and-greet session on Oct 18.

"I want to try that bird in the egg, you know, the one where the white looks cooked but you can see the actual bird on the inside," proclaimed 25-year-old DiGiovanni.

It was his band mate who was also on the conference call that corrected him on the delicacy and said, "That's Filipino, dude". DiGiovanni replied: "Ah yes, that's right."

Realising later that the lead guitarist was referring to the Filipino delicacy, "Balut", where a developing duck embryo is boiled and eaten straight from the shell, I reminded the two rockers that the dish didn't belong to this sunny island.

The four-piece band is also looking forward to the food they "found strange" - prawns.

"We loved the seafood dishes the last time we were there, but one thing that's different about the prawns in the US and in Singapore is that they serve it with the head on.

"In the US, they only serve the part of the prawn that you eat and it doesn't have the head on it... ever," said Dorr, who replaced previous bassist Bryan Donahue in 2011 and was clearly unaware of the most enjoyable part of gobbling down a prawn - Asian style.

Both DiGiovanni and Dorr disagreed on the "speciality fruit" that Singapore has. The lead guitarist yearned for durian while Dorr couldn't quite stomach the "eclectic nature of the fruit".

Cool pool

Another thing the duo is looking forward to checking out is Marina Bay Sands' famous infinity pool at the top of the integrated resort.

Like everyone else, one of the band's few hobbies when abroad is shopping, and they hope to have the chance for "some incredible shopping" this time.

"The last time we got to Singapore, we headed to the malls and it got a bit hectic," said DiGiovanni.

"I can't remember the name of the mall, but they had posters promoting that we were going to be in town. They had to shut down a few stores for us because people recognised us and started to take pictures, to the point that we couldn't move around.

"But we'd never turn fans away, so once we were done at the stores, we met and took pictures with fans as soon as we got out and it's just really welcoming." Another item on their itinerary is heading to a karaoke lounge.

Said DiGiovanni: "We actually like to go karaoke a lot, so maybe we may do that too when we get to Singapore."

Dorr said: "(Singing on stage is a different vibe because we have to put on a proper show, but when we're in the karaoke lounge, we have fun with it and make fun of ourselves."

DiGiovanni, who is also the back-up vocalist, said: "Some of our fans from Singapore have been tweeting us, asking us to come back. So we're grateful that we've got the opportunity to go back again.

"It takes no time at all to reply tweets and it just feels great."

The morning catch-up call was made from Los Angeles after a recording session with band mates Dorr and John Keefe, who were over at DiGiovanni's house to work on a new track in his home studio.

DiGiovanni revealed exclusively to M that the brand new track, titled Nights Like These, features a "chick vocalist" but declined to reveal more information.

crobert@sph.com.sg

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