Band tunes in to fans with upbeat message

"It's a way of entertaining others and myself," says the 43-year-old. His videos are welcomed by his fans and received more than 500,000 views with each video release.

Besides music, Peng also posted photos of his cat, his daughter and the plants in his home.

Like Peng, the band's keyboard player and songwriter, Pang Kuan, also shares his life through Sina Weibo, such as dancing in his bathroom, singing with his guitar while clad in pajamas and cooking.

Peng and Pang, who were classmates in middle school, started New Pants in 1997, and signed with Modern Sky, a lesser-known label then, but now the biggest indie music recording company in China.

To support their musical ambitions, Peng works as an animator, and Pang as a designer.

As indie performers, they faced a struggle to survive, but have maintained a stable fan base.

In 2005, they released their fourth album, Dragon Tiger Panacea, mixing vintage 1980s new wave with disco. This led to the band's big breakthrough.

Last summer, New Pants obtained the highest score on a popular reality show, The Big Band, produced by the online streaming service iQiyi, and saw their fan base grow.

Due to the outbreak, they have to cancel or postpone some of the shows on their upcoming nationwide tour, including their first show in Shanghai, which was scheduled for March 7.

The record company, Modern Sky, launched an online streaming program on Feb 4, titled Hi, I Am at Home Too, featuring more than 70 indie music groups, including New Pants.

From Feb 22 to 28, the online streaming program saw nearly 100 music acts joining in, including Chinese-American rapper Victor Ma, pop rock band Dada and singer-songwriter Zhong Yixuan.

chennan@chinadaily.com.cn