Music: Shanghai Restoration Project and Vienna Teng

David Liang

Some random and cool music touring notes for ya'll:

Shanghai Restoration Project

Live in NY and LA: The Shanghai Restoration Project

In celebration of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the SHANGHAI RESTORATION PROJECT will be performing two shows in early August:

LOS ANGELES
Tuesday, August 5th @ THE VIPER ROOM
7:30 pm (doors open at 7:00PM)
8852 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069

NEW YORK
Wednesday, August 13th @ THE CANAL ROOM
8:00 pm (doors open at 7:30PM)
285 W. Broadway
New York, NY 10013

Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Click to buy for LA and NY.

The evening will feature SHANGHAI RESTORATION PROJECT producer Dave Liang ..board accompanied by vocalists Amos Winbush, Di Johnston, Heath Brandon, Natural Fact, and Shayna Steele.

Select tracks will be synchronized to video footage of historical and modern day Shanghai. Shot in high-definition format, the clips were produced by Mark E. Lee Productions and filmed by Aasulv Wolf Austad, whose most recent collaboration, Jennifer Phang's "Half Life," was an official Sundance selection and received favorable reviews in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter.

Made possible by Warner Music Independent Label Group.
Special thanks to IODA, Rhino Independent, and Warner Chappell.

Vienna Teng

Tour Dates In August

8/2 Manchester MI - Riverfolk Festival
8/5 Milwaukee WI - Miramar Theatre
8/6 Chicago IL - Schubas Tavern
8/8 Pittsburgh PA - Club Cafe
8/9 Akron OH - Lock 3 Live ** opening for Arlo Guthrie! **
8/10 Charleston WV - Mountain Stage ** w/Mike Gordon, Crooked Still, Carrie Rodriguez & The Rescues **
8/24 San Francisco CA - OUTSIDE LANDS FESTIVAL

Good Asian Drivers

A while back I posted on the Kit Yan (who along with Melissa Li make the duo Good Asian Drivers) and I wanted to make sure to let people know that their CD's are out, and although I haven't checked out all the songs and spoken word - what they have available at their MySpace pages is pretty cool - so make sure to check them out and pick up a CD if you like their stuff.

Snippets I like: Badass, Mr Mighty, Strap On.

For more on the Good Asian Drivers check out http://www.myspace.com/goodasiandriverstour which has some selections from Melissa Li's CD as well as Kit's CD.

For individual sites, there are more selections at http://www.myspace.com/kityanpoetry and http://www.myspace.com/melissalimusic.

Asian Hip Hop Summit

If you're into hip hop you'll definitely want to make sure that you check this out when it comes to a venue near you (click on the pic for a larger version).



For more info check out the site as well as the MySpace pages -and is just me or is AAM going sponsor crazy these days?

Cool.

Hot Track: Ishida Yuko

Definitely a slick vibe from the artist formally known as Juan. Check out the song and the video for Changes.



Here's some more info on Ishida Yuko from Wiki.ThePPN:

Ishida Yuko made her debut in 2001 as a member of the dance unit SOUL TIGER, from the television program Batoraku. She also auditioned for ASAYAN. A year later she was awarded Miss Magazine's Reader Special Award and in 2003 made the image girl of Teijin.

When making her debut as a musical artist in 2005, she changed her stage name to "Juan". Her first single's tracks were a throwback to popular Western songs of the 1980s. When she released her album three months later, she had a slightly more sexed-up image and included R&B influences in many of the tracks on the album, although a handful of the songs are 1980s-styled.

With her mini-album released in September 2006, Juan completely changed her style to R&B/hip-hop and took her sexy image a step further by wearing even less clothing in promotional videos and the album booklet. However, this mini-album was the last thing she released as Juan.

In 2007, Ishida became an image girl for Triumph, and in 2008 she released her "debut" single, "Missin' U", under her gravure name as a tie-in for the brand. She also won the Grand Prix award for ZAKZAK's "ZAK THE QUEEN" competition of 2007.

Lee Hyori: U-Go-Girl

The song's not bad, although I'm not into it as much as other people - but the video is cool in that you get to see Hyori play a lot of different characters, and it has kind of an old school feel to it in some places.

Update: Finished listening to the CD Hyorish and this track doesn't stand out when compared to songs like My Life, He Will do it, Photo Gallery, and Daughter of a barber man which all just have a better vibe to them.

Check out the video below

MV: Wonder Girls

I can't really help liking it - because you do have to admit it's kind of a catchy tune (and it's also #1 in SK).

Official MV For The Wonder Girls' So Hot

Soon they'll be everywhere

While you might read Disgrasian, now you can hear them online talking about the blog, how they started it, some of the new things they're doing - and of course - Tila Tequila. Listen to it down at KPFA.org.

Easy Listening: Laugh Away, Summer Song

The video quality isn't great, but the vibe is pretty cool. Check out Laugh Away and Summer Song by YUI.



h/t kpopjpop

Kenny Eng On iTunes Soon

If anything can brighten your day a little it's music - and I just got some cool news from Kenny Eng that his CD will be up and running pretty soon on iTunes and Rhapsody - so make sure to check out his site down at http://www.myspace.com/kennyeng for more information on the release.

Tatum Jones, David Choi, Kristine Sa, Thomas' Apartment, Kawehi, and Goh Nakamura

Some quick music notes on some upcoming shows and interviews:

The smooth R & B band Tatum Jones is going to be playing down at the Temple Bar on July 19th, and if you haven't checked out their music yet head on down to their MySpace page and take a listen.

Singer/songwriter/producer David Choi has a new interview down on OC Weekly which you can check out here.

Kristine SA along with Thomas' Apartment, VY, and The Shinobies will be playing down at Crash Mansion LA on July 29th (and on VHN-TV). For more info check out Kristine Sa's MySpace page.

Sweet Pop/Rock/Electronic artist Kawehi is getting ready for a NY 2008 tour. Check out her pages for more info on when her tour will begin (no date set yet).

Goh Nakamura is going to be playing on a double decker bus for a project called Audio Bus this July 19th, and is going to be providing the soundtrack for a 30-40 minute busride around San Francisco. Not sure if you can still get tickets to it - but I'm sure you'll be able to spot it. Check out his page for more info.

Kenny Eng: Self Centered

Indie pop guitarist and singer Kenny Eng just dropped his new CD yesterday at a release party, and while there's no word on when it will be available in stores for the general public (from what I can tell) definitely check out his MySpace page for updates, a sample of his new CD, and some smooth tracks.

DJ PMX featuring MACCHO, GIPPER, KOZ, HI-D, Foxxi misQ

Jazmin on America's Got Talent

I had mentioned the group Jazmin before in a previous post but hadn't heard much about them lately - so it's cool to see them on this season's America's Got Talent show which is apparently getting some good TV traffic (NBC says it's the #1 show this summer).

Here's a clip from the episode where they make it to Vegas.



Other than the "The Hoff" oogling them - because that's just a non-tasty visual - it's cool to see the singers, and some Asian faces, on the show.

If you want more music from Jazmin, check out their MySpace page.

Random But Cool Asian American Music Notes: Flowsik, miwaLyric, Lyrics Born, IBU, Kawehi, George Shaw, Chops

There's a new MV you can catch down on Vimeo featuring Flowsik, Decipher, Showgunna, and Reign Era.

miwaLyric has a spoken word piece on the new Symptom of the Free Mind album.

Lyrics Born has a new blog down at blogspot.

IBU is having their pre-release party down at Heat Nightclub (IL) June 29th. No cover charge with RSVP: email your full name and phone number to infoibu@aol.com.

Kawehi and her band have a residency down at McMurphy's. When: Every other Wednesday starting July 2nd. Where: McMurphy's Tavern Address: 72 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103.

George Shaw released a new CD to his successfull follow up album Marcus: The Film Music of George Shaw. The new CD is called J-ok’el. You can pick it up at MovieScore Media.

Producer Chops remixes lil wayne which you can check out here down at zShare.

Kollaboration Acoustic 2

Check out the lineup and info for Kollaboration Acoustic 2 which is being held August 2nd down at The Ford Theater from the MySpace bulletin:

KOLLABORATION ACOUSTIC 2 Sat. Aug.2 at the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood (Near Hollywood Bowl).

Come watch the best Asian Singers in America battle it out for $1700 in total cash prizes in front of Celebrity Judges and 1,250 people! Featuring Special Guest: PAUL DATEH & KEN BELCHER - (millions of views on youtube)

Comedians: Edwin San Juan and Ali Wong

And Competitors:

Benny Mao
Jaewon Choe
Jane Lui
Jason Arimoto
Jennifer Chung
Ken Oak Band
Lady Danville
Million Dollar Babies
Richey Lam
Sam Geunjin Kang
The Shinobies
Tier2

That's a sick lineup.

You can bring a picnic and eat before the show. Make it romantic. or Bring your family. For those 21+ you can bring drinks. VIP tickets will include some free drinks and free entry to the afterparty.

Get tickets here.

Hot Track: Nando mo

Slants Kick It On NPR

If you've been a regular reader of this blog you know I dig and support The Slants, and I got this sent down to me via The Slant's PR this week:

Portland, Oregon-based Asian dance-rock outfit The Slants - Simon Young (bass), Aron (vocals), Jen Cho (keyboards), Gaijin (keyboards), AC (drums), and Jonathan (guitar) ­ were featured on NPR's All Things Considered yesterday, June 11th.

You can hear the entire story at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90278746

Here's some of the transcript:

The Slants: Trading in Stereotypes
By April Baer

All Things Considered, June 11, 2008 - In the 20th century, younger members of many minority groups repurposed offensive words that had been used as slurs and insults. African Americans and gays, in particular, transformed hateful brands into badges of pride or belonging. Now, in the 21st century, a few Asian-American musicians are trying to do the same, particularly in the name they chose for their band: The Slants.

It all started as kind of a practical joke. Simon Young had been playing bass in bands for years, but what he really wanted was to front an all-Asian lineup. Now, with The Slants, he's almost done it.

Young, both Chinese and Taiwanese, met The Slants' lead singer, Vietnam-born A-Ron, and later formed the band with drummer AC and guitarist Johnny, who are both Hispanic and Filipino. "Together, they make up about one Asian," Young says with a laugh.

If you want more Slants check out an interview with Simon here.

Wheesung: We're not Crazy

Here's a cool video clip from Wheesung with D.O. called "We're Not Crazy".

Note To Music Companies

Just an idea - but I think it would work - and don't worry - you don't have to give me credit for it, but you certainly could (cause I'm like that).

If you truly want to make more money - and what music company doesn't - and have music reach a broader audience - especially Asian tunage here in the U.S. - just do what film companies have been doing for years now, except do it with music videos:

Add subtitles.

I mean there's so much incredible Asian music out there but it can't reach a worldwide audience in the way that it truly could because of simple language barriers.

But we love visuals. We love stories. We love music.

Just take any great foreign film that's won an Oscar and it's proof enough that even if people don't know the spoken language, as long as it has subtitles - they'll watch it.

Especially on DVD.

Think about a great compilation of Asian music videos with subtitles - stuff like Koda Kumi's Hot Stuff (one of my favorite vids by her) - or artists like Foxxi misQ, BoA, Utada, Lee Hyolee (Lee Hyori), Dragon Ash, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Chae Yeon ---- it just gives that much more of an incentive to actually buy an artist's work while also expanding their audience.

Really - it's a no-brainer.

Desi Media Networks & DNOAX

Got some info sent to me about Desi Media Networks, an independent hip hop record label, and DNOAX, a hip hop/rap group which has more than 20 members - sounds pretty cool.

Check out Desi Media Networks here and DNOAX at MySpace.