The Ripple Effect

Just as I am preparing to step away from this full-time, sometimes neurotic and obsessive focus on my primary musical project DMZ//38, there are new rays of hope. Finally got a feature printed in today's Korea Times after several delays. The reality is that I'm slowly going broke and need to get back to some income-generating activity to stay in the music game over the long haul. Nothing dramatic just reality staring me in the face. Something tells me I'll miss this free-wheeling, kickback time but everyone has their limits.

Will have some cool promo cards later this week to advertise upcoming shows, here's a sample:




Oh, and the ripple effect...it's too easy to get intimidated by the morass of bands, music, "culture" and media madness we're inundated with daily. The bigger the pond, the more effect required to make even a small splash... The DMZ//38 ball is already motion, however - time to take a breather, make some domestic adjustments and allow those ripples to spread a bit.

We Fall But We Keep Getting Up

I'm at risk of getting skid marks from all the sitting around lately. It's been a slight shock to realize that I have fallen into some old habits of being either on the phone, computer or reading - even though I "work" at home not in a corporate office. The more things change...And am still in recovery mode from 4+ hours in the chair at the tattoo studio Thursday night. The results are awesome though and I'll post pictures shortly.

Excited and encouraged by the large turnout at today's antiwar protest in Washington DC. I was certainly there in spirit, if I had a dime for every rally I'd attended in Chocolate City I'd be a wealthy man perhaps. This bodes well for the upcoming Occupy the Occupiers concert in LA on Saturday October 8. We should have at least one of the new songs ready by then.

On the homefront, have been digesting the realization that with all the problems in the world, and challenges faced/facing in this life, it's really OK to be a little complacent in this relationship which has developed in the last several months. With my attitude and compulsions, god(s) bless any woman willing to put up with me in close quarters. ;-)

October Surprises

Still recovering from a mild head cold, following the well-received but poorly-attended show last week at The Gig. This project is still in the early stages and I know it's hard to attract attention in such an entertainment-saturated area like L.A., yet improvements need to be made with street promo efforts...

Several shows for October are lining up, including a high-profile Katrina benefit at Century Club with possible appearances by Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder, an October 8 appearance at the Not In Our Name antiwar concert in downtown LA, finally a gig at Zen Sushi on Friday October 28 with my pals at Licorich Records. I hope to see more friends, old and new, at all these gatherings.

Last night I enjoyed a showing of "Green Chair" at the LAKIFF (LA Korean Int'l Film Festival) presented at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. Only 10 minutes away and free street parking around the corner, gotta love this town.

Renewal

The change in season has re-invigorated my creative energies. I've made so much progress on new songs in the past week, and am uncovering new layers in the fascinating process of songwriting. Fresh inspiration is coming from Bob Dylan's amazing memoirs (Volume 1) published last year which I found at my favorite new bookstore Skylight Books located in the Los Feliz neighborhood. On Saturday I attended a pretty impressive Asian American rap/political event commemorating 9-11 in K-Town produced by Asiatic Empire - to be honest I should have been performing at the event, but connections were made for next time.

Anticipation building ahead of Tuesday night's show.

Just found out my grandfather in Korea passed away.

Exposure, visibility, whatevah

Gettin a li'l worn out from pasting my picture all over the place, a new photo shoot (full band?) may be in order. Since the next show isn't set yet, probably a benefit in October, I'm shamelessly plugging this next gig at The Gig.

Eye of the Storm

It's difficult to express in words my feelings regarding the tragedy that unfolded this past week in New Orleans. I suspected the damage would be comparable to what happened yet it's still appalling that aid wasn't delivered more rapidly to people when it mattered most. Suffice to say it's triggered more than a few major gut-checks and tears but in fact I feel more driven than ever to make a difference through my music if it's the last thing I do.

Show this past Tuesday at Anarchy Library went smoothly though not particularly well-attended. The group is sounding tighter and I'm looking forward to the next gig at The Gig on Tuesday Sept. 13 for all you LA folks.

Starting to get some press attention as well with this page 4 article in Kyocharo (Korean Consumer Daily) with wide distribution in the SoCal Korean community. Finally, just learned that the CD is now also available through Tower Records online so please go buy a copy if you don't already have one ;-) Happy Labor Day.