music

This isn’t the most exciting thing in the world but the girl on the left is a huge star in Japan. Her name is Mana Ashida and as a child of 7 years, she’s a hit. If K Pop is going to reign with sexy girls, then why not combat it with a new genre of J Kid Pop? With an older demographic and aging population, this is odd and something that’ll be studied.

“Most impressively, respected Japanese advertising agency Dentsu named Ashida the sixth best Japanese “product” of 2011—placing her in front of hybrid cars and emergency supplies.” (The Atlantic – Mana Ashida)

Janet Liang is now in Houston getting medical treatment. Hopefully the famous quote, “Houston, We have a Problem” will be nothing but a joke since Janet and her strong spirit has just arrived. Her Leukemia is at 82% of her body, she has a 30% chance of survival, and she intends to be in Texas for the next six months recovering. (janetliang blog)She’s a busy one and there’s a concert coming up in her honor and also to raise funds. It’s Helpingjanet.com Perfect 10 Concert that’s taking place in LA. The money goes to Janet’s medical bills and if you want to help her but are far away, there is a paypal link at the bottom of her home page at helpingjanet.com. It’s not a Kickstarter to make something later, this is a plea for here and now.

Ironically, today I opened up my mail from saturday and this was in my small pile of packages and junk. It’s from the National Marrow Donor Program. It turns out, I’m a preliminary match for someone out there. It’s probably not Janet, or is it? The chances are slim that I’ll actually be a match for anyone since that’s just how the odds work, but it’s timely that this comes in the mail. Is it a sign of anything? I hope so.

If you look at the date, I joined in 1990. I saw a small mention of a donor drive happening near my house. A Japanese American man needed marrow. I had no idea who he was, but I decided to show up and give it a try. At the time, they drew blood and that was how it worked (Now it’s cheek swabs that you can do yourself). Having not donated blood, it was a little uneasy even if it was the quantity of a nosebleed. The folks there offered me a piece of cake and cookies and were amazed that I showed up without knowing the person. In 1991 I received a similar notice as below, and nothing happened after going in for a further blood test. Now 22 years later, here’s my second time around. I hope I can help.

That’s Janet, Jane Lui and Tamlyn Tomita at Giant Robot 2.

I’m not a Coldplay fan but this is classy. (corrected, yes, his name his not two words. How fancy.)

I have a long playlist on my ipod that I call “the song graveyard” of old unfinished verses,choruses and riffs. It’s a musical “to do” list that I consult every now and then.
One of the songs on there was a sad tune that started with the words “Here’s A Secret”… but then ended in gibberish. Songs can stay in this suspended state for years, until something jolts me emotionally to fill in the blanks. Such is the case for this tune.

This is the first single from the Soundtrack album I’m about to release called “Motion from the Music Picture.” There’s 2 exclusive cues from my upcoming film Daylight Savings, too. Hope you dig.


Here’s A Secret

I’d imagine writers, artists have a similar “graveyard” that they consult from time to time…I’m curious. How do you guys work with older material?



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New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin’s rise was guaranteed to eventually incite hate from both teams. It should come as no shock then that boxer Floyd Mayweather voiced his own criticisms of the Point Guard on the Twittersphere. After all, Mayweather released his own homophobic and racist rant against Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao on YouTube in the past. To his credit, he at least toned down his rhetoric (profanity wise) concerning his opinion towards Lin.

“Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he’s Asian,” Mayweather tweeted. “Black players do what he does every night and don’t get the same praise.”

Alas, this entry isn’t about Mayweather so much as what swiftly followed.

Jenny Hyun–co-writer of Kpop group Girls’ Generation’s “How Great is Your Love” and Chocolat’s “One More Day”–pulled a Kenneth Eng and combated racism with more racism. Her following tweets called for the genocide of African Americans among other things.

It’s safe to say, her response wasn’t met with much praise and got to a point where she locked her Twitter account. She delivered a not so sincere apologized on her blog, all the while defending her inflammatory remarks.

She deleted the apology. In its place stands a seemingly more sincere one written by a third party explaining that she suffers from a psychotic episode and is undergoing treatment at a hospital. Whether or not this was the subtle work of a hacker is yet to be revealed. However a closer inspection of her blog reveals that she identifies as Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, and Humanist. With a synchronicity like that, my bet’s on insanity.

Goh Nakamura and Jane Lui played quietly and nicely at GR2. Aside from the great sets by both, GR2 was visited by the Helpingjanet.com folks. You’ve seen her viral video, and Janet Liang needs your help. The exhibition of music went from sounds and a captive audience to getting involved in being involved in trying to help others. The end of the show became a bone marrow drive! Below, Goh Nakamura plays his set among dragons!

Jane Lui plays to a nice crowd of at least 30, who sat on the old shelves that are now benches!

Star citing: Janet Liang, Jane Lui and Tamlyn Tomita

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The film is actually called Daylight Savings. It’s debuting at the SXSW film festival, but a day later, it’s in SF.

The tickets are available at CAAM. It’s the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. That’s Goh Nakamura (right) and Ayako Fujitani (left).

D22 the infamous club in Beijing which developed their “underground” scene is closing it’s doors. As a lot of indie clubs it was far on the edges of town, but that also leads to it’s mystique. Now it’s closing after being an integral part of the scene. The music is China still isn’t spread world wide, but that’ll come over time and venues like D-22 will always pop up. (WSJ – D22)

I heard this Okkervil River song tonight for the first time and had to cover it, record it, and now I’m passing it on to you. Download away… Happy Holidays Everyone!

Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas (Okkervil River Cover) by Goh Nakamura
Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas (Okkervil River Cover)

There is much to say about the phenomenon of K-Pop. In a female band, the performers appear to be more R and B, American style, and yes, they do stand a chance of breaking the US Market. Their counterparts, J-Pop resides in it’s own world and has so far failed any English speaking entry. K-Pop, they’ll do it as well as anyone in the world and in that style. (Reuters – K Pop)

Boris in J Pop style! I’ve always thought of them as being on the edge of dangerous, from mellow to thick. They were like a modern day Black Sabbath, but this album, New Album is a strange pop hybrid that’s less rock, more J Pop. What happened? Without insulting the trio, the first thing I thought of was Attack Attack, which isn’t good. Yet the album finds some marks here and there and gets shoegaze with “Spoon”. I am hearing anime soundtrack music and undefinable take on contemporary top 40. Click on the link to hear it. (Spin – Boris)

Last night, my awesome pal Michelle let me be her tag-along for the first of three LA performances by The Cure, part of their final “Reflections” tour. The promise: a concert of the first three studio albums, including my favorite, Faith.

Promise firmly delivered.

I don’t have to tell you about The Cure. You know them. They’re the crossover band of the last several decades, loved by goths and sensitive jocks, when bullying wasn’t a legislative agenda.  Their earliest releases aren’t as accessible as their albums in the 1990s that were complete with music videos, and now make appearances in your favorite karaoke song books. I didn’t discover these records until after Disintegration came out when I was in Junior High. It took a solid education of punk rock and it’s earliest incarnations in British new wave, to help me develop a solid taste for the earlier work. This stuff is good though. Classic really, and the sound at The Pantages was stellar.

It seems to take a reunion show these days for me to melt away into a live show, when you know every song because you’ve listened to them a thousand times. Those experiences are magical though, and they remind me of a time when music was about discovery. Discovering new bands, making music that was beyond. Being able to listen to a record over and over to commit every chord, every hook, and every lyric to memory. Realizing that these songs were about moments in your life, or a life you wished you were living.

I miss that magic in music.

If you didn’t get enough of the far-away cell phone pictures in your Facebook feed last night, you can check out more of my picture here. I am the reluctant concert photographer who’d rather be dancing, but I tried.

A concert took place at the Hollywood Bowl with headliners Yellow Magic Orchestra or YMO. Much of the crowd were into Japanese culture, but surely had no idea who they were. Granted, openers like Cibo Matto or Towa Tei at the DJ tables, or even Buffalo Daughter may have clued people in, but did they know that YMO is a huge part of music history in Japan? Ryuichi Sakamoto was the front man of the band, Cornelius was an unnamed session guitar player, Haruomi Hosono, another legend, also in the band. Guessing that most probably didn’t know this. The show still went off well, people liked the music, and Yoko Ono did her best to ruin the evening.

Yet Ryuichi Sakamoto, known for his electronics and bending sound is now going on an acoustic tour including piano, violin and a cello. His reasoning has more to do with getting back to the basics after 311. He ties the simplicity to the post and pre 311 problems to people’s isolation in Japan, including Hikikomori, a large group who never leave their homes. (Telegraph UK – Ryuichi Sakamoto)

A few photos that illustrate the day of a visitor like myself in Hawaii. That’s Goh Nakamura below. He played an awkward set at a bar that was louder than he was, but then he figured out the amplification and made it work. Anytime walls are red, you get interesting shots. This took place at a bar called Ichiriki.

Yes an SLR can catch moments like this. I like the light from the phone. It was quite dark, but it still showed up.

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Midori, the child prodigy from the early 80s was thrust upon the world when she was 11. Her face was plastered onto concert advertisements, and although many young stars burn out, or just plain disappear, she’s sustained in her classical music world. She’s created foundations, chair the USC strings department, has a Psychology MA from NYU. It’s funny how she’s a former prodigy. We’d think that those titles don’t really go away. In her case, at 40, perhaps the “Child” part gets dropped. Here’s a round up on Midori. (SignonSanDiego – Midori)

Kid Koala signed at the Giant Robot booth during Comic Con. He talks a little about his upcoming book, Space Cadet but at the same time, plays with an Otamatone, and explains how he made the work in the book.

The day after the Hollywood Bowl, Towa Tei stops in. He cited Yellow Magic Orchestra as being mentors to him and he said the show was like playing with old friends. It’s ironic that he was the least heralded at the show since he was DJing in between bands, yet the title Big in Japan, really fits him and YMO the most.

It’s been a little while, but I last saw him in Tokyo a couple of years ago and he mentioned that the yen is strong, the economy is weak, and life has changed in Japan.

Tomo Nakayama from Grand Hallway

Some peeps

Goh Nakamura

Photos by Tad Nakamura