We did it! The sold-out World Premiere of Mele Murals at the Oakland Museum of California was exactly what we had envisioned! We were privileged to have our premiere at CAAMFest which has been supporting my work since my first film.
A huge thank you to everyone who came out. The strength of our communities were on full display that night and left me grateful and inspired. The event started with live paintings by Prime and Estria - the artists featured in the film - and ended with performances by Bambu, Geo and Sabzi.
The premiere was part of Friday Nights @ OMCA featuring Off The Grid food trucks.
Prime and Estria (the artists featured in the film) doing what they do best.
Me and the rents!
Cast and crew.
Prometheus Brown and Bambu performed at The Bar after the screening.
Impromptu Blue Scholars set! Sabzi produced the score for Mele Murals.
The Mele Murals 'Ohana in San Francisco's Japantown after the second sold-out screening.
DJ Phatrick recently uploaded the mixtape he produced for A Song For Ourselves back in 2009. It's been a minute since I listened to it, almost forgot how classic it is!
Features songs from Chris Iijima, with his groupmates Nobuko Miyamoto & Charlie Chin interlaced with the music of Kiwi, Bambu, & the Blue Scholars. It also features exclusive Chris Iijima remixes produced by Fatgums, Will Bracy, and Miles Senzaki.
What an amazing night! Over 1,100 people packed the historic Hawaii Theater for the Hawai'i Premiere of Life on Four Strings. The premiere was an special event of the Hawai'i International Film Festival sponsored by Pacific Islanders in Communication and PBS Hawaii. Fans, friends, family and many local stars like ukulele legend Eddie Kamae and singer/songwriter Paula Fuga came out to watch the film.
(Photo by Rae Huo/Zakka)
(Photo by Rae Huo/Zakka from HIFF website)
Jake's hero Eddie Kamae and family with HIFF Executive Director Chuck Boller
I was super stoked to meet one of my favorite singers Paula Fuga!
Blue Scholars decided to drop their new album Cinemetropolis a little early! From concept (they will drop a video/short film for every track) to independent distribution, this album is exactly what Geo and Sabzi have built their careers on, originality and mastery of their craft.
You can taste test all tracks and then cop the album HERE.
Sojin Kim recently wrote an excellent, in-depth article on the legendary A Grain of Sand album by Chris Iijima, Nobuko Miyamoto and Charlie Chin. Progressive Asian American music pretty much starts with this album. In the Smithsonian Folkways Magazine cover story, Sojin provides a background on all three artists as well as the movement that inspired them. A must read! Read it here.
Beatrock Music is celebrating their one year anniversary this week with shows in Long Beach on 12/10 and San Francisco on 12/11. Big ups to Fatgums and Beatrock Music for dropping six projects in it's first year! Purchase your pre-sale tickets here.
These ill one-year commemorative New Era snap-backs will be available at the shows!
My obsession with Seattle bands continue. Last Saturday I saw Band of Horses at the Greek Theater on a beautiful 70 degree September evening. It was the perfect night at the perfect venue. Lead singer Ben Bridwell was not at his best as he explained to the crowd that he “may have contacted SARS or something". Having followed Jake Shimabukuro earlier this month on tour, I have a better understanding of the grueling pace and physical toll life on the road can be for musicians. Even though Bridwell couldn't hit all his notes, he sang his heart out and we all appreciated the effort. Who wouldn't love a band who has a song titled "Detlef Schrempf"...did I mention they were from Seattle?
Here's an amazing bike video cut to their song "The Funeral"
I was in Japan for the first half of this month shooting Jake Shimabukuro on tour for the doc I'm doing on him. More details and photos from the trip to come. Here's some footage we shot of Jake in Hiroshima covering Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody which is featured on his upcoming album.
Jake is always on tour and will be performing in LA's Little Tokyo at the Asian American Music Festival on Oct. 16th.
Today the racist Arizona law SB1070 goes into law. Last Friday Rage Against the Machine performed at a benefit concert to raise money for two Arizona organizations fighting SB 1070; Puente, Arizona and The Florence Project. My old college roomie Jeff got me a ticket and needless to say, it was fucking amazing!
Here's an example how Rage front-man Zack de la Rocha was able to tie every song to the blatant racism that is going on in Arizona...
I got a call from Jeff the next day that started with "Dude, my neck is sore".
Here's some footage that I shot of Kenny Endo, Kaoru Watanabe & Abe Lagrimas Jr. drumming at the JACCC 30th Anniversary concert. Growing up JA in LA it's easy to get taiko'd-out, but these dudes bring a level of craft and energy that really separates them from the rest.
"Remittances balances between subtle social commentary, to outright blood knuckle rage."
Listen for yourself and you'll understand why I've been so amped about this album. Favorite tracks so far: "Mr. Sagittarius",
"Blood of my Heart" and "Artofficialfreedom".
A limited edition CD/t-shirt package is available at Beatrock Music. The album release party is going down on June 4 in San Francisco.
The Blue Scholars X Bambu tour came thru LA last friday and packed the Viper Room in Hollywood. These brothas have been on their grind for the last two months, selling out venues up and down the west cost. The Scholars premiered some new tracks off their upcoming album and Bam premiered a new "look" with the v-neck and cardigan.
Grynch and Bam jumped on stage to close out the show. Footage by the homie JayTan.
I got a chance to build with Sabzi and Geo while they were in town. We talked about everything from new projects to NBA playoffs. I'm always impressed with how thorough and conceptualized their vision is of where they want to go as a group. And even more impressive is their ability to execute and materialize that vision.
There was a article last Friday in the East Bay Express about Youtube's new "Musicians Wanted" project. The new project allows musicians to partner up with Youtube and actually share some of the revenue generated by their videos based on the number of views they get. The homie Goh Nakamura was featured in the article as one of the musicians who've partnered up with Youtube.
While I was at the Google compound last month I got a chance to talk to Michele Flannery, one of the people behind the Musicians Wanted project. We talked about how many of the young artists who've really been able to take advantage of Youtube are Asian American. She also talked about how many young musicians might be able to identify more with the lo-fi, singing-in-your-bedroom videos verses a full-blown concert on TV. Michele definitely knows what's up with the Asian American music scene, which is a good thing for all of us.
Go here to download Goh's latest album for free. Here's one of his music videos that has over a million views!
