junctqin keyboard collective

thanks to facebook i was able to reunite with a long lost high school friend. turns out she's a concert pianist now!

she is also part of a cool trio (a group of self-professed keyboard geeks) that performs contemporary music written for none other than toy pianos!

last week her group, junctqin keyboard collective, performed at a beautiful outdoor stage as part of the 'plein air concert series'.

the concert made me feel like i was transported into a live version of an episode of brave new waves or the signal. all the songs were unique and the trio gave us some background info on all the pieces the performed.

i loved all the songs (especially the ones that were duets or for trio), but the last song was performed by all three on table in perfect synchrony. here's a version that i've found on youtube:



the other amazing thing, in addition to the music? the plein air concert series, is a series that is organized and run by susan brown on a volunteer basis so that the artists can benefit from the ticket sales! ... i think that it's also her backyard and stage that is being used for the concert series. what an benefactor of the arts!

the little boots report

i forgot my camera for the little boots concert, so i decided to draw a little report instead.

sadly her très cool tenori-on instrument malfunctioned and we couldn't see her use it live, but none the less the show was super fun.

what totally bugged me, though, is the number of people who insist on taking sh*tty photos with their iphones or use their flash with their point and shoot cameras. do they think that if they keep on trying to take photos without changing the setting of their camera, they'll magically get a different result the next time? excuse me, but you are totally obscuring the view for the vertically challenged!

i tried taking one photo with my cellphone and realized the futility of it:



anyway, i consider little boots an electronica genius of sorts. here is she is covering hot chip's 'ready for the floor' and recreating every element of the song except the vocals on her tenori-on:



and then!! check her out on jools holland, where she manages to play the baseline and other song elements all the while singing the melody of her song 'meddle' and play the piano. it's pretty amazing:

can't. wait.

warning: an image heavy post

as a beatles fanatic, the release of the beatles' rock band trailer totally made my day.

i am thoroughly impressed with the 3d models and the animation. the attention to detail, from the way they move to how rock band animated the exact way the beatles run into the budokan stadium is amazing. all the clothing and facial hair is perfect for each performance/concert. and to think that we can try to attempt and sing these songs in 3 part harmony!

the other bonus? the actual masters were used to create the game!!

















so go check out the trailer yourself!!

my new toy

finally 5 years after ms. bee inscribed the inside of the alicia keys' book that she gave me, i finally got a piano!

my old friend from my japanese school days - we've known each other for almost a quarter of a century! moved back to vancouver after a 12 year stint in toronto. she really didn't want to let go of her electric piano but with a drum kit and 5 guitars that she was shipping back, she had to.

now it's back to boring scales and finger strengthening exercises for me. it's amazing how much my fingers have atrophied in 5 years. not that i was ever at a concert pianist level but whatever dexterity i had, especially in my left hand, is gone. scales used to be more of an exercise of remembering all the sharps and flats, not an exercise for fingers!

i'm hoping that with lots of practice i can regain the strength in my fingers soon. and eventually (maybe in 3 years) if can play this piece, even at 1/3 of her speed, i will be quite happy:

soundtrack for a spring day

i hope this website doesn't end up like the old muxtape! it has a great catalogue of non-western and indie music.

is this cool or what?

... or am i just a nerd?

an online symphony! i would totally try out, if i had a piano here!

at last

finally a way to share music with your pals without having to burn it to environmentally unfriendly CD/DVD media!

what do you think of my muxtape? the sun was my muse.

i could go on and on about why i love juno, but i find the soundtrack for the film is even more endearing than the film! you'll have to ignore the really ugly CD jacket illustrations, though. here are excerpts from some of the awesome songs:

so nice so smart - by: kimya dawson
i like boys with strong convictions
and convicts with perfect diction
underdogs with good intentions
amputees with stamp collections
plywood skinboards ride the ocean
salty noses suntan lotion
always seriously joking
and rambunctiously soft-spoken
i like boys that like their mothers
and i have a thing for brothers
but they always wait til we're under the covers
to say i'm sure glad we're not lovers

you're so nice and you're so smart
you're such a good friend i hafta break your heart
i'll tell you that i love you then i'll tear your world apart
just pretend i didn't tear your world apart

treehugger - by: kimya dawson & antsy pants
And in the sea there is a fish,
A fish that has a secret wish,
A wish to be a big cactus
With a pink flower on it.
And in the sea there is a fish,
A fish that has a secret wish,
A wish to be a big cactus
With a pink flower on it.

And the flower
Would be its offering
Of love to the desert.
And the desert,
So dry and lonely,
That the creatures all
Appreciate the effort.

And the rattlesnake said,
"I wish I had hands so
I could hug you like a man."
And then the cactus said,
"Don't you understand,
My skin is covered with sharp spikes
That'll stab you like a thousand knives.
A hug would be nice,
But hug my flower with your eyes."