Monthly Archives: February 2010

Jake Shimabukuro interview from TED conference

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The social media blog Mashable snagged a pretty cool interview with Hawai’ian ukulele maestro Jake Shimabukuro at the annual TED conference (TED stands for “Technology, Entertainment, Design” and it’s a chi-chi invitation-only think-tank gathering of great minds) after his performance yesterday, which drew a standing ovation.

I’ve written about Shimabukuro before, and I’m glad he got to play in front of such an august audience. Good for him — I hope it sends him to superstardom status in all of pop music, not just ukulele fanatics.

I’m embedding both parts of the video interview, plus the very popular video of Jake creating new and amazing art out of the old George Harrison chestnut, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” There are tons of Jake Shimabukuro videos out there on YouTube. Check em out:

Download Kina Grannis’ free single “Valentine” & pre-order her new CD “Stairwells”

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I downloaded my copy. You should too. Kina Grannis is letting you download a free copy of “Valentine,” the catchy folk-pop track that’s captured in the lyrical video above, as a preview of her new full-length album, “Stairwells,” which is available for pre-order. You can get a signed copy of the “Stairwells” CD, which officially releases on Feb. 25, for a mere $12. I pre-ordered. You should too.

Grannis, if you don’t know, is a talented hapa singer-songwriter whose prolific work is available on a YouTube channel that includes her hummable originals and tons of interesting covers. Back in 2008 I wrote about her when I stumbled upon and was enchanted by her breezy cover of “Sukiyaki.”

She’s part of a growing list of Asian American musicians who are making a mark on the mainstream pop scene.

One of these days, Grannis, or one of the other musicians in this circle, which includes the likes of Dawen, David Choi, Meiko, Tim Be Told, Vienna Teng, Mia Doi Todd, Cynthia Lin, Wendy Woo, Hello Kavita, Dwight Mark, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Rachael Yamagata, Phyllis Heitjan, Dengue Fever, Priscilla Ahn, Goh Nakamura and others, is gonna break out with a big hit.

Then, maybe everyone will get more of the attention they deserve.

Virginia band Tim Be Told playing Denver, Colorado Springs on national tour

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Tim Be Told, led by singer-keyboard player Tim Ouyang, center

Colorado music fans can get a taste of an up-and-coming Asian American indie band from Charlottesville, Virginia next week, when Tim Be Told comes through Colorado Springs and Denver during their national tour. Tim Be Told are alternative rockers led by a young, multi-talented Chinese American singer, songwriter and keyboard player named Tim Ouyang. The other members are Korean American guitarist Andrew Chae, Vietnamese American guitarist and backup vocalist Luan Nguyen, Filipino American drummer Jim Barredo and European and Native American bassist Parker Stanley.

Their sound is rooted in unabashed pop, with well-crafted melodies polished off with a shiny veneer of tight harmonies. You know the genre: think Maroon 5, and Denver’s own Fray. Ouyang brings a wide sonic palette to his songs, from simple, piano-based arrangements to full-on rockers. His voice cuts through even the densest wall of sound with an amazing clarity and power — you can imagine his soulful, gospel-drenched vocals taking the finals at American Idol, or the show-stopping spotlight in a Broadway production.

Ouyang hails from New Jersey and had already written dozens of songs by the time he was out of high school; Tim Be Told came together when the members were all students at the University of Virginia. They won the UVA Battle of the Bands, and have since become regulars playing the college circuit. The group released a debut album, “Getting By” in 2007, and they’ve recently released an EP, “From the Inside.” You can download the song “Analyze” from the new EP for free below.

It’s worth knowing that the band’s popular within Christian rock circles, but their music isn’t overtly Christian in tone or message.

You can catch the group during their Colorado swing on Feb. 9, 3pm at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and Feb 10, 7pm at the Chinese Evangelical Church of Denver (1099 Newark Street in Aurora).

Download “Analyze” here, or check out some more songs on Tim Be Told’s MySpace page:

Here’s the band’s full upcoming schedule as they criss-cross the country (note that they’re back in Colorado to play at Denver University on May 12): Continue reading →

Meet Adam Schrager, author of “The Principled Politician”

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The Principled Politician: The Ralph Carr Story," is a biography of Colorado governor Ralph CarrErin and I are trying something different from our visualizAsian.com interviews with Asian Americans, and hosting a conversation with our friend Adam Schrager, the author of “The Principled Politician: The Ralph Carr Story.”

The interview is scheduled for Wednesday, February 24 at 6 pm PT (7 pm MT, 9 pm ET), and like our other talks, it’s a free call held over a conference line and webcast, so you can listen via phone (long distance charges may apply) or online (free). Just register for the call, and you can also submit questions both before and during the interview on the webcast page, and we’ll pass them along to Adam.

This is a good time to revisit Adam’s excellent biography of Ralph Carr, which was published in 2008. The paperback edition has just been released, and Day of Remembrance is coming up on February 19.

OK, you say, what’s Day of Remembrance, and who’s Ralph Carr, anyway? Continue reading →