Joachim and Alexie's Karaoke Blowout

Today is the second day of the Spring '03 semester. I showed up on Monday to my Chamber Singers class at 11 o'clock. It's funny how much I realized that I missed rehearsing with these people every Monday and Wednesday for almost 3 years now. Anyway, we show up to find that four of us weren't able to return for this next semester, including one guy from the tenor section who was recalled into active duty. We have some new pieces that we're working on in preparation for our upcoming tour to Oregon. One of our concerts will be in a monastery in Oakland which is made of marble.

Tuesdays and Thursdays will be University Chorus rehearsals. We are actually going to put on two different concerts. SF State is hosting a Bach Fest, which features [DOH!] works of Johann Sebastian Bach. We're also doing Karl Orff's Carmina Burana, which some of you may recognize from those Marines commercials, particularly the one where the guy goes through some sort of obstacle course which ends with him killing a fiery dragon. The Bach Fest is in April, Carmina Burana is in May. I can't wait.

Saturday mornings, from 11 - 1, I am rehearsing with the Oakland/Alameda Community Chorus for our Black History Month concerts in appreciation of the Black [Negro] Spirituals. We have some concerts scheduled in February. In addition, we're recording a CD which will hopefully bring us in some extra revenue for us. I HAVE A SOLO ON IT! But the CD is the reason why it's getting harder and harder for me to get away to the snow.

Then Saturday afternoons are the practices for the musical, "Jazzy Josie B" by Herb Geller, which are in Berkeley at the Black Repertory Theater. I showed up for a almost full cast rehearsal last Saturday and the other cast members are some of the coolest people. It's a community production but since this is the first US performance, I'm going to be a part of history!

So, to summarize:
Monday, Wednesday: Chamber Singers
Tuesday, Thursday: University Chorus
Saturdays: Oak/Alameda Chorus, Jazzy Josie B
Sundays: Ating Tao Drum Circle

Whew!

Make Mine Music

~No Tations~

p.s. Bitter Tuesday will be back next week!

Man, I wish I still worked at FedEx. Most of them were Oakland Raiders fans. And they were the kind where you can't root for both teams. As far as they were concerned if you like the Niners you couldn't like the Raiders. What made it even worse was that if they had an NFC team it was the Dallas Cowboys. Cowboys?

In 1998 the 49ers hosted the NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers. This game wasn't even close. The Pack totally crushed us, then went on to lose to the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. I went to work [in Oakland] to find photocopies of the front Sports page taped everywhere. And all those Raiders fans telling me my team 'CHOKED.'
[Real conversation between me and Josh H., FedEx courier]
"Choked?" I said. "What about the Raiders? Didn't they choke all year? Who lost to the Saints [who were horrible that year?] Who had the better record, the better year?"
"It don't matter," Josh said, "you lost. You choked."

Basically he is a good example of some of those idiotic Raiders fans who, in the case where their team totally stunk, based their entire football season on how far the 49ers went in the playoffs. If the Niners didn't win the Super Bowl, then it was a successful year for the Raider Nation. I told them that I don't wanna hear any of this if/when the Raiders end up losing a championship game.

In 2001 I got my chance. I emailed all the Raider Nation folks I could think of:
Question: What did the Raiders eat for dinner last night?
Answer: artiCHOKE!

And Josh emails me back:
Yeah, but who had the better year?

What a hypocrite.. My old coworker at the Union City station was a diehard Raider Nation member. But he actually knew his stuff. In fact, I used to love our debates over football and sports in general. We would never be able to change the other's mind but we were still able to get our 2 cents in.

Still, I was going for the Raiders. C'mon now, Bay Area pride. I wasn't sad when they lost though, unlike when my Giants blew the World Series. That still hurts. What would have made this the ultimate humiliation was if Tampa Bay decided to wear, just for fun, those ugly Orange uniforms. Ouch.

"The autumn wind is a Raider."
More like breaking wind.

Makin' Mine Music

~No Tations~

"AMERICAN" IDOL PART II

After weeks of voting people off, the viewing public was now left with Tamayra, Justin and Kelly. I didn't happen to know the results of that elimination day until I came home the next week and found my old roomie Lori watching the show, but this time sans Tamayra. "What happened to the black girl with that tight voice?" I asked her. "Oh she got voted off." "What?!"

So now we were left with Justin and Kelly, too not bad looking people with okay voices. There's nothing about their voices that impressed me. As far as I was concerned, the 'real' singers were already gone.

It then dawned on me. The American Pop Music Industry isn't just about talent. That's obvious in the fact that most of the so called girl/boy 'bands' [though the word band is just a label; most of them, save a rare few, actually play their own instruments] only have/had one or two principal singers -- the rest were 'just there'.
For example:
New Kids on the Block - Jordan, Joe, Donnie
Backstreet Boys - Nick, Brian
NSync - JC, Justin [one day I'll tell you about my brush with NSync]

So what's my point?
You may have the talent, but you need to be marketable to actually make it in the industry. Go ask those groups made up of Asian Americans of 'Latin' Americans singers -- groups with loads of talent but unfortunately still look too much like foreigners.

Still, I'm pulling for the Pinoy, who if I'm not mistaken used to be a member of 'Innerlude' from the San Jose area. [I have another story about singing "In the Still of the Night" with them waaaaaaay back in '94!]

Am I gonna watch the show? NO.
But do I want the Filipino to win? HELL YEAH.

SUPER BOWL XXXVIII TRIVIA!

1. What was the jersey number of the MVP of Super Bowl III?
2. What team had the only player who was named MVP though playing for the losing team?
3. How many points did Wendell Tyler score in Super Bowl XIX?
4. Which running back got a concussion in the first half, yet still came back to become the MVP?
5. Who caught the game winning touchdown of Super Bowl XXIII?
6. Which 49er scored the first [of many] touchdowns in the history of the greatest football dynasty of all time?
7. Matt Millen played for how many Super Bowl winning teams?
8. The Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl I in which stadium?
9. The Dallas Cowboys won 5 Vince Lombardi trophies. How many Super Bowls have they been to?
10. In Super Bowl XV, how many interceptions did Rod Martin have?

The winner gets a prize!!! Leave your answers in the comments section.

I referred a friend [who, as a former member of KAI, knows a thing or two about being Asian American in the pop music industry] to my last post, and he commented, "Wow, you think like me! I can't stand music based reality shows."

I still haven't had the chance to go to the snow and now I'm just a Tahoe fiend.

[the voice from the video game 'Gauntlet']
"No Tations needs Tahoe...badly."

Arghhh. Oh well, school starts up soon, which means Chamber Singer rehearsals again.

Make Mine Music

~No Tations~

"American" Idol?

As we approach the premier of American Idol 2, I thought it only proper that I give my thoughts on what is being called a new phenomenon in the American music scene. Last summer the nation was intrigued by 30 wannabe music stars, American Idols, if you will, as they sang their hearts out in front of three so called expert judges on talent and music. What made this competition unique in many peoples' eyes was that the general populace voted for the winners. In other words, the hopes of the contestants rested in the agile and dexterous fingers of the millions of TV viewers sitting at home in their living rooms. The viewers did not vote based on contestants' talent. On the contrary, they voted for the person(s) that they liked the best.

But first let's start with the judges. First off, there's Randy Jackson, whom I consider as the only true judge of talent on the show. He uses not his experience in the music business, but also as a musician, to help the audience in their decision on who to vote for. Next up is Paula Abdul, who all of us at least twenty-something folks remember discovering on MTv/VH1 as the girl in the black and white video that also has Arsenio Hall. First off, though Paula is a very good dancer, she is a prime example of a dancer who was given a mic and a recording contract. Not someone that I consider to be the best judge of vocal talent. And then there's Simon Cowell, who everyone familiar with the show recognizes as the British guy who has absolutely nothing positive to say about any of the artists until they win. According to the website Simon is credited for shaping the pop industry for the last 20 years. Excuse me? The shaping of the pop industry? Give me a break! Who did he contribute to the American pop industry? Westlife? Please. The pop singer Sinitta. Who? Robson and Jerome. Don't they do magic with the white tigers in Vegas? But seriously, Cowell would not know a good singer even one came up to him and licked him all over his face.

I first watched American Idol last season because my friend Brad was one of the 30 finalists. He emailed a bunch of us to get us to watch the show and vote for him. I had no idea of what he was talking about but figured since it was on TV it had to be something pretty big. So I watched him [he was actually pretty nervous and didn't have a good audition; of course Simon knocked him down, saying he was nothing but a good karaoke singer who has no business there] and unfortunately he did not make it to the finals. But what really got me steamed is that the guy from Boston, who Simon absolutely ripped a new @sshole in, made it through, beating out this one Maxwell?singing guy who had an awesome voice. Right after that episode I knew that this whole show and competition would be nothing but a bunch of bullsh!t.

NEXT MONDAY, PART 2!

[Today is my day off]

I post my blog reluctantly today. Reluctantly only because I could be in either Reno or on the slopes today. But alas, real life sets in and the would be dreams of snow/powder or neon lights/ringing slot machines/free alcohol go by the wayside. But I get to hang out at home and be with the family.

Watched the football games yesterday. And yes, I did pick the Bucs to beat the Eagles yesterday. And I am a Raiders fan [but not even close to diehard] and so of course I'll go for the Bay Area team. My prediction for the Super Bowl: Raiders: 14 Bucs: 12. The Raiders gotta play their @sses off if they want to win. That Tampa D aint no joke!

[Serramonte Mall]

So yeah, I just got through with another day's work. This particular day I worked a split shift, 8-1, then 5-9. I'm pretty beat. Did a lot of pinching of firefighters, paramedics and cops for the 911 Pinnacle Fitness Challenge, to deteremine their bodyfat. I just realized that there's a lot of out of shape firefighters, cops and paramedics too!

Got a call today from the 'do everything' woman in the Black Methodist Choir that I sing for. Rehearsals start up again on Saturday in preparation for a few Black History Month concerts and an upcoming CD project. We'll be singing strictly Negro Spirituals. Can't wait.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Bye Mooch. I had a few questions about your coaching decisions but in the long run, you made pretty well with a 1) team that had key injuries of its veterans [namely Rice, Young]; 2) a young team that had to rebuild in a hurry; and 3) with a team that overachieved a little bit last year and played a little more to its talent level this year, but was still able to win a division. Obviously John York doesn't like you.
Now, there are 4 coaches I'd like to see in San Francisco:
[in order of preference]
1) Mike Shanahan, current coach of the Denver Broncos
2) Mike Holmgren, current coach of the Seattle Seahawks
3) Gary Kubiak, current Offensive Coordinator of the Denver Broncos
4) Denny Green, former Offensive Coordinator of the SF 49ers.

Realistically I'm guessing Green, but hoping for Kubiak. The other two would need a coup to get but, hey, anything's possible.

Make Mine Music

~No Tations~

[BITTER TUESDAY]
And I'd bet you thought I'd forgotten...

1. My 49ers are done. History. But what makes it hurt so much more is that they could not even score one measley touchdown.
2. Which means that the Silver and Black fans, besides gloating about the Niners demise, are alive for one more Sunday.
3. I didn't get to hit up Tahoe on Friday, like I wanted to do.
4. They're still selling that frickin' World Series Commerorative Issue. Enough torment already.
5. I'm broke, but what else is new?
6. For some reason, I was feeling pretty down today.
7. I'm hungry.
8. Got @ss?

Unlike most of the Raider Nation, I'm no Silver and Black hater. I grew up in a "Bay Area Pride" house, but when it comes down to it, I bleed:
1) Orange and Black during baseball season;
2) Red and Gold during football season.
My point? I'll be rooting for the Raiders on sunday. But win or lose, the Super Bowl this year looks to be pretty good.

Making Mine Music

~No Tations~

[Serramonte Center]

I forgot to call back that guy who's in charge of rehearsals for the Herb Geller musical. Whoops. Coordinating and organizing my schedule for the next 3 months is going to take up all of my spare time. I must needs to fit in choir rehearsals, musical rehearsals and work. Geez Louise!

If anyone out there in BRL land likes to sing, I'm hitting up The Mint in the Castro on Feb. 1 to celebrate a fellow Chamber Singer's birthday. Hit me up if you wanna go.

Oh yeah, Friday, January 31st, I will be at Horatio's in the San Leandro Marina. My dad plays there every friday, and the 31st will be the last night he's playing. He is in a trio [guitar, bass, sax] and they play almost anything you ask them to. There is no cover and the parking is better than decent. Again, hit me up if you wanna go.

[This was supposed to posted yesterday so actually, it's the post from TUESDAY, JANUARY 7th.]

It's been a very interesting 5/7 of a week so far...

Ohio State Won. Not that I'm a fan, but definitely Big 10 versus Miami. Or make that anyone vs. Miami. Or make that anyone vs. Florida. Rank of Florida teams: (1) Florida State University; (2) University of Florida; (4) University of Miami. [Get it? I can't stand the Florida teams, but most of all Miami!]

My 49ERS came from nowhere to beat the NY Giants. I can't stand the NY teams. So anytime they're playing I'm going for the other guy. Like Mango, I honestly didn't think that the Niners were going to win, after going down 38-14 in the 3rd quarter. But my dad taught my brothers and me to stick with it and watch the whole thing. When Tiki Barber scored his touchdown I said, "Well, the only positive thing going for us is that there's still a lot of time left." Quote me. Ask my brothers. Obviously we know the outcome. Cmon you NY fans. Bryant wouldn't have made the 50 yard field goal anyway.

Come Sunday, I'll be yelling and screaming for Niners.

THE REAL WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2003

I'm having a horrible day. And it was self inflicted too.

I suck at paying my bills. Today I just found out that my second credit card was cancelled due to overdue funds. Sh!t. My credit is pretty crappy right now. For me the only way to go is up.

I left my trunk unlocked because I meant to take my $70 Swiss Army backpack out and forgot to. Then I parked my car in the Serramonte parking lot and forgot about it till my lunch break at 5. Too late. When I opened the trunk, the backpack was gone. Now, I rarely ever splurge on myself, especially with something as outrageous as a $70 backpack, which makes losing it that more worse.

Plus I had a headache for a while.

I was feeling pretty down.

Then, "Morning Dance" by Spyro Gyra came on the radio, and all of a sudden I'm feeling better.

A whole lot better.

SUCH IS THE POWER OF MUSIC

Makin' Mine Music

~No Tations~

Go O State!

[I can't stand the 'Canes]

Howdy one and all:
So far 2003 is seeming like 2002 extended remix. No, but seriously, everything has gone back to normal again. The malls are once again quiet, well, at least during the daytime, and I've pretty much settled down from all the Holiday Hoopla. But I go forward in 2003 with a loss...my cat, Misty, was run over by a car on the December 22nd. We got her from my aunt, along with one of her brothers, Pooh. She was the runt, but she turned out to be the tough one. Pooh turned out to be Garfield personified [or make that CAT-ified]. Now Pooh is by himself. I wonder if he realizes it? We'll see. My mom was sad. She buried Misty in the backyard with my brother and then she cried.

I don't know if I told you all but I had one of many holiday concerts with one of three choirs that I sing in on December 15 at the beautiful Our Lady of Lourdes in Oakland. Well, anyway, one of the audience members happened to be jazz saxophonist Herb Geller, who though born in LA now resides in Germany. He recently wrote a musical about the life of Josephine Baker, and after hearing me sing a solo, called me and asked if I wanted to audition for a role in the musical. Well, I lagged a little bit [typical college student] but eventually called him and met with him. Because of my procrastination, the part he had in mind was already taken. But he offered the part of both the French Consulate and also one of Josephine's servants. HOW COOL IS THAT? I last performed in a musical as a pirate in Peter Pan. So I'm meeting up with him tomorrow before work. This is gonna be cool! Of course I'll keep you all updated.

Have a nice weekend and be good.

Make Mine Music

~No Tations~

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I'm at the freakin' mall because the mall is freakin' open today. Isn't that stoopid? Malls should be closed so that people like me can get inebriated on New Year's Eve and then coddle the hangover by sleeping in. Then we can wake up and watch college bowl games all day in our pajamas, then change and wash up before dinner at Grandma's.

BUT NO!

Some mall manager had to go and screw it up! Now I'm here for no freakin' reason. I'll be off soon anyway.

Go watch VH1. They're having some cool countdowns.

Make Mine Music

~No Tations~