Summer Concerts

As I'd hoped and planned, I attended a number of various concerts this summer. Despite being busy in a city that doesn't exactly churn out exciting new music, I continue to believe that live music is an essential part of existence.

First, I went to see the album premiere show of a band called Shaolin Fez. Shaolin Fez is the brainchild of my acquaintance, American Sam Ferrer, who plays double bass in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. The music he makes with SF is a unique blend of jazz, funk, rock and world music led by talented singer Jennifer Palor and accompanied by dozens of multi-talented musicians. This was the first real “gig” I’ve attended in Hong Kong and it happened in a place called the Fringe Club. I liked the Fringe Club, with its intimate setting and well-balanced sound. Overall, this concert was great fun, and gave me hope that there are some, not many but some, unique acts coming right from Hong Kong-based pop musicians.

The next three concerts I attended were all in the Hong Kong City Hall, a well-sized concert hall in downtown HK. The first was Chu Yi-Bing and his Cello Quintet. Cellist Chu Yi-Bing is a monster, as was another performer at that concert, violinist Lu Siqing. They performed a pleasant program of classical music from various eras, and the sound of the cello is always glorious, especially five of them. It’s nice to see that classical music is alive and well on the other side of the world. All the musicians in this concert were from mainland China.

Next was “The Sound of Bamboo Music.” This was essentially twenty-odd musicians playing instruments made almost entirely out of bamboo. It’s always fun to see and hear people performing on instruments I’d never heard of before. For example, there was one that looked like a giant panpipe laid flat on a stand like a marimba. But the way to play it was to clap directly in front of the different bamboo chutes, creating distinct bass pitches. The concert was very creative and enjoyable, particularly in the fact that it was brand new, entirely Chinese and preached sustainability. They group called themselves Beijing’s Green Bamboo Orchestra.  The only downside was that the director explained everything about the group and its selections in Mandarin. I went alone so I could only guess what he was saying. Fortunately, the program had an English section so I was able to follow along to some extent.

Last, I attended the Hong Kong Bach Choir’s concert devoted to modern English composers. It was excellent, and hearing a choir brought me back to my PLU days and got me all excited about choral music again. In fact, I decided to audition for this group for the upcoming season. I made it into the Bass I section and will be a part of the group’s performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony come December. I look forward to performing with an ensemble again and writing more about my first participation in the HK live music scene right here on this blog at a later date!

New Music: You Say Tomato EP

For the first time in a year and nine months, I am releasing some brand new music. Being in Hong Kong with a full-time job contributed to this hiatus, but writing music is too important for me push aside for very long. Since I’m not making any fancy packaging for this album, I’ve decided to write the liner notes here on Page 43.

The EP is called You Say Tomato and consists of seven songs over some twenty-three minutes. It’s the most bare-boned of my releases; I used only a guitar, ukulele and occasional kazoo to record the instrumental tracks. The songs themselves were written this spring and summer in my flat when I was able to find the time. I’m not one to discuss what they’re about and how they were inspired—I’d rather you pay attention to the lyrics and make your own interpretation.

I’ve made many new friends since my last album Rhythm of the Void back in 2010 so for those of you who may not know, I’ve been writing and recording songs for about seven years now. I’m so lucky to live in an age where I can plug a little device into a computer to record and after a few clicks, my friends and anyone else with web access can hear what I’ve made. Compare that to a hundred years ago when the only way to hear a musician play was to find them in a concert hall. Or even fifty years ago, when the musician needed to be lucky enough to have a record contract before getting his music published. And after that was distributed many months later, the listener needed to trek to a record store, buy a giant piece of plastic and carefully insert it in his/her turntable. Staggering advances.

I hope you enjoy this EP. I make music for no other reason than to please myself and (hopefully) those around me.

Again, click --> here to download the new songs for free or donation. You can also find my other releases from the past few years there on my Bandcamp site. 

1999

Gold Medal: 69 Love Songs by The Magnetic Fields

After so many years of the Long Play format, it’s awfully rare to find an LP that does something new with the traditional structure. With this gargantuan record, the Magnetic Fields (aka Stephin Merritt) do just that. The title is exactly what the record is, split into three disks. Not every one of the sixty-nine is particularly enjoyable, but as a whole, this is an enlightening record. With this album, Merritt established himself as one of the truly unique songwriters of his generation. With his dark sense of humor and his brilliant wit, 69 Love Songs can teach you as much about love as any novel.

Silver Medal: When the Pawn... by Fiona Apple

Breaking on the scene at the ripe young age of nineteen with her debut album Tidal, Apple’s sophomore effort was as gutsy and sassy as they come. Helped by the stellar production of Jon Brion, this record is emotional without ever feeling overwrought. Pounding pianos and frightening vocals paint the picture of a young fiery woman in the mood for trouble. After all, in the album’s best track, she’s actually asking to make a mistake. Like most of Apple’s work, these songs make you feel a bit uneasy yet you can’t help listening to them over and over again.

Bronze Medal: The Soft Bulletin by the Flaming Lips

Very few people can describe exactly what the Flaming Lips are all about, though I highly recommend the documentary Fearless Freaks for those trying to figure it out. With this, the Lips' seminal album, the weirdness somewhat restrained, but that doesn’t stop the record from sounding like it came from another planet. It’s spacey in a sort of retro way, if that’s even possible. A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, Wayne Coyne, Michael Ivins and Steven Drozd discovered a mysterious society of spiders, Supermen and vegetables. Suddenly, everything has changed. 

Creativity

When I first started this blog over three years ago, it was a place where I mapped out some of my own hypotheses about music and its function. However, I haven’t written any such posts recently. I’m not sure why this is; perhaps being out of the university environment has taken my head out of the theoretical clouds. Regardless, I think of creating music, essays and other artsy entities as a lifelong pursuit so it’s time to churn out some recent thought dreams, as Bob Dylan might say. Let’s hope nobody puts my head in a guillotine…

In January of 2008, I proudly declared in my personal journal: “IT’S ALL ABOUT ART.” Perhaps “it” is not that simple, for eating, sleeping, loving others and making a living are all pretty necessary. But I still believe that being a part of artistic endeavors is one of the main reasons I get up in the morning. That and teaching Hong Kong babies their ABCs.

But as is the case with most things in life, there must be a balance in artistic participation. I could spend my whole life watching movies, looking at paintings, listening to music and reading books, but that would not be balanced. That is a purely internal experience and wouldn’t do much good for anyone but myself. Since I have the tools and the talents to put my own work forward, it’s my responsibility to do so and recognize this balance. To me, it feels only fair to do my part as a matter of respecting the multitude of artistic traditions I drink from on a daily basis.

This is a small-scale example of a more broad life philosophy I have in the importance of giving back what you get from the world. I personally love multi-billionaire Warren Buffett’s pledge to give 99% of his assets to charity and hope to do something similar when I’m older. If hard work, luck, and/or fate give you good fortune, you should eventually pass that on to others. This is also related to my extreme disdain for opulence in a world chock-full of poverty, but let’s not get too deep into this proletariat rabbit hole. 

I believe one of the best results of the modern boom of technology is the Internet’s ability to let anyone be a creator. And one of Facebook’s most useful functions is its ability to let people advertise their own creativity for free on a forum that’s widely used. Obviously this is exploited, like just about every good idea by anyone ever, but in theory, the Internet is supportive for people creating art.

So getting back to the idea of inhaling and exhaling art with a balance, I try to think like this to keep myself on track. Listening to a great album is enough of a satisfying positive experience in itself, but it has the potential for infinite inspiration. This is one of the countless reasons why art is so effing great. Not only was Pet Sounds an ear opening musical breakthrough for the Beach Boys; it also inspired Sgt. Pepper.

I had a lazy Sunday today and let my train of thought charge into this dark tunnel. It seemed appropriate to put my ideas out there for others and not be a hypocrite. I'll end with a lovely quote that's been going around the web lately. Perhaps a simpler, more eloquent explanation of why being creative is worth it. From an artist I revere, Kurt Vonnegut:

"If you want to really hurt your parents, and you don't have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts. I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”

Happy Fourth

On this, the birthday of my mother country, it seemed appropriate to write something about the US of A. I’ve talked to a number of expats about how being gone has made them more patriotic, and this is definitely the case for me. It’s quite obvious really; you leave somewhere and then you realize how much you love it. But for me, a lot of my love for America is for musical reasons. You may ask, ‘Wait, what about freedom, democracy and diversity?’ It’s all related, just wait.

There’s a lot of rhetoric from politicians about how certain inspiring events "could happen in no other country on earth." Often I disagree, as rags to riches stories are far from uniquely American. But I do think the musical cornucopia within our borders is truly special.

America is mostly responsible for the birth of rock, American country western/folk, jazz, hip hop, soul, modern musical theater and infinitely more subgenres. Even in classical music, American composers have cut out a special crazy niche from Charles Ives to John Cage to Philip Glass. This means more to me than simply the fact that there’s a wide variety of music. It’s meaningful because American society has been a place for this multitude of different musical art forms to flourish and build a tradition.

In America, music is a central part of all socioeconomic, cultural and geographic groups. Maybe it’s a descendant of the freedom of speech in our constitution but it’s crucial for us to understand how much these creators are supported by the public, as there have never been royal courts to support the composers as there were in Europe. Even with all the negative types saying ‘Music just isn’t what it used to be’ there will absolutely always be amazing original music coming from America. Where there's truly innovative art being made, support will follow. And we are a nation that loves to innovate.

There are deep traditions of music from every corner of the globe but I would like to argue that there may not be another single country with as many musical streams flowing at all times. This is partially a product of America’s cultural diversity, and with today’s DIY possibilities thanks to our Sillicon Valley technology wizards, more and more talented musicians have the opportunity to put their music into the world. 

But I believe the key to the strength of American music comes from our unique history as a land of determined strugglers. The first settlers were escaping religious persecution while the founding fathers were escaping despotic laws imposed by the British. The Civil War freed the slaves while the Civil Rights Movement empowered the oppressed African Americans to seek equal treatment. As Americans, it’s natural to embrace those who stand up against the status quo, and music often goes hand in hand with this sort of mentality. Music is a central part of that wild passion that is the American Dream.

Here are a few songs/pieces that scream AMERICA to me (control-click or right click to open in a new tab):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmgaKGSxQVw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWhMyOs0pCQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLiLSRKms30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOlpcJhNyDI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIqMIrmpUjc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaI5IRuS2aE

1989-91

Gold Medal: Doolittle by The Pixies

Most Western music, particularly rock and roll, comes in series’ of four bars per phrase. The Pixies, however, like to use three or sometimes five. It’s not because they are über sophisticated or anything—The Pixies just didn’t give a flying f*** about conventions. But unlike most punk rock, their music is intricate and layered, passion with direction and precision. While Black Francis wails bloody murder, Kim Deal weaves her counter melodies over Santiago’s dissonant guitar and Lovering's steady backbeat, creating a mosaic of connecting disconnections. And somehow the opaque lyrics give the music more meaning than direct complaints about “The Man” as in generic punk. When Francis sings, “If the Devil is six, than God is seven!” in “This Monkey’s Going to Heaven,” I have no idea what he’s talking about but I want to scream it to the rooftops!

Silver Medal: Rumour and Sigh by Richard Thompson

If I had to name the top ten most underrated careers in rock and roll, Mr. Thompson would be on there. A triple threat topnotch songwriter, singer and guitarist, this album was released twenty-four years after Thompson first made his splash with Fairport Convention. And though the fine wine metaphor is well over-used, nothing else comes to mind about the guy. The songs on Rumour and Sigh tell the weathered tales of an experienced man, but lack the preachiness that often accompanies music from the middle-ages—they’re just great songs, top to bottom. And believe it or not, twenty years after this album, Richard’s still touring and playing with all the fire of old.

Bronze Medal: Oranges & Lemons by XTC

The first time you listen to Oranges & Lemons is completely overwhelming, and possibly a bit unpleasant. The album is one hour of complex, extremely dense music with political messages, mostly sung by the occasionally abrasive Andy Summers. But a couple listens later (or years in my case), it becomes obvious that this is brilliant. Each of the fifteen songs is achingly clever, sometimes even downright powerful. The final track, “Chalkhills and Children” ranks right up there with some of Brian Wilson’s best work. Reminds me a of a more modern "'Til I Die." Pure pop music as art at its finest. 

Hong Kong, A Year Later

A little over a year ago, I wrote a post on this blog about my big upcoming life change in moving to Hong Kong and what that meant for Page 43. Rereading that post, I haven’t exactly followed through with what I planned to do.

Last June, I wrote, “…you can expect me to start writing about what kind of role music plays in Hong Kong society.” The closest I’ve gotten to doing that is a brief post in my other blog about two concerts I attended back in October—one of which was an opera premiere, the other being a Hong Kong Philharmonic performance. But sadly, my grand hopes to chronicle my musical experiences have fallen to the wayside. Part of this is because I’m quite busy. But there are other reasons as well.

Hong Kong supposedly has a local music scene, but I haven’t really found it yet. While Seattle has dozens of venues showcasing exciting local talent on any day of the week with press advertising it, Hong Kong doesn’t operate like that. The downside of being an 'East meets West' metropolis is that, as the great Gregory Youtz warned me back at PLU, most of the performances you hear about here are imported and not a product of the Hong Kong or even Chinese people. Over the last year, I’ve attended a handful of concerts but at none of them did I see a truly local artist. The best concert I’ve seen here was Yo-Yo Ma and his Silk Road Orchestra, which is about as international as it gets. And the closest I got to seeing local talent was at the Clockenflap Music Festival, but a number of factors made it tough to really enjoy that event. Mostly being freezing and exhausted.

But I haven’t given up. The music journalist inside of me has not died. Another reason I haven’t written about my HK musical experiences is my own laziness. If I really pushed myself, I could start digging deeper through various magazines and websites for more concerts to attend, local artists or not. I could buck up and make it to a Cantonese Opera performance, which is historically HK’s most significant unique musical genre (I refuse to accept that Cantopop is unique or significant). Too bad Cantonese Opera sounds like wailing cats to me. And honestly, I should have written something here about the Silk Road concert back in March, considering it left me speechless with wonder, but I never got around to it.

One of my big mid-year resolutions is to increase the amount of music in my life. After almost a year here, my musical nourishment has consisted of a few songs written, a few concerts attended, and some serious ukulele chops thanks to having a uke to wail on during downtime at work. But put that all together and it’s not enough for someone who needs music like a boat needs water.

To my credit, I have continued to wear out the buttons of my iPod with focused listening of new music I’ve discovered from the Western world. I’ve also written some of my “Best of…” posts that I was planning to stop a year ago. But let’s hope that it’s less than a year before I next document a Hong Kong musical experience here on Page 43.