after almost one year of procrastination, I finally managed to upload new videos on YouTube. it’s not much; just a straight performance capture on my iPhone but hey, it’s something new working with Line 6 M9 instead of good ol’ DL4 has been a bit of adjustment, but I’m slowly adapting and it’s stating to feel good. still don’t like the foot switches as much as DL4, but I can make ‘em work. watch for my tap-dancing skillz lol

they’re both covers, obviously – one is a funk classic by Sly & The Family Stone and was a request. the other is a silly mash-up of Bill Withers and the only Japanese classic that made its mark on the Billboard chart. and is dedicated to those affected by the recent disaster. ever since it happened, I’ve been bringing back the songs that I grew up listening to into my set. and this, being the most recognizable to the US audience, has become the staple rapidly and even though the lyrical content might not be the most uplifting, I cannot help but sing this one. the sad but hauntingly beautiful imagery of the original lyrics never escapes the mind of every Japanese native that has heard this song, which over and over has proven itself to be a timeless classic. the same goes for the Withers song and that is exactly why I thought of mashing them together. and it adds a little sense of hope to what is otherwise a bit too sentimental for the time when Touhoku has to rise up for its rebuild.

hope you enjoy. “If You Want Me To Stay” is up on Vimeo page as well.

a good friend of mine and talented singer-songwriter/beatboxer from San Diego, Terry Matsuoka invited me to perform at their Asian Cultural Festival on May 8th. It would be a great excuse to drive down there on hopefully a fine Saturday morning (crossing fingers for traffic) and it looks like I’ll be in a company of very talented and versatile artists of San Diego…I won’t have my album ready then but I MIGHT try and print some of them out myself as a test run and have them available at the event? MAYBE. I’ll most likely be working that beloved DL6 to work some possible live-looping magic, but then again it IS an asian cultural fest which tempts me to do some Japanese songs…or maybe both. we’ll see.

Regardless, it’ll be a day to remember; just for the amount of drive I’ll be doing that day (after my SD visit I’ll haul my ass to Palm Springs for a gig) lol oh what we do for our love of art. NOT complainin, just amused. very psyched actually. haven’t messed with a solo set up in a while. it’ll be fun. come out. I’m pretty sure it’s a free event, and I’m scheduled at 12:30pm.