The blues drives me crazy! It makes me one-sided, narrow-minded, and thinking 1-4-5 all the time. Help me...
I'm easing my pain with some Cat Stevens (stuff that I used to like) and reading some books I've been meaning to finish and movies that I only watched half-way thru.
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Mar 17 7:07 pm (My musical journey)
I owe my readers an overview of my musical journey. Here it is. I started playing the classical piano at age 6 and I sucked at it. I continued playing until I was 21 or 22. I still sucked. Like any child growing up in Hong Kong, I listened to Cantopop as a kid. There was some good stuff and bad stuff. But I liked George Lam, Sam Hui, Jacky Cheung, among others. Really got into Sam Hui at age 11. My Dad influenced me to listen to Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, Buddy Holly when I was about 13. I then sought out oldies like Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ricky Nelson when I was 14. Before I left for HK to the US, I was an expert in 50's & 60's Rock N'Roll. I often listened to HK's most long-lived radio show "All The Ray with Ray" w/ Uncle Ray and learned more about artists like Patsy Cline, Patti Page, Ray Charles, The Beatles, Peter, Paul & Mary, and Highwaymen.
I went to NMH in Massachusetts when I was 15. I listened to my first blues CD "Eric Clapton: Unplugged" and was fascinated by it. It changed my whole outlook on music. I then sought out Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson & Albert King. I must admit I really got into Stevie Ray Vaughan when I was 17 or so. Believed he was the greatest guitar player (still believe it to an extent). Since I lived in a hippie school, so I got a lot of hippie influence and heard Dylan, The Doors, Velvet Underground, Zeppelin, the Dead. Didn't really get into it. But liked a few songs of Dylan's ("Don't Think Twice"), Santana, Simon & Garfunkel, The Animals, a few Rolling Stones songs and enjoyed The Beatles' Revolver. Hated Sgt. Peppers. Worst album ever made. Then Mr. Chris Shepard came along and introduced me to folk music. I started loving James Taylor and digging Livingston Taylor, Harry Chapin, Cat Stevens, Bobby Goldsboro, Starland Vocal Band, Tom Paxton, etc.
At one point at NMH I got into hip-hop for a brief 3-month period: I purchased Run DMC, Cypress Hill, MC Search, Pharcyde, Dr. Dre, and Warren G. I regretted that decision except I still keep the Cypress Hill CD to this day. Insane in the fuckin' membrane!!!
Senior year at high school, took a jazz history from mentor David Bond. Introduced me to Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbeck, Sidney Bechet & Big Joe Williams. The Dixieland and stuff really bored me. Decided to dislike jazz until I heard Miles Davis' "So What." The fifth time I listened to it, I decided I liked it and went onto Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, and some Art Tatum. Still skin deep about jazz. But Mr. Bond remained an important figure in my jazz history. I was also a DJ at WNMH in high school playing mainly blues and oldies.
In between NMH and college, went back to HK for summer vacation. Heard Tommy Chung's radio station on FM 104 playing William Tang's "Harpology." I was like, woooaaa, I want to play the harmonica. Chung and Tang are my blues mentors. I picked up a C harmonica, played for 5 minutes and stuck it in my back-pack for some 5 years. Never touched it until 2 years ago.
College was pretty much all jazz and blues - Cornell nurtured me to be a jazz snob. Listened to jazz concerts whenever I could: Dave Brubeck, Marsalis Brothers, you name it. Discovered some true love: Kenny Barron, Charlie Haden, Ron Carter. Then met cellist Hank Roberts and discovered Tiger Okoshi. From KLEE I began to appreciate Joe Pass, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk (the only genius of jazz in my book!). In my Paris vacation, I heard Chet Baker and fell in love with life, coffee, wine, women and Chet's music. Chet Baker's music remains my favorite. Hence the Chet Baker Mood which came later.
Still listening to Clapton, and got slowly into Van Morrison and bought almost all his albums. Loved "Into the Mystic." Bought Coltrane & Hartman too. A short period of time got into classical and listened to Nigel Kennedy's weird stuff. Ended up liking Beethoven Symphony 9 and Mahler No. 8. Decided Vivaldi's the founder of rock music (just listen to Summer). My classical ear training was short-lived though I still go to classical concerts occasionally these days (I love wearing my suit cuz I look incredibly handsome)...
At law school I became increasing snobbish. Worshipped Chet Baker, Van Morrison, B.B. King, Clapton. Went to Paris again and got into lounge music: Thievery Corp., Nicola Conte, Bebel Gilberto...picked up the harp again and started playing all around town. Became famous in 2 years. Met another mentor Bill Heid in 10/01 and became a real jazz/blues aficionado. Only listen to Oscar Peterson, T-Bone Walker, Freddie King, Christian McBride, Gene Harris, Chess Blues & old Lee Morgan recordings on Blue Note. Now a new true love: Hammond B-3 funk jazz by Jimmy Smith, Larry Young, Don Patterson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jimmy McGriff and Mr. Heid himself.
Enough of me, now tell me your musical journey.
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Mar 17 6:24 pm (Happy St. Paddy's Day!)
Not a big festive Irish holiday fan. I can only relate to Kermit The Frog who says: "It's not easy being green." I think Slimer is more entitled to that statement. And there's always the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles....
The new Steely Dan CD is pretty awesome. The funky, melodic sounds put me in a groovy mood. What I wrote 2 years ago still stands to describe their unique sound: "complex rhythms and harmonic structures, sophisticated phrasing, funky beats and well thought out musical ideas." Good to know some of my friends are listening to the right stuff. It's encouraging and relieved to know there are people who dig the genre not b/c of the genre itself. For instance, I'm not much of a vagina music fan (militant feminists shoot me now!), but I like the first two Fiona Apple albums, Rickie Lee Jones' "Showbiz Kids," some Tracy Chapman, and almost all of Joni Mitchell (if you consider her chick rock).
I wrote two songs today, one is inspired and the other not. Tell me which is which.
Munish invited me to some St. Paddy celebration. I'm torn between that and staying home. I'm sooooooo hungry.
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Mar 16 10:35 pm (Good Karma, Bad Karma)
Greg says it's good karma that I received two tokens of appreciation yesterday. Today I got another piece of good karma: this girl I really like sent me an e-mail and told me she's moving to Richmond to live with her folks. To me, it's a bonus b/c I never thought she'd write me. We only met for a short time. Sometimes sincerity works magic when it is least expected.
I'm getting ready to re-enter my literary territory. Ever since law school, I've been reading junk like Constitutional Law and Contract Law, I miss Kundera, Chomsky, Nabokov, Roth, Robbins & Vonnegut so much. I'm gonna re-read The Book of Laughter & Forgetting. I'm pretty inspired these days. I may even try an Updike book since he was nominated for Pen/Faulkner this year.
One good thing about going out with females who aren't your girlfriends is that you can split the dinner bill right in the middle.
Romantic guys become really great writers.
Romantic gals become really great housewives.
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Mar 15 5:08 pm (What a day this has been...)
Woke up this morning to shave to find I got some red sideburns. My ex-barber would say that I have dated too many Irish girls. That may have been true.
A coupla things made my day. First, I randomly (and I mean it) came across Liz's live journal and I found that she wrote an entry about me on 9/10/2002. I met Liz at a local election some 2 years ago and I haven't heard from her since. Last I heard she was attending Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. OK, I have two confessions to make. One, this girl is magnificent. She plays the acoustic bass. Her bass teacher Victor Dvoskin calls her an "inborn jazz player." She reads the right books: Vonnegut, Kundera, Burrough. She listens to the right music: Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, Radiohead. Really smart for a girl at her age (18). I probably subconsciously wrote "Pre-mature Midlife Crisis" for her. Two, I have had a crush on her since 9/10/2002.
Well, let's see what she has to say about me: "I also made two friends. one.... two, a young asian lawyer from Hong-Kong who went to Cornell and plays the harmonica. What started as a simple question turned into an hour long conversation about everything. Elliot Smith and Kurt Vonnegut. Milas Kundera and Stanley Kubrick. Every great movie, Belle and Sebastian, Simon and Garfunkel, Jazz musicians, jazz bassists, psychology, nature nurture, model UN ... the list goes on. It ended with an address of a place in D.C. called "jam sessions" in my hand. Funny the people you can relate to." Not bad. I especially like the part she calls me "young."
My fascination with Liz certainly has to do with her pleasant manner, good looks, and intelligence. But moreover, it makes me ponder what the hell was I doing when I was her age...maybe I should have been writing daily entries, documenting my thoughts, selling out my soul to the devil at the crossroads, experimenting alternative lifestyles...it's too late now. The song "Blame It On My Youth" captures the very phase I'm in right now. Come to think of it, I'm oh so lucky - I'm not one of the old farts who try to pick up young girls at swing dance or Coyote ugly. I'm too young to think about getting married. My hair is still intact. This is my golden age. Thank you Liz for making me feel so "young!"
My good friend Ed sent me an e-mail awhile back: "Hey, i was cleaning out my files on my computer, and i found that recommendation i wrote for you. i don't know if you ever got to read it. this is what i wrote:
There is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Chung is one of the most honest, intelligent, and hardworking people I have met in all the years of my academic life. I highly admire Mr. Chung's success at Cornell and his incredible stamina to work for his dreams and attend Georgetown and soon become an amazing lawyer. Mr. Chung never had excuses, and he always discussed with me any problems he had with his life and always seemed to make the appropriate decisions to solve the problems. He was an incredible man with a heart of gold. Mr. Chung proved to be a loyal and honest friend. In addition, Mr. Chung is extremely creative; he is a man of ideas. Mr. Chung has always been successful at what he did. I absolutely recommend him."
I'm feeling awesome today b/c at least two people like me! Maybe I'll go swing dance tonight. Or not. Or just running. I declare today the Run Against Bush Day.
Funny the people you can relate to.
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Mar 13 5:25 pm
Kinda pathetic I'm sitting in front of my computer typing this entry while the weather is somewhat nice outside. It's been cold this week, but pleasantly mild. It's funny how sometimes when you run out of things to say, you restrict the conversation to just one topic, and it is often weather. You'd be amazed how many people are so inapt in making conversations that they should only talk about the weather. I promise I'll go outside after this.
My brother was leaving for spring break to Tokyo, Japan this morning so I gave him a ride to tha airport. I Spent the night in Baltimore. We checked out my good friends Bob Butta and Tom Baldwin at the Inn at the Colonade. Cozy little place. Good food but expensive. Jeff called and told me he was in NYC and was gonna check out the big three organ players: Lonnie Smith, Joey DeFrancesco, Jimmy McGriff at Iridium. He sounded excited. I'm glad he called.
Then we went downtown to Fells Point to see my good friend Rusty playing w/ the Blue Flames at Bertha's. Pretty divy place, Bad food. Don't try the mussels. The band featured the eccentric Glenn Moomau on harp and vocals, Steve Potter on upright bass (excellent player w/ Big Joe & Dynaflows!), and Robbie on drums. Glenn let me and my brother sit in for a couple of songs. Glenn and I even did a harp duet thing together. Pretty fun. Glenn's style is very different from mine. He sounds a bit like Rod Piazza, Snooky Pryor and he's great with the vibrato stuff. He's got a great amp and mic that enhanced his playing. It was an evening of good white blues. Check me out w/ Rusty and Steve Potter at Europa this March and April.
Last but not least, I have put up a superband for a benefit concert for Moses Munene. This event will take place on March 28, Sunday, at Trinity Lutheran Church. For details, check my live gig page. This lineup is phenomenal: Clarence Turner on vocals and guitar, Gene Meros (of Daryl Davis Band and Groove Quest) on saxophone, Jeff Conlin (of Westcott Brothers and 25th Hour Band) on keyboards, Josh Espinoza (a talented young player from Band of Blue) on bass, and drummer extraordinaire Jack Duchesne (of Detriot Slim's City Heat Band and 25th Hour Band) . This will be a great show b/c these guys are all excellent and I haven't played with some of them in a long time. This will be a reunion of some of the finest players in DC. I am proud!
Still no word from Ledbetter tonight....then again, when do I ever get an advanced notice? I gotta go get some air.
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Mar 10 12:35 am
Where do I begin? Today I picked up this CD by an Asian American musician called Kevin So, thanks to Mr. Shepard's suggestion. Apparently, this guy started playing in Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA. Now's he's touring all over the place. Normally, I'm partial to Asian American musicians b/c it tends to be cheesy (or they somehow want to sound like N'Sync). But this guy's music is somewhat unique or thoughtful. The first song is called "Average Asian American." Check this verse out: i'm still the high school nerd who can't get laid/tho i eat bean curd and i wear my jade. Totally caught my ear so I listened on. He sounds like a combination of Outkast, Cypress Hill, Lionel Richie, G. Love and Jay Chou. Not bad at all. My complaint is that he processed his voice too much and some of the lyrics are outright corny. His blues songs are unorthodox and he certainly has never listened to T-Bone Walker or Freddie King (Well, you just can't beat Sonny Boy for the authentic blues). But he's got heart and his styles are diverse. Definitely worth a listen. And he's a more bona fide singer than William Hung. Oh crap, I mentioned his name again!
Speaking
of official blues. Eric Clapton is going to release his new CD on March 23 entilted
"Me & Mr. Johnson" as a tribute to Robert Johnson. First, a little
background about me. As you all know, I am a blues man. And it was EC who got
me into it w/ his "Unplugged" album when I was 15. A lot of Clapton
fans dismissed "Unplugged" b/c they say it's not the rocker they used
to know. But the album opened me up to listen to Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters,
Lowell Fulson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, etc. Now, 12 years later, Clapton yet
again pays tribute to his guitar hero, Mr. Johnson. You can listen to some samples
on this website.
Thanks Eric for spreading the blues gospel.My co-worker sent me somethin' funny today. Well, DC has passed a new cell phone law and requires drivers to use a "hands free" device. But Circuit City jacks up the price to $50. Someone is selling an alternative device that costs $1.00 and it can be used on any cell phone. Check out this new invention!
I've been swimming a lot and doing a lot of thinking lately. Everyday I have the blues. There are always unexpected twists and turns in one's life. But then again, if someone could write something like "Faith in humanity sometimes goes a bit beyond faith alone and proves itself to you in unexpected ways," you know there's still hope in the human race. (In fact, I think this sentence echoes Mariel Hemingway's epilogue in Woody Allen's Manhattan, "Sometimes you gotta have faith in people.")
Prayer list: Dave Jackson for his recovery from heart attack; Liz for her father's prostrate cancer diagnosis; Karen for her kidney disease and safe travels back to UK; last but not least, my mother's hypertension (although it has mostly disappeared).
Most important thing in life: health. Without it, you can't so anything.
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