Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 2:30AM 
Rafique Rashid - sound engineer extraordinaire performs during the open mic!
Russell Curtis playing a beautiful interpretation of Dylan's Blowing In The Wind
Fa'thu soundchecking!
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Monday, May 14, 2012 at 12:12PM 
Love the poster! [Photo by Yin]
with conductor Richard Kaufman (http://www.kaufmanconductor.com/). [Photo by Yin]
with drummer Bernie Dresel. [Photo by Yin]
with soprano Lisa Vroman ( http://www.lisavroman.com/ ). [Photo by Julian Chan]
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Friday, May 4, 2012 at 2:42PM 
Photo courtesy of Option 22This week's [Creative Fridays] post features multi-talented Lori McKinney. We first met when I was invited to perform at Culturefest, a festival that Lori co-founded. Currently based in Princeton, West Virginia - Lori is in the heart of the creative movement at RiffRaff Arts Collective. Running a performance space, co-organizing a festival, being in a band, acting in theatre productions is all a part of Lori's life.
Let's learn what she's up to now!
1. What's your latest project?
My latest project is with Option 22; our new release is called "The Change," and it is set for release in the first 1/2 of 2012.
2. What inspires your music?
Soul searching, nature, the call for global change, and spirituality inspire my music.
3. What's your 5 Desert Island Albums?
Radiohead- In Rainbows
LTJ Bukem- The Journey Inwards
The Weepies- Say I am You
Enigma- The Cross of Changes
LTJ Bukem- Progression Sessions
4. Who's one artist/musician that you love but most people probably don't know of?
Rising Appalachia is amazing; a female duo of sisters with some serious soul. Their focus is "igniting soul sparks and social revolution through harmony."
5. What's an advice you wish someone told you when you started in the arts?
I wish someone would have told me how very important it is to keep a great address book of all your wonderfully creative friends you meet along the way.
6. How do we reach you?
Website: www.option22.net
Twitter: twitter.com/option22band
Facebook:Facebook.com/option22band
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Sunday, April 29, 2012 at 10:30PM
Recently I was interviewed by Patrick of Greenroom136 for his ongoing video interview series called ConcreteJungle. Previous episodes included interviews with comic book artists, graphic designers and other entrepreneurs.
I felt a kinship with Patrick whose main persuit now was making high-quality handmade messenger bags. Ater our initial meeting during this interview, I've since acquired one of his awesome bags. Great man, great work. It was wonderful to talk to him and appreciate the opportunity to be on his show.
I talk about my creative process, what I feel a musician needs to do to work in the modern music climate & how I got started playing guitar. I also perform a song for my friend Alda Tan.
[Note: The video's runtime is 46 minutes & 35 seconds.]
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Friday, April 27, 2012 at 2:13PM 
Photo taken at Tokyo Bay by Kato Masaya.Today we have epic singer-songwriter/actor/producer Pete Teo. He's responsible for Songwriter's Round, a series promoting local Malaysian talent, award-winning albums & most recently - Undilah, a a pro-bono, non-partisan music video promoting the right to vote. [You can watch the video here]
The first time I met Pete was the very first time I played the open mic stage for Songwriter's Round at the old No Black Tie. Pete was very supportive and later on was one of the main people who encouraged me to record my debut album 'Acoustic Gestures' in 2004. He continues to be an inspiration to my work and is the embodiment of a hard working creative individual.
Let's find out what he's been up to!
1. What's your latest project?
I have just finished recording 2 songs commissioned by a Korean cultural foundation and 5 short films for Microsoft Malaysia. I am readying myself to write a few new songs for a regional Mandarin pop star and then make an ambitious music / film project in March or April. I want to work towards making a feature film this year also - but that depends on whether I'll find funding for it. Right now, I am just enjoying doing nothing for a few weeks. It's my first proper break for about 4 years.
2. What inspires your music?
Stories. Life. Experiences. They don't have to be extraordinary stories. The trick is to make something sublime out of the ordinary and unremarkable. It is not an easy thing to do, especially if one were interested to tell stories honestly.
3. What's your 5 Desert Island Albums?
Too many to choose from - but just on top of my head:
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
The Band - Music From Big Pink
Astor Piazzolla - La Camorra
Leonard Cohen - The Essential Leonard Cohen
4. Who's one artist/musician that you love but most people probably don't know of?
Kim Doo Soo - Bohemian. Mr Kim is a cult Korean folk singer and 'Bohemian' is his ode to death. The song fuses both the eastern and western folk traditions into a simple whole - and it possesses the sort of organic complexity that all my favorite songs have. I read somewhere that when it was released in Korea, it caused several suicides. It certainly stunned me when I first heard it a few years ago. I must have put it on repeat for days afterwards. It made me glad to be a musician.
5. What's an advice you wish someone told you when you started in the arts?
I love music but have mixed feelings about the music business. I wish someone had told me when I first started that the music industry these days is no longer really about music. Still, a music industry veteran in Hong Kong did tell me years ago that music in itself is a musician's reward - so I guess being able to make music makes up for having to deal with the vagaries of a broken industry.
6. How do we reach you?
Website: http://www.peteteo.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/peteteo
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/peteteo.news
Blog: http://www.peteteo.com/weblog
And before we go, here's a video from Pete's last album, Television.
This is 'Lost in America' - 2007 AIM Award winning video from Pete Teo's 'Television' album. Directed by Tony Pietra [live action] and Studio Voxel [animation].
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