LA Premiere After-Party at Oiwake in Little Tokyo!

for everyone who's going to the LA premiere OR for those who were't able to get tickets, there will be an official after-party at oiwake restaurant just a block away from the theater.  the after-party is hosted by the tuesday night project/tn kat family and will be going down from 10p-2a.  only $2 cover with your ticket stub from the premiere and $5 without.  dj's will be spinning all night, the line-up includes: dj phatrick (devil's pie) dj et (mass movement) +he op+imis+ (tuesday night cafe)

here are walking directions from the JACCC theater (premiere) to Oiwake (afterparty).

Kogi Korean BBQ Taco Truck Will Be At The LA Premiere!

it's official, the ridiculously popular kogi korean bbq taco truck will be at the JACCC following the song premiere this saturday night starting at 10pm. the truck is gonna pull up right in front of the theater so people can go straight from the show to truck! for all of you who will be at the show from out of town you NEED to experience the korean bbq taco...

you can read more about the kogi truck here.

Asian Pacific Arts Interview

asian pacific arts, an online magazine published by the ucla asia institute, asked me to sit-down with them to talk about Song and the premiere and concert this sat (2/28).  the way they posted the interview is dope because they have both the audio from the interview and the transcript so you can pick and choose what you want to hear rather than having to hear my dumb-ass ramble.  you can check it out here.

shouts to my cuzzo liann for setting this up!

A Song For Ourselves MIXTAPE!!!

The much anticipated A Song For Ourselves Mixtape is finally here!  Produced and mixed by DJ Phatrick this compilation includes exclusive tracks from Bambu, Kiwi and Geologic of Blue Scholars who will all be performing live at the film's premiere on 2/28.  The mixtape also includes songs off the historic A Grain of Sand album by Chris Iijima, Nobuko Miyamoto and Charlie Chin.

DOWNLOAD MIXTAPE HERE FOR FREE!

Download directions:

1.  Click on link above
2.  When zshare page opens, click on "Download Now!" button at bottom of page
3.  Wait until "Download link will appear in 45 sec" turns into "Click here to start your download
4.  Click highlighted "here" link and you will automatically start downloading zip file
5.  Once the download is complete double-click on zip file on your desktop to "unzip" file
6.  A folder named "ASongForOurselves Mixtape" should appear on you desktop where you will find all the mp3's and mixtape cover

Tracklist:
1.  Iijima, Miyamoto, Chin - "We Are The Children" (Intro)
2.  Blue Scholars - "Cornerstone"
3.  Native Guns - "Slave Thinking"
4.  Native Guns feat. Geologic - "Agitation Propaganda"
5.  Iijima, Miyamoto, Chin - "Jonathan Jackson"
6.  Bambu - "When Will The Time Come?" prod. by Will Bracy
7.  Kiwi - "Gaza 2 Oakland" prod. by DJ Phatrick
8.  Blue Scholars - "Back Home"
9.  Chris Iijima - "Vietnamese Lament"
10.  Iijima, Miyamoto, Chin - "War Of The Flea" (Senz of Depth Remix feat. Bambu)
11.  Bambu - "Chairman Mao" (Paper Planes edit)
12.  Blue Scholars - "Fire For The People"
13.  Kiwi - "Cause"
14.  Native Guns feat. Geologic - "Said It" (Asi Remix)
15.  Iijima, Miyamoto, Chin - Divide & Conquer (Fatgums Remix feat. Geologic, Kiwi, & Bambu)
16.  Chris Iijima Soliloquy
17.  Kiwi - "Imagine"
18.  Bambu - "Seven Months"
19.  Blue Scholars - "Life and Debt"

Meet Kiwi

looking back, one of the most influential stages of my life was the time i spent as an undergrad at ucla. not because of the classes i took, but because of the people i met and the inspiration they hit me with. one of the people who had a huge impact on me was this brotha they called kiwi.

"I felt like there were many parallels of his experience that I could relate to myself, in terms of reclaiming our culture, finding identity and purpose through music, and standing by the idea of art for the people (as opposed to art for art’s sake)."

--- Kiwi on Chris Iijima

having seen him spit on stage and featured in the classic film beats, rhymes, and resistance, kiwi was one of the first superstars of the community that i really looked up.  along with artisits like faith santilla and wendell pascual, kiwi really opened me up to the power of creativity combined with grounded political expression.  i can honestly say that i would not be making films today if it were not for this dude...

kiwi was one of the first people to see a cut of a song for ourselves and has been supportive of the project ever since.  i'm so honored that kiwi will be performing at the premiere of Song on the 28th!

"War Of The Flea" (Senz of Depth Remix Feat. Bambu)

here's another leak from the upcoming a song for ourselves mixtape (slated to drop next week!). this track is a remix of "war of the flea" (a grain of sand) by the phenomenal producer senz of depth. bambu insightfully draws the parallels between the political climate of chris iijima's era and now...



senz of depth is just one of the many projects of the talented musician miles senzaki. i've been lucky enough to have been able to collaborate with miles on all three of my films. for a song for ourselves he flawlessly re-created the instrumentals of some of chris iijima's songs, miles explains the evolution of the remix here.


his debut album under the senz of depth alias titled "boundary waters" will blow your mind! here's just a sample of what i'm talking about:

Review on BeyondChron

earlier this month a fine cut of A Song For Ourselves was screened in the sco by the center for asian american media as a sneak peak of their film festival coming this march.  peter wong of attended the screening and wrote a dope review of the film on beyondchron.

“A Song For Ourselves reminds viewers that Asian-American progressivism is not a rarity. It is a strain of activism that’s not acknowledged often enough."

wong called the screening a "sobering wake-up call to the white progressive community." daymn, like that! read the whole review here.