Asian Pacific Arts Video and Article on LA Premiere

asian pacific arts recently posted an article and video of the some of the highlights of last months LA premiere of song.  read and watch them here.  big ups to liann, ada, warren, and the rest of the apa staff for covering the event!

why does this photo look like geo, bam, kiwi and phat are starring in a filipino re-make of barbershop?

speaking of barbershop scenes...

Bay Area Premiere at SFIAAFF

last week song had its yay area premiere at the san francisco international asian american film festival.  i went up for the fest and had one of the best festival experiences ever!   i made it up to the city just in time to hit the opening night "gala" where ellen from caam somehow talked me into doing a short interview.  sarah started off the interview by doing the robot while holding the biggest gotdamn microphone in all of sf:

"production manager" roger, at least that's what his badge said, enjoyed the wine and cheese:

the best part of caam's festival is that people from all over the country come out for it.  i got a chance to build with folks like corrine (ny), heather (tee dot), and kevin (hawai'i) all in one bar:

corrine (front left) screened her documentary short excuse my gangsta ways.  watch the trailer and interview with corrine here.

my good friend aram (in the blue jays hat) came from toronto to screen his latest film the others, which was one of the best shorts i saw at the festival.  after the screening we went to an after-prom like hotel party where musician goh nakamura (far right) and friends performed.

why am i always stuck with the filipinos?  reppin' the better half of the state; aj (xylophone films), patricio (kid heroes), abe (vc film fest) and julius:

aj, pat and julius screened their music video for "crooks and rooks" by bambu.

many of chris iijima's friends threw a very nice reception for the film the night before the screening.

the renown film scholar and my old professor b.ruby rich:

the infamous spencer nakasako, award-winning filmmaker, teacher and my mentor.  be on the lookout for an official shit-talking session with me and spence at the upcoming la asian pacific film fest, no seriously.

Song Gets Write-Up In LA Times!

robert ito wrote a really nice article on song that ran in the la times on saturday.

"The film is at turns celebratory and wistful, a paean to Iijima and the L.A. that, despite its rap as a town without a center or a sense of community, nurtured the artist like no other."

read article here

i sat down with robert a couple of weeks ago. being japanese american himself, he really understood the history and significance of the asian american movement and the relevance of chris iijima's story. another reminder why we need more people from our respective communities with access to mainstream media outlets like the times.

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.

Trailer For 2.28.09 Premiere

in the final stretch!  final sound mix session tomorrow and color correcting on saturday. in the meantime here's the trailer for the big LA premiere:

if this video is taking too long to load you can watch the trailer on youtube.

after a month of mainly meetings, e-mails and phone calls this trailer was hella fun to cut!

Bambu Exclusive- "When Will The Time Come"

since starting this film, the parallels between the political climate of the late 1960's and today have become more and more apparent. as long as america's foreign policy continues to bully and devastate other countries in order to protect it's economic interests...there will also be voices to protest it.

"When Will The Time Come?" by BAMBU

DOWNLOAD SONG

for the upcoming a song for ourselves mixtape, bambu dropped an exclusive titled "when will the time come?" which samples "jonathan jackson" by chris iijima, nobuko miyamoto and charlie chin. just as chris wrote about the human emotions behind the death of a young black panter on "jonathan jackson", bambu spits the truth about the horror and destruction of the recent attack of the gaza strip by the u.s. funded israeli military.

look out for the whole mixtape produced by dj phatrick to drop at the end of the month.

"Song" Premiere Gets Love On Angry Asian Man

angry asian man was probably the first blog i ever got into...and now look at me.  the premiere for a song for ourselves got a big shout on angry asian man last week!  if you wanna keep up with any kinda asian american anything in the media, this is the place to go.  

good looks phil for always having my back! 

Blue Scholars - "Coffee And Snow" Video

daymn, and you thought you got your grustle on over the holidays! blue scholars started off '09 by droppin a new track and video: like all the scholars' videos, this one was directed and cut by zia mohajerjasbi. i've become a big fan of zia over the last couple of years. his cinematography and production value can't be touched. i've always been up on his music videos but I was blown away when i saw his film manoj. this mockumentary is not only hella funny, but its really smart in the way it unfolds the issue at hand... manoj - directed by zia mohajerjasbi:

"Song" Gets Write-Up in the Rafu Shimpo

for those who don't know, the rafu shimpo is the main japanese american newspaper here in LA.  getting ink in the rafu is huge for me personally because i know my grandma and bachan are gonna see it!  i don't know if they really understand what i do, but if my name's in the rafu it's all gravy to them. "I think it's important to know that there have been successful artists and musicians in our community who have come before.   My parallel with what Chris was doing back then is my relationship to hip-hop now."

large up to jordan ikeda from the rafu for the interview and doing a great job of connecting the film with the musicians who are gonna perform at the premiere. 

UPDATE:  the rafu article is now online.