DIMENSION (S)EVEN

Your Umbrella - Open Arms EP

2012-02-29T00:01:00.000-08:00

My friend Daniel just released a 4-song EP today, which I had the pleasure of making the cover art for. Check it out, take a listen, download it for free (just put in $0 when you click buy, or of course donate if you like it!) Some good shit right hur. Original photograph is by the amazing Ralph Giunta.

<p>&amp;lt;a href="http://yourumbrella.bandcamp.com/album/open-arms"&amp;gt;Open Arms by Your Umbrella&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;</p>

I'm the best

2012-02-28T01:11:00.000-08:00

ah told you thaet.

Lay G - Rice Beats EP

2011-08-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

My friend Lay just released his first EP, which I had the pleasure of making the cover art for. I especially love the first track, SoNaRH, some good beats to blast while driving at night. Go have a listen.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://laygmusic.bandcamp.com/album/rice-beats-ep"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Rice Beats EP by Lay G&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

R.I.P. Amy Winehouse

2011-07-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

Sad to see a good musician go. I'm also sad that I probably won't be hearing that third album. One of the few female vocalists today that seemed to put out real soul into her music. Have fun in the 27 Club.

SSF4:AE Ranked Mode

2011-07-18T22:15:00.000-07:00

Decided to save some replays, since it's much easier to capture videos on the PC version. Here are some recent matches of mine on ranked mode.

Apparently this is the #2 Dhalsim. Learn 2 tech plz. Or at least teleport out of the corner?

Apparently this is the #1 Vega. Learn 2 stop doing wakeup ultra plz.

Okay, this guy's Bison was pretty good. But not good enough 8)))

$treet Fighter IV: Buy This Shit Again Edition

2011-07-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about how much money I must've spent over the years, just for the sake of Street Fighter. Let's see here...

Mad Catz FightStick TE - $150
Mad Catz FightStick TE-S - $150
TEasy Strike Dualmod kit - $50
Plexi/Balltop mods - $35
Street Fighter IV (Xbox 360) (Used) - $10
Street Fighter IV (PC) - $0 hehhh
Street Fighter IV (iPhone) - $10
Street Fighter IV Volt (iPhone) - $1
Super Street Fighter IV (Xbox 360) - $40
Super Street Fighter IV (Playstation 3) - $18
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition DLC (Xbox 360) - $15
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Steam/PC) - $30
Various alternate costume downloads... - $30
TOTAL - $539

God damnit Capcom.

Undercover x Uniqlo

2011-07-15T00:36:00.000-07:00

Uhhhhhh holy shiet, just saw this on their Facebook. Nothing to see yet, but I know I want it. All they said is coming next year in spring/summer. I have to be in NYC around that time...

Acoustic VGM: YouTube Roundup #2

2011-07-14T03:02:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna stick to piano covers for this roundup, since I finally started taking lessons again and really into dat piano right now. Hopefully I'll be recording a cover of my own sometime soon.

♫ PSX › FINAL FANTASY IX › KUJA'S THEME › ((( PIANO )))

I love this theme, it sounds so damn sinister. The video isn't the greatest quality, and I wish he played with a little more dynamics, but I do like the tempo he chose... Most other people seem to want to play it kinda fast. Definitely want to learn this piece in the near future.

Composed by Nobuo Uematsu

Performed by vincevnc

♫ SNES › CHRONO TRIGGER › SECRET OF THE FOREST › ((( DIGITAL PIANO )))

I couldn't decide on posting this guy's arrangement of this or Corridors of Time, but I went with this one since I like the actual song better. Either way, this guy has amazing technique and is able to express multiple parts of both songs into a single piano arrangement.

Composed by Yasunori Mitsuda

Performed by zohar002

♫ NES › SUPER MARIO BROS. 2 › OVERWORLD THEME › ((( PIANO )))

This guy (Tom Brier) is a bit different. He's a crazy good pianist who specializes in ragtime, but doesn't play video games. His friend, however, likes to make ragtime arrangements of various VGM and have him play them, and most of the videos feature him playing them for the first time ever. As the video shows, this guy's sight-reading skills are unbelievable, especially since he has no idea how the songs go in the first place. It's definitely worth checking out his channel for many others.

Composed by Koji Kondo

Performed by Tom Brier

♫ PSX › CASTLEVANIA: SOTN › WOOD CARVING PARTITA › ((( HARPSICHORD )))

Not quite piano, but it's an ancestor of it, so it counts. This song is meant for harpsichord anyways. Symphony of the Night is hands down my favorite Castlevania game, and the music definitely has a huge influence on that. Every song on there is fucking badass. I'm not sure if she arranged this, but this is a four hands version overlaid into a single video, and she gives the song much justice.

Composed by Michiru Yamane

Performed by GinaGuYiqing

20 Minutes of Freedom

2011-07-11T06:23:00.000-07:00

I'm about 7 months into my braces now. Since I recently moved to Los Angeles, I had to find a new orthodontist of course, and basically had to replace my first braces with a completely new set. It was because more than half of the brackets were on there pretty off-center (due to how crooked and inaccessible my teeth were at first), and now that they've straightened out a bit 7 months later, repositioning them would be the best course of action. So, they proceeded to pretty much tear off my braces, one bracket at a time, with some fancy plier-like dental tool. It didn't hurt too much, but it was not a pleasant feeling or sound (crunchy). It was, however, really nice to get a sneak peek of having my braces completely off... for 20 minutes. What a tease.

Here are some pre-braces pictures for comparison's sake:

Notice the yellowing all over my neck [insert azn joke here]. I'm not easily freaked out by things, but... I was pretty freaked out when I woke up to that. I had to go to the oral surgeon for post-surgery checkup the same day, and he explained that it was the bleeding of the gums from the teeth extraction + gravity causing major bruising. Phew. I thought I had jaundice or some shit. Mind you, I just had 8 teeth pulled all at once, and was not exactly at my best...

Spacers (tiny rubber bands), to prep for the braces. To me, this was honestly the worst part of this whole ordeal so far. It's like having a huge chunk of food stuck between your teeth... x8... for a week. It was driving me insane.

Braces on. No further comment. And while I'm posting horrid and ghastly photos of my gross teef...

Welp, only ~18 more months to go... FFFFFFF...................................................

Alden Roy Boots + Roland RD-700NX

2011-07-02T14:50:00.002-07:00

Whoops, been a minute.

First, are my Alden x Context Roy Boots. I actually got these as a graduation present last year, but only just received them... 13 months later. They're a 6-month pre-order, but the first time around I got them half a size too big. :c Buuut I finally got them, and they are awesome. Handmade from Horween Chromexcel leather, and has a crepe sole with leather toe patch.

Next up is the Roland RD-700NX I just got. I've been wanting a digital piano for a while, and I fell in love with this one while trying a bunch out. Not only is the weight/action of the keys very comparable to a real piano, but they are also made from Roland's PHA-III Ivory Feel-S keys, which is some kind of synthetic ivory they came up with. They feel amazing. They have a more matte-like finish, unlike most other plastic and glossy keys out there.

After trying this one out at Guitar Center, literally every other keyboard there felt like shit in comparison... even the RD-300NX. I refused to settle for less. The price tag was pretty ridiculous though... luckily I located an open box b-stock one that someone put up on Craigslist, and got it for $1,000 less than retail. The condition is brand new as far as I can tell. So excited about this thing... and also excited to finally start taking piano lessons again!

REBIRTH

2011-05-06T23:22:00.001-07:00

I have been reborn... as Goku. >8)

It's time to power up. Blood is finally pumping through my vein circuitry 100%. I'm no longer just breathing through my mouth, but through my entire body. I feel the oxygen flowing within me. It's so overwhelming that the only way to describe it is.... waku waku waku wakuuuuuu ^___^

Time to eat.

Stephen

2011-05-04T12:43:00.001-07:00

Stay strong, little bro. I know you will get through this. I love you.

Thank you family, for being here with all the support you can provide. We need to stay strong too.

Thank you Mr. Grant Kirkhope, for somehow indirectly helping me cope with what has been the toughest two weeks of my life.

My First Accordion :|

2011-03-14T07:02:00.010-07:00

Suddenly felt like picking up accordion, so I bought myself a used Sonola Capri. Here is a quick photo booth compilation of the first 2 days.

Partial songs you may or may not hear in this video:

♫ Mary Had a Little Lamb... 8)
♫ Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie - Gruntilda's Lair / Jolly Roger's Lagoon / Gobi's Valley
♫ Beirut - Prenzlauerberg
♫ Super Mario RPG - Sunken Ship

This is definitely a hard instrument. There's just so many things to keep track of, coordination-wise... feels like learning guitar all over again. Thanks to moshezuchter and his great accordion tutorials for helping me get started with the basics.

Acoustic VGM: YouTube Roundup #1

2011-03-10T07:42:00.001-08:00

Every few weeks or so, I want to start posting a roundup of all my favorite videos that I find while digging through the tubes. To start things off, here are some very talented YouTubers performing SNES and N64 songs on various instruments.

♫ SNES › SUPER MARIO RPG › SAD SONG › ((( DIGITAL PIANO )))

Mallow finds out that he's not a tadpole? More like, Mallow finds out that he's not a tadpole and also learns that his entire family and race was murdered by the Axem Rangers. He is the last remaining Nimbite.

Composed by Yoko Shimomura

Performed by Kyle Landry

♫ N64 › BANJO-KAZOOIE › CLANKER'S CAVERN › ((( ELECTRIC ACCORDION )))

The intent of this performance seems to be quite malicious. Just take a look at the way he exploits the transpose feature at 0:40. How would that make every other non-electric accordion feel? Did he even take that into consideration? Fuck electric accordions. This is a really good performance though.

Composed by Grant Kirkhope

Performed by FromTheGang

♫ SNES › SIM CITY › CAPITAL THEME › ((( DIGITAL PIANO )))

God damn this is good, such a great transcription. I've never been inclined to play any other Sim City besides the original for SNES, because none of them are composed by Soyo Oka.

Composed by Soyo Oka

Performed by Verdegrand

♫ N64 › BANJO-TOOIE › JOLLY ROGER'S LAGOON › ((( GUITARS, BANJO, ACCORDION, +TOYS )))

Yes another Banjo song, I've been on a Grant Kirkhope kick lately. This is different though, since this guy is an amazing multi-instrumentalist and incorporates a bunch of them into this recording. I'm still not sure why this only has 8k views...

Composed by Grant Kirkhope

Performed by PoopPoopFart

WELP, New Blog

2011-03-09T13:30:00.006-08:00

If this is a new blog, why is there so much crap on it already?

Wellll I kinda cheated and did some "retrospective blogging" while modifying this template, and edited the posts to their appropriate dates... I guess partly to makeup for all the blogging I've been meaning to do these past few years, but also just to have some content up here. I want this to be a comprehensive collection of all my creative endeavors.

I've been on a long hiatus as far as music recording projects go, so my focus right now is the Acoustic VGM (video game music) section. Learning my favorite VGM on guitar, piano, and starting tomorrow, accordion! Making videos on YouTube and such.

Hopefully I stick with this.

TOJ Duffle Coat

2011-03-03T03:24:00.008-08:00

I just received my Temple of Jawnz Duffle Coat in cracked pepper, which has a wonderful "peppery" texture with a bit of subdued brown. It's a pretty refreshing addition to the wardrobe, since every other jacket/coat I own is black or some shade of dark grey.

The quality of every component is pretty amazing. Natural horn toggle buttons, calfskin leather trimming, sateen lining, and the wool feels nice and soft, but is also very thick and structurally firm. Here's a quick shot from my iPhone, I'll post better pics later.

Unfortunately, winter has just about ended over here, so I'll have to wait another 7-8 months to be able to wear this for real. :c

More info at http://templeofjawnz.com/

WAYWT #121: ユン

2010-12-07T02:59:00.012-08:00

Capcom* | Yun Cap

Cheap Monday | Tor Parka

Shoryuken NYC | Box T-Shirt

A.P.C. | New Standard Jeans

Vans | Sk8-Hi

* Not actually made by Capcom, just some generic blank cap I got for $5... lol.

SSF4: 3v3

2010-11-16T06:03:00.010-08:00

Here is a little drawing/photochop thing I made from sheer boredom. Ken's horse is fucking broken.

Pen and paper. Scanned and colored/edited in Photoshop.

Fightstick TE Mod

2010-08-14T07:40:00.005-07:00

Did some modding to my TE. I replaced the plexi with a solid black full cover, and a clear bubble balltop for the stick. Go go minimalism!

A.P.C. Evolution

2010-06-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

Helo, plz look at these pictures of my crotch and butt. TIA.

2+ years of heavy wear. I need new jeans.

WAYWT #120: Not ADA Compliant

2010-05-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

C-Plus | Beanie

James Perse | Hoodie

Uniqlo | T-Shirt

A.P.C. | New Standard Jeans

Converse | Chucks

Photo credit: Sunny Lee

WAYWT #119: Hyperion

2010-05-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

KZO | Hoodie

Number (N)ine | Tank

A.P.C. | New Standard Jeans

Converse | Chucks

Photo credit: Sunny Lee

Visions fugitives, Op.22

2010-04-29T14:01:00.007-07:00

Here is a quick interpretational doodle of Sergei Prokofiev's Visions fugitives, Op.22... on librium...

Random pen + assorted markers on 8.5" x 11" scrap paper. Recyclin' yo.

Take Root

2010-01-07T14:13:00.009-08:00

A charcoal drawing I did for Art 305. Aside from some parts on the right being kinda sketchy (heh), and the awkward framing near the top-left, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. I'd estimate about 20-25 hours put into it.

Charcoal on 40" x 30" BFK Rives.

WAYWT #112: Sup Flurries

2009-12-31T15:08:00.000-08:00

Number (N)ine | Sweater

Tailorstore | Shirt

Julian Red | Dark Dancer Jeans

Converse | Chucks

Photo credit: Jae Choi

WAYWT #109: Gothicana

2009-12-04T20:15:00.000-08:00

Hare | M-65 Jacket

KZO | Hoodie

Uniqlo | Heattech T-Shirt

A.P.C. | New Standard Jeans

Rick Owens | Trainers

The Timbre Family

2009-11-11T07:01:00.000-08:00

Click hear for larger scans.

WAYWT #107: Chestnut Peeler

2009-10-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

KZO | Hoodie

Number (N)ine | Tank

Cheap Monday | Black OD Jeans

Rick Owens | Trainers

WAYWT #104: FLWFTW

2009-10-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

Topman | Beanie

KZO | Ceres Coat

Yoko Devereaux | Long Cardigan

Muji | T-Shirt

Raf Simons x Eastpak | Backpack

Cheap Monday | Black OD Jeans

Converse | Chucks

Premature Plateau

2009-09-24T15:11:00.003-07:00

Some studies of different materials that I did for Art 305.

Powdered graphite, charcoal, india ink, + a touch of gesso on cut-up watercolor paper.

Blonde Redhead - Elephant Woman

2009-06-17T01:05:00.008-07:00

♫ IRL › BLONDE REDHEAD › ELEPHANT WOMAN › ((( CLASSICAL GUITAR )))

Playing on my mom's Arita classical guitar that is older than I am.

Written by Blonde Redhead

Performed by jebeebus

Primavera Sound 2009

2009-05-31T05:55:00.000-07:00

I couldn't think of any better way to spend the last few days of my stay in Barcelona. Holy shit.

I admit, this is the first outdoor music festival I've been to, but I'm pretty sure no other lineup will top this one in a long, long time. It was a three day festival with a ton of stages setup, and every single day was packed with amazing artists. It sucked because sometimes my favorites would overlap, like how I had to leave My Bloody Valentine early to go see Aphex Twin... damn that was painful. But it's motherfucking Aphex Twin! How often can do you get to see that dude... and to top it off, Squarepusher played right afterwards. Jesus Christ. I think it was nearly 5 AM when he finished, and I couldn't get over how mindblown I was during the whole walk/metro ride back. Back-to-back IDM electronica beep boopy heaven.

At points, it started to feel so surreal, because the lineup was just too good to be true. Aphex Twin, Grandaddy, Sunn O))), My Bloody Valentine, Deerhunter, Sonic Youth, and NEIL YOUNG... are all playing in the same fucking place? Is this really happening right now? Probably as close to my dream lineup as it can get. If only Beck, Björk, or Air were there... then I might've had a heart attack.

Here are some of the highlights.

One of the many stages.

My Bloody Valentine

Aphex Twin

Squarepusher

Jason Lytle (Grandaddy)

Sunn O)))

Neil Young

Deerhunter

More from the photoset here.

WAYWT #96: Stripe Concept

2009-05-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

Banana Republic | Tank

Raf Simons x Eastpak | Backpack

H&M | Cotton Pantalones

Nike | Dunks

Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (DARK)

2009-05-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

So amazing, that we came back at 3 AM. This time, there was nobody here, and these brutally insane structures to the backing of a vibrant copper sky, was quite the surreal experience. I think I use that word too much.

At this time of night, the reflection of the water is crystal clear. It almost looked like a spaceship floating in its... spaceship docking... station. I'm sure there's a better nerdier word for that.

More from the photoset here.

Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (LIGHT)

2009-05-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain. All I can say is... "Oh my God Calatrava."

Two people can stand at both ends of the chamber (which are at least 80ft apart), and speak to each other with normal talking volume, purely through the acoustics. Crazy.

More from the photoset here.

Villa Savoye

2009-04-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

Finally got to see the infamous Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier. What an absolutely perfect day for taking pictures.

More from the photoset here.

Copenhagen, Denmark

2009-03-20T01:11:00.000-07:00

Pretty much came here to take a giant tour of various works by one of the coolest firms in existence, the Bjarke Ingels Group. We even got to visit their studio! Thank you, semi-hungover PR lady, for giving us that impromptu tour.

More from the photoset here.

Amsterdam/Utrecht, Netherlands

2009-02-27T02:00:00.000-08:00

More from the photoset here.

Calatrava in Bilbao, Spain

2009-02-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

Quote of the day: "Oh my God Calatrava." This is in the new section of the Bilbao Airport.

More from the photoset here.

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

2009-01-31T16:44:00.000-08:00

Jean Nouvel's extension of the Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain. Powerful, yet delicate, and awfully inspiring.

More from the photoset here.

WAYWT #74: BCN

2009-01-14T20:49:00.000-08:00

Cheap Monday | Tor Parka

Raf Simons x Eastpak | Backpack

Julian Red | Dark Dancer Jeans

Converse | Chucks

Photo credit: Kelly Fehr

Sketchbook: I Need a Haircut

2008-12-05T15:25:00.001-08:00

A sketchbook entry for Art 205. This whole thing started with the little camp fire on his head, which was actually some red marker that bled over from the previous page... lol.

Micron 0.005 pen + Crayola markers in 9" x 12" sketchbook.

WAYWT #54: Take Pill

2008-10-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

H&M | Jacket

American Apparel | Cardigan

Structure | T-Shirt

A.P.C. | New Standard Jeans

Converse | Chucks

Sketchbook: free

2008-09-25T15:33:00.004-07:00

A sketchbook entry for Art 205. No idea. Random.

Micron 0.005 pen in 9" x 12" sketchbook.

Sketchbook: Jawnz

2008-09-23T15:37:00.002-07:00

A sketchbook entry for Art 205. This is a very quick sketch of my room, featuring some jawnzzz.

Pen in 9" x 12" sketchbook.

Digital Fridge: Deerhunter

2008-08-07T09:33:00.002-07:00

On the day I got my favorite lens (Sigma 30mm f/1.4), I also went to a Deerhunter show in Mt. Pleasant. Apparently, some photographer for the Charleston City Paper was supposed to show up, but didn't. One thing led to another, and...

My first officially published photograph! View the full photoset here.

Jellies

2008-06-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

Amnesiac Shark Fetus

Space Jelly

Regular Jelly

Radiohead - No Surprises

2007-08-28T09:32:00.005-07:00

♫ IRL › RADIOHEAD › NO SURPRISES › ((( NINTENDO DS GUITAR )))

Alright, so this isn't really video game music, but I used a DS. That counts.

Written by Radiohead

Performed by jebeebus

Welcome to my blogs

1994-04-05T00:10:00.000-07:00

hello I am a big fan of Kurdt Kobain he is a very famous musician player of the rock band Nirvana but unfortunantly he is dying in 1994... R.I.P.

Kurdt Kobain, 1967-1994