yay-ahz

so i was at the jazz club Iridium on friday nite, totally inspired.

afro-cuban jazz was the music du nuit.

it.was.amazing. 

my friend levy schooled me in the lay of the stage, left to right: piano, bongos, congas, timbales (!!!), electric bass, and vibraphone. a percussionist's heaven of sorts.

each musician was an 'expert' at their instrument, and in total control in relation to the cohesive sound of the band...nobody was out there for themselves to be heard...they knew when to recede for the soloist or play just loud enough...and obviously respected each's talents as they smiled and grooved with the music, just as we did in the audience.

my fave was the piano player, perhaps a biased opinion, but he was a surefire talent.  there was a song where his wrists were sharply angled while he struck the keys.  i asked him post-show why he did that...apparently it was intentional so the sound would be loud enough. his solo parts were also complete ideas...part rachmaninoff meets gershwin meets debussy...thrown in with classical jazz scales and glisses...he even looked like the jazz version of evegny kissin, curly hair n' all. 

my second fave was the timbale player (timbalist?)...he just had this...control and consistency in his playing that i could appreciate...such a pro.

what was also inspiring was the "flatness" of the band's sound, and how it stayed exciting and vibrant under that ceiling of flatness. all the elements of the venue (stage, instruments, the way the instruments were played) contributed to this musical aesthetic...it's just, interesting.

the nite made me truly appreciate jazz music...as a classically trained pianist, i used to perceive jazz the way someone would compare pastry chef vs. chef...you're either good at one or the other. and usually the crossover isn't successful simply because you're more made for one. 

but now i see it as....even if i won't achieve in jazz the same level i've achieved in classical music, it can only help. and well, it's just cool to know jazz, no?

i was never great at improvising, nor was i comfortable improvising in public, on the spot. perhaps learning jazz would release that personal constraint, especially if it's just a mental one, and further challenge and enhance my musicianship. i find that it's very powerful to know both classical and jazz techniques and chords, because you can tie in elements of one into the other... being in a rock band, my classical background has already played a great musical influence on the parts i write. i'll pull some chopin here, david bowie there, muse elsewhere...

it's like when i took opera lessons for a year...who knew that would come in handy in a rockband when it was my turn to sing!

play on.

color me pretty

10 days into the new year...and i'm moving into a new apartment. 

new year, new view.

but first, i need to paint over the white walls. i might as well, since i have to spackle a bit before moving in anyway.  i never knew choosing a bedroom color could give me such a feeling of commitment-phobia. !!! i'd like to think i'll be living here for longterm, therefore i'm staying away from the bright and bold and trendy. i love reds, however that might give me an unwelcome jolt of color on some days. i also want to stay away from the 'classic' ivory and beige and putty, since i've lived with that for a while now and am ready for something different...yet still soothing and livable and inspiring. handsome yet feminine. sophisticated but not stuffy. tasteful, classy, but not commercial or boring. it's like finding the perfect man....i kid.

interestingly enough what i'm feeling right now is the concept of chalkboard paint, or at least the finish of (matte)...makes a statement, yet hopefully still inviting to me when i come home late nite looking to pass out, or just to hideaway. or to sleep in. Slate Gray...or Charcoal...or putty mauve. something vintage/modern. Both look good with chestnut and pine colored furniture.

do i want all the walls to be a darker color? or just an accent wall? if i'm going to go there...i should go there....all walls perhaps?

it's a small room, but not tiny.  and great, fabulous natural light. high ceilings. 

it's kind of a lot to think about, since i'm not the type of person to continuously change up the color of my walls (who has the time?). 

oh, the drama.

2010. baby.like.whoa

a very happy new year to you, dahlings.

balthazar almond paste croissant, sushi rolls, almond cupcakes with blackberry frosting, and gouguenheim malbec circa 2008...this is only the beginning.

wheeeeee.

merry for christmas!

morning checklist:

brunch: 

the Classic toasted sesame bagel & cream cheese (whipped, herb) w/nova lox; coffee x 2

wardrobe: 

hooded heather grey sweatshirt dress, alexander mcqueen pink and black geometric print leggings, black and spearmint speckled t-shirt, vintage watchband wrap bracelet, art deco ring

soundtrack: 

The Party Faithful playlist -  the Dears, the Smiths, the Cure, the Rosebuds, David Bowie, My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire, the Beatles

  

location:

Watchung Hills, NJ....snowcapped

it's 9:00am on christmas morning.  and i'm up, after a pleasant sleep in someone else's bed.

i had the most peaceful christmas eve ever...alone in my aunt and uncle's mansion (relatively speaking) filled with food, presents, and a christmas tree that i was delegated to decorate. accompanied by the Shins and glasses of malbec, i tinselled and ornamented and wrapped gifts thru the nite, and realized it's always nice to have a little christmas tree on christmas.  even if it was baby size a la charlie brown's christmas...it would still be precious.

the funny thing about "coming home" is that the fridge is always stocked. a plethora of goodies to choose from and almost no choice but to eat.  a typical dialogue goes something like this: "karen, help yourself to some bananas, oranges, water, chips, dip, cookies, chocolate...there's salmon in the fridge...and by the way finish the rest of the food on the table...oh, and what do you want for breakfast we have bagels, croissants, scallion pancake, coffee...."

if the above reads like a run-on sentence, it's because it is. the breakfast question comes as i'm in the middle of stuffing myself with dinner. hehe, don't get me wrong, i know it's all out of love, but it's a bit overwhelming too. but i'm not complaining...we all know what it's like to starve so i am definitely grateful to have food in front of me.

now it's the calm before the 'storm' of family in a couple of hours. cousins, babies, chatter...

i've just been summoned to grocery shop at the asian food market. see you after the holiday jump!

and scene.

thakoon + karaoke...who woulda thunk

hollydaze '09

chez erica & patrick harmon

12.20.09

tonite was our company dinner at Il Buco, where i sat across a celebrity designer of sorts and saw another across the room...maggie gyllenhal and her husband! people always looks smaller and skinnier in person than on the internet/tv/movie screen.

i had a delicious plate of lasagna..it was not saucy as per usual, but superbly homemade and almost refreshing. it arrived looking like a small portion but was definitely filling.  i had a piece of my friend mako's steak, which was also delicious...tender...  the decor of the restaurant was also very homey, copper cookware hung up, wood panelled floors and walls. a bit of cabin, a bit of class...not sceney, but definitely a luxury to be there amongst grand company. you could kind of tell it was a place where "industry" people went to enjoy themselves....it's really nice to sit down and have a beautiful meal after going around the factories all day pushing them to finish making our clothes by the deadline....in the slushy snow.

and after dessert and more wine, thakoon was up for karaoking...as per usual...?!

pinch.

it was kind of surreal, sitting next to him and karaoking with him and some other coworkers.  i don't often get star struck...but i can't help but have it cross my mind that "i'm karaoking with thakoon....the thakoon...." i know, i know, at the end of the day he's just a person, like us, and i happen to sit right outside his office and work on projects for him...but there's a part that is undeniably special, and well, simply unexpected to be sharing one of my favorite hobbies with a "celeb."  

in other news...i'm moving to a new place beginning the new year...artsy, tasteful, with a spankin' new roommate who happens to be a new-ish friend. it's going to be a badass year. badass.  a year ago this time i was unemployed and living at home, wondering where the hell i was going to end up.  a year later, a new lovely job, new apartment, new band, all in fabulous new york.

new changes and definitely blessed, my friends. as monica would say, "peace and love, peace.and.love."

oui, partying faithfully

lately i've been thinking a lot more about work than i have for a while...it's a sunday and i actually have to go in. it's not that bad, really, but maybe it's because i've just started here a little over a month ago and i'm still having the pinch-me syndrome where it's half "i'm so lucky to be here" and half "oh my god they think i'm brilliant and now i have to prove it."  it's also ok to make mistakes, but my free passes are running out.

but first, some inspiration to kick off the day. i walk into my trusty coffeeshop around the corner and indulge myself with the ingredients for a peaceful, blissful, morning: americano (hot, seering hot), egg n' cheese n' tomato sandwich on toasted 9-grain, and W magazine.  I've realized how much i miss reading fashion mags, it's a bit of a luxury to be able to peruse one over coffee these days...and actually have it feel like a lazy sunday.

then was a full work day, albeit not as efficient as i had hoped.  i felt exhausted from playing a show on friday nite in danbury, connecticut, where we closed out the bar and didn't return to our rehearsal space until 4am.  partying like a rockstar? nay, more like....paying your dues as said "rockstar." loading and unloading your equipment, making sure nothing is stolen, playing far-out venues....oh but wait, i'm in a band. pinch.

definite funtimes ensued as the nite progressed...squatting on the side of the road for some much needed "relief"...sitting on the drummer's lap in the backseat with equipment jutting into our heads as we drove 2 hours in my tiny civic, being told there would be promoters at the show only to have 10 people in the whole venue (half of who worked there...um, and no promoters)....watching our bassist read aloud her beloved AVON copy in a magazine gracing the bar while screaming out profanities towards it in drunken stupor...and pulling out jammed $20 bills from the atm machine...i mean, really, the typical stuff that happens during a show.

a few hours of sleep later i headed into work...for another couple of hours. saturday nite was a blur...and somehow it became sunday. i must've been a zombie.

sunday was a repeat of saturday...and at 7pm i decided to leave work when my brain shut off...met with with dear friend/TPF bassist erica for a relaxing dinner of sushi and plum wine (the presentation of my plate was replete with dry ice...wow!). then mosied back to her apt to wind down. kitkats, music by Mew (dreamy angels, those Danish boys are), and our laptops. not much action, but just what i needed to sit back, let the brain go, and just listen.

and off to home i go....for a few hours of sleep before the crazy week begins. it's market week...fittings, linesheets, clothes clothes clothes.

it's nice to have a breather and remember the little things that keep you going...

scent of a woman...and tobacco

i seem to fall in love (or maybe just obsess?) every so often with things other than people, music, and fashion.  this weekend i fell in love with a scent called "tabacco toscano" by Santa Maria Novella, one of the oldest pharmacies in the world, located in Florence, Italy.  i had first wafted the scent from my bandmate, and then his friend, and then another friend, and finally i decided to bite the bullet and splurge on this unisex cologne for myself.  it's one of those enveloping, warm, approachable scents that i never got tired of and in fact wanted around me all the time.  there's just something about it...like the go-to perfect t-shirt. it becomes you.

Bergamot, jasmine, tobacco, birch leaf, vanilla, burnt malt, and amber....all ingredients i never thought i'd want on me. especially tobacco! i've always gravitated towards floral and citrusy scents, the girlier ones....but this time i felt like i was ready for a sophisticated scent, not too feminine but still with that certain allure. totally the next level.

and psychologically the best part about this label is it's not mass marketed...you can't find it in sephora.  it feels rather exclusive, as its distribution is only in specialty boutiques and few places in the world.  luckily one of their distributors (Lafco) just happened to be across the street from where I work.  

100mL of delish for my skin.  who would've thought tobacco and vanilla could make such a beautiful pair.