kabukiboy

chinesepod.com is also a good resource

It's a wrap! Count-down to world premiere!

I just returned from an intensive two weeks at Modulus Studios in Boston where it was a madhouse of productivity. After 16-hour days of hyper concentration, I'm very proud to announce the HDCAM master copy in all its glory has arrived safely in Austin. The DVD master is also being replicated for production as we speak, they will be ready and available to be shipped out as soon as I'm back from Austin to those of you who are waiting for your signed copy. Tshirts are in production as well and will be ready around the same time.

I thank all of you, and Kickstarter again, for making this possible. See some of the photos for where your money has gone! :-) I promise you will not be disappointed when you get your personal copy of the DVD. I have included a few great extra features on this limited-edition of 1000 first print DVDs. Laurence Martin, our intrepid title sequence designer has also been the design maestro behind the t-shirt, the DVD cover, and the poster! They (along with t-shirts and posters) are now available for pre-order on the website's Shop: http://www.beijingtaxithefilm.com/shop.html Help us spread the love!!

Speaking of the website, please check out the redesigned, enhanced, and enriched BEIJING TAXI website! There are tons of fun goodies to browse through. Make sure to check out the Gallery section for some documentation of our secret production weapon;-) And visit The Music section to stream both the beautiful original score by Stephen Ulrich and Itamar Ziegler, and the impeccable soundtrack from four Beijing bands. Still to come on the website are the capability to purchase and download songs. http://www.beijingtaxithefilm.com/

If you plan to head down to Austin, or have some friends there, please spread the word for our screenings! Monday, March 15, 02:30 PM @ G-Tech Tuesday, March 16 11:15 AM @ Alamo Lamar 2 Friday, March 19, 11:00 AM @ Alamo Lamar 2

Join us also at the Beijing Invasion party we're co-hosting with Austin-based organization Dart Music International, and Beijing-based label Maybe Mars. BEIJING INVASION Party at SXSW! http://www.beijingtaxithefilm.com/blog.html (flyer) Introducing the world premiere of BEIJING TAXI, featuring special live performances by Beijing label MAYBE MARS recording artists AV OKUBO, CARSICK CARS, P.K.14, WHITE, AND XIAO HE Sunday, March 14, 8p-2am Mi Casa, 503 E. 6th Street

That's all the news for now! Please visit our website often or sign up on our mailing list to receive screenings and updates. http://www.beijingtaxithefilm.com/mailinglist.html

Stay tuned for updates from the road in Austin! Keep your fingers crossed for us!

All my very best to you for your generous and continuing support, Miao

from beijinggigguide.com

I have had the misfortune this winter to always manage to choose the coldest night of the week to head out to D-22, and last night was no exception. At least this time, I made the trip by taxi and not train, but the fact still remains. Unlike previous chilly nights out Wudaokou way, though, there was no draft inside D-22. There was no room for a draft, as it seemed like every punk rock fan in the area had gotten sick of there being no gigs for two weeks in a row and had packed into the tiny little area. It was great, though, and just how I like my venues — packed to the rafters with no emergency exit strategy. The extra level of danger adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the evening.

Fire safety codes aside, the night went well. I arrived towards the end of Fat City’s set which, to be honest, worked out well. “Experimental noise” is not a genre I can very easily get into, and I’m sorry to say that seeing it performed live didn’t help its case at all. They did make some interesting sounds, and whenever a song started out I was inspired to listen, but after four minutes of effectively the same sounds being manipulated, without lyrics to accompany them, I was far more interested in my beer and my gig mate than the music.

Then, just before 11PM, Ourself Beside Me was up. I’d heard of the band a while ago, back when I first found out that D-22 had given rise to the Maybe Mars record label and was checking out all the bands that called the venue their home. I ran into them again when looking up Hang On The Box and seeing where the members had gone afterwards, but I had never bothered listening to their music since I never saw them listed as playing in Beijing. As soon as they took the stage, though, draining their beers before they started to play, I knew I was in for a good show. While they were themselves fairly low-energy, their music is much more energetic than their recorded songs might have you believe. (Check them out on Google Music if you’re in China.) It can sound a little monotonous, like a lot of punk music can, but they’re a brilliant live act, engaging the audience with their music if not with their on-stage personalities. I think my favorite song of theirs was Sunday Girl, which they played early on in the set — after which they asked for more beers.

After Ourself Beside Me, and once I’d managed to make my way a little closer to the stage in the between-sets shuffle, B-Side Lovers emerged at around midnight. B-Side Lovers is what happened after Hedgehog lost their bass player, and I have to say that, with as much love and respect as I have for the bass line, the pair leftover do not suffer from the loss. I have always been absolutely in love with drummer Shi Lu, and this performance did not change my mind. She’s a phenomenal drummer, and manages to sing with such energy that I honestly wonder how she does it most of the time. They did not want for energy, and I really enjoyed the set.

Even when the guy in front of me puked on the floor.

Oh, D-22. Stay classy.

After B-Side Lovers, at 1AM were The Molds. After listening to the tracks on their MySpace, I was pretty interested to see what they were like live. They reminded me of Pavement’s “Killing Moon” and had that Donnie Darko soundtrack sort of vibe, but unfortunately they were short one man and missing a lot of energy. I stuck around for a couple of songs for the sake of the new beer that I had purchased, but ended up bailing after about twenty minutes. Hopefully the next time I catch them will be more inspiring.

All in all, this was a really good re-entry to the indie music scene after nearly a month off. I’m excited to see how Hedgehog/B-Side Lovers progress, and will definitely be catching Ourself Beside Me again.

changed meds recently on a neurologists advice, to deal with some other issues that my body is experiencing. these new meds fix that problem but don't work for me when it comes to the depression and unfortunately the old and the new meds don't mix. back to the doctor today. the upside of this is that i'm 100% certain that the serotonin imbalance in my brain is easily fixed by the old medication and no amount of exercise or 'positive thinking' will fix that.

maybe you can give them to kris hiras when they're down?

wish i could go to this show myself

But Xiao He’s the man I want to talk about. His stuff is hard to explain – folk, yes, but also verging towards psychedelic, at least in person. On top of that, alone with a guitar and a computer, he has a magnetic stage presence. His music grows into a collage of voices, without much of meter or rhythm to back them, which conjure up the sprawling, sparse plains of Western China. But, again, he’s no farmer plucked out of the wilderness and given a microphone; as I understand it, he’s a Beijinger, and he spent some time in the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) and has slowly worked his way through the Beijing scene since his first release in 2003. His live shows, while girded in folk traditions, benefit from a range of computer effects – layered parts that he sings and then sets on loop, spotlights trawling behind him. You can’t help but be entranced. All I can say is that, having listened to his music the next day on my roommate’s computer, he’s worth checking out recorded, but a whole different experience in person. For the curious, his MySpace can give you a glimpse.

a.boys - let me have 4 of those 12''s please!

$36.49 at amazon!

hmm - ok - just go here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tenzenmen/4413610670

a few more there too