LATEST WORK:
Here are a couple of new artworks. Both were done for class live demonstrations for students.
This one is a portrait of Yukika, a City Pop singer I really like:
And this one is Halloween-themed, meant to be cartoony and humorous:
WEBLOG:
So here we are, two years into the pandemic. Last year, everyone thought 2021 would get better, but now with the COVID-19 variants showing up, it’s looking like no one’s sure anymore how long it’ll last. And the world keeps on turning. Life goes on.
The most notable aspects of my 2021 were the following:
- Finished the first draft of another novel (Wings of Promise).
- Got a lot more serious about my guitar playing and bought some new guitars.
- Worked on a new track (been a while since I composed new music).
- Elena and I got our braces off (finally!)
- I started teaching art courses for skilpe.com
- Got an Audible subscription and listened to lots of books.
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Wings of Promise is a story I’ve been trying to tell since 1998 when it was originally envisioned as an one-shot graphic novel. It was a much simpler story with a significantly smaller sense of scope, and it was simply titled Promise. But it was also the year I left the comic book industry and started working “normal” jobs while going back to college, and the story was put on hold (although I had already done all the rough layouts for the whole book), until around 2001 when I dusted it off and tried rewriting it as a short story. I didn’t have any plans for the finished short story (getting it published never even crossed my mind, as I was nowhere near confident enough in my prose back then). Later that year, I began preproduction on an animated short film, which I would write, director, animate, compose music, and do everything else for, and Promise was the story I chose to tell in that format. In 2003, my friend Steven Stahlberg invited me to be a writer/director/art director at his company, Optidigit, and I agreed on the condition that they would produce Promise. But after working there for a bit, the funding we secured for Promise fell through, and the company was on the verge of closing down, resulting in me leaving when I realized Promise will never go into production there, and we’d be stuck taking on projects that no one in the company had any interest in just to keep the powers on and salaries paid.
Fast-forward almost ten years later, when I had been writing novels seriously for a couple of years. While I was stuck on the other books I was working on (a zombie apocalypse series and an urban fantasy series), I made the decision to rewrite Promise as a novel. Since then, I’ve been working on it, among the other books I’ve been writing. After I had finished the first draft of Dreamdiver in 2019, I decided to finish Promise next (retitled Wings of Promise), and I finished the first draft in October. Since then, I’ve been polishing the first draft into a state I can send out to beta-readers. Hopefully, that will happen in a few more months. If you’re interested in being a beta-reader, let me know and I’ll put you on the list.
Here is the blurb:
The day Adelyn moves into Jaime’s neighborhood with her career criminal father, marks the beginning of their bittersweet fairy tale. Jaime is captivated by Adelyn’s ethereal presence, but her inexplicable “glitching” behavior hints at perhaps an otherworldly nature.
The two teens find sanctuary in each other’s company amidst bleak existences shaped by their shared affliction of violence and abuse. As they protect one another from school bullies and the brutality of their own parents, the new friendship blossoms into love, but their lives spin out of control when a violent episode leads to deadly tragedy.
Forced to flee from law enforcement, and with the untimely revelation of Adelyn’s extraordinary dormant identity, the cold indifference of celestial decree tears them apart. Her last words before vanishing, is the solemn promise to return to him–a promise that must endure the interminable vigil of despair and longing through the passage of time, testing their faith in each other and the limits of mortal soul and immortal heart.
…
I mentioned in the past that I started playing bass again in late 2018 (and posted a couple of bass cover videos since), and at the time, I had no intention to get back into playing guitar too, but when an art and game design student of mine asked me to give him guitar lessons, it managed to rekindle my love for playing guitar, and I ended up shifting my attention from bass to guitar since around July of 2020. I’ve since taken on more guitar students and bought about seven guitars (I’ve posted about a few of them in the past). The new ones I haven’t posted about are:
- Aristides H/08R
- Ibanez RG8
- Schecter Keith Merrow KM-7 FR S MK-III Hybrid
- Schecter Demon-7
As you can probably guess, they are all meant to be my djent/modern metal/prog machines and not meant for more traditional genres (for those I use my 6-strings).
(All photos of these guitars I’m posting below are ones from the web, since I haven’t had time to take photos of mine yet.)
Aristides H/08R – This one is my first high-end custom build (and the most expensive one in my collection currently), and it’ll take about 6~9 months to finish, so I’ll get it around summer or fall. It’s a monster of a guitar, being 8-strings, headless, multi-scale with a tremolo (extremely rare), Fishman Tosin Abasi signature pickups, and an arcade killswitch. I chose the yellow raw finish for its sports car vibe, and created custom colors for the inlays. This is what it’ll look like with Photoshop mockup for the inlays (but mine will have a black arcade killswitch above the volume knob, tremolo, and different pickups):
I was shopping for my first 8-string when I came across Paul Ozz’s video review, and it was love at first sight/sound:
Ibanez RG8 – This is the other 8-string I got, and it’s the polar opposite of the Aristides, since it’s the cheapest 8-string I could find that’s from a reputable brand (and I got it used, so it’s nearly half price), and meant to be a beater axe that I can experiment with different tunings on (I can’t do that easily with the Aristides since it’s a pain in the ass to changing tunings on a tremolo system).
I generally prefer headless guitars and basses because they’re almost always lighter, and there’s no headstock to accidentally bash into things or knock stuff off my desk, and much easier to transport. But headless models are often higher-end models, and the cheap ones are often from less reputable companies, thus having lower resale value. 8-string headless is quite rare, and I’d rather buy from a well-established company like Ibanez and not gamble on some random obscure brand selling on eBay and Reverb.
Schecter Keith Merrow KM-7 FR S MK-III Hybrid – I would have gone for a headless as my main 7-string, but I wanted a neck-thru/set neck for better upper frets access, and the headless ones with that feature are quite expensive. Having already ordered the Aristides, I wasn’t ready to spend that much on another axe, and I always wanted to try a Schecter, since they have developed a reputation for putting in high-end features on affordable models. And when I saw the Lambo Green finish (which is getting hard to find these days), I just couldn’t resist.
This model has a Sustainiac pickup at the neck, which is one of its selling points. It’s a fun feature that gives you additional creative possibilities that you otherwise couldn’t have. And it has a tremolo, because my main axes all need one.
Here’s a video someone made that demonstrates what the Sustainiac pickup can do:
Schecter Demon 7 – This one, like the Ibanez RG8, is meant to be my beater 7-string for various alternate tuning experiments. Again, it’s the cheapest I could find from a reputable brand (and I got this one used too, also at nearly half price).
Since having gotten more serious about my guitar playing, I’ve been pushing myself to up my game by doing improv training, fretboard navigation, ear training, increasing my theory knowledge, and drilling on various technical chops. The two genres I’m focusing on with my guitar playing are jazz fusion and prog metal, but I’m also doing improv training over a lot of City Pop and K-pop as well since I like catchy melodies too.
The track I’m currently working on is a prog metal instrumental titled “Dark Ascension.” In my head, I imagined a powerful ancient vampire being awakened from deep slumber by the ruckus of the modern age, and decides to show humanity why their fear of the dark is etched in their DNA. It’s not finished yet, but here’s what I have so far:
I played all the instruments on the track. The guitar was my Strandberg Standard 6 Tremolo. The bass was an Ibanez EHB1505. The drums were played on my Zendrum and MIDI keyboard using Addictive Drums and the Metal adpak library. The orchestral strings were the Edirol HQ Orchestral, which I’m just using out of convenience and will be swapped out with a higher-quality string library.
…
Getting braces in your middle-age sucks, because your body’s ability to heal itself dwindles with age, and you could end up having traumatized roots that can’t heal after being moved. That’s what happened to me, and I might have to get two root canals. As if braces weren’t expensive enough already (we didn’t get them by choice. The crowding we both had was cracking our front teeth and the dentist said we needed them). Elena seems to be doing better after she got her braces off, but she grinds her teeth so much she’ll need crowns eventually.
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I mentioned in a previous post I’m teaching some art classes for skilpe.com. Currently, I have these classes available:
- Expressive Realistic Portraits
- Drawing Complete Scenes in Perspective
- Improving Your Drawing Technique
- Improving Your Painting Technique
- Understanding Lighting
- Understanding Colors
- Understanding Composition
- How to Become a Better Artist
…
Like many people, I struggle to find the time to read, and being a voracious reader is a requirement for any serious writer. After years of thinking about it, I finally caved in and got an Audible subscription, and because of it, I ended up reading (? Listening?) to far more books than I could have read normally since I could listen in the shower, while driving, cleaning, etc. But it is not my preferred way to experience books, since I like reading the words on the page and highlighting passages I want to add to my collection of favorite pieces of writing from books. It’s an acceptable compromise, as it’s better to have listened to all these books than not have read at all. Although I can use the bookmark feature, it’s not that convenient since the whole point of listening to audiobooks is so you can be busy with your hands.
Here are the books I finished in 2021:
- Seveneves – Neal Stephenson
- Blood Meridian – Cormac McCarthy
- Dandelion Wine – Ray Bradbury
- All the Ugly and Wonderful Things – Bryn Greenwood
- Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
- The Dispatcher – John Scalzi
- More Than Human – Theodore Sturgeon
- Gates of Fire – Steven Pressfield
- My Life as a White Trash Zombie – Diana Rowland
- The Bone Houses – Emily Lloyd-Jones
- Things In Jars – Jess Kidd
Out of those, the ones I enjoyed the most were All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, Project Hail Mary, Gates of Fire, and Seveneves.
I won’t mention the ones I abandoned, because whether I liked a book is highly subjective, and some of the ones I abandoned were extremely popular or highly acclaimed classics.
…
As per usual, I’ll wrap up the yearly recap with some of my favorite music released (or discovered) during 2021.
I’ve been listening to a lot more metal since I’ve gotten back into playing guitar. I didn’t use to listen to much metal because most metal back then didn’t interest me much (I preferred prog and hard rock for guitar-centric music). But I find modern metal much more compelling due to the incorporation of many prog characteristics, as well as blending with other genres that are more aesthetically more interesting to me.
Here are some of my faves:
On the jazz fusion side, two of my current faves, Owane and Jack Gardiner, collaborated on an album together, and it’s glorious (and hilarious):
I also really liked this cover of Larry Carlton’s “Room 335” (Matteo Mancuso is currently one of the best young guitarists of his generation) :
A band that’s been around for a long time that I discovered in 2021 was The Blue Nile. It’s odd because I listen to other bands/artists that are often mentioned along with it, such as Peter Gabriel, Japan/David Sylvian, and other bands popular at the time.
I don’t listen to much modern J-pop/rock since I’m much more into the 80’s J-pop/rock, but here’s a song from Minami that I really like. She sings with a lot of raw emotions and it’s very satisfying:
The City Pop revival movement continues to gain new fans in 2021, and I’m up to my eyeballs in City Pop songs both new and old. Here are a few released/discovered in 2021 I really like:
This one is a cover of IU’s “Lilac,” which I’ll post later below. I always loved Eunha’s sweet vocal tone, and her making a City Pop version of this song is just perfect.
And speaking of City Pop, here are a couple of older songs I discovered and liked:
And finally, some of my favorite songs from Korean indie and K-pop in 2021:
It’s been a long time since I’ve been completely blown away by the sheer musical genius of a song. It’s not even in a style I find all that enticing, since this kind of guitar-based light rock is so boring to me most of the time, having heard countless songs in this genre. I don’t find the vocals all that interesting either–it’s just mild and non-descript. But what immediately captivated me with this song, is the brazen approach to drop the listener into a musical equivalent of “in medias res,” which is a narrative technique that begins a story right in the middle of something already happening with no explanation of what’s come before, and then fill in the context later. I also love how the melodic phrases end in modulations and unresolved harmony in the chord progression, which is so refreshing and interesting for what could have been a standard rock/pop song. Even the way the song concludes is so unexpected and purposely unresolved on a cliffhanger.
This song just makes me really happy. Love the playful melodic contour, the chill vibe, and the cute vocal tone.
I love when AKMU is being more experimental and edgy, or playful and cheeky. It’s been a while since they released songs I really liked, but this one with IU is just perfect. Love the creative sound design and arrangement.
The usage of chromaticism in the melodic contour is so interesting, as is the almost dissonant stacked harmonic structure. I’m also a sucker for the dark electronic vibe that I grew up with like some of Depeche Mode and New Order’s songs from the 80s and 90s, or the menacing vibe of industrial music like Front 242. Unrelated to the music itself is the audacious homoerotic MV and choreography, which required a lot of courage creatively and as a business decision, because South Korea is still a mainly homophobic country. Makes me wish Jaden Jeong was still the creative director of Loona, because after he left, the previous LGBTQ+ friendly elements in Loona completely disappeared, and the artistic quality of the songs tanked.
Here’s the original version of Lilac, and as some of you know, IU is one of my ultimate favorite female singer/songwriters, and her vocal tone is probably my favorite of all-time.
Out of all the new rookie girl groups that debuted in 2021, Billlie is one of the most interesting in terms of their artistic vision. I’m not really into the lore aspect they have since to me, no group has ever done lore as well as Loona. But musically, I like how adventurous they are, going for more unconventional composition and arrangement. This debut song is like a mixture of f(x) and Red Velvet’s best qualities combined.
Pixy is another rookie group I’ve got my eyes on. This one with the dark and mysterious vibe appeals to my inner goth and background in industrial music.
You’re probably wondering what the hell is a cartoon theme song doing on my list of favorites. It’s quite simple really–the song is fun, catchy, and not written to be overtly juvenile (such as the children’s songs done by groups like Oh My Girl’s “Supadupa,” Momoland’s “Banana Chacha,” and Loona’s “Yum-Yum”). This one actually has a pretty awesome 90’s style breakbeat, horn section, and extremely additive chorus. If I was ever hired to compose a cartoon theme song, I’d wish I could do as well as this.
The above are just the ones I had something to say about, but there are more on my list of 2021’s favorite K-indie/K-pop songs:
- Jane Pop – Louise on Highway
- Kang Soomin – Sink or Swim
- AKMU – Nakka
- Cherry Bullet – Whatever
- Fromis – We Go / Airplane Mode
- OnlyOneOf – libidO
- Bobby – U Mad
- Yesung – Fireworks
- SHINee – Atlantis
- WJSN – Unnatural
- Red Velvet – Knock on Wood / Pose / Better Be
- Eunha – Lilac (City Pop cover) / IU – Lilac
- Taeyeon – Weekend
- Kim Areum – Summer Days / Summer City / Last Summer / Drive
- Yukika – Lovemonth / Insomnia / Yukika x Jinjalim – Star Lights / What Are You Doing Tonight
- StayC – ASAP
- Billlie – Ring X Ring
- Pixy – Bewitched
- Dreamnote – Night
- Tri.Be – The Bha Bha Song
