Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Wow, Chengdu Is Ready For Its Subway

For the past few years a subway system has been under construction here in Chengdu. It is projected to be completed by 2010 but this overwhelmingly crowded city is more than ready for it now.

With the cold, damp winter upon us, it seems like more people are leaving their bike locked up and their walking shoes off in favor of Chengdu's woefully insufficient public transportation. The result is that it's nearly impossible to find a taxi from about 5-7 pm, the buses are packed like sardine cans, and traffic moves at a sloth's pace.

Today I took the 92, a double-decker bus, right in the middle of the rush hour commute. It was not the romantic, London-style bus you may be imagining. The bus is old and decripid, spews fumes, and feels like it's ready to break down at any second. On both levels there is not nearly enough headroom to stand up straight for a person any taller than 5'7".

The protracted, fetid, agonizing ride led to a heated confrontation between some passengers; two couples. After one lady stepped on the shoe of another a verbal altercation ensued. After a few swears in the local Sichuan language were exchanged, everything seemed to settle down. A few minutes passed and then the women were at it again, this time more vehement. Suddenly punches were thrown, people were shoved, hair was pulled, and the bus just kept on plodding along. Finally a few passengers broke up the fight and formed a human barricade between the two couples.

While I'm sure I will miss the Pay-Per-View quality bouts right in front of me, I think I'm ready for this subway system. I really enjoyed the smooth metros of Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong, and I think it's exactly what this city of eleven million spicy food-eating, rice wine-drinking, slightly peevish inhabitants needs.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Back to Chongqing, Lao Wai Gig

This past weekend I spent two days and one night on a mountain about three hours outside of Chongqing. This performance (which is usually the case for the gigs I play outside the city) was a "Lao Wai Gig." As I have mentioned before on the blog, this is essentially a gig where the person hiring is only looking for foreign faces.

The event was very typical. The massive upscale real estate development was just in its beginning phases and the development company hosted a lavish party to entertain prospective buyers. Those who were interested were bussed in by the hundreds from Chongqing. The theme for this particular party (as you probably can gather from the photos) was Christmas and extravagance.

The main performance was the rock band that I traveled from Chengdu with; 红水, or Red Water. I sat in with their band for a few tunes, then was left on stage by myself with a Band-in-the-Box track playing to back me up. Unfortunately this crowd's taste in music proved to be a little less sophisticated than the typical Chengdu audience. Many patrons left, and some of those who remained called out requests for some (apparently) popular Kenny G originals. Sorry Chongqing, not my thing!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

New Year Plans

After our the slew of Christmas and New Years gigs the band is planning to take a little travel break, and maybe even play a few gigs a long the way. We have already spoken with the people at Hangzhou's JZ Jazz Club who have invited us to take the stage in mid-January. After that we may also get a chance jam with the folks at the Shanghai JZ, just an hour away by express train.

After our mini-tour of the east coast we will head back west to our piano player Larry's hometown in Xinjiang province. I forgot to ask him the name of the town but I believe it's pretty close to the Kazakhstan border. I don't envision a lot of opportunities to play jazz up there in the rural northwest but I'm sure it will be an incredible experience.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Rumor Mill; No Gig

I can't be too specific at this point, but our piano player Larry recently had a phone conversation with a good friend who happens to be the owner of a popular music bar in Shanghai. Apparently the video clip I recently posted sparked his interest in opening a bar here in Chengdu. Chengdu has never had an exclusively jazz themed bar, but I think a jazz bar opened under the name of this Shanghai venue would really generate some interest. And if the reception our band has been getting is any indication of Chengdu's willingness to embrace this kind of venue, I think the bar could really succeed.

On the other hand, today the band suffered a minor setback in our vision of spreading jazz across Chengdu. Last week we arranged to play a gig at some function (probably real estate related) this afternoon. Unfortunately after the agent heard our band at one of our shows he told us “我不懂你们的音乐。我觉得爵士乐不合适我们的现场。你们能不能玩儿听众听过的歌?” This translated means "I don't understand your music. I think jazz doesn't suit our venue. Can you play some songs that the audience has heard of?" And he asked us this after hearing us play Satin Doll, Fly Me to the Moon, and a few other obscenely overplayed jazz standards. So, unfortunately no gig today, but I guess we could use the break in anticipation of tomorrow's big recording session!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Finally I Have Some Media!


I also just created a new site where I'll be organizing any new video's, recordings, or pictures the band puts together. Check out http://lwjnmedia.blogspot.com/ to see a clip of the band playing some jazz at one of our regular spots Cafe Paname (巴黎咖啡). Much more to come in the near future I promise.

*UPDATE:
In the upper right corner I just added a little slide show of some miscellaneous pictures. You can click it to get a better a view.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

This Blog Mentioned on ChinaLawBlog.com?

I'm not quite sure how he found me but Dan at ChinaLawBlog.com wrote a post a few days ago about my observation regarding the toll booth workers here in Chengdu. While I only intended to poke fun at the situation Dan has provoked an interesting conversation in the comments section on his blog (although I think he may be confusing "sexism" with whatever the -ism is called regarding physical appearance.) Dan's opinion is that China does suffer from the problem of "sexism", yet to a lesser degree than some, even more highly developed nations such as Japan and Korea. Within his personal field of law he has noticed that "pretty women in China are favored more in employment than in the United States, but that women who do their jobs well (no matter what their looks) are taken seriously."

In a diversion from the jocular nature of my original post on the matter, I'd like to respond to this in a slightly more serious manner. As a young single adult male here in Chengdu I have made some casual observations about the phenomenon and it does seem like physical attractiveness plays a large factor, especially in the service sector. After living here for over a year I have noticed that particularly in the white collar sectors there is a real emphasis on looks. I also have a friend working for a big bank in Shanghai who has let me know (on more than on occasion, usually in the form of boasting) how attractive his co-workers are. In contrast, I see that women are much more willing to work in fields such as transportation, farming, construction, waste management, and other professions in which you would be hard pressed to find female laborers in Western countries. Dan says:

"If I had to rate China on a sexism scale among the countries I know best, it actually does fairly well. It is not as good as the United States, but it is considerably better than Korea and better than Japan as well."

However, I feel the complete dearth of female employees in blue-collar professions in the U.S. balances out the equation, especially when you factor in how many people are actually working in those sectors here in China.

Some Media Content Coming Soon!

These days the band is focusing on becoming a bit more professional. We've done a photo session, recorded some clips from one of our shows, and are now preparing to put together some good quality demo tracks. I should at least have pictures and video hosted on the blog by the beginning of next week. Check back soon!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

I Have Not Forgotten the Blog!

I just want to make a quick post before I go to sleep because I know it has been too long. These days I've been helping my good friends Will and Andrew get situated here in Chengdu. So far it has been great having them as recent additions to the band and to the city. Lately the group has been getting ready to make a quality recording which should help us land some interesting gigs in the future, possibly in distant cities. One particular goal is to make it to Hangzhou's (very close to Shanghai) JZ jazz club at some point this winter. These days the band has also been sorting out our schedule for Christmas. Apparently in China, Christmas is the time of year where every hotel, bar, every other entertainment venue wants live music- and are willing to stretch their budgets to pay for it. As the only jazz band in town we have already been getting a myriad of offers. The challenge now lies in making a schedule to play as many of these gigs as we can.

I must give a shout out to my pal Brent, that other foreigner saxophone guy in town. He recently held a great recital at the music conservatory. Brent, 你很帅。

Friday, November 14, 2008

To All My Chinese Readers

I've got a plan underway to open a sister site to Josh is in China, written in Mandarin. I think my skills are decent enough to put it together and maybe my kind roommate Larry can serve as my editor. It'll probably become a (slightly simplified) translation of this site with maybe a little more content/jazz band promotion/废话的作文。Stay tuned!!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Interesting Cultural Differences

Something I notice every time I get on the highway here is that the tollbooth workers are all extremely good looking girls. I thought this couldn't be a coincidence so recently I asked my taxi driver about it. He was actually surprised that I would question this phenomenon. He basically replied "Of course! These are the people welcoming you into the city. They have to be beautiful!" And apparently their salary is pretty good at about three or four times that of a typical retail job. I guess this kind of makes sense. If I-95 was like this it definitely would have made those Connecticut - Miami trips a bit more pleasant.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

The Dawn of a New Era; Wedding Gig


Legendary guitarist Will Chapin made his Chengdu debut performance last night at Sui Di Music Cafe. Fighting through jet lag induced fatigue, Will left everything he had on stage, sending the caffeine hyped crowd into a frenzy. After honing his chops amongst the world's best in New York City, Will provides our jazz band, BossMa, with a new wealth of musical ideas and inspiration. With fellow musical mastermind Andrew Smiley joining the fray in the next two weeks BossMa is destined to achieve greatness. Adoring fans have already claimed that a new musical golden age is on the immediate horizon in this once sleepy Chinese city.

In other news the band played a fun gig at a foreigner/Chinese wedding today. The groom was the boss at one of our regular jazz spots. For me the highlight of the gig was definitely the hours dourves. After spending nearly a year in China, this was the first time I had ever had a good piece of cheese. Incredible. I'm salivating just thinking about it- despite the fact that I'm stuffed after a late night noodle run. The wedding was really enjoyable though. It seemed like the entire "lao wai" (foreigner) community came out for the party.

A quick history: In the past couple of decades all of Chengdu's older buildings were demolished to make way for modern architecture. The latest trend has been to revive the former style as the tourist industry has seen a wave of interest in traditional culture. The wedding was held in one of these new "old" plazas. The reception was quite an event. In a city where locals will turn their head at the sight of a single foreigner, onlookers were surprised to say the least as several bus loads of us arrived at the scene. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera, but try to conjure a mental image of a bunch of goofy old white guys, dressed up in elaborate Chinese suits, surrounded by beautiful Chinese women.

Musically the show went of without a hitch and the band was definitely well received. It was great playing for a slightly older, foreign audience that was even familiar with some of the tunes. Now after our big hit in the wedding scene there will hopefully be more of these gigs to come...

Monday, November 3, 2008

Weekend Update

After a busy week of gigs, catching up with Chengdu friends, and incessantly checking political news I relaxed to a nice home cooked meal last night with some buddies. The main course was lamb hot pot, with assorted vegetables, tofu, and, um, whole barbecued quails to accompany it. Everything was pretty tasty though, and what's better is my relief today knowing I did not come down with food poisoning after my first "risky" meal since arriving back in China.



This past weekend I learned China does in fact celebrate Halloween. Our band was kept busy playing several gigs a day, primarily for parties. And the holiday has been imported pretty well to Chengdu. I witnessed pumpkin carvings, costumes, scary music, didn't see any trick-or-treating though. Maybe it has something to do with the fear some Chinese have that in America adults take great pleasure in putting poison and razor blades in the candy before they hand it out.

Well next week should be a pretty exciting time. A new American president is elected, guitar legend Will Chapin arrives in Chengdu, and maybe my hanging clothes will finally be dry. Stay tuned to the blog for in-depth coverage of all this and more! Josh is in China!!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Five more days

Sometimes it's really exhausting to be an American here in China. These days I'm constantly finding myself on the defensive about my home country. Last night at a restaurant a patron at the adjacent table alerted me to my country's role in the global economic crisis. Today my roommate had some words for me about a movie he watched called Standard Operating Procedure about our secret prisons in Iraq. Although it's great practice for my Chinese having these discussions, it really would be nice to be able to be a little proud of where I'm from. And yes, every single Chinese person I've talked with is looking forward to an Obama presidency. Not that it's much of a reason to vote for someone, but still...

Five more days!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

QQ


QQ is kind of a combination of America's AOL, Myspace, and GMail. In urban China, where every city block has no less than four internet cafes, having QQ is as common as eating Bao Zi- very! Well I've been writing my personal statement for law schools about how important Guanxi (networking, making connections) is in China, and I just realized I still don't have QQ, so, I got it. 1069018353 is my new Chinese online identity! Ya this randomly-generated number is a bit hard to remember, so if you think of it as a phone number it can also be: 10-ox-018-elf. Ya, I think I like that better...

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Dao Le

The trip was a bit longer than expected but I'm finally back in the saddle here in Chengdu. Thanks to an Air China passenger who decided to check a small washing machine, I missed my connection in Beijing. Our plane out of JFK was swarmed by police and TSA agents for two hours- responding to a leak of laundry detergent.

It is good to be back though. The sky is a bit more gloomy, the weather is colder, my heater is broken, but I'm happy to be here. On Thursday our band began what will be a new weekly gig at perhaps Chengdu's most popular foreign bar; The Shamrock. While it did seem a bit dead for a Thursday, the bar has a nice easy going ambiance, very conducive to an enjoyable show.

I've also already been getting calls for the "Lao Wai" gigs, those special jobs just for foreigners that pay so well. I've heard that now is the season for this kind of work, and it's a good chance to horde some RMB (the Chinese currency) in preparation for a potentially barren winter.

Well, after finally adjusting to the Eastern Time Zone less than a week ago, I am hit with the jet lag again. The fatigue is nagging, but I will keep posting for all you loyal readers! Stay tuned for more.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

The Journey Begins...

Tomorrow morning I'll be heading out early to Brooklyn to kick it with my main man Andrew "Webster" Smiley. We'll be eating at perhaps the best breakfast establishment in the entire world- Tom's. All my readers in the NYC area, please shoot me an e-mail and we can get together to talk China, politics, breakfast, Steve Clemons style.

Tuesday afternoon my thirteen-plus hour flight departs from JFK to Beijing, then connects to Chengdu after a four hour layover. When my twenty hour journey is complete I should be back in my Chinese home at around 10:30PM China time, Wednesday. My band has a gig that night at Cafe Paname, but I'll have to see how exhausted I am before I make any commitments.

The next time I step foot on American soil there will be a new president.
Thanks to Colin Powell I am feeling confident that this country is in store for a president and system of governance that I can look forward to returning to.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Back to China Next Week- Perfect Timing

As democracy hangs on by its last thread, and a pro-terror, anti-baby, communist is on the verge of becoming our next president, America's Saviors have come out in full force to protect this once great nation...

Thursday, October 16, 2008

John McCain's Education Policy

In the debate last night John McCain proposed that "people, after having served in the military, can go right to teaching and not have to take these examinations which -- or have the certification that some are required in some states." I believe this is a fine proposal, and hopefully someday our children's classrooms can be more like that of John Kimbel.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Hartford Jazz Gets Upgrade from Homegrown Talent!


Last night I was pretty thrilled to watch a longtime musical idol perform side by side with a longtime friend and former high school classmate. The "Noah Preminger Group" took part in Hartford's International Jazz Festival, playing duo at Feng restaurant in downtown Hartford. Noah, a friend and former arch rival, has been doing pretty well for himself recently living in Brooklyn as a freelance musician. I really had a hard time believing my ears as I listened to him and the great Ben Monder mesh so seamlessly. Do yourself a favor and check out the website to listen to some of his music. (Or you can wait for me to upload the Mp3's to Limewire before I sell the autographed CD on EBay.)

Friday, October 10, 2008

Barky Van Schnauzer Blogging!


Lazy days here at the homefront in Avon. Mostly I have been parked in front (or underneath) the computer with Lucy the dog, trying to will myself to write this personal statement for law school applications. You'd think the peace and quiet of living out in the woods here would be a cure for writers block but to me the silence is really loud and annoying. Anyway, Yom Kippur was full of atonement as usual with a nice family and friends dinner to celebrate. These days I've also been getting all my doctors and dentist appointments in before my birthday. After November 30th I will no longer be covered by Mom's plan. Hopefully the stock market will take it easy with all the crashing and I can extend my coverage.

So I've been away from China for almost a week. I'm already starting to miss things about life in Chengdu, yet also really appreciating some things here. Surprisingly I am really liking the simple, healthy food at home. The cereal with milk, or coffee with a bagel. The sandwich for lunch and a nice steak and potatoes for dinner. And the bread! As tasty as Sichuan cuisine can be it just doesn't satisfy like a good American diet. And maybe this fondness for American food has something to do with the food poisoning I got three times in the last six months. I do miss my pals though, and just the Chinese people in general. People are genuinely nice, sincere, and pretty easy going back in the far east. My impression here in Avon, Connecticut is that people are a bit uptight, selfish, and really passive aggressive. This could be somewhat attributed to the economy, gas prices, or politics. Of course this is a huge generalization but it's just an overall feeling I get now that I am back. Tonight I'll be going out to a bar and I'm sure I will also be missing the drink prices of China.

Well there probably won't be much to write about in the next couple weeks but don't forget about joshisjazz! The real excitement that made this blog such a hit in the first place will be back in no time! And maybe while I'm home I'll do a little site re-design and make this website a bit easier on the eye...

Sunday, October 5, 2008

I knew I was back in America when...

First when the plane approached the O'Hare runway and I could see the neatly organized Chicago suburbs; each neighborhood with a cul-de-sac, the cookie cutter houses, and the swimming pools in the back yard. Then when I got off the plane and went to buy a drink in the terminal. The woman standing beside me nearly lost her mind because she felt I had cut her in line (which I'm pretty sure I didn't, but maybe it was just an unconcious reflex I had developed in China.) Anyway, it is nice to be home. Clean air, cool weather, a little peace and quiet, and driving a car!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Last post from China for a few weeks

I'm back in Chengdu for one last day before heading home. Tomorrow I'll be heading to Beijing to stay with my good friend Alex and his All-American roommate. The following day I begin the 20-something hour journey back to the rolling hills of Avon, Connecticut. I think it has been over six months since I set foot on my native soil and I'm definitely ready for the break.

My work/vacation in Chongqing went by pretty quickly. The actual performances were very short. In total we played about thirty minutes to an hour each day; most of our time being spent waiting around the reception hall or being shuttled around in a taxi. The gig itself consisted of me and my American friend Brent from Chengdu both playing sax over some "band-in-a-box" music tracks. Although the music was terribly boring I did manage to make some new fans!

While the music wasn't so rewarding we tried to make the best out of our little adventure by doing some sight seeing. We had a go at Chongqing's famous "hot pot", known as the spiciest in China. (Thank you TUMS antacid) We also took a stroll along the river, walked through one of the cities famous vendor streets, saw the center of the downtown area, and even went to a big amusement park. The city is truly massive though and to get a real feel for it would probably take weeks or even months. The skyline is filled with what seemed like never ending skyscrapers and towering apartment buildings, and from a high vantage point you can see that the city just goes on and on. Chongqing reminds me a bit of Hong Kong; the downtown area rests along the water, however a lot of the city is also built up into the surrounding mountains. The big difference however is Chongqing is pretty dirty, and this "foggy London town" as our agent called it, is really just a big industrial city choking on its own pollution.

Well, it's good to be back "home", and I'm sure it will be better to be back HOME in a few days. I'll keep the blog going from Avon though as I might have a few interesting tales about law school applications, or maybe even a couple trips to New York or Boston. 从成都- 再见!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

From Chongqing...



Right now I'm in a city about two hours from Chengdu called Chongqing. Although you've probably never heard of it, Chongqing is claimed to be the largest city in the world. Apparently after redrawing it's lines a bit there are now over 30 million people living in this megalopolis. It's pretty amazing that this place is just a 2 hour drive from my city of 11 million in Chengdu. The plan is to stay here for another day, with one more gig at a real estate convention, then back to Chengdu for a day before leaving for the USA (temporarily). I should be a bit busy this week but I'll try to post some pictures and stories from my current trip in the next couple days...

Saturday, September 27, 2008

A Different Kind of Gig...

Chengdu presents a very unique opportunity for foreign musicians- a special kind of gig, not so much concerned with music as it is image. Specifically, these gigs demand faces with western features.



Chengdu, a city of nearly 11 million people, has been undergoing massive real estate development for the past few years. If you find yourself in a tall building on a clear day you can see a myriad of construction sites scattered around the periphery of the city. To attract interest, these development companies host big PR events at hotels, clubs, and restaurants. The parties feature music, magic, comedy, and a performance that is basically a conglomerate of the three- the "Lao Wai [foreigner] Gig."

This show has few demands. We all must dress the same, must play along with a CD, play songs that are familiar to the audience, and arrive very early. What happens on stage is pretty much inconsequential. The pay for these gigs is about three times the typical jazz show, the performance time is half as short or less, and the food and drinks are usually provided free of charge as well. The only catch is the slight feeling of shame after it's all over.

Well today's gig was pretty typical, no big surprises. Our mission was to play our soothing sounds at the Parrot Club to coax some upper class individuals into buying a few villas. After a few tunes including "What a Wonderful World", "Sad Samba"(which actually was pretty sad), and a blues we were finished. Afterwards we were fortunate to watch an accordion playing story teller march in with a few toddlers, sit down on a couch, and bumble his way through a story that had no one's interest. I'm still not too clear how this performance is intended to get people to buy real estate. On our way out we got to enjoy a common perk at this type of gig- mingling with the models. After receiving our payment (almost enough to pay one months rent here) I would say today was a success!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Last Night's Gig

UPDATE: Obviously since we were playing I had to rely on other people to take pictures, unfortunatley the result is that I only have one worth posting. Here is the band, and check out the people in the window!



After living in Chengdu for about 6 months I have been fortunate to play a wide variety of gigs. However, last night's show was probably the most interesting and enjoyable thus far. Our band's drummer Xiao Wei 小伟 and pianist Larry 吕焱 are both teachers at the Sichuan Music Conservatory 四川音乐学院 about 45 minutes outside Chengdu. A good friend of Xiao Wei had recently opened a bar right outside the conservatory and invited the whole band to play a couple sets of jazz.

We departed from the conservatory's Chengdu branch on a bus that shuttles students between the two schools. The school, not too far from China's famous panda research and breeding center, is pretty isolated. The campus consists of a concert hall, a main building with offices and practice rooms, a large market, and a residential area with dormitories, some shopping, a few restaurants, and a couple bars. The place looked pretty depressing; extremely bland buildings, dark streets with neon lights from store fronts lighting the way, dust and dirt everywhere. Had there been a surrounding barb wire fence I would have easily mistaken the place for a P.O.W camp. From the looks on their faces however none of the students really seemd to mind their situation.

The bar we played at was packed full of students. Many people were standing in the back, and anyone sitting turned their seats to face the stage. The windows were also crowded with people on the outside, perhaps unwilling to pay the cover charge, trying to get a peek at us. After each song, and sometimes after individual solos, we were greeted with uproarious applause. I was even applauded for using Chinese and giving the classical and pop students a brief introduction to jazz. I think the atmosphere at the bar was better than any show I've played in the States or China. It was the first show I played that demanded an encore!

It's exciting to see our music get such a good reaction from the students at the conservatory. These students are really the future of the music scene here in the west of China. This was probably their first exposure to live jazz, or any jazz other than the Kenny G that somehow found its way to so many Chinese Mp3 collections. This was the first gig that really made me optimistic that a home for jazz and more creative and interesting music is possible here.

I'll post a couple pictures from our show soon...

-JK

New Blog!

Some of you may remember my last blog... It began during a very exciting time in my life, right after I started my new job sorting, ironing, and hanging curtains in a country home furnishing store. Every day I would rush home from work and immediately get on the computer to share with the world my fascinating life. A few weeks after it began somehow the blog failed. I think I just had too many stories to share and was overwhelmed by the burden of putting it all into print. Well, after nearly a 1 year hiatus, I have decided to resurrect my career as a blogger.

As you may know from word of mouth or the title of this blog I'm currently in China, making ends meet as a jazz musician (and as the son of two generous and loving parents. It was just Olympics time and the visa prices were insane...) I've decided to create this blog for a few reasons. 1) It should help put an end to the nagging I get from certain friends or family to update them about my travels. 2) It can serve as a memento when my time here is finally up. 3) It should become a major source of revenue in the future when I cover the site with Google ads. So please, tell all your friends.

In the future look to find posts about my gigs, my experience learning and using Mandarin, my thoughts on the Chinese culture, some pictures, music, and anything else I feel like posting. Enjoy, and God Bless!