Howard Who?

The Happy Hollows is a Los Angeles-based band that is giving away its latest EP, Imaginary. Just go to their Myspace page and they have a box where you can tell 5 friends about the Happy Hollows, qualifying you for a free download.

Or you can offer to pay what you can (90% of the profits go to the band) with a minimum of $1. That way you can bypass the whole friends thing. Either way, it’s a great deal, and one step closer to a future where bands can more fully benefit from the distribution of their work.

So what do these guys, who have been called “experimental and accessible at the same time,” sound like?

Tambourine - The Happy Hollows

As you reader may remember, I was unemployed this time last year. While it was difficult knowing what was going to happen, things started to look up. I was hired part-time.

Now, if any of you worked part-time, there’s something blissful about it, having enough work to get by but also enough free time to experience a kind of unstructured liberation. Well, the LA-based Henry Clay People (MYSPACE) perfectly captures those feelings in their song “Working Part Time” off their latest album For Cheap or For Free, which comes out Nov. 4.

Their next gig is….tonight at The Echo! Go there if you like good rock ‘n roll.

Working Part Time - Henry Clay People
BUY THEIR PREVIOUS ALBUM

I seem to be hearing more and more from the French chanteuse tradition. A friend has me listening to Carla Bruni, a singer who also happens to be the French first lady. And while veering away from tradition through experimentalism, Camille does manage to sing a very traditional cabaret-ish song every now and then. Just a couple of weeks ago, I saw the band DeVotchka play at the El Rey Theatre. The opening act was April Fishes, a very lively and rich-sounding French chanteuse/Latin band with an Indian-American lead singer (apparently she spent a couple years in Paris). Even their name is a French reference (Poisson d’Avril) to how children celebrate April’s Fools Day.

The latest in this line is Jessica Fichot, who played last Friday at Tangier in Hollywood. While I missed it, she’ll be playing the Hotel Cafe on October 18.

One of the first things I noticed on her website was the image of a pagoda. Surely, it must be some kind of Chinoiserie. But no, she is actually half Chinese half French. She grew up in France and sings in mainly French, but occasionally will dip into Chinese. Looking through her past gigs, she’s played some really diverse venues that make her sound like she might be my new French chanteuse of choice. Here are a few:

Monterey Park Chinese New Year! That’s right. She came out for the “unofficial Chinatown” festivities. Wonder how the crowd reacted to her. (added) Here’s a Youtube interview with Jessica for that event.

Noah’s Ark Gallery Opening at the Skirball! This is an exhibit I attended, which is really for kids since it’s an interactive room filled with toys that represent different animals on Noah’s ark. Go check it out…and bring kids to mask the fact that you’re there to have fun too.

Grand Avenue Festival in front of Walt Disney Concert Hall! Every year they have this event in downtown Los Angeles. And every year I happen to miss it. There are free performances and all kinds of booths. And of course, the Los Angeles Philharmonic gets involved since it’s in front of their house.

So hopefully, I’ll get to finally see her at the Hotel Cafe. And as if I needed to say more, she plays piano and accordion. I don’t know about you, but accordion is one sexy instrument.

Le Grenier - Jessica Fichot

If you’ve seen a Vietnamese-American film recently, chances are it was scored by Christopher Wong.

Before you think “Vietnamese-American film,” just ponder the fact that THE REBEL, scored by Chris Wong, is being released by The Weinstein Company. Or consider that THE ANNIVERSARY, scored by Chris Wong, reached the Oscar shortlist of its respective year. Or that Timothy Bui’s latest film POWDER BLUE (unfortunately not scored by Chris Wong) features a cast that includes recent Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker.

But what’s great is that unlike the great tearjerking dramas THE ANNIVERSARY and the Imaginasian-distributed JOURNEY FROM THE FALL (both directed by Ham Tran and scored by Chris Wong), THE REBEL is a straight-up martial arts period piece action film. Chris Wong gets to play with fun virtuoso orchestral cues that he recorded at the Capitol Records building for a movie that’s set in 1920’s French Indochine. Just think Jackie Chan fighting the Brits except here it’s Johnny Nguyen fighting the French…and Dustin Nguyen, who you may remember from 21 Jumpstreet!

That’s right…that’s Dustin just one person away from Johnny Depp!

And now the big news: tomorrow 9/30 Chris Wong’s soundtrack to THE REBEL gets released! The DVD of the movie has been available now at Best Buy, Amazon, Border, and Netflix. The film toured the film festival circuit before being picked up for distribution by the Weinsteins, and even played at the Vietnam National Film Festival, where Chris Wong won Best Music.

And the guy truly deserves it. He definitely reminds you more of the classic film composer than the newer crop of pop composers. Think more Jerry Goldsmith than Hans Zimmer. And it makes sense since Chris Wong studied under the late great Jerry Goldsmith. Additionally, Chris Wong’s alter ego is as a musical theatre composer, where his songs again catch you with amazing melodies that he knows how to weave with counterpoint.

So go buy the soundtrack at MoviescoreMedia.com. And below here’s the opening track off the soundtrack to whet your appetite in case you’re still not convinced.

A Letter To The People - Christopher Wong BUY

If someone said they wanted to fornicate with a play, would you go see it? What if I told you it was in the San Francisco Bay Area? For clarity’s sake, that’s the Coit Tower above, which stands erect in the city.

Well, Prince Gomolvilas is hoping you have intercourse with this show. And he uses a different word for fornicate.

So why do I mention this production? I saw it last week. It’s a very confrontational work, which even comes through in its title Ching Chong Chinaman (at the La Vals basement in Berkeley). I don’t know about you, but this is a very difficult title to say straight-faced. And that’s probably the point. The show is heavily about Asian American identity, but with lots of twists…imagine a family that’s so assimilated they don’t know how to be Asian anymore. Well, maybe you don’t have to imagine it. I will refrain from providing an in-depth review here, but I recommend everyone in Berkeley or San Francisco to see it…and possibly have sex with it.

As it turns out, this is not the only show Prince Gomolvilas wants to fornicate with. Here’s another one, the OPM show at the SF Fringe Fest.

I’ve seen this show also. (full disclosure: I’m working with the group) And this is one is in downtown San Francisco (EXIT Theatre). As a part of a theater festival, it gets exactly one hour and odd show times, which mixes up the crowds as well as the performances. Again, I highly recommend this show, which addresses topics like the Presidential race, the Olympics, Tila Tequila, and illicit massages. You should come and see this show too…and bring protection!

Finally, if you’re in SF and you want sex with a music band, boy have I got the one for you!

Sex With No Hands is an insane marching bandish group that does tongue-in-cheek awesomeness. I haven’t heard them live, but just from knowing some of the band members, there’s a cool vibe that comes from their musical adventurousness (Edit: eg. Tetris theme song that turns into Britney’s Hit Me Baby One More Time). They play the Cafe du Nord October 2nd among their other dates.

The following track is unrelated to the previous sexiness, except that it’s kind of a cool track that also is musically adventurous. Edit: By that I mean, the Jewish fiddle that comes in amid the punkishness.

Don’t Look Down - The Shondes