SoCal, so good. :)

(I know I'm posting this pretty late, but I've been pretty busy trying to catch up with things at work, planning a wedding, and here recently, get my jeep situation squared away.)

July 24th, San Diego, CA
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6:50am ET -- Just got on the plane heading to DFW in Dallas (my connecting flight). Didn't sleep the night before because I had work to finish... and I was overly excited to get to California (big thanks to BlogTV and SINxJAE). Not sure how this is going to be, but I've got a good feeling about this show. So good, I haven't even planned a set yet.

11:30am CT -- Just finished playing about 15-20 songs in the Dallas airport. It may have been to early for everyone as I noticed people leaving when I first pulled out the guitar. Oh well, they don't even know who I am. Oh well, I just bought a Naked Mango drink for breakfast so I'm good to go.

1:30pm PT (4:30pm in Pittsburgh) -- Just landed and I see a couple of wonderful faces, AJ and Jenny, totally being awesome for picking me up from SAN from flippin' LA. Ahh I love these two. At first I thought I lost my baggage, but then it surfaced at the VERY END of the cue. Gash people. Off to Fashion Valley!

6:30pm PT - Hangin with AJ, Jenny, RB, Kat Badar (Cake Batter), Matt, Jasmine, freakin Ramielle Malubay from American Idol, and one other (whose name totally slipped my mind... so sorry) fine filipino man at a Bubble Tea place. We discussing what we would do for money, and I realize that AJ REALLY doesn't care much for money... just the shock factor. Which is why I love him. Would you rather...?

10:00 PT - At the BlogTV campfire on the beach with all of the previous people, filled with TONS of BlogTVers, fans, and YouTube pros/celebs such as Alyssa Bernal, Sam Hart (Mario Kart Love Song guy), Ryan, Brandon, Jesse Barrera, Michael Carreon, Michelle Martinez, Thunder PerfectMind, Judy and Cindy, Krystle Cruz, Angie, Albert, Mark, Renato, Darren, Ronan, Petee, PhilChao, Richard Tran, and ... the list is endless. It was such an awesome time with just the feeling of community, laughter, singing, and of course, FIREWORKS?? Wow, is this shindig really that big? :)

July 25th, (Day of Featured Acoustic Playlist) San Diego, CA
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12:00am PT - Left the bonfire and chillin' at Christian's house (which is BEAUTIFUL, btw) with Sam, Judy, Cindy, Brian, Ryan, Dustin, Monique, and Simon. I really really really wish I could have come earlier, but man, it's hard when you're on such a limited time schedule and all you wanna do is hug everyone. :D Miss you guys <3

3:00am PT - Sam and I finally get in our room. We decided to jam. I fell asleep guitar in hand.

7:00am PT - Woke up. Did my short workout-even-if-you-don't-have-weights thing. Sam is dead asleep.

8:45am PT - Sam is still asleep. I've been standing right by his bed the whole time.

9:30am PT - Got tired of standing by Sam's bed, so I woke up AJ while singing "Always Be My Baby" outside his hotel room. Totally amazing bedhair, btw. Finally met Gabe Bondoc face-to-face... and his allergies. <3 Soundcheck starts at 12:00 noon.

12:30pm PT - Just got to the venue after scarfing down some Denny's and boy I'm glad we're Filipino - we were some of the first ones there, LOL. Got to see Glenn, the staff, and the sound system (which was looking amazing during setup). To the green room, and I see lots and lots of people. Pizza, water, and AMP. That's all we need... except toilet paper in the bathroom. :)

4:00pm PT - Pre-show acts are going on and they already sound amazing. :D Met Timirose, Melissa Polinar (friggin' amazing songwriter btw), Andrew and Frank, KrisMark, Jon Cardona, AlexJohn, Michelle Do... I'm signing autographs beside vocal phenoms Cathy Nguyen and Alyssa Bernal. In other words, I got "so, who are you again? I'm looking for Cathy/Alyssa" a lot. LOL :D j/k... but not really... Met a lot of fans, took many pictures, gave many hugs... even found out that I have my own Pokemon card. I wonder what my power is. Also got me one-a them radisrad shirts (thx guys!).

8:15pm PT - Did Victor just break his back? How does someone do that??? Victor from Quest and Lydia Paek are on stage, tearing every inch of entertainment real estate up. I've watched some great shows, but I think that EVERYONE HERE could have been the headliner. :) About to watch Amiel and crew. :D

9:15pm PT - I'm on stage. I don't think I've ever played in front of a better, more responsive, more loving crowd that the one at FAP. Set: If I Ain't Got You, Candy Red, Velvet Fingertips, When The Lights Burn Out, No Diggity (totally impromptu performance by AJ and Timmy DeLaGhetto, SO SICK) Holy moly, some just offered to have my babies.... oh wait, that was John-John. Left the stage feeling like I was on top of the world. Alyssa texts me, "We have got to do Comfortable" Am I gonna say no? Did I even have the chance to think it? :D

10:00pm PT - Cathy Nguyen just broke the sound system. But then she brought it back to life. She's just that good. :D AJ is on right now and I am so amazed by this performance. I seriously love it. One thing that I loved about it was that the love for music is alive when all of them are on stage. Another, they rocked the house. Ahhh so good. :D

11:45pm PT - Passion (love this guy) just used my guitar for a song he wrote for his girlfriend who lives overseas - probably the sweetest thing i've ever heard. Ramiele performed with Gabe before this (so flippin awesome) and so did Melissa Polinar, in which I didn't know this, is the definition of a must-see live performer. And of course, there is Gabe, who pretty much rocked everyone's face off with an amazing set, including a very impressive version of Best I've Ever Had. After this show ended, I just wanted to hug everyone, especially Leo who flew in super late, but surprised all of us. If you missed out on this show, you missed out on the Asian version of Woodstock, minus the bad stuff.

July 26th, Post-Show, San Diego, CA
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2:00am PT -- Just finished having Denny's across from Kat Badar, and beside Phil Chao. I was still amazed by how well everyone got along. I was also probably the only person having coffee at 2am.

4:45am PT -- Just finished recording raw video of Comfortable with Alyssa Bernal. Lots of people in me and Sam's room - Dustin, Sam, Brandon?, Monique, Grace, Jesse, Richard, Leo, Matt, Jasmine... I hope I didn't forget anyone, I was delirious by 5:00am when we left for the airport.

5:30am PT - Jesse Barrera and Grace dropped me off at the airport and I love them for it. I didn't tell them that they dropped me off at the wrong terminal, but it's okay. It was like I tried to get stuck in SAN on purpose. Ran into Kristyn at the terminal who congratulated me on a wonderful set, and I was just blown away that anyone would even remember! :D Especially someone I've never met before! :) yaay.

(Sometime on the planes) - editing the Comfortable video, and LOLing on the parts where we're doing stupid stupid stuff. I bet I looked so weird. Oh well. Done, goodnight... should be arriving home soon.

...Oh crap, I forgot to call Natalie back.

Having what it takes...

As time goes on, the pressure is on with my musical career. I constantly ask myself, "Do I have what it takes to go full-time with music?"

Right now, I have a great job in IT. I've been with the company a few years now and every year, I surprise myself with how much I learn over that time. But now, time at work is more demanding than ever and it is cutting into my musical career, taking it over almost completely. People constantly ask me "why do you look so tired in your videos?"

I look tired because I'm doing videos at 3am... and then having to wake up at 6am.

Although, I love doing YouTube and my passion lies in my music, I don't know which way to go from here.

I guess my question is this:

What would you do in my position?

Life Update

Wow, has it been a while or what? :) If you keep up with me and my YouTube-ness, you've probably asked yourself, "Where has Chris been?"

Well...
- I just moved to Pittsburgh about two months ago.
- Started working a new contract here in PA, so getting used to that has been keeping me busy around the clock.
- Been trying to kinda get in better shape, although it's not really working so well. :P

Other than that, life is doing well.

Janelle is starting to manage walking around now, which is a great improvement since she started physical rehabilitation months ago. During the last visit, my mother sent home a bunch of things I might want - my very first dj mixer (with VU meters WOW), a tambourine, some bongos, and, to my delight, Janelle's old ukulele from 6th grade that I forgot she had. It's kinda beaten up and has two old strings on it, but I noticed that there were signatures and notes from her old classmates on the back. As I started reading them, I remembered how much of an influence Janelle was (and is) to me. Maybe you'll be seeing ukulele vids from me in the future.

Kobie is about 14 months old now, and she is starting to calm down, but she thinks she's higher in rank than Lydia (lol). We take her to the dog park at Frick Park on a daily basis so that she can get her hyperness out. To think, it's was about this time last year when I got Kobie @ 19 lbs. :) She's now 63 lbs.

A huge congratulations to all the people who graduated from college. Lydia graduated from the WVU nursing school with top honors and was named "Most Outstanding Student" for the WVU Nursing class of 2009. Being so smart, I wonder why she's marrying me. :)

A big congratulations to my childhood friend, Kirby, and his new wife, Brandi on tying the knot on May 16th! WOOOHOOO comerbeberenguadalajaramamajama!

More updates to come. :) Miss you guys.

Gig Reviews: Stuckey-Dolan Wedding

There have been times in my DJing career where I thought to myself during shows, "I need to practice my chops" or "This is getting old..." or even "Maybe I should give this up...

Not this crowd. This wedding only made me want to go back to being a professional club DJ.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to quit what I'm doing (i.e. singing, playing guitar, and fixing computers), but the way the reception went just kinda rekindled my love as a turntablist. I don't think I've had as much fun with any group. I think what made the difference was that Bo (the groom) asked for strictly club music from 9:30 until close. My first reaction was "Are you sure?" and Bo said, "Definitely."

He was right - everyone there was gittin' down to biggie, t-pain, flo-rida, lil' jon... and of course, the adrenaline from the club set put me in my element and made me think, "Why did this ever stop?"

Anywho, it was a fun night and a big congratulations to Drs. Bo and Lindsey Dolan! Thank you for letting me be a part of your post-ceremony festivities. :)
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GIG UPDATES --
THIS THURSDAY, APRIL 23rd @ 12 Noon-2pm
Live w/ Domenick DeGeorge and Andrew Bottini
The Mountain Lair, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 24th @ 7pm-8pm
Solo gig @ Hot Topic
Morgantown Mall, Morgantown, WV

See you there!

Heading North.

So, I'm moving to Pittsburgh.

I'm super excited! I just don't know anything about the city, except:
- there is a couple Guitar Centers and one awesome Ikea.
- there is a large airport.
- traffic is horribly bad around the tunnels.
- it is on the wrong side of the backyard brawl.
- they have really amazing microbreweries.
- the food rocks.
- crime is kicking up a bit.

Nonetheless, it is probably one of the more convenient places to live on the East Coast. :) And if I get home sick from West Virginia or California, home is just 1-4 hours away... well, for a price.

The house I got is a nice two-story with a basement and a backyard for Kobie. I learned quickly that living in a townhouse with a orally-fixated 90-pound means "no room for anything." She's actually sitting right beside me, staring and armed with her slobbery USC-colored tug-o-war rope. Although obnoxious, she's still really really cute.

If any of you know anything about Pittsburgh, I'd like to get some insight on a few things:
- good coffee
- open mic nights
- dog parks
- a good, youthful Catholic church
- good gyms (a buddy of mine is opening one up, but it won't be for a while)
- city shortcuts around traffic

And of course, if you wanna meet up and hang, I'm all about it. :)

Dear Morgantown,
It was fun while it lasted, but it's time to bite the bullet.
I'm sorry for leaving, but I promise I'll come back again.
Love,
Chris

.... and Happy Easter everyone! He is risen! Alleluia!

I <3 WVU Dance Minors

Yup, I said it. "Minors".

No, not the kinds that are like underage, the dancers who take time out of their busy major, whether it's Spanish, Art, or Medicine, to do what they absolutely love.

I played at the WVU Spring Dance Recital with Rachel Romero, a dance minor who also just got into the WVU Medical School, and it had to have been the most appreciated I'd felt for a long time. I played John Mayer's "Slow Dancing In A Burning Room" and she did a solo dance to it. The crowd loved it and so did the other dancers in the program.

I thought Rachel kicked butt.

Leslie (a dancer/choreographer in LA) and Maribelle (a graphic designer in Ft. Lauderdale) who are both amazing dancers would have been blown away and so proud of her. I was going to cry at some points. Nonetheless, I enjoyed every minute of it.... Not only the part where I got to perform, but watching all of the other dance minors do their thing - ALL of them were spectacular.

So thank you all so much for letting me be a part of your performance and definitely for the amazing creativity you all show. I loved it!

If you haven't seen a show live, here is a clip that was taken by my cousin, EJ, in Charleston, West Virginia.



Tim Courts (Drums), Jimmy Lykens (Bass), Ryan Kennedy (Electric), Eric Pyles (Sound). Thanks to EJ and the girls for the upload. :)

Enjoy :)

Gig Reviews: So.Zo and Bocktown

So.Zo -- Morgantown, West Virginia
What a great place to play! I love this place. They've always got really friendly staff and a great sound guy. Played this gig with Dom DeGeorge, Andrew Bottini, and Tami Alexander. It was one of the first shows I played with a setlist, but hey it turned out pretty good.

Awesome people from Columbus came to listen to the show. Big shout to Jenny Wang :) Thank you to ALL the people who showed up to listen and participate - meaning the "WOOOOHAAAHHH!" on Only You. Loved it.

Dom and I played a middle set with just the acoustics and I was very pleased with the sound. The band did an excellent job, as well!

You absolutely must try their Vanilla Chai. :) Hands down, a solid time at the show.

Venue Rating: 8 of 10 Lydias. (New rating system, teehee - feel free to leave your own comments below!)
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Bocktown -- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
If there is one place can I say I look forward to playing at every year, it is here. Food is amazing, beer is amazing, staff is amazing. Sold. :)

Dom and I played here together. The first 1/3 of the set sounded funny, only because of EQing issues (got spoiled from having a sound guy). When Dom went on to do his set (and with some feedback from Dom's sister's boyfriend), I EQ'ed it correctly, and from then on it was a blast. Andrew and Tara were there to support us. Tara is awesome, Andrew - good choice! :)

We met a couple of people there, Jack and Tom who do a lot of Irish tunes, and I'll tell ya... I love these guys. They supported us as if they knew us since childhood, holding out the tip jar for us, almost getting into a fight about it (hahaha, amazing story from Jack)... can't get better first-time fans than that. Reminded me of the gig I played down in Beckley, WV @ Foster's :).

I had an angry set where I dropped the F-bomb in Steamroller and I think I felt some aftershock from the "f". I don't condone doing it, but it is in the song. :P

Great night, just got home at 3am... but that doesn't matter cause we got the house in Pittsburgh yesterday! :)

Loved it.

Venue Rating: 8 of 10 Lydias.