20090131

Bilingual DT

David was in Shanghai yesterday and should be in Beijing today for the Apple Store promo. This cooperation & his hints that he is putting up music sample online could mean that he is thinking of going digital for his music in the future. Which is not a bad thing but hopefully he will still be putting out an album for physical sales cos I am one of those that prefer to have his album in my hand so I can read all his dedications and lyrics. Some good news, some bad. Good first. His evergreen song, I Love You, is included in a compilation album called Strawberry Love:
Strawberry Love features 34 international ballads on two CDs. Among the mellow hits included on the compilation are Whitney Houston's Greatest Love Of All; I Love You, a cover of David Tao's same-titled song performed by Joanna Wang (copy credit Yesasia)
The song has gone full circle from the initial english demo to chinese release & then to english release. Both releases are just as popular. This is kinda like Latin American singers in US releasing 2 version of their songs in english & spanish. In fact some chinese singer/songwriters are already releasing a few of their songs in both english & chinese like JJ Lin, Khalid Fong and Joanna Wang herself. DT has once again unwittingly started a trend it seems *__*
Now the bad, well not really bad. Here's some kind of explanation on the reason why there was a rumor not long ago that David was being banned cos his song Different was deemed to be a 'reactionary song'. Must scroll right to the end for the DT reference but the whole translated article is an interesting read. If you can read chinese, there is a link at the bottom to the original chinese version. There might well be some truth to it but I have a feeling that it is not as alarming as it sounds I hope. Anyway that it has to happen to David is kinda inevitable. He is the kind of musician who makes music according to his moods, feelings & the current environment he was in. This kind of music sometimes can create ripples like the butterfly effect & I hope he will go on producing it irregardless of the results.

20090129

DT & Shawn

Happy Year of the Ox/Bull/Cow/牛 ^__^ Didn't think I would use a traditional chinese pix, did you? This is vintage Picasso print, so respect plse *__* Although his country sportscitizens could use a bit of respect during their recent escapade to Beijing, rite? The internet can be a hallowed place hah!
Anyway I am in a very good mood after reading David's msg although admittedly I teared a few times cos he hasn't forgotten us fans. Thank you to angie & Godfrey who posted comments under the false album release post. Not forgetting anon who is a mom of die-hard DT fan *hugz* Yes, I do believe in DT and I have faith in him. Sry if I have been MIA. Just that not much news abt him & dun wanna post unnecessary stuff. Be patient cos it looks like we dun have to wait too long for the album to be released & if as promised he put up some demo vids online, it will be pure heaven.
Now, CNY present from me haha cos dun have time to do a DT calendar but on the To Do list promise. Anyway here's youtube vid of Shawn Pelton, the drummer he mentioned in his msg. He sounded incredible and I can't hardly wait for the track they worked on. Even the working title 'Just Can't Believe' sounds unbelievably cool to me *fangirl sigh*

20090127

CNY msg from DT

2009.01.22
新年快樂
1/21/09 Wednesday, aboard flight from LA to Taipei

Having just finished two very densely packed weeks of production in LA, I’m now aboard a flight back to Taipei. What made the two weeks even more challenging was that I was also moving out of my current residence in LA so there was a major amount of organizing and packing. Over the past few years, it seems that whenever I’m back to LA (however short the duration of my stay) I’m always very inundated with errands to run and things to take care of. As much as I’d like to relax and enjoy my time there, it seems more like a rat race for me. My friend and engineer, Craig, describes it best as “cramming a year of living” into a few weeks time. It can be very energizing and euphoric but it’s definitely not something I plan for nor something I necessarily always enjoy. Unfortunately, it’s a product of having too much to do with too little time. So what’s new, right?
As the concept and production of the album weighed on my mind, I officially began my overdubs last week with several musicians at Glenwood Studios in Burbank. The early stages of production of an album are very much like the early stages of a love affair. You don’t quite know how you stand with the other person nor do you know how you even feel. There is this great rush of emotion but at the same time you feel trepidation and fear in making the wrong move or losing everything. Things become magnified ten times, exaggerated, and often putting things into perspective becomes very difficult. If the saying “love blinds you” is true then in my case the creative process blinds me during production. And like in love, I am filled with all the similar emotions all at once: passion, fear, elation and confusion. Henceforth, the term “tortured” is often synonymous with artists and the creative process.
Our first two days of overdubs was with a drummer named Shawn Pelton. I’ve been an admirer of his playing for about 8 years but only until now had the chance to work with him. Now let me clarify one thing for all of you who aren’t familiar with album production and especially working with musicians. Hiring these top musicians doesn’t always guarantee success or what you want. The musician may have a ton of credits up his sleeve and be technically amazing but he might not be suited for your music. Some musicians play a certain style with ease yet stumble through another style of music. A few years ago, I was looking for an acoustic guitar player for one of my songs and a friend of mine referred me to his guitar professor. This guitar professor had quite a lot of sessions under his belt and was also a music professor at one of the leading music universities in the US. You can’t go wrong with a guitar professor, right? Well, turns out everything went wrong because he simply couldn’t come up with parts for the song or even play the ideas I had sung for him. In his defense, his attitude was very professional and he was willing to do take after take to get things right. However, studio time was ticking at over a hundred dollars an hour and so I had decided to end the session early letting him go. In the end, I realized that I should’ve went with my gut instinct and not hired him because he was actually a jazz guitar professor (which I did know at the outset) and not a rock or pop player. You might ask why can’t a jazz player play rock, pop or even classical? There are no set rules, of course, but musicians (like any other people) have their own styles, personal likes and dislikes, and idiosyncrasies. A jazz guitar might possess the technical ability to play a rock tune but he might not possess the right feel or attitude. Therefore, matching the right musician with the right style of music is very important and one of the key roles of the producer. Just like casting an actor for a part in a movie, the director and casting director must study and understand the nuances of an actor before knowing if he or she will be right for a part.
Shawn was flown in from New York to LA especially for this session and so I definitely didn’t want a repeat of what happened with the jazz guitar player a few years back. With both anticipation and trepidation, we started our session in the morning at 11am, as I first picked up Shawn from his hotel. After an hour of dialing in our sounds (setting up real drums for recording involves a lot of mic placement, level checking, drum adjustment, EQ’ing, etc.), we started on our first track “Just Can’t Believe” (working title). At that point, all my concerns were relieved as Shawn simply sounded amazing and just like I had hoped for and more! His feel and groove was laid back sitting perfectly in the track and his drums had a very signature tone that I’ve always craved for in my productions. Kudos also to Craig for his great ears and engineering! I had also worried that Shawn might be difficult to work with especially since New Yorkers are known for their edginess but he was a sweetheart and also very methodical which I didn’t expect. All in all, the two days with him in Studio A were a dream and I can’t wait for you guys to hear the final results. Over the course of the week, we did bass, guitar, pedal steel, organ, electric piano, vibraphone and even real marimba overdubs with some incredible musicians as well. It was the most musical fun I’ve had in a long time and it was such a pleasure and learning experience working with all the musicians-many of which I’ve worked with for the first time. I could go on and on in detail about the sessions, however, a picture is worth a thousand words and, so, I’ll be posting video up on various websites for you to watch. The most painful part, however, was that I was juggling packing and moving the last few days which not only was tough on my body but also on my hands which I needed to use in the evenings playing guitar. In the end, I had to cut a couple sessions short as my hands were simply out of strength.
It’s interesting to note that this album has the least amount of MIDI and sampled instruments and more of the real stuff. I didn’t purposely choose to go this direction but it’s just the way things turned out. Perhaps I felt I was returning to my roots and playing in a rock band that I wanted to keep everything live. Musicians now live in an age of constantly debating which way to go or which seems to be better. The computer age has definitely changed the way music is made and heard but it doesn’t always translate to better music. Going into the studio and recording live drums, bass and guitars (or anything real instrument for that matter) really reminds you what music is all about. The imperfections and individual touch of each instrument and musician breathes life into music and which is something the listener might not technically understand but definitely feels and appreciates on a gut level. I often like to say that a live recording of a not-so-great quality piano is still better and more organic than perfectly sampled 100GB software generated piano. Unfortunately, in Chinese pop music (and the majority of pop music for that matter) that is what we hear 90% of the time. It has come the point that a lot of younger musicians and producers don’t even know what some of these musical instruments look like let alone how they are played and used in music. What we are left with now are digital copies and snapshots of the real things. If everything eventually can be digitally cloned or imprinted, does that mean we can also “copy and paste” the meaning and emotions behind them? How does one thing exist without the other? Or are they, in fact, separate things?
With that being said, technology has always co-existed with the creative process and it forever will be. The key, however, is how it is utilized and whether it in turn generates something empirically original.
All the songs have been written and I will be working on lyrics as well as some programming and guitar overdubs over the next few weeks. This is what I call the “fleshing out” phase at which I put the meat and skin on the bones. The skeletal framework has been laid out and it’s some of the finest and most solid work that’s appeared on my albums. Even though Chinese New Year is around the corner, I’ll be working through it while spending quality time with my family. For some strange reason, I enjoy working during the holidays, as it seems like the only time I’m not blanketed with phone calls, emails and other distractions. It’s a tranquil and quiet period in which I can completely escape into my little world from the big world we live in. I hope many of you can experience this sense of serenity and relaxation during the upcoming weeks as well.
I wish the Year of the Ox brings you less “bull” and more genuine moments of joy, awareness, prosperity and love.
Happy Chinese New Year

DT

20090114

DT & Apple

David will be making an appearance at the Apple Store in Beijing on 1/31:
Taiwanness(sic) Singer David Tao Talk About Music
Saturday, Jan 31
7:00pm
David Tao, the R&B father and famous music producer&singer, also a Mac professional user. He will show and share his experience of How to make music in Mac.
If anyone living in Beijing interested, the address is:
Apple Store
Building 6, Sanlitun Village, No 19 Sanlitun Street, Sanlitun, Ph: 64198900.
Anyway, it would appeared below info abt his album release is false since why would he appear at the Apple Store on the day of the preorder of his new album? *thank god* ^__^

20090112

Not good news

Some unconfirmed news abt DT album @ DTFC forum & seriously hoping its not true. Anyway seems the album is called 太愛妳 (Love you too much) to go with his 2 previous albums which also had 太 in the title *roll eyes* How banal. The pre-order is on 1/31 & the first single to be broadcast on 2/2 is called 愛情不浪漫 (Love is not romantic) *yuck* The album will go on sale on 2/14 & chocolates will be given as free gift since its Valentine Day. Oh man this is terrible, already I am hating it, so swarmy. Overdosing on the lurve lurve lurve overdrive. I am so tired of hearing the word 'love' in almost every single chinese ballad. I am tired of chinese love ballad period. I WANT A ROCK ALBUM DAMMIT DAVID! Anyway *calming down* as I said its unconfirmed although too much details for it not to be true though *sigh* Sorry but I will not be preordering if its true.

20090110

Studious DT

All credit & much thanks to DTFC for above pix of DT during his CNEX talk. Vry adorably studious ^__^ No news yet abt his album release or whether he is gonna stay with Gold Typhoon. Meanwhile his record company is facing yet another accusation of 'chart buying' this time for Show Luo. Sony even held a press conference to publicly state that they will not falsify their sale nos. Typhoon retaliated by inviting Sony singer to come & sell albums during their singer's concert to see who can sell more. Kinda childish if u ask me. So far nobody has produced an album worth fighting over. Can anyone come out with an album this yr to revive the Chinese music industry like Cape No 7 did to Chinese movies last yr?

20090101

New DT frontiers

Some sweet pixs of DT with Ah Ya. Can watch the vid here - first 3 mins. He started the NY show in Nanjing singing Rain, Smalltown Girl & finishing with I Love You. Voice a bit shaky but still smooth & alluring as chocolate. Here's the Sina vid of his performance. He seemed happy & lighthearted but it was reported earlier that he still can't get over Lucky's passing. Seems to me that he derived a lot of support & comforting from Lucky so it will be hard & he probably will never get over it. Hope 2009 will be the year where he can reach new frontiers with both his music & film.

DT in 2009

Happy 2009! David looking all dreamy & yummy ^__^ He welcomed the new year in Nanjing. His CNEX talk was vry enjoyable apparently where he introduced Sting's Dream of the Blue Turtles. He still has a few more songs to write for his new studio album before the production work. He is still keen to film his movie in order to fulfil his dream.