公告
- New album _Inland Territory_ available now!
http://www.scarabcart.com/cgi-bin/viennateng/item.cgi?id=172
Check out the new video for Gravity:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8nypWKa_aU&fmt=18
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a video for Gravity (or, “reasons why I love a life in music”)
2008-02-07 8:14AM / 標準BLOG / 會員可以看
Yes, it’s true—I’m finally going to have a video for an album track!
Fat Monster Films picked the song several months ago, developed the concept and shot half the footage before approaching me about being in it. A bit of a gamble, but it was a brilliant move; as soon as I saw their 30-second rough edit, I knew I had to be involved. They warned me that they were a small operation, so the shoot wouldn’t be a swanky affair, not much in the way of personal trailers or private hotel suites. Perfect, I said. Not-swanky is how I roll.
I didn’t anticipate, however, that the weekend would turn out to be one of the best I’ve had in recent memory. And that’s saying a lot. The video shoot was a distillation of everything I’ve come to love about this life: the way music serves as a passport into worlds I’d never have access to otherwise, the warmth and communal spirit I encounter everywhere I go. From my Thursday night arrival on the island until I left for the ferry on Sunday, the whole thing felt like a celebration of all that’s good in human nature: creativity, generosity, assiduousness, wonder.
The good men of Fat Monster Films, for their part, were the very epitome of teamwork and dedication. There was Scott Bullis, who wrangled heavy equipment and cooked scrumptious meals for twelve with equal aplomb; Steven Dempsey, the quiet artist behind the HD camera, beautifully fluent in lenses and lighting; Tim Hyten, the youngest of everyone and a preternaturally assured director, always ready to throw out storyboards in favor of happy accidents; actor Norm Sanders, a filmmaker himself, wisecracking between takes and subtly intense on camera; and Mark Johnson, the producer who coordinated the whole circus, and a former English major who quizzed me continuously on GRE words. (Now I know exactly what unctuous, sanguinary and truculence mean.)
Colette Francel, Sandra Thomas and Allison Lux of Studio A accepted their last-minute assignments with grace and good humor, proving that a salon in south Whidbey can rival the best of L.A. or New York when it comes to hair & makeup for video shoots. How they got me to look pretty much exactly the same three days in a row is beyond me. And chatting with Colette on Sunday morning (at 8 a.m. on her day off), when she told me stories from her childhood, I was reminded vividly of how little we know of each others’ lives, how much courage might be tucked beneath the surface of the people you meet.
Good souls kept appearing, almost by the hour. First there was Bob, the owner of the house at the end of the private road we needed, who not only gave us permission to come on his property but then lent power outlets, hex wrenches and photographic documentation besides. Dean’s friend Sharon appeared not long after and became the de facto P.A. for Friday afternoon, then cooked us all dinner after the shoot wrapped on Sunday. Tech nonprofit manager (and avid marathoner) Patrick Shaw, who replied to an email I sent to the Seattle list, showed up on Saturday and seemed quite happy fetching hair combs and windbreakers all day long.
Special thanks also to Stacey Rayburn, the L.A. wardrobe stylist/designer who rustled up the dress and made the gloves in five days without ever meeting me in person, working from a hastily procured set of measurements; Stephanie June Johnson, Norm’s makeup artist; Jesse Wendel of the Group News Blog, for photos and a nice big umbrella; and all the kids who hung out with us over the weekend, especially Helen and Fiona, who play a mean game of Sardines.
More coverage at the Fat Monster blog, Patrick’s blog and the DVX Forums.
Please visit the scrapbook to see the pictures.
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intake
2010-03-09 10:45AM
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Slow Q&A 2009: The Kaoru Questionnaire
2009-10-15 7:57PM
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compass
2009-09-26 2:39AM (1 個評論)
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archive of Twitter Q&A, 15 Aug 2009
2009-09-03 2:00PM
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Slow Q&A 2009: The What Is That? Edition, pt. 2
2009-08-31 3:21PM
统计信息
- Q: Who are your influences? ...Q: Who are your influences?
A: My parents' record collection: Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, Mozart and Beethoven, 60s Mandarin pop. That's what I started with and it'll never leave me. Later on, pianist-songwriters: Elton John, Billy Joel, Tori Amos. These days I'm influenced by whoever intimidates me. I hear them, I'm astounded by them, I think daily about quitting music because I'll never be able to do it as well as they do. Then I try to steal from them without imitating. A tricky thing.
Q: How would you characterize your music?
A: Oh man, I don't know. I've taken to saying "chamber folk" or "singer-songwriter" to some people. "Somewhere between folk and pop, with a bit of classical and jazz," if they look confused after that. It's frustrating that I have no succinct phrase to offer; at the same time, I think it also means I'm doing something right.
Q: How long have you been playing piano?
A: Since I was five.
Q: Did you study at a conservatory?
A: No, just one-on-one piano lessons until I was 17. Changed my life, though.
Q: How did you learn to sing?
A: In the shower, and in school choirs. I took some voice lessons here and there, which amounted to paying $40-150 a week to be told that I was doing it all wrong. I don't think we fixed anything. So maybe I haven't learned to sing, actually.
Q: When did you start writing songs?
A: I think I was six when I decided I could cobble my own piano piece together. As for songs that I still play in public, the earliest ones are from high school.
Q: How long does it take for you to write songs?
A: A long time. Sometimes months. Occasionally over a year. I don't revise all that much; it just takes that long for all the pieces to form and assemble.
Q: Who arranges the songs for live performance?
A: It's a collaborative process. My bandmates generally compose their own parts as we work through a song in rehearsal—sometimes they're based on the studio recordings, oftentimes not. Sometimes they have cool ideas for my parts, too.
Q: How old are you?
Q: Is Vienna the name your parents gave you?
Q: How do you write your name in Chinese?
A: Wikipedia knows all. And is reasonably accurate, though I don't know why it has photos of me wearing a knit hat and playing guitar onstage, two things I almost never do.
Q: Is it true that you used to be a software engineer?
A: Yes. I got my bachelor's in Computer Science at Stanford University, and went to work for Cisco Systems for two years. These days I remember exactly enough to crash whatever computer I'm working on.
Q: Is it true that you went to/dropped out of medical school?
A: No. Can't imagine paying off med school loans and funding an album...
Q: What was it like being on Letterman?
A: Surreal. Pretty much like how it'd be for you if you got called to play on the Late Show. I still think I dreamt the whole thing. Except the studio was very, very cold, and my dreams aren't often cold.
Q: Which of your albums is the best one, in your opinion?
A: Like anyone, I'd hope that the most recent is always the strongest. I think I'm getting better as I go...
Q: Does constantly talking about yourself ever make you feel like an egomaniac?
A: Yes, yes it does. Makes me wish I were in a band sometimes.
Q: Are you going to release a live album?
A: We do have a live DVD out now. For sound-only recordings, there's always the Internet Audio Archive.
Q: Do you ever reply to emails?
A: No, and I apologize. It's not a policy or anything; I'm just not good at staying on top of it. I promise that I do read everything, and that I'm grateful. - 職業: 樂手 , 歌手 , 作曲家
- 性別: 女
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