Weekend O...V...E...R...

Starface open mike jam a few weeks ago. Julia, Travis, Jenn, ME, and of course, Tom on guitar. Every second Wednesday we host the open mike there. The opposite week you can find us at Ol'55.

Well...for those who know me, I work for a company named CDI. Apparently one of my students thinks I look a little something like this!!!!

So.....I'm exhausted and another action packed weekend has come to an end. I just got in the door from band rehearsal. We have a big gig comin up at Monk on May 28th and we're going to concentrate on our jazz material. It's hard to practice when you're tired and only thinking of bed!

So....our gig last Thursday. We played at U2 for a next to empty house. There were just a few people in the bar. A couple of girls were having a great time dancing and falling down infront of the satge though. The weather was absolutely terrible though. It was monsoon type rain and most of the local foreigner crew had been partying hard all week and didn't want to come out. I suppose it was more of a dress rehearsal for us. It was cool though...more practice is always a plus.

There was a huge blowout last night. Some folks hosted a rooftop party at their officetel (an apartment building that has businesses on the first 2 or 3 floors). It was in Haeundae, across the street from SfunZ (a shopping mall...Koreans pronounce it "spongee"...apparently SfunZ means Special Fun Zone). It was a great time. I went there after Jenn's birthday dinner. We celebrated her birthday at a Japanese restaurant called Izakaya. Lots of sushi and sake. Then...like I said, we were all off to the party. It was a good time. Lots of folks out to play. The night was warm and the blender drinks were being thrown around left and right. Eventually the security guards arrived and put an end to the festivities. Most people then poured down to U2 and the night went on.

Woke up this afternoon and went to SeongJung Beach. It was strange. Lots of fog. it was the first time I've seen so much here. Thick as pea soup. it reminded me of the fog I was used to growing up on Cape Breton Island. Just a few hundered meters from the beach it was sunny, but on the beach you couldn't see more than 100 meters. I then bounced on over to Haeundae beach were some folks I knew were spending the afternoon relaxing. There was no volleyball today. Most people were at a green tea festival in Jinju. There were only a few of us there, but luckily there was (as ususal) a drunken Korean man to harrass us....happens everytime we go to the beach. I have absolutely no patience for drunken Korean guys bothering me while I try to relax in the afternoon. Especially when they're trying to be macho! Too many times I've seen it...take too much soju, a middle aged Korean man and point him in the direction of some foreign men. His primary goal is to prove that he is tougher and therefore superior to any of them! It's very predictable behavior.

Well...rehearsal's over. Another week ends and a new one begins...

To Seoul and Back....in a day!

It's Dante groovin on a jam...I think that's Travis on bass in the white shirt. Jam Night at Ol'55.

It's Mike. He's the host of the Ol'55 Open Mike jam. These pics are a bit grainy...i took them with my camera phone. I was up playing, but only for one song.

What a wacky few days! Had rehearsal Tuesday night, but had to duck out early. I had to wake up at 4:00am....terrible...... CDI held a workshop and information session for all Head Instructors and Faculty Managers from all around Korea. Three of us representing Busan CDI (my school) could the 6am KTX (highspeed train) to Seoul. We did the workshop thing and had a working lunch with a higher up management guy at TGI Friday's....yummy. A quick stroll around COEX Mall and then back to Busan.

By the time I got back to my apartment in Jangsan I wanted to die....so tired. I took a quick nap, grabbed my sticks and hopped in a cab. I went to the Kyungsan University area (great club and bar area). It was open mike night at Ol'55, hosted by Mike from Thunderbay. Everyone was there!!! I pretty much knew everyone in the bar. I suppose the foreign musician scene in Busan isn't a very big one. Mike was wailin on some great tunes, there was a cool band called Cuttlefish, Sonic Defense played and there was generally a lot of great music being thrown around. I got up on the skins for a pretty wild jam of "I Will Survive". Dante sang and most people in the bar were bouncing to the ceiling.

Well....tonight after work I'll cab it to U2. The Shady Play Toys will be playing and I'll be found hiding behind the drum set for 2 complete sets starting at 11pm. I'm not sure what kind of crowd we'll have considering most of the Haeundae posse have been partying quite hard for the past week. Hopefully everyone won't be burnt out.

It's Been a Week...and Teacher's Day...

Well well well....Teacher's Day has come and gone and I have to admit....I have a case of gift envy. My coworkers recieved lots of gifts including giant chocolate bars and wine. What did ole Kev recieve....a small can of pomegranite juice.....ick! To make matters worse, it's the brand marketed by the wraith-like, girlie-boy, Lee Jun-gi....Hopefully tomorrow will be a brighter day and I can expect a few pairs of socks to come my way from my lovely students. Believe me...socks (one of the most commonTeacher's Day gifts in Korea) would definately be a few steps up from pomegranite juice.

It's been a crazy week and an even crazier weekend. Our bass player, Kurt was on vacation for the week so the Shady Play Toys didn't play very much. We did do it up at Satrface last Wednesday night. Travis sat in on the bass. There were a few drummers there as well as guitar players, but alas, Travis was the lone bass player which meant he was busy busy busy and his fingers must have been sore at the end of it!

A huge rager was thrown in Jung-dong on Saturday night. Most of the Haeundae "beach people" were there as well as crews from Ulsan and Taegu. It was a great ole time. For some it was a little too great! Sunday was a great day to just recover by loafing at the beach. Bigger crowds necessitated 2 volleyball nets to be set up...I think more people just hangout and watch volleyball than actually participate.....I'm certainly guilty of that.

Sooooooo........practice tomorrow night....Open Mike...Hosted by Mike himself at Ole 55 on Wednesday night!!!! The Shady Play Toys will be there to perform a few tunes. Maybe a little after 11:00pm...ish. Then.....Thursday night at 11:00pm... Shady Play Toys @ U2!!!! We'll be playing 2 full sets...should be a lot of fun. Hopefully we'll have a nice crowd.

Wednesday should be a hectic one. I have to catch the KTX (highspeed train) at the crack of dawn and head to Seoul. I have to attend a manager's workshop at headquaters in Samseong-dong at 10:30am. Later in the afternoon, I'll be back on the KTX heading back to Busan. All the way to Seoul for a 2 hour workshop....ugh! Ah well....a few tunes later on in the night at Ole 55 should make things feel a bit better.

Long Weekend Craziness

So....yeah...as anyone who lives in Asia knows, you'll always get a chuckle by reading signs and t-shirts. there's never an end to bizarre English phrases. Check out Aaron last night infront of the "Seoul Toad Live Seafood Restaurant". What do they serve? Seafood? Toads? Both? How does one prepare a toad? So many questions....

I was out last night and bumped into a guy I met in Osaka, Japan last summer....very strange. He's a cool 6'8" dude named Yanis. I remembered this picture from that trip....a Korean BBQ restaurant in Osaka called Sex Machine!!! I had a severe lack of hair back then...I believe I was marathon training at the time so I shaved my noggin to keep things cool during the summer.

Also....I came across this bizarre photo I took here in Busan. I was at a bar in Seomyeon and this is what the urinals looked like.....so disturbing.

So....it was a long weekend in Korea and it sems as if every English teacher from Seoul, Taegu and Daejon came to Busan to hang out in Haeundae. It also seems that everyone in Haeundae went to Seoul. One thing I've found after years of livin in Seoul is that people in Busan are more chilled out...even the English teachers in Haeundae are very chilled. I suppose we have a small community here and we all know each other. Basically, what I'm saying is that a pile of idiots seemed to migrate from Seoul to Busan. Along with them was a "vacation" attitude....being loud, obnoxious and looking for trouble.

I was at U2 last night with Aaron. He's one of my friends from my days in Ilsan. We met in Korea in 2002. He was down with a crew for the weekend. We were hangin together, but the mood was killed by a bunch of jerks looking for entertainment via fighting. I hear that every weekend during the summer, loads of people come to the neighborhood to party. Hopefully, the summer will be relaxed and not crazy like last night.

Tomorrow is "Parent's Day" in Korea...so to all of you who are parents....have a good one!

3 Day Weekend for Most....

HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY.....for anyone who doesn't work at my company. I hope you all enjoy your long weekend. On the other hand am heading in 5 hours early to do "management stuff"!

In the theme oth Children's Day I wantd to show some artwork from my class last night. I drew a wonderfully awful picture of a butterfly while explaining the concept of metamorphosis. When i returned from a break I could se that my students turned it into this...a hard drinking, chain-smoking "punk butterfly"! Great!!! I love it...

Our gig @ U2 kicked it last night. It was our best show. We had our tightest set, the crowd was dancin and calling or more. The club was absolutely packed...was hard to even walk around. Lots of good feedback afterwards. looks like the party was going to go all night, but I had to leave as soon as we finished playing. I'm one of the few people in Korea who has to work today (having 3 or 4 people ask me if I was coming to beach volleyball today didn't make me feel better either!!).

No gigs for the rest of the weekend. I'll check Kurt and his jazz trio out tonight after work. They play at Jazz Styles close to Gwanghali Beach. Seem folks will be down from Seoul to see me as well so we'lll have a little fun.

That's a Pricey Beer!

Just found this reciept. Tom and I went to the Westin Hotel for a few pints of Guiness...didn't think to ask for the price...ended up being a pricey pint. 4 pints = $95.03!!!!!That's right!!!! Tasted good, but no that good...

Open mike at Ole 55 was ok. Small crowd, but it was the first one. We jammed out a few tunes, but our bass player wasn't there. We're going to attempt to look sharp tonight. Suits are the order of the day....let's attempt to look classy. Looking forward to playin at U2 tonight. I hear B Funk are playing by Pusan University so that will take some of the folks away. I'll taxi it directly from work to the club....should be fun!

Naked Pizza Day

Out for my usual run this morning. Here's a shot of Haeundae Beach thanks to my trusty camera phone. It's one of my favorite spots for a morning run. I even saw a fat foreign guy waddling about in a pair of speedos...Korean heads turned...it was like rubber-necking at a train wreck!!

Yes...the pizza in Busan can at times be risque!!!

Day off today, but I had to procter TOEFL tests all afternoon. We're somewhat short staffed so it's a little stressfull at the moment. Looks like the band will congregate at Ole 55 around 10ish. There will be a few other bands there as well and then a jam session I would assume. Naked Seafood Pizza, a little music and the ability to sleep late tomorrow morning...some of the finer things in life.

I'm tossing the idea around of signing up for a couple of 10km races next month. I'm no longer road crazy like I was when I lived in Seoul...bad foot injuries will do that to a guy...but it's still fun to get out there a few times a week and pound the pavement.

Gigedy Gigedy Busan Tuesday!

It gets warmer and I get busier. The job goes well and the weather gets warmer and warmer. Now that the Shadey Playtoys have formed I'm much busier. It's better than sitting at home twiddling thumbs (I'm freakin out tryin to play jazz...my rock drumming past isn't helping me much!). Tomorrow night we'll play a few tunes at Ole 55...a club by Kyungsan University. Thursday night we'll play a few sets at U2...a stones throw from Haeundae Beach. Jenn (our singer extraordinaire) just called to let me know we've got a gig at Monk on May 28th. Just thin....2 months ago my nightly ritual consisted of coming home from work....and nesting infront of my notebook....

It's good to get some good news...the end of the week is filled with bad news. Friday is a national holiday (Children's Day). Most people get the day off, but myself and fellow coworkers have the joy of being the only people standing at the front of a classroom on that day.

There I am at our U2 show last week...we had a good crowd there.

It's moi, Jenn W. and Kurt kickin the groovy jazz stuff!

The whole crew. Julia (keys), Tom (classical axe), Kev (drums), Jenn(vocals) and Kurt (bass player dude). OJ (our sax player) should be there playin on Thursday May 4th when we're back at U2.