Harmony For The Heart

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Around 630,000 Americans die of the condition each year. That is more than one in every four deaths in the United States.

- Center for Disease Control

Scott Yoshimoto, Joseph Vincent, and myself, Kris Mark, are hosting our very first concert, HARMONY FOR THE HEART, in order to help the American Heart Association and their commitment to fighting heart disease and stroke, as well as their efforts to raise awareness of these diseases. We need YOUR support, through any form of donation–be it 5 cents or 50 dollars–in order for us to facilitate the concert and maximize the proceeds that to the American Heart Association. Any help will be greatly appreciated and you will be acknowledged at the concert as a sponsor!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW HARMONY FOR THE HEART CHIPIN WIDGET TO MAKE DONATION

(*THIS WIDGET is not asking for DONATIONS for the American Heart Association, this is our FUNDRAISER to go towards putting on the concert)

Concert Details:

Harmony for the Heart
Benefit Concert for the American Heart Association
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Crystal Cove Auditorium at UC Irvine

5:00PM Pre-Show Meet & Greet
6:00PM Doors Open
6:30PM Show Begins
9:30PM Show Ends/Meet & Greet Post-Show

Confirmed Line-Up:
- Joseph Vincent
- Kris Mark
- Request Line (Scott Yoshimoto, Casey Nishizu, Emily Yoshihara)
- AJ Rafael
- Cathy Nguyen
- Jennifer Chung & Johnny Yang
- Traphik aka Timothy DeLaGhetto
- Paul Dateh
- MOVeMEDIA Productions

Tickets:
$7 Presale
$10 Door

Stay tuned, as info regarding ticket purchases will be announced soon!

Love&light,

Kris Mark

The No Labels EP Album released on iTunes!

It’s about that time, people…

After tons of hard work from myself and nearly everyone around me– ranging from my family to Studio37 peeps to my close music heads–the NO LABELS EP album, my FIRST EVER, is finally out!

THE UNBOXING:

deliveryyyy.

Inside cover +CD face

The creds, the track list, and barcode!

TRACKLIST:

1. Who Is She (First Love) feat. Kenni Earl

2. From Her

3. Swagger [NEW SONG!]

4. No Labels

PLEASE visit the link below to check out, preview, and buy the album on iTunes, and WRITE A REVIEW/RATE IT!

CLICK TO PURCHASE ON iTUNES!

ALSO, watch the WHO IS SHE Official Music Video, by MOVeMEDIAPRODUCTIONS

Props to my sister ELLE of digital-heat.com for the amazing artwork, Mike Ladia for the photography and track mixing, Glenn Clancy of Studio37 for all Mastering, and thanks to DISKFAKTORY for doing such a legit job with replication! I’d like to give a special thank you to EVERYONE involved. From the good times to the bad–there has undoubtedly been conflict of both personal and creative ideas as much as there was undeniable syncing of them, but to have experienced any of it at all has been a big deal to me as a musician and as a person.

The album goes for $3.96 on iTunes @ $0.99 per track, and physical copies are $5.00! I’m going to be coming back here with updates to let you know how to obtain your physical copy via mail ASAP. I’ma be doing more shows, and getting my internet-savvy hat on and keep in touch with all of you. Without YOU, I wouldn’t have anyone to share in my passion. so THANK YOU!

As always, love&light.

-Kris Mark

Prince Charming

Today’s question:

“Who is Prince Charming, anyway?”

My answer:

Prince Charming is a mama’s boy with absolutely no real capability of supporting a relationship- his main and sole function is his power to gain INITIAL respect/affection.

Other than that, he’s jobless, goalless and idealistic… but hey, he’s good at slaying things. Are those relationship-sustaining traits?

His only apparent way of resolving a conflict is to kill things and show off to the girl in question. He chooses his best friend carefully; he has to have much more capacity for conscious thought than our Prince does (essentially, the real brains of the team), and his sidekick must present to him all the angles to a situation (otherwise, our rambunctious knight would probably just storm in and get himself killed).

Thus, our hero’s greatest asset is his dashing looks.

Not to mention the super clean, top of the line steed.

Today’s lesson? You want real happiness? DATE THE SIDEKICK. KM

The Fast & Furiously Overanxious

How To Take Getting Cut Off

Ever have that relaxing drive down the 405 Freeway at 5PM, full of smiles and friendly drivers slowing down to give you space and time to find your exit?

The Inquisitive Shower

**Leave it up to to a cold Valentine’s day, a hot shower, sprinkled with the end of a busy week to spur some deep self-thought.

After some hardcore BioSci and Stats studying, I jumped in the shower and took a long and warmer-than-normal shower. I felt myself entering a state of mental turmoil the moment I stopped to think about my after-college future. Granted I do pretty well in my classes from here on out, (which, is a total can-be-done situation… with a lil’ priority allocation.) I STILL have absolutely no idea what’s in store for me even with my major in mind.

Although that realization sounds like the setup for a bleak and whiny blog, I’ve learned to analyze situations in a formulaic manner; the positives first, then the questionable second. My good friend and mentor, Glenn Clancy, always reminds me “you have to understand what you’re good at, and come to terms with what you’re not.” in order to improve at anything in life. So with that in mind, I’m going to just jot down feedback for myself as a college student and how I’m preparing for my future:

It’s been increasingly easier for me to take charge of my tasks, when I really apply myself to do so. I’m progressively getting better at working under pressure and in time frames, and doing so with a clear mind. I’m becoming relatively tech savvy and pick up faster when it comes to learning useful saught-after resumé traits, whether it has to do with studio mic setup, spreadsheets in Excel, notetaking in Word, editing video in iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Garageband, audio in Logic Pro, ProTools, pictures in Photoshop and other media-based progs… and I may have the time to work with more Creative Suite stuff soon too. Bottom line, I take pride in the fact that I’m a versatile learner and can easily adjust to tasks that are thrown at me.

now, onto the downsides:

I’m a reject music major turned [emphasis on:] “aspiring” literary journalism major with no veritable background in writing. I have little to no work experience ’cause I don’t necessarily count a short vacation job working at a filipino bakery in Las Vegas as work experience. lol. It’s also tough for me to assert myself in situations that call for it. I’m not tastefully pushy when it would be useful for me to become so when interacting with another person, and that can really hinder my ability to get where I need to be. Due to my medical condition, its going to be hard for me to work long hours, in certain environments. I don’t necessarily excel at any given trait or talent–which is something that would really help in the asscrack of a competitive economy we have today.

After taking all of these things into consideration, it really just begs the question of “what is it I ultimately hope to attain after college?” and  “would it even have anything to do with my major?”

I HAVE NO IDEA.

the only thing factual is that I have music as an anchor. it’s something I ultimately hope I can attribute most of my life to, but with the realistic senses that I have, I don’t want to rely on making a LIVING off of it. it’s a passion, not something I want to force into a breadwinning career like I would with reporting journalism or something to do with media. I want to take music classes to enjoy learning- guitar to better understand the musicality- singing to just feel good. not stress out trying to be the best in class so it’ll look good for someone to give me a job for it later.

-sigh. I’d like to think this is all just a matter of temporarily manifesting the average college student woes. People I trust and respect frequently reassure me that I have the capability to be a good leader and won’t have trouble getting what I want out of my life after college… but my problem is that I’m completely oblivious as to what it is I need to get off my ass and shoot for.

Oh well, I just gotta pull back and realize this is all under the assumption that I finish college to begin with.

Thus, I pull myself back to the present, and proudly conclude that I’m clean and I smell good now.

Love&light.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

I’ve reached an interesting state of contentment as of yesterday, and I’m not sure what the reasoning behind it is… but I’m not one to complain. I went to Oahu, Hawaii for a week, and got back on thursday. Needless to say, it harbored some of the most relaxing moments in my summer. The last time I was in Hawaii was 5 years ago, and I really had no idea how to appreciate just how beautiful Hawaii really is. Plus, I got to surf for the first time in my life, and I’m kind of in love with it now. I have a feeling I’m going to be at the beach a little more often once I head back to school.

Speaking of which, I’m so pumped to go back to school- ’cause although my summer has been one of the most productive ones I’ve had in my life thus far (recording, trips, room remodeling), I still feel like my brain is kind of on a standstill… and I really want to see how well I’d fare in studying this time around. I have this urge to fill my brain with knowledge that I think will be taken advantage of this quarter. I already have a prediction as to how freakishly awesome this upcoming quarter is going to be, due to all the opportunity that’s waiting for me when I get back. First and foremost, I’m finally declaring my major as Literary Journalism, and that takes a LOT of stressful weight off of my shoulders, seeing as I’ve been majorless for about 3 years now. Secondly, I’m taking some interesting classes (world of coffee and hip hop culture?! hell. yes.) and I have gut feeling that I’m going to be more responsible with my time management. On the off hand, I’m going to be hitting music full force if I’m not studying, especially with the arrival of my sexily amazing friend and upcoming engineer Michael Cupino now attending UCI. I have a [remotely] set plan for my quarter, and hopefully I’ll be able to juggle each and every one of these goals as the quarter rolls by without spreading myself too thin:

I. study hard, use library time twice as much as I did last year, throw together study groups, take better notes and watch videos that are extensions from lecture

II. visit office hours for key classes (lit j, sociology) [this helps immensely -_-]

III. set specific times for vocal lessons / tracking / writing sessions and NOT OVERDO IT.

IV. limit performances to about 3 big shows a month

V. take MCIA/KABA workshops… I wanna get back into dancing =)

VI. have album / website release by November 2008 [ample time, even with studies in mind]

–and that’s about it. I want to keep my plans that AREN’T academic as flexible as possible only because they’re so unpredictable… but I think so long as I keep these guidelines in mind I’ll be able to competently balance my year =).

As for my unusual contentedness, I just feel good about my life as of now. I’m working out more, doing more productive things, I’m tired of being on AIM, my boy Kenni has a dope girlfriend that he totally deserves, and this guy I know named Desmond has a dope girlfriend (SAMI! haha), I’ve been spending more time with my odlest sister, my godson is amazing, my older sister’s getting what she wants and is moving to SF later this year, I’m slowly improving on my guitar and vocal skills, and above all, my family’s more than awesome to me and I know who my friends are. I’m just not irrationally worried about things right now. Call it blissful disregard, or call it growing up– to me it’s just one of those appreciated moments where I’m not subconsciously ailed by some petty dissatisfaction towards something. Other than the sunburn on my back, life’s pretty effing good =).

Love&light,

-Kris

Closer.

MY GOALS AS A MUSICIAN:

The following are titles that I would like to establish for myself in the near future:

The Session Guitarist

• an instrumentalist available for hire, as opposed to being a musician that is permanently a member of a set band/group

The Recording Artist

• The vocalist/musician with established and refined musical style
• Makes the most use of singing voice, performance and stage presentation
• Has at LEAST a demo package with songs that best represent vocalist’s style and professionalism
• established image, “star quality”

The Songwriter

• The lyricist and/or composer, responsible for creating melodies, words, and chords for multiple works. Songwriters may perform their own works, or may also write for other artsists.

The Producer

• Has many roles, which include overseeing and controlling recording sessions, providing guidance to the musicians, scheduling and communicating monetary situations and resources, and supervising mixing/mastering sessions.
• essentially create or mold music that is given to them according to their vision for the final product
• also deals with the business side of music, including copyrights, rights, arranging gigs, communicating with venues and management.
• may also be capable of instrumentation (such as piano, guitar, drums, etc) and singing as well, but will not primarily be the recording artist in that they do not often perform live, appear as center roles in music videos/interviews etc.

In order for the latter to be fully realized, here’s what I need to accomplish:

1. Create a 3-5 song demo by MID SEPTEMBER. Preferrably before school starts so I have material to present if the need arises.
2. Work out. hard. this means, physical exercise as well as vocal and guitar and piano exercises. my lungs need to be 100%, my stomach needs to be able to support at 100%, and my hands need to build endurance for long setlists if I aspire to be a legit performer.
3. Network even MORE. there’s immeasurable strength in numbers and in friends. be a good person to everyone- life’s trick is that the most unexpected people can help you out or screw you over if there’s bad blood.
4. Write, read, inspire, be inspired. if I’m a sponge with everything around me, I’ll have more to say in my songs. I don’t want to be one-dimensional.
5. Emphasizing on reading- read books and manuals for Logic and Pro Tools… it would never hurt to understand engineering so that I can be even more understanding and cooperative with the ever so valuable mixing/mastering crew.
6. Find a damn image that suits me. ugh, meaning I need money for clothes… how lame
7. Freaking TIME MANAGE. this one’s going to be the bitch and a half- I have to own my free time without burning myself out if I plan to make the moves that I intend to. responsibility is going to start playing a much bigger role in my life from here on out.
8. Work with the Souldeep and Downplay Productions fam much, much more than I am now. they’re the best of both the professional and personal worlds. <3

this list will grow, and will be frequently checked upon as the summer rolls by.

bottom line? no more slacking. I want what I love to do to become a reality. if it means owning school, then bring it.

I Gotta Ask Myself; What’s It Gon’ Be.

PRECURSOR: This is going to be one to look back on. I’m going to address a lot of what’s inevitably on my mind as of this moment, shamelessly running the risk of my exposing my inner opinions.

There are currently 4 quarters to my life at the moment:

FAMILY: As I grow more and more, I can see just how wise my older sisters/parents really are. What amazes me is that it’s not a matter of their gaining knowledge over time- they’ve always been this smart… I’ve only just barely began to acknowledge it in my own terms. It’s bittersweetly humbling. I have to be able to remind myself how incapable I am of pushing my limitations all at once; I need to attain my balance so that I can not only maintain my grades or respect, but to also not get ahead of myself and be more strict with my focus. My sister pointed out something really eye-opening recently and I doubt it’ll be leaving me anytime soon; “you have to help me take care of Jalen, not have our mom and I take care of you”. My irresponsibility and lack of balance has once again caused me to be sick, and that worries my fam like no other. I don’t know why I lose sight of their advice when I’m at school or working on music… but like my vocal coach told me; “you have to know your limitations. push them, not tackle.” I find it within my duty as a son, brother, cousin, and uncle to make my family proud and feel as if I’m reliable enough to handle my own petty stupidity so I can help them be happy. It’s 1/100,000,000th of what they’ve done for me. I’m 20 f**king years old– they shouldn’t be worrying about me as much as I make them, especially when it’s perfectly within my grasp to provide reassurance.

SCHOOL: The good point of this is that I feel more like a nerd than ever. Japanese art history is one of my favorite subjects because of how humorously applicable to videogames it is. I feel as if the one purely positive turning point I’ve made since the last school quarter is that I now know how to fit in studying a bit more snugly into my schedule, as well as actually maintain/enjoy what I learn. The perspective that I’ve taught myself is that if I can’t focus on learning about the aggregate demand and supply of a domestic firm, or how to pinpoint a writer’s take on irony in 500 words, then how would I be able to focus on learning the proper positioning for projecting the bridge for Anthony Hamilton – Dear Life? My ability to focus in school is parallel to my focus on what I love to do. So hell, why not love school. Nerd is in, and it just feels so damn good knowing everything your professor throws at you and correcting them when they mess up.

MUSIC: Two words: Leaps & bounds. Never before did I think whatever ounce of creativity I had in my brain would spark 3-4 fully arranged original songs in the course of 3 days (of course, with the help of my talented-ass batch of hustlers). It feels good. Bookings and gigs are popping up in places I used to think were only pipe dreams; UC San Francisco, UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC Riverside, high schools from the bay to san diego and everywhere in between, and Hollywood. I’m ridiculously blessed to have even 2 people compliment the music that I cover, write, perform, and even rough draft. The ball is really beginning to roll, and I’m going to do my part in getting that avalanche started. In all airheaded honesty, I have a feeling that’s not the difficult part- what I’m more concerned with is how that will test my mental and physical endurance. Meeting / hearing / motivating all the other artists that are now considered a part of my music family has been a huge blessing to absorb- there’s a fellowship among people who love to do what they do, no matter what skill level. I’m amazed at how much talent can be packed into one area, and how I’m able to hold my own among them. Being in the booth last week at the Soul Deep studio (aka Glenn’s sexy condo) for the first time was probably one of the most invigorating and uplifting experiences of my life. To an outsider, I was pretty much alone in a closet lined with sponges and old track jackets who mimicked a valley girl singing in her dropped-top mustang. But to me, I was evoking the most intense feelings I’ve ever felt by translating my takes on love, sex, rejection, religion, jealousy, and longing into 2 verses, a hook, and a bridge. I don’t want it to ever stop. I want to be heard because it’s the one thing I feel like I have the potential to be damn good at. I want to be successful doing something I love. Successful, not famous. ‘Cause I find success in inspiring other people- whether its inspiring to try out guitar, asking their crush out, embracing the fact that they miss someone, to dance, and to be inspired to reach for the top of that shelf.

ROMANCE: Haha, this is the most zombified part of my life. Needless to say, I miss having a girlfriend that I’m obligated to give status and location reports to every hour. It’s funny when people ask me how things are going with girls and they give me a surprised face when I say “bleh”. I’ve had my fair share of psychotic girls and the interesting girls that tend to look perfect on paper but have a propensity for not taking hints and/or knowing what they want. I’ve been duly traumatized by my past relationships with good reason (both due to my actions and the trick’s). It’s not getting to me too badly yet- I like the single life productivity and room for self-improvement. Hopefully the lady of my future appreciates how many times I’ve gone over my past mistakes so I that don’t make them with her. In the meantime… to any girl that I may be currently crushing on or will be within the year: please realize that I’m flirting with you because I dig you, not because I want to be in love with you. Stop taking me so seriously.

all in all, I’m hoping my 4 quarters actually make me a dollar this year–

I’m not about to be chump change.

Love&Light,

-Kris

Incentive.

Living by myself in college really forces some sort of change. I’ve really adjusted my social, physical, and mental priorities over the last few months– and I’m starting to like how it’s turning out. First of all, I cook. To me, that’s ridiculously amazing considering I came from a house where my parents pretty much ruled the kitchen. I’m glad that I inherited their natural cooking skill, as it’s really not initially as tough to me as other people made it out to be. So far, a developing passion of mine is cooking myself dinner to some Jazz. I just seem to focus better when I listen to some Coltrane. I aim to be able to get involved with cooking to the point where how good I am surprises people. The social aspect of my life has undergone a huge overhaul since I lived in the dorms. I’ve never been much of a partier to begin with, but now I’m even more laid back with peers and spontaneous activity with people around me. I now prefer those small coffee shop hangout moments over loud double-digit gatherings any day. I’m pretty sure I’ve found my core college buddies- those crazies that you know I know I can never get rid of long after we graduate. They’re the people I hang out with more than 4 times a week, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. What I love about them is that we’re not in any way a clique- just a group of people who happen to vibe off of each other every time we’re all in a room together. I don’t disregard the new friends I make either– although they come less frequently now– but when they do, they end up being pretty down to earth people as well. It’s better to rarely find good friends than to constantly make acquaintances. As far as the love life goes, being single has many more ups than it does downs as I see it. It’d be nice, but it’s really hard to find the smart, open minded dorky girl with a love for old school music and dinners at home. Even if I do, there’s always the problem of having the attraction be mutual. haha. A few months ago, I tended to put a lot of thought and devote a lot of energy to finding a girl to spend time with, but now I’m honestly just letting it flow. But, seeing as it’s February…

I might as well not let Valentine’s day go to waste.

In any case, I’ve been focused with tunnel vision on improving myself and reaching for my potential in every facet that I deem a priority in myself. I’m finally grasping the groove of studying and actually having all that information stick, I’m working hard on music and taking vocal lessons/writing/networking, I’m trying to get back in shape, and most of all– I’m doing my best to better show my family how much I appreciate them.

All the mush and self-assessment aside, it’s interesting to think January disappeared so fast.

For the sake of making this blog worth rereading in the future, I’m gonna list out a brief 3-month plan.

by MAY of 2008:

1) release a demo album

2) increase my vocal range and projection / endurance

3) get my abs back [required for 2 to take effect, and so I don't look like a fool come Summer]

4) master cooking 5 different dishes and master making 3 types of desserts.

5) learn 2 full songs on piano

6) collaborate with some talented people to make covers on youtube

7) make at least 2 production documentary videos

8 ) get those A’s

9) change up my style.

This gives me something to look back on in a year or two so I can feel good about getting all of those done and more.

love&light,

-Kris

My Shining Hour.

It’s 11:30pm. I’ve been reduced to feeling nothing but sleepy at this moment, and that’s an interesting thought; usually I’d have something to do or someone to think about until 3am, but nothing and no one crosses my mind other than just how ridiculously comfortable my something-percent cotton pillows look right now.

The lights are on, work’s to be done tomorrow. But, as of now, all the shine that’s coming out of this night is the one I get when the bulb out of my bedside lamp flickers when I pull that cord to shut it off.

Goodnight.