If you’re down for a night of good vibes and a bunch of laughs, don’t forget to buy your tickets to the inaugural Koreatown Comedy Festival.
Koreatown Comedy Festival will be hosted by Paul “PK” Kim, host of Mnet’s Beats Per Mnet and founder of Kollaboration, and rapper Dumbfoundead. The lineup is packed with well-known comedians such as Amy Anderson, Danny Cho, David So, and PK and Dumbfoundead themselves (full list above)!
The show starts at 7:30 pm on the evening of Thursday, January 12th at CGV Cinemas in Los Angeles. Buy your tickets at a presale price of $11 here.
For more information check out the event’s Facebook page. All proceeds will be donated toLiNK (Liberty in North Korea) andKollaboration.
Here’s a snippet from PK’s past show at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood to tickle your funnybone:
We first met Rekstizzy at the Kollab NY 6 show in September, and even had front row seats as the three talented rappers filmed the music video for “No Apologies” against the backdrop of Irving Plaza’s second floor bar. Rekstizzy, Dumbfoundead and Decipher come together in Rek’s single fresh off of his debut album, Fake It Till You Naked, which premiered on Complex.com.
Victor Kim, a.k.a. Victor King, originally of Quest Crew—America’s Best Dance Crew Season 3 champions, has been working diligently to make his own dreams come true with the release of his first EP, available today. To build anticipation, the artist posted a series of 7 YouTube videos varying in content—from snippets of tracks off his new album, a tribute to his mom, and clips of him breakdancing. Of the newly released album, King says, “I wrote all of the lyrics and melodies on the EP, and each song is a very honest reflection of different times in my life.”
But there’s more to Victor King’s dream than just music: his own personal shoe line which he designed with help from his fans, sponsored by Tweak Footwear and inspired by his love for skateboarding, also debuts today, along with hiswebsite. King’s passion for living out his dreams stems from a deep-seated need to heal people emotionally through the art-form of music.
To celebrate, Victor King and friends are throwing an album release party on Wednesday, November 15th at Factory in West Hollywood, sponsored by MyxTV and Ketel One Vodka. The red carpet line-up begins at 8pm sharp, followed by performances from our favorite YouTube group, YTF, made up of members Chester See, Ryan Higa, JR Aquino, Andrew Garcia, D-Trix, and Victor King himself. You’ll also see these celebrity guests in tow: AJ Rafael, Wong Fu Productions, Dumbfoundead, Jennifer Chung, Jason Yang, JK Films, David So, Quest Crew, and more! Don’t miss the after party—it starts at midnight! To buy tickets to the party, click here.
UPDATED on 11/16/11: Check out Victor King’s music video for “Through Thick & Thin“:
It’s no wonder that Clara C’s last show of herShakin’ Off Silence tour sold out. Doors opened at 5:30 p.m. and a large crowd filled up NYC’s Highline Ballroom in under 10 minutes. The show didn’t start until 6:30 p.m. and fans were eager to spot a glimpse of Clara C, shouting, “Is that Clara?! Where’s Clara?” Fans chatted about her as if they knew her personally, asking each other whether or not they had watched her newest YouTube videos, commenting on their favorite ones. The lights dimmed, and the show’s emcees—The Jubilee Project—introduced themselves and the opening acts.
Eric, Jason, and Eddie of The Jubilee Project
The Jubilee Project, made up of Jason, Eddie, and Eric, produce and direct videos for a good cause. The group was inspired by the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti and began fundraising through their videos. The Jubilee Project’s mission statement: to make entertaining videos that will empower, enable, and inspire others to do good as well.
Wanted Ashiqz, the winners of Kollaboration NY 6, stormed the stage with their signature hip-hop/Bollywood meshed dance style to popular songs by Eminem, and Beyonce, including a tribute to Michael Jackson. Their performance ended as a voice-over thanked the group’s greatest inspiration—Bollywood.
Mree (left), Travis Graham of New Heights (right)
Next up was the 18-year-old indie folk singer/songwriter sensation,Mree. The crowd swayed in awe to Mree’s angelic voice as she played songs off of her new album, Grow. Mree has previously been proclaimed as a “web sensation,” and her single, “Against the Current,” was selected by YouTube artist,David Choi, to be featured on YouTube’s homepage.
After Mree, the action-packed music video for New Heights’ latest song featuring Clara C, “Take Me On,” started rolling—the crowd immediately recognized it and began singing along, cheering as Clara C unexpectedly pulled out a large machine gun in one of the scenes, shooting in slow motion. The band materialized and played tracks off their album, Something to Believe In. During their last song, the lead vocalist, Travis, climbed off-stage onto a fan’s shoulders and the two unsteadily ventured into the sea of people.
Clara C
At long last, the crowd went wild as Clara C walked out, wide-eyed with the biggest smile on her face, surprised at the amount of people that came to see her perform. Clara was a natural onstage, even with slight microphone issues; she cracked jokes, took her shoes off to play the piano, and showed off her amazing instrumental skills. Throughout the show, Clara had an ecstatic look on her face, shouting, “Wow, I can hear you guys singing!” She made it all look so easy, and she genuinely connected with the audience.
Before the concert, Korean Beacon got a chance to sit down with Clara C to talk about her Shakin’ Off Silence tour experience, her creative process, working with Dumbfoundead and Jay Park, pre-show rituals, and why she decided to no longer be a “closet musician.”
How has the touring experience been so far? Was it everything you expected it to be?
Touring has been absolutely, positively, unbelievably amazing because we have sold out every venue and that in itself is amazing. It’s also been good because typically I just play gigs by myself but this time I have my band traveling with me. If my band can’t make it, we have New Heights backing me and New Heights is like family to me, they’re like my brothers. It’s like being on a road trip indefinitely.
Yeah, I mean there were some curve balls thrown—I learned that you can plan all you want and things don’t always pan out. But everything has exceeded my expectations.
What is your creative process like when writing songs, and where do you pull inspiration from?
I tell people I’m still a fledgling song-writer because I’ve only been doing this for a year and a half. When I started, it’s not like I was like, “Yeah, I think I’m going to do this music thing and I hope it works out.” I was just thrown into the pit and I hit the ground running. You can’t pass an opportunity by. I don’t have a process locked in yet, but typically what ends up happening and what results in my best songs is when I feel a surge of incoming emotion. I sit in front of whatever instrument is closest to me and I vomit my emotions. The vomit is my product (laughs).
What are the five things you can’t live without?
Oh my gosh, let’s see: food—noodles, the interwebs, music, a dog, and God.
Ah, come on, they’re family as well. It was funny how that song we did, “Clouds,” came about because we were having lunch, sitting in Dumb’s room and we were like, “Let’s write a song!” We kind of just canoodled through some tracks and we were like, “It should be about sunny days and life. Let’s make an inspiring, feel-good song.” And then we kind of just split without a word into 3 corners of the room, with notepads. We all scribbled for an hour and came back and said, “Okay let’s record this!”
You’re described as a “closet musician.” What was the defining moment for you when you decided to step out into the spotlight?
I think it was at Kollaboration. I’m a closet musician because I’ve loved music since the womb, but I was with some friends who told me not to do music because it was risky and I wouldn’t make it, and that I wasn’t good enough. As a result I stopped believing in myself, you know. But I found a new group of friends and they helped me believe and boosted my confidence, so I came out of the closet. My friends—the good ones—forced me to get on YouTube against my will, and forced me to enter into a bunch of competitions – Kollaboration was the third one. That was at The Shrine where the Emmys were held—I almost kissed the stage as I walked out. I performed “Offbeat,” and when I won I guess something just clicked and solidified. I was like, “Okay, Clara Chung, let’s do this.”
What’s involved in your pre-performance ritual, if any?
Honey-lemon tea and very, very strange vocal exercises, which will color me different in your mind (to get a glimpse, watch Clara’s ‘Mistletoe’ cover). Me and my band will do something like, “1, 2, 3, WE’RE AWESOME!” And I’ll throw up a prayer just to calm me. Sometimes I’ll start warming up because people don’t know this, but I get cooped up in my dressing room for hours. I can’t go outside because there are fans, and I can’t go outside outside because then I have to come back inside through the fans. I just get stuck here, and I have cabin fever, so I end up kind of like jumping-jacking around to get my energy back up.
What has been your most fulfilling experience since going on tour?
I think it might end up happening tonight because this is the last US tour stop. And this is kind of like my feet hitting the trampoline before I take off; the Asia/Australia tour is a huge thing for me, I’ve never even been to either continent. I think tonight at the end of my last song – you know when you have that moment where your eyes get glazed over and wide and you’re like, “Whoa this is happening”? I think that’s going to be tonight, especially in New York, where I was born—I love the vibe, it energizes me.
Clara C is flying to Singapore at the end of this month to kick off her APAC Tour. For full tour dates and ticket info, click here.
Watch Clara & New Heights perform a mashup of “Wake Up in Neverland” + MGMT’s “Kids” @ the Highline:
With the successful release of his new album DFD, Dumbfoundead(a.k.a Jonathan Park), K-town’s finest rapper and wordsmith, is throwing a huge album release party for his fans this Saturday, November 12th, at The New Place in Los Angeles, CA.
The party will feature live music, free goodies, a photo booth, an open-bar (21+), and food provided by Seoul Sausage. But more importantly, guest will have a chance meet and party with DFD. Not to mention, all proceeds from the party will go towards Knockstudy—a non-profit music production and DJ-ing program for teens and students in the great L.A. area.
Hite and Jinro, the sponsors of the party, are giving away Ten (10) tickets to this exclusive RSVP-only party. To enter, click here. Winners will also receive a signed copy of his new album.
If you can’t make it to the party, click here to preview and buy DFD on iTunes. You can also buy the “DFD Album Package” (comes with album, t-shirt, and stickers) on Knocksteady.
Here’s an acoustic version of “Town,” one of our favorite songs off the new album:
KAs@Work is a new series that profiles Korean Americans and their jobs. Want to share what you do, or know of people with interesting jobs? Get in touch.
James Kim, the founder of Catharsis NYC, an event marketing and branding company, talks to Korean Beacon about his day-to-day activities and fills us in on the amazing work that his nonprofit organization, B.E.A.T(Bridging Education & Art Together), is doing.
James, can you tell us a little about what you do on a daily basis as part of the Catharsis team?
Catharsis, first and foremost, works like a thinktank and executes as an event marketing and branding company. We work with clients with regards to marketing, branding and event production in order to formulate a campaign or an event that best suits their brand image and needs. In essence, we put a lot of thought into what an event should/could look like in order to reach the right people.
Your background experience and resume are stellar – how did you get started in event planning and marketing?
I started event planning way back in 2000 at the Event Marketing Department of Comedy Central and later, MTV Networks. I have had the opportunity to work on everything from the Chapelle Show launch parties to South Park Anniversary parties to dinner parties with Mayor Giuliani and Jon Stewart which laid the foundation for my partner, Justin Kim, and I to start Catharsis 4 years ago.
How difficult was it to build your current client base? Did they find you, or does Catharsis actively scout for potential clients and projects?
A bit of both. We get contacted by brands if it’s music related, as we work with a lot of hip-hop artists, DJs, MCs, Bboys, Graf writers etc. But we also contact brands if we feel there is a certain synergy or a connection that makes sense for the project and the brand.
Rapper Dumbfoundead at the Lawyers4Musicians showcase
What is involved in organizing and coordinating large scale events, like the Lawyers4Musicians showcase in Austin? And who else does your team of people consist of?
I think an event, of any scale, always starts with your talent – who’s performing and where is the show? Once those 2 elements are established, it’s always about getting the right brands on board (with sponsorships) and definitely getting the right people to attend your event. I have 2 partners that are essential in getting anything off the ground, Justin Kim and Tonia Kim. Justin handles all of our technical elements as well as all the content that’s shot, cut and eventually posted. Tonia is an over-the-top event planner in her own right and really keeps a handle on fostering, building and maintaining relationships.
In addition to Catharsis, we know that you run three non-profit programs for kids called B.E.A.T (Bridging Education & Art Together) – can you go into detail about them?
Yes. Catharsis, in a very real way, has evolved into B.E.A.T. And yes, we are currently running 3 programs:
- Beat Breakers: a free, after-school Bboy/Bgirl program with program Director Ken Swift and Head Instructor BBoy WaAak from Breaks Kru:
- Beat Rockers: a free beatboxing program for blind and visually disabled students in the Bronx with Head Instructor Taylor McFerrin and Instructor Chesney Snow:
- Beat Makers: a free, after-school music production program run entirely on and through the iPad2 with program Director DJ Dhundee.
When did you realize that you wanted to work on not-for-profit projects geared towards bringing music to youth in under-served communities?
I realized this 2 years ago when I was tour managing Project Soul, a bboy theater troupe, based in Seoul. We went on the road in the UK and did 15 shows over the course of a month. Legendary BBoy Ken Swift, was on tour with us at the time with his crew, the 7Gems Rock Division. We both noticed the irony in that there was no real way for kids in NYC to learn how to bboy, so I decided to create “crews” through the Beat Breaker program in NYC high schools where we have real bboys teach the students not only how to dance, but also the opportunity to get a rich social history of the dance and its significance in our city’s history. We are currently in 2 schools and are looking to include a third, this or next semester. We started working with blind kids a year ago after I was invited to DJ at their school dance through a friend of mine who was teaching at the Lavelle School for the Blind in the Bronx at the time. I thought beatboxing was a perfect medium for these young folks to express themselves, as it needed no extra equipment or assistance. All you need is yourself. You ARE the instrument.
Can you talk to us about any upcoming projects you have in mind?
Beat Makers is a brand new program we are launching next month at the East Side Community High School in the east village. Instead of using laptops or buying expensive production programs like Ableton, we were able to convince the school that this program should be taught using iPad2s in order for the kids to learn through the latest available technology. The school, and the beacon attached with the school, loved this idea, and we were fortunate to have the school purchase iPads for the program. Starting next month, we will have all 3 programs run concurrently at a total of 5 NYC public high schools in the Bronx and Manhattan.
Contact me at: james@beatnyc.org if anyone would like more info or to intern!
Kollaboration NY6, the highly-anticipated annual talent competition show, kicked off at Irving Plaza with an adrenaline-pumping performance of “Bubba Kush” by rapper and co-host of the event,Dumbfoundead (Jonathan Park).
Dumbfoundead
Co-host Roy Choi, Executive Producer and CEO of Kollaboration, joined onstage to talk about Kollaboration’s mission statement—“Empowerment through Entertainment”—and to provide a platform for Asian American artists where there previously wasn’t one. He introduced the judges: Marja Vongerichten(Kimchi Chronicles), world-known executive music producer, !llmind, and music journalist Mikey Fresh, who commented that his top criteria for judging each group would be originality. Mikey also told us that in all fairness, he would remain non-biased towards any rap performances since he’s exposed to it on a daily basis.
Guest Judge Mikey Fresh, music journalist for VIBE.com and Missinfo.tv
There were six groups competing for the grand prize of $1,000, the opening slot for Clara C at her NYC concert in November, and the Kollaboration trophy, along with bragging rights of being the premiere Asian American musical performer in the tri-state area.
Elijah Park
The first act, singer/songwriter Elijah Park, got off to a nervous start, it being his biggest show yet. But after slight technical difficulties with the keyboard, Elijah’s ballad and smooth vocals had the crowd in a trance.
Next up was Rooftop Pursuit—Kollab veterans—singing a pop/rock/soul medley called “All I Need.” The band had driven 4 hours from D.C. just that morning, and although they had expressed their exhaustion earlier, their upbeat performance showed no traces of it. The band is originally a trio; however, they were accompanied by an old band-mate, Sam Lee, on the bass guitar. Their musical influences have roots in and across the spectrum, from jazz, R&B soul, to rock and alternative metal.
Rooftop Pursuit
After singer/songwriter/pianist Cheryl Chin performed her original song, “Flow it Along,” which was a perfect blend of indie and alternative sounds, Triangle Offense, the “electrohop” rap group, took to the stage.
Triangle Offense
Triangle Offense is originally a three-member group but since one of the members, Pwol, is currently studying in the Philippines, the pressure was on Sci and Bri to put on a great show – which they did, performing their song, “It’s All Good,” and engaging the audience with their wild dance moves.
Roy Choi (right) and Dumbfoundead (left)
In-between sets, hosts Roy Choi and Dumbfoundead entertained and amused the crowd with witty banter and tossed t-shirts across the venue because, “everyone loves free stuff!” They also shouted out Korean Beacon, and talked of how the site has come a long way in an effort to spread the Korean American movement. Thanks guys!!
Mitchell Grey
The quartet, Mitchell Grey, came on next who said that in preparation for the competition, they followed their normal rigorous 3-day practice routine before hitting the stage at KNY 6. Mitchell Grey’s sound is a unique one, incorporating pop, rock, and soul, with musical influences ranging from Bill Withers, Gorillaz, Justin Nozuka, and Coheed & Cambria. Their creative inspiration is pulled from all of their life experiences, interpreted in their own way through music and lyrics. We look forward to their very first full-length album coming out in January!
The last group of the night was the only non-singing act—the troupe of dancers, Wanted Ashiqz, crammed onto the stage in a tight formation and began their performance tutting to Eminem and Dr. Dre’s, “The Real Slim Shady.” Their dance style consisted of hip-hop elements infused with Bollywood moves perfectly set against a fluid mash-up of Beyonce songs—“Crazy” and “Halo,” with one of the members coming out in a “Beyonce” wig and cap. The group did a tribute to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” and then quickly morphed into full-fledged Bollywood-style dancing. They ended their act holding up signs that read, “THANK YOU FOR SHOWING US THE WAY.”
After a short intermission, the guest performers—IAMMEDIC, Smokey Robotic, and Dumbfoundeadtook to the stage and each performed a few of their songs, which were instant crowd pleasers, without a doubt.
And finally, they announced the winners – WANTED ASHIQZ! Congrats guys!!
Following the event, the bands all tweeted each other in a good show of sportsmanship and congratulatory remarks.
We also sat down with rapper, Rekstizzy, who shot his music video at Irving Plaza featuring Dumbfoundead just before the event – watch out for Rek’s newest single off his album, Fake it Till You Naked.
Kollaboration NY 6 was definitely a success with an amazing turn-out, and some of the best up-and-coming musical talents! Great work, KNY fam.
[Justin Ahn contributed to this post; Photos: Deborah Yoon]
Dumbfoundead(a.k.a Jonathan Park), the charismatic and lyrically talented rapper from Koreatown, L.A., just released his music video for “BRB.”
The new track features the soothing vocals of Season 9 American Idol contestant Andrew Garcia, which is perfect for the chorus of the song and complements the island setting of the video. The music video was produced by Duke Westlake and directed by Charles Chan, both of whom are close friends of Dumbfoundead. And despite having a tiny budget, the team put their ideas and creativity together to make a great video.
Check out his new music video:
Dumbfoundead’s new album drops on November 11, 2011. If you live in NYC, you have the chance to see DFD perform and co-host at Kollaboration NY6 on September 29th!
In a weekly series of posts, we will present the Top 5 Most Korean-American cities, selected not only for their numbers, but also for their visibility in mainstream America. Our research was guided by the following criteria: population, famous and/or influential locals, programs, and hotspots.
#1 Los Angeles, CA
We’ve finally reached the end of our countdown, and Los Angeles is our #1 Most Korean-American city! After immigrating and settling in the city with dreams of a new life, many Koreans found themselves suddenly displaced after the 1992 L.A. Riots (Sa-i-Gu) took its toll on businesses and homes in L.A.’s Koreatown. But since then, K-town has progressively grown into a vibrant neighborhood that combines cultural traditions with new and modern attitudes. While this may be one of those Captain Obvious moments, let us prove it to you by sharing the countless reasons why the City of Angels tops our list.
Numbers
324,586 – Los Angeles metro area (population data compiled using the 2010 Census)
Visibility
Dr. Sammy Lee (left) and Lt. Susan Ahn Cuddy (right)
Los Angeles is home to three Korean American pioneers: Dr. Samuel “Sammy” Lee, Susan Ahn Cuddy and K.W. Lee.
A doctor and two-time Olympic gold medalist in the past, Dr. Samuel “Sammy” Lee, the first Asian American to represent the US and win an Olympic gold medal in diving, is an inspiration to anyone with an ambitious dream. Last summer, a square in Koreatown was named after the diving hero.
Not only is Lt. Susan Ahn Cuddythe daughter of the first Korean married couple to immigrate to the U.S. in 1902, but she is also the first female gunnery officer appointed to the U.S. Navy; making her an important figure in Korean American history.
K.W. Lee, known as the “godfather of Asian American journalism,” is the founder of The Korea Times English Edition and still continues to serve on the editorial board of Color Lines Magazine. The award-winning journalist-activist also has a center inspired by his lifetime of service called the K.W. Lee Center for Leadership—a non-profit organization teaching youth how to become future leaders.
Phil Yu (left) and Paul “PK” Kim (right)
Phil Yu, the blogger behind Angry Asian Man, recently celebrated his 10th anniversary of being one of the most influential voices in our community. Through his posts, Phil has centralized Asian America by facilitating ongoing discussions about racism, activism and mainstream media’s (mis)representations of Asian Americans. This weekend, Phil will be judging Kollaboration SF 2 along with singer-songwriter Clara C.
Paul “PK” Kim is a multi-talented leader who not only created Kollaboration, the largest Asian American talent show in the world, but co-founded LiNK, a non-profit organization raising awareness to the pressing issues of North Korean refugees. PK is now the co-host and producer of MNET’s BPM: Beats Per Mnet, a daily series covering the latest and greatest in Asian pop culture. You can watch clips from the series here.
Ever since “coming out” as an undocumented immigrant, 21-year-old UCLA student David Cho is one of the handful of Asian American students putting a “human face” on the DREAM Act issue. Having recently won the Freedom From Fear Award, David founded ASPIRE (Asian Students Promoting Immigration Rights through Education) to unify undocumented Asian American students on and off campus. He’s also the 1st Korean American drum major of the UCLA marching band!
Programs
Kimchi Chronicles’ Marja Vongerichten visited KYCC this past July.
Established in 1975, the Koreatown Youth & Community Center (KYCC) offers programs and services specifically aimed towards immigrated and economically disadvantaged children, youths, and their families. Some of KYCC’s programs include clinical services, tree planting, and business education.
Through education, leadership development, and community organizing, the Korean American Coalition Los Angeles (KACLA) seeks to promote the civic and civil rights interests of the Korean American community in L.A. Last month, we covered KACLA’s 3rd annual KBBQ Cook-Off, which brought out all of the top KBBQ restaurants in K-town for all of the foodies’ delight.
Founded in the wake of California’s Proposition 8, Koreans United for Equality (KUE) unites straight and LGBTIQ Koreans in order facilitate a larger acceptance within the Korean community.
The Southern California Korean College Student Association (scKcSA) is the oldest and largest non-partisan, non-profit Korean American student organization in the US, connecting college students from eleven campuses in Southern California. scKcSA promotes a sense of Korean American heritage among students by serving the community and building a strong social network.
The KHEIR Center was initially founded in 1985 to provide quality healthcare for low-income, non-English speaking Korean immigrants. KHEIR now operates the only full-time community clinic in the country with Korean, Spanish, and English language capabilities and services 30,000 patient visits per year.
Hotspots
Roy Choi’s Kogi Truck was the food truck that started it all, and while many try to compete with it, nothing beats the original. Initially parking alongside curbs all over L.A., Kogi Truck now has expanded, making trips to cities in the Valley and in Orange County.
Cafe Mak is a great café to study for exams, finish up some work from the office, or catch up with your friends. The venue is spacious yet intimate with a peaceful ambience and offers free parking (gasp!) after 8pm.
Always the spot for running into people you know, Chapman Plaza boasts several sooljibs (Korean bars) and restaurants, a hookah lounge, and NRB. In the plaza, Gaam is one of the more popular sooljibs in K-town with its contemporary décor and vaulted ceilings.
Belasco is the new “it” club among today’s young Korean Americans in L.A. on Saturday nights. Hosted by Korean promo companies, Belasco’s events are notorious for keeping the party alive and well into the night. Make sure to get there early because lines have gone around the corner before. Other notable club spots are Le Circle and VR.
As a 21+ NRB, Bobos Karaoke is always a fun place to sing and drink the night away. Bobos offers rooms of many different sizes to accommodate groups of any size. With flat screens in the front and back of each room, you’ll feel a rock star performing for your friends while they sing along as your groupies.
With all of the KBBQ choices in L.A., we couldn’t narrow it down! Check out our list of L.A.’s Top 5 All-You-Can-Eat KBBQ spots to get your meat fix.
Locals
L.A. is home to Hollywood so we have to acknowledge the many Korean American actors and actresses who are eliminating stereotypes within the entertainment industry. ComedianAmy Anderson’s daughter Aubrey Anderson-Emmons will soon play the adopted Lily on ABC’s Modern Family while Jenna Ushkowitz sings her heart out on Glee. John Cho is coming out with the new Harold and Kumar movie this winter, and Sung Kang will star in Sylvester Stallone’s new action flick Bullet to the Head. Also be on the lookout for the Ktown Cowboys who are set to start filming their movie version of the wildly popular webisode series.
On the flip side, KAs are also making a name for themselves behind the camera. UCLA grad Grace Lee wrote and directed The Grace Lee Project, a documentary that tries to breaks down the “Grace Lee” stereotype (i.e. “reserved, dutiful, piano-playing overachiever”). Her new film on Detroit activist Grace Lee Boggs, American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, is currently in post-production. Previously based in L.A., Michael Kang has directed the Korean American feature West 32nd, which starred John Cho, Grace Park and Jeong Jun Ho. His new film, Knots, is scheduled to release sometime this year. Other filmmakers include Chil Kong and Dennis Lee.
Dumbfoundead and Priscilla Ahn
As for musicians: Priscilla Ahn‘s musical career blossomed after she touched base in L.A. to follow her music career dream. Her latest album, When You Grow Up, encompasses her growth and journey as an artist in every song. K-town’s new pride,Dumbfoundead (Jonathan Park), recently caught the attention of the L.A. Times with his track “Are We There Yet.” Singer-songwriter and YouTube extraordinaire David Choi, Linkin Park’s Joe Hahn, and Korea’s “National Fairy,” Lena Park, also call L.A home.
Known for his “dirty style,” David Choe is a K-town originated artist whose work can be distinguished by its raw, graphic and abd layered qualities. Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe, an art documentary based on David’s work, was recently released on DVD.
The much anticipated Kollaboration NY6 promo music video has been released!
The video features the 6 competitors of this year’s event—Mitchell Grey, Wanted Ashiqz, Rooftop Pursuit, Triangle Offense, Christina Love Lee, and Elijah Park—doing an upbeat cover of Maroon 5′s hit “Moves Like Jagger.”
This year, the winner will not only get a cash prize, but a chance to open up for Clara C‘s upcoming NYC show at the Highline Ballroom on Saturday, November 12th, 2011.
Kollaboration New York tops itself each year, and this year is no exception: KNY recently announced that Koreantown L.A.’s Dumbfoundead will be performing and co-hosting alongside Kollaboration’s Global President Roy Choi at the event.
Dumbfoundead
