Greetings from Tokyo!

Stan KillianBlog

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I’m back again and it feels absolutely invigorating!  I arrived just a few hours ago in Tokyo, one of my favorite places in the world.  Tomorrow night, I’ll be performing music from my forthcoming album Evoke.  There will be two concerts at Vanilla Mood, 8pm and 9:30.  Doors open at 7:30.  Check out that amazing poster by Casey Sussman on the Vanilla Mood web page

Now here’s the trailer for the tour.  The video shows a few spots from last year’s Unified tour of Asia 2012.  The opening scene is from a huge intersection in Shibuya http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibuya,_Tokyo .  I was smitten by the immensity of the area and in particular, the penchant for high fashion of locals.  There are also clips from the Meiji Shrine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_Shrine where I wrote a prayer for the world on a wooden note card.  I later walked over to Yoyogi Park and practiced for a bit.  This is where we encountered the dancing girl.  There’s a clip from outside of Ken Amagai’s Vanilla Mood, where we jammed on my father’s favorite tune “All the Things You Are”.  There are also a few photos from Insadong in Seoul Korea.  I’ll add Seoul to the tour next time for sure!

Tomorrow night’s rhythm section will be Yuichi Nariata piano, Daisuke Toi Bass, and Makoto Kitazawa Drums.   I’ve played with Daisuke Toi and Makoto before, and they are excellent young players with a lot of energy.  I haven’t played with Yuichi, but have a feeling he’ll be great too.  Here’s a clip from last year’s concert with Yusuke Kono on keys.  The song is “Eternal Return” from Unified Sunnyside 2011

Two New Videos “Hindu” and “Echolalic”

Stan KillianBlog

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Thanks for coming to my show at the 55 Bar last week and signing up for my newsletter.  Here are two live versions of tunes from my upcoming album “Evoke”, both taken from the performance at the 55 Bar on February 12, 2013.   The “Hindu” video was shot by Beekman33 and “Echolalic” by Wayne Tucker Photography. This quintet, which appears on my forthcoming Sunnyside Release “Evoke”, is Mike Moreno guitar, Benito Gonzalez Fender Rhodes, Corcoran Holt bass, and McClenty Hunter drums.

“Hindu” a song we’ve been playing since I moved to New York in 2008 was a spur of the moment call by keyboardist Benito Gonzalez.  We didn’t have a chart on it, but the guys are so familiar with the music from my book, we just played it!  It’s a satisfying thing to know that I have a band that’s consistent and totally in tune with the repertoire.

“Echolalic” starts of with one of Moreno’s haunting guitar introductions.  After the melody is stated, he kicks off the solo section and displays some of his angular virtuosity.  He’s followed by Benito’s pounding Rhodes solo which is accompanied by Moreno’s Theremin like, echo-like pads.

My next 55 Bar show will be March 19, 2013, 7pm to 9pm. I hope you can make it!