A Quick Note About Zajia

Thanks to everyone who came out last Saturday at Zajia. We really enjoyed playing a more psychedelic & ambient set at a very cool venue. I’d especially like to thank Zajia for hosting a great night.

While we’re known for starting late and going later, Zajia has a noise curfew and all live bands have to stop playing around 11pm. I wasn’t aware of the 11pm cut-off and didn’t make our start-time clear enough in the emails & blog posts.  I apologize to those of you who missed the show. We recorded the gig and will make copies available as long as the sound-quality is up to snuff.

Zajia was our last show in 2012 but we’ll be back next year with some new tunes & new party ideas. Thanks to everyone for your support.

Introducing the Beijing Dead

Beijing needs a Grateful Dead cover band. Why? Well, why not. Now you’ve got one.

The Beijing Dead is:

Mike Newton; Guitar, Vocals

Nick Richards: Guitar

Parker Trevathan: Drums, Vocals

Jonathan Heeter: Bass

At this point you might have a few questions. Maybe you’re wondering what kind of Dead we’ll be playing. Will it be folkie? Will it be psychedelic? Will it be cheesy Bob Weir in cut-off shorts? Well you’ll just have to come to Hot Cat this Saturday Night to find out.

Not There Live at Zajia

This Friday is the last chance to catch Not There in 2012. Don’t miss it, because there will be candles and DJs and all kinds of weirdness.

Where: Zajia

When: 10 pm

Who: Not There, DJ ollo-MAM (Shanghai) and DJ Mu Xiaohu

Not There’s Break

Just want to let everyone know that Not There is taking a little break. After our upcoming shows at Hot Cat & Zajia we don’t have any  gigs scheduled for the rest of 2012.

Thanks for supporting Not There for the last 2 years and we hope to see you at Hot Cat this Saturday night or Zajia next Friday.

What the Oregon Ducks Can Teach You About Branding

The Oregon Ducks are a no-huddle program. Here are 5 things Oregon’s commitment to the no-huddle can teach you about branding.

1. Have a Core Value

A Core Value is not a slogan or a mission statement. It’s a belief system that defines your organization and helps you make strategic decisions about how you run your team/business/band.

2. Stay Committed

Oregon doesn’t change offensive schemes every week and you shouldn’t flip flop between strategies either. Stick with what you believe in and judge success over the long haul.

3. Find Talent

Since the Ducks have a strong identity and they believe in something, it’s easy for them to find the right talent to put their beliefs into practice. If you don’t have a strong belief system, you won’t know who to hire & retain.

4. Be Unique

Those crazy Nike uniforms? They’re more than a fashion statement. Be yourself and you’ll differentiate yourself from the competition.

5. Leadership

Chip Kelly is a great coach who is determined to mold the Ducks based on his vision. Every brand needs strong leadership.

 

Not There Memories

We’re celebrating our 2nd Birthday this Saturday Night and I am mandated by law to do some kind of retrospective. So here are my favorite Not There memories. Let me know if I forgot anything.

• Jamming in Edo’s old apartment in 5DK and writing See, Trade Off & Xiao Lei’s Blues
• Our first show as a trio in front of 3.5 ppl at Mao Live. Computer, bass & guitar. We sounded very weird
• Jamming with Donna and watching her play the tambourine in a converted Tongzhou fish farm
• Donna’s last show & our first Halloween Party at Mao. Throwing candy
• The first time Marco played a four on the floor beat
• Getting Gung Ho Pizza delivered to us at Mao Live and eating slices on stage
• Watching Marco dismantle a snare drum then put his head through it at Old What? bar
• My 30th birthday party
• All the Hot Cat shows that have blended into one long jam
• Making art with Gabriel the Filmmaker
• Recording Ruined, the Chauffeur, Trade Off and Dirty Girlz in an underground parking garage
• All the cool posters & the logo that Ana K made us
• Closing DazeFEAST & playing till dawn
• Some mud covered hottie kissing Nick on-stage at dazeFEAST
• That crazy girl who ate out of the trash can at dazeFEAST
• Opening the Beijinger New Music Festival (AKA corporate dazeFEAST)
• Sharing the stage with Namo
• Sharing the stage with Residence A
• Sharing the stage with Nokoma
• Sharing the stage with My September
• Sharing the stage with the Randy Abel Stable
• Covering Elvis with Randy at Yugongyishan
• No Filler
• Band practice
• Watching ppl dance to the music

I Moved to China, How Come I’m Not Rich?

This is a guest post by Jay Qiao. He is a friend of the band but we don’t necessarily agree with him.

After I graduated from the University of California at Humboldt Metallurgical Institute with a degree in Gender Studies and Comparative Fiction I couldn’t figure out what to do next. I mean you graduate in the Spring and the pot harvest isn’t until like October. I just couldn’t sit around and wait.

Then one day I was on Craigslist looking for something to do (full disclosure: I was totally trolling the San Francisco Casual Encounters section looking for a little lovin’ but I digress). There were a lot of ads for sperm donation but I’m like religious and stuff so I couldn’t do that. Finally I saw this ad to teach Kindergarten in someplace called Henan. Now I’m an ABC BRO but I totally didn’t even know where Henan was. But moving to China sounded fun for 3 reasons: I could maybe (or finally) get laid, I could get a job that fit my awesome degree and I would totally be rich. I mean there are like 3 BILLION Chinese people. If everyone gives you a dollar, you’re totes a billionaire.

Within weeks I was totally living in Henan! Awesome! I am now a China BRO!

Fast forward a bit. It’s been 3 years and I’ve learned & seen so much. I’ve had a lot of really bad cross-cultural sex, I’ve gotten drunk and I’ve flirted with my students. Now, I even live in China’s capital, Beijing. Best of all, I speak Chinese well enough to pick up all the bar floozies named Suzy and Tingting. I know that my Bar Chinese isn’t good enough so I keep looking for a teacher. I check the Beijinger and I hit up all these girls with names like Chery or Apples, but after a few lessons we’re studying a different kind of stroke order. They always leave though. I don’t know why. It doesn’t matter though because the Beijinger is always there with a slew of fresh choices.

My life is great, but there’s just one problem. I’m not rich yet. It’s ok though because I know I will be. After I teach English for a few more years I’m def. going to Law School. Law School is where it’s at. After I finish Law School, I will move back to Beijing and get one of those awesome jobs where a guy that smells like garlic and cheap cigarettes drives you to work every single day. Maybe K Kuo and the boys will even let me in the Sina Circle Jerk!

China hasn’t made me rich yet, but I know it will.

Not There’s 2nd Birthday Party this Saturday Night

Not There is officially a toddler and we’re excited. We hope you’ll join us for a special night of FREE music this Saturday, November 17th at Hot Cat with very special guests the Randy Abel Stable. Expect some Not There / Stable cross-pollination too. Can you imagine the combination of Disco & Bluegrass?

Who: Not There with special guests the Randy Abel Stable

Where: Hot Cat

When: Show starts at 9:30 pm

How Much: Free!

Wanted: IT Manager

Do you have what it takes to be an IT Manager in China? The right candidate must:

1. Be able to download a shit ton of bootleg software

2. Know how to install bootleg copies of Windows

3. Be cool with wearing sweatpants to work

4. Have a totally optional relationship with showers

5. Drink a shit ton of Wang Lao Ji/ Jia Duo Bao

6. Be willing to play “PC Games” for most of the day

7. Be generally loutish and unfriendly

8. Eat lots and lots of garlic while maintaining an optional relationship with dental care

9. Willingly be the 1st person to leave the office everyday

10. Understand the all-encompassing dream logic of “Mei Banfa Xiu.”

Thoughts on XP

Sound: Pretty good, all things considered. The monitor mix was very clear.

Vibe: Not bad for a Sunday night. We got to take some chances in front of a crowd that is clearly more into risky music.

Bar: Looked nice but I was drinking diet Coke.

Record Shop: The Maybe Mars shop def. gives XP a record/music geek vibe that I like a lot.

Thanks: To Josh and the guys for helping us have a very fun Sunday night.