So the holidays are practically here so what better time to let you guys know about this awesome boba shop POP! Culture & Drinks. Just opened up in Westminster. My good friends Don and Danny started it and it’s themed so everything is 8os, 80s, 80s! Michael Jackson, Pacman, Rubic’s cubes.. you name it! Check it out, their drinks are the best. Follow them on Facebook or Twitter for special deals! The “Miami Vice” is espcially good!

Don and Danny, co-owner of POP! culture & drinks

POP! culture & drinks

Hey folks,

I know I’ve been pretty absent for most of the fall. I’ve been in a little funk lately but I wanted to post just the same to let you guys know I’m still here. I’ve been working on my new album and it’s been taking a bit longer than anticipated but I’m so excited to share it with all of you when it’s finished. As always, thank you guys for supporting me all the way through. As we near the end of 2011 I’m resolving to get my blog back in order and post more frequently. There’s always cool things that I want to share so here’s my commitment to get back on it!

Love as always,

Dawen

My buddy Victor King aka Victor Kim from Questcrew and YTF is releasing his debut album tomorrow! The 5-track album is an eclectic mix of pop, jazz, and hip hop. I was honored to play piano on one of the tracks, “The Gentleman”, which also features my friend hip hop violinist Paul Dateh. It’s a jazz inspired throwback in the romantic tradition and I had a lot of fun working on it!

Victor’s gonna be premiering all the new songs tomorrow so be sure to come to the party!

November 16th
The Factory
652 N La Peer Dr.
West Hollywood, CA

It’s gonna sell out so be sure to get your tickets now: http://www.wantickets.com/Events/ShowEvent.aspx?eventId=95914

Photo: Tommy Su

Kollaboration 11 was last weekend and what an amazing time it was. It’s been a long time coming for me. I watched comedian PK for the first time at Kollaboration in 2003 and ever since then I’d wanted to perform on the Kollab stage. This year was unique as half the contestants were personal friends of mine and so the spirit of community was particularly high.

Performing at the Nokia Theater was an incredible experience, from the amazing sound system, to exploring the hotel quality dressing rooms underneath the theater. I also got to debut my new song “Humpday” which will be featured on my upcoming album.

Photo: Nathan Nowack

While I didn’t place this year at Kollaboration, performing represented a culmination of effort for me and a dream fulfilled. Congrats to all the performers, my buddies DanakaDan and afterschoolspecial, Andrew and the BROTs and of course, Noel Kunz, master yo-yo artist!

2011 has been a year of competitions and auditions. I auditioned for the TV shows “The Voice”, as well as X-Factor, graced the legendary Apollo stage (future post coming soon!), and competed at Kollaboration, the premier forum for Asian America. If anything all the auditioning has strengthened my resolve to continue pursuing music and as an indie musician, I could never have come this far without all your support.

To all of you who came to Kollaboration and any of my shows this year, my deep hearted thanks. You guys keep me going and the support and love I’ve felt from you have provided me the fuel each day to keep doing this crazy thing called music. While I’m done competing and trying out for reality music competitions I’m now turning my full attention to finishing my EP! In the meantime, I’ll be revamping my site and sharing updates on my album progress. Kollab 11 marks the end of a chapter and I can’t wait to start a new one!

I’m performing at Kollaboration 11!! Ahh! As you guys may remember, I got a chance to compete last year for Kollaboration Acoustic 4 and because I won, I have the chance to compete again in the big LA show this year. It’s at the Nokia Theater, 7100 seats! Kollaboration has always been a dream of mine and I’ve wanted to perform since seeing my first show in 2003. Please come out and support! Tickets start at $25 but for a limited time you can get them from my personal link for just $15 + $2 service charge. Buy tix here at: http://kollaboration.org/dawen. This year’s headliner is K-Popstar G.NA and there will be other performances by Clara C, DanakaDan and afterschoolspecial and my TNP buddy Andrew and the BROTS.

It would mean so much to me to see you all there. I premiered my song “Shoes” last year at Kollaboration and I hope to debut another new song this year! As always, thank you to everyone who has followed me on my journey thus far. Couldn’t do it without you!