Now Playing: "Ready For Love (string-strumental)"

VudooSoul
read my profile
sign my guestbook

Visit VudooSoul's Xanga Site!

Message: message me


Member Since: 6/11/2005

SubscriptionsSites I Read

Groups Blogrings
MIT
previous - random - next

bOSToN aSiANs
previous - random - next

New York City Asians
previous - random - next

* [ ! N o r C a L / B a y A r e A ! ] *
previous - random - next

Asian American Young Professionals (22+)
previous - random - next

Nerds are Hot
previous - random - next

=$Black People Who Have Xanga$=
previous - random - next

VASCON2
previous - random - next


Posting Calendar

|<< oldest | newest >>|
view all weblog archives

Get Involved!

Suggest a link

Recommend to friend

Create a site


Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Vudoo Vs. Everything that Goes Wrong

[if you're reading this from facebook, click on "view original post", so you can more easily read this! it's awesome!]

Tonight, my brother laughed at my battle with the forces of nature and airport systems this past weekend, in my effort to reach Madison, WI for my final show of 2007 through horrendous snowstorms. 

Nammy: u kno how they have that saying
Nammy: "choose the path with the least resistance"
Nammy: you are the antithesis of that


I'll take that as a compliment, despite implying my stupidity. Muahaha.

The following outrageous chain of events is best described in timestamps & bullets, via stream of consciousness.


Saturday, 12/1/07

- 4.00am -
too tired to pack, flight at 9:55am
no worries, wake up at 7am
[set 3 alarms, i usually just need one]
cool

<begin dream>



penguin: hey mami, you know i love it when you call me papi
vudoo: (wtf??)
penguin: what?
vudoo: you're a talking penguin.
penguin: you're a talking human.
vudoo: what are you doing here?
penguin: hey mami, what about you? don't you have a flight to catch?

<end dream>

- 8.38am -
OH SHITTTTTTT
haven't packed yet, haven't packed yet
keyboard, cds, old spice, more clothes, it's cold in WI
call taxi, stay calm, shower later
go go go go

- 9.15am -
[arrive at Boston Logan Airport]
wow that's the fastest i've ever packed and gotten here
nice.
i'm the man.
[flight leaves on-time towards connecting flight in LGA, NYC]
yeahhh. gimme some tomato juice

- 11.00am -
Flight to Madison, WI... "Cancelled."
CANCELLED??

"Sir, there's a snowstorm in the Midwest. The best I can do is put you on a flight to Chicago that might leave at 5.45pm, getting you to Madison, WI by 11.00pm or tomorrow morning."
"Uh, no, that can't happen, I have to be there for a show that starts at 7.00pm."
"I'm sorry to hear that, sir, that's the best I can do."

[runs to check the arrival/departure monitors and back]

"Well, what about that 1.35pm flight to Chicago?"
"It's full."
"Standby??"
"I'm busy, sir. Could you please just take this up with the ticketing counter?"

Could she have acted anymore unhelpful...?!

- 12.00pm -
[at the ticketing counter]
the regular line is so long
nobody's in the first class line
let's... pretend i'm in first class

"Are you first-class, sir?"
"Well, no, but liste--"
"Other line, sir."

stupid line nazi.
let's... just sneak around the line nazi.
go ahead, watch the kids over there...
go go go go

"Hi sir, how may I help you?"

SUCCESS!
[at this point, I tell Leila, the ticketing lady about my show in WI and how i MUST get there between 7-9pm to perform. I give her a CD and sweet-talk as much as possible.]

"Young man, you're an R&B singer?"
"Yes ma'am, I am."
"Alright, well if people know about you in Madison, WI, you must be very good. Let's see what I can do here..."

- 12.45pm -
[Four airport ticketing staff, now holding 6 phones, are discussing how to get me anywhere closer to WI]

"How about we get him to St. Louis? or MN?"
"St. Louis, no way, he'll never make it."
"Flights in MN to WI cancelled..."
"Drive?"
"No no, that's too damn dangerous, look at the storm warnings. He's not gonna make it."
"So he's a singer? Wow."
"Access Denied?? I'm overriding this shit, where's the manager."
"This is just my opinion, but there's no way he's gonna make it."

Vudoo: "What about Jetblue??"
"The only airline not on our system... call'em?"

[I call Jetblue's hotline.]

Flight at 1.45pm to Chicago!!!!
Wait, where? JFK Airport in NYC?
That's like a half hour from here.
I'll take it.

[Provided my credit card info.]

"NO MR. VU, we've got something here!! Cancel it, CANCEL IT!"
"OKAY OKAY!"

[Jetblue hotline lady says card has already been charged.]

The image “http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/2760314/2/istockphoto_2760314_angry_phone_call.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

"Sir, are you serious?? Tell them American Airlines said CANCEL!"
"Those vultures, they'll just take ya."
"Cancel, Mr. Vu. Cancel it!!!"

[I plead with the Jetblue hotline sales manager to cancel, which he finally does after 15 minutes.]

"Mr. Vu, we've got it."
"Oh NO, Leila, that flight JUST got cancelled."
"Jesus Christ, are you serious??"
"Mr. Vu... okay, this is the best we can do. We've got your baggage transferred to that 1.35pm stand-by flight to Chicago. But there's no guarantee you'll get on yourself."

- 1.15pm -
[Willing to pay someone up to $300 cash out my pocket to bribe someone out of their stand-by seat, I go through airport security for the second time. When I get there, there's 9 people ahead of me. I tell my story as fast as possible to the gate staff.]



"Kid. I don't care how much money you have, that's not how it works."
"I'm not asking you take someone off the flight who's already on, just if these people would let me get in front of them for stand-by!"
"Look behind you, kid. Everybody wants to get to Chicago just as badly as you."

[I turn around. No one looks me in the eye. Bribery plan go kaput.]

"But lady, my bag is already on there."
"So it's going to Chicago. You'll have to meet up with it there, k kid?"

[I call Jetblue again in panic. Just... maybe.]

"Wait a minute, the 1.45 JFK flight to Chicago is delayed??"
"Kid, you better TAKE THAT. Get in a cab, there's zero chance you'll get in stand-by here."
"Right, I see that."
"Get outta here, you might make it. Good luck, kid!"

- 1.40pm -
lines lines lines, i don't do lines!
[cut in front of a dozen people, hop into a taxi]
JFK, AS FAST AS YOU CAN. UHM,  PLEASE.



[Booked my JFK Jetblue flight as the taxi driver zoomed from LGA. Once I arrived, I sweet-talked another ticketing lady and convinced her to let me past the gates for the 1.45pm flight, now taking off at 2.15pm.]

I'm here.
2.10.
Thank GOD.
I need to relax somehow.

"You made it huh?"
"Wow, yeah. Got a show in Madison, WI."
"Ah, well, I'm doing some photography at a conference."
"So, I've had like, the wildest morning..."



[I begin chatting with Amy Fletcher, a freelance photographer about my crazy morning. Normally, I don't talk much to on-flight strangers. But we hit it off. One bloody mary after another. Funny to think that I'm chasing my baggage on AA through the air with JetBlue. Buzzed, amused, and, most of all, relieved, we were set to land in Chicago by 4.15pm.]

- 4.30pm -
What's going on
Why does my little Jetblue Flight trajectory thingy show us flying in circles???

Flight Captain: "Everybody just stay calm... but there's a small chance we may not be able to land. The snowstorm seems to have gotten ahead of us..."

- 5.00pm -
I've got people waiting in Chicago to pick me up
Possibly drive to WI
If not, it's cool... at least I tried...

Flight Captain: "I'm sorry to report, the Chicago landing runways are frozen. The plane is almost out of fuel. We'll be headed towards Columbus, OH until further notice."

NOOoooOOOoOOOoooOOooOooooooooooooOOOOOOOoooooOOOOoooooo000oooOOooo



[Our plane is now flying the opposite direction. My chances of making the show are shrinking like the family jewels in California beach waves.]

"Well Vu, at least you tried. I've got family in Ohio. You're welcome to join us."
"No way, Amy. It's not over til it's over."

- 5.45pm -
[Landing in Columbus, OH, I am now hundreds of miles away from Chicago, and hundreds more from Madison, WI. We're given two options: fly back to JFK immediately or find 'alternative travel means' to Chicago.]

there's a lot of angry people here
it's snowing/raining ice
driving will get me to Chicago by 11pm... at best
wow this is really amazing
maybe... i can try to buy another plane ticket somewhere

[I run to every ticketing counter in the airport. Cancellations. Delays. "No purchases at this hour." Denied. Denied. Denied.]

Wait there's a staff person at AA!!

"HI! I'm trying to get anywhere closer than here to Madison, WI!"
"Do you have a flight booked with American?"
"Sort of??? My bag's flying there!"
"Wait, you *are* booked on AA, how did you get here?"
"LONG STORY! I just need to get to Chicago!!"
"Here's the boarding passes, there's a flight leaving in 10 minutes!!"



Through airport security for the THIRD time.
GAHHHH
GO go go GO go GO
Oh No, please don't let that moving plane be mine...

"ARE YOU MR. VU!!!"
"YESSSSSSS!!!"
"Your flight JUST took off!"



"NOOOOoooooooooo....!!!!"

[In my hysteria, I wanted to laugh, cry, and throw up all at the same time. I told Sharon, the bringer of obvious bad news, about how badly I needed to get to WI. At every point, my story just gets longer and more tragic. Sharon felt for me. She then called every other airline staff at the airport to see if there was anything. Meanwhile, I called Vinh Tran, my Chicago homeboi, the news.]

"VINH."
"VU! Where are you?"
"Columbus, Ohio, bro."
"WHAT. Wow. That is seriously not good."
"I just went to get there man, even just show my face at the afterparty! It's about the principle!!!"
"Vu, maybe I can broker this deal. Would you mind performing at the afterparty?"
"Dude, if I even get there, then WHY NOT."

[Airport staff are suddenly jumping up and down over by their computers. Quoi??]

"MR. VU! There's a flight leaving NOW on UNITED AIRLINES."
"PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!"
"RUN, MR. VU!"

- 6.30pm -
there it is, there it is
don't stop running
there it IS!!!

"ARE YOU MR.VU???"
"YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!"
"Right this way!"

[I dashed inside the United Airlines miracle from heaven. Upon sitting down and waiting for the airplane to take-off, I was eventually greeted by a very hot Flight attendant named Rhonda.]



"I've heard you've had quite a day. Tell me about it!"
"(gulps.) Yes."

[Rhonda asked me to sing to her and the other flight attendants. Then they put me on that intercom thingy and had me tell my story to the whole airplane. Sing something joyful, they said. I sang, "Oh Happy Day" from Sister Act II. I got to sit in First Class with Rhonda. My first time EVER sitting in first class.]

- 7.30pm -
the plane is descending...
and... this looks like Chicago...!!!



LANDED. YEAHH!!!!!!!!
Huh???
Wait, where's our plane driving?
The airport is THAT WAY.

Flight Captain: "A little bad news. We are currently stuck outside the airport and cannot load into the gates, because the airplanes there are frozen stuck. It'll be an hour or so, sorry about that."

Are. YOU. JOKING?!?!?!?!?!?!

Disbelief

But of course, everything that can go wrong, will.

- 8.15pm -
Finally, the gate!!!
Goodbye Rhonda, I'll miss you dearly.
Goodbye airplanes, hello baggage claim!

- 8.30pm -
Goodbye baggage claim.
THANKS FOR LOSING MY KEYBOARDS AND LUGGAGE.
No worries.
I have an instrumental CD.
Almost there, almost there...

[Vinh & Thuc, in their BMW rolled up to pick me up. So began the 3 hour drive at 45 mph to Madison, WI. In the gas stations on the way, I bought a razor to shave, did my hair, and ate a sandwich.]

- 11.15pm -
[In the last 50 feet we came within reaching our destination at the afterparty club venue, our car got stuck in the snow.]

"GO ON WITHOUT US!"
"I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU!!!"

[HAHA. I jumped out the car, ran inside to the crowd that awaited.]

Mic, check.
CD player, check.
Red Bull Vodka, check.

[After rounds of astounded hugs, congratulatory card games, and several shots of Patron, I grabbed the mic and did what I came to do after all.]


When things look ugly, I look a little closer.
When things look unlikely, I keep looking.
When things look near impossible, I try anyway.

And when there isn't a way possible?
I MAKE ONE.



Thanks SO MUCH to University of Madison, WI for having me out and being such fun, warm people in such desolate, cold weather. That was the most horrible, awesome airplane adventure I've ever had, and I'm so glad y'all were at the finish line to party alll night with!

In Conclusion...

Vudoo Vs. Everything that Goes Wrong...
TKO!



Vudoo is VICTORIOUS.

And that, my friends, was how I completed my final performance of 2007. Too Legit to Quit, baby. CHEERS!!!




Monday, November 26, 2007

Two More.

How quickly the year is coming to a close! Besides stuffing myself to my heart's content, Thanksgiving is also nice because it means Christmas is right around the corner. I can't believe I haven't seen my mama in a year. It'll be wonderful to return to her love, kisses & cooking.

Two more shows left.
It's been a very difficult, but essential year in my development as an artist and as a person.
More on this later... I need to really reflect on it.

This Wednesday in NYC marks my return to The Blackberry Soul, a series that got me my underground start in the scene. Mental Supreme, the MC who has maintained his weekly Hip-Hop/R&B Open Mic for an unheard-of five years, has invited me back to showcase & compete against 12 of New York's latest up and coming R&B/Soul Singers. Even after hittin' big and touring with Snoop Dogg this year, we still stay in great contact. Real street fam, right there.


BLACKBERRYFLYER

At these kind of showcases, there's always some fantastic surprises. I can always count on at least one or two singers to complete light the stage on fire... it keeps me on my toes! I am pretty excited to see who else is really killin' it on the R&B scene. (This just in... an R&B group from GERMANY is coming to perform too. WeRD?!?!!)

Really refreshing talent in this genre has been dwindling lately... except, of course, my future wife Alicia Keys. Been listening to "Like You'll Never See Me Again" on repeat. I'm comin' for you, darling.


Secondly, I'm hitting up Madison, WISCONSIN, of all places.

wisconsinflyer

Flying out there Saturday morning. If it's 30-40 degrees here, I can only imagine how much more frigid it'll be up there. I wonder if mittens are better than gloves?


After that, the remainder of the year will be spent writing & recording for my next album. Translating all my hard times into good music.

Speaking of which, I recently forgot to bring a borrowed acoustic guitar (that I spent two hours asking around for) to a gig I had with Louis. I thought he grabbed it (& he thought I grabbed it.) There we were, 2 hours away from home, me with my keyboard, and Louis?

Vudoo: "Yo, do you have any other instruments in your trunk?"
Louis: (Uncovers a shaker.) "Yup. I'll harmonize too. Lover come Oooooovahhh!"
Vudoo: "..."
Louis: "Yeah... this is definitely a problem."

We ended up googling a music store nearby and bought a brand new one. Louis helped me purchase my first, very own acoustic guitar. An Ibanez Acoustic Electric. Sounds pretty nice for $250 (cheap, for a good acoustic.)

Photo 57

Now I can be like every other singer-songwriter and actually walk around while singing and playing my instrument. No one appreciates this mobility more than me, having carried my godzilla keyboards all over the contiguous United States.

So I'll be gettin' my guitar on like whoa in the bedroom. Just going to enjoy the process of learning and playing to the whim of my heart. Becoming proficient shall definitely increase my Vudoo Sexy Quotient. Watch out yo...

Currently Listening
As I Am
By Alicia Keys
Like You'll Never See Me Again
see related


Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Friday yo!

I don't usually advertise for other shows but I just thought it cool that this upcoming Friday, we've got all sorts of Asian American musicians performing in both Boston & New York. All of them friends of mine whose art and work I respect & support!

New York

Dynasty VI Poster



Boston

buhope07

Kevin So, Alfa, Ken Oak, Heather Park, Jay Legaspi, & me! That's most of the notable AA singing talent from this side of the coast. If you're in either city this Friday, do come.

My set at Fordham will be an Acoustic feel... A Keyboarding Trio... Vu on grand piano, with Yuki Hirano & Corey Bernhard supporting on their keyboards. Sweeeeeet.


Monday, November 05, 2007

Tour Not-so-Daily Blog

My perception of Time as a result of the tour has been seriously warped.

Today is Monday. Barely four days ago, I wrapped up my first official tour. 6 performances in 6 days. The intensity of it all drained so much out of me that it feels like months ago it all happened.

We definitely did it up big. Rollin' from schools to hotels to gas stations, I had a crew totaling 9 people. The Vudoo Entourage consisted of 6 laid-back soul musicians, 2 fun-loving korean road assistants, and 1 shoe-junkie tour manager. It was a hilarious cocktail of personalities that we brought to every place we visited.

CIMG3686CIMG3688

Missing from the above pictures is Josh (guitarist) and DJ (bassist), who were often wandering off. DJ has a particularly deep-love for sleep. I'm having trouble finding a good picture of him dozing off though.

Additionally, we also had a godzilla-sized load of equipment to unload & reload after every show.

CIMG3731CIMG3730

The non-glamorous part of being a musician is that after the show, you have to haul all your heavy gear back to a safe place before any manner of partying begins. Until I become some super-pimp superstar, we're building our biceps and humility transporting nearly 1,000 pounds of band gear daily. It made me feel bad that our hosts often had to wait over an hour for us to finish our loading.

Once we finally got to join our hosts at each city, we got to kick back and eeeeeeeat.

CIMG3738 CIMG3746 CIMG3744

Drinks, food food food and food.

I realized the hard way that it wasn't feasible to keep a daily tour blog while we were on the road. With myself being one of the primary drivers as well as the organizers of the tour, that left me with negative time everyday to handle most things, let alone blogging. Spare time and good internet access were both rare commodities. It has made me consider the idea of buying that verizon wireless broadband card you can plug into your laptop. So perhaps soon, my Chinatown bus rides will be nicer too.

That's what I feel like updating for now. I'll put up more pictures and stories soon!



Saturday, October 27, 2007

Tour, Day 3!

It's hard to keep a daily blog with everything going so crazy!!!

What I've learned from experience is that you gotta leave room for error. Lots and Lots of room if possible. The buffer time we had planned out scheduling things definitely came to good use. Rain, rain, rain just made getting from one place to the next a lot more drawn out.

"You know it's funny Vu, we ain't seen rain here in months. All of a sudden it's pouring."
"Haha, just in time for my tour."
"Yeah, how about that? Well, welcome, come right in."

Eddy Z is the owner of Playbill Rehearsal Studios in Charlotte, NC, a middle-of-nowhere compound that everyone from Aaliyah to Sting to Herbie Hancock has used to prepare for their tours. We arrived at the rehearsal studio for final run-throughs Thursday night.

  CIMG3584   CIMG3575

Everyone's appetites had been satiated with the famous Southern fast-food joint - Bojangles. Food comas coupled with heavy traveling had the whole crew feeling pretty exhausted... yet still beaming and joyful to finally be on tour together, doing what we love.



Rehearsal sounded fantastic. Prior to this, it was tough to get even one rehearsal with everyone in the same room. But with everyone finally together, we just banged right through it.

Wrapping up things at midnight, I thought... should we crash or hit the bars?

Obviously, we hit the bars. A little R&R plus some beers eased us into the beginning of touring good times.

But not everyone made it there. Haha, poor DJ, didn't sleep at all the night before.

Our resting place for the night was Louis' dad's place. Simply one of the kindest men I've ever met.

Wake-up time was set to 12pm with a snicker. We all rose at around 1:30pm, and it was the most sleep that anyone of us had gotten in weeks. For Louis, it had been since last Christmas that he slept more than 8 hours.

...


(Currently backstage at UNC Chapel Hill's "Journey into Asia"... can't upload pictures fast enough!! Show's about to be on! gotta run!!!)







Next 5 >>

Free Web Page Hit Counter
Dentist Oakland