music

Karmen Guy the lead vocalist of Mad Juana hailing from NYC's lower east side, has been compared to Edith Piaf with her songbird quality of singing and to Patti Smith with her raw punk poetess sensibility. In a recent review of MJ's CD "Acoustic Voodoo", Harp magazine describes her as the sultry chanteuse whose seductive voice exudes enigmatic bayou-priestess wile with a mixture of mud & blood. Radiant, elegant and intoxicating, her voice is guaranteed to make every hair on the neck of the true music appreciator's stand on end.

Growing up with a rich theatrical background , singing was a natural for Karmen, so natural that she is self-taught. She just finished recording for MJ's new upcoming CD, which will be their 3rd world wide distributed album, "Bruja on the Corner". She has traveled extensively with her band throughout Europe and U.S. headlining as well as sharing the stage. with many of today's most popular contemporary musicians, from Lenny Kaye, (Patti Smith Group), to The Saints, Blondie, Ryan Adams, Jesse Malin, & John Spencer Blues Explosion. Karmen Guy now resides and performs regularly in San Diego.

Watch out for "Bruja on the Corner" to be released April 17, 2008 by Azra Records!

http://www.myspace.com/madjuana
http://www.madjuana.com/

Talk to her, and you might notice her artful attention to the details of life. Watch her sing, and you will see inner workings that are far from simple charm. From imaginary friends to devotion of expression, Jane Lui displays her quirkiness in creative work. With much sensitivity to the interplay of sound, energy, and emotion, her sound keeps you connected to the heart.

Inspired by a lonely childhood in Hong Kong, time was spent singing & pretending. “I had so many cassettes and sang along to my casio 2-deck.” Pretending became a long-term vocal study. “..watched the singer’s every move, learned vibrato, and matched tones to vowel. After 7 years of observation-imitation, anyone would learn a lot. I just happened to be lonely & happy in my head.”

Since Lui officially launched her solo career 4 years ago on Valentines day 2004, she has since captured the attention of San Diego music scene. Within two years, she had shared stages with talents such as Kate Earl, Sylvie Lewis, Kyler England, Jay Nash, Eddie from Ohio, Lisa Sanders, Gabe Mann, Vienna Teng, Ernie Halter, and more.

In a short time, Lui has built a strong following in San Diego while touring the west coast, appearing in a series of venues – (SD:) Cane’s, The Belly Up, Humphrey’s Back Stage Lounge, Lestats, Twiggs,  UC San Diego, San Diego State University, University of San Diego, (LA:) The Mint, Highland Grounds, Room 5, (SF:) The Canvas, Sacred Grounds, The Attic, and has also been invited to play at Folk Alliance (2007), San Diego Asian Film Festival, SD Indie Music Fest, Adams Ave Street Fair, Celebrating Women’s History Month,  Pacific Media Expo, and many more. Lui was recently endorsed by Sam Ash Music and Knucklehead Strings. “Freddie Goodtime” was selected to be a part of the demo playlist in Sony’s handheld gadget, Mylo; the song appears in 10mph’s DVD edition, an indie documentary made in 2005.

http://www.janelui.com/

Japanese American koto performer based in Southern California, Reiko Obata began studying koto in 1980 under masters in the U.S. and Japan including Mde. Masazumi Mizuno in San Diego, Mde. Kayoko Wakita in Los Angeles, and composer virtuoso Shinichi Yuize in Tokyo. Reiko has a master's degree in music from San Diego State University and a Japanese koto master's degree from the Seiha Conservatory of Japanese Music.

Reiko Obata is a versatile and accomplished koto player, having performed with legendary jazz saxophonist Hollis Gentry III; San Diego Symphony cellist Mary Oda Szanto; shakuhachi composer John Kaizan Neptune; bassists Bill Andrews, Marshall Hawkins, and Gunnar Biggs; pianist composer David Ward-Steinman; guitarists Fred Benedetti and Jimmy Patton; San Diego Symphony principal flutist Demarre McGill and jazz flutist Louisa West; drummers Kevin Koch (Fattburger) and Russell Bizzett, and San Diego Symphony percussionist Jonathan Szanto; harpist Melissa Morgan; and Latin harpist Miguel Lopez.

Performance and entertainment venues include The Venetian-Las Vegas, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego Convention Center, Petco Park, San Diego Japanese Friendship Garden, Descanso Gardens-Pasadena, UC San Diego, San Diego State University, Sea World, Wild Animal Park, Barona, Viejas and Pechanga Casinos, Warner Brothers Studio, La Costa Resort & Spa, Neurosciences Institute, and the Idyllwild Jazz Festival. Clients include Microsoft, SIGGRAPH, Japan Society of San Diego & Tijuana, and Hisashi Otsuka. Events include World Baseball Classic Semifinals and Finals, America's Cup, and National Flute Association Conventions.

http://www.reikoobata.com/

Terry Matsuoka is a singer-songwriter with an indie mentality, intricate musicianship, tight pop songwriting and a soulful voice. His solo live performances far exceed normal expectations of what one might think could be accomplished musically and entertainment –wise with just a singer and his guitar. In addition to performing his songs passionately, he will improvise, rap, perform stunts, play percussion on his guitar and human beatbox with remarkable ability.

Matsuoka’s sophomore solo album delves further into the breadth of his musicianship, delivering soulful lyricism backed by a full band sound. His last album, Raw Acoustic Stylee, introduced his indie style with a truly stripped “down to basics” sound, using only acoustic instrumentation (i.e. no electric-powered instruments or manipulation). Totally Rad features Matsuoka playing all instruments (except for percussion by Aaron Irwin on “El Cajon”, and percussion by Irwin and human beatbox by Joe Naval on “Sour Cream and Chives”) which include acoustic and electric guitar, bass, drums, pianica and Rhodes keyboard. The result is an eclectic new sound.

  http://www.myspace.com/terrymatsuoka