[Music] A Folkchestral Drum Cover of "Switzerland" by The Last Bison

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxQBByA-DH4] Happy Labor Day! Here is my most recent drum cover that I put up on Youtube. It's a cover of folk/orchestral/mountain-top chamber music band, The Last Bison's (previously known as just Bison) single, "Switzerland." Be sure to look out for this group because they're going to be big. They perfectly blend folk music with orchestral and appalachian instruments to create a such a sweet sound that I instantly fell in love with.

As far as my actual cover goes, it was a ton of fun to do. The song does not originally have a drum kit in it, so I had tons of creative freedom to do whatever I wanted. As always, I kept it simple and I think my drums complement the song nicely, but that's just me. Chime in and let me know what you think! Be sure to give the song a listen in its original form (and while you're at it, buy their album, Quill, and listen to that too!). I hope you enjoy the cover and discover some great new music in the process.

Also, please check out 2abbit and Solo Jeans! I just had to rep them eventually in one way or another. I don't mean to throw in a cheap endorsement of either, but I really do support and love their product/work. They're definitely worth checking out.

[Music] Custom Snare Drum Build

Though I don't cover it as much on this blog, music is definitely one of my biggest passions - with the drums being my favorite instrument. On the side, I occasionally build drums (read: very occasionally). I just don't have the money to pump out drums all the time, but I do have friends that are interested in getting some custom drums made. That is how this build came to be.

I was talking drums with my friend, Sam, and the topic of snare drums came up. Long story short, he wanted a new one. I told him that I built my personal main workhorse snare and that I could come up with something for him. We started planning it out - shell, size, hardware, finish, etc. and I got to building. After a few weeks of hard work, she's officially done.

The majority of the time spent came from the finishing process. Each coat of stain or finish takes at least a full day to dry before the next coat can be applied. This particular satin finish took me quite a few coats to get right, but in the end, it's totally worth it.

As far as details go, she's made up of a 14x5.5 maple Keller shell with chrome tube lugs, wood hoops, and a deep brown stain with a satin finish. I put an Aquarian Texture Coated Center Dot head on the batter side and an Aquarian Classic Clear Snare Side on the snare side. Finally, I threw a set of 24 strand Fat Cat snares on there. To sum it up for you non-drummer folk, she's quite lovely.

This is my first experience with wood hoops, and needless to say, I'm in love. Wood hoops carry a hefty price tag, but they are totally worth it. Not only are they drop dead gorgeous and just pure classy, they sound amazing.

I also fell in love with the Fat Cat snares. You can get a ton of different sounds out of them thanks to the two sections that are adjustable independently of one another. It's like having two separate strainers. I'll be getting some for my personal snare drums.

Oh, "How does it sound?" you ask? The answer lies below. Here's a quick video I shot.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCQjtxJvlJ8]

Audio details are as follows: GLS ES-57 (SM57 copy, brilliant, especially for the price paid, just read all the reviews on this thing) on the batter head, Karma K-Micro Silver Bullet small diaphragm condensor on the snare side, and a pair of Karma K-Micro Silver Bullets on overheads. No EQ was used, so you're hearing the pure audio signal with a tad bit of compression.

I had a great time building this beauty and I'll be sad to see her go. I honestly want to hold onto her and call her my own. Who knows? Maybe Sam won't ever see her.

[Music] Sweetness, a Jimmy Eat World Drum Cover

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn9nRa8n7lU&feature=relmfu] Here's a drum cover I put out recently of "Sweetness" by Jimmy Eat World. In my opinion, Bleed American was one of the best records of its time, and is my personal favorite Jimmy Eat World record. The cover itself was shot and recorded in one take with only one camera. It's raw and I just had fun with it. It was also the first video I played around with color grading. Hopefully you all enjoy it.

[Music] Five Iron Frenzy Drum Cover and the Story Behind It

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmaJfOInM3I&feature=channel_video_title] I recently recorded a drum cover of Five Iron Frenzy's newest song from the grave, "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night." If you do not know, Five Iron Frenzy is one of the greatest ska bands to grace the world. Maybe that's an overstatement, but I'll let you be the judge of that. Anyway, they broke up in 2003 to the dismay of fans everywhere. In November of last year, they announced that they are coming back from the dead with an uber successful Kickstarter campaign that met their goal of $30,000 in about 55 minutes. At the moment, they have $186,363 pledged. They also released this track as a free gift to their faithful fans.

After posting the cover to Youtube, I put a link to the video on Five Iron Frenzy's Facebook page on a whim. I was just hoping to share the video with some fellow fans, but what I least expected happened... Five Iron Frenzy liked the post. I stopped for a while and thought, "Wow, the band, or at least someone in the band/affiliated with the band saw it and liked it enough to click 'Like'!" If that wasn't cool enough, I noticed that my view counter started to jump and I started getting comments from random Youtube folk. Sweet, people somehow found my video. It wasn't until user bobbytharabbit told me via comment that the band put my video up on their Facebook page. That just killed me.

I was honored, humbled, and dumbfounded as it all happened. There I was, just another Asian kid on Youtube (there's a ton) posting content for fun, and one of my favorite bands notices! That's the power of social media, I tell ya. I hope all of you enjoy the video.

Technical Info Video was shot on a Canon 7D and Nikon D7000 both with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 lenses and a 35mm f1.8 on the D7000 for a couple shots.

Audio was recorded with some new mics and a new interface. I had a pair of Karma K-Micros as overheads and on both of my toms, an EV N/D 757A on the snare, and an SM58 on the kick. All the mics ran into a Tascam US-800 and into my computer.

[Music] Feliz Navidad! (and a drum cover)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TctUaGR3SGE] Hello everyone! I know it's been a very long time since I've posted, but here's a little gift for you all! I recorded a drum cover of José Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" with some of my new recording gear. I was inspired by Brad Davis of Adventure Drums, so I donned a faux-moustache, my naughty boxers, and a rather creepy tude. Feel free to subscribe, comment, rate, whatever your heart desires, maybe I'll start posting more videos. Merry Christmas, I love you all!

Technical Info Video was shot on a Canon 7D and Nikon D7000 both with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 lenses. The 7D shoots at 60 fps while the D7000 shoots at 24 fps, so there is some noticeable difference between the shots from both cameras. I was able to work around this for the most part.

Audio was recorded with some new mics and a new interface. I had a pair of Karma K-Micros as overheads and on both of my toms, an EV N/D 757A on the snare, and an SM58 on the kick. I'm still waiting on clips and stands for most of my mics, so I used some gaffers tape and got the mics decently placed around the kit. The sound isn't where I want it to be yet, but I'll be working on it. All the mics then ran into a Tascam US-800 and into my computer.

[Food] Daikokuya

Ahhh, ramen...one of life's great pleasures. But there's so many different kinds! There's shōyu (soy sauce based), shio (salt based), miso, and what I consider king, tonkotsu. Tonkotsu is the rich, milky soup that is made by boiling pork bones for hours. This is exactly why my favorite ramen place is Daikokuya. Daikokuya specializes in this heavenly ramen and the long wait testifies to its greatness. In fact, while I was eating at the bar, I overheard a woman next to me that came from hours away in Northern California. That's right, just for Daikokuya.

After waiting for a good 45 minutes, we entered the small restaurant and were seated at the bar (the small size of the restaurant definitely contributes to the wait times). Without thinking we all placed our orders. I got the ramen combination with the shredded pork bowl while my sister and cousin (check his brand new blog!) got the combos with tuna sashimi bowls.

Soon after placing orders, we got our salad. It may just look like some cabbage with dressing and masago, but it's a lot more than that. The dressing has a very full-bodied, almost meaty flavor. It's hard to describe, but we all loved it. It was the perfect way to start the meal.

Just look at how sexy that tuna looks. I don't know if words are necessary here. I didn't try it, so I really can't use words, but wow.

My pork bowl was just as good as that tuna looks. The pork is tender and full of flavor, the sauce heightens the flavor experience, and the ginger cuts through the rich flavors.

Before we get to the ramen, let's take a moment and observe the proper way to eat it.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WrkdTrrwew]

Here's an excerpt from the 1985 movie, Tampopo featuring the Ramen Master. Now that we are properly educated...

The noodles are perfectly cooked, just enough bite without being firm. The pork is fatty and melts in your mouth. The soy boiled egg has a yolk that straddles the border between runny and solid. The bean spouts offer excellent textural contrast to everything else. The soup, oh the soup. Someone save me, I'm salivating at my screen. It's everything that you want your ramen soup to be. Flavorful but not overly salty, rich without making you sick, and creamy. Creamy? Yes. That's probably my favorite aspect of the tonkotsu broth. I'm going to have to stop here, I'm having withdrawls.

Does your favorite ramen cause such strong feelings? Probably not. If you've never had a taste of glory, be sure to stop at Daikokuya. There are several locations, but my favorite is the one in Little Tokyo. My other recommendations here are the gyoza, the pork fried rice, and the kotteri, or extra back fat, in the ramen. One comment on the kotteri option, it's delicious, but too much of it can be a bit overwhelming. I've only had it once, but definitely try it out for yourself. Really, anything you get here will be good.

Daikokuya 327 E 1st St Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 626-1680 www.daikoku-ten.com

[Video] Crack the Surface

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/26200018 w=650&h=475]

Crack The Surface - Episode I from SilentUK on Vimeo.

Here's the first episode in a series called Crack the Surface by SlientUK. It's a very interesting look into Urban Exploring. This is the first time I've heard of this hobby/activity and it seems rather interesting. I'm sure that the photos they get are pretty amazing; they get a view of things that we don't see in everyday life. I don't know if I'd do something like this in the near future, but it seems like this is a hobby that will gain popularity rather quickly.

[Video] Photography Themed Rube Goldberg Machine

I just saw this video thanks to Fake Chuck Westfall (@fcwestfall) on Twitter. It's pretty amazing. Having worked on a Rube Goldberg machine myself, I can testify to how much time, effort, frustration, and more is involved...and the one I worked on is only a tiny fraction of what this one is. Ours was probably a minute tops, but this one goes on for four. Anyway, here's the video by 2D Photography. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKpxd8hzOcQ&feature=channel_video_title]

[Video] The Great Camera Shootout 2011

Steve Weiss of Zacuto, Robert Primes, and their teams put together an amazing documentary comparing film and digital cameras and their ability to perform in many practical situations. The cameras range from $66,000 Arri Alexa to the affordable Nikon D7000. Yes, the D7000 is $1,200, but that's dirt cheap in the professional world. Robert Primes and his team put together a series of scientific tests called the Single Chip Camera Evaluation (SCCE) designed to put the cameras under stress.

The first episode, "The Tipping Point," features the dynamic range test, under exposure test, and over exposure test. One of the most interesting things I noticed was variation within the Canon DSLRs in the over exposure test. The Canon DSLR range is known for its astounding video quality, but I expected more consistency within Canon's cameras. If anything, I expected the full frame 5D MkII to beat out the cropped sensor 1D MkIV and 7D.

Although I am not immersed in the field of video, it's an area I've been dabbling in thanks to DSLRs and their ability to shoot high quality HD video. This (30 minute) episode is definitely a good watch if you are interested in the world of video. Episodes 2 and 3 are scheduled to be released in July and August respectively.

Check out Episode 1: "The Tipping Point" over at Zacuto's website!

[Music] Mighty Mouth - Tok Tok ft. Soya Drum Cover

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PRwfzv2-W8&feature=feedlik] I've been playing a lot of drums again now that I'm back home. A while back, I asked my friends for some song suggestions for drum covers. This is one of the songs that was suggested by my good friend Nathanael. It's a Korean song called "Tok Tok" ("톡톡") by a group called Mighty Mouth. I don't listen to much Korean music myself, so this was rather new to me. However, it was fun to play along with, so I went ahead and recorded it.

This is also the first video on my brand new Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/edwinchomusic! Please feel free to subscribe, like, favorite, comment, etc. It would be great to get some support especially with this fresh start. I felt that my old channel had no focus and was just random videos of mine. This is just another step in rebranding my identity online.

Technical Info Video was shot on a Canon 7D and Nikon D7000 both with Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 lenses. I shot somewhere between 1/30 and 1/60, f2.8, and ISO 1000. Video was edited in iMovie.

The audio signal was as follows: Shure SM58 over the snare, EV N/D 757A over the floor tom and ride pointed towards the snare, both equidistant from the snare. The mics ran into a Mackie mixer (with slight EQ and a tad bit of reverb), which ran into a Behringer UCA 222 interface, into my MacBook Pro, and into GarageBand.

[Video] The President's Photographer

http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf

Watch the full episode. See more The Presidents Photographer.

Click the link to view the full documentary.

This is an excellent documentary (narrated by Morgan Freeman!) about the President's photographer. It mainly follows Pete Souza, President Barack Obama's Chief Photographer, but also goes back in history to other Presidents and their photographers. You get a very unique perspective of the White House through the eyes of the photographer and realize the importance and the demanding nature of the job. As a photographer, I found it extremely inspiring. I want to pick up my camera and go shoot in the middle of finals season. I also learned that Canons can take some decent photos . Side note: I love both Nikon and Canon, but prefer Nikon just a little bit more; maybe I'll post on that issue some time. Anywho, God bless America and PBS.

[Food] Deep Fried Party

What do you do when you have nothing else to do? Throw a deep fried party, of course! I'm back in town so a couple of my good friends and I got together to fry up some cheese sticks a la Epic Meal Time.

We went the super simple route. Basic flour and egg dredge, Tangy Carolina BBQ Lays, and cheese sticks.

Crush up your chips of choice. My friends tried Doritos last time and told me that they got soggy too fast.

Set up your dredging stations.

Coat generously. We decided to go for a double dredge then lays method to get more crispiness. Here, Andrew demonstrates his method to optimize Lays coating on the sticks.

We got a bit adventurous and wrapped some cheese sticks with some turkey breast.

Ready to fry!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8fJb0bQHGA]

Get them sticks in that there oil. Make sure the oil is hot enough; test with a a small chip crumb or something of that sort.

While they were frying, we made some Nutella sammiches to snack on.

Here's glory shot number one. Just fry until they get gold and the cheese is melty.

Here's a turkey wrapped one.

Glory shot number two.

We had some peppermint patties, so we just fried those up as well.

Andrew was still hungry so I cooked up a quick cheese stick and chip crumb omelette for him. Nothing special.

[Music] Rocketeer Cover

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XMPoxQmsWk] Here's a song I recorded with a couple of my friends. Elliot came to me asking to record some songs with Kristen; this is one of them. Elliot wrote the third verse and chorus. The signal chain for the audio was SM58 > Behinger Mic100 Preamp > Mixer > Behringer UCA222 > Computer. Video was shot with a Nikon D7000 and a 35mm f1.8.

[Music] "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" Drum Cover

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zh3OYJFGew] Hey guys, here's my first musical post. This is a little drum cover of "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" by Lloyd Banks and Juelz Santana. Now, I don't normally enjoy popular songs on the radio because honestly, nearly all of them suck, but wow, this song was so catchy and I knew that it would be fun to play along with. So I made some time while studying for finals and did the cover.

TECHNICAL INFO: The video was shot on a Nikon D7000 with a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens at 1/30 second, f/2.8, and ISO 3200. Yep, that video was shot at ISO 3200, pretty clean, eh? The video and audio were synced together in iMovie.

The audio signal was something like this: Shure SM58 over snare, EV N/D 757A over the floor tom and ride pointed towards the snare as well to cut down on phasing issues. The mics ran into a Mackie mixer (with slight EQ and a tad bit of reverb), which ran into a Behringer UCA 222 interface, into my MacBook Pro, and into Audacity. I'm personally not a big fan of Garage Band only because I'm not that used to it quite yet. I plan on messing around with it in the future.