This past summer, we took our original music to California to play 9 shows in 2 weeks!
As self-managed independent artists, we were blessed enough to find opportunities off-island to book shows. Never did we imagine being able to travel just to share our music. As a band it was a great bonding experience. As musicians it exposed us to the intense competitive energy of the Los Angeles music scene. This all motivated us to work even harder at our craft.
The most memorable show would have to be the Sofar Sounds Los Angeles show. If you are not familiar with Sofar Sounds, they are a worldwide organization that puts on secret, intimate shows in unique venues. The Los Angeles team has got to be one of the widely supported cities for Sofar in particular and it was an honor to be on their lineup of artists. This took place in a wine bar in downtown LA. I would say, it was a culture shock being the only group of Asian-Americans in a jam packed wine bar. Anyways, before playing we were very nervous. Why? well mainly because it was a super stripped down set meaning there were no microphones or back lines. I did not think I would be able to project as much. I tend to have a softer/folkier voice. My overthinking mind was hoping I could project nicely without cracking. Despite all of our nerves, the audience was very interactive, attentive and respectful which helped us calm down. There was something special in that room that created a moment I will never forget.
Another memorable show was definitely Hotel Cafe. OH DEAR. What a learning experience this show was! There was an energy in this venue unlike anything we have felt at home in Hawaii. I felt like we were placed on The Voice involuntarily. I honestly don't know how we got this opportunity but I am glad we did. We are well aware that we play to a very niche group of people who would have thought to put a group of indie rock musicians up against aspiring pop artists. I feel like we came in with a totally care-free energy. By that I mean, with our naive selves coming from Hawaii on this tour/vacation, we just wanted to play music for fun with intentions to play out of pure joy for exposure. Everyone else came with this vibe that they were there to be discovered and pay the bills with their music. I guess we have never gotten the chance to be full-time musicians yet so we don't know what it is truly like to live that lifestyle. But this night definitely flipped our perspective on how we view our musical career.
Stay tuned for more tour photos and a recap video!
