It’s been 2 years since my last entry, so it’s safe to say that KOOLIKEDAT is on hold for the time being - but since this is my only working website and home base for projects I’m working on, I’m coming back out of hiatus for a little while!

Back several months ago during the summer, I was granted a bit of time off from work. Even so many years after indefinitely hanging up the musician-gig hat, music is still an important lifeline. In fact, it’s still one of the first things I gravitate toward whenever I have free time.

Cut to a few months before I knew I will be having this time off. I was talking to a good friend of mine named Johnny Chay. For several years, we talked about how one day we’d work on some music together. At the time, he was living in LA, but was going to be in VA for the summer. The ONLY way I was going to make this work was if Johnny can come up to where I live in MA. (I’ve got a 2 and 4 year old) Thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask, and so I did. The crazy thing is, he said yes. This kid drove up from VA to MA for 9 hours, with his studio-to-go packed in his little Honda Civic and said “yooo, lets do this”. He crashed at my place on my uncomfortable pull-out couch in the basement. Tried every single “out-there” idea I had in my head that I just had to hear to see if it worked. Unendingly patience and ridiculously generous with his time. I love this guy. I don’t even know too many long-time friends who would do this for me. I still don’t know what I did to receive that kindness, and am moved every time I think about it.

Of course I was a bit overly-ambitious. Any Enneagram 3s out there? While he stayed w/ me for a little over a week, I was going to record 9 songs: 3 covers, and 6 originals. All those songs were going to be written either before he came or while he was here.

Reality: I recorded two covers, and wrote one original. And ya know what? We recorded the heck out of those 3 songs! (I’m sharing that first cover with you today)

Look. I’m a dad. I’m 42. I’m more often tired than I am energetic. As I waved goodbye to Johnny as he drove off into the sunset (and then eventually back to California), I tried not to be too disappointed with myself. This wasn’t an incomplete project. It was the beginning of one. I have many more things to write about, and hopefully I will write with more depth than I ever had in the past. (In fact, I have a few more that I’ve started that I need to finish)

But why “The Promise”? Glad you asked. Without explanation, this recording is bound to confuse many people. Younger folks will think this is an original. Older folks might recognize it and wonder why I am covering that obscure song from the 80s. That’s precisely the thing. Though I was born in 77, I was primarily an 80s child. In 6th grade, many of my friends made a sharp left turn from “New Kids on The Block” to this ever so strange genre of New Wave. I honestly don’t know why it made such an impression on young Asians growing up in Queens in the 80s and 90s, but chances are - if you’re from that time, and you’re Asian - you were all about that Erasure, Depeche Mode, and well, if you were a true New Waver, you knew about “When In Rome”.

Initially, I was not a true “New Waver”. Transitioning into middle school, I was actually very much in the world of Billy Joel, a bit of The Beatles, and mostly… K-pop, which back then was just “Korean Music”.

One afternoon outside of JHS158 (back then we still had Junior High Schools), I did what every other middle schooler was trying to do - fit in. When asked by my best if I liked New Wave, while trying to figure out what that meant, with 0 hesitation, I nodded “yeah, umm, yeah, I like New Wave”.

“Oh yeah? What song do you like?”

“Umm, err.. umm”

“I knew it! You don’t know New Wave!”

(Turns to the rest of our friends, in a doofy low pitched voice) : “Koo think he new wave, but doesn’t even know new wave song”

That’s also exactly how he said it, because that’s the voice that we used to demonstrate ultimate buffooneryness (which was an impersonation of an actual kid we knew). Man, we were mean in Queens. But I digress!

Well, of course I turned right around, ran to a local music store, and did a deep dive into this “New Wave”. Got myself my first New Wave cassette tape (Erasure Wild! was my gateway), and before I knew it got a bunch of mixtapes from other friends who didn't judge my entry level knowledge of this delightful genre.

A few years in, and the only way I knew how to sing was in a British accent. Piano and guitar usually didn’t have a place in New Wave music, as it was mostly all electronic, but the day that one of my friends took the acoustic guitar and played “A Little Respect”, it made sense to me - it was magic - and that might have been my first time experiencing what we all know now as an “ Acoustic Cover”. Skip to 2013, I ended up paying a little respect to “A Little Respect” myself.

As I’d mentioned, I wanted to record even more covers of songs from the 80s (not just New Wave), but alas only ended up having time to tackle this and another one (coming soon). Maybe I’ll eventually get around to them.

In the meantime, I leave you with “The Promise”. My heart skipped a beat when I heard this song play at the end of Napoleon Dynamite. It took me back to 7th grade. It reminded me of so many people I’ve lost touch with. It reminded me of the pain of being awkward and not fitting in, but somehow falling in love with a type of music I was made fun of for not being familiar enough with. It reminded me that singing doesn’t have to be perfect - as long as you put emotion into it. It also reminded me of what a strange time the 80s were. A strange, strange time.

This one goes out to all my friends from 203, 158, Dozo, Bayside (and even CCB) - who got excited every time they heard that piano intro, and echoed “I Promise” during the chorus. My version doesn’t have that part, so you can fill in the gap :)