follow the new album!

Hi All!

New album in the works! follow the process here!
http://traumaandsolace.blogspot.com/

a final thank you

I wanted to use this final update to extend a big thanks to you for supporting this process.

I have been getting overwhelmingly positive reviews from a wide range of people, from high school teens to my grandma's friends. I'm very grateful to have created something that I'm really proud of.

If you got your copy and would like to write a positive review, please do so on itunes - the more ratings and reviews an album gets, the more visible it is to the broader community. Or post a link on your facebook page.

You helped me get this far, help this album to reach the most people as it's all about word of mouth with us indie artists.

a few final shows, along with album credits and lyrics are available on my website www.asiamei.com

In a final conclusion, here's a video with snippets of the album's songs and fragments of our recording process and tour. 

My deepest gratitude again and see you on album #3!

on the road and on the web

if you have been following this blog, you would have by now witnessed the whole process from conception, to recording to artwork to finishing to.. release!

cd is out and available on bandcamp (cheapest and recommended) itunes and all the other online ways to get your music.

to celebrate, the official cd release party is happening next week in northampton, the place where it all happened. i probably wouldn't have had the drive or the time to complete a project like that if it wasn't for my move there so all in its good time and purpose huh?
if you're around western mass, come by! wed, june 29, 6:30 @ the yellow sofa. it's free, but buying a cd is encouraged.

so far the feedback from listeners has been really positive, and you yourself are welcome to send me yours!
my biggest effort with this music is to really touch listeners, to bring out a genuine emotion out of them, i hope i have been successful.

in an effort to broaden the awareness for the album, and to have fun - me and husband/guitarist andres went on the road last week. we played 3 cities we never played before and one old favorite - nyc.
it was fun to see my name in listings, meeting new people and old friends, to play every evening and to collaborate with fantastic musicians.
we also got a review of our philly show.

can't wait for round 2 in august.

until then, i go off to teach a summer arts program, and will concentrate on getting the cd reviewed in blogs and local press. if you have suggestions - shoot.

cheers!

pre-release and tour!

busy and thrilling week ahead!
"introverse" is officially releasing on Friday and the tour is kicking off next week!

all of this requires a great deal of logistics - press and radio for every show, blogs, finances, rally up friends and fans and so much more.

i decided to put up the album along with other goodies as a pre-release on bandcamp, and you can check it out right here!

here's a tour schedule, come say hi in person:

June 14 7:00 @ Brooklyn Coffee and Teahouse, Providence, RI

June 15 8:30 @ The Outer Space, New Haven CT

June 16 8:00 @ Rockwood Music Hall, New York, NY

June 18 8:00 @ Burlap and Bean, Philadelphia, PA

June 29 6:30 @ The Yellow Sofa, Northampton, MA (CD release party)

Aug 20 7:00 @ Bellefonte Cafe, Wilmington, DE

Aug 21 1:00 @ Bohemian Cafe, Baltimore, MD

Aug 23 8:00 @ New Deal Cafe, Greenbelt, MD

Aug 25 8:00 @ Ebenezer’s, Washington D.C

Aug 28 8:00 @ Teddy’s Uptown, New Yok, NY

the wait.. is.. over!

whew! on thursday I got my final master. DONE.

I'd love to pass out now, but no time...

The physical CDs are in production, the digital distribution is a matter of days (that's getting it out on itunes, rhapsody etc.), shirts and stickers in the mail and one bandcamp site where you can buy it all, direct from me.

you can also listen to and download "a bus to sunshine" (and preview amazing album artwork!) - 

no, that's not it because I already played my first tour date in Montreal this past weekend. make god laugh by planning, and me and husband/guitarist Andres found ourselves in a rainy weekend, playing a 1am slot (originally 10pm...) so no, it didn't go according to plan but we did have a good time, met good people and made a little mula to go into our upcoming shows in June.

crunch time? yeah baby.. watch out for more exciting news coming soon, and thank you all for support!

first single!

no, it wasn't according to schedule was it? that's life - try to plan and it throws a bunch of hurdles...

but, better late then never, and so I present to you the first single - "a bus to sunshine"!

this has been my signature song for about 4 years, and it's very appropriate to have it be the first taste of the album.
I also decided to have it be available for free because I'm hoping people will share it and get others exposed to what I do and the album that's coming...

so - enjoy, and share! your feedback is welcome.

takin' care of business

only 6 days to first single release!!

with mixing almost done and artwork complete, i am moving away from the artistic process i enjoy and into the business promotion side i don't.

but, even so, i decided to embrace that aspect of a record release in order to ensure that the hard work i have put in to it will not go to waste and will actually reach people, and hopefully even get me paid... 

so, #1 - booking a tour. 

i played a lot of different types of venues. some make you be an entertainer where you need to fight to grab the audience's attention, others let you be an artist and feel comfortable expressing yourself in an honest and intimate way. there's a time and place for both, but for this tour i wanted to find the right venues for what i do as an acoustic performer. there's nothing i hate more then singing a personal ballad while the guys at the bar watch football and yell out in the middle.  

throughout the process i have encountered so many booking people; from the condescending ("well i like your attitude, so why not") to the overwhelmed ("i will get back to you in two months" and a 3 month later response of "we're closed that day") the flaky, to the nonexistent to just plain frustrating. there have been a few that were actually nice.

after 2 months of research and hundreds of emails, i have 10 dates on the east coast, during June and August, with a few more pending. to me it's a huge achievement, and so far the most extensive tour i've done.

check out my website or facebook for the schedule, and to see if i'm coming to your area.

#2 - starting a record label/publishing house.

as a DIY artist, this is part of the game. it's good to put a professional name and face (or logo) to the business side of things.

after voicing my frustration about not fitting a niche, and that there should be a "no box, just music" festival, i decided "no box music" would be a great name for me and what i do. hey, perhaps i'll sign on a few more artists down the road! one release at a time though...

check it out here

#3 promotion strategy. 

more on that next time, starting with releasing the 1st single, which i decided to give out for free.

join the mailing list (to the left) to get a free download.

cheers and 'till next week

- asia