Lan Daotian

My musical experience in Beijing has just reached new heights with my first concert since arriving. On top of that, we have three more scheduled in August alone.

Tuesday open-mic night has become a regular part of my week. I hit up frisbee from about 8-10, then hightail it to sanlitun to jam. A few weeks ago, i met another band who was actively searching for a new drummer. In general, good drummers are hard to find, and, not trying to boast too much, i'm still playing at a pretty high level these days. Certainly above average for a musically adolescent city like Beijing.

Anyway, Lan Daotian (Blue Sky Road?) has gigs lined up, but they've been through 6 drummers in a year. I'm number 7. With only two practices together, we booked a small show at a little bar in the hutongs, just to get our feet wet. It was amazing. A bunch of my friends came out to support and i think we played an incredible set.

A few videos, courtesy of Tao:




Probably the hardest thing about leaving Boulder was Jiva Train, my band with Derek and Satyen. We were fresh off some of the best gigs we'd ever played. I was booking shows with ease throughout the Colorado mountains, sometimes playing 3 consecutive nights. We were hot, and our music was blowing people away. Leaving was a hard decision to make, and i'll never know how high we could have climbed. But man, i've caught the bug all over again. Playing for a live audience makes the adrenaline pump, yet is uniquely calming at the same time. It's almost like meditation, where you stop thinking about all the other problems in the world, deadlines, bills, arguments, schedules, and you just lose yourself in the moment.

It's nice to have music back.

~Kev