Denver Diaries

The last 48 hours was spent in Denver. Arriving to 80 degree weather, it was pleasant and as I got to downtown Denver, I soon found out it was a very arty city. I was to be playing at the Denver Performing arts Complex and littered around the city were larger-than-life sized sculptures! So cool!

Dining at fabulous places like Mizuna (French-Mediterranean cuisine), The Market (breakfast, fab coffee, pastries and gluten free friendly to my excitement), and Jing (Asian-Japanese cuisine - make sure you try the Buddha bud! A sechuan flower to spruce all senses) ... I was definitely taken care of beyond what I could have asked for. I can highly recommend all of those places. 

The performance itself was divine and received incredibly well which is always a nice feeling especially in a city debut. I met so many lovely people, full of wisdom and one of my favorite things is hearing what others have to say. Some had done their research and were curious as to what genre I was going to play that night. Of course, it was everything from my foundations of classical piano to what I'm developing now which is the classical crossover to bridge the disconnection between the youth and classical music. 

I wish I had more time to explore the city more and visit the incredible architecturally fascinating art museum. 

I did visit Idaho Springs, Georgetown and got to see snow today! Weather forecasts had said flurries and lows of -1 degrees Celsius which I was truly afraid of but mentally prepared ... It didn't snow downtown at 10:30am when I excited the Marriott but as we drove south, I started seeing white roofs ... They weren't white tiles... It was snow! As the day went by, flurries turned into full blown snow falling by the time I got to the Red Rock amphitheater. Unfortunately it was closed for a rehearsal as a band called Lotus was performing that night. It was truly snowing by then!!! 

Now at Denver International airport, I get ready to head to Sacramento, another new city for me! 

From the various conversations I had in the last 48 hours, one rang through loud and clear. You can make it happen, watch it happen or wonder what happened. I'm definitely down for making it happen. 

Living and speaking out my dreams everyday. I hope you are too!

With love and grace, 

Van-Anh

AND FOR THE RIGHT NOWS:

Fav food: salted caramel mocha

Reading: David & Goliath - Malcolm Gladwell

Wishlist: Kate Spade popcorn bag

Current city: Denver, Colorado

Listening to: David Phelps, Call You Mine

Fav clothing item: Kenneth Cole loafers

Next destination: Sacramento, California (yes, the capital of California apparently!)

Missing: boba tea .... yes, way to epitomise my asianess but the newyorker from tra teahouse is DELISH!!!

Day 2 of filming with House Of Ezis

Good morning (it's the wee hours of a new day),

I'm finally back in Sydney! This is only going to be a short one because i'm totally knackered.

Day 2 of filming the video clip was incredibly different to the first, focusing on the details and close-ups.

All i can say is lying around all day in 50+ metres of silks and materials is surprisingly incredibly tiring! 

Andrzej Pytel (founder and designer of House Of Ezis testing out lights and angles)

Lazing around in gorgeous silks and materials ... life is difficult sometimes ;)

You wouldn't think it but we powered on for hours on end and forgot to eat lunch (a rarity for me these days). Fascinated by the weaving of fabrics and the angles of which light played with the contours and reflections off the fabric consumed us all. It wasn't until we sat down that we felt light-headed from the focus on the art .. and maybe lack of food and drink. 

Amidst this, we did have a break or two and i went straight into playing dress ups with the House Of Ezis garments (really, they should be called pieces of art because they truly are!). Talk about falling in love with every piece! There is just a way the material falls and sits on your body that is so elegant yet casual and sexy all at the same time!

2 of my favourites are:

'The Unit' Dress with its incredible back drape 

'Butterfly' Dress
(this is only one way this dress can be worn but it is incredibly versatile and almost looks like a playsuit here)

A lot of the day was based on experimenting and i'd have to say Cam had a true experimental moment:

Cam Gould ... or a ghost? :)

The end result was that we got some awesome footage of which, now, i sit back and wait for the magic of Andrzej Pytel and Cam Gould to transform it into what is my first video clip.

For those who aren't familiar with House of Ezis, get familiar! It's Australian Designer wear at its finest. An absolute GOLD MINE!!

That's all from me right now. I'm about to K-O!

More updates soon!
With love and grace,
Van-Anh xox

Oh and of course, THE NOW:
Fav food: olive and salami toasties

Reading: One Day - David Nicholls (still.... slowly)

Wishlist: the Butterfly Dress from House Of Ezis

Current city: Sydney

Listening to: Aloe Blacc

Fav clothing item: 'A Coat' by House Of Ezis

Next destination: Adelaide

Missing: my car keys (which are currently locked in my own room!... what a klutz!)

life is a song!

This morning whilst driving at an ungodly hour for a musician ;), i decided, life is a song! You can answer any sentence with the title of a song and it will make you laugh!
So many things have happened since my last post which was in Vietnam I don't even know WHERE to start!
The International Artist Academy has started in Sydney and we commence lessons tomorrow (Feb 8th) for the first term! Piano, Singing, Violin, Cello, Flute, Guitar, song-writing and MORE! It is so exciting to be part of this team! Check us out at www.iaaonline.com.au for all the details.
I've travelled back and forth interstate, spent time in the Dandenongs in treehouses, had crazy roadtrips where we visited Glenrowan where Ned Kelly was caught, visited lovely wineries and I found my new favourite wine from Margaret River, 2004 Mad Fish Shiraz!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT :) (although the St. Darenberg Vintage 2004 Shiraz is still up there in the top 3!!!) :D :D :D
Vietnamese/Chinese New Year comes up and we're doing performances at the Phuoc Hue Temple (13th Feb 10pm), Fairfield Showground Vietnamese New Year festival (19th Feb 9pm) and pretty much following that are more classical gigs.
The classical crossover stuff, i am really excited about and can't WAIT to show you guys some stuff! I think it was this concept which has been brewing in my brain for so long that once the stuff was out, I got so excited and I'm STILL excited to see what else comes out. The creative juices are flowing so it is all wonderful.
I am so very lucky to be in a wonderful space. I feel sorry for those people who have such wonderful 'ideas' but never implement them because unless you get off your arse and start doing something about it, no matter how much you think things come naturally for you whether its fashion, music, business ventures or films, JUST DO IT! (not stealing Nike's tag but honestly, JUST DO IT!). You might feel better rather than drink your sorrows away not knowing that that was what you were doing!

Anyways, enough ramble from moi!
Stay smiling, healthy and love life, because there is so much coloring to do in life!!!
kisses,
Van-Anh

VIVID SYDNEY FEST PERFORMANCE

Hello All!


The VIVID Sydney FESTIVAL (http://www.vividsydney.com.au/) is winding down however I will be playing on the piano under the Doves That Cry Light installation tomorrow night @ 8pm in the Red Room @ Customs House (31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay)!






Doves that Cry
A site-specific installation using the ephemeral qualities of light and sound, bringing into focus the ‘drawing room’ space of reflection. Blackness and literal reflection are the threshold between two places, between here and infinity. The gloss black piano is mounted on a gloss black stage.

Come down and say hi and if you haven't checked out the lights and sounds from the festival, now is a great chance to see it all before the switches are turned off Sunday night! :)

Love and light,

Always,

V-A xx

Heart Reach Australia 2009

As I finish my concert for HRA 2009, we move on, full force ahead to plan for the next - hopefully a more youth orientated event.
It was an amazing concert with such great support from past patrons as well as new audience members. Not only that, the band was in great shape and supporting artists, Alan Winter and Tanya McFayden were great too!
Thanks goes to The Piano People for the loan of their piano and tuning services and of course, to Leo for the impeccably suitable dress for the occasion, being on the Sunshine Coast and all.
Blessed with glorious weather, I felt right at home.

Please check out Heart Reach Australia @ www.heartreachaustralia.com for the tremendous work and sponsorship programs HRA provides. I will try to post up a video really soon for you to see in more detail.

I'd like to do a shout out to all the people who have sent me incredibly lovely messages re: my website. Thank you for your support and encouraging words. I wouldn't be able to do it without you guys. xx

For now, sleep calls for another filled day before hitting home - Sydney; and back to the Sydney grind ...not that that is a bad thing at all, just that 1) the cold is not nice to come back to and 2) apparently it's raining! :(

Always,
Van-Anh

myspacing...

It's been a while since i've trawled myspace music and wow, there is a plethora of talent out there!

A friend showed me Mateo's myspace and I'm absolutely loving the construction of this song 'Complicated'. Quality piano, quality voice, quality mixing, layers.

Just thought i'd share the lyrics from the song:

[VERSE 1:]

So look at me now

It's a quarter pass 3,

I won't sleep

Cause you walk through my dreams every night

So why did I change

I never thought cupid could win

Change the way that I been all my life

[PRE-HOOK:]

I just wanted to be

Never wanted to fall... ya know

But you just got me

It's not intentional

Can I be over you

Or will I just lose control

(You got it, got it, You got it bad)

Am I ready for this

Or has my heart taken over my mind

Can I commit

Or should I just press rewind

Is this my cue

Or maybe this a warning sign

(You got it, got it, you got it bad)

[CHORUS:]

This love is so complicated

It's so complicated

It's so complicated

And sometimes I hate it

It's so complicated

It's so complicated

It's intoxicated

I think I might be falling in love[x2]

[VERSE:]

So picture me now

I'm stuck in a room

Painting images of you

Trading colors for your smile

Oohhh

But I can't let it show

So I'm holding it in

Trying harder to pretend

But am fronting all the while

[PRE-HOOK:]

[CHORUS x2]

[BRIDGE:]

If I don't react, would she give me up

Would she change or lose attention

O... the faith I lack... has me missin' so much

Am I wrong for my ommission

Why did I neglect what I knew from the start

Did I lose my intuition

When I just wanna say... I love her everyday

[CHORUS]

[VAMP OUT:]I'm thinkin'... I'm fallin

Go and check it out at www.myspace.com/mateo

I've written a track with DJ Matt Cahill (UK) so will hopefully post it up on www.myspace.com/vananhnguyenmusic soon.

Hoping to see all you QLDers in Maroochydore this weekend for a massive Heart Reach Australia (www.heartreachaustralia.com) Benefit Saturday 9th, 2pm!

Always,
Van-Anh