Gian

oh_shnap @ 2003-01-11T18:34:00

2003-01-11T23:35:47Z

Roger and Shanif came over yesterday, guitars in tow of course. We jammed some, and we recorded another song. We first intended to record Coldplay's "In My Place", but that didn't happen. I guess we'll save that for another time. What's kind of weird is that we always end up recording whatever song Roger felt like learning that day. Same thing happened with "Yellow"- we were jamming one day, Roger started to learn Coldplay, and we recorded the song the next day.

This time, Roger was messing around with his acoustic and ended up playing some chords that sounded like the Strokes, "Someday". So let's look it up, I said. Shanif arrived while we were learning it, and by the end of the day we had our song.

For this song I had the help of Acoustica MP3 Audio Mixer, instead of just a simple mic recorder on the computer. Made things a lot easier, I must say. I guess you can say this is a more 'studio' version than a straight up recording.

Right click and save as, folks:
Gian, Roger, and Shanif - Someday (Acoustic)

Ah, the Strokes rock. Yes, they do.

oh_shnap @ 2003-01-10T14:13:00

2003-01-10T19:21:55Z

Out of boredom, I finally put up the video that I made for my senior year final project in Graphic Design. Starring Chris Chen ; ). It was basically my first time using flash animation and live action in the same project. So be aware of that fact, as the animation is a bit stiff.

Two flavors...
RealPlayer: http://www.people.virginia.edu/~gpc3p/blue.ram (6.06 mb)
Quicktime: http://www.people.virginia.edu/~gpc3p/blue.mov (8.25 mb)

It's best to right click and save as, and let it download all the way. It's like downloading two mp3's. Not too bad.

Sorry it took forever for me to put it up, Chris. It's actually been ready to upload for a long time, I just forgot about it. But hey, you can pimp it now while you're at it ; P.

rest in peace...

2002-09-04T14:41:55Z

This song has a different meaning now.

It's still hard for me to comprehend that someone can go away just like that. I can't imagine how hard it is for everyone else who was close to him. I didn't know Jacob that well, we met and hung out only a few times. But it doesn't take much to know that he was such a good kid. I remember one night, out of boredom, I gave Chris a call and asked him what he was doing. He told me he was going to play with fireworks with Jacob, JJ, and AJ. So I tagged along as well. Hehe, and it was damn fun... one of the only few moments I got to spend with Jacob. He was just a funloving, easygoing guy. And just from that, you can tell he was... pure. Such a good kid.

And from what everyone else has written here, he was so much more than a good kid. I only wish that I knew him as well as you all. He was amazing. Incredible. It's such a shame that he had go away so quickly... but I know he's in a better place now. It's where he always wanted to be. And I have no doubt in my mind that he's looking down on you guys right now, letting you know everything's ok. He's happy up there.

My heart goes out to all of you. I'm praying for you.

"I hope you find
Everyhing you've been dreamin' of
Only good things
No in betweens just
Peace and love."

Rest in peace, Jacob. You'll be missed.

who could ask for more?

2002-08-20T05:32:10Z

For the big version (1280x960), click on this link: http://members.cox.net/gian/groupbig.jpg

Of course Mike was there in spirit. You all rock. You guys better right-click and save that picture, you know it's a night none of us will forget. And damn Jon, where'd you whip out that song from, loving it big time.

Peace and love.

oh_shnap @ 2002-08-14T02:52:00

2002-08-14T06:51:47Z

"I thought she knew my world revolved around her,
My love light burned for her alone.
But she couldn't see the flame,
Only myself to blame...

...I should have known."

I think I know now, though. I've been thinking about it... a lot... maybe too much? I don't know. I don't seem to know too much at all. I've been ignorant. And it really is only myself to blame. I keep wanting to look back, trying to hold on to what I had. But she only thought of what was best for me... for us. That's why things are the way they are now. Stupid me, I only truly realize this after we argue and I make her really mad. Good for you, Gian... you suck. A lot.

I'm sorry I've made you feel this way when I shouldn't have. If I really cared about you as much as I say I do, I should have let go when you first asked me to. I'm sorry, from the bottom of my heart I'm sorry. I'm not gonna look back anymore, I'll look forward.

Yes I still care about you. And you still care about me, as you said tonight. And again that's why things are the way they are, because you care...

...we're ok now. I'm ok now.

jam... strawberry jam?

2002-08-07T06:52:08Z

Roger, Shanif and I decided to record a song on saturday night. Coldplay's "Yellow". Took us forever to get through it a whole time while recording, and even then it wasn't that good. We weren't able to perfect it in any of the takes. But a few were alright.

It was just nice to jam around with the guys that night. It helped keep my mind off of certain things. And it'll probably be one of the last few times we hang out like that, so it was nice to keep it in a recording and save it.

Of all the takes we took, I picked the 3rd one we did. All of them had screw ups anyway, but this one I liked the most. I love our ending in this one. Shanif I think is puting up a different version, so go check his journal soon if you're curious. I also put together some outtake clips, a little bit of 'behind the scenes' from that night.

A little bit of break down of the song, so you know who's playing what:

Roger - rhythm guitar, you basically hear his strumming throughout the whole song.
Gian - vocals, the intro guitar parts (the twanging guitar on top of Roger's), and the high note guitar during chorus.
Shanif - the solo guitar parts in between the verses and chorus, and the last intro guitar (while i'm singing "it's truuuue, look how they shine for yooouuuu...").

Each of our guitars have a distinct sound, so you should be able to recognize each one in the song.

Gian, Roger, and Shanif - Yellow (3.72 mb)

Outtakes (Part 1) (2.16 mb)

Outtakes (Part 2) (3.38 mb)

oh_shnap @ 2002-08-06T23:51:00

2002-08-07T03:50:26Z

She was supposed to call me yesterday.

Last time we talked was friday night. I promised to give her a couple days to herself, so she can think things through. It's been more than a couple days. She still hasn't called. I don't want to call her myself, I know she's going through a lot right now. She needs her time alone, and I should respect that. But I miss her, and I'm worried about her... and there seems to be nothing I can do, except to just... wait.

So I'm waiting...

finally popping my lj cherry...

2002-08-06T02:55:53Z

Hi.

I never thought I'd actually be writing in this, but hey, look at me now.

Since my website's been down for a really long time, this seems to be my only outlet. There are a lot things going through my mind right now, and I just need a place to let go and... express? I don't know. But this is something I need.

I've always had a grudge against livejournal... "Blogger for Dummies" is what I used to call it. But everyone seems to be using it, what can you do. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?

So I'm welcoming livejournal with open arms.

...for now, anyway.
: )