bis colored my teen years. with fluorescent markers and punky colour hair dye. they were punk rock but bright, poppy, and cute. anti-authority and pro-candy. anti-mean pretty people, pro-drew barrymore. I had a sweet tooth for sugary pop and kids yelling pro-kid epithets. 2 guitars, 1 keyboard, drum machine, while all 3 sang. i dyed my hair and wore bright colors (i was also playing drums in a punk band at the time). i even made my own bis patch. wow. it mostly gave everyone around me a toothache. once, me and my good friend Dave snuck into KUCI (in the late 90s) to watch them perform live. i wish i could find those photos again. i had a major crush on John Disco.

Now Manda Rin is back at it again! Pitchfork reports the release of her new solo album. It is more in line with “later bis,” the bis that had alienated earlier fans. I don’t blame them for moving on, I thought Eurodisco was a good track. They lost me after that, unfortunately.

In this new interview with Manda, she talks about the success of new electro bands like CSS and the Tings Tings, and how bis were out of step with what would have hit years later. (They weren’t completely at a lost, as they were the first unsigned band to play Top of the Pops!) Also, she mentions meeting Lovefoxxx of CSS, and how big of a fan she is–I knew it!

Here’s the video for the first single, followed by other fine bis memories. Indulge me as I take a trip to my past.

2008: Manda Rin, DNA (This is Fake DIY Records)

2001: bis, Return to Central (SpinART) (–did anyone buy this?)

1999: bis, Eurodisco, Social Dancing (Grand Royal Records)

1997: bis, Tell it to the Kids, New Transistor Heroes (Grand Royal Records)

1996: bis, Kandy Pop, The Secret Vampire Soundtrack (Chemikal Underground)

…and let’s not forget when the stars aligned and bis did the theme for Powerpuff Girls (end credits):

From art student Kris of Krisatomic.

I have scaled back on the jogging lately and so every week it feels like i’m starting over again. The City of Angels Half-Marathon is coming up again this year, and i really want to do it again, pending my knee. i would like to up training to 4x a week, as opposed to the lax 2x i’m doing now. Zzzz…

I still want this instructional DVD:

Fun fact from his Wikipedia:

Armisen has both Venezuelan and Japanese ancestry,^[4] making him both the second Asian-American and second Latin-American Saturday Night Live castmember, after Rob Schneider (who is part Filipino) and Horatio Sanz (who is Chilean), respectively.

Tropical Malaysian Curry Soup via To Live and Eat in LA

I got to eat there on our tour with Blonde Redhead around April last year. I cannot for the life of me find the photographs from then, maybe I never took any, maybe they were lost in the two computer crashes since then. Major bummer!

I remember the food being really tasty. It had been the first time I had Malaysian food (though they call it “New Malaysian”). My cousin Dennis (Tu) and his wife Pon run the restaurant. She cooks and comes up with the recipes and he does everything else. It was in a cute little neighborhood, with lots of bike riders and pedestrians. I can’t remember what we ordered that day, but I do remember a very warm feeling that evening. The weather, food and atmosphere were pitch-perfect. No doubt, I was thankful to have a such lovely vegetarian dinner on the road!

Look what I found! A photo of me and my cousin after our set at the Wonder Ballroom. I look freakin nuts.

Tu (Dennis) and Han (Me)

If ever in Portland, Kinta is a must!

http://www.kintarestaurant.com

here i am on Pitchfork:

Me behind Chris Powell (Man Man)

Spotlight!

My back (in the ponytail)

I didn’t have the time or will to change the front head of the kick drum, so it remained as shameless as the day. “What band do you play in?” *point* I think the only other drummer that boasted their band name on their kick drum was Tenessee from the Like. I wish I had taken a photograph of her kit because i’m pretty sure we have the same drumkit, but hers is in a velvety yellow swirl finish. Psychedelic, man.

Yoshi from The Aislers Set sat right in front of me in the drum tent. I LOVE AISLERS SET, and i told him so. He said they might start playing again next year. Fingers crossed!

Overall, it was so fun transcendental. EPIC. For a moment, i was overwhelmed with profound joy. It was so powerful, playing together in a company of such talented musicians. It was really beautiful, as cheesy as it may sound. Drummers are the best! Wink, wink. There were a handful of female drummers, enough to make me feel okay. The boys were nice and not at all patronizing. It cracked me up when everyone couldn’t keep from playing during the down time. I felt slightly intimidated at times, but i sat tight and did my thing–”smooth and fluid” amongst a sea of crazy freakout drumming.

Peep Zach Hill of crazy freakout band Hella:

Here is a nice little summary video of 8BOADRUM LA by Videothing.com.

Special thanks to my bandmate Ryan for the moral (and roadie) support. And Mike!