bla(h)g.

hello all!

here’s a new song i wrote. it is nameless thus far. if you have any suggestions please let me know. i was thinking about “when everything falls away from me” but that is incredibly long. hmph….

the marathon training with team in training is going really well! yesterday we ran 8 miles and aside from the gigantic blister that formed on my left foot, it felt great. i’m so glad i decided to do this.

as for “anyway” vs. “anyways”, i’m sure that i am horribly inconsistent and use them both randomly in writing and speaking. :)

anyway…

you can enter ben_from_canada’s contest to win a free kina cd by submitting a video about a message from your heart here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZfDaLSA0bc&watch_response

i think we should have more contests!! i’ll try to think of something fun.

next show:
July, 5 2008 at The Kaleidoscope, 7-9PM free!!
27741 Crown Valley Parkway, Mission Viejo, California 92691

i’m about to head out to practice with Lady Danville and The Payphones, the two bands I’ll be playing with at Hotel Cafe on the 25th of July! we’re going to do an exciting collaborative segment at the end of the night :)

@wwar1ace
you would be correct. (if you remember what you were talking about)
@tricia
yes, i forgot to feature a cover last week :( i realized about 5 minutes after i posted it. sad! i am so glad to hear that you are playing more and more guitar! can’t wait to hear some of it.
@glenn
yes i can definitely recall the locations that i’ve written all my songs in. pretty bizarre. i agree though, new apartment sounds like a great excuse to write another :) too bad i havent really moved in yet.
@JaY_Yu_eL
maybe i can get emi to sing a song with me this weekend when she’s home for the 4th. as for misa… i don’t know when i’ll see her again… she’s so far away!! sadness.

oovret: week 9

Do you wear corrective lenses? nope. but i did go through a period of time (high school) when i really wished i had an excuse to wear glasses. i convinced my mom to take me to the eye doctor but to my disappointment, i had 20/20 vision. looks like no cool emo glasses for me.
Do you have any fillings/cavities? yes. :( i blame genetically weak enamel. right emi!?
Did you wear braces when you were younger? yup.
Have you broken any bones? nope.
How many stitches have you required? i think 6? in my right knee. i went on a run by myself in the mountains (against my mothers wishes) convinced nothing could possibly go wrong. then i slipped on a rock and split my knee open. i was 3 miles out and had no cell phone service. i spent about 10 minutes lying on my back in the dirt, talking myself down, elevating the wound, applying pressure, just like they always tell you to do, before two bikers came around the corner. there i was covered in dirt, blood, and flies, laying on my back. it probably looked like i fell off the mountain. haha. one of them helped me back down. on the way back we had to maneuver around a baby rattlesnake in the trail, and that night i read that there had been a mountain lion spotting in those hills that day for the first time in a few years. HA. now i listen to my mother. (not that i didn’t before. except this one particular instance, of course….)

“building a mystery”- sarah mclachlan cover

last week in the studio with john fields was so fun! this very awesome drummer, pete thomas, came in and added some very cool percussion. i’ll keep you posted on what’s next. i hope there is a next…. arg. silly music industry and it’s lack of speed.

if you haven’t taken this poll on the forum yet, go take it now! we’re so eager to know where you all came from :) (and which social media site i should feel more indebted to ;)
http://www.kinagrannis.com/forum/topic.php?id=21

oovret’s questions of the week:
BUT FIRST! an aside— i know that originally “oovret” comes from “tervoo” backwards, meaning in theory the ‘t’ in oovret should be pronounced, but for some reason i am so inclined to say it “oovray”, like the french pronunciation of “et”. am i the only one? ok, to the questions…

How long does it take to dry your hair?
hours. most likely because i don’t help it out at all….
Do you use any hair styling products?
yes, there really is no method to my madness, i have tons of things that i’ve accumulated over time, hair sprays, leave in conditioners, mousse, gels, sometimes i’ll use one, sometimes i’ll use 3, i don’t really know what i’m doing :)
How often do you cut your nails?
fairly often, they annoy me if they get long at all—makes playing guitar difficult.
What brand of toothpaste do you use?
crest1
Approximately how long does it take you to “get ready” in the morning?
depends on the day. if it’s a normal day, probably 7 minutes. if its a show day, maybe 20? give or take 15 minutes of switching in and out of outfits i disapprove of… haha.

hey! remember my friend kalu james from the “realize” cover video? he’s releasing his cd this week! yayy kalu! congrats :)

@dOris
thank you for sharing your song! it sounds like it’s very beautiful.
@kiyoG
oh my gosh! those sushi flash drives are the coolest thing ever! that is so funny…haha
@megan
thank you so much for the message! it’s always fun to have a new person in the blog :) anyway, that’s so awesome that you’ve been around since the digg days! thank you so much for the support and i am so so happy that you are enjoying my music :) come back to the blog whenever!
@steph
oof… “kina’s favorite face”… we’ll have to save that for another day. :)
@jeffreyy !
WHAT?! crazy cool digital microscope! i gotta find me some bugs.

ahhh latest post ever!! (except the day i missed altogether…) sorry, youtube has bee having problems all day long. quite the hold up.

ooh i cannot express my excitement for finally getting to put some of these blog names to faces!! thanks mis for setting the new look up! it’s fun to see who i’m talking to.

so i know this may not be as exciting as a normal blog video, but i think it’s probably the easiest way to share with people how to play my songs. so i won’t do these super often, just every now and then. “strong enough” is simple enough that i’m sure, with practice, you could learn to play it even if you don’t play guitar. so go for it :)

as for the forum– i am so excited that it is finally up! this is all thanks to misa too. if you have any suggestions of comments reguarding the forum, be sure to let us know so we can make it the best ever.

as for street team– i KNOW, i know, it’s been a while. it’s a slow process, but i promise it will be worth it. my guess (but dont hold me to it) is that we can get them out near the beginning of july. i will be sending you all a first email pretty soon though. and if you havent signed up for the street team but want to, or waht to know more, it’s not too late to email me at streetteam@kinagrannis.com

as for my current state– i have ODed on grapes. it’s bad. if a bowl of grapes is sitting near me, i will probably just keep eating them until they are gone. which is what just happened. oy.

as for the recording session this week– i’ve learned to never get my hopes up… but i’m still SO pumped. :) i’ll let you know how it goes.

as for this very annoying phrase repitition– i’m sorry, it just happened and now i’m locked into it.

lastly, as for the mission viejo concerts– i highly recommend coming out to the kaleidoscope show over the lake concert, unless you were already planning on going to the lake concert. i’ll only be playing like 3 songs at the lake (opening for an opener), and those concerts are a real big ordeal if you want to go– you have to be a member, go early to get seats, fight the crowds, etc. the k-scope show is going to be super fun, 2 hours, free, and much easier to attend. so… yay kaleidoscope!!

bye friends,
kina

@steph
re: writing a song on keyboard. so far my only real attempt (aside from the song i wrote when i was little) has been stars falling down. but i would LOVE to get better at piano and do some more. perhaps i’ll work on that.
@doris
welcome to the blog! that is great that you want to start writing more songs. my best advice is to just do what feels natural and don’t be critical of yourself until it’s done. then you can o back and change things. you can get my cds from the website: http://www.kinagrannis.com

What’s this?

a mystery link?

What could it possibly be?

Hey all, quick note from admin/Misa. You may have noticed the little gray placeholders for avatars. Those turn out to be for Gravatars (I was confused myself), which stands for “globally recognized avatar.” Basically, if you go here and register with the email address you used to register for the blog (which will also work for the forum, *wink*) it’ll show up whenever you comment. I’m still working out the kinks, and I tried to get an avatar upload system working, too (got one working for the forum, *wink*), but for now, if you’re interested, you can head on over to gravatar’s website and get yourself icon’d. :)

hey all!

well this has been a fun week! i wrote 3 songs, did some more street team prep, and found out i should be going into the studio VERY soon! of course, i wouldn’t get your hopes up yet… this is, after all, the music industry. oy.

marathon training is going great! i’m starting to feel a little less like i need to die :)

going to keep it short this week so i can hurry up and finish the street team packets.

you are lovely.
kina

oovret’s questions for the week:
favorites!
Citrus? satsuma tangerines
Melon? honeydew. or really good seedless watermelon.
Berry? stawberry or blackberry or blueberry. (favorites are hard…)
Stonefruit? white nectarines or white peaches
Apple? fuji
[BonusQ] “Tropical”? coconut! but not so much on its own. so pineapple then. or mango.

@yohan
that picture where everyone had the heart hands up was from the benefit show i played at UCR with emceemiko and chris cendana
@timmy
yeah! that is aj rafael in the front
@angloman
welcome to the blog ola! thank you so much! i have been playing guitar for 7 years.
@jamila
hi!! give joe a hug for me
@mary
thank you so much! here’s to ACTUALLY meeting in real life someday :)
@glim
LOVED the pictures of you in the shirt!!
@coffee
hi coffee :)

i just wanted to take a moment to rejoice.

*!(*&!(*&(#*&@

now that that’s done, here’s something the regulars might find entertaining. somehow, wwar1ace was the only one able to post a comment on the blog while it was down. i have no idea how. anyway, he sent me the following “post”. he tried to put it up, but of course, by that time it wouldn’t let him either. here ya go:

wwar1ace… having finally triumphed over the Red Baron, and being the only one here who can post… climbs down from his Sopwith Camel and makes a pot of tea…

*(pours some for all those around)*

1. deana on 06/04/2008 at 10:31 (Reply)

   Kina! Such a wonderful song! It’s a cloudy/breezy day up here in the Northwest.

   Pass the sugar please…

   1. wwar1ace on 06/04/2008 at 10:31 (Reply)

      Lemon?

2. emi on 06/04/2008 at 10:33 (Reply)

   *hi*

   I wonder why no one can post right now?

   :)

3. mama g on 06/04/2008 at 10:33 (Reply)

   I wonder why no one can post right now?

4. Dr G on 06/04/2008 at 10:33 (Reply)

   I wonder why no one can post right now?

   1. mama g on 06/04/2008 at 10:34 (Reply)

      Doh!

   2. Dr G on 06/04/2008 at 10:34 (Reply)

      Doh!

   3. emi on 06/04/2008 at 10:34 (Reply)

      Doh!

   4. Timmy on 06/04/2008 at 10:36 (Reply)

      You guys are scary-related.

      :-p

5. emceemiko on 06/04/2008 at 10:37 (Reply)

   Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

   Yet another word I wouldnever thought I’d use…. all thanks to Kina!

   ;-)

   1. Timmy on 06/04/2008 at 10:39 (Reply)

      Lol

      1. Steph on 06/04/2008 at 10:40 (Reply)

         Lol

         1. Misa on 06/04/2008 at 10:41 (Reply)

            Sorry everyone. Just popped in to say the forum should be up and running shortly…*keep your fingers crossed*

this is sad huh!! by the time we are all able to talk again we’re not going to remember each other. :(

sad,
kina

Hey all, Misa here hijacking the blog to say 1) sorry I’ve been MIA from the comments for so long and 2) sorry the blog (and the site for that matter) has been spotty for the past day. We’re trying to move some things around, and it’s been giving us a bit of trouble. We’re trying to maintain as much uptime as possible, but when the only people working on the problem are two full-time employees, things get complicated. :)

oy!! finally! i am so so sorry it took me so long to get the video up today! note to self: check whether you’ve posted a song already BEFORE engaging in hours of video editing…. haha. i am a smart one.

so last week i played a benefit concert at UCR that supported this great program called “Gawad Kalinga.” i shared the stage with youtube stars olivia thai, chris cendana, and our very own emceemiko (who totally rocked and had the whole crowd singing along with him/laughing with him/getting moved by his words). it was a truly beautiful event. everyone i met during the night was amazing. it was really an honor to be a part of the festivities and to meet all the great people that came out to support. miko, chris, aj, it was SUCH a pleasure to spend some time with all of you!! i had so much fun.

here’s the featured cover of the week– Zimplemeh playing “stay just a little” on the piano. JEEZ.
http://www.youtube.com/user/zimplemeh

and i’m totally going to start taking pictures of the crowd at my shows because it is just one of the happiest things for me to look at. so many faces :) i should probably take a wider shot next time.

(this pic is courtesy of my buddy matt, he let me borrow his camera since i was ill-prepared for the job)

oovret’s Qs of the week:
re: potatoes– i like all my veggies roasted best
What has been your most thrilling and fun experience, not involving SB XLII? hmmm.. thrilling? probably jumping out of a plane.
What is the most exotic food you have eaten? maybe jellyfish or fermented egg.
What is the furthest distance you have run? i think back in my cross country days i did an 11 miler. oof. that will have to more than double.

@ronald distor
yay! so happy you enjoyed the show :)
@wwar1ace
spam musubi AND chocolates?! amazing.
@aegelos
the birthday ribbon definitely would have been better coming out of my ear. good call.
@sabafa
thanks for all of the song recommendations! very much appreciated :) as for my other taylor, it’s pretty similar to josh’s, but they’re different.
@brittney
on occasion i use a logitech usb mic– it cuts down on the sounds the computer makes
@kate
yay for cross country runners! the marathon is this october up in san francisco. hills… fun :)
@claire
welcome! i’d love to see some of your lyrics. you can send them over to me at kina@kinagrannis.com
@UCR peeps
i heart you all