Is America Ready?

If you're a musical artist and have performed for the public, you've probably had an audience member come up to you after a show and suggest you try out for the The X Factor or America's Got Talent. We sure have. And after receiving several of these remarks, you begin to wonder if it's worth a shot- I mean, what do we have to lose?

America's Got Talent, here we come! The band will give it a go at open casting calls this week in LA. Wish us luck! And if you see us the next season, we'd gladly accept the support. Check out our audition video at YouTube-Dave and The Cousins.

Upcoming Schedule

Here's our schedule for the months of November & December:

November

November 2   (Fri)    Crush & Brew - Dave performs solo w/Joel Reese
November 3   (Sat)   Third Street Promenade - Santa Monica
November 10  (Sat)   Private event
November 11  (Sun)  Europa Village - Dave performs solo
November 15  (Thur) America's Got Talent audition
November 17  (Sat)   Inscription's Children's Clinic Health Fair
November 30  (Fri)    Crush & Brew

December

December 2   (Sun)   Keyways Winery
December 8   (Sat)    Third Street Promenade - Santa Monica
December 9   (Sun)   Leoness Winery
December 16 (Sun)   Leoness Winery - Dave solo

Growing Up

(...random picture from our trip to Newport this summer).  Summer has come and gone.

Growing up is not easy business... that's right.  "Growing Up" is the latest song written by Dave.  We've got more than a handful of new songs to be included on our next Dave and The Cousins album.  Our band is slowly and humbly growing. 

We played at Cal State LA today for the Asia's Got Talent event and recorded the song impromptu in an empty theater before our performance.  Check out our video on our Youtube Channel.

Full Circle

Hi folks,

Hope all has been green and dandy on your side! Wanted to fill you in on what's been happening with the band. Here we go!

The couples Dave & Lois abandoned DATC (of course, all out of good will) for 2 weeks to be of medical, an most likely, musical assistance to folks in the province of Cavite, Phillipines.

D & L in matching scrubs

L giving a round of high-fives

Here on the home front, Christina and Grace have been holding down the fort doing nothing other than working, enjoying relaxation and jammin' to music!

Ok, so back in January of this year, Dave first debuted his album  Where the Wind Blows with the entire band at The Crowd hosted by Exodus 3. We're excited to announce that the band will once again be The Crowd once again at Welcome Week 2012 @ University of California, Irvine next Tuesday night, September 25. If you're around town, come and check us out!

Upcoming Schedule

Here's our schedule for the months of September & October:

September

September 1   (Sat)  Third St, Santa Monica

September 8   (Sat)  Keyways Winery (1:30-5:30pm)

September 9   (Sun)  Leoness Cellars (2:00-5:00pm)

September 23 (Sun)  Keyways Winery (1:30-5:30pm)

September 25 (Tue)  E3 Crowd Event, UC Irvine
September 29 (Sat)  Third St, Santa Monica

October
October 6       (Sat)  Third St, Santa Monica
October 19     (Fri)   Crush & Brew, Temecula
October 30     (Tue)  Asia's Got Talent, Cal State LA

From Newport to Newport- A mini journey to the roots

The voyage eastward has opened our eyes to the history and traditions of our beloved country, largely through the means of folk music. The moment we landed at Providence, Rhode Island, we shuffled our way to Boston. We started our two-day, sporadic tour of Boston at the Common. We visited the sites of Park Street Church, Granary Burying Ground (the resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including signers of the Declaration of Independence), The Boston Massacre, the home of Paul Revere, and Faneuil Hall. Walking through these sites, you could almost feel the passion and intensity of revolutionary past. Seeing the aged-grounds of history brought to life the dedication and sacrifice of many patriots. We were in awe of how much historical depth we were seeing with our own eyes from the brick buildings and cobble-stone alleyways in Boston to the lighthouses along the Rhode Island coast. Below are several pictures from our tour.

The Paul Revere House

Built 1680

Owned by Paul Revere 1770-1800

 Faneuil Hall

Built 1724

Served as the first town hall in Boston and during

the years leading up to the American Revolution.

Lyrics to the patriotic song 'America'

in Park Street Church

To top off our trip, we attended a two-day folk music revival at Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island. And let me just tell you, our toupes were blown right off! From the earthy melodies of Brown Bird, the rootsy-richness of Spirit Family Reunion, to the heart-warming performance of 'This Land is Your Land' by the Guthrie Family Reunion (descendents of legendary American singer-songwriter and folk musician Woodie Guthrie), we soaked in the creative folk juices like a dry sponge laying out on the dry summer roads of Temecula...

So, after the weekend of musical mayhem, we asked ourselves: What is folk music and what does it mean to us?

First off, folk music is a traditional musical style used to story-tell the emotional and visual observations of the life of a community. In other words, it's a way to express one's life into a simple rhythm and melody that is understandable to the neighbor. In this modern day, it causes the  listener to pause from the hustle and bustle of his or her metropolis to get back to the roots of life. Folk is story-telling at its purest, raw and unfiltered.

For the band, the wider exposure to this genre has opened a door to connecting the rich heritage of our Korean background to the equally rich heritage of our cherished country of the United States of America. Being Korean-Americans, we'd like to interweave our ethnic identities into the music we create and perform in hopes of taking our listeners on an emotional, historical, and educational journey to the past and present. The trip has been a stepping stone for us as a band. It'll be interesting to see where we go from here.

Thanks for tuning in and happy folkin'.

Newport Folk Festival 2012

View of the Newport Bay

The Band

ORIGINAL we try to be, yes indeed.

This is one of the latest songs we've been singing out on Third Street. Some of you who have recently seen us out in Santa Monica may just recognize it.

"Little Longer"- Dave and The Cousins