Upcoming events and Website updates

Daizo here.
As you may have noticed, this blog has been abandoned for quite a while now, but like it always has been, EMP has been working on some new projects over the past few months.
I would like to announce them here on the blog:

1) EPIC MARBLE PROJECT is now officially recognized as a non-profit organization by the name of EPIC MARBLE PROJECT PRODUCTIONS in Canada.
Our activities will not change however, and we will continue to provide ideal grounds for musicians, and expansion of our local music community.

2) 3 new episodes of EMR has been uploaded!
Episode 5 and 6 feature digest videos of the bands that have participated in the SONIC BREEZE event hosted by EPIC MARBLE PROJECT and TRUE Entertainment. Episode 7 features an exclusive interview with band, 15★CRISIS at the JP Scion Dealership in Downtown, Vancouver.







3) Upcoming event at the new Motel Nightclub featuring bands The Right Hook, angelika, 15★CRISIS, and Daydream!
Please check below for details!

SUPERSTAR SUNDAY
Venue: Motel Nightclub
1312 SW Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC
Featured Band: The Right Hook (EP Release)
Participating Bands: 15★CRISIS, angelika, Daydream
Time: 8:00PM
Tickets: $15 / Advance
$18 / Door
Attendees must be 18+ (please bring 2 pieces of ID)
Please contact epicmarbleproject@gmail.com for entry!



Please continue to check out our website at www.epicmarbleproject.com for details on the latest events in Vancouver.

DAIZO

Possible SCAMS aim at musicians and artists in BC

It is senseless for some people to trick passionate musicians and artists for money and benefits. Unfortunately I regret I recently had a close personal experience of almost being scammed. As Epic Marble Project's event planner, I would like to discuss this to our readers and hopefully this would help you to be careful of suspicious situations and beware of your rights as a performer.

My band LOCUS was contacted by a charity group in BC to perform and help raise money for a recent construction project that would save lives in the future. The performance was scheduled in a well-known Richmond public centre on a weekend. My band believe in giving back to our society with what we do best, and therefore has agreed to fill out an application to perform for the show. Later we were asked to "pay" $120 donation for each performer in our group before a deadline, or else we won't get a chance to be on stage.

First of all, as a musician performer, we have in the past "donated" our talent, passion and personal free time for charity performances. Secondly, performers are usually "paid" to perform, not "paying" to perform. Performing for free for charity shows already means you have donated your performance fees towards the charity event. Third of all, the meaning of "donation" is to "give what one's capable", and therefore must have absolutely no fixed rates of payment of donation.

So what happened to my band???

We refused to pay the amount required and did not perform.

Now, the interesting thing was, just 2 days before the show, another staff from the organization called me and thanked us for participating in the show, and asked me when we will be performing so she can come and watch. I told her we have no money to pay for the standard performance fee "donation" so we are skipping out on this show. She was shocked and told me she did not know anything about the fixed rate of donation issue.

I did not go watch that show the day because I was busy.

I don't know if anyone performed, and I don't know if they "paid" anything.

If you have any questions about any suspicious show details, it is always a good thing to consult someone in the industry, or feel free to email us.

Life in Europe

This is Daizo and I am currently in Paris, France.
To refresh my mind and to explore different possibilities as a creator, I have decided to relocate to England for a while, and before I settle down, I have decided to travel around Europe for a few months.

It was a tough decision for me. It has only been two years since the foundation of epic marble project, and it was quite recently that the team has expanded so significantly.
With the new Epic Marble Radio project, and other secret projects currently under process, the burden on the team has grown remarkably.
To be honest, I feared that people will think that I am running away from my obligations, but that is not true. I feel that I need to have a greater understanding of the world around me, and the time is now.
Knowledge is important but nothing can beat experience... and although it has only been 5 days, I can feel that this trip will definitely change something within me.





So far, I have visited Barcelona, Spain and Paris, France. The art and culture of these two cities are completely different from that of Vancouver.
The language barrier, the culture shock, the different transit systems, and the weight of my backpack are all new to me, but everything that these two countries has to offer are unique and inspiring.
Gaudi's Sagrada Familia have shown me the potential of architecture, and Montmartre in France has showed me the amount of influence a city can have on many famous artists.





In Barcelona, I was stopped by a man who identified himself as a police. While I was walking around the city, a man walked up to me asking me the directions. Even though I told him I didn't know, he kept coming after me, and it was only a few minutes after when another man came up to me with a policeman's notebook. He told me he was the police and that he was doing an investigation. After asking for my passport, he told me to show him my wallet. He said he was suspicious that I was having a trade of some sort - most likely drugs. However, it was unnatural for the police to ask me for the content of my wallet so I told him that I can show him my wallet if it is at the police station. Suddenly, both the guy asking me the directions and the one who claimed himself to be an officer started running away. It then made sense that both of them were working as a team.





Like there are horror stories, there are equal amounts of good news in Europe.
Although euros and pounds are stronger than the Canadian dollar, beer can be found for as cheap as one euro, and a lot of the dairy products are just as cheap.
Food is different, but the baguette sandwiches in France and the Tapas in Spain are delicious!
Just as much as I am learning, I am enjoying my vacation.
I will write about anything new that comes up here in Europe, and hopefully it will lead to the next big project lined up for the coming years.

I am currently writing a blog in Japanese at http://ameblo.jp/marblesounds, and will be writing some entries here every once in a while so please check back often!

Cheers,

DAIZO

EMP Staff Interview Series Part 2: Anthony Au - Videographer

Today for our interview, we have welcomed videographer of Epic Marble Radio, Anthony Au, to find out what really got him into filming the new youtube series. Despite his professional and ambitious approach to his projects, Anthony was surprisingly quite casual and very easy to talk to. With his friendly aura, we had a very enjoyable time sitting with him and hearing his opinions on the activities of Epic Marble Project, and his vision on the media itself.



Tell us how you joined Epic Marble Project -

It was through a friend "Kaila", who she is quite devoted to this project in promoting some local
music groups. And I found that it is so amazing to work with a group of experts who has the same goal and passion, all we are working voluntarily, the spirit is there! So, I'm excited to be part of the team.

I'm quite impressed with the process from our initial shooting, I believed we could be running more smoothly after a few episodes.

Tell us about yourself -

My name is Anthony Au. I graduated from Emily Carr majored in photography. Video production is my latest hobby. Prior to that, I had been a press photographer for over 15 years and have started my photographic art exhibitions since 2006. Website: www.pbase.com/tonyau
Exploration of human interest, people and environment are my photographic themes. In some
cases of working in photographic art, carrying tons of equipment to travel is not a fun hobby,
but will enjoy the result after capturing the best shot for my collection.

I respect friendly people with a big heart..!

Music: I am a hardcore fan of the classical heavy and progressive rock groups like; Yes, Pink Floyd,
Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple etc. But for now, don’t have any particular type, whatever any music
could make me flow, even Susan Boyd or Tiesto etc!

Movie: 2012, Inception, Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, Kung fu Hustle etc. Visual effects,
actions and black comedies are the type that I like, or anything also from Quentin Tarantino, Stephen Chow and John Woo, they are my all time favorite directors.

Tell us about your position and the projects you were involved in (within / out of EMP) -

I am an event videographer and photographer, event for portraits, weddings and video productions
for the show in theatre. I have a teammate in video, Michael, he helps me in other projects and
of coz for EMP. We have so much hard work during the shooting and editing. Hope that we
could have more helps in the coming episodes. My concept, for the EMR, I like to see more lively
and cheerful scenes as well as in acting, sometimes acting needed to be improvised, the acting
part is crucial.

What is your goal as Videographer in EMP?

My goal, I would really like to learn shooting in 3D and also looking for a chance shooting a short
film production in the future.

Requests for future projects in the team -

Everything should be working out fine after a few shooting, only have to be more in focus to time
the finish up for the set. A bit over-run might cause a big problem in uploading the footage.
I am really having fun and a good time while working with all the EMP’s teammates.

Wishing Epic Marble Radio will be successful and will be the greatest hit on Youtube and in publicity.


Thank you for your time Anthony, and we look forward to future episodes of EMR!

Post Sonic Breeze

August 8, 2010. This is the one day I will never forget for many coming years in my life.

To be honest, hosting a bandshow in Vancouver is not easy. Unlike how it is in Asia or Europe, there are absolutely no venues that are readily equipped with the appropriate sound equipment, and although it has been growing incredibly in the past few years, very few people are willing to commit to the price of admission unless they are there for a recognized artist.
For that reason, many bandshows have no choice but to limit themselves with a very small budget, in means of cheaper amplifiers / sound system, uneducated sound technicians, and lack of experimenting with various venues.

Although it has been 2 years since our foundation, it has been the goal of Epic Marble Project to be the leaders in the art of event organization by combining minds of creative yet ambitious artists in challenging the realm of the impossible.
Every single event that we have hosted in the past, have meant just as much as the other, in the way that it is an event that we could take pride in.
Although the result may not be pretty sometimes, I have never regretted our decision in hosting a show, simply because that very event may have been the opportunity for the audience to be inspired, to meet new music, and maybe even result in growing a love for music and to create a band themselves.

The pure motive behind our will to push forward is not money, fame or popularity (although we would always like to achieve that), it's simply because we love music and we love to please those that also share a common passion. Although, this may catch most people by surprise, in most of our shows, we have not been able to earn the money that we have paid in hiring staff, renting the equipment / venue, printing out promotional items, and in all means making the show possible.
Believe it or not, we all have daytime jobs on top of what we do in EMP, and we all have many other commitments. In truth, the time spent on EMP can always be spent on working at a daytime job, which will most likely get us more money, but EMP has always been with us simply because music is our ultimate goal.

In organizing SONIC BREEZE, TRUE ENTERTAINMENT and EPIC MARBLE PROJECT has used 3 full days (yes, we did not sleep) in putting everything together. With Jeremy from TRUE leading us in our choice of sound and lighting, we were able to achieve something we had never imagined.
Although it was strenuous and exhausting, our efforts were well worth it, because we truly felt that the 8 awesome bands we were able to find, were able to squeeze out everything that they could offer at present time.

Using this opportunity, I would like to thank Jeremy from True Entertainment, all staff personnel of Epic Marble Project (especially Mati and Kaila who were always there), all bands (Artificial Polly, BSGE41, Crossing Lions, Daydream, Knights and Queen, Rah Rah Robot, The Right Hook, and White Symphony), Caleb from myJP Scion and all our other sponsors (DS Drum Service, Edo Sushi, Gigi Lui Styling, Golden Boot Cafe, KLIP, Panago Pizza and Quality Circle Lens), Anthony for filming the entire show and the beer, Dale for all the photos, Robin for designing the wicked poster, Gary from CMEV in help with setup, Steve for helping us with loading, Dennis from True Entertainment with lighting, all other TRUE personnel that I couldn't catch the names of, Misaki for help with striking,Tomo who supported Gigi Lui in styling (and for the flowers!) and helping out with the strike, Dennis Law and Horace Lee from Noisyhouse Studios and everyone who attended our show.

On top of that, I would personally like to thank Ralph, Omar, Joseph, and Jun for attending, Julie for the food, Takayuki for lending me the electric pick-up for the guitar, Shintaro for coming up with catch phrase in this event, Gary for giving us free coffee and beer, my parents for supporting me being a stupid child who wasted his university degree in being a hippy, all the members of Knights and Queen, and everyone who came to support Knights and Queen.

I have mentioned a lot of names here but please feel free to blackmail me if I missed you. I'm pretty out of it considering my lack of sleep and food.
Once again, I'd like to thank everyone I have mentioned above. Without you, this show would simply not have been possible.

Best regards,
Daizo Haraguchi
EPIC MARBLE PROJECT

Top 10 reasons to come experience SONIC BREEZE!

If you're not attending, you're missing out. SONIC BREEZE is not just a challenge that EPIC MARBLE PROJECT has been warming up for years, but also a revolution in the Vancouver music scene! Here are the top 10 reasons for attending SONIC BREEZE on August 8, 2010!

10. SPECIAL DAY-PASS BRACELET

Each attendee will receive a Day Pass in the form of a special bracelet! This bracelet has a unique ID engraved on it, which allows you to come back and forth. Feel free to have lunch or dinner when you want to rest your ears and come back when you're hungry for more!

9. ARTIFICIAL POLLY

Artificial Polly will be appearing LIVE for the first time after their full feature episode in Epic Marble Radio episode 3. Artificial Polly is also the winner in EMP's first Talent Search!



8. BRINGING BACK CLASSIC ARTISTS

The event will bring back great artists that Epic Marble Project has worked with in the past including The Right Hook (originally known as In Like Flynn), and Crossing Lions!



CROSSING LIONS

7. KNIGHTS AND QUEEN

Knights and Queen, composed of members of One Arm Bear and Paris in Tokyo will be performing a full-set for the first time, including an all-new ACOUSTIC set!



6. DOOR PRIZES

We will have door prizes ready for attendees supplied by the sponsors of SONIC BREEZE! If you're lucky enough, not only will you have a great time, you will also have something to bring with you.... that's what you call HITTING TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE! Don't miss out!

5. NEW EMERGING ARTISTS

This is your chance to see the debut of new artists working with EMP including RAH RAH ROBOT and BSGE41. There are other artists that will be announced soon over the Facebook group so sign up and keep in touch with EMP!



RAH RAH ROBOT

4. FULL FEATURE IN EPIC MARBLE RADIO

Like it was with SUMMERSPARK 2 (will be uploaded on August 4!), the footage of the show will be uploaded on EPIC MARBLE RADIO's official youtube channel! This is your chance to make a youtube debut!!

3. SONIC BOOZE (?)

SONIC BREEZE will have alcohol sold at the venue! Feel free to really enjoy the groove with an ice-cold beer in hand, or grab your friends and have a shot of tequila to bring up the excitement!!

2. SOUND

EPIC MARBLE PROJECT has collaborated with TRUE ENTERTAINMENT in bringing the best out of the music with top quality sound equipment. Whether you're keen with sound or not, you will notice the DIFFERENCE.

1. 10 HOURS OF LIVE MUSIC!

SONIC BREEZE will feature 10 HOURS of live rock music! Each band will get a full set of 45 minutes so that means you can enjoy it as if it is an one-man show! Remember, your day passes allow you to leave anytime you want so if a band doesn't appeal to you, you're free to leave and come back anytime you want.




SONIC BREEZE
presented by EPIC MARBLE PROJECT and TRUE ENTERTAINMENT INC.
Date: August 8, 2010 (Sunday)
Time: 1:00pm-11:00pm
Location: Howard Johnson Hotel Ballroom
395 Kingsway St. Vancouver, BC
Admission: $15 / Advance ; $17 /Door

contact epicmarbleproject@gmail.com for reservations!

Knights and Queen Project

Daizo here.
It's been a while since my last entry.
Recently, I have been busy working on several new projects including Knights and Queen, which is a new band formed by former members of One Arm Bear and Paris in Tokyo.
The members consist of Misaki on vocals, Edison on guitar, Daizo on bass, and Mati on drums.



Currently, the band is focusing on their first live set for mid-July.
The concept of the live will be slightly different from what EMP had been aiming for, and will be at a more personal level. This will be a new challenge for the band as it will really require a higher level performance and greater unity of the band members.
Hopefully, this live will connect the band with the audience, and not just be entertaining to watch, but to be involved in.



The most recent event news and pics at the photo shoot can be checked out at the Facebook Knights and Queen page.
Interview with Knights and Queen will be uploaded on the coming episode of Epic Marble Radio.
Tune in!

DAIZO

EPIC MARBLE PROJECT PRESENTS: SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION IN CONCERT AT TUNNEL

Epic Marble Project and True Entertainment are once again proud to present SPARKLE LIVE SERIES at TUNNEL MULTI LOUNGE's SPARKLE every SATURDAY. This week June 5th features EMP's SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION live in concert.

Date: June 5th 2010

Doors @ 9:30pm

Show @ 10:00pm

Advance tickets: $15

At Door: $20

After party from 11pm to 3am featuring DJ Johnny OMEGA, Johnny AWESOME and DJ DIZEE D, Farshad on percussion and Buddha Sax on saxophone.

Sparkle every Saturday brings the best of House, Techno and TOP 40 Smash-ups to town with a twist of old hollywood glitter and glamour, every Saturday at TUNNEL MULTI LOUNGE.

This week first 50 guests to enter TUNNEL will receive a raffle ticket towards the draw for ONE FREE CHAMPAGNE BOTTLE SERVICE on June 5th at TUNNEL.

for guestlist and info: www.epicmarbleproject.com, epicmarbleproject@gmail.com

JBT made me do this to embarass myself

saw john butler trio last night, one of my best shows i've seen in a long long time.
got me so inspired that i had to do a cover today......n i've never recorded myself on vid before.....that's how much JBT got to me.

i caught them 2 yrs ago w/ the old lineup, i thought they were awesome already.
but his new cats r even more spectacular. great energy n great vibe!

D
@ NOISYHOUSE

Next Music from Tokyo!

Music that cannot be enjoyed is not music.
Getting together with a bunch of music fans and enjoying it as a whole - I think that's what music should be all about.



On May 22, I attended a bandshow at the Biltmore Cabaret located on Main, which involved 5 indie bands touring from Japan. At the show, I was struck by true love for music.
The live was only $10 to get in, and all attendees at the show were welcomed with a variety of Japanese food, including sushi, takoyaki, and junk food, as well as a few prizes.
The bands performing at the show were all high in level, and their performances were very "natural".

I feel that the problem with new bands are that their performances look awkward, despite their technique or skill; it seems like the members have not become "one" with their instruments.
What I felt so natural about the indie bands were that their performances were not limited with their instruments, length of cables, or the sizes of the stages. They literally jumped on speakers, ran across it, and it naturally got the audiences hyped up.
A lot of the bands experimented a lot as well, like putting their voice through an effector, playing unusual instruments (violin, xylophone, etc.) and passing over their guitar to one of their audiences (during a song),
All in all, the live was a huge success. There were mosh pits and people going nuts.
I'm sure alcohol played a big part but I don't think I've ever been to a live that had so much energy and excitement.



Although it seems like I am just stating the positive parts for the show, there were obviously downfalls... such as the lack of excitement from the last band because the band prior to that was so awesome, bad mix for one band (guitar was too loud), and some bands where I just found the vocal to be utterly useless (you would know what I mean if you were there).





However, I really feel that it's an awesome thing to tour around Canada, and I really think the organizer did a great job.
It's also tough for the bands too, considering they need to commit time outside of their jobs and education, as well as a great deal of money too (unless they are fully sponsored, which I doubt).
To be honest, I was a little jealous...
Regardless where, I want to go touring!

DAIZO

EMP and True Entertainment present Sparkle Saturday at Tunnel Multi Lounge Grand Opening May 1st

First and foremost I would like to thank and congratuate True Entertainment and Tunnel Multi Lounge for the amazing party it was a great success.

A big thank you to In Like Flynn it was an awesome show we all enjoyed your performance very much :)

Thank you Destineak for the amazing after party show.

Hugs and Kisses to all our wonderful friends who came to the Sparkle launch it was one crazy night and I hope you all had a great time :)

To our sponsor Above Wireless, a huge thank you to Kenneth!~

And to all our EMP crew, thank you for the amazing support! Our dear Gigi, the lovely Adrienne, Cynthia and Kaz, dear Mati, and lots of xoxoxoxo to Dennis and Jon for all the hard work the entire day it couldnt have happened without you guys.

And to our amazing president Daizo, thank you^^ thank you^^ thank you^^~

Epic Marble Radio!

Epic Marble Project's new challenge begins in Spring 2010 with the launch of Epic Marble Radio!
Featuring two charming radio personalities, Adi and Kaz, the team has been filming in various locations over the past few weeks to beef-up on the content and load up the video cameras with raw footage.



Simply put, Epic Marble Radio is a new broadcasting program that will focus on the music/arts scene in Vancouver and connect/reconnect the network to expand and revive the community. With the newest event information, band interviews, live reviews, and the unknown, the program will be the music guide of the indies scene.
EMR will be launched globally (with the help of the internet of course) starting on April 27.
New theme tracks have been produced by singer songwriter, misakii, and composer, Dennis Law. Both pieces are written and recorded exclusively for the program.



The EMR Teaser site has opened at http://www.epicmarbleproject.com/EMR.aspx.
Check out the teaser site for info on the next episode (no information will be disclosed for the pilot episode), band info, and bonus content!

On the other hand, the blog staff will upload some backstage photos and happenings outside the frame.
Tune in!

DAIZO

SPARKLE every Saturday

Daizo here.
I've been MIA for a while with the blog so I will write about an event coming up soon co-hosted by Epic Marble Project.
This is EMP's collaboration with True Entertainment Inc. on the event, SPARKLE every Saturday.

Venue: Tunnel Multi-Lounge
622 W.Pender St. Vancouver, BC
Participating Band: In Like Flynn
Time: 9:30PM - 3:00AM
Tickets: Advance $15 / Door



This will be a clubbing event with the addition of an upbeat rock band performance by band, In Like Flynn. We have hosted a show with In Like Flynn previously in our event, Azure Reflections and we are very proud to have them again.
In Like Flynn is a very tight band with very creative and inspirational minds. I love Jeffrey's vocals and the stage presence of all the members.
According to an interview with members, Travis and Jeffrey, they will be revamping another track off the Top 40 charts (this interview will be uploaded soon!). They are a very loving band with the mind of surprising the audience at all times.
This is one show you cannot miss. Join us at Tunnel on May 1!!

DAIZO

Locus @ J Lounge

"Locus" had a performance at "J Lounge" on March 31st,2010. Many friends had came to support and chill with us on that lovely weekday night. "Locus" had performed 3 sets + a 4 songs encore. Good job Kaila, Jason, and Kelvin!! Check out "Locus" at their website www.locus.anniegroup.com

xoxo
Gigi

Ramen Potluck

Hihi ppl!!~~
Gigi hosted another house party on March 27!! I named it "Gigi's ramen potluck Nomnomnomnomnom party". XDDDDD It was super fun! Thx Q all guests for comming, and thx Q for the awesome foods. Sally and Jono's chicken karaage was great! Akira is a CHEF!!! Good job on the chicken roll Akira! Thx Q Becky for the BBQ skewers and oden. Thx Q Kaila and Moses for the beers. Thx Q Mati and Queenie for the pies, Thx Q Michelle and Elvis for the cream puffs.

xoxo
Gigi



The Gigi's famous hot wings!!


Becky's BBQ skewers


Sally and Jono's chicken karaage


Gigi's ready to cook her ramen!


Cooking


So much foods!!


Chef Akira!


ROCK!!!


Mati and Queenie's pies


Rocking on "Rock Band"


Akira's chicken roll with chopped onion and mushroom


Becky's oden


Kaila and Gigi


Re-Frain's mini concert. XD


Jamming with Sally


Serving ramen


The Gigi's ramen