Taiwanese Americans are rising TO THE TOP, and TaiwaneseAmerican.org and TAP-SF invite you to celebrate along with five of the Bay Area’s very best Taiwanese American musicians. Come meet, mingle, and connect with the community (and with the artists themselves) in an intimate venue while listening to the most cutting edge music the community has to offer. Join them on the way to the top!

FEATURING:

::::|||| CYNTHIA LIN ||||::::
Drawing comparisons to Edith Piaf and Joni Mitchell, Cynthia Lin captivates audiences with a rich, outsized voice and witty, honest storytelling. Since 2003, Cynthia has released three albums independently. Her first album Blue and Borderlined was featured on NPR’s Open Mic series, and her second album Doppelganger was named one of the Top 5 Asian American Albums of 2007 by AsiaXpress.com. The uncommon blend of retro jazz with acoustic fingerstyle guitar and a bluesy vocal delivery makes Cynthia’s style unmistakable yet classic.

::::|||| JOHNNY HI-FI ||||::::
Lead singer Eric Hsu formed his first indie rock band in 1992, and since then has performed hundreds of shows both in the US and around the globe. With numerous US and Asia tours under their belt, Johnny Hi-Fi’s alternative rock sound has captured fans all over. From the House-of-Blues US tour to the band’s video reaching #8 on MTV Chi’s top 10 video charts, all the attentions helped them land the “Artist of the Month” spot on Billboard Magazine’s Underground series and a feature in the magazine. In 2006, the band made appearances on CBS News, publications such as the New York Times and World Journal, also radio stations from Texas to Taipei. The band then went on to open for Placebo and Supergrass in front of 20,000 fans at the Beijing Pop Festival.

::::|||| ALICE TONG ||||::::
After earning her Masters in Social Work from Columbia University and her Bachelor’s in Ethnomusicology from UCLA, Alice Tong has combined her experiences into a fresh new sound on her album “please be brave before the lions they come.” Alice is singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist living in Oakland, CA. Her piano, guitar, ukelele, and harmonica playing are influenced by indie folk rock, jazz, and alt country, while her rich vocals are inspired by jazz, soul, and blues. Alice’s studies in both Ethnomusicology and Social Work can be heard in the depth of her lyrics, soulfulness of her performances, and the genre-crossing nature of her songwriting.

::::|||| JACK TUNG ||||::::
Jack Tung’s songs are precisely composed instrumentals performed by Jack alone in real-time on an electric guitar, a drum machine, synthesizers, and a sampler. His moody aesthetic is equally informed by the exhilarating and harsh thrash of his youth in the Long Island hardcore scene, and by the atmospheric film soundtracks absorbed as a lifelong cinephile. In live performance, Jack uses no pre-recorded parts and no backing tracks, save for the spare drum machine patterns which propel his arrangements. His precise execution and control of multiple layers of sound is a feat to witness.

::::|||| THE SOONEST ||||::::
Andrew plays some drums. Greg plays guitar. Young tries to sing and play guitar at the same time but has trouble doing it well sometimes. Alex is good at the bass. Young and Andrew like music and burritos so they formed a band. Greg likes music too so he came along for the ride. We found Alex on craigslist. We thought he was going to be crazy but he turned out alright. We like what we do and we hope you enjoy our music or at least not want to throw things at us. If you do, please throw sandwiches. Thank you.

with your host RYAN TAKEMIYA

Friday, February 25th, 2011
8:00pm
Glas Kat
520 4th Street
(SOMA, between Bryant and Welsh)
San Francisco
General Admission: $15
Online Presale: $13 ($2 dollar discount!)
TAP-SF Member Discount: $10
Sign up for a TAP-SF PAID Membership at the door and receive member discount (TAP-SF Annual Membership Fee = $25)

PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE HERE.

***Portion of proceeds will be donated to the Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL) “Leading Youth Forward” Summer Camp and the Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association (ITASA) West Coast Conference***