The best type of music is the kind that leaves listeners at a loss for classification. Hip-Hop? Funk? Jazz? Classical? The ever-so-versatile Paul Dateh can likely stake a claim in all of the above, though he'd no doubt prefer to call what he does soul, since he's got an awful lot of it.
Dateh, who boasts a loyal following as one of the first hip-hop violinists (Miri Ben-Ari, an Israeli artist whose violin virtuoso was featured in the 2007 film "Freedom Writers," has already copyrighted herself as THE Hip-Hop Violinist), is no stranger to music performance, though his jaunt into this as-of-yet unnamed musical genre means that he's seeing and hearing everything with a fresh perspective.
The Los Angeles local (Dateh originally hails from sleepy suburb Walnut, Calif.) grew up practicing the violin for hours on end, though he loves Run DMC just as much as he does Brahms. His life is one of balance and integration, meshing a classical foundation with an experimental twist.
Classically trained on the violin (a beat-up Tambovsky is his weapon of choice), Dateh has turned his love for hip-hop and jazz into a viable new musical genius that is just as much about defining himself as it is about defining his art.
*****
At his album release party on Jan. 31 at the Dakota Lounge in Santa Monica, Dateh stands before an audience of family and friends in the intimate space and awkwardly begins his introduction and thank you's.
With a deep blue sweater and loose-fit jeans, his presence is more nervous bookstore clerk (been there, done that - the current Little Tokyo resident works during the day shelving books at a Japanese bookstore) than burgeoning rock star (the audience whoops and erupts into chants as he shuffles onstage). He stutters and chuckles heartily after most sentences, self-effacing and excited in an aw-shucks kind of demeanor.
"I'm not much for the talking," he grins goofily out at the upturned faces that smile back at this boyish appearance. "So I'd much rather just start singing if I have a diddy in my head, and sometimes it goes like this ..."
At this note the boy wonder belts the intro to his song "Whatever I Choose," his feet barely hitting the floor as he earnestly leans in and croons into the mic. With Ken Belcher on the guitar, a drummer rocking out behind him, and his bass player casually plucking away to his left, Dateh is front and center and all eyes are glued on him.
His buttery voice melts away his previously dorky persona, and it's clear that Dateh is in the zone. Eyes closed, body shifting, hands grasping the air like he wants to draw it all in and exhale it out in one big powerful burst. Music is his passion, his lifeblood.
Boy's got soul.
*****
His sound is unlike anything most music-lovers have ever heard, and for good reason. He has a voice that is at once rich and velvety, enveloping like a deep shade of maroon, and emotionally charged with the fervor of an R&B legend. His small frame carries with it the vocal prowess of a seasoned music aficionado, and his voice hops from intermittent scatting to chill-inducing murmurs to full-out belting.
Dateh's unique brand of soul-searching has already caught the attention of Public Enemy and Run DMC, and his violin virtuoso can be heard running smoothly over tracks by Keli and resident DJ Inca.One in numerous collaborations. At a time when Lil Wayne is trying to break traditional genre boundaries with rock song "Prom Queen," Dateh's already two steps ahead, one doo-bop scat above the norm.
For his perfect pitch, vocal dexterity and undeniable passion, the POPFIX predicts this Renaissance music man will be one to look out for in the very near future.
Music, heart, soul. Dateh's got it all, shaken, not stirred.
27 February 2009
21 February 2009
Quotables
Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.
- Lou Holtz
Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things.
- Frank A. Clark
You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.
- Anthony Robbins
We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.
- Longfellow
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.
- George Bernard Shaw
- Lou Holtz
Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things.
- Frank A. Clark
You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.
- Anthony Robbins
We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.
- Longfellow
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.
- George Bernard Shaw
16 February 2009
09 February 2009
Silence
Rewatching some Def Poetry Jam (naturally, when there are 101 things I should be doing) and I came upon this, one of my favorites.
07 February 2009
Happenstance
You know how there are these elusive things called Perfect Days? I think I just had one.
Had lunch with Albert Kim today, a former editor over at Entertainment Weekly, People, Details, ESPN, Sports Illustrated and GQ, knowing full well that, being a veteran of the magazine industry, he would be a straight-shooter about the market and the current state of the publishing world. And true to form, we jumped right into talking about the large number of magazines that have been folding over the past few years, or are on the brink of that same horrendous fate.
But if you want to pursue journalism and really have the drive to push past doubters, then you'll find a way to make it work, he said. The first step is moving to New York.
He didn't have to tell me twice. As much as it seems like a pipe dream to move to Manhattan (or heck, I'll take Jersey and then commute into the city), I'm really doing it. I'm saving up from this semester (thank you, employment at the DT), and am fanatically compiling lists of contacts for NYC for when I journey over there first during spring break and then over the summer and beyond.
I'm really doing it.
I had been wavering on the line between practicality and whimsicality (fitting name for a blog, don't you think? har har), since such a move would mean throwing all of my faith into the fact that this was really a step in the right direction and not just an unrealistic distraction. But after talking to Albert, it seems as though it would be crazy for me not to take that risk.
For the majority of my life, I've always felt as though I were a victim of happenstance. Falling into things by what I judged to be pure luck. Right place, right time. Admission into Whitney (for what it was worth back then) - luck. Leadership roles in high school? Luck. Getting into Annenberg? Luck. Finding like-minded, passionate people? Coincidence. Daily Trojan? Bamboo Offshoot? Mentoring? Being mentored? Internships? Luck, luck, luck, luck and luck.
Connections? Pure luck.
Now it's Chance that beckons louder than its sister Luck. I'm taking a chance by going to NYC, sure, but if not now then when? If everything in my life truly has been happenstance, and everything really does happen for a reason (which I truly believe), then all signs point me east. And it would be rude and completely wrong of me not to follow said signs.
Today was a perfect day not just because Albert sent a lot of great contacts my way, or because he actually conceded that my pet project, my magazine's mission statement, was a viable one. Today was a perfect day just because Albert affirmed for me that great success stems from great risks, and that the only thing standing in the way of me and New York was...me.
So I stepped aside and let myself pass through into the sun.
It stopped raining today.
Had lunch with Albert Kim today, a former editor over at Entertainment Weekly, People, Details, ESPN, Sports Illustrated and GQ, knowing full well that, being a veteran of the magazine industry, he would be a straight-shooter about the market and the current state of the publishing world. And true to form, we jumped right into talking about the large number of magazines that have been folding over the past few years, or are on the brink of that same horrendous fate.
But if you want to pursue journalism and really have the drive to push past doubters, then you'll find a way to make it work, he said. The first step is moving to New York.
He didn't have to tell me twice. As much as it seems like a pipe dream to move to Manhattan (or heck, I'll take Jersey and then commute into the city), I'm really doing it. I'm saving up from this semester (thank you, employment at the DT), and am fanatically compiling lists of contacts for NYC for when I journey over there first during spring break and then over the summer and beyond.
I'm really doing it.
I had been wavering on the line between practicality and whimsicality (fitting name for a blog, don't you think? har har), since such a move would mean throwing all of my faith into the fact that this was really a step in the right direction and not just an unrealistic distraction. But after talking to Albert, it seems as though it would be crazy for me not to take that risk.
For the majority of my life, I've always felt as though I were a victim of happenstance. Falling into things by what I judged to be pure luck. Right place, right time. Admission into Whitney (for what it was worth back then) - luck. Leadership roles in high school? Luck. Getting into Annenberg? Luck. Finding like-minded, passionate people? Coincidence. Daily Trojan? Bamboo Offshoot? Mentoring? Being mentored? Internships? Luck, luck, luck, luck and luck.
Connections? Pure luck.
Now it's Chance that beckons louder than its sister Luck. I'm taking a chance by going to NYC, sure, but if not now then when? If everything in my life truly has been happenstance, and everything really does happen for a reason (which I truly believe), then all signs point me east. And it would be rude and completely wrong of me not to follow said signs.
Today was a perfect day not just because Albert sent a lot of great contacts my way, or because he actually conceded that my pet project, my magazine's mission statement, was a viable one. Today was a perfect day just because Albert affirmed for me that great success stems from great risks, and that the only thing standing in the way of me and New York was...me.
So I stepped aside and let myself pass through into the sun.
It stopped raining today.
New rainy day rule
After the ridiculously long week that was, I have come up with a new rule:
COMPASSION OR BUST.
People who do not fall into the former category should go the latter, har har. No, seriously.
My friend was working on a broadcast project this past week that required him to go downtown to Skid Row and shoot footage of the homeless individuals dotting the streets, huddled under awnings and pushing carts covered with stained tarps. I tagged along not just because I was helping with interviews, but because I was genuinely curious about the types of conditions that still exist in this taboo community, even in the face of gentrification.
Though it might seem like the rain made the situation all the more dramatic, the truth of the matter is that, rain or shine, conditions don't really get much "better" depending on the weather for homeless individuals. It's just that it becomes all the more obvious just how much need these souls have for shelter from - pardon the expression - the rain.
I met a man named Bill at Midnight Missions, the homelessness rehabilitation center, who had been volunteering at the center for the past three years. He had had a severe alcohol problem, he told me, prior to seeking help at the shelter, and he told me that the organization completely changed his life for the better. He now volunteers at the center at least three times a week and helps other homeless individuals find their way back into functional societal lives.
It really put my life into perspective, talking to Bill. The money, time and energy I spend on trivial matters means zilch if I don't remember the bigger picture - success is a relative term, and, in my opinion, doesn't mean a thing if it doesn't positively impact or benefit others.
This week really has me thinking about that term.
Success.
And I can only conclude that true success stems from compassion, because without the understanding that success is not a selfish thing (you can WIN something for yourself, but SUCCESS implies that more parties are affected), I really can't consider something an accomplishment.
Bill, in my opinion, is more of a success story than the next celebrity, designer, media mogul, who has established a name for himself or herself but has done little else to further contribute to society. In working on this behind-the-scenes story on Kollaboration, I just can't get over the amount of passion and dedication that has gone into the project to solidify its - yes - success.
Kollaboration is about "empowerment through entertainment," and I think the message is such an amazing one. Knowing that such a show exists gives me hope that any pipe dreams that I, or anyone of our generation, might have, is completely viable.
Rainy days make me think, and I love them all the more for it.
COMPASSION OR BUST.
People who do not fall into the former category should go the latter, har har. No, seriously.
My friend was working on a broadcast project this past week that required him to go downtown to Skid Row and shoot footage of the homeless individuals dotting the streets, huddled under awnings and pushing carts covered with stained tarps. I tagged along not just because I was helping with interviews, but because I was genuinely curious about the types of conditions that still exist in this taboo community, even in the face of gentrification.
Though it might seem like the rain made the situation all the more dramatic, the truth of the matter is that, rain or shine, conditions don't really get much "better" depending on the weather for homeless individuals. It's just that it becomes all the more obvious just how much need these souls have for shelter from - pardon the expression - the rain.
I met a man named Bill at Midnight Missions, the homelessness rehabilitation center, who had been volunteering at the center for the past three years. He had had a severe alcohol problem, he told me, prior to seeking help at the shelter, and he told me that the organization completely changed his life for the better. He now volunteers at the center at least three times a week and helps other homeless individuals find their way back into functional societal lives.
It really put my life into perspective, talking to Bill. The money, time and energy I spend on trivial matters means zilch if I don't remember the bigger picture - success is a relative term, and, in my opinion, doesn't mean a thing if it doesn't positively impact or benefit others.
This week really has me thinking about that term.
Success.
And I can only conclude that true success stems from compassion, because without the understanding that success is not a selfish thing (you can WIN something for yourself, but SUCCESS implies that more parties are affected), I really can't consider something an accomplishment.
Bill, in my opinion, is more of a success story than the next celebrity, designer, media mogul, who has established a name for himself or herself but has done little else to further contribute to society. In working on this behind-the-scenes story on Kollaboration, I just can't get over the amount of passion and dedication that has gone into the project to solidify its - yes - success.
Kollaboration is about "empowerment through entertainment," and I think the message is such an amazing one. Knowing that such a show exists gives me hope that any pipe dreams that I, or anyone of our generation, might have, is completely viable.
Rainy days make me think, and I love them all the more for it.
02 February 2009
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
