WuiT #046: Tomer Feldman

Filed Under: Love Story, Sababa Pita, Neon.
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Tomer(front) is originally from Israel, worked as a chef in New York and fell in love with his current wife Jun(back) from Malaysia during their time there. After a trip together in Asia, Tomer returned to New York while Jun went and visited her relatives back home. When Jun attempted to return to New York to meet with Tomer, her visa was denied by the U.S. customs. Also because of Tomer's nationality, he is unable to enter Malaysia. Due to all of these unpredicted elements, they decided to meet in Taiwan.

This meant that they had to start everything from scratch, and brand new way of life had to emerge. They supported each other faithfully, and after 5 years of hard work and adjusting to the lifestyles In Taiwan, Tomer is now a co-owner of Sababa Pita Bar, and formed the rock band "Neon" with his wife Jun as the lead singer. They are also the proud parents of their beautiful baby girl named Mika.

Neon's first album will be released by January 2007, produced by one of the most well-known musicians in Taiwan, Mr. Bobby Chen. Sababa Pita Bar might have just opened very recently, but there are already people saying great things about it on their personal blogs.


Sababa Pita Bar (Photos by Orange)

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Tomer（前）來自以色列，在紐約開餐廳並認識了來自馬來西亞的Jun（後），兩人相戀。一次亞洲的旅行後，Tomer返回紐約，Jun回馬來西亞探親。當Jun準備回紐約和Tomer見面時，美國政府卻沒有批准Jun的入境加簽，而Tomer也因為他的國籍，無法進入馬來西亞。因為這些意外，他們約在台灣碰面。

這幾乎是將一切歸零，而選擇重新開始的決定。經過五年的適應、努力與相互支持，現在Tomer開了自己的餐廳Sababa Pita Bar，和Jun組了自己的樂團Neon，還擁有一個寶貝女兒Mika。

Neon將於2007年1月發片，製作人是陳昇。Sababa Pita Bar雖然剛開幕，已經有網友在部落格裡報導了。

WuiT #031: Jamii Szmadzinski

Filed Under: Award Winning Artist, Music Business.
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Jamii Szmadzinski is a world-class musician, and a key member of the Grammy awards winning “Shadowfax”, which is one of the most influential groups in New Age music.

Jamii did a small recital at a local lounge bar as a favor for the owner who has been his good friend for over 20 years, and we were invited to attend. Although Jamii had a very limited space to perform, and the place was packed with customers chattering away while covered in cigarette smoke, he still delivered a wonderful show that was equivalent to a large stadium concert.

He still practices his violin skills at least 3 hours a day from what we heard, goes to show you that excellence doesn’t come easy in any field.

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故事要從二十年前說起，年輕一點的網友大概不知道『蚱蜢』李恕權是誰了，但也許你看過一篇在網路上被多次轉寄的文章『五年後你在幹嘛？』。短文的作者李恕權，在亞洲一炮而紅的首張專輯『迴』，製作班底中有一位兩屆葛來美音樂獎的得主，也就是本集的受訪者，Jamii Szmadzinski。在八零年代的音樂場景中，New Music曾一度引領風騷，Jamii也是當時New Music的一個重要團體Shadowfax的小提琴手。

從來台擔任『蚱蜢』的演唱會樂手開始，Jamii展開了一段令他又愛又恨的台灣音樂之旅，他參與了許多可說是流行音樂里程碑的專輯製作，（例如潘越雲的“謝謝你曾經愛過我”），但過程中，他的音樂創意也受到嚴重的剽竊與侵佔。

這是一個音樂製作的灰色地帶，從事音樂編曲的朋友必定會有更深刻的體會。我分別聽過兩位重量級的編曲人向我抱怨過，某幾位大牌製作人，會在沒有旋律的情況下要求先編曲（是的！我沒有寫錯），然後在編好的音樂中即興出主旋律，於是便掛名作曲，一首歌的版權便占為己有，因為編曲是不享有版權的，一首暢銷曲的版稅或將來重新翻唱，都與編曲者無關。這些編曲人告訴我：“你去聽嘛，旋律其實已經都在裡面了！”這兩位重量級的編曲人，現在都已轉任製作。你比較能了解Jamii的感受了嗎？

不過Jamii畢竟是個純粹的音樂愛好者，一直到今天，他每天還是要練三個小時的琴。即便是應朋友之邀，在台北的小酒館內演出，酒客喧囂、煙味瀰漫，他還是百分之百的投入演出，這是我親眼所見。

WuiT #027: SPOON de CHOP

Filed Under: Street Performers, Expat, Yungkang Park.
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It is always very lively during the weekends on Yongkang Street in Taipei. There are always long lines for the world famous Din Tai Fung Dumpling House to Ice Monster's mango slushy ice, not to mention the bookstores, cafes, and local stationary and novelty shops filled with unique characters. It is certainly one of the best spots to spend your weekends for the people of Taipei.

When it gets close to 7:30 on Saturday evenings, crowd starts to gather at Yongkang Parks, some are just curious bystanders, and some are devoted fans of SPOON de CHOP. The band’s set up in completely unplugged, which means that you have to get a little closer to be entertained. The lead singer Rei is from Japan, and the banjo player Joe is from Indiana. They met in Taiwan and shared their love for music, so they decided to perform in the park on Saturdays. Their music includes Mandarin, Japanese, English, and Taiwanese folk songs.

SPOON de CHOP is definitely not your typical street performers waiting for a generous donation dropped into their guitar cases, no way! This is a stadium rock concert for them! Rei gets the crowd really psyched up as they clap and sing along with the music, and if you are in the mood to show your appreciation, an ice cold 6 pack from the convenient store is always welcomed. At the end of the show when the band is nice and buzzed from the excitement and the free beers, many stay after to take pictures with their favorite members and ask for autographs.

If you are looking for something fun to do this coming weekend in Taipei, we will see you here at 7:30.

Old Photos of Yongkang Park

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永康街這一帶，週末的晚上本來就很熱鬧，從觀光客必去的鼎泰豐，到大排長龍的芒果冰館，還有鄰近的書店、咖啡廳、個性小店與文物商舖，儼然是一個台北市民打發週末的好去處。

到了晚上七點半，永康公園的角落開始有人群聚集，有的來看熱鬧，有的是長期SPOON de CHOP的粉絲，因為沒有音響設備，想聽清楚必須靠近一點，主唱是來自日本的Rei，另一位彈奏斑鳩琴的Joe來自美國，他們在台灣認識，因為都喜歡音樂，便固定每個週末在永康公園走唱，曲目包括國語歌、日本歌、台灣民謠。

別以為他們只是一首接一首的演唱，然後偶爾有慷慨的路人走過，把一些零錢丟進他們的吉他箱子裡；不不不... SPOON de CHOP把這場子當成大型演唱會在做，Rei不僅要聽眾跟著打拍子，還會和聽眾聊天互動，如果你聽的高興，就去買一手啤酒來和大家分享，等到表演者差不多都喝醉要結束了，歌迷也很稱職的要求安可曲，然後拍拍照片、簽簽名，下個週末如果沒事，這裡再見。