it's business time!

Lifehouse - From Where You Are (Cover)

2007-11-15T23:53:00.000-08:00

YOU BUY NOW!

2007-11-13T08:50:00.000-08:00

NEW ALBUM "STARTING LINE" AVAILABLE TODAY!

and what i needed all along was just to find the starting line

songs are up on myspace, along with a brand new page layout. listen, perchance to buy. $12 dolla. holla.

new album release date: two days and counting

2007-11-11T16:36:00.001-08:00

really? i almost don't believe it myself. but would i ever lie to you? well... don't answer that one. but yes, it actually is true -- and no fudging on the date this time -- this tuesday, november 13th is the official release date for my album. WOOT WOOT. i feel like i'm coming out of hibernation... i haven't played an actual show in over a year, which i'll admit as a singer-songwriter is borderline career suicide, but it was all for a reason... i needed to make THIS album and make something of a fresh start. i feel like with the EP it was like taking a pebble and throwing it down the side of a hill... i got to shake a few stones loose, get a little momentum, but not quite as much as i would have liked. this time, i've got a bigger rock to throw, and i'm hoping for a little more shakey-shakey, whatever that means.

"in this there is no measuring with time. a year doesn't matter; ten years are nothing. to be an artist means not to compute or count; it means to ripen as the tree, which does not force its sap, but stands unshaken in the storms of spring with no fear that the summer might not follow. it will come regardless. but it comes only to those who live as though eternity stretches before them, carefree, silent, and endless. i learn it daily, learn it with main pains, for which i am grateful: patience is all!"

rilke is the man.

so two days -- get ready.

ps. MY MUSIC IS WHERE I'D LIKE YOU TO TOUCH! (the ipod touch commercial just came on, sorry)

CD update, video stylez

2007-09-11T00:41:00.000-07:00

my first ever youtube video, and john basedow was kind enough to make an appearance. thanks john basedow!

di and sarah's california adventure

2007-08-21T01:34:00.000-07:00

and what an adventure it was. just take a look:

pure excitement

haha. i hadn't seen these girls in three years but between sarah meeting yet another love of her life and di constantly losing in rummy, it was just like good ol' times... yup, just the way i remember things.

(ps - di and sar, feel free to FREAK OUT at any time and leave some comments at the bottom. thank you.)

so the girls flew in saturday from fiji of all places (lucky!) and after dropping their stuff off at my apartment, we headed out to malibu to hang out at the beach. there we experienced first-hand the courtesy and class for which los angeles is known the world over. i'll spare you the long version of the story, but basically we were accosted by three rather large women who were utterly convinced that i hit their car while i was parallel parking. now normally the big-bonededness (yes, that is a word) of these women would be a complete non-issue to the story, except for the fact that one of them yelled the following at me (and i quote):

"it might take me a while to get up there, in case you haven't noticed, I'M FAT" (said while approaching a small hill of boulders leading from the beach back up to the car -- and the emphasis is NOT mine)

don't know why she felt the need to tell me this, but hey, more power to her for being in touch with her body. anyway, these three women were all riled up about how they thought -- sorry, KNEW -- i hit their car. and i quote:

"we all three seen you do it. WE ALL THREE SEEN YOU DO IT!"

right. and me all hear you yelling. what can you say when you're faced with such overwhelming logic and correct grammar? they all three seen me do it, i guess i must've done it. nevermind that di, sarah and myself (aka "we all other three") knew we DIDN'T hit the car, or that the women were standing right next to us as we parked behind them and didn't say anything as we walked right past them down to the beach, or that the marks on their rear bumper weren't anywhere close to being the same height as the bolts from my front license plate holder. but hey, they all three seen me do it. anyway, after pulling my car closer to show them the height difference between the bumpers and that there wasn't any paint on my bolts, the owner of the car was finally slightly more convinced that those marks were made by someone else. though by that point they were running out of time to try and peg everything on me, because (and i quote once again):

"you better hurry up, we're on our way to a poison concert."

i'm serious, i couldn't make up this story if i tried. i love LA.

here's a picture of the scratches (click on the picture to see a close-up):

yeah, that almost looks straight

after that whole ordeal we went back to the apartment and di and sar worked up a sweet dinner (like they did for pretty much the entire time they were here... 'twas awesome).

sunday was chill, the girls did some laundry, we went to church, etc. monday we went to venice and saw di's future husband at muscle beach, complete with speedo, all oiled up and with a blingin' gold necklace that would put flava flav to shame. that was probably the highlight of the day, and even the dodgers game later that night couldn't compete.

true blue

biggest dodgers fan ever

city lights

tuesday i played tour guide and took di and sar around campus at ucla, and they also got to check out the studio while the new album tracks got prepped for mastering. got a late dinner at mel's diner; ask sarah for the details on that one.

wednesday we drove down to san clemente and hung out by the pier all day. went swimming in the ocean, took major beach naps, etc.

cousinly love

palm tree nation

we are american eagle

all along the lifeguard tower

rebels

iroquoina style

strike a pose

tracks

see the way that light attaches to a girl

california dreaming

di, the seal pup

sunset over san clemente pier

pretty sweet day. some other random pics from the week:

the breakfast of champions... spelling champions

"s" is for sarah

evidently not the easiest words to say in the english language

quick timeout for that last photo. in case you were curious, these are the proper ways to pronounce the following words:

produce = PRAH-doos
cilantro = sil-ANN-tro
drama = DRAMM-ah
el pollo loco = well, the way it looks in english
mazda = MAZZ-da
herbal = HERB-al (make sure you say the 'H')
necklace = neck-LACE

and you don't "take a shower," you "have a shower." who knew?

so in a nutshell, di and sarah's california adventure 2007 was a major success. we're gonna try and not let three years go by until the next time we all hang out again (fiji 2008 is in the works) but in the meantime mr. bling from muscle beach and "gary" send their love.

p-rhee-view

2007-08-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

ch ch ch check it.

album is DONE being mixed. off to mastering sometime this week or next. clips from a few songs are up on myspace. today is now officially the best wednesday of your life.

take a listen, hope you like.

quoth the ed rhee, nevermore

2007-05-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

this would be funny if it wasn't so sad:

ed rhee, october '06: "the CD will be done in two months"
ed rhee, may '07: "the CD will be done in two months"

samsonite? i was way off!

no, but seriously: "the CD will be done in two months"

i'd tell you about everything that's happened since october, but that's a whole story in itself so i'll save it for later. in the meantime, i'm deleting all the old songs from my myspace profile and will be posting some samples of the new stuff in the next few days. and by "next few days" i really mean another two months. moohaha.

CD update

2006-10-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

ok, so i guess technically i can't call it an update if i haven't written anything about it yet... but let's be real, with how often i write you should just take what you get.

so. recording. i wish i could properly express how frustratingly slow things have been moving along. i'm talking like a-snail-crawling-uphill-against-the-wind-in-a-puddle-of-glue-and-watching-it-in-slow-motion... slow. most of it's because of my schedule. normal people: worky-work daytime. ed: worky-work nighttime. getting both schedules to line up: no worky-work. so as a result i've only been able to get in to the studio once a week since august, which is a tad irritating since all i want to do is hammer everything out, get the album made and move on to whatever's next. but what can you do? it's not like i can just quit my job (not yet anyway), and besides i've got bills and child support to pay (mom, if you're reading this, i'm totally kidding... about the bills...) so i guess the moral of the story is that progress IS progress, even if it is one. really. slow. step. at. a. time.

despite my complaining, the CD is more than halfway done. maybe even close to three-quarters. and if i have something that even slightly resembles the final product by the time november rolls around, i'll be happy. but in the meantime here are some pics from recording so far -- the first couple are from when dave and dave tracked drums and bass at graham's studio (where i recorded my first EP), and the rest are from sam's studio.

dave ross: "so on a scale of 1 to 10, how awesome am i?"
dave dennis: "um... 4?"

jared: "3.5"

layin' down the tasty bass licks

layin' down the tasty imaginary drum licks

sam at work in the studio

these knobs go to 11

tell me this one doesn't look like a norman rockwell painting:

"hmm... should i rock this one out?"

i believe the answer is yes

adia

like dog, like studio owner

unplugged

good chords are important

more notes

keys

to infinity and beyond

so where we're at right now... drums, bass, electric and acoustic guitars are all doneski. piano's pretty much there and vocals are on deck. might possibly track some percussion and organ parts but if not it'll be on to mixing and mastering. which means there's probably six to eight days' worth of work left to be done, and at one day a week, everything should be finished by thanksgiving at the latest. not quite the early october release i originally hoped for, but i'll live.

as a wise man once said, baby steps to the elevator!

back to the studio on thursday. worrrd up.

clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-clap

2006-09-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

get it, 8-clap?

that's right bruin fans, today is UCLA's first football game of the season. WHO'S EXCITED?

I AM. (season tickets, what?)

all i care is that we win home game #7

i do have a few simple requests of karl dorrell for this season though:

dear karl,

#1. if we go 10-2 again, that's cool, but 12-0 is better.
#2. please make sure we have even more fourth quarter double-digit comeback wins than last year. i want at least five this time, and i promise i won't blame you for any of the heart attacks i have from them.
#3. geoff strand is the man, but can you lead a "i want every man, woman, and child" cheer sometime?
#4. since i have season tickets for all the home games, if we lose (which we won't... but i'm just saying IF we lose) can you make sure it happens at an away game? except the cal game, because i'll probably be at that one.
#5. BEAT $C BEAT $C BEAT $C.

thanks.

sincerely,
me

back like a heart attack

2006-04-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

when i started my blog, troy predicted that i'd stop writing within a week, maybe two at tops. he was kind of right. (i lasted four days). troy 1, ed 0.

but i'm back. nevermind the fact that weeks (ok, months) have passed since i last wrote -- the mere existence of this post constitutes a moral victory. and moral victories are worth way more points than regular victories. so troy 1, ed 5000.

i don't know why i don't write more often. not that you'd find it more interesting if i did, because most of my days are more or less carbon copies of each other. work, eat, sleep, music, exercise. rinse and repeat. though i have to say that music is the one thing that does provide me with some frame of reference, especially with the big hollywood shows, since there's one every month and a half or so. for example, if anything happened around june 3rd of last year, instead of saying "oh, that happened around june 3rd of last year," i would probably say, "oh that happened around the last troubadour show...." and speaking of the troubadour, this happens to be quite a convenient segue into the following display of shameless self-promotion:

troubadour, part deux

if you don't have any plans for tomorrow night, you need to be at the troubadour. it's about as simple as that. email me at [me at edrhee dot com] if you want presale tickets, or come find me outside around 7:30-ish. i'll be on santa monica towards doheny, away from the box office, since technically we're not supposed to sell tickets outside the venue. just look for the shady asian. otherwise tickets are still available at the door for $12.

for those who are about to rock, i salute you.

our friend, season five of 24

2006-01-15T23:10:00.000-08:00

and speaking of 24, don't even get me started on the season premiere from tonight (don't read this if you haven't seen it yet) -- both palmer and michelle are dead within the first 15 minutes! president logan is (still) a moron! his wife is nutso! his chief of staff is a traitor! and chloe is getting some action (and from a co-worker, no less)! unbelievable. and that was all only in the first two hours. i need to figure out how i'm going to watch the rest of the season, seeing as i have work monday nights. tivo, anyone?

our friend, the television

2006-01-15T23:01:00.000-08:00

i'm not a big tv watcher, but i don't mean that in a "i'm-better-than-you-because-i-don't-waste-my-time-in-front-of-a-glowing-box-when-i-could-be-outside-instead" kind of way. i'm just not a big tv watcher because there isn't much on the air that i actually like. and that's not to say that i don't start feeling guilty if i've been spending too much time in front of the tube -- because i do -- but if there happen to be those out there that enjoy passing the hours by basking in the warm and inviting glow of our friend the television, well, hey -- whatever floats your boat. or changes your channels, as the case may be.

there are about five tv shows that i watch somewhat regularly, which amounts to me choosing to spend four hours planted on the couch in any given week (two of the shows are only half an hour long). and much like everything in life, the things we choose say a lot about us. for example. you like to exercise? you must be a very health-conscious individual. you like to write? you must be creative. you like richard simmons? you must love spandex. you like that guy ed rhee? you must be a loser. etc, etc. you get the drift. so here are my five shows, and what my choosing to watch them says about me. starting in no particular order:

sportscenter. this one's easy. i like sports, especially if it has anything to do with the nfl, college basketball, college football, or anything ucla-related. but i don't tend to watch as much when it's baseball season, which i guess makes me un-american. (in my defense, i LOVE apple pie).

the west wing. aaron sorkin is a genius, and martin sheen is the president i wish we had. what it says about me: i only watch this show because that piece of paper on my wall that says "bachelor of arts, political science" tells me to.

(i get so much crap for this one...) laguna beach. LC is my dream girl. what it says about me: LC is my dream girl.

arrested development. if only i could be as clever and witty as the writing on this show. what it says about me: i secretly harbor a deep desire to become an incompetent magician. or a member of the blue man group.

24. i am obsessed with this show. as in, i try and guess what time the digital clock will read after every commercial break. what it says about me: if it were at all humanly possible, i would have jack bauer's babies.

disclaimer: this really is not all that awesome

2006-01-11T02:00:00.000-08:00

don't want security to get suspicious

welcome, gentle reader. you have just stumbled across the most awesome thing you will ever encounter in your life. yes, more awesome than the $0.99 cent value menu at taco bell. yes, more awesome than illegal fireworks on the fourth of july. yes, more awesome than the time you were voted "most likely to be on jerry springer" by your high school senior class. yes, more awesome than your mom. yes, more awesome than jean shorts (i don't know, i'm sure someone out there still thinks jean shorts are pretty awesome). and yes -- dare i say -- more awesome than mr. pibb and red vines, as crazy delicious as that combination may be.

[sidenote] if your tolerance for pop culture references is extremely low (like, we're talking paris hilton's IQ low), you should probably stop reading right now, lest you end up feeling like you're being forced to play a game of trivial pursuit: '90s edition that you just really don't want to play. [/sidenote]

i don't really know why i decided to start writing this blog. call it a whim, one of those "hmm it's really late at night and i don't really have anything else to do right now" moments. and i haven't yet decided if this is going to be a more personal thing, or geared more towards what's going on in my relatively nascent music career. we'll see. i'm guessing that bits from both will get tossed together in equal measure, creating a crazy delicious literary mix much like their confectionary counterparts mr. pibb and red vines. but you know, to be honest, i'm more of a sour red vines kind of guy. that's just in case you, gentle reader, were curious. which you probably weren't, but that's cool because this is still the most awesome thing you will ever encounter in your life. awesome!

ps - just read the title of the post again, and then laugh (don't worry, it's funny because it's true).