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April 08

Tien Beat April 08 updates on life

I have two weeks left of classes. This semester really blew by. It has definitely been the hardest semester academically, but I should be okay. Last week I wrote papers about theories of morality, the metaphysical nature of ideas, and johnny rotten's impact on the punk movement, all while finishing my first solo acoustic CD. I slept all weekend, pretty much.

For the past couple months I've been busy recording this CD, which most of you have heard about. I ended up calling it "Patience Finds EP", named after a song I wrote that is basically about the idea that the best things in life are worth waiting for, as many have surely said. There are seven songs on the CD, five of which I recorded in my room, singing, playing guitar, and playing a little violin. I had a couple friends add their voice or their guitar playing to it, and I recorded a couple of the songs live in my friend's room.

I also reserved a coffee shop near campus in order to host a CD release concert on April 18th. I invited a friend from songwriting class, Courtney Fortune, to open for me. After going home for spring break and learning that Kentavius Jones, a songwriter from Easton, was going to be in L.A. during the concert, I also invited him to play.

The concert was amazing. Two of my friends from my band, Dayplayer, joined me for a few songs. My drummer, who has been living in Oregon, drove down with his friend just to play in the show. My fraternity brother, who is a sound engineer, mixed the sound all night. My friends sat at the merchandise table selling my CD's. A middle school friend from Easton, who I haven't seen for at least six or seven years, showed up out of the blue. Courtney opened up with some relaxed jazz tunes, Kentavius started rocking with his brand of soulful, funky, rock, and by the time I looked up in the middle of my set, the crowd was full. After we played the last song, we received a rousing standing ovation. It was incredible.

All of my CD's are gone now, so I need to make more. I'm selling it through my website, which is http://www.tien-music.com . I also submitted it to a service today to put it on iTunes. you can listen to most of the songs at http://www.myspace.com/tienmusic ...I'm trying to make it easy for everyone to access my work, so let me know if you are having any trouble getting to it. I'm really proud of these tunes! Maybe I can score an opening gig for a touring band sometime soon. That would be awesome.

So now I need to focus on the home stretch and try to do well on my finals, not to mention an incredibly time consuming final concert for my a-capella group, which is also releasing a CD, our first studio album, "Take Root". I have two solos on the CD, Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now", and Stevie Wonder's "I Wish". For those of you who enjoy collegiate a-capella, this will not disappoint.

I am going on Semester at Sea next semester, which will bring me to the Bahamas, Brazil, Namibia, South Africa, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Japan, Hawaii, Costa Rica, and back to Florida. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited. When I get back, I should have no more than two semesters at USC before I graduate.

I will be in Easton for the majority of the summer, working to save up money for this trip, and playing music whenever I can. I look forward to being able to visit all of you east-coasters...I miss you all so much! I hope everyone is well, please let me know what you've been up to and how you've been.

Congratulations on the new Fitzgerald home, and infinite measures of gratitude to the Mitchells for their unbounded generosity and all-around awesomeness. I can't believe how amazing my friends and family are.

To everyone, thanks for your continuing support, and if there's anything I can do for you, don't hesitate to ask.

Love,
Tien

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