it’s 2 am, i’m sitting here in bed and i can’t think of much to say, other than thank you.

thanks.

heart,
kina

oovret: Week 58

Which “Transformer” is your favorite?
i’ve never seen any transformer anythings… fail :( i’m sorry!
Did you purchase any paintings from the Art-a -fair?
nope, but i admired many :)
How many times have you watched “Captain EO”?
good question! a good many times when i was young.
Have you choreographed dance steps to any of your songs?
hahaha. no. but when i was little i choreographed dances to everything. a favorite was “black or white.”
Can you moonwalk?
only very poorly :)

sooo…. the show with david archuleta was so fun! keith tutt and reade pryor were amazing to play with, the sound was awesome, the crowd was amazing, and david is the nicest person ever.

father’s day with the family was lovely, as always. i love my family.

Sun, June 28th :: 5:30PM
Pittsford Park Summer Concert Series w/ Papa Doo Run Run
21701 Pittsford Drive
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Cost: free
Notes: All ages. Come early and bring blankets! Meet and greet after show.

all for nowsies.
kina

oovret: Week 57

Does your family have any Father’s Day traditions?
my mom and my sisters and i make him breakfast in bed, which consists of: okonomiyaki (japanese pancake of sorts), a papaya, fresh squeezed juice (this year’s was apple, carrot, celery), and coffee. of course, like with mother’s day, emi is in charge of arranging a mini bouquet of flowers from our backyard. we bring him up his food and the newspaper and then let him relax for a while. then we all come back up and give cards/presents… the rest of the day is doing what he wants to do. this year it was father’s day with the extended family.
What do you appreciate about your father?
everything. he’s one of the most kind, generous, intelligent and respectable people there are. he has been the best dad ever to my sisters and i, he is there for us 100%. he has always supported me in everything i do. and he is a role model, he has dedicated his life to learning and helping others.
How many times have you played a show at a fair?
caruthers fair: twice
san diego fair: once
i think that’s it?
Do you enjoy listening to Joni Mitchell?
yes :) i could drink a case of you.
If you could have played the lead in any movie, which character would you be?
if i actually put more thought into this i’m sure i’d think of some cool role that would allow me to travel a lot/meet cool people/do awesome things. but off the top of my head, sam from garden state.

oooops. i left out the shoutouts! here they are:

yesterday i took a vote for what song i should do for today’s blog. i would say about 90% of responses were “favorite word.” (by the way– i’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much!!) however, i decided to honor what i thought was my one vote from budapest and do “missing you”… but today it was pointed out to me that there was another budapest vote… for “favorite word.” i am a bad person :(

i’m getting excited for the show this saturday! i’ll be playing with my cellist friend, keith, again, and my friend reade will be on the cajon.

quick shoutout to all fans of david and snarkies! thanks for reaching out to me :) i’m excited to meet some of you this weekend!

some upcoming shows for you:
Sat, June 20th :: 7PM
Opening for David Archuleta at the San Diego Fair
2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd.
Del Mar, CA 92014
Notes: All Ages. Signing by merch after my set.

Sun, June 28th :: 5:30PM
Pittsford Park Summer Concert Series w/ Papa Doo Run Run
21701 Pittsford Drive
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Cost: free
Notes: All ages. Come early and bring blankets! Meet and greet after show.

ciao!
kina

oovret: Week 56

In High School, were you voted “most likely to succeed”, “best hair”, etc.?
:( there were 779 people in my class. only a very specific crowd made it into those categories…
When you were younger did you get sent off to summer camp?
nope.
Does playing guitar make it easier to play Guitar Hero?
harder! i’ve actually only played once and it confused me. i think what it really comes down to is– if i have free time on my hands, i’d rather play a real guitar.
Do you enjoy listening to “The Decemberists”?
mhm
On average, how many hours do you spend packing merch each week?
7 perhaps?

If you have some photos or video you’d like to showcase on the ST site, email me at webmaster at you know what and I’ll set you up to add your stuff to the page, too. LA STers, I can make a page for you, too, if you’d like. :)

-Misa

(The page link again)

ahh, new york was so much fun!!

things have been going well lately. the album is in the process of getting mixed which i’m very excited about! tom biller has been picked as the man for the job and i think he’s going to make it great :)

another fun tidbit, thanks to french street teamer cedric, there is now a french wiki page for me! check it out.
thanks!!

some upcoming shows for you:
Sat, June 20th :: 7PM
Opening for David Archuleta at the San Diego Fair
2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd.
Del Mar, CA 92014
Notes: All Ages.

Sun, June 28th :: 5:30PM
Pittsford Park Summer Concert Series w/ Papa Doo Run Run
21701 Pittsford Drive
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Cost: free
Notes: All ages. Come early and bring blankets! Meet and greet after show.

well, all for now :)
kina

oovret: Week 55

How many street teamers were at the LA meetup?
not including grannises, 17.
How many street teamers were at the NY meetup?
not including grannises, 15
What did you do for your High School grad-night?
something in a big huge building with a lot of loud music and a lot of crazy people. it looked really awesome (i believe this was in part thanks to mama g), but flashing lights and blasting music until the wee hours of the morning with nowhere to escape to wasn’t really my scene.
Do you enjoy listening to Bob Dylan?
i appreciate his lyrics :)
When you cover songs for the Bla(h)g, do you memorize all of the lyrics and chords?
yes i do… that’s why it takes me so long. sooo many takes are so close and then i forget the last word.. or last chord. it makes things harder, but i feel like unless i really know a song, i really can’t put in the emotion it deserves.

@Débora Cotis
hope to see you in Brazil someday!
@Claudia
thanks so much! please feel free to put as many of my videos on your blog as you’d like to :)
@ajsea
i was just thinking of you! i’m so glad you’re still around!

currently… i am 25,036 feet off the ground somewhere over nebraska.

thanks to virgin america i can feed my internet addiction while flying to new york.

the show last week at third street promenade was sooo fun. and the street team meetup was even better.

speaking of the street team– if you haven’t seen it yet– misa made us a home! check it out here:
http://www.kinagrannis.com/streetteam

thank you for all that came out and endured my sappiness. :)

time for some ginger ale, perhaps.

kina

upcoming shows:

Fri, June 5th :: 7PM
Hiro Ballroom w/ David Choi and Chloe Temtchine
363 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
Cost: $15
Notes: 18+. Meet and greet at venue after show.

Sat, June 20th :: 7PM
Opening for David Archuleta at the San Diego Fair
2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd.
Del Mar, CA 92014
Notes: All Ages.

Sun, June 28th :: 5:30PM
Pittsford Park Summer Concert Series w/ Papa Doo Run Run
21701 Pittsford Drive
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Cost: free
Notes: All ages. Come early and bring blankets! Meet and greet after show.

oovret: Week 54

When you cover songs, do you look for guitar tabs or figure them out by ear?
a little bit of both. i find that a lot of tabs out there are seriously flawed, but they give me a starting point, and then i work out the rest.
How many street teamers are there, now?
277!
On average, how many marriage proposals do you receive each week?
oh… hm. 2 or 3? but they’re not serious :)
Do you enjoy listening to Herbie Hancock?
yep.
Are you ready for your song marathon?
oh you still remember that? haaaa. ok, we’ll do it. someday. first i have to remember how to play all my old songs.

i love this song. i think it’s so beautiful.

attention street teamers! check your inboxes :) we’re finally getting started! in the next two weeks we’ll be having meetups on both coasts. details will be in the email!

upcoming shows:
Sat, May 30th :: 2:30PM
Third Street Promenade
1248 3rd Street Promenade
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Cost: free
Notes: All ages! Kina will be performing outside on Third Street Promenade. If all goes as planned, we’ll nab the spot right in front of the Apple store, but check http://www.twitter.com/kinagrannis for last minute updates!

Fri, June 5th :: 7PM
Hiro Ballroom w/ David Choi and Chloe Temtchine
363 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
Cost: $13 presale, $15 at the door
Notes: 18+. Meet and greet at venue after show.

Sat, June 20th :: 7PM
Opening for David Archuleta at the San Diego Fair
2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd.
Del Mar, CA 92014
Buy tickets here
Notes: All Ages.

Sun, June 28th :: 5:30PM
Pittsford Park Summer Concert Series w/ Papa Doo Run Run
21701 Pittsford Drive
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Cost: free
Notes: All ages. Come early and bring blankets! Meet and greet after show.

wow… the past week has been insanely busy. my brain is a little slow right now… blah. i like you.

kina

oovret: Week 53

What do you typically purchase from Famima?
i used to always get the salmon hand rolls… they were AMAZING… but i think they’ve stopped making them :( so now i get spicy tuna musubi and occasionally salmon sushi.
Do you enjoy any other ballroom dances?
salsa!
What is your favorite Kogi menu item?
i’m not sure yet… haven’t tried enough things. i MIGHT have had an answer for you had the kogi truck not run out of food when I was in line the other night :(
Do you enjoy listening to “Run-DMC”?
can’t say that i’ve listened to a ton of their music.
Do earthquakes scare you?
not so much when they happen, but i used to lose sleep over thinking about when “the big one” was coming.

oh my. mid thursday!? come on, kina.
thursday is hardly monday ish.

this has been one of my busiest weeks ever! time to get back to the grind.

love you all dearly. thank you times a million :)

kina

oovret: Week 52

Did you go to your senior prom? Where was it?
yes and… i don’t remember.
What is the first movie that comes to mind when you hear the name “Walt Disney”?
the little mermaid. when i was growing up, there was about a year long period when EVERY morning i would wake up and go downstairs and emi would be watching this movie. that is very likely a huge exaggeration… but maybe it’s not. mama g? also, during this time period, misa was very into drawing ariel. she was really good at it.
What charitable organizations do you support?
some of the main ones are The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and Sister to Sister
Do you enjoy listening to the “Glenn Miller Orchestra”?
i am a swing dancer! (yes)
Who has been the best Captain of the USS Enterprise?
i… don’t know. :( *fail*

hello!

i just got home from a week in little rock, AR and dallas with my family. arkansas is SO pretty!! i would die of happiness if there was that much green here. it was awesome. the humidity, however, i could do without.

i met a bunch of my aunt’s awesome ballet students. watching their class made me want to be a dancer.

the dallas show was sooo fun! it was great to have my sisters with me on stage again. 112 people showed up, all of which were super amazing people :) thanks so much for coming out!

this song– “walking away” was written by the same two women that wrote “ours to keep”– rachael lawrence and deborah ellen. they are both awesome and i had so much fun recording it with them. it’s available on itunes here:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=310937220&id=310937192&s=143441

two free all ages shows coming up in LA:
Thurs, May 14th - 6PM
UC Riverside
w/Jane Lui, David Choi & Paul Dateh
UCR Belltower
900 University Ave
Riverside, CA 92521
Cost: free
3-4PM Artist panel @Highlander Union Building
6-8PM Artist performances @The Belltower

Mon, May 18th - 12PM
Free Show @UCLA’s Bruin Plaza
308 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Cost: Free!
Outside the Bruin Plaza from 12 noon to 1pm!

ok… i think that’s all for now. next week i’ll be telling you about a special socal meetup at the end of the month… and *hopefully* we’ll be kicking the street team into gear… finally!

if you’re interested in joining the street team to help spread the love… er… music… (both), you can email me at streetteam@kinagrannis.com!

heart,
kina

oovret: Week 51

What is the most memorable gift you have given on Mother’s Day?
hmm. i think that question should be directed towards mama g. one that comes to mind is a plaque i made when i was little. it was a drawing of two honey bees holding up a scroll that read something like “#1 world’s best mommy award.”

Does your family have any Mother’s Day traditions?
yes! but we didn’t get to do it this year because we were in arkansas, and then my parents had to fly home and the sisters and i drove to dallas. :( but usually we make her breakfast in bed on mother’s day. fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee, huevos rancheros, bowl of mango and a hand-picked bouquet of flowers arranged by emi.

Why did you stop ballet dancing?
you know, i was wondering that same question this weekend… according to my grandmother (who is a ballet teacher), after seeing our first recital she told my mom to make us quit because she didn’t like what they were teaching. :( i’d love to have been a dancer though. not too late??

Do you enjoy listening to Johnny Cash?
someone i should spend more time listening to!

Speaking of Dallas, do you know who shot J.R.?
…

@rissa
welcome! and thank you so much :) my myspace is http://www.myspace.com/kinagrannis
@dro
you can lucid dream every night!??! ahhh jealousy. i hope you’re fulling taking advantage of that! if i were you i would perform at the hollywood bowl… and scuba in the middle of the ocean… and fly to the top of mt. Kilimanjaro … and become a squirrel.
@nico
that sounds amazing. id love to get to that point.
@mojojojo78
i only impersonated tracy morgan because he was standing behind me at the airport for a few minutes talking REALLY loudly (his phone conversation went as follows: “HELLO? WHO IS THIS!? WHO IS THIS!? THIS IS TRACY MORGAN! TRACY MORGAN! …oh. ok.”) so when i retold the story i HAD to talk like him, naturally….
@timR
the system is down. the system is down.
i just had so many homestar runner flashbacks…
@deana
wow, very moved by that story.
@hannah m
oh no! you’re JUST missing two shows. ucla on the 18th and santa monica on the 31! :(

i feel a lot of love for all of you out there right now. mwaaah.

in other news… je suis fatigué.

i highly recommend trying to have lucid dream. here’s some info on how you can 1) get better at dreaming 2) get better at remembering your dream 3) take control of your dreams.
http://www.wikihow.com/Lucid-Dream

i’ve only had a few of these in my life, but they’re pretty incredible. for me, they don’t last very long because the more aware i become the more my brain wants to wake up. but i had one today and i decided to start flying and dive through the ground and it felt pretty amazing. sadly, it ended before i could feast on sushi. :(

oovret: Week 50

Are you good at impersonating any celebrities?
haha. not at all. actually one time i did a pretty decent tracy morgan impersonation, if i do say so myself. :)
What types of makizushi do you like?
all types. except maybe the ones with pickled things in them. and cucumbers are good, but somewhat of a waste of space when you could have other things like … anything else.
Do you ever use capital letters when typing?
hahaha. yes. sometimes i feel disrespectful if i don’t capitalize pronouns… also sometimes my fingers will slip them in randomly for fun, which looks really bad. also if i’m emailing someone i don’t really know about something business-related, i’ll take the time to capitalize so i look slightly more professional.
Do you enjoy listening to Eric Clapton?
why yes.
Were you able to identify any planets, stars, constellations, or astronomical phenomena while on your hike?
yes! mostly just the big dipper over and over again :) i think i also spotted the pleiades.