I can’t even begin to say how proud of her I am. She has already gone through so much and has done it with such grace and poise, that I can only hope to be able to draw the same kind of comparison. Kristin was my main inspiration for starting to play music and write songs, so in many ways, my life as a musician is a direct result of her life as a person.

Happy birthday Krissy!

Love,
Your brother Kenny

P.S. If any of you boys hurts my little sister, I will hunt you down and strangle you with my guitar strap.

I have been awestruck by the SDMAs since I moved to San Diego in 2007. People that I’ve enjoyed listening to like Jason Mraz, Switchfoot and Blink 182 have all been a part of this celebration of San Diego music and I’ve admired them all from afar. It’s strange and surreal to suddenly find myself following in the footsteps of all of these San Diego musicians before me. I won’t go as far as to say that we are now peers, but I feel like I’m one step closer to my heroes.

I see this journey like a small-town kid’s move to a big city. I look at all of the things that I’ve done in the years leading up to the present with a childlike wonderment. Not much has been lost on me and everyday I wake up in disbelief that this is actually my life. It’s been a crazy, strange trip and I will do everything I can to keep going!

On August 1, people will be able to vote and I would love it if you took a few minutes to vote for your favorite/deserving San Diego music/musician (I’ll post a link soon). It would REALLY be icing on the cake if you decided that I was that musician! After everything you’ve given me, I would be content for the rest of my life.

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. While awards are a wonderful way to validate my passions, nothing comes close to the love and support all my family, friends and fans give me every day.

See you soon!

****UPDATE****

Voting has begun for the San Diego Music Awards! If you have a little bit of time, please check out the wonderful music the nominees have made and vote! Hope to see you all soon!

Now, I’m looking for some creative friends and fans to help me with some artwork! Just submit a piece to info@kennyeng.com by 7/24/2010 as a high quality .pdf file (the artwork may be resized to accommodate the album design). The winner will have their artwork professionally printed on the compilation album and will receive a free signed copy of the compilation album that features my new song along with some of San Diego’s best local acoustic talent!

All you need to include in the artwork is my name and the title of the song, “Torn”. The rest is up to you! Don’t worry if you aren’t sure about the specifics. We will make it work! Here are the lyrics if you need some inspiration.

Torn
Words and music by Kenny Eng
2010

Yesterday, I read
Never is a promise that can’t be kept
But I made it anyway
It’s the only honest thing that I have left
Today I take it back
I never meant to mean it like I did
It was just the other me
I’ve been forced to fight with

I’m constantly torn between two different mes
I can’t help but hope the me you want is the me you see

I had an afternoon
That could have been perfect had it not gone wrong
Too bad I sabotaged it
I prayed for rain all along
Is that what I deserve
I have a plan to send me home
But that’s just too untrue
And it’s all I’ve ever known because

I’m constantly torn between two different mes
I can’t help but hope the me you want is the me you see
I can’t explain why I went and did what I just did
I hate it more than you do, being so easily inverted

I can lock myself in my room all night
To keep from lashing out all the time
Everybody thinks I’m such a stable guy
But if only they knew
(End)

I’ll post the song eventually, too! Just waiting to hear some mixes from the album producers.

Good luck! I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Kenny

Here’s an incomplete list of checklist of stuff I’d like to accomplish in the next few months (in no particular order):

• Nationwide tour
• Skydiving
• Bungee jumping (COMPLETE)
• Start recording full-band album
• Learn to speak Chinese (Mandarin)
• Become a better cook (COMPLETE/On-going)
• Take up new athletic activities like soccer, surfing, etc. (COMPLETE/On-going)
• Go on more outdoor trips per year (COMPLETE/Going backpacking again in July)
• Visit New York, Boston and Washington DC separately from a music tour
• Travel overseas somewhere
• Write one really great song
• Collaborate with more people that I respect (COMPLETE/On-going)

They may not seem like much, but they are big things for me. Hopefully, I can check off more of these as the year progresses. If you’d like to partake or help with any of these activities, the more the merrier!

I love the idea of a guitar solo enhancing a songs emotional weight. There’s just so much more I can do on an electric guitar than I can on an acoustic. Like throw it through a Marshall full-stack. Well, I suppose I could do that with an acoustic but it brings up too many questions. For example, “If you’re playing acoustic guitar, why do you have a Marshall full-stack on the stage with you?” And frankly, I don’t think I’ll ever know the answer to that.

So, I’m not sure if you’ve seen me play electric guitar before. You might have if you’ve seen me perform with my good friend John Hull in his band (happy birthday, John!) If not, this is what it looks like:

Yep, you guessed it. I actually require all pictures of me playing electric guitar be taken when my hair is in my face and I’m looking downward at the stage (at the exact same angle, mind you).

Back to what I was saying… Playing acoustic for the last three years has given my solo, acoustic singer/songwriter nature a lot of time to develop and be all “sensitive”. But now with my awesome backing band, the Rock God side of me is ready to show off and be “sexy”. That’s right. I said it. Look up “Darling Nikki” by Prince. I’m going to cover it. Take that Tipper Gore!

The hardest part is to figure out what the best guitar tone for my sound is. I want it to be like the ocean. Kinda dirty, kinda salty. It can be tumultuous and dangerous but it can also calming and serene when it needs to be. Plus, it’s filled with all sorts of creatures and was probably where the Earth’s first organisms came from. Yes, that’s exactly what my guitar tone should be. Have I taken this analogy too far? All signs point to, “obviously”.

Be sure to check out a band show soon and prepare to be moved by my ocean of sound!