Sometimes Smaller is Better, Journey to Find the Perfect Office in NYC /  by Tony Chung

One of the things I love about New York is having the opportunity to work alongside like-minded entrepreneurs.  So when I first got to New York, I joined a large coworking office space where hundreds of entrepreneurs and startups shared an entire floor.  It was great.  I met lots of smart and driven people and some members of the space even became clients.  Life was great.

But as more and more folks joined the space, it became harder to focus on getting work done. I found myself socializing with folks in the space, the Internet speed slowed down, and I just wasn't focusing and getting work done.

Segue into this space that you see above (and below).  After about a year at the old place, my colleague and I decided to migrate to a more intimate space. Less noise, better location, and most importantly more focus.  We now have 8 like-minded folks from all walks of life working in this space.  Architect, designer, photographer, coder, and more.  It's a great space with an amazing location overlooking Union Square.  There is socializing, but not so much that it gets in the way of work.  We even have a small conference room for meetings and phone calls.  It's great.  I've been working out of this office for more than two years now and it's still perfect.  

Sometimes smaller is better.  

Bonus: Seth Godin's blog post (and later book) on small is the new big.

Cup a Joe at La Colombe /  by Tony Chung

Inside La Colombe, great for freshly brewed coffee and people watching in Manhattan.

Some folks go to the gym 2-3 times a week. I go to La Colombe, a coffee shop situated in Noho on Lafeyette. Their coffee is made from earth conscious ethically traded beans.  But the coffee is not gets me coming back everyday.  It's the mugs. And the humans.  I never get take-out at this spot.  Always get it in the mug (see below photo).  Something about that mug just brings out the soul of the coffee.  And the people.  Beanies seem to be a prerequisite for working as a barista here.  That and facial hair it seems.   I met Malcom Galdwell here once, we talked about his upcoming book at the time.  It was great. Great people watching spot if you have a few minutes to spare.

And finally the interior design. Just look at that circular arrangement of ceiling lights!  And the slabs of wood. And that gigantic vent tube apparatus thing running adjacent to the ceiling.  It's perfect.

Oh and did I mention a cup a joe here is $2.50 flat?  Like I said, perfect. 

I die for these mugs.  So much character.

You better not apply for a job here if you can't pull off a beanie.  

A quick style check from the entrance.  

X Japan at Madison Square Garden /  by Tony Chung

X Japan in concert at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, 10.11.2014

Earlier this year, I heard the best news EVER: X Japan is going to play Madison Square Garden.   Five years ago they played in Taipei (when I was living there) and I missed their concert.  Not this time!

A little background: during my high school years, my cousin introduced me to X Japan and I became instantly obsessed.  During that time, I was deep into songwriting and recording music. Hearing X Japan's music was inspiring and life changing.  What's to love about this band you ask?  I could go on for hours, but for the sake of brevity, I'm going to summarize in a few points:

  1. X Japan is the only band to my knowledge that plays at extreme ends of the music spectrum.  That is, their heavy songs are rich with distorted guitar solos and double bass drums, yet their ballads are incredibly soft and touching tear jerkers.  What makes this impressive is that both types of songs are equally powerful in their own way.
  2. Yoshiki, main songwriter/drummer/pianist and the backbone and leader of the band, performs with incredible charisma.  It's magnetic and entertaining to watch him perform.  He truly gives it all onstage.  So much that he's required to wear a neck brace when playing due to excessive head-banging.  I believe he wears a cast on his arm when he's offstage to protect his wrists as well.
  3. They've sold out the 55,000 capacity Tokyo Dome (the Japan equivalent of Madison Square Garden) 18 times.  18 TIMES.    
  4. The band has gone through much drama through the years, yet they were able to overcome all the obstacles and push forward to today.  Yoshiki's father took his own life when Yoshiki was 10 years old.  Their legendary guitarist, Hide, took his own life at the height of their stardom.  Then the bassist, Taiji, also took his own life years later.  The band even broke up for many years during their prime.  Their vocalist, Toshi, went through a 12 year period of following a cult leader who ended up taking all his money (for 10 years Toshi and Yoshiki did not speak to each other).  Whew.  

The concert was absolutely breathtaking.  I cried several times during the concert.  The experience was similar to watching a great movie, one that touches you on many emotional nerves.  Banging out during the hard rock songs and weeping during the soft ballads.  Yoshiki and Toshi spoke to the audience so many times, sometimes with tears in their eyes, and Yoshiki even performed his signature 15 minute drum solo where he was elevated above the audience.  Amazing. Breathtaking.  An experience I won't forget.  Photos and videos from the concert below.  Special thanks to Jon for being first in line to get tickets when they went on sale.

Yoshiki playing his signature custom Kawai Yoshiki transparent grand piano.  He even played the Star Spangled Banner at one point!

Look at that gigantic 'X'!  About halfway into the concert, the two sides of the X slowly moved towards the center and connected.  Then it lit up.  Imagine how much that alone costs to execute...

Every attendee was given one of these wristbands when entering the concert.  No one knew what the purpose was.  Then about 45 minutes into the concert, they lit up!  What a sight it was to see everyone's wristbands flashing in the sea of people in MSG.  

Yoshiki's drum solo.  Notice how he is in the middle of the audience.  That platform moved all the way from the stage (on the right) down the aisle to the middle of the audience.  Then it ELEVATED.  Oh and notice all the wristbands lit up in the crowd too.

Yoshiki transitioning from the piano to drums during 'Silent Jealousy'

Yoshiki's drum solo on a platform moving across the stage.

[UPDATE] Just to give you an idea of the complexity of rhythms that Yoshiki composes and performs on the drums, here's a fan on YouTube playing the drums for the song 'X' .  Notice the 'double bass' bass drum kicking at 0:14 and again at 1:22.  

Hand and Terry /  by Tony Chung

Met Anthony (above) a few nights ago at the Founderscard event at the Gansevoort.  Only dude at the event other than myself dressed in quasi-stylish clothing.  He was sporting an Everlane chambray shirt and scuffed up John Varvatos kicks.  Clearly had his clothing game together.  We talked menswear.  He told me about the sock line he cofounded, Hand and Terry.  Kickstarter link here.  We met up earlier today for tea at Argo in Flatiron.  The socks feel great, I'm a fan.  Go check them out!

Pure Soul /  by Tony Chung

A stroll through the park turned into an obsession with the soul oozing from these two dudes.  Jazz guitar melodies and a chord progression recorded on a loop station. Angelo is a guitarist from Southeastern Italy. His pal Augusto is a vocalist and absolutely kills it on the mic. 

LST /  by Tony Chung

Meet Madison, who goes by Madison LST (light skinned trouble).  Madison is a model at Ford and an aspiring rapper.  That board is his girl's, I love that he's rockin' it.  This was right after a casting we had a block away.  More photos on the Flickr.

Red and blue /  by Tony Chung

Chanced upon this beaut at the Astor Place Starbucks this afternoon.  Her name is Kimberly Davis and she is... yup you guessed it!  A model.  My first time shooting a stranger portrait!  I think the bokeh in the photos is pretty incredible!