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Shortly after I recorded Daylight Savings, I started playing a bar in San Francisco every other week or so. I met a circle of new people who were involved in promoting Asian American Artists (Kearny Street Workshop), and the name Dan Lee kept coming up. I didn’t meet him for awhile because he was away on tour with this group called the Aisler’s Set, opening for the likes of Yo La Tengo and the Shins. Serious stuff! I finally met him when he got back from tour, and felt like I found a kindred spirit. He, like me records a lot of his tracks in his bedroom… except when he does it, it sounds like a perfectly conducted teenage rock symphony from the 60′s. Every note has it’s perfect place with Dan, he’s definitely a perfectionist- and it’s always worth the wait. I call him the “Brian Wilson of the Richmond.”

This tune (T)Silent Tea is a perfect example of Dan’s skill as a masterful arranger. He is one of the most intuitive writer/arrangers I’ve stumbled across, and I learn something everytime I listen to his tunes. Each section is the perfect weighted balance to the next, like a mobile.

Check out their 2nd album on Three Ring Records entitled “1909″ too. Some favorite tracks from that are “Nicotine” and “Riot Series.”