Cherng Loong

In September of 2000, Cherng Loong (Soaring Dragon) began as a small lion dance troupe in the Sunset district of San Francisco. The troupe was originally named the Chinese Cultural Arts Club from their work with the club at Lowell High School. A few of their founding members including their instructors Chris Chiu and Randall Low taught the lion dance at Lowell. The combined experience of the founding members exceeded 20 years going into Cherng Loong.

Aside from school related performances, the Chinese Cultural Arts Club (CCAC) performed for other occasions as well. At the beginning, there was only one silver lion, one drum and a pair of cymbals. The troupe consisted of only 8, but they were very fond of the hobby. As CCAC performed more and more, the numbers increased.

By late 2002, it was time for a new name. Cherng Loong was eventually picked out of many on Dec. 27, 2002. In 2003, Cherng Loong competed in the National Freestyle Lion Dance Championship. Membership increased even more and as of late 2004. They now have approximately 40 members. Although Cherng Loong believes in having fun at practice and performances, they also believe in practicing good discipline and respect. They welcome all to try the art of Lion Dancing and become part of their family. For additional information or to join Cherng Loong, email info@cherngloong.com.

DJ Mike Nice

Mike "Nice" Tao is a third generation Japanese American from Watsonville, California. He moved to San Francisco in 1993, where he earned a degree in Broadcast Communications from San Francisco State University.

Mike has been a part of the music industry since 1993, starting as a dedicated street team director for the popular San Francisco urban music radio station, 106 KMEL. Mike utilized his skills to build On Point Marketing with Beni B in 1998 as part of the well-known Bay Area Hip Hop Coalition. After having developed and strengthened On Point Marketing for a year, he decided that the time was optimal in creating Word Life Promotions.

While running Word Life Promotions, he also makes his mark in the music scene as DJ Mike Nice. Mike started out by making mix tapes in junior high school, which became highly demanded items from his schoolmates. He began DJing at house parties, high school dances and weddings. Drawing from influences ranging from DJs Joe Cooley to Jazzy Jeff, Mike's persistence in DJing and studying broadcast communications led to a show on San Francisco State University's radio station KSFS 100.7 for two years.

In 1995, Mike followed in the steps of prominent DJ's Kutmasta Kurt and Joe Quixx by providing listeners with all elements of hip-hop on KZSU Stanford's radio program "The Drum", which is one of the longest-running hip-hop radio shows in the country. A highlight of Mike's career as a DJ came in 2002 when he was asked to be the Bay Area DJ on Sway & Tech's nationally syndicated hip-hop radio program "The Wake Up Show". After seven years with "The Drum", Mike caught another break in 2003 as the DJ for the "Friday Night Flavas" hip-hop show on 106 KMEL hosted by the Baka Boys. You can currently hear Mike DJ'ing at numerous clubs around the Bay Area. Mike's background as a DJ gives him an edge over other music industry professionals as one who not only promotes hip-hop music, but also is an artist within the community. In addition to Word Life Promotions, Mike is currently the Associate Producer of Music Content at CNET's Download.com. For bookings or more info email djmikenice@comcast.net or visit http://www.myspace.com/mikenice23.

Jimmy Biala of SambAsia

Percussionist Jimmy Biala, son of Hermie and Gloria Biala from Pangasinan, Philippines, has collaborated with multidisciplinary artists since 1993. He currently teaches Cuban and Brazilian percussion at Santa Clara University's School of Performing Arts and is an artist in residence at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, San Francisco Chinatown Beacon Center, Jean Parker Elementary School, Gordon J. Lau Elementary School and Francisco Middle school.

Jimmy is a graduate of resident studies of percussion and dance at the University of Matanzas in Matanzas, Cuba. He has also studied percussion and dance in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with Jorge Alabe and Mestre Aunto from the Mangueria samba school and in Salvador, Bahia Brazil with Mestre Marivaldo of the Ile-Aye Afoxe group. Jimmy is the recipient of a 1998 Downbeat Magazine Jazz Recording and Performance award. He is the artistic director of the Search Five projects and the SambAsia samba school of San Francisco. Jimmy has debuted new works of music, dance and poetry in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles with dancer Lenora Lee and in Beijing, China and Taiwan with Korean dancer and drummer Dohee Lee.

Legaci

Founded in 1997, this quartet has since been making great strides in the mainstream music industry. Performing all over California and the West Coast, Legaci (aka LGC) has been wowing audiences with their silky voices, powerful harmonies and diverse musical stylistics. Their style of music can best be described as a colorful blend of R&B, and soul. They hope to bring a new flavor of music to the mainstream audience, along with the reminiscent nostalgia of the influences they idolized while growing up.

LGC has not failed to grab the attention of the media. In 1997, they were guest featured on the San Francisco Bay Area's radio morning show, "Wild 94.9's The Doghouse". In 2001, they began recording their first single, "Make Sweet Love", releasing their first taste of recorded music to their local following. Immediately, the fans responded and awarded LGC the grand prize winners of 107.9 KDND's band search, allowing LGC to perform for an upward audience of 10,000A+ and open for some of today's hottest industry acts, namely BBMak, 3LW, Dream, and Smashmouth. Because of the response they received from their first single, "Make Sweet Love", they decided to record a music video of the song, and released it to the public. Soon after, in March of 2002, their first music video, "Make Sweet Love" won first place in VideoMaker Magazine's contest for the category of "Best Music Video". They were featured nationally in the April 2002 issue of VideoMaker magazine, where the magazine commented, "Music videos was by far the most popular category in our competition, pouring to us in reckless abandon...Looking and sounding every bit as good as any MTV boy-band, Legaci's 'Make Sweet Love' knocked us out with its camera work, lighting and editing as well as the ballad's overall sincerity." More recently, in September of 2003, Legaci entered CALLATT's Battle of the Bands competition, and placed as a finalist, rating them among the top 3 out of the total 1800+ bands that applied from all over the nation. Currently the band is finishing up their long awaited premiere album, and plans to release it under Kamikaze Records with high hopes for the immediate future. For more information about Legaci, visit their website www.legacionline.com.

Native Elements

Returning to perform for a second year is San Francisco's reggae favorite Native Elements. Now in their 10th year as a cohesive unit, they never fail to bring postivity and niceness to all of their music gatherings. As recording artist's they spin a curious fabric of luvers rock, roots and conscious dancehall wrapped cozily in a bright "frisco-pino" treatment. A family before anything else Native Elements strives to make their show a warm and inviting experience for all; young and old, blue and green and everything in between.
For more information visit www.native-elements.com.