Zack Kim

Infobox musical artist | Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | Instrument = Guitar
Name = Zack Kim
Nickname = Zack Kim
Born = May 5, 1983


Genre = Instrumental rock
Jazz
Fusion
Associated_acts = Solo
JAKAL
Murkyway
Cosmic Funk Express
Years_active = 1993 - Present
URL = [http://www.zackkim.com www.zackkim.com]

Zack Kim Yong Woon (born May 5, 1983), or simply, Zack Kim is a Korean guitarist who has become known for his mastery of technique called “free hands”, which involves “tapping” the guitar strings with both the left and right hands simultaneously. Many guitarists apply free hands to one guitar, but Zack frequently performs on two; his left hand playing one guitar while his right hand plays the other. His arrangements include a range of styles, from classical to jazz, as well as quirky yet virtuosic arrangements of tunes such as the theme song from the Super Mario Bros. video game.

Biography

Korean guitarist Zack Kim was born in Korea, but his family relocated to Malaysia when he was eight. Although he has never had any formal training, Zack has developed a keen ear and flawless technique, as well as a mastery of Touch Style. He played lead guitar in his first band, JAKAL, an acronym formed for the names of its members, Jorge Bayona, Ali Nisthar Mohammed, Zack Kim and Alvaro Bayona. They recorded a four song tape with an original instrumental composition of his called "Anthem to nothingness", possibly his first original piece. The band was active from 1996 to 1998.

He and his band Murkyway won the annual Taylors College Battle of the Band in 2002. Murkyway did not last long seeing the departure of Freddie Sinsua (guitar, vocals) and Brian Quah (Bass) to the United States to pursue their studies. He is frequently a session player in Malaysia with bands such as Tempered Mental, One Buck Short and Groovetank, as well as with producers such as Greg Henderson and Nick Lee. He was also named the best guitarist at HELP Institute's Battle of the Bands, where his group, Cosmic Funk Express, emerged as winners.

Zack Kim has reached YouTube celebrity status stemming from his Free Hands style video clips. His Super Mario Bros. theme has been viewed over 15,177,055 times as of September 14th, 2008.

Kim is currently serving in the Korean Military Service, and has been rather 'inactive' with his guitar playing. According to his official blog, Zack is allowed to practice his guitar once every week for an hour. Zack is supposedly 'enjoying' his time at the armed forces, and his service will end at December 9, 2009.

2008, He showed on korean TV Show (스타☆킹) which has format of Show-What-You-Are as (Uncertain Spells.) with permission of the Chief of the General Staff of Korean Military Service, 2 times, first time was alone, second time was with the band made by his comrade in army , both won. Also, they won for the last performance,too.

Influences

Although Zack never had any formal training, he credits Adam Fulara and Stanley Jordan for influencing him with the basics of two-handed tapping.

Free Hands

"Free Hands" is a unique way of playing guitar with both hands, invented by Emmett Chapman in 1969. Many people credit Stanley Jordan with popularizing the technique, which involves “tapping” the strings with both the left and right hands' fingers aligned with the frets. This method is different from tapping with the right hand parallel to the strings as done by Eddie van Halen, for example. Many guitarists apply this technique to one guitar, but Zack has developed a virtuosic way of playing two guitars. His left hand will play one guitar, while his right hand plays another.

Other guitarists that frequently utilize Free Hands or a similar technique are:
*Stanley Jordan
*Adam Fulara
*Dominic Frasca
*Bob Culbertson
*I Wayan Balawan
*Andrew Vaslas

External links

* [http://www.zackkim.com/ Official site of Zack Kim]
* [http://www.cosmicfunkexpress.com/ Official site of Cosmic Funk Express]
* [http://www.i-bands.net/audiovault/bands/1534/music.php The i-band page of Cosmic Funk Express]

References

*Lee, Yin Keong [http://news.joins.com/article/3263315.html?ctg=15 "'스타킹, 유재석의 '무한도전' 누른 이유 '효도르·김일병 효과' 통했나? "] ,"Jo!ns" August 17, 2008
*Digital News Dept. [http://kr.ibtimes.com/article/news/20080816/7121263.htm "양손기타리스트 김일병(zack kim), 환상적 실력으로 스타킹 2승!"] ,"IBTimes" August 16, 2008
*Lee, Yin Keong [http://isplus.joins.com/enter/star/200808/14/200808141034596876020100000201040002010401.html "양손기타리스트’스타킹 김일병, MC몽 작곡가로 데뷔"] ,"일간스포츠" August 14, 2008
*Park, He Run [http://www.artsnews.co.kr/news/2001 "스타킹, 육군참모총장 허락 받은 군인등장"] ,"아츠뉴스" August 09, 2008
*The Graph [http://www.eluniversalgrafico.com.mx/notas/513348.html "YouTube se inspira en Los Simpson"] ,"El Gráfico" June 09, 2008
*Na, Yu Na [http://www.dcnews.in/news_list.php?code=ahh&id=234782&curPage=&s_title=&s_body=&s_name=&s_que=&page=1 "Double Guitar Performance"] ,"dcnews" July 26, 2007
*Berry, Richard [http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/richardberry/index.php/heraldsun/comments/the_hendrix_of_muzak/ "Hendrix of Muzak"] , "Herald Sun", July 13 2007
*Bronson, Kevin [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/buzzbands/2007/07/consider-this-a.html "'Simpsons' theme, all tapped out"] ,"LA Times" July 13, 2007
*Dickenson, J. Andrew: [http://urbanguitar.com/main_stage/articles/tapped_out/ "Tapped Out"] , "Urban Guitar", July 31, 2006
*Chew, Chris: [http://www.think.com.my/article.cfm?art_ID=92 "Almost Famous"] , "Think Online", September 22, 2006
*LeOuf, Nikouf: [http://cakos.blogspot.com/2006/05/zack-kim-and-cosmic-funk-express.html "Zack Kim and the Cosmic Funk Express"] , "Les Cakos du Web", May 8, 2006

Arrangements and compositions

Classical
*"Canon in D" by Johann Pachelbel
*"The Promise" by Michael Nyman
*"Fur Elise" by Ludvig van Beethoven
*"Piano Sonata" in C Major by W.A. Mozart
*"Prelude" in C Minor BWV 847 by J. S. Bach
*"Goldberg Variations" No. 1 BWV 988 by J. S. Bach

Jazz
*"Autumn Leaves" by Kozma, Mercer, and Prevert
*"Fly Me to the Moon" by Bart Howard
*"Moon River" by Henry Mancini
*"Misty" by Erroll Garner

Miscellaneous
*"Super Mario Theme" by Koji Kondo
*"FFVII Chocobo Theme" by Nobuo Uematsu
*"Doraemon Theme" by Shunsuke Kikuchi
*"Better off Alone" by Alice DJ
*"The Simpsons Theme" by Danny Elfman
*"Tetris Theme (Korobeiniki)" by N.A. Nekrasov
*"Zelda Theme" by Koji Kondo

Original Compositions
*"Anthem to Nothingness" by Zack Kim
*"Dear Tiesto" by Zack Kim
*"Korean Boy" by Zack Kim
*"Pieces" by Zack Kim
*"See You Again" by Zack Kim
*"Miss You" by Zack Kim
*"I'll Be Waiting" by Zack Kim

Christmas Songs
*"First Noel" by "Traditional"
*"White Christmas" by Irving Berlin