Your Hosts
David Kobayashi
Co-Host, Multi-instrumentalist
David started his series of Hong Kong open mics after taking inspiration from the ones he saw living in Seattle during its grunge music explosion.
However, a traditional “American-style” open mic (where performers had blocks of 15-30 minutes to perform by themselves with their own equipment) would not serve Hong Kong’s needs. Dave sought to create something new by creating an open mic where aspiring performers could sign up their songs early and Dave (and others) would accompany them. Kicking off at The Peak on Valentine’s Day 2014, open mics have grown to what FreeJam is today thanks to Dave’s ceaseless nurturing and commitment to his vision.
Dave’s been a natural performer since his early days, participating in a comedy troupe and performing on stage after high school. He got his start in music playing acoustic guitar to James Taylor and explores many genres including folk, pop, rock, and jazz on both guitar and bass.
Alwin Leung
Co-Host, Multi-instrumentalist
Back in his teens, Alwin was learning classical piano, but he felt much happier playing pop songs that he could identify with. He started learning guitar and strove to learn other instruments so he could write out and learn hit songs to play and sing with friends.
Fast forward several years; throughout his school and working life, Alwin has been playing in many different bands in various roles and instruments, including numerous jam sessions where musicians just spontaneously play together. When he stumbled across open mic events in 2015, he became intrigued when he saw any venue could be a jumping off point for great live music when handled appropriately. With his technological and business expertise developed through working in technology, he's been honing his musical craft in performance, collaborating with more and more musicians, and keeping up with equipment improvements and all the behind-the-scenes preparation needed.
This is just a start for Alwin; he's ready to spread the joy of live music as far as he can.
Tina Arcilla
Co-Host, Drums, Uke, Vocals
Tina was an incredibly shy, third-culture kid who let loose through performing. She grew up dancing, singing and creating props for various dance groups, choirs and theatre troupes in Manila and Hong Kong, seeing the arts as a way to bridge differences and bond.
Now based in Hong Kong, she has been a regular at open mics since the very first iterations in 2015. She started out timidly singing ballads or harmonizing for other singers until, in 2018, she picked up a pair of drumsticks and realised that she’s happiest bashing out beats on the drumkit (although you wouldn’t be able to tell from her serious “drum face”).
Tina drums for and manages the band “pr!sm.”
Jake O’Hanlon
Co-Host, Multi-instrumentalist
Jake is a self taught multi-instrumentalist and got involved in music when his friend told showed him sweep picking on an Ibanez gem. After that he fell in love with music and started joining bands and playing shows. His biggest inspiration is Nina Simone, and will never say no to changing a song entirely in a jam!
The Regulars
The Free Jam group of regulars has evolved into a strong community of talented, passionate, and friendly individuals who learn from and support each other in their musical aspirations. Newcomers are heartily welcomed regardless of their level of musical experience or preferred musical genre.
Bands that formed at FreeJam
This diverse group met and started jamming at open mic events around Hong Kong. What started with occasional weekend jamming (to continue some surprisingly good improvs at the open mics) eventually led to regular practice sessions and a surprise gig. Because it seemed the natural next step, the group of friends decided to officially become this pop / rock / jazz / folk / funk collective known as pr!sm.