Sally O. Kimmel, Formerly Known as Sali O

Sally the Witch | Soundeffects Wiki | Fandom

I'm thrilled to reveal that as of tonight, I'm back to being Sally after being Sali for so long. The brief history behind the spelling of my name began when I had a TV show on Japan's NHK channel called "New Yorkers" from 1993 until 2003. Back then, I changed the spelling of my nickname, Sally, chosen by myself when my family first arrived from Japan as a somewhat anglicized version of my given name, Satoko, to Sali. At the time, I thought it was unique and modern, but over the years as I continued to use the uncommon spelling as a musician and blogger, I realized it actually made me more obscure by being harder to search for. Tonight, I metamorphosed into Sally again when I used Sally O. Kimmel as my new name for copyright.

So, here I am, the other half of Fred and Sally, a new band that my husband Fred Kimmel and I have formed, with our new song, "Heartbeat Sky" officially authored by Sally O. Kimmel and Fred Kimmel. From Sally to Sali Oguri to Sali O, and back to Sally but using Kimmel alongside my husband for the first time for my music, I feel like I've become exactly who I'm meant to be at this moment in time, doing the music that I've always wanted to do authentically as a singer songwriter, not alone but with the love of my life.

For the time being, I'm retaining the name Sali O for this blog because Crystal Rhapsody is also the name of my first full album following PINK MANHATTAN, an EP I released under Sali Oguri along with a blog by the same name as well as a perfume in 2005.

Sally the Witch, an anime character who inspired my choice for a nickname when I was little, also had a name change from Sunny to Sally, although I don't think it was during my lifetime. (Edited to add: In fact, I'm not sure I'd ever actually seen the anime, but I loved the opening theme song that my parents owned on a record, with the ending theme song (probably) on the B side. They (my dad, mostly) once had quite the record collection which they brought to New York.)

Metal Monday 5/18/26 (Heavy Metal & Hard Rock Playlist)

The last time I was at the Met to hear an opera was to sit through Parsifal as a music student, which meant 'too bad if you don't love 5 hours worth of good opera.' Star soprano Jessye Norman was in it, so, of course I enjoyed myself, but wow, did they ever give me my money's worth. Anyway, Happy Metal Monday at Crystal Rhapsody by Sali O, your new home for bad opera and power chords.🎤🎸\m/ 'Bad opera' is what I call my metal vocals as I enter my Fred and Sally rock band era. It's quite a leap from "Jazz Bad" that was coined by Fred to describe my scat jazz vocals which he took off of another recording, sped up and featured on his Y2K Drum 'n' Bass beat that appears on Space, his first album. He described "Jazz Bad" as 'a charming perversion of DnB and jazz,' but Space, an album I love, is a melding of Rock and Electronica where such experimentation fits. Our new music is comparatively straight Rock that will fit into one of my Metal Monday playlists soon.

Btw, I apologize for the previous Metal Monday posts that I posted with the wrong dates. Yes, it's May, but since April 27 when I started Metal Monday, I've been stuck in April, writing 4/4/26 instead of 5/4/26, then I did it again the following week. I presume you've already heard our daughter is getting married, but you'll hear that a lot here lately.🩷🪽🕊️🌸💭🌷☁️🌹Claudia Kimmel, daughter of Fred Kimmel and me, Sali O. Kimmel, is a singer, too, and if you haven't heard "You're My Number One" yet, she with her virtuosic soprano voice knows her way around an aria, an FYI for those of you for whom the Met stage is your stomping ground.🩰

Love is in the air; we love our iconic New York power couple Jake and Claudia, and I'm enjoying compiling these playlists of Metal and Hard Rock as well as any song that fits under the Rock umbrella (or not, as long as it rocks). Here's to another list of songs I either grew up loving or came to love as we kick off Metal Monday, 5/18/26, with this hard-rockin' and incredibly well-produced track by Mayday Parade that I haven't stopped streaming since last Monday. Repeating makes it easier to listen, and there's a lot going on in that intricate arrangement. Speaking of which, "Anywhere but Here," have you ever heard of a destination wedding?✈️🤵👰💐🧳❤️⛴️🍾

Here in NY, it's getting warmer each day as beach season begins this coming Memorial Day weekend. NYC in May fast approaching June feels like this: By the time I won't need a light jacket to go out at night anymore, it'll feel like an ice box indoors.❄️ I'll be taking Memorial Day off from blogging next week just out of respect.🇺🇲💜 See you in a fortnight; until then, keep the gods and goddess of rock from Donny to Stevie streaming on repeat till practice makes perfect the art of listening. \m/\m/

My Top 5 Matcha Latte Drinks and Mixes

There's no mistaking whose name's on that notorious best brand choice, like a tattoo on my mind you can't erase. No Top 5 Matcha Latte list would be complete without trying one from Starbucks, so I was elated when Fred brought home the tallest one for my birthday (Venti (24 fl. oz.)), pictured above with pink roses from our beautiful, soon-to-be-married daughter for Mother's Day. Thanks, everyone, for your kind wishes! Now, without further ado...

Starbucks might make my favorite matcha latte from the largest US coffee chains, but the best matcha latte mix I've ever had had to be one by the largest green tea distributor in Japan. The winner was this sweetened Japanese matcha latte mix: authentic and flavorful. I added it to a copious helping of cold whole milk, then added water to taste. LOVE is in the air!

The same company also makes this version which at first glance looked a bit darker green but tasted the same as the other kind to me. It comes in this package that's not as attractive although the price, while higher, is more economical since the package contains more than double the servings. Another winner makes the list!

The photo is a detail of Fred with his model-gorgeous guitar player hand holding a matcha latte with me by his side at Fay Da Bakery, a chain whose selling point is their baking journey from Taiwan to Manhattan. Theirs had an authentic and pleasant matcha taste. Light and sweet, it was the best among the store bought I'd tried.

That said, Starbucks makes a fine matcha latte that I thought had an authentic, elegant matcha taste with a robust green color and flavor profile. It was better than Dunkin if I'm to compare the major brands. It's no wonder their matcha latte is so popular even though, surprisingly, it wasn't too sweet.

The matcha latte mix by this Taiwanese brand had a sweet and pleasant tasting matcha flavor. The individual packet was unique as its opening was at the bottom. The affordability plus the fact that it didn't taste like sweet red bean paste as I felt some of the more affordable matcha latte mixes did could turn this one into my regular go-to.

Have a great week! xo, Fred and Sali O. Kimmel (Fred and Sally band)

Metal Monday 5/11/26 (Heavy Metal and Hard Rock Playlist)

Happy Metal Monday - Heavy Metal & Hard Rock playlist

Metal Monday 5/4/26 (Heavy Metal, Hard Rock & Nu Metal Playlist)

We, Fred and Sally, are in the recording studio today for "Heartbeat Sky" which we look forward to wrapping up in the next few weeks. Fred who digs the song so much so he's inspired to go Trevor Horn on the production is getting harder to stop from overproduction which of course I would never, ever do. All I could do is hail his genius. At this rate, he could get all his creative yayas out and decide we should release this hit before "Forever", the title track. Which do you want to hear first, a hard rock type of tune with my metal vocal "bad opera" opening and a bit of groove, or a quintessential rock ballad with Fred's most passionate, amazing vocals to date? We could just release them together or b2b (back to back) as we've been doing with our solo projects. We should always give you the best of both worlds, Fred and Sally, like Sonny and Cher, Ann and Nancy, Ashford and Simpson, Miley and Hannah... Anyway, it's time for another Happy Metal Monday! \m/ This week, I'm throwing everything that isn't traditional Hard Rock and Heavy Metal into what I call 'Nu Metal' and in the mix along with the kitchen sink coz rock ain't rockin' if it ain't breaking a rule. Enjoy '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s ROCK!🎸