Another successful interview captured on film this past weekend. The victim: Mr. Stephen Munoz. Thanks for hanging out with us Steve and playing a couple of songs for the Wayne and me! We had a great interview session and Steve was very accomodating in playing a couple of songs on his acoustic. Hit up his myspace website to listen to some of his songs. He's a very versatile musician and never took any formal training, which is a amazing if you were to see him live. Something that we touched upon during our interview involved the upbringing of Asian American children. Stephen's parents are both teachers and he talked about how they taught he and his siblings what it is to be Filipinos and how to embrace their difference. I had mentioned how great that was because a handful of my own peers didn't have that experience due to their parents just trying to provide them with what was best. To some - being in America means trying to be the best American, and with that, losing a sense of Asian heritage.
We also touched upon environment of upbringing. Stephen grew up in a more suburban area and was not surrounded by many Asian Americans while growing up. This influenced him as a person and he even wished he were able to understand what it was like to grow up in a high school where Asian American cliques formed. I had to share my own experiences. Steve continued on to say that his current audience have been more open to his music and haven't severly neglected him due to his "asianess." He related it back to the environment he's in and how they have been more welcoming on his merit of talent. Let him play you some Irish folk songs - "Have you ever heard of an Asian American playing Irish folk songs??"
Thanks Steve - it was a great interview and your insight was very down to earth and genuine.
Next in line, coincidentally, is Stephen's father - Dr. Romeo Munoz. He wrote the book Filipinos: Invisibility to Empowerment. He has mentioned that he's working on a new book that is very close to my documentary. It deals with 2nd generation Asian American artists. I'm hoping we can talk about that, as well as other subject matters. This includes the pros and cons of the model minority label, a stronger sense of identity - especially in terms of younger generations, education, and some methods on how to become empowered. I'm looking forward to meeting Dr. Munoz, especially after talking with Stephen. His feedback should be nothing less than interesting.
ALSO, Cynthia Lin is generously giving a private concert for a few of my friends and family just for "That Asian Thing." We'll be setting up the living room alla VH1's Storytellers - adding a comfortable, relaxing feel to the atmosphere. With finger foods, live music, and close friends - how can you not have a great time?! I'm excited for this event and I urge you guys to check out Cynthia's music and website.
Through Cynthia - I have been fortunate to get in touch with an aspiring Asian American opera singer named Czerina Salud. She has opened up a whole other realm by questioning her art and the impact Asian Americans have made on that. The opera is one of the oldest institutions of entertainment and sadly enough, has been pushed away by the younger audience. Yes - I am guilty of not going to the opera recently, HOWEVER I am not guilty of never going. I have been to multiple performances in my lifetime and found them to be an experience different from other theater productions. As far as how it relates to my film and where it can contribute - think about it - an Asian American opera singer? It's like Steve and Irish folk songs. They're proving how talented Asian Americans are prior to judgement on eye shape, color, or heritage. We're different, yet we're all the same AND IN ANOTHER LIGHT, we're all the same, yet we're SO different.
It'll all make sense when you watch the finish product...
February 28, 2006
February 16, 2006
And now this!
Here we are once again to attempt to release the sounds in an isolated box. A yell that no one can understand. A talent that no one can see. And a song that no one can hear. "That Asian Thing" wants to unite these forces and make it unbreakable and unmistakable that Asian Americans are here, making waves bigger than people can imagine. Its a pool of talent vibrating underneath the visible, mediated normalicy that people are "comfortable" with. These people need to come and seek the new. Once they get a taste of it, there's no turning back....cause simply...
...it's just that good, if not great.
--we have conducted our Stir Friday Night interview last weekend and might I impose by saying how cool these people are! Not all in attendance, but only missing 3 people, the crew provided in-depth stories of how actors can be shun away by their Asian American eyes, how parents can push for a better future than "acting," and how sketches close to the heart can still be funny (etc. etc.). This is just skim milk compared to the whole dish that we ensued that day. The crew in attendance (Harrison, Andy, Melissa, Ron, Jennifer, Foo, and Aimee) gave feedback about how it is being an Asian American actor. Points touched upon were lack of opportunities, a difference of perception and representation, and performing in areas that don't have many Asian Americans. It was all very interesting to hear some of their personal experiences that related.
We talked about their current production, "Yellow," and what process they went through to see how far they can push the envelope in terms of stereotypical humor. "Yellow" had a lot of sexual innuendoes planted, to which the crew explained that as Asian Americans, we're no different from any other race out there. We have experiences in that 'oh so' taboo issue known as s.e.x. And they also talked about sketches that were about assimilation and losing heritage. All great insight...
Special thanks to Jennifer Liu and the rest of the cast of Stir Friday Night. Such down to earth, helpful people in terms of my documentary. I look forward to touching base with them again in the future.
NOW UP TO BAT....
-Stephen Munoz.
-Cynthia Lin.
Listen to their goods on myspace. Get their albums, tell me what you think, and know you won't regret!
AND NOW THIS ARTICLE:
I read this quickie on the Goldsea Asian American Daily website. It's an old article, but still relates to why I'm concentrating my documentary in Chicago. Here it is for your viewing pleasure through the miracle of what they call "copy and paste." Indulge your mind....
"Is Chicago the Most Underrated City for Asian Americans?"
(Updated Sunday, Jun 6, 2004, 11:04:28 PM)
It may be the nation's third largest city but to many AA Chicago is terra incognita. The first question it provokes is, Why would an Asian American want to live there? They are surprised to learn that, in fact, the greater Chicago area hosts the eighth largest Asian American population. Of the area's 8.4 million population, Asians comprise 5.4% or 450,000.
Chinese began settling the area in 1870. Most were railroad workers at loose ends after the last stretch of tracks were laid on the Transcontinental Railroad. More began moving out to escape the extreme anti-Asian racism raging out of control on the west coast until the mid-1940s. Their first visible community was the area now known as South Chinatown on Chicago's South Side. At its height this original Chinatown, centered around Wentworth and Cermak, was lively enough to support 170 restaurants. Now, that number has shrunk to about 43, in part due to various redevelopment projects that cut the area down to less than a quarter its original area.
The new wave of Asian immigrants that began arriving in the 60s and 70s has shifted the Asian action northward. A second Chinatown, populated mostly by Vietnamese Chinese, has grown up around North Broadway and Argyle Street. A few blocks to the west a Koreatown is emerging along Lawrence Avenue. Nearby Devon Avenue is home to thriving South Asian establishments. There's even a small Japanese enclave closer to downtown along Clark and Halstead, right alongside a budding Thai area. These ethnic enclaves give the Chicago area's Asian Americans a tangible connection to their heritages but they are home only to the newest of Asian immigrants. Most established AA have faded into suburbs like Skokie, Evanston and even Highland Park.
Enough young Chicago-area AA professionals and students cherish their cultural ties to support the nation's only Asian American Jazz Festival, a popular annual event that draws healthy crowds. Other AA organizations include the local chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals, the Asian American Artists Collective, an AA Film Festival and various student groups based in local university campuses.
Chicagoland AA have begun to recognize the need to organize if they are to avoid becoming political casualties and orphans as during the various redistricting battles of the early 90s. But the Asian population remains dispersed, lacking the concentrations needed to consolidate political power in the form of viable candidates. This lack of concentration is the factor most often cited to support the view that Asians remain irrelevancies in the Windy City's socioeconomic landscape.
Is Chicago really a cultural wasteland suitable only for Asians indifferent to their heritages? Or is it just the most underappreciated city among AA?
...it's just that good, if not great.
--we have conducted our Stir Friday Night interview last weekend and might I impose by saying how cool these people are! Not all in attendance, but only missing 3 people, the crew provided in-depth stories of how actors can be shun away by their Asian American eyes, how parents can push for a better future than "acting," and how sketches close to the heart can still be funny (etc. etc.). This is just skim milk compared to the whole dish that we ensued that day. The crew in attendance (Harrison, Andy, Melissa, Ron, Jennifer, Foo, and Aimee) gave feedback about how it is being an Asian American actor. Points touched upon were lack of opportunities, a difference of perception and representation, and performing in areas that don't have many Asian Americans. It was all very interesting to hear some of their personal experiences that related.
We talked about their current production, "Yellow," and what process they went through to see how far they can push the envelope in terms of stereotypical humor. "Yellow" had a lot of sexual innuendoes planted, to which the crew explained that as Asian Americans, we're no different from any other race out there. We have experiences in that 'oh so' taboo issue known as s.e.x. And they also talked about sketches that were about assimilation and losing heritage. All great insight...
Special thanks to Jennifer Liu and the rest of the cast of Stir Friday Night. Such down to earth, helpful people in terms of my documentary. I look forward to touching base with them again in the future.
NOW UP TO BAT....
-Stephen Munoz.
-Cynthia Lin.
Listen to their goods on myspace. Get their albums, tell me what you think, and know you won't regret!
AND NOW THIS ARTICLE:
I read this quickie on the Goldsea Asian American Daily website. It's an old article, but still relates to why I'm concentrating my documentary in Chicago. Here it is for your viewing pleasure through the miracle of what they call "copy and paste." Indulge your mind....
"Is Chicago the Most Underrated City for Asian Americans?"
(Updated Sunday, Jun 6, 2004, 11:04:28 PM)
It may be the nation's third largest city but to many AA Chicago is terra incognita. The first question it provokes is, Why would an Asian American want to live there? They are surprised to learn that, in fact, the greater Chicago area hosts the eighth largest Asian American population. Of the area's 8.4 million population, Asians comprise 5.4% or 450,000.
Chinese began settling the area in 1870. Most were railroad workers at loose ends after the last stretch of tracks were laid on the Transcontinental Railroad. More began moving out to escape the extreme anti-Asian racism raging out of control on the west coast until the mid-1940s. Their first visible community was the area now known as South Chinatown on Chicago's South Side. At its height this original Chinatown, centered around Wentworth and Cermak, was lively enough to support 170 restaurants. Now, that number has shrunk to about 43, in part due to various redevelopment projects that cut the area down to less than a quarter its original area.
The new wave of Asian immigrants that began arriving in the 60s and 70s has shifted the Asian action northward. A second Chinatown, populated mostly by Vietnamese Chinese, has grown up around North Broadway and Argyle Street. A few blocks to the west a Koreatown is emerging along Lawrence Avenue. Nearby Devon Avenue is home to thriving South Asian establishments. There's even a small Japanese enclave closer to downtown along Clark and Halstead, right alongside a budding Thai area. These ethnic enclaves give the Chicago area's Asian Americans a tangible connection to their heritages but they are home only to the newest of Asian immigrants. Most established AA have faded into suburbs like Skokie, Evanston and even Highland Park.
Enough young Chicago-area AA professionals and students cherish their cultural ties to support the nation's only Asian American Jazz Festival, a popular annual event that draws healthy crowds. Other AA organizations include the local chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals, the Asian American Artists Collective, an AA Film Festival and various student groups based in local university campuses.
Chicagoland AA have begun to recognize the need to organize if they are to avoid becoming political casualties and orphans as during the various redistricting battles of the early 90s. But the Asian population remains dispersed, lacking the concentrations needed to consolidate political power in the form of viable candidates. This lack of concentration is the factor most often cited to support the view that Asians remain irrelevancies in the Windy City's socioeconomic landscape.
Is Chicago really a cultural wasteland suitable only for Asians indifferent to their heritages? Or is it just the most underappreciated city among AA?
February 11, 2006
Not too far from now....
...we will have an interview with Stir Friday Night. I'm intrigued to see the struggles that Asian American actors have faced. I'd like to know if they're comedy has hit either a good tone or a bad tone from other Asian Americans. Why would it be bad when they're doing something good? Well, surprisingly, sometimes people perceive comedy in a negative aspect and some might actually view some of the sketches performed by Stir Friday Night as an incorrect depiction of Asian American lifestyles - saying, "we're nothing like that!" However, that's the work of art at its finest - to be able to initiate those thoughts. So, I'm looking forward to getting the crew's feedback about things like this.
...myspace.com has created connections with future interviews. There are communications in the works and right now we have some good prospects arising. "That Asian Thing" has discovered the music of Cynthia Lin - a singer/songwriter in the genre of acoustic jazz and folk. Her easy style and smooth playing reminds people of Joni Mitchell. She responded to one of my emails and enclosed these thoughts about what we need to do as Asian Americans to make a bigger impact:
CYNTHIA LIN WROTE:
"1. let the culture change – this is purely a matter of time. you see more and more young Asian Americans pursuing untraditional careers, and as the 2nd generation gets older, we’ll become the role models for the next generation, who’ll take more risks and make a bigger impact and create more role models, and so on.
2. increase the support network – in my own experience, young Asian Americans are the biggest supporters of other Asian American artists. they understand the struggle, and they understand how important their support is for the future of Asian Americans in the mainstream American culture. building the support network will encourage more risk taking and more ventures to gain visibility.
3. get Asian Americans into the decision-making positions – perhaps this is a matter of time as well. in both the arts and in politics, the few Asian Americans involved and visible are relatively young. as they gain experience and clout, they will be in more powerful decision-making positions."
Hopefully we'll hold an interview with her in the near future.
...we will be holding an interview session with Stephen Munoz. He is also a singer/songwriter. Stephen does solo stuff but also performs with the band, Midstates. I'm excited to see the takes of these solo Asian American artists - who perform in a realm where it is majority caucasian. I'd like to know what they're reception has been by non-Asian Americans and what things they have faced with record companies that try to market them as this Asian entity (without the American part). I'm sure Stephen has thoughts about Asian American art within music and the perception of "selling out" cause he's not a rapper or R&B singer. So, "That Asian Thing" is psyched to meet up with Munoz and grab a little acoustic session on film as well.
...and even more to come later...
...myspace.com has created connections with future interviews. There are communications in the works and right now we have some good prospects arising. "That Asian Thing" has discovered the music of Cynthia Lin - a singer/songwriter in the genre of acoustic jazz and folk. Her easy style and smooth playing reminds people of Joni Mitchell. She responded to one of my emails and enclosed these thoughts about what we need to do as Asian Americans to make a bigger impact:
CYNTHIA LIN WROTE:
"1. let the culture change – this is purely a matter of time. you see more and more young Asian Americans pursuing untraditional careers, and as the 2nd generation gets older, we’ll become the role models for the next generation, who’ll take more risks and make a bigger impact and create more role models, and so on.
2. increase the support network – in my own experience, young Asian Americans are the biggest supporters of other Asian American artists. they understand the struggle, and they understand how important their support is for the future of Asian Americans in the mainstream American culture. building the support network will encourage more risk taking and more ventures to gain visibility.
3. get Asian Americans into the decision-making positions – perhaps this is a matter of time as well. in both the arts and in politics, the few Asian Americans involved and visible are relatively young. as they gain experience and clout, they will be in more powerful decision-making positions."
Hopefully we'll hold an interview with her in the near future.
...we will be holding an interview session with Stephen Munoz. He is also a singer/songwriter. Stephen does solo stuff but also performs with the band, Midstates. I'm excited to see the takes of these solo Asian American artists - who perform in a realm where it is majority caucasian. I'd like to know what they're reception has been by non-Asian Americans and what things they have faced with record companies that try to market them as this Asian entity (without the American part). I'm sure Stephen has thoughts about Asian American art within music and the perception of "selling out" cause he's not a rapper or R&B singer. So, "That Asian Thing" is psyched to meet up with Munoz and grab a little acoustic session on film as well.
...and even more to come later...
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