boston progress radio

Come see Ishle Yi Park on June 8, 2007 at the East Meets West Bookstore (934 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA). The East Meets Words Open Mic Series happens the second Friday of every month and is hosted by the Boston Progress Arts Collective.

Our friend from D.C., Exit Clov, is going to be back in the Boston area. (Yippee!) They’ll be playing at Hennessey’s Upstairs in Faneuil Hall. Exit Clov is a really great indie band, so you have no reason not to go.

So the Asian American Arts Alliance of New York City is having its first ever music festival for Asian American musicians.

This August, be part of the first-ever Soundfest, an all-day outdoor music festival highlighting the diversity and talent of Asian American musicians in New York City. Soundfest will feature performing musical artists of Asian descent from a broad range of diasporas, musical genres, generations, and traditions. Watch this space for details!

Even though this event is not in Boston and most musicians probably don’t come to our site to find gigs, I thought it would be good to point it out because some readers might be able to go to the event to support AA artists.

Tags: News.

Congrats to all… the California Preservation Foundation has decided to honor the efforts of the Black Eyed Peas, the Little Manila Foundation and Patricio Ginelsa for bringing attention to the history of Little Manila in Stockton, CA. The video for the song, Bebot, directed by Patricio Ginelsa, takes place in the Rizal Social Club, a building that the Little Manila Foundation is hoping to preserve. Between the 1920s and 1960s, Stockton was home to the largest Filipino community in the country. Wow.

Check out the video here.

Tags: News, Video.

So it’s APA Heritage Month and… as a little treat, we’re testing/previewing the station. There are few caveats.

• We’re only playing a small selection of our music. Variety is also limited.
• The radio station could go down at any time. Listen at your own risk.

Most of the artists have given us permission to play their music, so thank them for their generosity. Go out and buy their albums. Oh yeah, and please, comments are appreciated.

Tags: Commentary, News, Online Radio.

May has arrived, bringing APA Heritage Month with it. I have mixed feelings about these months - do they signify an acknowledgment of our unique heritage or do they continue to separate our history from American history? Is is a good thing that bookstores create little tables of Asian American lit during this month? (Do they?) Do they do this at record stores too?

Those questions aside, I still wonder what it means to be Asian American. Who is Asian American? What is Asian American lit? What is Asian American music? (Check out this interesting timeline of Asian American music.)

I came across an interesting interview this morning with Karsh Kale, a DJ, producer and “tablatronic musician.” Here’s what he had to say about being part of a movement in the music scene:

When people talk about a movement, it sounds like such a large kind of thing…I think of hundreds of different incredible artists who are actually very individual…so I don’t really see my music as part of an evolution like that, I really only see the music as a progression for my self. For me, it is really important to be able to make music that is not, that doesn’t find itself in a category. For me, categories are disposable. Even though electronic music and dance music and lounge music wind up becoming cataloged music that ends up on millions of different compilations…those tracks don’t really live the life a song does, and for me that is what my pursuit is…to be able to really produce music that stays timeless in that way, stays with people…

Read the complete interview at Hyphen.

Tags: Commentary, News.

Where are all the bands fronted by hot Asian American guys backed up by white bandmates? Anyway, in the category of bands fronted by Asian American women, Blonde Redhead is one of my faves. Their latest album just came out, so check it out.  More information about their upcoming show is available here.

As part of their art installation “Stories from Asian America,” the Asian American Studies Program at UMass Boston will be hosting a Spoken Word Performance featuring BPR’s own Giles Li along with Bao Phi, a Vietnamese American slam poet who has appeared on HBO’s Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry.

The event will be taking place at the UMass Boston Campus Center Alumni Lounge 2nd fl.