asianamsmakingmusic
Sounds of Asian America
Not a style or genre, just a space for inclusion and visibility. Not either/or, but both/and.
(See the very 1st blog post for a 'hasn't been updated in years' index of artists.)
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[The Welders' facebook photos archive]
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Xiong was born in 1973 in Phab Kheb, Laos, one of 11 children in a family that fled the country in 1975 and spent four years in a refugee camp in Thailand before emigrating to the United States, according to Sahan Journal. He grew up in St. Paul and was valedictorian of his class at Humboldt High School in 1992.
Xiong graduated with a political science degree from Carleton College in Northfield in 1996 and began traveling around the country as a motivational speaker, storyteller and rap artist, billing himself as the country's first Hmong comedian.
Xiong helped organize the first Hmong Minnesota Day at the Minnesota State Fair in 2015, and was named a Bush Fellow in 2019 to earn a master's degree in public affairs.
With Xiong's death, the Hmong American community in the Twin Cities has lost a true leader, "consummate organizer and cultural interpreter," said longtime friend Pakou Hang. In his presentations and writings, she said, Xiong was a teacher who tried to show people how to be kind, generous and do the right thing.
Xiong connected people across generational, cultural and political lines who traveled the United States to speak at schools, colleges and businesses, Hang said. As a friend, he could inspire laughter in every conversation, she said.
[Rest of article under cut.]
A highly regarded Hmong American activist, speaker and comedian from the Twin Cities was found dead Monday in Medellín, Colombia, after kidnappers demanded $2,000 in ransom from his family.
Tou Ger Xiong, 50, was killed while on a vacation to Medellín. His brother, Eh Xiong, confirmed his death Tuesday morning on Facebook.
"The pain of his loss is indescribable. We extend our deepest gratitude to all who have offered their condolences, thoughts, and prayers," Xiong's family wrote in the Facebook statement.
Xiong, who lived in Woodbury, was kidnapped Sunday after a date with a woman he met on social media, according to the Colombian newspaper El Colombiano.
A group of men contacted his family demanding $2,000 — the equivalent of $8 million in Colombian pesos — and killed him a day later without collecting the money.
Three American tourists, including Xiong, have been murdered in the last month, El Colombiano reported.
Kidnappings in Colombia are on the rise, according to authorities. In the first few months of 2022, 35 people were abducted in the country, and that figure is more than double this year for the same period.
Early last month, the father of a Colombian soccer star was freed after he was held for around a week by a guerrilla group.
[The excerpt above came from here.]
Former state Sen. Mee Moua of St. Paul, for whom Xiong worked as a volunteer coordinator in her successful 2002 campaign, said in a statement that she was "weighed down with grief for my friend," and called Xiong "a one-of-a-kind modern-day hero."
U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-St. Paul wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Xiong's death was "devastating news" and that his work as a comedian and activist "touched many lives in the Twin Cities and beyond."
Hang said Xiong would perform skits based on his own stories growing up as a refugee and other lessons from the larger Hmong community. She recalled him bringing older Hmong women onto the stage to demonstrate how they would pick corn or fetch water as children, setting it to music and transforming it into a dance.
Xiong sought to connect first-generation Hmong American kids with classmates of other races, and strengthened intergenerational relationships with their families by making them proud to be Hmong, she said.
Xiong and Hang worked together on many community causes, including the formation of the Coalition for Community Relations, a group that traveled to rural Wisconsin from the Twin Cities in 2004 to "bear witness" at the trial of Chai Soua Vang, a Hmong American man eventually convicted for killing six hunters.
"We're not here to defend Chai," Xiong told the Star Tribune at the time. "We're coming together to accentuate the positives in the Hmong community."
Xiong also brought media attention to a hunger strike in Northern California in 2021 after a Hmong cannabis farmer was killed by police, Hang said. He flew to California to lead a march and gather stories. Discriminatory ordinances passed by Siskiyou County were later ruled unlawful.
"We don't have anyone else in the community like that," Hang said.
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You do not need to be an expert on the histories and politics of the occupation of Palestine to join us and contribute. We're definitely not experts, and none of our membership has lived experience as a Palestinian person. But what we do know is that RAW comes from resistance to systems of oppression and the on-going impacts of settler colonialism and imperialism. What we do know is we must take a clear stance against genocide and deepen our practices of support for decolonization resistance movements everywhere, from Turtle Island to Palestine. What we do know is that solidarity is a commitment to paying attention, to learning, to collectivity, and to action in the struggle for justice, safety, sovereignty, and freedom. [x]
#Oct. 2023#RAW Taiko#Toronto#taiko#Raging Asian Womxn Taiko Drummers#workshop#Palestine#protest#Asian American#settler colonialism#imperialism#genocide
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#Nov. 2023#Michelle MiJung Kim#author#activist#San Francisco#protest#Palestine#Korean American#Asian American#janggu#percussion#drumming#Korean
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"I’m writing this because I thought I would come to some sort of resolve upon graduating, but I did not. I’m writing this for all of the women who suffer from sexual harassment within institutions, at rehearsals, and on gigs every day. I’m writing this so my voice will finally be recognized and heard and I’m writing this in hopes for a more accepting, respectful, and inclusive community."
#2018#Kalia Vandever#trombonist#composer#Juilliard#sexism#racism#sexual harassment#women#education#jazz#experimental
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take it easy
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youtube
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TELLING THE STORY OF LARRY ITLIONG THROUGH MUSIC
Larry The Musical is based on the first book about Larry Itliong, “Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong,” by Dr. Dawn Mabalon and Gayle Romasanta. The musical will cover Itliong’s life, from birth to his posthumous recognition “Larry Itliong Day” by the State of California in 2015.
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#2021#Quốc Anh#this post has been sitting in my drafts for two years#newwavedocumentary Instagram#Vietnamese music#mixed-race artists#Paris by Night
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youtube
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Her sly humor comes out in her alias, a twist on her “somewhat common” name. “I didn’t know what to name my project,” she says. “I can’t be ‘Victoria Park,’ since there are actual parks in Canada and England called Victoria Park, so it’s not very searchable. I’m Korean, my last name is a Korean last name, so there are definitely a number of Victoria Parks in this world. So I thought, what can I do to make sure everything in this digital space is mine?” Pictoria Vark came to the rescue. “The spoonerism is catchy and sounds almost like real words. But it’s also a mirror image—it’s a reflection of me, with parts of me, but not quite me. It’s like Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm, playing Larry David, Pictoria Vark is very much based on me and my experiences, but it’s not exactly me. It’s me playing myself.”
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Grab your headphones, turn up your speakers, and press play! Today we share with you 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦, a compilation of original songs, sounds, and meditations created by Asian American women and non-binary artists and musicians. Arriving amidst a period of collective trauma and heightened xenophobic violence, 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 offers listeners a refuge for contemplation, grief, and growth.
“During the pandemic period, so many people gravitated to meditation and mindfulness practices, which are often rooted in Asian traditions such as qigong and ayurveda. 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 sheds much-needed light on how these are not merely trends, but instead come from rich cultural histories. By deepening this understanding, we can find healing for ourselves and our society.” – Adriel Luis, APAC’s curator of digital and emerging practice
𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 demonstrates how Asian Americans have played a critical role in America’s notion of mindfulness and healing arts. Commissioned at the beginning of the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, APAC spent almost three years collaborating with these musicians, artists, and cultural practitioners to vividly capture how an intensely challenging moment could lead to personal discovery and collective healing. 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦, which received critical support from the @Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, adds complexity to the greater landscape of meditation and healing arts tools by centering perspectives that have long been marginalized.
𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 is available as an album across digital music streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, YouTube Music, Pandora, and Amazon Music. Throughout 2023, APAC will unveil additional ways for the public to interact with 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦. Click the link in our bio to listen and learn more!
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𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙗𝙮:
Low Leaf
MILCK
Arushi Jain
Ana Roxane
Mayx
Chong the Nomad
Hollis
Erika Shimizu
JusMoni
Kwonyin
Our Daughter
𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙗𝙮:
Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya
#meditation#mindfulness#qigong#ayurveda#asianamerican
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#adriel luis#𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦#2023#Low Leaf#MILCK#Ana Roxane#Erika Shimizu#Arushi Jain#mindfulness#healing arts#Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center#smithsonianapa#Kwonyin#Our Daughter
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In high school…in my little world I was the 5th VH member. I wore Eddie’s guitar pick around my neck. My room was covered wall to ceiling with VH posters and magazine cut outs. My mom drove me and a few friends to the 1984 concert. She waited for us in the parking lot while she read a romance novel. I remember waiting up all night for the video premiere of Jump. My teen years just would not have been the same without EVH + VH. I hope the afterlife is a 1980s Van Halen concert.
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