Meet the STAR Finalists: Trace Repeat

Kollaboration San Fransico’s Trace Repeat, Wesley Woo and Zach Hing

Wesley— Zach and I started this band two years ago. It started out as a side project, all of us were working on solo stuff and it sort of evolved into a much larger thing over time. It developed from a side thing to a real thing, and now it’s like a seven-piece band. It finally got out of hand after a while.

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How did you find Kollab?

Zach— Well Wesley has kind of known about you guys for a few years now. But if you want to talk about how Trace Repeat got involved, we actually ran into Lauren (Lee) at the Asian Heritage Festival that happens in San Fransisco, back in May. Kollaboration comes around the same circle of people that we all know, like if you’re Asian American making music in the Bay Area then we all know the same artists that are doing all the Asian American music because there not really that many of them. Kollaboration, being a part of that community, was sort of a natural thing that happened.

What does it mean to you and the band that you’ve gotten this far? 

Wesley— It’s kind of ridiculous in a lot of way. I didn’t expect it to happen. We sort of ran into Lauren at the Asian Heritage Festival, and I had done a couple of thing for Kollaboration a while back, I think I auditioned once or twice as a solo act, but I never go that far with it. Then we ran into Lauren and she was like, “I’m doing all these really cool things with Kollaboration and I really want them to hear new music and find new sound.” Well, we’re new sounds. Then it just sort of snowballed into this huge thing and we never expected it.

Zach— In terms of our feelings on the matter, we’re more than excited, we’re really stoked being on board. I think like Wesley said, Kollaboration is sort of exists as that community that we definitely want to be a part of. Getting this far in itself is already a really, really good accomplishment in our book, and I think you guys have been very good about the support and welcoming us with open arms. To have gotten this far in the competition, we couldn’t be happier. So, thank you.

Is Trace Repeat one of the few Asian American bands in San Fransisco?

Wesley— Yeah, always.

Zach— There’s only really three or four of us in the immediate Oakland-San Francisco area, not counting San Jose, but we’re basically it.

Wesley— Especially in regard in finding musicians who really take it seriously, making a career out of it. That’s more difficult to find at all. I feel like I know most of the musicians in San Fransisco, at least the basic singer-songwriter community, and of that community I can count on one hand the Asian Americans who are a part of that.

 

What is the band’s style like?

Wesley— It started out at its very earliest conception as basically a funk band. We were playing a lot of Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, James Brown, a lot of Prince covers. It wasn’t really working well because we weren’t really a cover band, so the covers didn’t sound good. Then we started writing music instead, and the songs took their own shape, and in the end we drew a lot of influence from the songs we were covering. In a round about way, it’s a funk band, but a funk band with a lot of other very random influences.

Why do you think representation in the arts is important?

Zach— I think that representation in the arts is extremely important, especially for Asian Americans. There’s just not as much representation, there’s not a lot of adequate representation. The way Asian Americans have been portrayed in the stereotypical emasculated, work hard, study hard kind of stereotype. I think that to be able to play music or be an artist, to go against the grain and have a shot to show what it really is we’re capable of is extremely important for a lot of people. I think influence and being able to inspire people because you’re a little bit different, at the end of the day gives us a voice and a lot of freedom to  be able to choose our owns ways. Which in a lot of ways is at its core a given right.

Wesley— I think that also touches on one of the big things for why I’ve always found Asian American empowerment to be something to talk about. Especially as a musician, especially as a funk musician. We’re breaking down barriers and we’re breaking down stereotypes and as a musician we’re already breaking down the stereotype of what everyone expects you to be as an Asian American. But at the same time we’re also breaking down another barrier because we’re not playing the same kind of music people are expecting us to play. When you’re Asian American there’s a very specific thing that people are expecting. When we get up on stage, it also speaks volumes about sounding different.

Do you think it’s easier to break stereotypes of Asian Americans in music as a band or on your own?

Wesley— Everything is easier a a band, because with more people in you have a support system. It’s really hard being on your own, making all these decisions, showing up on your own, playing shows and controlling a room. It’s a lot more difficult than when you get up on stage with six other guys that are like you’re best friends in the world. Even if the show sucks, and you have a good time with your friends, when you’re having a good time with your friends that kind of makes the show a good show.

Zach— Speaking to the growth of that, I want to add that as a band it’s definitely easier, but because there are more of you, it gives you a sense of identity. I think that my growth, not just as a musician but as an Asian American socially aware person, has come from playing in communities where you can’t help but be surrounded by like minded individuals. That only helps become who you are. A lot of my Asian American tendencies that I want to are sort of a by-product of the people I’m around.

What’s your advice for people who want to get started but are too scared?

Wesley— Don’t be afraid to fail, that’s really the thing I’ve been thinking about a lot. You’re gonna suck for a long time, that’s fine, it’s fine to suck because everyone sucks in the beginning. That’s kind of what’s fun about it, being bad at what you do for a long time. Then once you are terrible at something for a while, you eventually get pretty good at it and people start to actually dig what you’re doing.

Zach— Share your dreams with people too. That’s an important thing, you’ll find people who want to go on the wild ride with you. I think that only helps you get started a lot more swiftly than if you were to dive into the unknown by yourself.


 

Follow Trace Repeat on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and be sure to see the whole band at their performance at Kollaboration STAR.

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Kollaboration to host “Asian Americans Break the Silence and Stereotypes” panel at SXSW 2017

Panel focuses on Asian American representation in the media and the people working to increase visibility

The Austin, Texas festival South By Southwest (SXSW) is a nine day event featuring artists, business professionals, musicians, film and TV leaders, and more who come together to attend in panels, screenings, and concerts. SXSW is the largest multi-media festival of its kind, and last year over 8,000 attendees came to Austin for its panels, keynote speeches, screenings, and performances while over 70 thousand people came to the 4-day trade show. 2016’s lineup hosted Barack and Michelle Obama as the keynote speakers, featured over 142 film screenings, and over 2,000 festival showcase acts from 62 countries performed. The cross-collaboration in the media and tech industries creates a place for innovators and upcoming talent to work together and inspire one another.

Kollaboration Executive Director Minji Chang will be joined by writer Phil Yu of Angry Asian Man, actor and co-founder of  the artists collective We Own the 8th Dante Basco, and comedian and founder of Disoriented Comedy Jenny Yang on a SXSW Social Impact panel,” Asian Americans Break the Silence and Stereotypes” discussing Asian American representation in the arts. Asian Americans have often been underrepresented, stereotyped, or whitewashed in mainstream media and left very much invisible. In recent years, a growing grassroots movement and collaborative effort of API creatives in new media, music, & film have changed the scene & brought this issue to the forefront after years of cultural evolution.

“We are witnessing a turning point for minority representation in new media,” Minji Chang, Executive Director at Kollaboration, said. “A million different micromovements have brought us to a point where the underrepresented feel more compelled and increasingly confident to voice their dissatisfaction with the status quo and envision a richer, more diverse narrative that benefits us all. SXSW is an incredible and respected  epicenter for innovative thought and creativity, so I’m honored to have this panel be a part of that larger conversation. It’s an exciting time for the Asian American artistic community,  as so many passionate, talented creatives blaze new trails and bring their stories to the limelight. This is only the beginning.”

These leading Asian American creatives will discuss the layered issues behind how absence in media representation leads to the challenges of being pegged as “unmarketable” by Hollywood, and showing the ways API stories enrich, entertain, and leave an impact on universal audiences.

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Panelists from left to right: Minji Chang, Phil Yu, Dante Basco, Jenny Yang

Panelists:

Minji Chang, actress & director of Kollaboration: Christine Minji Chang is a Bay Area native and a well-traveled California girl whose love for music, film, theater, and science have grown over the years. She is the 2nd child of 3 to Korean immigrant parents, who came to the US from Seoul in 1980. With a dual cultural upbringing, Minji navigated the many highs & lows of figuring out her identity & purpose in the grand scheme of things. At a young age, she struggled to clarify her life’s calling of being a doctor or an actor. After getting a degree in Public Health from UC Berkeley, Minji worked in the public health sector in violence prevention work before giving corporate America & technology a try at Macys.com. She was in San Francisco, after all. Meanwhile, Minji started volunteering for Kollaboration, which would become her fulltime job as executive director. She also began acting professionally. Her journey has taught her the importance of authenticity, grit, and courage & the ability to heal & transform through art.

Phil Yu, creator and writer at Angry Asian Man: Phil Yu is a writer, speaker and host best known as the founder/editor of Angry Asian Man, one of the most widely-read and longest-running independent websites covering news, culture and perspectives from the Asian American community. The Washington Post calls Angry Asian Man “a daily must-read for the media-savvy, socially conscious, pop-cultured Asian American.” Mixing humor with criticism, Phil’s commentary has been featured and quoted in the New York Times, National Public Radio, CNN, NBC, Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed and more. 

Jenny Yang, actress & co-founder of DisOriented Comedy: Jenny Yang is a Los Angeles-based writer and stand up comedian who produces the first-ever, mostly female, Asian American standup comedy tour, Disoriented Comedy, and The Comedy Comedy Festival: A Comedy Festival, a comedy festival showcasing the best in Asian American comedic talent. In 2016, Jenny was honored as a White House Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling. Taiwan-born and Southern California-raised, Jenny is a frequent collaborator on viral Buzzfeed videos that have amassed over 20 million combined views, and actor in numerous digital projects including Comedy Central’s “White Flight.” In 2015, she was dubbed one of Los Angeles’ “most fascinating people” in LA Weekly’s annual “People” issue. Drawing from her former career in politics, Jenny is a regular commentator on politics and pop culture with contributions featured in National Public Radio, The Guardian, NBC News, BBC News, Al Jazeera America, Complex Magazine.

Dante Basco, actor & co-founder of We Own the 8th: Dante Basco is an American actor, voice actor, and dancer. He is best known for his role as Rufio in the 1991 live-action film Hook. Dante is a Filipino American born in Pittsburg, California and raised in Cerritos and Paramount, California. He has four siblings, including actor Dion Basco. He is also known for voicing Zuko in the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Jake Long from the Disney series American Dragon: Jake Long. He also starred in the hit Indie films The Debut and But I’m a Cheerleader. He attended Orange County High School of the Arts[6] in the Music and Theatre Conservatory and graduated in 1993. He had guest roles on television shows The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, and had a recurring role on Moesha. After portraying characters of various Asian ethnicity except his own, he portrayed a Filipino American alongside his three brothers and sister in the independent film The Debut.

LINK TO SXSW SCHEDULE: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2017/events/PP65346

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About Kollaboration: Kollaboration is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and movement founded in 2000 by Paul “PK” Kim to support the endeavors of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in the arts. Kollaboration’s mission is to build bridges, out-create negative stereotypes and promote diversity by providing platforms to discover, empower and connect the next generation of API artists and leaders. Kollaboration programs seek to highlight and bring awareness of API talent to the mainstream media and drive change in popular culture.

Greg Pak, creator of Korean-American Hulk, talks new series Kingsway West

When asked what draws him to a given story or work, Marvel and DC comic writer Greg Pak quickly dismisses the merit ascribed to a work by a “Best Of” list. “People come out with lists of the ‘Greatest Films Ever Made’ and all that,” he muses, “and I think that’s just entirely subjective. A film that may be just a film to somebody else may be the formative film of your life.”

4515888-3478422914-greg_pFor Pak, those works included classic black and white films (he loved the “aesthetic”), Westerns, and outdoor adventure stories (he was Boy Scout). Pak is also especially drawn to work that reflected his experiences, or at least had similarities to them. “I paid a lot of attention whenever I was able to see non-stereotypical depictions or multi-dimensional depictions of Asian people.”

Pak’s latest and entirely creator-owned work, Kingsway West, serves a testament to this notion. The comic, released August 24, 2016, follows the narrative of a Chinese gunslinger as he treks throughout a magical Old West to find his wife. Pak uses his prowess for fantasy storytelling to give fantastical dimension to the world where Kingsway West takes place. Combining fantasy elements–particularly, the presence of a substance called “red gold” in the world of Kingsway West–with the largely looked-over history of Chinese people in the Old West allows Pak “to not worry to be beholden to actual American history… Instead, I can actually create a new anthology which plays with all the same themes that I was gonna play with before.”

Kingsway West goes back in time in more ways than one: Pak conceptualized the story over 20 years ago. “It’s a story that made a lot of sense to me because I’m an Asian-American kid who grew up in Texas. I loved Westerns, and [when] I learned about the actual history of Chinese and the Old West… my head exploded.”

So why now, and not 20 years ago? “I wanted to make Kingsway West as a feature film way back when, and that didn’t happen–one, because it’s a Western, and two, because it’s a story with Chinese and Mexican leads. At that time, I think it was hard [for] financiers to get it.”

“When I was growing up, I had that Margaret Cho experience,” he continues, “Where you’d be like, ‘Asian person on TV!’ It’d be such a shocking, unusual thing. It was a big deal. And usually, it was some embarrassing racist stereotype.”

But even though there’s still much progress to be made, Pak notes that times have undoubtedly changed. “You’re starting to see it happen all over the place… Fresh Off the Boat and all those shows that have gotten green-lit recently is due to really, really hard work by really, really dedicated writers and producers. But it’s also [because] we’re getting closer to the point where it’s a no-brainer… the business people will realize that there’s money to be made by making stories with people of color as leads.”

Pak also notes that the comic industry is extremely different from the film industry because comics are “willing to take more risks.” Pak remarks, “I’ve literally never had anybody ask me if I could change the ethnicity of characters in stories I’ve pitched in the comics world.” This shows in Pak’s creation of the Korean-American character, Amadeus Cho, who recently inherited Bruce Banner’s powers to become the Totally Awesome Hulk. “At no stage during the entire process [of the creation of Amadeus] did anyone say, ‘Does he have to be Asian?’ [That] would have happened in the film industry at that time.”

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While it’s easy to simply hope for the film industry to follow the comic industry’s lead in showcasing more diverse–and more reflective–stories, Pak urges aspiring creators to “devote yourself [to the story] that means the most in your heart. If you have a story and nobody else gets it, but you know that’s the story you have to tell, keep working on it until people can get it.”  

For more information about Kingsway West and how you can place an order, visit kingswaywest.com.

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Images via Greg Pak & Marvel