Tag: Los Angeles

Kollaboration Los Angeles’ Timothy John Gonzales, singer-songwriter

I’m 22 and I just graduated from University of California Irvine, half of my college career was mechanical engineering but I ended up with business economics. I decided to do this whole music thing legitimately, and all my passion goes toward that and mechanical engineering was sucking my life out of my body. I’m Chinese-Filipino, but culturally I’m fully Filipino. I’m not originally not from California, I was born and raised in New Jersey. I moved around a lot as a kid, then I came to California in the middle of my ninth grade year of high school.

How did you hear about Kollaboration?

I had a friend who won Kollaboration LA in 2013, but I didn’t think I was ready to play until this past Kollaboration. Actually, that’s a lie— I was ready to play last year, but I missed the audition. I actually know quite a few people who have played for Kollaboration but I wasn’t really ready at the time. This year, I’m actually glad I didn’t do it last year because now I feel like I’ve actually developed a sound and something that I’m proud of.

What does it mean that you’ve gotten this far?

In terms of Kollaboration, I couldn’t be more humbled to be there. I’m just glad that I was able to play. I didn’t really expect much, there’s some photos that I was pretty shocked that I won. STAR is going to be great, we have a bigger line up, it’s going to be good. I’ve been kind of going by what one of the judges at LA told me— she was explaining that when we play, it’s always as if there was nobody else in the crowd, we’d still be playing the exact same way. That’s what I want to stay true to. It’d be nice to win, but I’m honestly just grateful for the opportunity.

How did you get into music?

I started playing guitar when I was 12, my dad is really into music and my whole life I’ve been singing. I’ve always been around a lot of music, a lot of my family members play instruments and sing. It wasn’t until I moved to California where I kind of developed my sense of what I thought music was and what is was to me, the self expression and the art versus a sound. It was a lot of darker times, moving here, it was a heavy time where I was able to discover myself as a songwriter. It wasn’t until becoming a songwriter that I really fell in love with music and the ability to create something out of nothing. I love having an idea in my mind and seeing it come to fruition, having a tangible product.

Who are some of your influences?

Definitely my family, I wouldn’t be here playing music without my dad or my brothers. In terms of artists, I love old American folk songwriters. I’m kind of late to the game, but I fell in love with blues when I was 17. That’s been my bread and butter, I love to express in terms of guitar playing the most. People say I sound like Hozier, James Bay, and the guy that I love right now is Matt Corby, he’s a huge influence for me. A lot of inspiration from blues and soul, and a focus on songwriting.

Do you normally play covers or your own music?

I barely ever do covers, I write all my own music, arrange and write. I like covers, but I’m not a huge fan of playing covers because for me I lose a sense of myself in playing other people’s music. It’s kind of like this romance in playing your own music, you’ve been with it, you’ve cherished it. Especially when you’re writing, it’s really intimate because you have to keep playing the song a million times to get it right. It’s really special to me to play my own music.

What’s your advice for songwriters?

Anyone can really do it. I describe myself very much so as a songwriter, so if I’m going to be completely honest, I’d say to be aware. When you’re writing a song, you’re trying to tell a story. I think a lot of the time people forget that your melody also tells a story. If your lyrics are telling one story and your melody is telling a different story, it’s not going to go together.

How was it to release your own EP?

So the intent was not to sell records, I just wanted a tangible product to give to people to listen to or for something to hand to people. It was interesting, I learned a ton about myself as a musician. I wasn’t entirely happy with the EP, but it was great because I learned what I want my sound to be like. I learned that I’m an artist that actually sounds better live. People talk about, “I wish you could put the emotion that you portray into a record,” which now I’m working on making another record and I would love to dig deeper into how to do that. It was a low-budget EP, and I’m proud of it for sure. But I know I can always do better.

Why do you think representation in the arts is important?

I think it’s definitely something that’s been neglected, or overlooked. It’s not so much there isn’t anybody around, it’s just nobody’s paying attention or giving any opportunities. I’m all about Kollaboration and I love that they’re offering a platform for Asian Americans to play. I think we’re in the times right now, especially in America, there’s a bridge now that we can cross and we just need to make enough names to change stereotypes. At the end of the day, I really truly believe that if you’re just good, people can’t deny you. Especially as a musician, if you hone your craft, and you’re passionate, people can’t ignore the sound.

Do you have advice for people who want to get started but are too scared?

If I’m going to give advice to Asian Americans, I would say, write. A lot of the time the focus is put on covers, and we need to create original content. People will see that Asian Americans are creating, versus just like twisting. So I would love for younger Asian Americans artists who are looking for advice to think to the roots of creating art. Writing songs, composing music, it’s becoming a lost art.

Follow Kollaboration Los Angeles to keep up with Timothy John and be sure to catch him at Kollaboration STAR.

Kollaboration Chicago’s Jason Vinluan, violinist

I’m Filipino, I grew up in Milwaukee, went to school in Madison, Wisconsin. I moved to Chicago for music in 2000, so I’m pretty familiar with the music scene and I wanted to get more into the Asian American scene.

How’d you hear about Kollaboration?

I found Kollaboration through one of my Filipino friends, they’re kind of infiltrated in the Chicago scene, so I talked to the head guy and he wanted me on his showcase.

How does it feel that you’ve come this far?

I feel honored. Just knowing and competing with the talent we have here (in Chicago) I was pretty intimidated. I feel very lucky to do this, and I didn’t really expect that this was going to happen. I kind of just took it as it’s never going to happen, and then when it did I was just kind of shocked. I feel kind of concussed right now. I’m excited for this whole thing, I want to tell my whole family.

When did you get into music?

I’ve been playing since I was young. I played a lot when I was a child, my parents made me practice all the time, it sucked, I hated it. In college it was great, I was able to meet so many different people, people that really enjoy music, enjoy violin. It’s something that I wanted to pursue, and I knew I had the work ethic. I moved to Chicago because there was a band that I auditioned for, and I came out and started playing with them.

Has it been hard to pursue music as career?

Yeah for sure because I was on the pre-med path, I majored in micro biology in college. It was tough, but the success I had coming out of college, I was really surprised with the success I had, and I was able to make enough that I was able to make my own decisions. I feel like Asian influence and the pressure, I think it’s so extreme, the backlash is also huge. Like when I was 18 and I finally left the house, I felt like there was a beast inside of me. We’re balancing things out with my dad. I’m back in school, and he knows that I love music and that I don’t want to give that up. But you can always do more.

What was it like going from pre-med to pursuing music?

The summer after college I studied to take the MCAT, I did good enough to get back into Wisconsin for school, but I thought I’m going to try out music for a little while. Of course I was young, and the romantic idea of touring the country and getting paid to play music was so great. Now, I’m old enough it sounds like a pain in the ass. I’ve traveled a lot and it’s hard, it’s not the easiest thing in the world, and you start to miss home.

How do you describe your style?

I have influences in jazz fusion, the classical violinists, and modern music with violin. For me right now, I think I like songs. I don’t care what kind of style it is, if it’s a good song. I think that’s the kind of style I’m going for.

As a more established musician and a violinist, do you think your approach to STAR is different?

What I do is a little different because I’m not up there playing guitar and singing. The game I’m playing is different. I feel like playing guitar and singing, there’s a lot of talented singer-songwriters out there, if you’re good, you’re good and you know it. That’s something you see all the time so you can compare yourself, you can kind of etch your way into that kind of style. For me it’s hard because the sky’s the limit. I’m working so my audience doesn’t get bored, they must never get bored during a performance.

Why do you think representation in the arts is important?

I think it’s incredibly important because in pop culture, you think about Asian icons in the States, and I think I can name like three of four in the last thirty or forty years. Everyone knows like five or six Asians they can name off, and three of them are NBA players. Any culture, there’s beauty in it, in a lot of different aspects and I feel like it hasn’t been expressed. The more we can do that the better.

Advice for people who want to get started but are too scared?

Love what you do. Be patient because if you don’t have patience you can be destroyed pretty easily.

Advice for people who want to start out but don’t know how to tell their parents?

Show them that you love what you’re doing. It could be simple as if you’re a songwriter, write them a song. Whatever it is, express why you want to do that and hopefully if they see it, they’ll understand.

Follow Jason on Facebook and be sure to catch him this year at Kollaboration STAR.

Kollaboration Boston’s Samica Jhangiani, singer-songwriter

I’m from San Francisco, California, born and raised here. Then I decided that since I was born and raised in California, I wanted to explore what else is out there. That’s why I applied to Boston University and at BU I was just a confused child, I literally studied everything. I tried dentistry, bio, and then junior year I’m just going to business because it’s the most vague thing. Then I finally got the degree, made my parents happy, and somehow convinced them to give me time to try and do the whole music thing.

How did you hear about Kollaboration?

At BU my roommate founded the BU International Society, and asked me to come to her show. So I played a few songs, and two people from BU Taiwanese American Student Association found me and asked me to play their show. When I went to that show, and it was a collab with Kollaboration Boston. I won that and then I met Jane (Pak) and she told me about Kollaboration, the whole community, and I just thought it was the coolest thing ever. There’s so many people that are so similar to me, that have the same kind of story. I just fell in love with it and wanted to be a part of it. Jane invited me to come play at the event they were having and then they nominated me to come represent Boston in LA. It was crazy, everything was a domino effect, one after the other. I was like, “Wow, this is something I should really be a part of.”

What does it mean to you’re going to perform at STAR?

It’s so funny, I was just telling my mom yesterday that this is a really big deal. It was just so new to me, I researched so much about it, and it’s a big deal so I’m super excited by it. I feel so #blessed to be the one to represent Boston, I have to much of my pride there, meeting all the people there, and getting a chance to be a part of it was just a big deal. In Boston I would do little things here or there, but I’ve never been a part of a huge competition, it’s definitely my first time feeling like I’m competing against so many people. It’s a bit nerve wracking but it’s also a bit exhilarating.

How did you get into music?

My sister sings as well so we’ve grown up with music. Both of my grandmothers sing, so they really taught us how to sing Indian music and then we picked up English music being here. When I was really young, I had this super baby guitar, so music has always been with me growing up. Even in high school my thing was choir, I was the cool choir kid, I did musicals.

What are some of your influences?

Both my parents are Indian, my mom grew up in Chicago, and my grandparents also live here. So my grandma sings all the time, in the temples and stuff like that, so she’s so good! I wish I could be that good! She sings strictly classical Indian music, stuff like Bollywood, and she taught that to me and my sister. What I try to do, since I am both, is mix the Hindi and Punjabi lyrics with English so it represents me and both cultures. I have a bunch of singles written but never played for anyone, or put them out there yet. I play quite a few of my originals when I write them, and if there’s a show I always like to mix the two.

What’s the best way to describe your style?

I would say probably low-key rebellious. Really low-key rebellious. If you meet me in person, I’m super bubbly and stuff. But because as an Asian American you have to follow a certain path that’s set up for you— engineering, doctor, and especially in the tech world, you become a computer science major— that’s just standard what you do. I feel like I am the only one that’s not on a paved path. I’m making my own path doing music. It’s hard to tell your parents, “Hey you just spend 200 grand, but I’m going to go try and pursue this and see what happens.”

Why do you think representation is important in the arts?

No one really listens to Asian American music sunless you are Asian American. I think that’s just because there isn’t really much of a representation as the should be. I think that it’s harder to reach more ears, and now that there’s so many more people coming in, there’s so much more diversity between all of us. It’s kind of cool, that I’m an Indian girl and then I see Priyanka Chopra. Your’e just like, I’m not separated, I’m not divided between being just American and being just Indian. I can can actually really blend the two. You don’t have to choose between the two which one you want to be, you can mix the two and make it your own, and so creative that other people can relate to it.

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

I feel like I’m still starting, but I can say what really helped me was putting myself out there. I never really put myself out there until I started putting it on social media, posting videos to YouTube, on Instagram, little things. Really getting that started, that’s what really helped me, even with my parents. That’s one of the biggest challenges for me growing up because they never really saw the opportunity in it. I started posting stuff online, and then people really liked it, and I would tell my parents. They were like, “Wow, you’re really taking on the challenge yourself.” If you do it for yourself, you kind of get it started and aren’t waiting around for something to happen, and just take the plunge. I think that’s the best thing you can do, and sometimes it can be hard, but it’s really important that it happens.

Follow Samica on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and be sure to catch her performance at Kollaboration Star.

Kollaboration D.C.’s Brian Bui, singer-songwriter

I’m a singer-songwriter, 21 years-old, half-Vietnamese and half-Chinese, I go to George Mason University in D.C. I’m studying marketing and hopefully I can work in the music industry somehow through marketing. If I’m not an artist, then I would want to be behind the scenes.

How’d you hear about Kollaboration?

I followed it for a few years, my sister told me about it, and I knew this girl named Alice Park who auditioned and got pretty far, and so I just heard it through friends. This (year) just so happened to come up and one of my friends told me, “The deadline is in like three days, you need to apply!” So I just went for it.

What does it mean that you’ve gotten this far?

It means a lot because I’m mainly doing this for the experience. I actually never thought of myself winning… I mean, I want to win. But the main point of it for me is the experience, meeting new people, and getting to know a lot more other Asian American artists who are in this industry and want to pursue this as their passion. Hopefully through this I could maybe work with people who do music production, or collab with them. But winning, ultimately, would be great.

How did you get into music?

I always had an affinity towards music from a young age, and then I started doing chorus in elementary school and all up until the end of high school. It didn’t really hit me until seventh grade (and) I started getting recognized for singing. As a middle schooler, a high school teachers asked me to be in the high school musical Les Miserables. I played Garvoche, and then from that I gained more confidence in singing. Then, at the end of eighth grade, I was following Melissa Polinar on YouTube and I really got inspired by her, so I started to pick it up and see where it took me.

What’s the best way to describe your style?

This isn’t really a genre, singer-songwriter. I’m kind of Ed Sheeran-esque, it’s more of like pop with jazz influenced vocals. I do both (original songs and covers), and at STAR I’ll probably do one original and one cover. I’m still working on what I should do, I’m not sure if I should repeat what I’ve already done for Kollaboration or steer away from that.

How do you incorporate your influences in your sound?

I follow a lot of their guitars styles, you can see a lot of Ed Sheeran, Tori Kelly, Melissa Polinar, they are only just a guitar and a voice. I look to that for influence. As for melodies, I usually go for a really easy flow— when I just play something and whatever comes to mind, I’ll sing it. I don’t think of a concept before I do it, that’s just the general feeling that I have, it’s like a real-time kind of feeling.

Why do you think representation in the arts is important?

I think it’s important because it showcases a lot of the diversity in our nation, and the world especially. In the U.S. Asian American minorities are the fastest rising group, so it makes sense for them to get showcased. It’s getting more prevalent in TV, but it’s not really hitting he music scene as much.

How do you feel since there aren’t a lot of Asian singers in the mainstream?

There’s not many Asian singers at all, it makes me kind of sad. The entertainment business mainly focuses on white, and black and Latinos, and don’t really focus on the Asian population because it’s not “popular.” You don’t see us as often in media, so we’re not going to be shown, they’re not going to put effort into promoting these new artists. I think it’s just sad, so hopefully through non-profits like Kollaboration there’s more of an opportunity to show what we can do.

Do you think it would be easier for Asian Americans who are getting started to do it independently or through the traditional route?

I think now, even though it’s been progressive through the entertainment business, I think it would be better to be independent. Also going through an agent and the industry, they want you to write about certain things. You’re not a creative as you can be. Like I said before, the music industry looks for a specific look or voice, and Asian Americans aren’t really sought after. I think doing your independent thing, growing a following, is a lot better.

Do you have advice for people who want to get started but are too scared?

Even if you don’t think you’re going to make it, determination is probably the number one thing that you have to think about. There have been doubts in my music career, and I thought as an Asian American, I wouldn’t be able to to showcase my talent. Because you don’t see people who are in the media who are like that. But you grow a following by yourself and just keep doing what you’re doing. You just have to do what you love and hopefully people will recognize your talent.

Follow Brian on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter and be sure to catch him November 12 at Kollaboration STAR.