Sorry for the rushed drop on this, but I, gunsully, recorded this informal interview while chatting on the phone with subtle legend, Andrew Holden, a super cool dude with his hands in a lot of projects and successful endeavors in the DC, and then I didn’t send it to my brother to edit it and and the intro and outro. I dropped the ball but he’s still a super cool guy for talking with me about the band The Grey A and about his upcoming jump for the DC Special Olympics Polar Plunge!
Today is the day we honor one of The United States of America’s greatest public speakers who took on the status quo and fought for civil rights. It also 2 years since The Slants first came to DC, confronting the Supreme Court, with their landmark legal case over their name.
The Slants honored freedom of speech and fighting for your rights at the Martin Luther King jr. Memorial. Simon Tam, founder of the band and the ‘Tam’ in the landmark legal case Lee Vs Tam that went all the way to the Supreme Court, was inspired throughout his life by Dr. King. It was important for him and the band to go to the monument while in town for their Supreme Court hearing 2 years ago.
This video is sort of a ‘behind the scenes.’ The audio quality isn’t great and the lighting is poor but the moment is sincere. Simon recorded Ken Shima singing while Joe Xiang played guitar for their own documentation of the trip. You can see Simon circling them, as silent onlookers began to gather. After they finish the song, some were trying to tip, impressed by the performance. For them, this was a moment, not just another performance for this Portland rock band, but a time to honor fight and struggle for civil rights and freedom of speech throughout history.
We salute the legacy Martin Luther King jr. and all those who follow in his footsteps to fight for justice, equality and freedom of speech.
This is The Podcaste – Music Show and this is Episode 1 of Our “Forensic Song break-down,” where we’ll be doing autopsies on songs where our favorite artist have straight up killed it.
Gunsully sat down with SNRG and discussed #LovesWay off their album Never Home
L.A. Stone (The Last One) and Eye-Speak (Intricate Speak) of SNRG (Some Never Really Get) break down their style, inspirations and influences between Washington, D.C. to Luzon, Philippines.
Eye-Speak does an on-the-spot free style poem and they both perform “Seen the Other Side” from their new ablum.
Gunsully chats with Brian Nelson-Palmer, host of DC Music Rocks about process and his music career as a drummer for Fellowcraft as well as upcoming DC Music Rocks’ event at 9:30 club.
The Podcaste’s Opinion:
The Slants took the United States Patent and Trademark Office to school on the 1st Amendment and how Freedom of Speech works and who it’s meant to protect! Congrats, The Slants! Cheers Simon Tam! Great job! Thank you for being awesome and never giving up!
Ryan Leo, DC area professional, leaves the office and rocks out hard. Learn about his musical journey and his inspirations in starting his band Make More Animals. Ryan tells the story of the tough crowd at their first gig and about a beer fest concert that got out of hand in an awesome way!
Being involved in the community is important to Ryan. He volunteers with Musicians on Call and raises spirits of hospital patients in the DC area.
He even started his own charity concept: #birthdaygiftback
#birthdaygiftback is where he matches birthday well-wishes on Facebook with a dollar to Charity. However many “Happy Birthday” comments he gets is the amount of the donation. Hope that catches on!
Ryan is a positive person and an asset to the local music community. We look forward to Make More Animals upcoming events and their album which is currently being recorded.
You’d be hard pressed to find someone more involved in the Asian community in DC, or in DC as a whole than Christian Oh. Christian is a part of every element of DC, organizing events for local charities and non-profits, promoting artists and standing up for Asian and Pacific Islander identity. Here’s just a little of what he’s involved with:
DCAPA Film Festival http://www.apafilm.org/
Christian is currently the Executive Director of this massive film festival that showcases Asian American film from all across the country and even from around the world.
Follow their Social: https://www.instagram.com/dcapafilm/
Christian is proud to manage the talent of a strong Asian-American female voice Heesun Lee. She has lived a uniquely American life with a multitude of influences being adopted into a Chinese American family and listening to her favorite US hip hop artists growing up. Her diverse influences and experience makes her tagline: “Breaking Stereotypes” all the more real, as she encourages listeners to follow their passions.
Christian explains how he met Simon Tam and the Slants at their beginnings at Anime Conventions and his work with artists through http://kollaboration.org/
Upcoming events:
K-Pop Event – June 24th – Eden Lounge
July 22nd – K-Pop Expo
Otakon
GI Film Festival
Thursday Raw at Howard Theater
BONUS LINKS:
The Food we talked about:
Chef Evelyn Bunoan’s
POM (Philippine Oriental Market & Deli)
3610 Lee Highway
Arlington, Virginia 22207
703 528-0300
Open Tuesday through Sunday: 10:30AM–4:30PM
L.A. Stone (The Last One) and Eye-Speak (Intricate Speak) of SNRG (Some Never Really Get) break down their style, inspirations and influences between Washington, D.C. to Luzon, Philippines.
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