Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
San Francisco State University – I went to school at SFSU in 1991 for a semester. It was nice to be asked to speak on campus at their art gallery. Of course it’s perfect timing that it happens at the same time as the Oakland Museum of CA exhibition (SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot). Just a few minutes before the 6pm start time, the group was small, but by the time to talk began, the space was filled. Granted it only takes 20+ people to pack the room, it was nice to see students, art fans, and a few “older” faces. The question and answer is always more fun, and the questions went for a while. It’s when I can tell stories I didn’t plan on telling and that makes the talk more random and hopefully interesting to hear. One wanted to know what he needed to do, since he wanted to follow in my footsteps. It was a great honor to be able to try and explain what wisdom I have accrued to a younger person who’s just getting started. Thanks to Jill Shiraki for setting this one up.
Oakland Museum of CA – I paid a visit on Friday for no official business except to meet up with friend Gordon Yamate, Bert Gatchalian, Tiffany Sun, and a few great staffers there. I gave a private tour which was as detailed as I cared to be at the moment. It lasted about an hour and now that I know what to talk about, I’d do it again. Want one? Just hit me up. The stories that you don’t get to read on the walls on the museum, could be among the best parts of the exhibition. I stayed to make some zines and color a page. I need to improve my skills with colored pencils. The exhibition is as exciting on friday as it was on the first day. Yes, I’m proud of it. I’ll be back up there May 30th and will probably do another tour.
Japanese American Museum San Jose – I don’t get to San Jose often, but it was nice to be able to visit a place that seems so close to home. The museum is filled with stories from Concentration Camps. I spoke upstairs in a meeting room that had a round table and chairs surrounding. As it was getting close to beginning, one of the first faces was an old neighborhood and childhood friend, Bill Chuan. He walked in and I practically started laughing. What the fuck? The surprise was funny and for some reason enlightening. I still can’t believe I saw his familiar face just 30 years or so later. Then family members. Practically long-lost came in. Diane, who’s wedding I attended as a young man came in with her sister, Elaine, and their father and my uncle Jim. The weird thing is that Jim has eyes that are cool grey. He looks like my father. It’s a strange feeling when you recognize someone because of their resemblance of someone else. I haven’t seen them perhaps in decades. Also the volunteers, many of whom I actually have met and know were there as well – welcoming me.
I don’t often sit and just write. Today I’m at LAX waiting to get on a plane that’s a bit late. I’m not sure if I mentioned that I co-taught a class at Pitzer College which is part of the Claremont Colleges. It’s the most liberal campus, which is part of a network of 5 colleges that are basically connected to each other. The class is about zines and it’s been taught by Todd Honma, who developed it’s curriculum. I met Todd Honma perhaps over a decade ago when we spoke on a panel at UCSB and he’s since been teaching at Pitzer College. I spoke at his class over a year ago, and evidently earned high marks for my talk which then led to being invited to co-teach the class.
It’s a milestone of sorts that in 2014 there’s a class about zines, but it also makes sense because it’s not just zines in general, it’s part of an Asian American and Queer department – two marginalized communities. The class is therefore split between the two groups with whoever has an inkling in the topic. Of course there are Queer Asian Americans, but there was an invisible line between the two groups that slowly went away. One student thought it was a class about cui”zines” and thought it would be about foods from Asian America and the Queer community. She must have thought for a second, “I wonder what Queer folks eat?” I’d wonder that too.
Back in the stone age/print era, we used to have a section of Giant Robot mag where we would invite friends and family to share My Perfect Day. Sometimes they were were artists, musicians, or filmmakers providing a glimpse into their awesome lives. More often they were regular dudes like you or me, simply enjoying and showing off their beloved hometowns.
I’ve been blogging a lot about the rad bands that are playing our next DIY punk matinee (The Chuck Dukowski Sextet, California) as well as how it’s going to benefit public schoolkids in Chinatown by paying for their music education. So you already know about it being a killer show for a great cause. But it’s also important to me is that people come to the neighborhood where my grandparents, in-laws, and now my daughter have spend time and have a rad day.
As soon as I found out that my pal Adam Pfahler was in a new band that was starting to play shows, I asked him if they would play our next Save Music in Chinatown benefit. And then they said yes. Wow. The group not only features Adam (who was in Jawbreaker, J Church, Whysall Lane, all among my favorite bands) but Jason White (from Monsula, Pinhead Gunpowder, Green Day, and a bunch of other favorite bands) and Dustin Clark (The Insides, who I’m guessing that I’ll love). So cool of them to book their first SoCal tour around our punk matinee/benefit show for music education at Castelar Elementary that will take place on Sunday, May 18.
How could I not ask him some questions about playing in Chinatown, the new band, some old bands, and an old friend…
Most people think of you as a Bay Area guy but you grew up in L.A. Did you ever get to see any punk shows in Chinatown?
I remember going to the Hong Kong Cafe after shows to drink coffee and listen to the jukebox but never saw a show there. Maybe it was a bit before my time. I’m sure I’ve been to shows at Madame Wong’s in the mid-eighties but I couldn’t tell you who I saw!
Jawbreaker had a band meeting there once around the time we were practicing in Highland Park before recording our first album. It wasn’t a venue at that point and was just a bar and restaurant. So we’re having a beer and bao there one afternoon and out of nowhere a fight breaks out between these two really tough Chinese girls. They’re full-on punching each other in the face. Like, shit’s falling off tables and everything. It’s so gnarly that everyone in the restaurant pretends that it isn’t happening. One of the girls screams, “Fuck you, you two-bit Jawbreaker!” Blake says, “Hey, that’s our band!” I say, “That’s it–the name stays.”