oblivious nerd girl
hood chronicles

In 2003 I met a lot of really awesome people at the 2003 APIA Spoken Word Summit held in Chicago.  It was my post college trip with Strawberry Farm Boy Mike. He had gone to the first APIA Spoken Word Summit held two years before in Seattle.  When he brought up the trip I figured why not. It sounded pretty cool.  In my early 20s I wrote poetry or at least attempted to write poetry, so the Summit was up my alley.  

At Summit I met my east coast twin who would become the east coast half of Team GAROSS, Hanalei who was a part of this spoken word collective with the all star of San Jose Dandiggity!   I remember experience Chicago summer for the first time.  Seeing I Was Born With Two Tongues perform for the last time.  Doing a scavenger hunt in Chicago with other Asian American artists.  

I kept in touch with Summit folks through the magic of the internet.  Friendster to Myspace to Facebook, it's been nice to see how we've all grown.  In the early days we talked to each other with aol instant messenger.  Chat rooms conversations with lots of folks was the norm.  We would talk about random things and I formed friendships across the country with these folks.  It wasn't until I got home that I realized one of these folks was Chris Wang aka Peril-L of the Mountain Brothers.  I remember listening to them on various mixtapes in college.  Strawberry Farm Boy Mike even had some of their records in his vinyl collection.  

My east coast twin Hanalei and I have a tendency of teasing Chris Wang under the moniker TEAM GAROSS. I'm not sure how it started. On our facebook history I think it was some kind of comment involving "tipping" and TEAM GAROSS over use of "that's what she said." (But can you REALLY use TWSS too much?!). 

Somehow Chris still talks to us via facebook and was kind enough to do an Oblivious Interview with me.  Thanks CHRIS!   WEST COAST HALF of TEAM GAROSS HEARTS YOU C.WANG! 

Name(s)
Chris Wang, aka Peril-L, aka teapot d0me 

Affiliations (arts org, fun things you do, etc) :
Scientist, collector of modern furniture and design, retired rapper. 

What's the one word you are guilty of using too much?
Non-committal words like "okay", "maybe", and "I don't know". 

How did you end up doing what you are doing now?
Failed as a rapper. :(  [oblivious edit: insent kawawa face here man.]

Which member of the Wu-Tang Clan best describes your personality?
I'll go with Inspectah Deck because he's my favorite. 

Dogs or Cats, who wins? Why?
Dogs!  Cats are crazy, and I don't think they like me. 

What is the best part of any given day for you?
When it's time to get off work. 

In a zombie apocalypse who would you want on your survival team?
 Bruce Lee, Dennis Rodman, and Mr. Chow.

What is the last thing you searched for on google?
 Pictures of Keith Sweat.

If you could talk to your high school self, what would say?
Okay, that's enough hair spray.

What is the best thing or meal you ever ate?  
First time eating toro at Morimoto.

What is a memorable project that you are working on or have worked on?
CHOPS - Strength In Numbers.  Honored to be a part of this historic project!

Here's Chops giving the info on the Strength in Numbers Kickstarter that Chris is a part of. 

Here's the Mountain Brothers music video for "Keep On" off of Strength In Numbers by CHOPSmusic:

If you want to be a part of this historic album donate to the CHOPSmusic Strength in Numbers Kickstarter campaign and support good music!  

When I first started my forray into volunteering for a FilAm Arts for FPAC 2006 I attended a meeting with then Logisitics Director Alison De La Cruz and a lovely couple Joel and Glenda.  The three of us were being persuaded to provide our time to the festival.  Little did I know that that would be the beginning of getting to know some really awesome folks!  

When I think of Joel I think of music and movies. I think of Diggin Sundays at Tribal Cafe where the homies would spin whatever they wanted to spin. I think of nerdy film conversations that I can have with someone who also went through the process of film school.  Unlike me, who simply enjoyed watching movies and analyzing them. Joel has continued to create content through Form follows Function and his own films. 

If you are in the Bay area this weekend you can get a taste of the tunes Joel will be spinning at Make Your Own Revolution! Definitely check it out. It sounds awesomesauce.  

Name: Joel Quizon
Affiliations (arts org, fun things you do, etc) :
Form follows Function, The Living Compilation, Pinoy Groove Experience

What's the one word you are guilty of using too much?
"Yes"

How did you end up doing what you are doing now?
Day Job: 10 months of unemployment from the AOL/Time Warner collapse 10 years ago will make you take anything!  ;-)  Stuck around the current company for 10 years so far through all its different incarnation.  Never had the background for the job but I adapted and learned.  I'm an HR Manager for a large entertainment conglomerate. 

Everything Else:  Film degree, love of film and music with a great deal of reverence for Pinoy music and movies, family influence, and a few years of community arts activism has allowed me to be inspired and to make friends that eventually lead to collaborations and partnerships. 

Dogs or Cats, who wins? Why?
Can I say neither?  No offense to dogs and cats.  Not a pet person.  (But if you meant in a knife fight or something then I say cats.)

What is the best part of any given day for you?
Having a conversation with my 4 year old at the end of the day.

What is the last thing you searched for on google?
How to spell "disparate."

In a zombie apocalypse who would you want on your survival team?
No one.  Because I was told in a zombie apocalypse you trust no one.  Or maybe they were talking about paint ball.

What is a memorable project that you are working on or have worked on?
The Cotabato Sessions.  It's a documentary short I am collaborating on with jazz drummer Susie Ibarra with help from fellow filmmakers Maya Santos and Ruelo Lozendo.  We recently went to film Maguindanaoan musicians in Cotabato City in the Southern Philippines.  A  fundraising campaign will come out shortly to help us finish the film.
Plus a couple of projects in the works in San Francisco centering around the Philippine popular music that I blog about.

What is the best thing or meal you ever ate?
Garlic Fried Rice, fresh eggs sunny side up, and local fruits for breakfast by the beach while staying in Agoo, Philippines.  So simple and perfect.  I can't forget it.

Thanks for checking out this interview and again check out Make Your Own Revolution if you are in the Bay area this weekend!

I've actually written about this dude on the old tumblr, when Sean became Mr. Hyphen 2013

Name: Sean Miura

Stuff he does: Tuesday Night Project, LTRoots, Chaotic 3, Team Ferosha, Family Bizness, Ninjas for Social Justice, Sawai Koto Academy (Shamisen), Apartment J386, sometimes I hang out in Little Tokyo.  Once someone called me Mr. Hyphen.

 What's the one word you are guilty of using too much?

"Folks" 

How did you end up doing what you are doing now?

I was born in Seattle, spent thirteen years in Vancouver, spent a further five years in New Jersey, then landed in Los Angeles for school.  Through all that I picked up random side-hustles and ended up working on a bunch of projects (see the first question) that led me to this moment!

Dogs or Cats, who wins? Why?

Dogs.  They're loyal, fun, and I'm not borderline afraid of them. 

What is the best part of any given day for you?

That moment right before a meal, though without the payoff of actually eating the food I suppose that would be a pretty terrible moment.  So I'm going to say mealtime, overall.

If you could talk to your high school self, what would you say to them?

Calm down. 

What is the last thing you searched for on google?

"Ruby Ibarra"

In a zombie apocalypse who would you want on your survival team?

Steve Yuen because he's awesome and probably knows something about surviving zombies.

What is the best thing or meal you ever ate?

When I was in high school my mom would buy these huge bags of frozen gyoza, so I would come home from school and make a giant pan, reheat some leftover rice, and then eat the whole mess while watching Family Guy.  Nothing better.


 

As a producer of Tuesday Night Cafe Sean informed the audience last week that an anonymous Japanese American elder has proposed a challenge to young folks under 35.  If you are under 35 and donate to the Keep TN free campaign, this anonymous elder will double your donation!  So you put in 5, someone will put in 10, making your total donation $15! Imagine if you put in $100, someone would put in $200, making your donation $300!! Support the this 15 year old FREE community art space in Little Tokyo!  Click on the #keepTNfree image below to show your support!