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SPECIAL FEATURE COMMENTARY INTERVIEWS RESOURCES BUSINESS INFO
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EDDIE KIM INTERVIEW
WORKING WITH APA MEDIA & ORGANIZATIONS Without
creating this, we will continue to be on the outside looking in.
We have a lot to offer, and we have a lot that others want to be
included in. Unless we organize this and make it happen, we’ll
be stuck where we are.”(Kevin So - Singer/Songwriter)
PROJEKT NEWSPEAK'S EDDIE KIM: Ken Oak performed on our stage last year. He really enjoyed performing on our stage. In fact, all the artists who've performed on our stage really enjoyed it. Each performer who has graced our stage had a unique background…both professionally and personally. Some names include PK, Adriel Luis, D'Lo, Danie Jung, Asia Continental, Leonard Shek, Junichi Semitsu, Justin Nakasone, Jimmy Tran, SKIM, Shihan the Prototype, Duane Koh, DJ Ant, and DJ Ultraman. Guests have included Miss Info from HOT 97 and DJ K-Sly from 100.3 the Beat. All of our performers and guests are talented musicians, Slam Poetry Champions, Def Poetry Jam performers and some of the best DJ's out there. Our upcoming theatre showcase (NOT the NewSpeak SLAM!) utilizes traditional forms of entertainment and storytelling such as acting (along with other forms of non-traditional entertainment such as spoken word). However, it is the NewSpeak SLAM! that is particularly unique compared to other events.
US ASIANS:
Which APA organizations/media outlets (i.e. AZN TV, ImaginAsian TV, KoreAm, Korea Times, Hyphen Magazine, Angry Asian Man, Giant Robot, Chop Block, NaFFA, KAC, Green Pastures, AsianWeek, Third Thursdays, Asian American Studies Department, MANAA, VC, Asian Connections, AAJA, OCA, JACL, Rafu Shimpo, PMX, Stir TV, Pacific Fusion, etc.) are you working with?
Currently, our information gets spread through Angry Asian Man, KoreAm, ChopBlock, KAC, Kollaboration, Tuesday Night Projects, GLAM, mETHODOLOGY, Asian American Studies Departments, and college student organizations.
Considering your participation with ImaginAsian TV, what was your involvement with their event?
ImaginAsian TV had a West Coast launch party in November of 2005 in Los Angeles and we (me and our cameraman, Brian Corpuz) decided to go and film the event and do interviews of up and coming Asian American talent. We went as reporters and asked fun and funny questions. It was mainly to create a fun interview story. But through it, me and our cameraman decided to launch NewSpeak TV (http://newspeak.blip.tv) and go to different events and create fun stories around it. If we were to liken it to anything currently out in TV, it would be similar to what Conan O'Brien does when he goes to different sites and interviews random people. In fact, our idea to interview folks at different Asian American events was partly inspired by Conan O'Brien's humorous video clips.
Korean American Coalition
Feb.2004-Aug.2005 Democratic National Committee
– Michigan Coordinated Campaign Oct.-Nov. 2004 Office of U.S. Congressman
Xavier Becerra Koreatown Youth &
Community Center 2000-2001 Spoken word has definitely swept through the Asian American community and it still growing. It has been an excellent method to entertain and move people and at the same time enlighten young people. US ASIANS: Could you elaborate on the "Spoken Word" scene - along with what unique things the below-listed events (i.e. Spoken Word UC Berkeley, Tuesday Night Café, Café Luna Tierra Sol, Asian Hip Hop Summit, Kollaboration, Double Standard, NewSpeak SLAM, Chinatown Service Center) bring? The Spoken Word scene in Los Angeles is very underground. Pretty much the spoken word scene anywhere in America is still somewhat underground. The average person in America wouldn't know what spoken word is and how to categorize it. It's poetry in performance on stage. Still with that description, it's vague because people might think of some moody guy with a beret reading a poem from a book sitting on a stool on stage in a coffee shop. Some people think it's hip hop, rap…and others think of beatniks. It's difficult to categorize it. Because it's difficult to categorize, it's almost like a pure art form. Seeing spoken word artists perform their poetry on stage can be a visceral experience because of their heart and emotion that gets poured out on stage. Yet spoken word as a genre is still underground and cannot be found in a mainstream setting. The only thing that comes close to mainstream for spoken word artists is Russell Simmons/HBO's Def Poetry Jam. Kollaboration, Tuesday Night Café, the NewSpeak SLAM! and others are the few places in Los Angeles where you can find talented emerging Asian American artists that have not reached a mainstream status yet. But these venues are the places that aims to launch these emerging artists and create opportunities for them. These events tap into artists and arts that the mainstream may not recognize because they may not generate money like Jay Z or Kanye does, but we need to show their art because it moves people…it entertains people…it does something for all of us. And so these events are tapping into a potential that needs to be released which in turn inspires and motivates a lot of young people.
Any questions regarding the content, contact Asian American Artistry |
“we
(Asian Americans) need to create our own scene. We need to come
together and create a sphere where others are going to WANT
to be included, where it is THE happening spot-
be it a nightclub or a music scene. Where WE write
the rules and invite whom WE want. And if anyone
cares to be admitted, well that will cost you $10. 
