New York, August 18 – I’ve seen Alfa Garcia perform at several venues in New York City, and they were all solo efforts. However, her performance at the Living Room included a three piece band. Band? This was an interesting turn of events. I’ve never heard the entire band perform live before tonight.
What’s the name of the band? The name on the venue’s bill was “Alfa Garcia”. So, is the band named “Alfa Garcia” too? “The Alfa Garcia Band” sounds too plain. I was just brainstorming names for her band, and I came up with a few suggestions.
San Diego, July 24 – I always assumed that con survival guides were weak veiled attempts at comedy. Come on… Do you really need someone to remind you of basic human functions like hygiene, hydration, and eating? It’s basic common sense. Even mindless Sims sprites know when to use the bathroom.
Then, the unthinkable happened. There was geek-on-geek violence in Hall H of the San Diego Comic-con. Stationed at the plushy table of the Giant Robot booth, I watched two squads of local police quickly marching across the convention center.
I’ve read quite a few con survival how to’s, and I don’t recall any lessons on self-defense (the zombie apocalypse ones don’t count). I guess it’s time to add some basic self-defense tips to those guides.
There were many rumors circulating in the exhibitor’s hall. The initial story described a confrontation ending in an attendee stabbing another one with a replica light saber (the geek’s weapon of choice). It’s perhaps the geekiest personal assault in history. When I read the actual news coverage, the victim was stabbed by a pen near his eye. He went to the hospital with minor cuts.
Anne Higonnet, an Art Historian from Columbia University, started the panel with a presentation on the connection between the cultural concept of cute and definitions of childhood. She frequently referenced Haruki Murakami (村上春樹) and his artwork. Higonnet also mentioned Murakami uncanny ability to co-opt commercial product such as his line of custom designed Louis Vuitton hand bags.
Murakami's Version of the Louis Vuitton Hand Bag
Higonnet was followed by Christine Bacareza Balance. Balance, a University California - Irvine professor and vocalists for the Jack Lords Orchestra, conducted a presentation about Filipina Child Pop Stars. Her lecture was mainly focused on the cultural and political undertones in Filipino Pop Music. In her discussion, Balance talked about the impact of YouTube, American R&B influences, karaoke, and Filipino “palabas” concept. She used Charice Pempengco’s rise to stardom as a case study for her presentation.
After a short lunch break, the conference continued with a panel about “Asian cool” from the perspective of girls.
Karen Tongson, a professor of English and Gender Studies at the University of Southern California, discussed the internet pop phenomenon known as “Rin on the Rox”. Tongson began her discussion by outlining the cultural factors that lead to the emergence of the two Filipino American internet pop idols. She also talked about the deeper cultural trends surrounding the duo. Tongson emphasized topics such as sexual undertones, homophobic reactions, and the modern perception of womanhood in the media.
The next presentation was conducted by Laura Miller, Anthropology professor from Loyola University. Miller’s lecture was primarily concerned with the Japanese concept of “kawaii”. As an anthropologist, she approached the topic by categorizing the different types of “kawaii” found in Japan. She made a clear distinction between regular “kawaii” (cute) and “kimo kawaii” (grotesque cute). At this point, Miller started to couch her argument in a resistance framework. She characterized “kimo kawaii” as a rebellious act by Japanese girls against the commercial exploitation of the “kawaii” paradigm.
The Keynote Address: Eating Rice with a Fork
The day ended with an amazing keynote address by Eric Nakamura, co-founder of Giant Robot Magazine. Nakamura conducted a quick history of Asian American pop culture including personal stories about his own identity as a Japanese American. He described growing up as a product of two cultures that were intermingled. In an attempt to illustrate this “mashup” of identities, he humorously remarked that, “I eat rice with a fork.” The Ivy League audience enjoyed his wit and entertaining slide presentation. Towards the latter half of his address, he talked about the early days of Giant Robot Magazine and the evolution of the brand.
NEW YORK, February 11 – I’ve seen plenty of indie music acts in bizarre locations. Some of the more notable ones were a shopping plaza in Kowloon, the tiny back room in a New York City bar, and the subbasement of a parking deck in Shinjuku. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a concert at Best Buy (60 West 23rd Street). So, when I read that Alfa Garcia was going to perform there I was a bit curious.
I decided to go to the Best Buy to check out the performance. As I walked past the large display windows, I found Alfa in the store front. She was standing on a small elevated platform that looked strangely like a pedestal. I immediately thought she looked like a product on display. Alfa’s gone commercial! She’s sold out! (Just kidding…)
Alfa performed eight songs including “Supergirl”, “Second Skin”, and “Don’t Write Your Goodbyes”.
Regarding the venue, Best Buy didn’t seem like the best place for a musical performance. The high drop ceilings and the warehouse nature of the space didn’t seem to provide good acoustics. The noisy shoppers also didn’t help matters, but Alfa still played brilliantly.
Overall, the event had an interesting schizophrenic atmosphere between Alfa’s singing and the customers haggling over the price of HD television sets.
NEW YORK, November 5 – I originally walked into the Nightingale Lounge expecting to see Alfa with an acoustic guitar singing her tunes. Instead I unexpectedly entered a Filipino literary benefit called The 6th Annual READ Philippines. It’s an organization promoting Filipino writers in schools, libraries, and other public venues.
Sisante started off the night with some acoustic ukulele songs. What is the whole Filipino ukulele connection? I know three Filipino acts that use the ukulele. Maybe it’s a Pacific Islander thing. Sisante did an interesting political tune called, “Lovesong of a Palin Presidency”. He started stomping and motivated the crowd to clap.
He was followed by M. Josephine, an R&B vocalist from Jersey City. She performed a few songs over a pre-recorded music track. Her husband joined her for a Hip-Hop/R&B duet.
An interesting addition to the line-up was Fonbuena, a Texas Filipino spoken word artist. She was off the wall fun. She did really interesting pieces about life, her nephew, and robots. Fonbuena proclaimed, “kill all robots!” She also did a humorous piece about her feelings of pride over Manny Pacquiao’s boxing career. I thought she was going to call him the real, “Thrilla in Manilla”. She didn’t. Fonbuena was so hippy and chill. I absolutely loved her stuff.
Warhol Soup, a New Jersey Filipino funk band, took the stage with some very funky songs. They even managed to do a cover of Michael Jackson’s“Man in the Mirror”. I also enjoyed the funky madness of “Adobe Funk” and “Felicia”.
Alfa
The night ended with Alfa as the headliner. She stated that the headliner role was a surprise and the pressure was on. She performed amazingly as the evening’s closer. The highlights of her performance were “Love as Tragedy” and “Second Skin”. I think that she is one of the most exciting young voices in the New York indie music scene today.
Overall, the benefit was an interesting accident. I enjoyed all the performances by the local Filipino music community.
NEW YORK, October 24 – The rain didn't discouraged hungry New Yorkers from getting their dumpling fix at the 2009 New York City Dumpling Festival. At Sara Delano Roosevelt Park, massive crowds waited in line for dumplings from many different cultures including Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Malayasian, Italian, Indian, and Polish. The lines were extremely long, but people were determined to get their fill.
Left: Filipino Palitaw. Right:Polish Pierogi.
The entire event was sponsored by One Chef and featured a special sanctioned dumplings eating competition. The proceeds of the event supported Food Bank For New York City, a nonprofit organization.
NEW YORK, August 4 – Alfa Garcia joined other singer/songwriters at the Bitter End (147 Bleecker Street) for a mellow evening of unplugged tunes. The event was called the Songwriter's Circle, and its purpose is the promotion of local indie musicians in the vein of James Taylor and Norah Jones. The format of the event was basically a round-robin. Each performer played a song and passed the spot light to the next performer. Alfa managed to perform three songs including “Supergirl" and "Isabelle".
The striped down nature of the event played to Alfa's strengths as a performer and a songwriter. Despite some of her modest comments about her own music, Alfa masterfully performed everything from a sweet candy pop tune to a rustic familial love song. Her engaging musical stylings revealed an honest emotional vulnerability which was very refreshing. In addition, Alfa's vocals are amazingly understated. They gently demand your attention and proceed to slowly envelop your senses. She was pretty awesome.
Alfa recently released her debut independent LP, "Second Skin". It is now available on iTunes and Amazon.
NEW YORK, June 13 —The Jack Lords played the back room of Waikiki Wallys (99 East Second Street), a Hawaiian Tiki joint. It was a tight and crowded little venue, but the Jack Lords still manage to rock some big tunes.
The Jack Lords perform an unusual mix of hawaiian folk, pop, and alternative rock. Riley, the band's drummer, and I tried to encapsulate their sound in one phrase. After many failed attempts, we settled on "modern ukulele alt pop".
They sang all of their great songs like "Molokai", "Rayd", and "Mr Malaise". In addition, Christine, one of the band's vocalist, rocked a tune of her own. Her vocals sounded great.
The Jack Lords also performed a tradition Hawaiian hula song. This prompted the Waikiki Wally's waitresses to stop their service and perform a tradition hula dance for the audience. The waitresses were also joined by Carol, a good friend of the band. It was a pretty awesome impromptu dance performance.
The Jack Lords share the stage with The NYC Ukulele Meetup
After a few songs, the Jack Lords brought The New York City Ukulele Meetup Group onto the stage. They played a couple of songs together including an amazing rendition of "To The Stars".
The night was filled with fun "modern ukulele alt pop" music.
The Jack Lords performing at The Asian American Arts Alliance's Soundfest 2007
NEW YORK, August 15 —The Asian American Arts Alliance's Soundfest 2007 (August 11, 2007) rocked the fat ass. It was truly a pan-asian festival. The festival created an open atmosphere at Chinatown's Columbus Park. The acts ranged from Indo-Jazz to Hawaiian Rock. It was a truly unique amalgamation of music.
It was all ages. Young Adults, senior citizen, and little children enjoyed the rock and jazz music. Very cool... I look forward to the next Asian American Arts Alliance's Soundfest.
