Guest Blogger: Musician Scott Tang

Hello All! We thought it would be nice to also have some special guests write about their experiences with Indie music and art. First up, my good music friend, Scott Tang! You must watch his “Sublingual” video. Not only is it a TOP rate, beautiful music video, it’s also an amazing testament to a group of artists coming together to create something stellar. Enjoy!
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Hi guys. Mia recently asked me to write a blog entry for The Sukey Rose Project, about the making of my latest music video, my career as an indie Asian American musician, and more specifically, how the idea of community figures very strongly into both those things. Since The Sukey Rose Project is essentially a community-based idea, Mia asked if I could share my own thoughts on the subject. Instead of taking too much time to introduce myself, I’ll just point you to my website if you’re interested in who I am or what I’ve done: www.scotttang.com. Otherwise, I’ll just dive right in…

Mia and I met while I was recording my first album as a singer-songwriter a few years ago, in the basement of a church in NoHo. She had been brought in by my producer as a backup singer, but we ended up bonding over music and the fact that we were both originally from Pennsylvania. Fast forward a year or two, and I was becoming very involved in anything Asian American music-related in Los Angeles, whether it was organizing shows with friends and other musicians or collaborating with the few media groups out there that were supporting us back then, some examples being KSCI Channel 18, ImaginAsian TV & Radio, AngryAsianMan.com, ChopBlock.com and some smaller local publications.

 

Mia and I reconnected again when some friends and I came up with the idea of creating what we felt was sorely missing in Los Angeles: an Asian American community, by artists for artists. The first few meetings took place in a dark and wonderful restaurant in Chinatown where we began holding open mic nights, but it eventually grew much larger than that. Tipping our hats to its grassroots origins, we called it Komuzika.

 

One of the visions we had for Komuzika from a very early stage was the kind of community that seemed to have flourished in cities like San Francisco and New York where people weren’t separated from one another by monstrous stretches of freeways and valleys. It would, we imagined, allow artists (whether musicians, graphic designers, writers, directors, etc.) a place to support one another, build personal and working relationships with one another, and act as a harbor from which we would launch our various dreams and artistic endeavors. Well… I would love to say we nailed it, but I think it would be a lot more honest just to say: it was very challenging. The good news is, looking back I can say that some of the most exciting things I’ve done as an artist have been as part of a group, when our collective power surprised even ourselves.

 

The most recent example of this is the music video for my song, “Sublingual.” My director Karen Lin deserves most of the credit for bringing together all the people that worked on the project, but I know that even she was surprised by how much we were able to accomplish. I know something about what it’s like to be on a very, very modest budget, so my expectations were not that high. Maybe Karen’s weren’t, either. Our hopes, however, were. The combination of our respective work ethics and Karen’s undeniable concept for the music video eventually drew the support of talented crew members, friends, family and local community groups - as well as the fortuitous events they helped create. We were able to make something that was worth exponentially more than our shoestring budget suggested. More importantly, we created something imbued with a formidable amount of heart. And that was truly a community effort. I can’t watch the video now without thinking about how much was contributed by so many different people.

 

When I think of the concept of community for indie artists, the image that comes to my mind is having fertile ground to plant a seed in. Whether that healthiness is measured in friends on Facebook or true supporters who drag themselves out to watch you play a set they’ve heard half a dozen times already, if it’s there, the seed can grow fast and strong. It’s true, flowers do bloom in the desert… but it’s much more difficult. In sum, an indie artist truly needs as many supporters as possible to help their art bloom.

 

I’ve witnessed firsthand how blessed Mia is to have a community of supporters, and I hope you’ll all continue to support her, however you can. I’ll leave it to her to discuss the ins and outs of that, but I know as an artist, I’ve always been grateful for any support… whether it’s people spreading the word about my music or coming to shows or even just leaving comments on my iTunes or YouTube page. We have an unprecedented amount of power and influence as consumers and end-users in our culture today. I hope you’ll all use yours now and then as part of a community.

 

If you want to check out my music video for “Sublingual,” go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP0Fn0c3e88

 

Thanks so much for reading, and take care!
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Hey, it’s Mia again! We indie artists really need to support one another, so here is some more info about Scott’s music!

 

Scott latest album, “Radiant,” is available on iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody and Napster.

 

You can find Scott and add him as a friend on:

 

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=770484987
Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/scotttang
AliveNotDead - http://www.alivenotdead.com/scotttang

 

Independant BUT NOT ALONE!