ONE OF the most interesting untold stories in the music industry is the era of the 1970-1990s when Filipino American teenagers, not even old enough to drive, had a strong influence on the hip-hop scene in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Oliver Wang, former music writer in the Bay Area and currently a college prof at Long Beach State, will be talking about his recently released book: "Legions of Boom: Filipino American Mobile DJs San Francisco Bay Area" at an event sponsored by a new movement called Next Day Better: SF.
Since 1994, he has written on popular music, culture, race, and America for media outlets such as NPR, Vibe, Wax Poetics, Scratch, The Village Voice, SF Bay Guardian, and LA Weekly among many others.
The Filipino DJs - 15, 16, 17 years old - had their own followings and they performed in churches, union halls, anywhere there was a party. They negotiated and did business with promoters, developed fantastic, professional-style light shows, says Wang. Out of this milieu came world champions such as: DJ QBert, Apollo, Mix Master Mike, DJ Shortkut, and so many more.
EVENT DETAILSWhere: SoMa StrEat Food Park, San FranciscoWhen: Saturday, June 20Time: 1:00 pm-6:00pmWang, along with other personalities, will be part of the event organized by NextDayBetter, which is organizing a speakers series for the Filipino Diaspora communities around the world. Besides, San Francisco, NDB has chapters in cities around the world. The timing of the event is no accident. The event will be held in the same period the "official" Philippine Independence Day celebrations are being held in conjunction with KalayaanSF sponsored by the Philippine Consulate. So as the local media writes about Philippine Independence festivities, Next Day Better will be among the activities.
Facebook Event page
Purchase tickets here:
"Our events celebrate and share the inspirational stories of changemakers, community leaders, and innovators and call them to action, they state on their website. "The NextDayBetter San Francisco curatorial team has worked tirelessly this past year to curate a group of cultural producers that uplifts and highlights the contributions of Filipino communities."
The theme of the event is “Imagine 2035.” We want both speakers and attendees to envision the possibilities of San Francisco based on the historical and cultural contributions of Filipino diasporic communities ba answering this question: “What will San Francisco become in the year 2035?”
“Our team has put together this speaker series as a way to give our generation’s influencers a platform to discuss their unique experience in their field and exchange ideas on how they’re making the next day better,” says NextDayBetter SF team member Rap Sarmiento.
Besides Wang, the speakers include:
- Kat Evasco, comedienne, writer, and performing artist
- PJ Quesada, VP of Marketing, Ramar Foods, Founder of the Filipino Food Movement
- Dori Caminong, activist and community organizer, Glide Memorial and SF Entertainment Commission
- Everett Katigbak, environmental designer and Pinterest brand manager
- Desi Danganan, serial entrepreneur, designer, crowdfunder and principal of Plinth Agency
- Tim Luym, Chef, The Attic, Mekong Kitchen, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, formerly of Poleng Lounge and WoW Truck
- Jason Angeles, CEO of FK: Frozen Custard, Sugar and Spu
For information about NextDayBetter and the activities slated in other cities, go to their website.
RELATED: Filipino diaspora makes Philippine Independence Day a global celebration
###
No comments:
Post a Comment