When Turtles Fly

It feels like I’ve lived multiple lives since I last wrote.

The Burbank Public Library event was so fun! Thanks to everyone who came and listened attentively. Even though Brandon and I have been playing together since 2010, we’ve only made music in this configuration sporadically for the past several years, and it feels like we are now starting to find our sound as a duo. If we played together with greater frequency, I imagine we would progress far more rapidly … but alas, I’m a turtle. 

Since I perform infrequently these days, I put quite a bit of effort into preparing for the library gig and was pleasantly surprised to be paid back multifold. I’ve previously mentioned writer Melody Jue’s assertion that the arrival of the aliens does not mark a break with indigenous cosmologies but rather a continuation of them. I had to put the idea into my own words to present to the audience and in doing so fully resolved the tension I mistakenly thought existed in being a folk musician immersing herself in speculative fiction. There is no contradiction there. To be a folk musician is to be a futurist. It’s tradition for folk artists to engage in worldbuilding! 

Since Burbank Public Library usually presents author talks and not music, I couldn’t gauge what kind of built-in audience they had and so was proactive in pitching my show for inclusion in newsletters. I figured a public library concert would be in line with the ethos of public radio but was still mildly astonished when I came across its listing in both LAist and KCRW’s weekly things-to-do roundups. In the past, I have spent a few thousand dollars on a publicist, which is not much for PR, and ended up with nothing. 

In terms of money, I generally just hope to break even on public shows where I’m the bandleader. But I came out well in the black, thanks to merch sales, primarily of my book. I’m not in the habit of buying merch at shows and didn’t realize people want to support you and like having something to buy beyond CDs and cassettes. 

It was lovely to see friends, old and new, and chat with audience members. Welcome to any new subscribers and thanks for joining me here! Here is that reading list I promised at the show.

After the show, I thought to myself, “Is this how you build an audience?”

I am going back into my shell for the time being to keep researching and eventually start workshopping the new music. I will poke my head out in Chicago to perform solo for an Asian American music conference on September 24. I’ll share details on the public evening concert once I get them.

Before I could get my Iemanjá song out, I had to expel other lyrics first:

I texted it to my sisters upon completion. They asked if I was okay.

I am feeling giphy tonight. 

I am also feeling lighter and freer this month, personal troubles notwithstanding, after a couple of years of routine sulking. It’s good to see loved ones taking action to get themselves unstuck, and it inspires me to do the same. But what to do, where to go with this new feeling … I’ll just float with it for now.

🔊 Listening and singing along to Dexter Gordon on Cheesecake