One of the most interesting courses I took as part of my undergrad degree was a seminar in Asian-Canadian literature at SFU - especially since activist/ poet Roy Miki, who taught the course, was able to get almost everyone who wrote the stories and books we were reading to come into class. Fred Wah read from and spoke about Diamond Grill, his memoir about his childhood spent in the kitchen of his father's Chinese restaurant - and explained how, because his mother was Scandinavian, he had, for much of his life, the guilty luxury of passing for white, at least until people noticed his last name. Jim Wong-Chu, poet and editor of a terrific anthology of Chinese Canadian short stories called Many Mouthed Birds, talked about protests and riots in Chinatown and the history of anti-racist activism in Vancouver. And Hiromi Goto, author of A Chorus of Mushrooms, talked about her frustrations when strangers would assume, because of her facial features, that she could explain to them how to cook all things Japanese (at a grocery store, for instance: "Are these skinny eggplants different from the fat ones?' She seethed a little at recounting the experience).
That kind of thinking had come up before in class, when talking about the race-based presumptions that Asian Canadians have to vault over regularly - from being good at math to being able to read Chinese characters to having a fondness for congee (or what-have-you). It was strikingly underscored when a fellow student asked Professor Miki to explain some of the Japanese phrases riddled throughout A Chorus of Mushrooms. She was clearly shocked and confused that he couldn't translate them. She didn't actually say, "But... but... you're Japanese!" But Professor Miki is from Canada, his first language is English, and his connection to Japan was, at that point, anyhow, fairly remote. I still remember his raised eyebrows as his student proved his point for him.
Top Row L-R: Tamla Mah. Ashton Sweet. Ron Kenji. Mike Chang. Second Row: Eric Lowe. Brooke Fujiyama, Tim Chan. Norine Braun.Third Row: Felix Fung. Greg Hathaway. Gabe Ng. Kevin Tang. Bottom Row: Brian Minato, Tony Lee, Norah Holtby.
That was one of my first questions, then, in interviewing the Asian Persuasion All-Stars, a mostly all-Asian Canadian supergroup consisting of Tony Lee (drummer and percussionist for Kele Fleming, EddyD and the Sexbombs, the New Black, & Hard Rock Miners); Eric Lowe (drummer for the Vanrays and former 64 Funnycars member); Tim Chan (guitars and vocals for China Syndrome and Pill Squad, also formerly - or should I say "occasionally?" - in 64 Funnycars), Mike Chang (China Syndrome); Tamla Mah (Abel Collective); Gabe Ng (Abel Collective); Brian Minato (SLIP~ons, the Deep Cove, and formerly Sarah McLachlan); Ron Yamauchi (Kele Fleming); Brooke Fujiyama (the Shit Talkers, Swinging Hammers; Greg Hathaway (Roots Roundup, Hathaway Brothers); Norine Braun (Norine Braun and Alice Fraser); Ashton Sweet (Balkan Shmalkan, Babyface Brass, and many other bands); Kevin Tang (Camaro 67, Big Easy Funk Ensemble) and producer Felix Fung (Sunday Morning, Les Chaussettes, producer of many others!).
Over the course of an email exchange with Tony, Tim, and Eric, I asked them what kind of assumptions they have to play past, as Chinese Canadians? Do people ask where they're from? Do they encounter other bits of subtle, othering racism in daily life?
Tim: I've rarely been asked if I was from somewhere else simply based on being Asian. For sure, I have had people assume that because I'm Chinese, I know everything related to China or Chinese things or how to say certain words in Cantonese or Mandarin. I can speak rudimentary Cantonese (mostly to my mom) and know a little bit of Mandarin but that's as far as it goes. It is annoying when certain people continue to think I know these things and I keep telling them I don't know but they keep asking me anyways!
Eric: I've personally never been asked where I'm from as far as I can remember. Very, very rarely something racist might be directed my way and then I'm reminded of my heritage, but it doesn't happen too often. This doesn't make me special, it just makes me lucky. This could all change in an instant. Growing up though racist slurs and nicknames seemed to be the norm in elementary and high school (yes, elementary school) starting as early as Grade 1. It's easy to dismiss it as sign of the times but looking back it's pretty sad that six-year olds were calling me "Chink".
Tony: I've also been fortunate not to have been directly confronted for years and years. Our joke in high school was, "Those people should go back to where they came from...East Van!"
Mike Chang, left, and Tim Chan, right
Chan explains that the project was designed "to spotlight our Asian musician friends, adding that "we do have some non-Asians in the collective too who are very supportive." Their first release is a cover of the Special AKA's "Racist Friend." The Asian-Persuasion All-Stars' video for their cover of it will debut on August 20th, here, but you can hear the audio-only version on their bandcamp page.
It is unusual, Chan continued, for the band members to shine a light on their identities thus. (He's explained in a past Straight interview what the name of his band China Syndrome was as much a reference to late 70's movies as to he and Mike being Chinese). But with anti-Asian racism on the rise, the musicians saw an opportunity to lend support to Elimin8hate.org - "a Vancouver organization working to interrupt, dismantle and eliminate anti-Asian racism at all levels through an approach that affects change via education, media representation, policy changes and community organizing. All proceeds from downloads and streams of "Racist Friend" will go toward supporting Elimin8hate, the advocacy arm of the Vancouver Asian Film Festival."
So who in the Asian Persuasion All-Stars has worked with whom, before, exactly? How was the recording done? Was it challenging, with so many bandmembers and so much worry about COVID?
Tim: For sure Eric and I have a long history indeed, which you've already documented elsewhere.How has racism impacted their families, historically?I've played with Tony a number of times as well, as part of Brent Kane's birthday band, guesting with EddyD and the Sexbombs at Bowie Ball 2019, and he played with China Syndrome at the last live Bowie Ball in 2020. Of course, Mike is in China Syndrome with me. Otherwise, this is my first collaboration with all the other musicians. All the recording was done at home by each of us and we sent the files to Felix, who put it all together and mixed it. So we actually haven't been together in one room as yet - I haven't even met some of the group members! We have a live gig booked at LanaLou's on September 19 so we will finally be meeting in person soon.
Eric: A few years back Tony (also a drummer) and I decided to form Secret Asian Man. Based on the slightly humorous (possibly misguided) idea that two Chinese drummers join forces and play duets. That would be the first time I collaborated with Tony. Secret Asian Man plays mostly empty venues to very polite applause. Sometimes Tim joins us as the ringer who can actually play guitar.
Tony: I am a fan of Eric and Tim in the VanRays, China Syndrome, Polly, and Swank. I am often playing on a bill with one or both of them. EddyD and the Sex Bombs adopted Tim for the Bowie Ball one year, and China Syndrome had me aboard the year after. I thought of this supergroup recording after seeing the umpteenth anti-Asian incident on the local news. I knew we had enough talent amongst our friends. Eddie Lam was too busy, and I didn't hear back from Johnny Wildkat of The Furniture.Tim: Tony Lee is the one who initiated this project -- he messaged Eric and me about doing a benefit recording to combat the rising anti-Asian racism we are seeing in Metro Vancouver. Tony chose the song as well, the Special AKA's "Racist Friend," originally recorded in 1984. We very briefly bandied about the idea of playing They Might Be Giants' "Your Racist Friend" but stuck with the Special AKA song because we could feature a variety of vocalists and also pay tribute to Leslie Kong, a Chinese-Jamaican and a huge influence on the creation of reggae. He produced Desmond Dekker's "Israelites," and early Bob Marley and the Wailers and Toots and the Maytals records. Hence the subtitle for the song, "Felix Fung King Kong mix," with the amazing Felix Fung mixing it and the reference to Leslie Kong.
Tim: Racism has absolutely impacted my family historically on my father's side. My grandfather paid the $500 head tax to immigrate into Canada from China to work in Canada in the early 1920s; his economic prospects were better here than in impoverished South China. He was already married but was not allowed by the Canadian government to have his wife (my grandmother) with him in this country because he was Chinese -- this was when the Chinese Exclusion Act was in effect. So he had to come here alone and was only allowed to visit his wife in China every seven years. Of course, guess what? My grandmother had a child every seven years - all my dad's siblings were seven years apart. The act was finally repealed in 1947, but my grandfather was not able to bring my grandmother and my dad's younger brother to Canada until 1950. Unfortunately, my dad was left behind in Hong Kong because he was over the age of 18 and immigration to Canada for Chinese people was restricted only to wives and children under that age; only Chinese people had this restriction imposed on them and this was not lifted until 1967! My dad was finally able to join the rest of his family in Canada, so he had almost as long a wait as my grandfather did. Anyways, the Canadian immigration laws at that time were rooted in racism and my family's story is unfortunately very common to many other Chinese families of the same generation.
Eric: My great grandfathers on both sides came over to work building the railway and it's well documented how poorly and unfairly they were treated compared to white workers. Both were also subjected to the head tax but fortunate enough to be allowed to stay in Canada. My father was able to join his grandfather in Canada but had to come into the country as the child of another family because at the time grandparents were not allowed to sponsor their grandchildren. He settled in and eventually corrected his status which made it possible for him to sponsor my mother to come to the country.
Tony: I am not as well versed in my family history as I would like. My dad got a business degree from UBC in the early 1960's. His classmates were offered much better job offers than him. He started out managing the lighting department at Eaton's at Brentwood Mall, which was a first for an Asian Canadian man.
Tony Lee
Had the band seen incidents of COVID-related anti-Asian racism? (I told them that I saw one homeless-looking guy yelling at a group of Asian girls once, but that was about it - the girls kept their cool, and I checked in afterwards, and it seemed like they were okay).
Tim: I have not experienced racism during the pandemic nor have I witnessed any incidents. It appears, as a male of decent stature, I'm not in the target group for the attacks - the perpetrators have been primarily targeting more vulnerable people such as seniors and young women, which is very unfortunate and disgusting, really.Neither Eric nor Tony have experienced anything directly; Tony adds, "As loud-ish Asians we attempt to speak on behalf of more reticent people."
So what should I do, I asked Tim, Eric, and Tony, about my 90-something year old uncle, who has taken to calling COVID the "Chinese virus?" (He started doing this after seeing videos put out by the Epoch Times - a Falun Gong-associated newspaper with a pro-Trump, anti-Communist bias - which blamed the Chinese Communist Party for COVID's spread; Epoch Times were calling it the CCP virus, and he "shortened" the phrase, probably with a little bit of old-fashioned "yellow peril" racism in mind, akin to the attitude parodied in the old couplet by Phil Ochs, "they speak Chinese/ and they spread disease"). What would you say to him?
Tim: I would ask him why he is specifically calling it the "Chinese Virus." How did the article from Epoch Times or any other information he has come across convince him to call it that? I would try to have a civil discussion with him about it and try to get to the root of why he is saying this and perhaps reflect on his biases and perceptions he has had over the years. As he is 90+ years old, it may be difficult to convince him otherwise, but it would be a very interesting and enlightening conversation to have.
Tony: I doubt that any Asian Persuasion would be effective on your elderly uncle.
Eric Lowe, Tony Lee
Tim: As you know I'm more of a power pop kinda guy, but I've always enjoyed the Specials/Special AKA and I own their albums... I'm not aware of any specific songs about anti-Asian racism [but see his mention of They Might Be Giants, above]. Again we are performing live on September 19 and have put together a set list for the gig, all covers, and some are other anti-racism songs. We encourage people to come to the show to hear what we end up playing!
Tony: I am a fan of the late seventies Two Tone movement (Specials, Madness, Selecter, Beat). I know less about early ska and rocksteady, but it's pretty great. Third wave ska is less interesting to me, except Fishbone. We are busting some other covers for a gig in September, some by Asian artists and some about general togetherness.
Then there's the question I'm dying to ask: what the heck does the band make of the Payola$ early single, "China Boys?" Is it some sort of glib racist anthem, or is it taking the piss, or what...? I've always enjoyed the tune, but never felt comfortable with the lyrics - it's undeniably catchy, maybe one of the Payola$' greatest moments musically, but, I mean, Skrewdriver are pretty catchy, too, musically. Have any of you had a chance to take it up with Paul Hyde or Bob Rock? What would you say to them?
Tim: To be honest, I've always enjoyed "China Boys" as a song, though I've always been bothered by the phrase "ten billion people." That is SO far off the mark of not only the population of China (1.4 billion, and much less when the song was written) but also of the entire world (7.7 billion people)! This rather outrageous number, not to mention the ridiculous lyrics of the song (e.g. "I hear them laughing/ I know where you are/ I don't want your TV/ I want your car") leads me to conclude that they are singing in the character of someone who is paranoid about a "Chinese invasion." In context, the song was written in the late 70s around the time of the Vietnamese-Chinese "boat people" who were forced out of Vietnam when it went under a Communist regime post-Vietnam war. So I am erring on the side of satire for this song, though their video and faux-"oriental" riff somewhat negates this! And how about "Turning Japanese" by the Vapors?!
Eric: I don't mind "China Boys" all that much. Can't say I was big Payola$ fan so never paid much attention to it really. Now Mitsou's "Les Chinois"...
Tony: I never thought 'China Boys" was racist. I'm a Payola$ fan. We decided that "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas is too problematic to play live, even though I love that probably racist song.
Ron Yamauchi (AKA Ron Kenji) and Kimiko Karpoff
What comes next? Is this a one-off project, or will they do an album, or..?Tony: APAS was definitely created as a one off. If no one had asked us to play live, we probably wouldn't. I've never met some of our band members in person, but I look forward to it. I would love to write a classic anti-racist anthem, but I suspect I might not.
Tim: As I mentioned, we'll be playing live on September 19 at LanaLou's. The show will be a benefit for Elimin8hate and will also feature four other APAS-related bands: China Syndrome, Swimming Hammers (with Brooke Fujiyama), Norine Braun and Alice Fraser, and the Hathaway Brothers (with Greg and David Hathaway). Not sure about other live gigs and other recordings after this, I believe there's a chance we will play as part of the Vancouver Asian Film Festival in November as well, but that hasn't been confirmed yet.
As for the great anti-racist Asian-Canadian rock anthem, I'm hoping it will be written at some point, maybe by one of us or, even better, by a younger Asian musician! I wrote a song a number of years ago when I was in 64 Funnycars called "Something Real" that was ostensibly about being in a mixed-race relationship and how difficult it was to be open about it, and how we could continue the relationship in secret but it would not change societal attitudes: "you'd think they'd learn from experience that it's not such a big thing anymore, can't they see that we're in love, and it makes no difference how I am, what I am, who I am..." I deliberately wrote the lyrics to be more universal as it could apply to other relationships (e.g. LGBTQ2+) but my original perspective is from the point-of-view of being in a mixed-race relationship. Of course, I am married to Sarah, a non-Asian, and Tony and Eric are also married to non-Asians, and I know several members of APAS are of mixed heritage.
Brooke Fujiyama
What else have the bandmembers been doing during the pandemic?
Tim: China Syndrome has been relatively quiet over the pandemic period. We start practicing again in September and will be looking to play live in the Fall. Mike and I have done some iso-collaborations of our songs during the pandemic ("Nowhere to Go," "Footsteps on the Roof," "Empty") and also covered some Red Hot Chili Peppers. Mike and I also did a couple of iso-collaborations with Eric and Gord Rempel of the Vanrays (combined we are the ChinaRays) on covers of Squeeze and Joe Jackson songs. Pill Squad is rehearsing again, and we will be playing live in the fall as well -- we released an EP online earlier this year, Kissan Silma, and will have a CD release party for it on Oct 1st at LanaLou's.
Eric: The Vanrays have just mastered 16 tracks, enough for an LP, EP and single. We hope to release the LP very soon with the other recordings following that. We've also recorded a video for one of the LP tracks called "Hard Times," but that will stay under wraps until the release. Otherwise we have a couple shows at Lanalou's scheduled for Nov, details to come.[Check their bandcamp page for updates?].Tony: EddyD & the Sex Bombs recently released a second album, Yikes!, and will play in October. Sparky Spurr and the Wretched Sinners play in mid August and might record soon. The New Black has an album in the can, but won't always return my emails. Kele Fleming is writing songs for a new album. The Hard Rock Miners' Singalong has repurposed itself as The South Trout Orchestra for outdoor gigs.
Kele Fleming and Tony Lee
Thanks to Tim, Eric, and Tony for taking time with my questions and their answers, and for putting together such a cool project! Get tickets for the Elimin8hate fundraiser/ Asian Persuasion All-Stars gig here. For updates, check out their Facebook page. To learn more about Elimin8hate, visit their website.
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