Windows to the Inside
Showcased and Celebrated for Who I Am.
I am in the middle of preparing for two lovely shows next week. The image above is one of the promotional shots that worked out from the photoshoot I mentioned a couple of weeks ago.
First up, on Tuesday, October 8, starting at 6PM, at New Heights Brewing Company in downtown Nashville, my band, Ancestral Tongue (MaxZine and I doing a stripped down set for this show), is part of an all-Filipino lineup of musicians. It is incredible that this is happening in Middle Tennessee, but I am proud to be part of it.
Then of course, for my second year as a performer at BoroPride in Murfreesboro, TN, you can catch me and my full band the following Saturday, October 12, at the Walnut House starting at 6PM. In this case, we are part of a lineup of talented queer musicians.
When I was first starting out in Nashville several years ago, there were no such spaces for someone like me, a queer Filipino immigrant, to be celebrated and showcased. I have felt out of place and treated like a token and a novelty plenty enough. Despite these feelings, I carried on with my art, and it looks like the world is finally catching up.
I am deeply thankful for these opportunities and for playing with the supportive and kind ensemble of musicians Andrew Weitze on guitar, Joe Allen on drums, and MaxZine Weinstein on mandolin, that comprise Ancestral Tongue.
Regardless of what opportunities may or may not come my way, I have learned that beauty and fulfillment lie in the making—being entangled joyfully in the act of creation no matter what.
Let’s open some windows.
COLOR NOTEBOOK
The valleys and hollows of a face.
Emotional core.
A big cat.
ABSTRACT FLOWERS
Points of light.
Caught in the wind.
Delicate.
TEXTILES
It’s been slow going on the textiles front. On this embroidery piece, I cannot decide if it will say “An Eagle” or simply “Eagle.” I am stumped.
STILL LIFE
MaxZine has been growing watermelons this year on mounds of decomposing wood chips. This one weighed in at just over 33 pounds, and it was delicious! Jack Daniels did not sponsor this growth.
UPCOMING SHOWS FOR FALL 2024:
