Philip Kan Gotanda in Concert
CD Cover
24 page booklet
Thoughts by Philip Kan Gotanda
To give this CD more context, the work is from my music period of the late 60’s into the early 80’s. It coincides with my growing Asian American consciousness and activism in the artistic, cultural and political life of that movement. At the time of the concert, I was playing with my friend, David Henry Hwang, whom I met several years earlier at East West Players in LA. I was in their rehearsal space on Santa Monica Blvd playing my guitar when David knocked on the door and introduced himself. Mako had sent him over. David was carrying his violin and we decided to jam.
I remember a sense of having met someone who shared an emergent Asian American aesthetic. For this concert in Chinatown I invited a friend up from Los Angeles, Alan Furutani, to play horns and flute on a couple songs. He has a nice solo on Kamikaze. Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo came on stage to play shaku-hachi and sing harmonies on Blue Revival.
I also include recordings from other concerts. David and I played and toured for a time with Robert and Sam Takimoto in a band called Bamboo Brew. I’ve included a song from a performance by BB entitled, Eating Fish. The recording is a bit rough but I want to include a song from the group. I’m also including the song, Yohen, Peter Horikoshi and I performed at a college. It’s a section of a longer autobiographical song (15 minutes) that I wrote about being Asian American. I have no full recording of it and no longer remember any of it but the portion I sang here. Over the years, many of the 70 or so songs I’d written during that 15 year span have been lost or forgotten. I’m thankful to Peter for resurrecting this concert by Charlie and myself and allowing a bit our cultural history to be heard again.
Introduction by Peter Y. Horikoshi, Producer, April 2019
Inspired by the Asian American and other movements of color in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Asian American musicians created art that directly engaged issues of identity, community, and social change. Music was seen as an integral part of the movement, providing a soundtrack for the political struggles to empower our communities.
I met Philip Kan Gotanda around 1978. Philip had graduated from law school, and was struggling with the desire to fulfill his parents’ dream of him becoming a lawyer and his personal desire to express himself creatively. In addition to writing songs, he was working on his first play, The Avocado Kid, or Zen and the Art of Guacamole. Of course, Philip is now an internationally acclaimed playwright. We got along well both personally and musically, and Philip asked me to perform with him at the Amerasia Festival at Fresno State University on March 4, 1978. One of the songs from that performance, “Yohen,” is included as a bonus track on this CD. Like Charlie, Philip’s skill in presenting his music are what makes him stand out. The arrangements are crisp, his guitar playing is precise and deliberate and highlight the messages of his songs.
Fast forward to 1979, when I was part of the Japantown Arts and Media (JAM) Workshop in San Francisco’s Japantown. The musicians at JAM put on a series of concerts featuring Asian American musicians to share our music. The third concert featured Philip Kan Gotanda who was living in San Francisco and Charlie Chin who flew from New York to perform. Philip invited David Henry Hwang, Alan Furutani and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo to play with him. Yes, the same David Henry Hwang who is also an internationally acclaimed playwright! Alan, who is based in Los Angeles, still performs with his group FuJazz. Robert is an internationally acclaimed storyteller and performs with his wife Nancy Wang as part of EthNohTec, based in San Francisco. The other bonus track on the CD was performed by Philip, David, Robert and Sam Takimoto in a group called Bamboo Brew. Robert, Sam and I were members of Yokohama, California in 1977.
I wanted to release these CDs of Philip’s and Charlie’s concerts so that we can recognize them for their creative musical works and their engaging performances. There aren’t many recordings of the groups from that era. We are fortunate that these cassette (!) recordings from almost 40 years ago are in such good condition. I am hoping that you “old folks” who are presumably the ones buying this will share it with your children and grandchildren to show them that we had some fantastic songwriters and singers who sang songs about us and our communities.
I also figured that, even though CDs are a dying form of media, it’s the booklet with the lyrics and introductions that will make this purchase worthwhile. Philip’s and Charlie’s personalities certainly come out in the insightful comments they make between songs.
Finally, JAM was started by artists and musicians who were truly talented. The silk-screened poster for the concert, as well as the artwork for the CD, were designed by Zand Gee. I still have the poster, which is in the center of this booklet, among my collection of cherished items from back in the day.
While preparing these CDs, I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing these songs again and again. I glean something new with each listening. I hope that you enjoy the music as well and share it with your friends and family.
The retail price of the CD is $15. To purchase a CD, click on Contact or Buy CD. If purchased through this website, this price includes shipping and handling. The CD is also available at the locations listed in the page entitled ALSO AVAILABLE AT. Please contact us if you know of an Asian American community organization or local store that might wish to sell the CD. If you have comments, please contact us as well. Thanks!
The songs on the CD are:
** Performed by Bamboo Brew: Philip, David Henry Hwang, Sam Takimoto and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo at Stanford University
- Miles and Miles
- All American Asian Punk
- Deliver Me from Eden
- Blue Revival
- Can't Quit You
- The Asian American Dream
- Kamikaze
- Feel
- Pounding of the Drum
- Ballad of the Issei
- Yohen*
- Eating Fish**
** Performed by Bamboo Brew: Philip, David Henry Hwang, Sam Takimoto and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo at Stanford University