The Sulu Artist Network (Regie Cabico, DJ Boo, Taiyo Na, Koba, Hanalei Ramos, Derek Srisaranard, Janet S. Kim, Kelly Tsai, John Kim, Terry Park, Emily Chang, Corinne "Calamity" Manabat, Jeannel Garcia, Vinh Hua, Danny Katz and more)
Influences
Basement Workshop, Kearny Street Workshop, I-Hotel, APIA Spoken Word & Poetry Summits, (re)collections, Boston Progress, Locus Arts, Tuesday Night Cafe
Started in September 2005, the Sulu Series is a monthly showcase of emerging and established Asian American artists locally and across the country.
Hosted by Regie Cabico, curated by Artistic Director Taiyo Na, with music by resident crowd mover DJ Boo, and brought to you by the Sulu Artist Network, the Sulu Series, named after Sulu of Star Trek - the first Asian American character to venture into unknown galactic quadrants - and a remote island in the Philippines, features Asian American performers in music, spoken word, video and multidisciplinary performances from the local and national scenes.
Regie Cabico, the series co-founder and host was inspired to start Sulu because New York lacked a gathering of emerging and established Asian artists. "When I started performing my work in the Nuyorican Poets Cafe 13 years ago there was no community or support." He is currently Artist-In-Residence at NYU's Asian Pacific American Studies Department and a Poetry Slam Icon having won top prizes in the 1993, 1994 & 1997 National Poetry Slam and has appeared on HBO's Def Poetry Jam.
"I was really impressed with the growing Asian American Renaissance in all of the major cities but realized that there was no center where we could gather at least on a monthly level. We, a collective of Artists at the Asian Spoken Word summit in Boston, gathered New York artists and did a Katrina benefit at Galapagos and at the ImaginAsian Theater. The energy was so good I wanted to keep it going. This is the only performance showcase of its kind with this scope."
"There are mostly Asian nights in New York comedy clubs but this will mix comedy with a strong political backbone and artistic styles. The fact that this series isn't named after a fruit, a beverage or anything edible in the Orient is already taking us light years ahead."
For Artistic Director Taiyo Na, Sulu is about creating a base. "Sulu is for keeping the community inspired through the arts and keeping the artists community-minded. You always need a hub where younger artists connect with older ones and vice versa. You always need that space where you feel a sense of community and legacy and remember to stay a part of it no matter where you go."
Recent artists featured include Michael Kang (The Motel), ApSci, Ishle Yi Park, Chan, The Ides, Beau Sia, Misnomer(s), Organic Thoughts, Koba, Kelly Tsai, Stone Forest Ensemble, Rain Noe, Wayne Hsu, Florence Yoo, Micheal Hsu, Kevin So, El-Gambina, Hanalei Ramos, Zach Lost, Adriel Luis, Red Doors: The Movie and many others.
COME CHECK OUT THE BIG NYC SHOW... IT IS GONNA BE CRAZY!!!! LIVE BAND... FREE CD'S FOR THE FIRST 10 POEPLE... AND AN AWESOME OPPORTUNITY TO HELP BADI MAKE WAVES IN NYC.
Love what you're doing.Thanks for the Add! Keeping real Art Alive on Mondays @Hacineda/40C on NYC's L.E.S. with Open Mic Muci/Poetry.Come chk Us out! www. Myspace. com/OneMicNite
Hi SULU SERIES, Sorry I've been so hard to reach the past few months. Between prepping my 80s show ("give a little respect...to me" - Erasure), learning new shamisen pieces (any excuse to look like something out of Memoirs of a Geisha!) and recording my Transformers tribute album (Optimus Prime - I think about you all off the time), I barely sleep!
But as busy as I am, I feel extremely blessed by such loving, caring and supportive fans, friends and family. You make every moment of this journey worth it! As a way to say thanks, and in my best efforts to spread holiday cheer, my Strangely Beautiful CD is now available for f-r-e-e (or almost ;-)
That is, you can now pay what you want/can. Any amount. No catch!
So stock up on copies of Strangely Beautiful now - they make great stocking stuffers and they'll only cost you what you pay :-) Please message me your mailing address and how many you want and I'll get them to you in no time!
Thanks again + best wishes for a nice, safe and peaceful holiday season.