Content Magazine

#31 - Trami Cron - Chopsticks Alley

Trami Nguyen Cron, the founder of Chopsticks Alley Art, and author of her 2016 debut novel, VietnamEazy: A NovelaboutMothers, Daughters, and Food. Having lived in cultural crossroads for most of her life Trami founder Chopsticks Ally Arts in 2018 to bring their people’s artwork outside of their community into the mainstream so that “our narrative, our voices, our version of things is being seen.”

In our conversation, Trami talks about the journey to publish her book and founding Chopsticks Alley.

Follow Chopsticks Ally Arts at chopsticksalleyart.org and @chopsticksalleyart https://www.instagram.com/chopsticksalleyart/

Find out more about Trami in Issue 12.2 "Sight & Sound." http://bit.ly/TramiCron122

Written by Esther Young @eestarrious (https://instagram.com/eestarrious)

Photography by Peter Salcido @peter_salcido (https://instagram.com/peter_salcido)

Music for this episode is "Alone Time" by Mild Monk

Follow him at:

IG: MildMonkMusic (https://instagram.com/mildmonkmusic)

Spotify: Mild Monk http://bit.ly/MildMonkMusicSpotify

Read interview with Mild Monk in issue 12.0 (http://bit.ly/MildMonk120)

Karen Gutfreund is a curator focusing on feminist and social justice themed art and is also a practicing artist. She has been a contributor to Content Magazine with her piece on "Art as Slow Change" (http://bit.ly/artslowchange104). Karen's current work is a catalog featuring 147 artists with over 350 works titled, "Not Normal: Art in the Age of Trump" as is a visual protest of the Trump administration. In our conversation, Karen discusses her journey as an arts to curator and activist. 

As well as the process and reasons for collecting the works displayed in "Not Normal." Follow Karen: https://instagram.com/karengutfreundart http://karengutfreund.com 

Order  "Not Normal: Art in the Age of Trump" at https://bit.ly/NotNormalArt 

Preview catalog video overview at https://youtu.be/NNGLYbKr6_4 

Music for this episode is "Time Alone" by Mild Monk 

Follow him at: IG: MildMonkMusic (https://instagram.com/mildmonkmusic)  

Spotify: Mild Monk http://bit.ly/MildMonkMusicSpotify  

Read interview with Mild Monk in issue 12.0 (http://bit.ly/MildMonk120)

#29 - Usha Srinivasan, Founder, and President of Sangam Arts Usha started reconnecting with native forms of art from her home country, which led her into the local arts and culture scene. Soon she noticed that there were many diverse subgroups of people engaging in the arts from their country of origin but not being exposed to other traditions that are happening here in Silicon Valley. Thus, she launched Sangam Arts (Sangam actually means 'coming together' in Sanskrit) in 2013 to help connect our region's diverse art experiences. In our conversation, Usha explains her transition from engineer to the arts, and her passion for having Sangam Arts promote multicultural understanding through performing arts. 

Follow and participate in Sangam Arts (https://sangamarts.org) 

Instagram: @SangamArts and @mosaicsilliconvalley (https://instagram.com/mosaicsiliconvalley)

Music for this track is a piece is called "Strings and Bow" Composed by Arjun Verma (Commissioned by Sangam Arts as part of our Mosaic Silicon Valley initiative), Performed by Arjun Verma (Sitar)| Shenshen Zhang (Pipa) | Robert Howard (Cello) | Sudhakar Vaidyanathan (Tabla)

Read original article with Usha in issue 10.4 "Profiles" (http://bit.ly/Usha204)

Written by Tad Malone (https://www.instagram.com/tee_emart/)

Photography by Daniel Garcia (https://www.instagram.com/thecultivator)

Jonathan Williams took the helm as Executive Artistic Direct in July, amid the COVID pandemic. As a theatre, their performances (and revenue) came to an abrupt halted with the shelter-in-place orders. Immediately, the Tabard team began to think to go way to pivot and produce a live-stream format and presented one-man show performances of "Looking Over the President's Shoulder," featuring James Creer.

However, when the County Health Department got wind of it, Jonathan found himself in ongoing ZOOM dialogue to assess what Tabard would and would not be allowed to produce.

We start our conversation with Jonathan immediately after getting the news that Tabard would not be able to live-stream or perform "Arsenic and Old Lace, which was scheduled to open Friday, September 18. Though he was stunned from the news, he gracious agree to continue with the interview.

Follow, donate, and volunteer at abardtheatre.org (https://www.tabardtheatre.org)

IG:@tabardtheatre (https://www.instagram.com/tabardtheatre)

Music for this episode is "Time Alone" by Mild Monk

Follow him at:

IG: MildMonkMusic (https://instagram.com/mildmonkmusic)

Spotify: Mild Monk http://bit.ly/MildMonkMusicSpotify

Read interview with Mild Monk in issue 12.0 (http://bit.ly/MildMonk120)

Photo by Dave Lepori (http://www.leporiphoto.com/)

Jessica Paz-Cedillos - Executive Director School of Arts and Culture

Jessica accepted the School of Arts and Culture's role in March 2019 with years of experience in community service and activation. She brings those skills, knowledge, and passion to her new position, which has been vital. They have had to pivot t they working out the mission to catalyze creativity and empowers the community. 

In our conversation, Jessica, who sees her work as being in service to the community to help build a thriving society, shares her decision to take the ED position. And, discusses the program changes the School of Arts and Culture has made in response to the pandemic and the community's care: food distribution and COVID-19 testing site.

Follow, donate, and volunteer at https://www.schoolofartsandculture.org

Music for this episode is "Time Alone" by Mild Monk

Follow him at:

IG: MildMonkMusic (https://instagram.com/mildmonkmusic)

Spotify: Mild Monk  (https://open.spotify.com/artist/06i319OuSFB02g15Z7eJb3?si=q_O2u7p8Q228dXw4aodylw)

Read interview with Mild Monk in issue 12.0 (http://bit.ly/MildMonk120)

Fiesta Pamplona is a documentary project from local photojournalist and San Jose State alumnus Neal Waters.

The beautify shot film records the process and events surrounding the Fiesta de San Fermín in Pamplona, Spain, which include the daily running of the bulls.

In our conversation with Neal Waters (executive producer), we discuss how this project came about and the festival's history. We also hear about Gabriel Pout's journey, who began as an intern but eventually became the project's director.

View film at https://vimeo. com/ondemand/fiesta

Social Media: fiestapamplona [https://www. instagram. com/fiestapamplona] (https://www. instagram. com/fiestapamplona [https://www. instagram. com/fiestapamplona/])

Website: fiestapamplona. com [http://fiestapamplona. com/] (http://fiestapamplona. com [http://fiestapamplona. com/])

This episode's music is sung by Mari Cruz Corral with guitar by Jokin Zabalza (Courtesty of ¡Fiesta!)

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Episode #25 Needle to the Groove (NTTG)  - Michael Boado & David Ma

Michael is one of the co-founders of the Needle to the Groove (NTTG) record store in San José and also know as DJ Basura. David Ma is part of the NTTG label, and is an accomplished writer, contributor, and curator to Content Magazine's Album Pick series. Check out latest selection at https://bit.ly/AlbumPicks123

The Needle to the Groove record store has significantly impacted the South Bay music scene since opening in July 2014. As a hub for vinyl and music enthusiasts, the talented and knowledgeable team, including Dan Bernal, Allen Johnson, and Michael Boado, didn't take long before deciding to launch their own label, which they did with the help of David Ma and Jeff Brummett.

In our conversation, Michael and David discuss how they met, the South Bay's music scene, and the unique style that the NTTG label brings to the community.

This episode's music is an exclusive track called "The Streets" from Needle to the Groove label's most recent album release By Every Means Necessary produced by Prince Paul djprincepaul  (https://www.instagram.com/djprincepaul/) and Don Newkirk donnewkirk (https://www.instagram.com/donnewkirk), and the score to the Netflix film "Who Killed Malcolm X."

Social Media: Store - Needletothegrooverecords  (https://www.instagram.com/needletothegrooverecords)

Label -  Needletothegroove_ent (https://www.instagram.com/needletothegroove_ent)

Bandcamp: https://needletothegroove.bandcamp.com/

Recorded July 7, 2020.

NTTG Origins story with Allen Johnson: https://issuu.com/content-magazine/docs/dine65_digital_full/28

Interview with DJ Basura: http://bit.ly/DJBarsua114

Interview David Ma: https://bit.ly/DavidMa84

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Episode #24  Socorra - Musician and Community Organizer

If you have been listening to the Content Podcast, you have heard her song "Muddy Water" behind the intro and the closing credits. Socorra, featured in issue 9.2, has not only been performing and connecting with the local music scene; she has also helped organize events with Filco and raise the next generation of artists as a teacher with the School of Rock. 

In our conversation, Socorra discusses the south bay music scene, her musical influences, and hear the story behind some of her music.

Look for Socorra's coming up release "Live from the Art Boutiki" 

Social Media: @socorramusic

Listen to all her music on Spotify https://bit.ly/SocorraMusic

Recorded April 28, 2020.

2017 interview on our issuu page http://bit.ly/92Socorra

Written by Tad Malone (https://www.instagram.com/tee_emart)

Photography by Mark Chua (https://www.instagram.com/mark_j_chua)

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Episode #22 Jay Kim - Silicon Valley Pastor and Author

Jay Kim, as Silicon Valley pastor, found himself wondering if the Church's quick implication of new technologies happened without giving thought to want might be lost in its application. That gave way to him penning his first book, Analog Church (InterVarsity Press).

In our conversation, Jay talks about the irony of having a book (that calls for physical connection) released at the start of SIP. We also discuss the process of writing and getting a book published.

Social Media: @jaykimthinks

Book available at InterVarsity Press https://www.ivpress.com/analog-church

Recorded May 14, 2020.