Not So Mellow Yellow

After a little hiatus, we are back.  On this episode I talk with Matt McGibney. He's a guitar technician for quite a few bands as well as a guitar craftsman (His website https://mcgibneyguitars.com/ ).  He's also a Korean-American adoptee and a father! We met each other through Ben because they both work with the band The Drive-By Truckers when they are on tour. We talk about his adoptee experience and how it differs from my own a lot. I appreciated getting to know all of these things about Matt. It's very beautiful the bond he has with his family. We talk about his daughter and what it has been like approaching the concept of race. Especially right now with racism related to COVID-19.  She is only 4 years-old right now but I feel like these discussions really reflect the kind of nurturing environment Matt and his wife are creating for her.  I also got to feature a band, with amazing guitar, that I love dearly. Grand Vapids' album Eat the Shadow is in my regular music rotation so it's really awesome they let me feature "Disjecta." Their music can be streamed on all major music streaming platforms. I totally forgot to mention that in the episode.  I'm happy to be back to doing this.  Conversations like these give me hope.  Enjoy. Extra note:  Thanks for coming back. I've recently had a lot of changes happen in my life. I don't work the same jobs I used to and my family has moved to New Hampshire. I think things will get better now. Thank you for listening. 

In this episode I get to talk with the host of the Adopted Babies From China Podcast, Tara. We get INTO it in this episode. We talk about life. We talk about our connection to our birth cultures, or lack there of, in my case. We talk about the complexities of trying to be Asian when raised in predominantly white spaces. How it feels like an uphill battle where there is no winning. We also talk about how current events in the world, such as the BLM movement, are making it possible to talk about the injustices that POC face.  We talk about our hopes for the future. Hopes for open conversations about race.  We are starting here.  Adoptees exist in a permanent in-between state. Neither Asian enough, nor American enough. What do we do? We talk to each other.  Our music feature today is a super cool band called Immaterial Posession. They've just released their first sell-titled album and it's currently available on all major music streaming platforms. Please check them out, as well as Tara's podcast Adopted Babies From China.  Thank you very much for listening.  - Abby

Today’s episode features our first guest! Dante Brice is a friend of mine that I went to high school and some of college with. He’s an Atlanta-based filmmaker who is incredibly talented. We have some great discussions about growing up in predominantly white spaces as minorities and the many frustrations that come with it. We also talk about limitations in creative spaces and defunding the police. If that’s not enough, todays music feature is by Atlanta-based band Chick Wallace, a great song called “Topolocroy” that you can find on Spotify, Apple Music, and Youtube. This episode truly has everything and I hope you enjoy. I’m not sure if anyone out there reads these things but I am more proud of this episode than any other so far. I think the discussions we have are really important. A huge thanks to everyone involved that make this a reality. Including you.

Today's episode is all about representation! Take a shot every time I say the word representation ( just kidding, don't do this, you will be in pain after 3 minutes). I discuss forms of Asian representation in films and television as well as adoptee representation. I talk about the effects and implications of these roles.  I'll talk about solutions and a bunch of other fun things. Today's music break is provided by my friend Klypi and it is their song called "I'm Fine." I thank them very much for contributing and thank you very much for listening. 

Welcome to the very first episode! It all starts somewhere, right? Here I'll talk a little bit about myself and my past. I'll talk about my journey so far navigating new truths about my adoption, as well as introduce some goals for the podcast. We also have a lovely music jam provided by Nicholas Mallis. I hope you enjoy the first of (hopefully) many. Recorded on 7.18.20 by Ben Hackett

The introduction to my podcast where I discuss what is yet to be discussed.