GRRL003: media whitewashing and the New York music scene featuring Nina Herrera Merkur of My Own Confusion

Grrl on Grrl: intersectional and trans-inclusive music & interview show

About the Episode

For episode 3, Nina of the bicoastal punk band My Own Confusion joined me over Skype to talk about the perils of gentrification, the difficulty of promoting shows in New York City, and whitewashing in the media.

Thank you all in advance for sticking through some of the spotty sections of the interview. Unfortunately, a poor Internet connection on either or both ends of a Skype call definitely creates some turbulence throughout the episode! I tried to clear it up as best as possible before sending the audio over to Lety, so… what I’m trying to say is, blame her if it still sounds bad. (Lety, I love you and thank you!)

You can check out My Own Confusion on their Facebook, Tumblr, and listen to three of their tracks on Bandcamp.

If you liked this episode, please rate us on iTunes. And as always, feel free to leave a comment, email me, follow me on Twitter, or like us on Facebook.

I hope you enjoy, and thanks for listening!

Listen Here

http://traffic.libsyn.com/grrlongrrl/GRRL003_ft_Nina_Herrera_Merkur_of_My_Own_Confusion.mp3

Download the podcast [~55MB 57 mins]

Show Notes

• [2:10] Songwriting process
• [3:50] My Own Confusion – “Truth Be Told” (Bandcamp)
• [8:15] Sub/Mission in San Francisco
• [9:00] Nina’s involvement in the Queens music scene and learning about bands
  • Taking Back Queens
  • Suburban Decay Records
• [9:40] Tall Boys – A defunct band of tall boys playing music
  • Their song “Doing Magic Mushrooms at Cracker Barrel” on Bandcamp
• [11:30] Is it true that the NYC music scene is unsupportive of each other?
• [13:25] The logistics of having two bands for the same project
• [15:25] Our thoughts on Pay-to-play (tl;dr It’s bullshit)
• [22:00] Month-related names and Japanese onomatopoeia
• [27:40] Freya Wilcox & The Howl – “Bury Me” (Bandcamp)
• [38:00] Making snacks in a hot car
• [39:40] Gentrification in San Francisco and New York
• [41:45] White washing in the media, including Avatar: The Last Airbender
  • Racebending.com
• [44:45] “Hard to find yourself in the media” as Asian Americans and Latinas
• [50:00] The beauty of The Room and Rocky Horror Picture Show
• [51:30] Cutters – “Young Gods” (Bandcamp)

Other Notes & Thanks!

Thank you to all the artists who gave me permission to play their songs and to Nina for joining me early on in the recording process. (She was guest #2, although I decided to release her interview third.)

Special thanks to: Sullen Ray who graciously allows me to use their song “Get Up Got It” as the Grrl on Grrl podcast intro and outro–listen to and buy their album Blue Minor on Bandcamp; Greg Guiliano for his financial support; and Lety Beers for her help with audio editing and knowledge.

And to all my friends who have been so supportive of this project, I love you!