#ShowYourselfTour Shows Available Now for Patreons!

Dear loved ones,

In Spring 2021 I asked a group of my favorite musicians & artists to join me for the eight-show #ShowYourselfTour. I’m happy to share that all eight shows have been mixed, edited & are NOW AVAILABLE to watch anytime for all Patreon subscribers!

Creating these shows & collaborations lit a spark in me that got me through that last dark stretch of quarantine, and together w the beautiful audience community that grew around these shows, we raised over 5k for Hate Is A Virus, Stop AAPI Hate, AAPI Women Lead, Compassion in Oakland, and the Asian American Racial Justice Toolkit via The Quiet Voice Fund.

Here’s a recap of all the brilliant artists who performed on the tour:

SHOW #1 - TOM PRASADA-RAO, CHRIS PIERCE, ALEX WONG, DEWEY BUEHLER (BALLET DANCER)

SHOW #2 - MELISSA FERRICK, MARY BRAGG, ALEX WONG, ANNE OF ALL TRADES (WOODWORKER)

SHOW #3 - ELIZABETH & THE CATAPULT, SURRIJA, ALEX WONG, EME EME (CAPOEIRISTA)

SHOW #4 - AMULETS, ALICIA ENSTROM, ALEX WONG, ANASTASIA SAMOYLOVA (PHOTOGRAPHER)

SHOW #5 - BLEU, GARRISON STARR, ALEX WONG, BRIAN DETTMER (SCULPTOR)

SHOW #6 - RUBY IBARRA, BEN SOLLEE, ALEX WONG, CIONA ROUSE (POET)

SHOW #7 - ROTANA, HULA HI-FI, ERIC PAN, ALEX WONG, CELIA CHIRINE (PHOTOGRAPHER)

SHOW #8 - MILCK, RUTHIE COLLINS, ALEX WONG, KENNY HARRIS (PAINTER)

Amidst all the pivoting we all had to endure over the last year, curating and performing these virtual tours for all of you was definitely a bright spot for me.  I was so grateful to connect with all of you in a way I had really been missing since live shows disappeared, and it has inspired me to find ways to bring some of the unique, authentic connections in the virtual space back to in-person shows. Click here to watch the shows!

As always, I’m so grateful you’re here.

#WhereverYouAreTour Shows available on Patreon!

Happy Year of the Ox, my friends!

Wishing you excitement for all your plans, inspiration for all your projects, and some much needed peace of mind as we power ahead into 2021 together.  

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you again to everyone who joined us on last fall’s Wherever You Are Benefit Tour.  Together we raised over $4200 to donate to Hate Is A Virus, Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective and Sunrise Movement! 

I also want to let you know that the complete mixed and edited video recordings of all the concerts are now available on my Patreon page.  All members at any level get access to watch all the shows at any time.

Here is a recap of all the amazing performers we were blessed to have in the lineup:

SHOW ONE, 11-13-20 Featuring Glen Phillips, Eric Holljes (Delta Rae), Alex Wong and visual artist Brian Dettmer

SHOW TWO, 11-15-20 Featuring Vienna Teng, Tom Prasada-Rao, Alex Wong

SHOW FOUR, 11-22-20 Featuring Will Knox, Mark Caplice, Alex Wong and oil painter Kenny Harris

SHOW FIVE, 12-4-20 Featuring Barnaby Bright, Kyshona, Alex Wong and photographer Anastasia Samoylova

SHOW SIX, 12-6-20 Featuring Milck, Ari Hest, Alex Wong and director Ameenah Kaplan

Amidst all the pivoting we all had to endure last year, curating and performing these shows for all of you was definitely a bright spot for me.  I was so grateful to connect with all of you in a way I had really been missing since live touring disappeared.  It also opened up some new opportunities for collaboration that never would have been able to happen IRL.  Thank you so much for filling all the shows with your enthusiastic and welcoming energy.  The response to this tour inspired me to create something even bigger for 2021… which I will be sharing with you very soon!

As always, I’m so grateful you’re here.

Album Listening Party on Tuesday 11/13

Yo team!

Currently driving out of LA back to SF (technically I am sitting while Megan drives).  We had such a great time this past weekend playing some of the most beautiful rooms on this tour... the lovely Swedish American Hall in SF and The Troubadour in LA.  We were humbled and heartened to see so many people come out to enjoy themselves despite the stressful fire situation all around.

I wanted to give you guys the details for tomorrow's patron-only listening party for my new album!  I will be online from 12-2pm PST (PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE FROM ORIGINAL TIME OF 3PM, TO ACCOMMODATE OUR INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS) and broadcasting on FB live via my Artist Page.  At 12pm PST I will post a private SoundCloud link where you can hear the entire album at your own pace.  I decided to do it this way to avoid any potential streaming issues and to allow people to listen to the album at their own pace and go back and listen to songs if they want during the 2 hour window.  It's much easier to pretend you are working at your desk this way as well :)

The link will be active for 2 hours.  During that time, I will be available to chat about anything you want!  Ask me questions about the album, the recording process, the special guests (spoiler alert!), or anything else on your mind.  The chat will be available to the public, but only patrons will get the link to listen to the album.  

I can't wait to hang out with all of you tomorrow!

Much love,

A

New song, Shows with Vienna Teng!

Happy Spring, Music Family!

I hope you all had a rejuvenating Winter.  I’ve been very grateful for these last couple of months of down time… I was able to focus on recording my album, get to know all my root vegetables as a newbie vegetarian, and binge-watch Ugly Delicious (essentially torture for newbie vegetarians but what can I say I’m a David Chang fanboy).  Basically Sh*t got pretty crazy up in here.

This week Spring has been gently nudging the creatures of Nashville out from the shadows, myself included, and I’m getting ready to join the outside world again.  I’ve got a couple of fun events coming up next month that I am excited to share with you…

ONLINE CONCERT FEATURING VIENNA TENG AND OTHER SPECIAL GUESTS - APRIL 4

When I started my Patreon page, I honestly had no idea if anyone would sign up.  I created the milestone goals in the hopes that as we grew as a community, I could do something to thank you for your support.  I’m thrilled to announce that we have crossed the second milestone, which means I can afford to stream an online, Patron-only, all-request concert featuring Vienna Teng and other special guests!

The concert will stream live on WEDNESDAY 4/4/18 at 2 pm CDT and is FREE to ALL Patrons.  I will post a poll on the Patreon page and anyone who is an active patron by 3/31 can submit requests for the set list.  The songs with the most votes will make the set.

I’m so excited to get to reunite with Vienna.   She has always been one of my favorite musical collaborators and it’s been over 4 years since we’ve gotten to make music together.  I’m so grateful she'll able to join me for this special concert.  We will be creating unique arrangements of all the songs for this performance… Since we don’t have to face a particular audience, we will essentially play the whole set in a circle, surrounded by various instruments, and hopefully avoid bumping into each other as we move around the stage.

And if you can’t watch the broadcast, don’t worry… selected songs from the show will be filmed and edited and available to all Patrons after the concert!

DUO CONCERT WITH VIENNA TENG FOR CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY, BOULDER CO - APRIL 7

The following weekend, we are supporting Citizens Climate Lobby with a benefit show in Boulder CO.  The concert will raise money for CCL to help send CCL members to Washington to spread awareness about and discuss solutions to the multitude of issues caused by climate change.

SATURDAY APRIL 7, 7PM
UNITY OF BOULDER SPIRITUAL CENTER
2855 FOLSOM, BOULDER CO
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

Vienna and I will play a duo show consisting of both of our material, and I will also debut some songs from an upcoming duo album with Jesse Terry inspired by the village of Kivalina AK, one of the first American towns to be lost to rising sea levels within 10 years.  The album will be released in Fall 2018, but you can hear our first single, “Landfall,” on my Patreon page now…

NEW SONG FROM SOLO ALBUM RELEASED ON PATREON

Last month I released the second song from my upcoming album, “Me, Forever,” on my Patreon page.  

Here's a sneak peek…

This song was written with my good friend and collaborator Amber Rubarth.  As I’ve mentioned before, all the songs on the new album are a way for me to explore my relationship with my own memory.  I've had my tarot cards read by two different psychics, several years apart, who both told me that I've lived several lives in Paris... one suggested that I travel there, walk around the city, and try to find my old house.  Last Fall I had an opportunity to be in Paris, and I did just that.  This song follows the path I took wandering through the city that day.  

If you missed the first song, “Show Yourself,” you can check it out, along with a video of the recording process, for free right now.  I am releasing all songs from my upcoming album exclusively on my Patreon page, the BEST way to support my ongoing ability to create art.  If you like what you hear and see, please consider becoming a patron!

The third song, “If It’s A Crash,” will be released to Patreon later this week.  Inspired by a recurring dream of a car crash, it became a song about my struggle to learn how to embrace the unknown.  Become a patron and follow along as I record my album!

OK, that’s it for now.  Thanks again for reading, and for being with me here.  I am so incredibly grateful for your support.  Hope to see you online or at a show soon!

Much love,

Alex Wong

New Album on Patreon!

Dear Music Family,

I hope this letter finds you and your loved ones happy and safe.  My thoughts are with those dealing with the aftermath of the many recent natural disasters around the world.  More on that below…

It’s been a while since my last note. I hope you all had a wonderful summer.  Here are the highlights from mine: I got an inflatable Kayak and went lake camping with Charlotte the dog.  Charlotte got a lifejacket which has handles and is hilarious. I missed the eclipse completely. I got a basil plant and haven’t killed it yet. I spent a lot of time in my studio producing records and working on new music.

Also I’m going to Sweden in a week!  I was invited to the High Coast Songwriting Camp, consisting of 18 songwriters from all over the world.  I have no idea what to expect, but I’m super pumped about getting to meet/work with some super talented artists.  And I wouldn’t be mad if a little of that Swedish pop genius rubbed off on my new record.  Speaking of which…

I’m thrilled to announce that recording for my second solo album is officially underway!

The recording process can often be ridiculously isolated… an artist holes up in a studio, house, or underground bunker for weeks/months/years, does irreparable damage to personal relationships and personal hygiene, and emerges some time later to drop new music on an unsuspecting world. However, I’ve always loved when art is more of a conversation than a monologue, when listeners share their experience of the music and the artist reveals the seed behind an idea and how it becomes a finished song.

I want to invite my listeners into the creative process with the help of Patreon. Here’s how it works: You pledge a small monthly amount (as low as $1) and in return I give you access to cool stuff, like unreleased new songs and demos, behind-the-scenes videos of my production process from my studio, and even private online/in-person concerts and custom-composed music. All Patrons get exclusive access to the songs from the new album as they are completed, long before they are made available to the public. When you sign up at any level you will immediately get access to the first song from my new record, “Show Yourself.”

In light of recent events, I am donating 100% of all first-month proceeds from everyone who pledges by October 31 to disaster relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

It’s a strange time to be a musician as well as a music fan… we often wonder how to best support the independent artists we love… should we buy CDs, stream them on Spotify, or go see them on tour?  If you’re a fan of what I do as an artist, Patreon is THE BEST way to support my ongoing ability to create music and share it with the world. Please consider checking it out!

One more thing: None of this would be possible without the steady hand of my friend and new community manager for this Patreon campaign, Josephine Huynh.  She’s been working tirelessly alongside me to get ready for the launch, helping to design rewards that would be fulfilling for supporters, and helping to keep me on track throughout this process while I was consumed with writing and recording the music and occasionally pulling my hair out.  She’s talented, intelligent and organized, and I know firsthand that her support for the artistic community means the world to us musicians. People like her are a huge reason why we keep doing what we do.  Thank you Josephine!

Thanks so much for being part of this conversation.

Much love,

Alex Wong