Dec 03, 2013 8 Questions with: Me
Imprint Presents: David Choe at the Center for the Preservation of Democracy (October 17, 2013)
Over the holiday weekend I didn’t do anything worth exploring or sharing, so I’m going to take this opportunity to answer the 8 Questions questionnaire. After all, how can I ask my peers to participate unless I am willing to do so myself? Hopefully this won’t come across as too desperate or egomaniacal…
How would you describe your job?
After graduating from college in 1990, I immediately began writing about stuff I liked: music, comics, movies. Even when I was holding down “real” jobs, I contributed to DIY fanzines as well as glossier publications. Eventually, I co-founded Giant Robot magazine in 1994 and was able to write for a living after its first retail shop opened in 2000. Editing and writing expanded into layout, photography, and blogging. It was a great ride with great friends.
After the print incarnation of Giant Robot ran its course in 2010 (I still contribute to the online version) I was invited to join interTrend and Imprint. I am honored and very appreciative of still being able to write about topics that I care about: Architecture, the arts, entrepreneurs, subcultures, everything and anything pertaining to Long Beach. It’s also meaningful to continue working with friends.
What are you currently working on?
One of my regular tasks is writing the Psychic Temple blog. Not only does the second-oldest commercial building in Long Beach have a sordid past (cult headquarters, flophouse, bordello) and bright future (the next headquarters of Imprint and interTrend) but it is couched in a resurgent neighborhood with cool businesses and culture. I try to touch upon and celebrate all of those subjects.
I also write a weekly blog for Imprint that you are now reading, report on agency-related topics, and handle special projects and presentations.
The Psychic Temple (October 11, 2011)
What does your average work day look like?
Because I am able to work at home, I spend every morning volunteering at my five-year-old daughter’s elementary school. I make work-related meetings and outings or squeeze in a few hours of writing before kindergarten gets out, but also try to go out for a cheap lunch at least once a week. As much as I love spending time with Eloise, it’s important to hang out with adults, too. Skateboarders, musicians, photographers, artists, writers, designers, entrepreneurs–my friends are all creative and they all inspire me.
After spending the afternoon with Eloise and having dinner as a family, I’ll clock in a few more hours of work many evenings.
Where else do you find inspiration?
When I was editing Giant Robot, my interests expanded from punk rock, kung fu movies, Asian candy, and Japanese robot toys to include art, history, and, well, toys. These days, I’ve dialed everything back to music. I rarely purchase art or art books anymore, and only collect records with any regularity. I’ve been looking for gently beat-up, affordable old L.A. punk released on Posh Boy, Slash, Dangerhouse, Frontier, and other such labels that came out just before I started going to shows and buying records. I love everything about that era of music, from the raw energy of the bands to the awesome album covers to the description and documentation of my hometown’s underbelly. I still go to as many shows as I can, and often take my daughter.
Are you reading anything at the moment?
As a writer and an English major, I don’t read nearly enough. But my most recent conquests include the translated works of martial arts novelist Louis Cha and the London trilogy by Colin MacInnes. On my desk are the collected new Love & Rockets stories by Los Bros Herndandez and some David Foster Wallace books that I never finished.
Chad Tim Tim, Justin Reynolds, Paul Kwon, Jonathan Gold, and me at Long Beach: Work in Progress (April 26, 2013)
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
My parents say that I wanted to be a “Santa’s Helper” when I was in kindergarten, but by second or third grade I decided that I’d be a cartoonist. I still enjoy drawing and will give it a shot one day.
What’s your favorite post-work destination?
After working at night, I like to sleep! But I’ve been spending more time in Chinatown since Eloise started going to school there. After volunteering in the morning, my wife and I like to visit Philippe The Original for 45-cent coffees and a pastry before she goes to work. That place is timeless.
Before picking up Eloise from school, I rather enjoy meeting friends for lunch at Chego. The eatery is as trendy as it is flavorful and Roy Choi is a total rock star, but he single-handedly leveled L.A.’s food landscape with his Kogi truck and deserves all the run he gets. I’m glad he opened Chego in Chinatown, too. The turning point of a dying neighborhood used to be gay bars or art galleries, but now it’s cool restaurants.
I think it’s interesting that my immigrant grandfather was super involved in the area’s benevolent association scene, and then my parents moved away from L.A. to raise my siblings and me behind the Orange Curtain. Now they’ve moved back to the city to be near me, my sister, and our families, and we’re dragging them back to Chinatown!
Tanya Raukko, Julia Huang, Eloise, me, and John Hall at Architecture for Dogs/LBMA (June 20, 2013)
How often do you try something new?
All the time, but not on purpose. It just happens. Last year, I became involved in indie cinema by packaging some of my friends’ skateboard video shorts and getting them shown at film festivals in Chicago, Hawaii, San Diego, and New York City where I had connections. Now I’m helping out with the local Asian American film festival as part of the programming committee.
And just about a month ago, my wife and I began planning a series of benefit concerts. We’re bringing together Chinatown’s punk rock heritage and art gallery scene to rescue the defunded music program at our daughter’s elementary school. The first one takes place this weekend! How cool is it to take subjects that I used to write about and bring them together in real life to help kids and the community?
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