Good Asian Drivers: The New Gay Interview

Good Asian Drivers are dyke singer songwriter Melissa Li (right) and trans man spoken word artist Kit Yan (left). GAD's mix of funny and thought-provoking performance comes to Phasefest this Thursday. Kit talked to us about their recent tour, Asian and trans inclusion in queer artist communities, and oh yeah, Katy Perry. (Photo credit Kelly G. of Closed Circle Photography)

TNG: Where'd Good Asian Drivers come from?

Kit Yan: I started out in the competitive spoken word scene, going to international slams at a pretty young age, and at that point in my life, I hadn’t even started to become part of the queer community, or the Asian political spoken word community at all. My idols and heroes are the folks that run the major venues in Boston--the Cantab Lounge and the Lizard Lounge--and also, Eric Darby, Iyeoka Okoawo, Michael Brown --he’s one of the oldest folks in spoken word and I was really lucky to have him as a mentor in my teens.

In Boston, the queer Asian performing arts scene is pretty limited, so it’s pretty hard not to know of each other. Melissa’s been performing for nine years, and I’ve been performing for six years, so we’ve always been aware of each other’s work. I was sort of at the point in my career where I was ready to do something crazy, so I approached Melissa and was like what do you think about going on tour, driving across the country? She was like, okay, and we both quit our jobs, which was sort of nuts and spent three months preparing and then drove across thirty states and performed in like twenty cities.

TNG: So literally, you were good Asian drivers . . .

The name definitely plays on Asian stereotypes--we wanted to change that to a positive statement, but the social mission of our tour was really just a lot of queer and Asian visibility--our stories, our communities’ stories, as artists. Within the Asian community, especially, being an artist is not really seen as a first choice for a career.

TNG: What’d your parents want you to be when you grew up?

KY: (Laughs) I went to business school, actually, so I think they were hoping I’d do something with that. At this point, our parents are at least used to the idea that this is the work we do, but I wouldn’t say that either of our parents are our biggest fans.

When we were traveling around the country, it wasn’t that often that we’d meet other young, queer, and Asian kids. And a lot of times, when we did, they’d just be like, thanks for coming to our town and sharing your work and hanging out. We actually built our schedule to take time to go to very small communities, like the only gay club in Billings, Montana. We were down in a GLBT center in Tucson, we were doing a benefit for the earthquake in China in New Orleans--just communities where there are less Asian folks, less queer folks, and people were just really receptive--I think that’s what really keeps us going.

TNG: You play a lot of colleges--How're are your club shows different?

KY: What’s really cool about our pieces is that they’re educational and also highly entertaining at the same time. So we get the same work done, but at a club space, the performance can get a little crazier.

TNG: So the folks at Phasefest can expect you to get a little dirty in your set?

KY: Oh absolutely, absolutely. No censoring.

TNG: As a duo made up of a dyke and a trans man, do you guys talk about how dyke spaces are not always necessarily trans-inclusive spaces?

KY: Melissa has this piece that she performed the other night at NYU. It’s called “My Boy,” and it’s about me. In it she says, when I was growing up, I was an out lesbian but didn’t really have a complete picture of all the different types of people in the queer community, never knew any trans folks besides knowing “of them” in theory, but I’ve never been so close to someone until I met you. I think one of the lines goes, “I used to think T meant trivial between me and my friend, who cares if I mix up my hes and shes, as long as I didn’t intend to offend.” I think that that song is really powerful in terms of an ally song that’s really well-written from the perspective of someone who’s just coming into it, being educated, and from a very personal standpoint. Because sometimes, I think people talk about trans folks like we’re mythical creatures--You know what I mean? Her song is so open and so honest.

TNG: You guys will be playing at the oldest lesbian bar in the country . . .

KY: Yeah, historically, dyke bars have not always been trans friendly, but I think the times are changing, cause I feel more comfortable now in these spaces, even as a completely passing trans man, than I did previously. I don’t know if that’s because I’ve become more comfortable in my own identity, or if the club scene or community is changing. I think there’s still a lot of work to be done, which is why I don’t ever shy away from going into a space like that. A lot of times, an older dyke might not even know a lot of trans people, so to be able to sit down over a beer and talk about stuff, it's just a really great opportunity.

One of my most recent poems I read in Boston at Queer Women of Color week was about coming out as a trans guy formerly coming from a lesbian space, because that’s where a lot of people are kind of borne out of. I wrote that piece because I went around the country and I met all these young trans folks who were like, I’m afraid of everything--I’m afraid of being rejected by the community, I’m afraid of never falling in love again, and all of these things. So I wanted to write a poem that’s like, it’s okay, you’re beautiful, and we’re still here for you.

TNG: I'm also wondering how you guys manage touring as a vegan and an omnivore.

KY: In the South it was pretty difficult--Vancouver and the West Coast, no problem.

TNG: Yeah, there’s a lot of don’t ask don’t tell with vegan food in the South. Like you know bacon made its way in there at some point.

KY: I tried my best to find vegan food, but there were definitely some slip-ups along the way where I ate something and I knew, and was like, "Oh no."

TNG: You guys have a lot of your pieces up on YouTube . . .

KY: Have you watched our latest one on the Katy Perry song? (laughs) Our thing is, we want to see more queer, trans, and Asian faces out there in the media. So what Melissa says is, if you want to see your faces out there in mainstream media, then just put them in there! Which is what we do--we find these incredibly mainstream songs, usually ones that we don’t like, and we’ll either change the lyrics or totally fuck up the video and make it our story instead. In our Katy Perry video there’s like trans folks, bi folks, lesbians, butch dykes in a pillow fight--

TNG: Totally beyond whatever Chapstick image Katy Perry had of kissing a girl. So, what’s next?

KY: We just moved to Brooklyn--like days ago. We’re back on the college circuit for our fall tour, and we’re always working on music videos. So as soon as the next dumb song hits mainstream, we’re on it! We’ll crank it out in like a week. We’re currently looking for people to make cameos in our videos, too. We don’t have time for day jobs.

Good Asian Drivers perform at Phasefest, Thursday, Sept. 11, along with:

Bitch
Thomasina and the Jam
Priscilla Rae
Natalie E. Illum (DC)
Crys Matthews

Doors at 7 pm / 21+
$15 / tix at door or in advance
Phase 1
525 8th St. SE