Golden Hour with Charlene Kaye

Season 3 finale! Charlene and Dave talk to the talented, hilarious, and charismatic hip hop artist Bohan Phoenix. Dialing from Chengdu, China, where he now resides, we get into his origins coming to the US when he was 11 years old, his rise in the New York City hip hop scene, and his return to China and being rap artist overseas. Listen to Bohan Phoenix's latest album 你的骄傲 Make You Proud on Spotify. Follow Golden Hour podcast on Instagram.

Today on the pod: Charlene and Dave share their first concert experiences. Then, they talk with Ashrita Kumar, the captivating frontperson of the punk band Pinkshift. Ashrita shares stories from their med school experience, the band’s pandemic-era origins and ascent, and how writing music brought them out of the darkest of days.  Find Pinkshift’s newest EP Suraksha on Spotify. Find them on Instagram @pinkshiftmd. Follow Golden Hour on Instagram @goldenhourpod.

Hawaii is a special place for Golden Hour. Charlene was born and grew up there, returning often. Dave visited for the first time a few years ago and fell in love. Not the mention the Pacific island has the highest percentage of Asians and mixed race people of any state in the US, and of course it has a rich musical legacy. And so today on the pod, Charlene brings you the next big thing out of Hawaii: Crossing Rain. The five members of the K-pop-inspired boy band are Monarch, Devin, Jorden, Asher and Shotaro, and their heritages range from Japanese, Filipino, and Native Hawaiian. The members ages range from 15 to 23 years old, and they talk about their K-pop inspirations, what they want people to know about Hawaii, and the time they convinced all their families to be in a music video.

This month on the pod! Charlene has been taking inspiration from Jimmy O. Yang’s comedy special. Dave is celebrating BEEF’s awards wins and has been binging season 3 of Single’s Inferno. Then! We are joined by the incredible indie pop artist FIG, whose latest single Solo Dates is all about self-love. We talk about her growing up all over Asia, the meticulous recording process she learned from MICHELLE (friends of the pod), and what’s with all the corn on her social media. And! If you’re in Brooklyn, NY on February 11, come to Golden Hour’s Lunar Lovefest, a Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day singles mixer and variety show, sponsored by our friends at Lunar Seltzer. Tickets available here.

This month on the pod, Charlene opened for the icon Madame Ghandi and Dave got a new electronic drum set. Then, we're joined by Dorothy Chan and Jisu Kim (and before you ask, yes, they are a couple) of the pop duo Sundial! The two met at Berklee College of Music, and since 2016 have been putting out their own infectious flavor of indie pop. We talk about the business side of their music, how they work together writing deeply personal songs, and how they've explored their Asian American identity in recent years.

On this episode of Golden Hour: Char moved to Brooklyn, Dave finished The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and we give a Golden Goose Award to our favorite hip-hop/punk collective out of South Korea. Then, Char and Dave interview NoSo, aka Baek Hwong, an LA-based indie singer-songwriter. They talk about the making of their latest album Stay Proud of Me, their latest single Kaitlin, the grind of touring, and cosplaying as your ancestors when you make kimchi.

Char and Dave are back with Season 3 of Golden Hour! They talk about joining the Potluck Podcast Collective, highlights from the 3rd Golden Hour Fest in Brooklyn, and Charlene showers Olivia Rodrigo with praise for her new album GUTS. Then, Charlene is joined by the incredible indie artist Miss Grit, aka Margaret Sohn. Catching her on tour in UK back in the spring, Charlene and Margaret share their mutual adoration of St. Vincent, dig into Margaret’s creative process in writing her latest album Follow the Cyborg, and ponder the impacts of AI on making music. Find Miss Grit on Instagram @miss_grit. Stream their album Follow the Cyborg on Spotify and purchase it on Bandcamp. -- Follow Golden Hour on Instagram: @goldenhourpod Like the show? Become a supporter! Golden Hour is part of the Potluck Podcast Collective

Today on the pod, host Charlene Kaye talks with with the charming and brilliant songwriter Julian Saporiti, aka No-No Boy. Right from the artist's name, there is hidden history baked in, as the "no-no boys" were Japanese Americans who were questioned during World War 2 about their allegiance to the United States. No-No Boy's most recent album, 1975 (another reference to the year the Vietnam War ended), is chock full of rich historical storytelling subject matter: Japanese internment, Vietnamese refugees, Saigon rock music lovers, and violence committed against Indigenous people. This conversation left us inspired and wanting to continue digging into so many more untold stories of Asian American history. --- In other news, the Golden Hour team will be taking a short, mid-season break before releasing another batch of episodes. And, we have some exciting announcements coming in the next few months. Make sure to follow us on your podcast platform of choice, and we'll see you soon. --- Listen to 1975 on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/33pWLN5PV3dsWS11LxmJsR?si=u4aDLUx7TDeFJr8nqPuQYQ Find No-No Boy on Instagram: hhttps://www.instagram.com/nonoboysongwriter/ Follow Golden Hour podcast: https://www.instagram.com/goldenhourpod Follow host Charlene Kaye: https://www.instagram.com/charlenekaye Follow producer Dave Yim: https://www.instagram.com/dave_yim

In today's episode, host Charlene Kaye invites over Connie K. Lim, AKA MILCK, to come to her home studio in New York. The Chinese American singer-songwriter shares her journey of surviving domestic abuse as a teenager and how she used music to channel her trauma. The two also get into how the singer-songwriter's career changed course after her song Quiet went viral at the Women's March in 2017 (and also how it didn't), and they share their experiences being in their mid-30s as women in the music industry.  Stay tuned at the end of the episode for a very special acoustic performance of MILCK's song Animal. Content Advisory: This episode contains descriptions of domestic abuse. --- Listen to Animal on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/6wcdbVdJ1GCJc7DhRqwQiL?si=0847d5045f4149b4 Find MILCK on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milckmusic/  Follow Golden Hour podcast: https://www.instagram.com/goldenhourpod Follow host Charlene Kaye: https://www.instagram.com/charlenekaye Follow producer Dave Yim: https://www.instagram.com/dave_yim

Yvette Young plays guitar like no one else. A self-taught virtuoso, Yvette started on classical piano and violin and was subjected to a brutal practice regimen, which ultimately led her to an eating disorder in order regain some control over her life. She ultimately fell in love with music again, and the world is better for it. As the principle songwriter of the band Covet, Yvette has come to define a singular style of progressive rock that is only made better by the joy she spreads watching her play. Host Charlene Kaye and Yvette get into her atypical childhood, her love of all things butt rock, and the biggest challenge she still faces as an Asian woman in music. --- Listen to Covet's most recent track, Firebird, on Spotify. Find Yvette Young on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/yvetteyoung/ Find Covet on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/covetband/ Follow Golden Hour podcast at: https://www.instagram.com/goldenhourpod Follow host Charlene Kaye at: https://www.instagram.com/charlenekaye Follow producer Dave Yim at: https://www.instagram.com/dave_yim

Kim Villagante, AKA Kimmortal, is a Vancouver-based, queer, non-binary, Filipinx rapper, singer, actor, activist, visual artist and all-around badass. Today on the show, host Charlene Kaye gets into it with Kim on being a multidisciplinary artist, their fraught relationship with the word "community," and what they said to Thundercat to make him laugh. --- Listen to Kimmortal's most recent track, This Dyke, on Spotify. Find Kimmortal on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/kimmortaltheartist/ Follow Golden Hour podcast at: https://www.instagram.com/goldenhourpod Follow host Charlene Kaye at: https://www.instagram.com/charlenekaye Follow producer Dave Yim at: https://www.instagram.com/dave_yim

On today's episode, Charlene catches up with her former Scottsdale, Arizona schoolmate-turned-rock-star, Jess Bowen. Jess, who is half Filipina, is primarily known as the drummer of the pop punk quartet, The Summer Set, which formed when the members were still in high school. The band broke up in 2017 and reunited just last year, 2022, to release their 5th studio album, Blossom. Now in her thirties, Jess shares everything she's learned about being a female musician in a male-dominated genre, how she used to make herself small, and how she has learned to take up space. Jess also talks about her experience jamming with Chad Smith in the Netflix documentary Count Me In, the moment her Filipina mother accepted her drumming career, and navigating social situations as a half Asian person who appears white.  --- Listen to The Summer Set's most recent album, Blossom, on Spotify. Find Jess Bowen on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/jessbowen/ Follow Golden Hour podcast at: https://www.instagram.com/goldenhourpod Follow host Charlene Kaye at: https://www.instagram.com/charlenekaye Follow producer Dave Yim at: https://www.instagram.com/dave_yim

Today on the show, Charlene talks with singer-songwriter Lea Thomas. Born on the island of Maui in Hawaii, the half Japanese musician remembers writing her first songs about her childhood banyan tree with her beloved first guitar. Later, she dove into the music industry and city life in New York, only to find herself burnt out, yearning for spiritual power of nature. Now based in the upstate New York, Lea's music travels between wall-of-sound indie, to country-infused folk rock, to ambient shoegaze, yet it's always grounded in her intimate, warm vocals. Stay tuned to the end of the episode for an exclusive acoustic performance of Lea's song "What Did the Music Sound Like," off her 2021 album Mirrors to the Sun. --- Listen to Lea's most recent album, Mirrors to the Sun, on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3gaxiMrzBfbqwygpq8hRgG?si=UBLiu-IqS5C5WYkalZt2jA Find Lea on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/lealeathomas Follow Golden Hour at: https://www.instagram.com/goldenhourpod Follow Charlene Kaye at: https://www.instagram.com/charlenekaye Follow producer/guest host Dave Yim: https://www.instagram.com/dave_yim Get tickets to Charlene's one-woman show Tiger Daughter on Jan 20: https://arsnovanyc.com/charlene-kaye-tiger-daughter

Sameer Gadhia is the powerhouse vocalist of the alternative rock band Young the Giant. For over a decade, the Indian American singer and songwriter has helped lead the seminal group through multiple gold and platinum singles and five full length albums, the latest, American Bollywood, was released in late 2022.  Today on the pod, Charlene gets in deep with Sameer, discussing Young the Giant's early formation, his cultural awakening during the Trump years, his Sirius XM show Point of Origin, and the stories behind this next era of Young the Giant. --- Sameer Gadhia on Instagram: @sameergadhia Young the Giant on Instagram: @youngthegiant --- Follow us! @GoldenHourPod on Instagram Host @CharleneKaye on Instagram Producer @Dave_Yim on Instagram Email us your thoughts at goldenhourwithkaye@gmail.com

On this episode, Charlene is joined by Emma Lee and Jamee Lockard of MICHELLE. Emma and Jamee are two of the four lead vocalists in one of the most buzzed about bands to come out of the New York indie pop scene in the last few years. Both are Korean American and New York City natives, who write songs that you can either serve up a Gen Z dance party, or cry alone in your room to, with lyrics touching on themes of heartbreak, home life, and their own racial identity. On the pod, Emma and Jamee discuss their mixed race anthem FYO, what it's like to collaborate in a six person band, and whether Jamee should bring her black belt recorder skills to MICHELLE writing sessions.  ---  Follow MICHELLE on TikTok and Instagram: @wearemichelle --- Follow us! @GoldenHourPod on Instagram Host @CharleneKaye on Instagram Producer @Dave_Yim on Instagram Email us your thoughts at goldenhourwithkaye@gmail.com

Today on the pod, an in-person conversation with Charlene and Ellie Kim, aka SuperKnova. Ellie is a Korean American transgender artist who writes, shreds guitar, produces, mixes, and masters all her own music. Her highly personal music aims to put the queer experience front and center. She also details the experience of her own transition and celebrates the complexity of being many different things at once. And before becoming a professional musician, Ellie actually completed med school, at one point advocating for her hospital to change their policy on performing surgery for babies born intersex.  --- Connect with SuperKnova at https://vibe.to/superknova --- Follow us! @GoldenHourPod on Instagram Host @CharleneKaye on Instagram Producer @Dave_Yim on Instagram Email us your thoughts at goldenhourwithkaye@gmail.com

Apl.de.Ap's journey from a poor farming community in the Philippines to a member of the one of the best-selling musical acts of all time is nothing short of miraculous. To give him better opportunities, his mother sent Apl, whose real name is Allan Pineda, to Los Angeles to live with an adopted family. Homesick, Apl would soon meet another young boy who shared his love for breakdancing. That friend would become his lifelong collaborator and co-founder of Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am. With their third member, Taboo, Black Eyed Peas would go on to win six GRAMMY Awards and sell 35 million albums.  In this episode of Golden Hour, host Charlene Kaye talks with the hilarious Apl about his humble beginnings, having to support himself working as a telemarketer, and navigating an eye condition that left him legally blind. --- Find Apl.de.Ap and Black Eyed Peas on Instagram --- Follow us! @GoldenHourPod on Instagram Host @CharleneKaye on Instagram Producer @Dave_Yim on Instagram Email us your thoughts at goldenhourwithkaye@gmail.com

It's almost 2024! Char and Dave reveal their most played songs of the past year and set their themes for the new one. Then, they are joined by artist and activist Sonny Singh to talk about his album Chardi Kala, the time he worked with Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, and his love/hate with his primary instrument, the trumpet. Happy New Year to our beautiful Golden Hour community! -- Find Sonny Singh on Instagram ⁠@iamsonnysingh⁠. Stream his album Chardi Kala on ⁠Spotify⁠ and purchase it on ⁠Bandcamp⁠. Follow Golden Hour on Instagram: @goldenhourpod Golden Hour is part of the Potluck Podcast Collective

In this special bonus episode, Charlene and producer Dave Yim close out the first season of Golden Hour by talking about the origin the show and re-visit some of their favorite moments from the past nine episodes. Thank you so much for being a part of our little community, and we'll be back later this year with more conversations celebrating Asian joy, creativity and intersectional solidarity. Peace and love. --- Follow Golden Hour on Instagram Host Charlene Kaye on Instagram Producer Dave Yim on Instagram Email us your thoughts at goldenhourwithkaye@gmail.com

For our final guest of Season 1 of Golden Hour, we wanted to take it back to a time when the term "Asian American" was only just being born. In the late 60s and early 70s, a new political consciousness was forming amidst the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. It was out of this time period that a trio of musicians recorded a singular album in 1973 called A Grain of Sand, widely considered to be the first recording of Asian American music. On this episode, Charlene talks with the album's co-writer and singer, Nobuko Miyamoto, who is now in her 80s. They talk about her recent autobiography entitled Not Yo' Butterfly and her solo album released on Smithsonian Folkways called 120,000 Stories. Nobuko shares her experiences living in a Japanese internment camp during World War 2, how she and Chris Iijima formed their partnership that led to A Grain of Sand, and what happened when she got a phone call from one of the most famous Japanese American artists. --- Follow Nobuko Miyamoto on Instagram --- Follow Golden Hour on Instagram Host Charlene Kaye on Instagram Producer Dave Yim on Instagram Email us your thoughts at goldenhourwithkaye@gmail.com