The dragon was unveiled and the retiring Portland dance-rock group The Slants gave a surprise performance as part of the Year of the Snake celebration at Saturday’s Lunar New Year parade in Portland.
From the balcony of the Oregon Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association building on Northwest Davis Street, three band members performed a three-song acoustic set.
Most people in the throng below were taken aback by the band’s appearance. The Old Town Community Association’s Instagram page touted them as special hidden guests on Friday, the day before the event was officially revealed.
The band, which has mostly Asian American members, became well-known nationwide for its legal battle to reclaim the disparaging title “The Slants.” In a 2017 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, they finally prevailed in their battle to trademark their name.
Officially, the only two members of The Slants are Joe X. Jiang and Simon Tam, the band’s founder, but it seems that once you join, you stay in.
Aron Moxley, who sang with the band from 2007 to 2014; Johnny Fontanilla, who played guitar from 2007 to 2013; and Jiang, who joined in 2014, were all on Saturday’s lineup. According to Jiang, the group had never played together prior to Saturday.
As a mostly acoustic and narrative group, Jiang and Tam continue to write songs and perform. When Jiang claims that the Slants are primarily retired, he is using air quotes.
“We literally played last year, but the band is more or less done,” he remarked. This is what we’re doing. We may perform again this year. Additionally, we have performed at reunion shows nearly every year.
What’s Worth the Fight: The History of the Slants, an exhibit at the Portland Chinatown Museum that chronicles the band’s formation and legal battle, was partially responsible for Saturday’s special appearance.
According to the museum’s community engagement manager, Kapiolani Lee, it’s a quite lovely celebration of a distinct facet of Portland Chinatown history.
The display, which is open until May 11, features band members’ instruments and a drum kit. Inside the exhibit, signed copies of Tam’s book, Slanted, are for sale.
“We’re here in Portland and we want to support the museum,” Jiang stated. We are truly grateful that they wanted to commemorate us by creating an exhibit. This was our small way of giving back.
The Slants Foundation, a nonprofit organization established in 2018 that offers financial support and guidance to Asian American artists and activists, has become the new focal point for former and present band members.
We are now a theory. According to Jiang, the foundation is crucial because we are a band’s concept. We essentially decided to use whatever platform we had and attempt to give it back to the community and other artists as soon as we recognized we were getting too old to continue touring.
During Saturday’s Lunar New Year celebrations, the recently renovated parade dragon, PoChiMu—a abbreviation for Portland Chinatown Museum—also made its premiere.
In order to preserve the 150-foot-long, 36-year-old parade dragon, the Portland Chinatown History Foundation was awarded an Oregon Heritage Grant last year.
Nick Lee, the owner and artist of Studio Sign Co., fixed and repainted the dragon’s papier-m ch head and tail. After being carefully cleaned, the cloth body was reattached to the poles and hoops that had been reinforced. On Saturday, the torso was hand-sewn with thousands of sequins by volunteers, giving it a sparkling appearance as it moved through Old Town Chinatown.
Before the parade began, museum board member Tracy Quan referred to the eye-dotting ceremony that awoke the new and enhanced PoChiMu as the last touch that makes a piece of art come to life.
Here is Oregon and The Oregonian/OregonLive are covered by Samantha Swindler. You may reach her at oregonian.com/sswindler.
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