Guest Biography
Information on The Slants
| Name: | Slants, The |
| Title: | Band |
| Resides: | Portland, OR USA |
| Links: | Home Page MySpace YouTube AnimeCons.com Forums |
| Biography: | Jay Horton, of the Willamette Week, summarizes The Slants' bio perfectly: "It's a great story: All-Asian synthcore troupe lands anime festival, achieves instantaneous notoriety from overpacked fireball-laden maelstrom, inspires John Woo and Dragon Ball Z fans toward aggro electro and--just months after its first practice--books gigs across the globe. As shadow-warriory as the Slants' rise has been, it's still all about the tunes, and the band's debut--floor-filling synth pop bristling with all the menace and grandeur of its oft name-checked cultural icons--is propulsive, cinematic and impossible to ignore." "They've been described as "Chinatown dance rock," but The Slants are far from a novelty act," writes Seattle's alt-rock weekly magazine, The Stranger. NPR's All Things Considered" states that "It's tempting to peg the Slants in some existing Asian genre: Canto-pop, J-Metal, Viet Core....but they're not quite that simple." Incase you haven't heard, The Slants are one of the only, if not only, Asian synth-pop bands in the North America and they have been melting faces off all over the globe. Since the band's first show in 2007, The Slants have been cited as the "Hardest Working Asian American Band" (slanteyefortheroundeye.com), They've also had their fair share of press for touring the nation six times, rejecting a million dollar recording contract, being banned from a venue in Portland due to breathing fire, being considered "too controversial" for the state of Oregon, and were the first and only Asian band to be a Fender Music featured artist. It was 2005 when Simon Young left punk rock phenomenon, The Stivs, in order to start a synth-pop outfit. It took several years to find the right blend of experienced and energetic musicians, but the key players contributed to the band's out of gate success. Within three months of The Slants' first show, the group released their first album "Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts," hit the road with their first tour, and began receiving international press. The Slants began touring and promoting their album relentlessly, playing at not only rock venues around the country, but anime conventions and Asian cultural festivals as well. This built a dedicated following of "otaku" - ardent fans of Asian culture: Japanese animation, manga, video games, and music - and landed gigs where the band often played for audience of over 10,000. The decision to focus on anime events caught the attention of NPR, and in 2008, "All Things Considered" featured the band for their unique work in countering Asian stereotypes as well as penetrating the mainstream market with their culture. With a dark, yet danceable sound, the band's unique music have won them several "Album of the year" titles from Rockwired, the Portland Music Awards, AsiaXpress, the Willamette Week, and other publications. The catchy songs and ability to cross genres have also led the band to share the stage with artists such a Sir Mix-A-Lot, Girl Talk, and Mogwai as well some of most popular bands in Japan: Girugamesh, M.O.V.E, and Ketchup Mania. In 2009, The Slants headlined a SXSW showcase (other acts at the event included Metallica, Devo, Echo and the Bunnymen, Margaret Cho, etc.), starred in several independent films, conducted panels/lectures on Asian culture and the music industry throughout North America, and have made appearances on multiple television and radio stations promoting their self-proclaimed "Chinatown Dance Rock." (To this date, the band has been featured on over 1200 radio stations, tv shows, magazines, and websites) |
| Guest at: | Kumoricon 2007 - September 1-3 in Vancouver, WA Pacific Media Expo 2007 - November 9-11 in Los Angeles, CA Sac-Anime 2008 - January 11-13 in Sacramento, CA Anime Oasis 2008 - March 13-16 in Boise, ID Sakura-Con 2008 - March 28-30 in Seattle, WA No Brand Con 2008 - April 18-20 in Eau Claire, WI Middle Tennessee Anime Convention 2008 - April 25-27 in Nashville, TN Yaoi Jamboree 2008 - June 20-22 in Glendale, AZ PersaCon 2008 - June 27-29 in Huntsville, AL PortConMaine 2008 - July 3-6 in Portland, ME AniMix 2008 - July 18-20 in Killeen, TX Tokyo In Tulsa 2008 - August 1-3 in Tulsa, OK Kin-Yoobi Con 2008 - August 9 in Hayward, CA Anime Evolution 2008 - August 22-24 in Vancouver, BC Kumoricon 2008 - August 30 - September 1 in Portland, OR Nan Desu Kan 2008 - September 12-14 in Denver, CO Anime X Gamer Experience 2008 - October 17-19 in St. Augustine, FL Zenkaikon 2008 - October 17-18 in King of Prussia, PA Aki Con 2008 - November 7-9 in Everett, WA New England Fan Experience 2008 - November 21-23 in Cambridge, MA MEW Convention 2008 - December 31, 2008 - January 1, 2009 in Vancouver, WA Ikkicon 2009 - February 6-8 in Austin, TX Anime Oasis 2009 - March 12-15 in Boise, ID Mizuumi-Con 2009 - March 21 in San Antonio, TX Anime St. Louis 2009 - March 27-29 in St. Charles, MO Middle Tennessee Anime Convention 2009 - April 3-5 in Nashville, TN Sakura-Con 2009 - April 10-12 in Seattle, WA Anime Central 2009 - May 8-10 in Rosemont, IL Animethon 2009 - August 7-9 in Edmonton, AB Realms Con 2009 - October 2-4 in Corpus Christi, TX Kamikazecon 2010 - March 19-21 in Houston, TX Anime Oasis 2010 - May 27-30 in Boise, ID Anime Banzai 2010 - October 8-10 in Layton, UT 33 guest appearances |
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