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Hapa Brings Life Experiences to Asian American Punk Band RiceCrackers

RiceCrackers

By Bethany Ao

The punk band scene may not be where music lovers expect to find many Asian
American faces, but all-Asian American Boston band The RiceCrackers is looking to change that.

RiceCrackers

With a sound frontwoman Olivia West describes as “grunge with 60s protest
vocals,” this band is shaking things up with the release of their EP,
Kolohe Kid.

The four songs on The RiceCrackers’ EP feature aggressive lyrics delivered
with West’s high, clear voice, fuzzy guitar riffs and reggae-influenced
bass lines that move the songs along. The band has four members – West,
guitarist Huxley Rittman, bassist Yoshi Ady and drummer Andy Jung. The RiceCrackers was started by West when all the members met at UC Berkeley.

“We don’t have a typical punk sound. Our sound is influenced by Jefferson
Airplane and Joni Mitchell, but our lyrics are a juxtaposition to that,”
West said.

And certainly, if one listens closely to the lyrics on Kolohe Kid, they
are, without a doubt, meant to cause social unrest.

One of featured tracks, Perspective, features lyrics such as:

“Everything is perspective / If I speak or sing, a peasant or a measly king / You play your roles and I’ll play mine / Comply and everything will just be fine.”

RiceCrackers“I write the music and the lyrics from my life experiences. Mall Girls is
about cultural appropriation and not being a jerk. If I think you’re doing
something f*cked up, I’m going to tell you to stop,” West said.

West said many of her experiences were inspired by how people treated her
as a someone of mixed race.

“People were really mean, so I gravitated towards punk. What punk stands
for is everyone gets a chance to speak and stand up for what something is
wrong. There’s not a lot of people like me in the scene but I wanted to get
involved because they stand for what I stand for,” West said.

Even though she said that Asian American is a huge term and used to blanket
many different ethnicities, West believes that it’s important for the
greater Asian American community to have a voice.

“In music, Asian American men are often emasculated and women are
objectified. We want our band to show representation – a broader, more
honest representation. I’m not saying I represent everybody, but I
represent a faction that’s not usually listened to. The submissive and
quiet Asian American woman thing – that may be someone else’s truth but
it’s not mine,” West said.

As for now, The RiceCrackers are looking forward to their first tour and
releasing new albums. They are planning to perform at venues in the Pacific Northwest beginning in August.

“We want to keep making friends through music and releasing material. From
what we’ve sent out in order to promote our tour, it sounds pretty
promising,” West said.

The RiceCrackers may be only getting started, but they’re breaking through
important barriers in the punk scene and bringing a unique perspective to
the lyrics of their songs.

*Specific venues*
August 6th – Oak harbor Tavern Whidbey Island

8/7 – Ground Zero Bellevue

Werewolf Vacation Seattle

8/8 – 733
Tacoma

8/9 – The Affirmation Palace Bellingham

August 10th – Hattie’s Hat
Ballard

8/11 – S.M.A.R.T. Collective
Portland

8/12 – The Boreal
Eugene

8/13 – Olympia

8/14 – Cellar Door
Port Townsend

8/15 – Repair Revolution Seattle

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