Get Teabagged in Chinatown
By George Lou, Co-organizer of Teabag Open Mic

Something totally new and unprecedented has been taking place lately in New York City's Chinatown. And no, it has nothing to do with food or karaoke. In the furnished basement of the Silk Road Café, located on 30 Mott Street, Chinese American singer/song-writer Kevin So strums his electric guitar while crooning the lyrics to a song titled “Average Asian American”. After Kevin’s set, Daniel Nainan, an Indian/Japanese comedian, steps onto the stage and begins telling jokes about his biracial identity. A bit later, a drunken Mongolian musician named Bachi takes the mic and begins a slurred rant about the recording industry.

What the hell is going on here!?!? Welcome to Teabag Open Mic; a weekly event that takes place every Friday night at the Café from 8 PM - 10 PM. Everyone who is anyone is welcome to take the mic and do whatever they want for 10 minutes – sing, read their poetry, tell jokes or just complain about their day. “We get a really wide range of performers. Everything from professionals like Kevin So to folks who are sharing their work for the very first time in public,” says Teabag Open Mic Founder & Host Telly Wong. “Those can be a little painful to watch sometimes.”

Telly began organizing Teabag Open Mic this past September to establish a venue for aspiring Asian artists and performers to showcase their work. “For decades, mainstream society has been telling us that we’ve got no talent or there aren’t enough talented Asians out there and that is pure bullshit,” says Tell. “Just look at whose winning these reality show contests: Jin Tha MC, Dat Phan (“Last Comic Standing”), Harlem Lee (“Fame”). All Asians. The talent is obviously out there, but there is a severe lack of opportunity. But since no one is gonna hand us any, we gotta make our own.”

In addition to the poets, musicians and spoken work artists that make up the bulk of Teabag’s repertoire, the mic is also open to non-performers and average Joes who want to sound off about an issue and any topic they desire. “Asians need a soapbox,” says Telly. “There is so much crap effecting our community but we don’t have platforms to address them or even discuss them, which explains why so many Asian Americans are apathetic and clueless.”

If you sense any antagonism in Telly’s voice, you would be right. A longtime activist and self-proclaimed social critic, Telly starts off each open mic with a profanity-laced rant about a current news item. “I like to establish right off the bat that this isn’t some lame ass karaoke night in Chinatown,” explains Telly. “Usually most of the girls wearing Hello Kitty paraphernalia start heading out the door as soon as they realize I’m not going to sing any Cantopop.”

Although Telly downplays it, Teabag Open Mic is a notable contribution to the ongoing efforts to attract more visitors to Chinatown. The community has been in flux since 9/11 and recent problems, like false rumors of SARS in Chinatown, certainly aren’t helping. “Chinatown is in terrible shape these days. No one wants to go there, and if they do, they don’t want to spend more than four bucks,” says Telly, his voice suddenly taking on a more serious demeanor.

“I’m very grateful that Telly is doing this,” says C.M. Choy, the Manager of the Silk Road Café. “I hope his work will encourage other Chinese Americans who grew up in Chinatown to come back and support the community in some capacity. These open mics have attracted all different kinds of people, not just Asian, to Chinatown. It’s really amazing.”

So what is the ultimate goal of Teabag? “Hopefully, we can inspire Asians to follow their passions and nurture their God-given talents,” says Telly. “And I’m not referring to being great at calculus or crap like that.”