Backstage at Far East Movement’s Hard Rock Café Performance in Times Square
The impeccably fly Asian American electro hip-hop group, Far East Movement, has taken the nation by storm recently, with their single “Like A G6” going platinum and snagging #1 on iTunes and the Billboard Hot 100. Who are the men behind the sunglasses? As a contributor to Mochi magazine, I received the opportunity to sit down and interview them backstage at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square for the debut concert of their new record, “Free Wired,” this past Tuesday.
FM member J-Splif attempted to summarize the emotions running through the band on the day of their album release, just moments away from taking the stage.
“We’re humbled and we’re flattered, too, you know, here in New York—Hard Rock Café. We’re nervous, we’re excited, we’re stoked, all of that jumbled into one little bowl.”
In response to a question about leading the Asian American movement into the U.S. mainstream, Kev Nish broadened the scope and put the band’s journey in a larger context: “We grew up in LA as American kids, and for us—we always say this—it’s a struggle being an artist as it is. We want to inspire everyone equally, you know? Anyone that’s creative that’s trying to pursue their dreams, hopefully that inspires them.”
We were invited to stay around for their performance in Hard Rock Café in front of hundreds of fans who were 100 percent geeked out to see Far East Movement in person. After a video montage featuring personal shout outs to FM from Snoop Dogg (featured on the new album), Lil’ Jon, will.i.am, Bruno Mars, Cee Lo Green, Magic Johnson, RedOne and Ryan Tedder from One Republic (featured on FM’s next single, “Rocketeer”), the band burst onto stage donning space helmets, launching into a blisteringly energetic 30-minute set that had the entire venue moving nonstop. The best moment of the night came when Cherrytree Records executives surprised the band by coming onstage after the set to present them with plaques certifying “Like A G6’s” official platinum certification. For a moment, FM seemed awestruck by even their own accomplishment—an emotional Kev Nish could be seen simply holding his head and mouthing “Wow.”
It is exciting to see where Far East Movement will go from here on out. There are seemingly no limits to what this fresh, exciting group may deliver, and we’re excited to support them as they begin this next step of their journey. Look out for our full interview feature of Far East Movement in our upcoming winter issue.
Photos by Janice Yoon
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Noel Duan, Mochi Magazine. Mochi Magazine said: RT @misscouturable: My good friend, Wilfred Chan, makes his @MochiMag debut w/ exclusive interview&photos from @FAREASTMOVEMENT! http://bit.ly/ax6Hns [...]
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