73 | Founder of The Slants: Simon Tam

Rock the Boat | Asian American Podcast

Simon Tam is the founder and bassist of The Slants, the world’s first and only all Asian American rock band. He’s also an author, activist, and self-proclaimed troublemaker, setting a world record by appearing on the TEDx stage 13 times.

Asians are one of the most bullied demographics in America. When Simon Tam was growing up in San Diego, he faced the brunt of that. Bullies would make fun of him for the shape of his eyes.

Well, when Simon grew up, he reclaimed that slur. Not only did he name his band The Slants, they won a historical Supreme court case which gave him the right to trademark his band’s name.

Lucia speaks to Simon about his Asian American upbringing and how that prompted him to start an Asian American band named The Slants.

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The Slant’s Supreme Court Case: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/19/533514196/the-slants-win-supreme-court-battle-over-bands-name-in-trademark-dispute

Listen to The Slants: http://www.theslants.com/discography/

The Slants foundation: http://theslants.org/

Simon’s Website: https://www.simontam.org/

Follow Simon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonthetam

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