One of them is writing an essay for class about how “music is society’s opiate,” and wants to use her soon-to-come psychology degree to teach kids in high school. The other is taking school exams in between performance gigs in venues like Las Vegas electronics shows, and is almost as happy working on international relations for model UN in anticipation of a possible overseas career.
They are Clara C. and Jason Yang, two musicians looking for affirmation of what they usually do outside of school for fun: playing and singing their hearts out to create the sound. They are two competitors performing at Kollaboration 10, an Asian American empowerment through entertainment event, where they may get further affirmation that what they are doing is worth everything.
Clara C. is a Korean American singer raised in Los Angeles, where she grew up playing the drums in church, considering majoring in flute, becoming an expert in guitar, and even hitting the glockenspiel. All these instruments are heard in Clara’s YouTube videos like “Hallelujah,” “Fireflies,” and “Misery Business,” but perhaps her most wonderful performance so far is the original “Fool’s Gold,” where she plays chords on the keyboard while intoning an intoxicating voice singing “all I could wring from our love was this song.”
“It was a love-hate thing with the piano,” said Clara. “At first I loved it, and then I realized I had to work hard and I hated it, then quit it; I must have quit it like 18 times, but stuck with it for five or seven years.”
Pacific Ties 