Simon Young: "It's a fine-tune capture of what we're doing musically and the overall concept of the band. Chinatown is not just Chinese people, there are a lot of difference people pf Asian descentvcoming together and that's how it was with this band. "

IJ: Tell us about your newest album, "Pageantry?"

SY: "It's our third release and second full length. Our last album, 'Slants Slants Revolution Remixes' was aimed at dance clubs. From the second we started working on this one it was a lot more rock and roll and pop and less keyboard. Our first one, "Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts" was like a synth-pop band, like Depeche Mode or New Order.  We've taken those influences and brought more of a rock and roll edge. The drums are live drums -- the first album didn't have a lot of that. Our singer, Aaron, quit smoking, so the vocals are stronger and the whole album gelled more because we've had more time to develop our sound."

IJ: The first album was made when you were relatively young as a band?

SY: "I'm still proud of the first album. We played our first show and three months later we put the album together and released it. We didn't have time to develop the songs as much as we wanted to. We actually wanted to try more things -- after we put out album I definitely wanted to come back to it from a punk rock background. The  live show is more energetic, it's more like  punk rock with keyboards, and the album is a little softer and polished. We wanted to combine those elements so it's more like our live show,  still with smoother sounds reflective less of the 80s and of our own sound."

IJ: How do you start an all-Asian dance rock band in the Northwest?

SY: "It wasn't easy. The idea started in my head a couple years ago, watching kill bill and the scene with the Crazy 88s. I thought it was awesome. An Asian band based in America is something you don't see a lot of. So I starting putting up posters and taking out classicied ads and eventually the right people started coming along. We've been through a lot of people, like ten have come and gone."

IJ: So, you were banned from a Portland venue for breathing fire?

SY: "When we used to do it more often, I made the club aware, this was  all before the law changed. It was completely acceptable Our singer would do a few seconds of fire breathing on stage and the manager freaked out. He was yelling at us in front of audience, we just cut it and packed up and left. We ended up going to a bar down the street. But it was hit in the press within a day had two clubs going you can come and play so it worked out in our favor." 

IJ: What's your view on any controversy that might ensue from your band's name?

SY: "I didn't think it was controversial at the time. I thought it was funny. It's common thing Asian people share and The Slants is a cool name. It's not always the first thing people think of and then they see us  see and it's kind of funny, they're afriad to ask us about. I always thought it was amusing and the Asian community really responded to it. Having slanted eyes isn't something we're ashamed of, it's beautiful. There are 130 distinct cultures with their own identities and heritage that goes back 1000s of years not. It's not a blanket cultlure. The only people who thought it was controversial are non-Asian people getting concerned with being politically correct. They did a piece on us on NPR with this huge focus on trying to change meaning and make it positive, like "queer," was derogatory way to address gay community but most people think it's the proper term now. We're trying to take it make it something to be proud of."

IJ: Anime conventions vs. Rock clubs, which do you prefer to play?

SY: "I would say there is nothing like playing an anime convention. We love doing it. The kids are absolutely crazy. The crowds are really genuine. Sometimes in a club,  where in front of poeple that are not really familiarl with our music and they just seem jaded. Like they stay in back of the back of bar. At the anime conventions they want to be entertained. They're up front jumping up and down. Watching them is one of the reasons we enjoy playing the anime conventions." 

IJ: Tell us about your newest album, "Pageantry?"

SY: "It's our third release and second full length. Our last album, 'Slants Slants Revolution Remixes' was aimed at dance clubs. From the second we started working on this one it was a lot more rock and roll and pop and less keyboard. Our first one, "Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts" was like a synth-pop band, like Depeche Mode or New Order.  We've taken those influences and brought more of a rock and roll edge. The drums are live drums -- the first album didn't have a lot of that. Our singer, Aaron, quit smoking, so the vocals are stronger and the whole album gelled more because we've had more time to develop our sound."

IJ: The first album was made when you were relatively young as a band?

SY: I'm still proud of the first album. We played our first show and three months later we put the album together and released it. We didn't have time to develop the songs as much as we wanted to. We actually wanted to try more things -- after we put out album I definitely wanted to come back to it from a punk rock background. The  live show is more energetic, it's more like  punk rock with keyboards, and the album is a little softer and polished. We wanted to combine those elements so it's more like our live show,  still with smoother sounds reflective less of the 80s and of our own sound."

IJ: How do you start an All-Asian dance rock band in the Northwest?

SY: "It wasn't easy. The idea started in my head a couple years ago, watching kill bill and the scene with the Crazy 88s. I thought it was awesome. An Asian band based in America is something you don't see a lot of. So I starting putting up posters and taking out classicied ads and eventually the right people started coming along. We've been through a lot of people, like ten have come and gone."

Thee Slants were scheduled to appear tonight at Empyrean Coffee Hoouse, 171 S. Washington Street, the show has been canceled.