It's Teesa!
I wrote an article about my experience at RAGE on Gameboi night. It has affected my life and opened my eyes as a place to hang out and just allowed me to be myself. Although I have expressed myself about my relationship with Gameboi through print, Teesa has gone one step further and expressed her inspiration by Gameboi through song.
Teesa is a singer/songwriter and expresses herself through dance/pop/electro music. She and her producer, MightyMike, have been collaborating for over a year and they have finally put out a complete EP that will have you dancing in your room like no one is watching. You can purchase her EP on iTunes.
No stranger to the LGBT community, she can make a friend at Fiesta Cantina within seconds and can turn the stage at RAGE into a performance piece to any song playing at that moment.
So, what is your connection to the LGBT community?
I would consider myself a fruit fly [laughs]. A lot of people in the gay community are drawn to me and I’m drawn to them. I love performing pop and dance music and that genre of music has strong ties to gay culture. Sometimes I feel that I was probably a gay man but born was put in the body of a skinny Asian girl.
That is true. A lot of gay guys have the same body of a skinny Asian girl… Like myself. Anyways, do you have a favorite song off of your EP?
I don’t have a favorite song in general because each song is like my baby. But at the moment, it’s Gameboi.
That’s one of my favorites too. I was surprised to discover that Gameboi was inspired by one of the most publicized clubs in West Hollywood. Can you describe the inspiration behind the song?
The song as a whole is pretty obvious – I’m chasing a boy through a video game world. But it all started the night I went to Gameboi. I was dropped off, my phone was dead, and I had to find my friend. He’s gay and asian, which is 98% of the club, so I thought he was five different people before I found him! It was like a game and I didn’t want to lose. There were so many levels with lasers and smoke everywhere. It started to feel like it was becoming a fun and challenging game.
Oh, so now I understand the lyrics to the song now!
Exactly. Is it just a game, boi? I think I lost you, come on back to me right now! Is it just a game, boi? I think lost track, ’til I win I won’t back donw. I won’t lose someone like you! Is it just a game, boi? Activate my star! I want you!
This could seriously be Gameboi’s anthem I feel. But what’s your attraction to Weho and Gameboi?
Gameboi is special because it’s the mecca of gay Asian men that I have so much in common with. We can trade clothes and dance to pop music together. It’s pure inspiration. I look forward to it after a long week and interact with the ideal demographic that loves what I do. The more the gays the better.
Any words for people that are hearing about you for the first time?
Much like everyone, you can’t judge me just by looking at me. I have a ton of identity issues to go through, just like them. I go through everyday issues and it’s reflected in the lyrics and it’s something Ihope they can relate to. I think about my gay friends when I write my lyrics and they come from my individual experiences. I want it to empower people who are lost in confusion or feel outcast.
And any words to your current fans?
I want them to know that I’m bigger and badder than anything you can expect from a 100lb Asian girl.
Spicy. Lastly, are you working on anything right now?
A music video for my single ‘Captive‘! My team is putting a lot of energy in the project. It should be in production by the beginning of April. It’s going to be the full package of who I am as an artist. And we just started our Kickstarter for it so we need all the support we can get! Any help getting the word out about this will mean the world to me!
You can check out her Kickstarter project here. The project will be directed by Abraham Marcos who has worked with another female pop artist, Thalia, in the past and produced by fellow, Gameboi, Kevyn Fong. Definitely give Teesa a chance if you love feel good dance/pop music!
You can find out more information on Teesa on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.
