May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. And while the genres of indie and math rock centered in the Chapel Hill sc...

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. And while the genres of indie and math rock centered in the Chapel Hill scene of the 90s have been coded cultural “white” in popular media, the truth’s more complex. A case could be made that Polvo and lead guitarist Ash Bowie were the single most innovative band to come out of the Triangle in the 1990s. And Polvo is an undeniably integral, respected band in the scene’s pantheon. But it’s little remarked that Bowie’s full name is Ashley Hideyo Bowie, or that he’s Japanese-American. As with the music of Korean-American/Chapel Hillian Sooyoung Park’s Seam, Polvo’s music neither tokenized nor disavowed their leader’s cultural backgrounds. Bowie music is music made by an Asian-American, a model for musical experimentation that works against the cliche that there is one or even a set number of ways to create art as an American of Asian heritage. #aapi #aapihistorymonth #aapiheritagemonth Image 1: Polvo at Upstair’s at Nick’s, Philadelphia, 1996, Greg Scranton, non-commercial attribution license; Image 2: Polvo at Neumo’s, Seattle, 2008, Mike Baehr, non-commercial attribution license