Reflections on Life in California
(New YT Channel: NORKOR Travels)
Suzanne Ciani | Intro to the Buchla
Buchla workshop at the Panoramic House in West Marin (hosted by John Baccigaluppi) PH is a private recording studio at the base of Mt. Tamalpais overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Truly stunning (photo cred: Carlos)
Background & Suzanne’s early influence on me
I grew up in a suburb right outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. My dad was an audiophile, and my mother was a singer and dancer (traditional Korean dance, church choir). They introduced me to vinyl and many great artists like Sade, Gypsy Kings, Eurythmics, and George Winston... They were hippies who would drive up to Winnipeg for Folk Festivals in the autumn and then take us to the Science Museum’s Omnitheater to experience the four seasons with Vivaldi’s music blasting on surround sound. They weren’t afraid of technology; they fully embraced it. I’ll never forget when my father played Barbara Streisand’s version of Somewhere in our Korean Catholic church (during a service). It was incredible how the sound filled the space, and I had no idea you could transform our church into a concert hall. I know my pops is a fan of quadraphonic sound because he used to bring me to Twin Cities stereo shops and have me experience various surround sound systems.
When we weren’t listening to vinyl, my parents would play the local college radio (770 K Radio) and The Current (MPR - super indie), of course 99.5 (we love Classical music). Prince was always playing on every channel, and on weekends my friends and I would catch shows at First Ave and the Quest club (where I got my first intro to electronic music).
I loved music, and they realized this early on. My parents would enroll me in the Yamaha method for piano. That is where I would meet my amazing piano teacher, Sophia Greenberg! She played with so much emotion and introduced me to Suzanne Ciani’s music when I was in middle school. I played many of Suzanne’s piano pieces, but for some reason, Summer’s Day always connected with me on a deeper level. It triggers happy memories from long summers in Minnesota. It reminds me of exploring the musical world with my cousin, Erika W Fong (talented actress and piano/violin player, also a lover of Suzanne’s music). Finally, I recall performing this piece at the Landmark Center in St. Paul for a Midwest competition, I think I made the top 5, and they gave me a nice trophy;) High-five Suzanne and Sophia!
Many years later, I joined a non-profit supporting North Korean refugees in Seoul. Interns were generously gifted tickets to Suzanne’s performance (piano, not the Buchla) and of course I attended and asked for an autograph. I remember telling her how I loved playing Summer’s Day and had my own version. She asked me to send her a recording, but I never worked up the guts, I still owe her that recording!
Meeting Suzanne for the first time in Seoul, South Korea
Bay Area
After jumping all over Europe/Asia, I ended up in the Bay Area in 2015. It was a place that reminded me of Berlin (lots of tech and music). I learned about artists like Holly Herndon and discovered places like Audium, Hyde Street Studio, RS94109, and Grey Area. There were many underground techno events in Dogpatch warehouses and cool house parties hosted by artists from various schools.
Holly Herndon at The Chapel (2015)
The Bay area is where I met my husband, Carlos. On our first date, he took me to ROBOTSPEAk (followed by a trip to the local vinyl shop and drinks in the Mission). He talked at great length about synths, and I mentioned that I dabbled with Ableton and owned a SV1 Korg (limited edition red and black keys). He asked which artists I liked to play on the piano and I of course, mentioned Suzanne. He then made a massive connection that I didn’t realize alone. Not only was Suzanne a talented pianist/composer, she also happens to be an absolute legend in the electronic/synth world.
How had I missed the entire Buchla chapter? Why, with my deep interest in techno/electronic music, and playing her music, had I not connected the dots earlier!? Did we cross paths when I was living in Berlin? After years of attending the Sonar Festival, how had I missed her live performance? Wait, what? She lives next door in Bolinas? That gorgeous town you visited dozens of times? #tomalesbayoysters
Fairlight CMI @ VSM (Vintage Synth Museum in Oakland)
Sometimes life gives you lemons
Finally, everything came together a few weekends ago….I was lucky to attend the Buchla Workshop hosted by my idol and instructor, Suzanne Ciani. It was all coordinated by John of TapeOp, and co-hosted by Claire George from Ableton (former global Geekettes.io sponsor).
This workshop celebrated sound, music, and technology. Suzanne walked us through her musical journey and Cookbook for the Buchla synth (see below). She created sounds for famous commercials in the 70’s (GE’s beep, Coca-Cola’s pop sound, and Black & Decker’s lawn trimmer sound). She pioneered this space and inspired companies to think outside the box when creating jingles.
We also learned about double gating, and her unique patch to create the sounds of waves and birds in the distance. She created waves through the Buchla white noise. It was mind-bending because all of us were staring out at the Pacific Ocean (gorgeous views of Stinson Beach).
We learned how the machine wants to give back to you, that it’s a relationship you form over time. We learned that there are endless waves of expression, and the Buchla 200e offers new opportunities for sound exploration. You need to sit down in front of it and get lost in the process.
I also happened to have the opportunity to play Summer’s Day for her. She came up to me and gave me a big hug. I will cherish that moment forever. She’s just too cool. The entire moment felt like a dream.
At the end of the two-day Buchla workshop, she gave us an incredible modular performance in quad. The spatial movement in this type of performance is difficult to explain. It feels as if the sound darts across the room quickly from every angle, all at once. It’s as if the sound wraps around you…..
I was honestly left speechless and moved by the entire experience.
The Buchla Cookbook: Basic Performance Patch
California Sisters with Transistors: meeting women in the synth space (Suzanne Ciani, Claire George, Ceci G)
Students flew in from all over! (they were also my teachers)
We met some truly incredible musicians and sound explorers at this workshop. I learned a ton from each individual. Thanks for making this experience so welcoming. We had many great conversations about our favorite artists, soundtracks, films, technology, and pasta! This is a scene I wish I had known about while living in the Bay Area.
We also learned about the Ableton Push 3 (thanks Claire, it arrived today!) I once enrolled in an Ableton Live workshop in Oakland (shout out to Lenny Kiser) so I’m not starting from scratch. In that workshop, we learned how to build Burial’s Archangel (sampling technique). Now Carlos and I have a new toy to distract us this weekend:
Ableton Push III arrived!
Return to Berlin?
In 2014, I was honored to co-organize/host a celebration of women in music tech at the Kantine am Berghain with my cofounder, Denise Philipp. The event featured Mino Kodoma (former designer at Native Instruments, now based in LA), Jennifer Beecher (former SoundCloud engineer), and several Geekettes artists who shared their stories and DJ'd throughout the night (all women's lineup). It was refreshing to see, as it’s often an all-male lineup. We were thankful for all that showed up, and hope to have a reunion party someday. Outside of radio DJing, I dabbled a bit with DJ’ing at parties, thanks to Sarah Farina! She/Native Instruments invited me to join a group of folks to DJ with TRAKTOR DJ for iPad. The next rooftop experience will be with the Buchla. Heeeeyyooooo!!!!
Berlin Geekettes @ Kantine am Berghain
I’m not sure what the next chapter holds for Carlos and I, but we’re certainly inspired by the artists we’ve met and hope to create some amazing sounds/music to share with the world in 2024 and beyond. We were both deeply inspired by Suzanne, and the artists we met at this Buchla workshop. Thanks again for a once in a lifetime experience.
FYI - Suzanne Ciani has an upcoming show in San Diego! Join us at UCSD.
Farewell, Hollister
Eleven years ago I shared a cubicle with Hollie at Putumayo World Music in New York City. She noticed I was nervous on my first day and brought over a cup of popcorn and asked if I ever heard of the HBO series True Blood. We became instant buddies and ended watching every episode together. She nicknamed me ‘Jerickson’ and I called her ‘Hollister’.
I was new to NYC and Hollie made a point of introducing me to the city (like she did for so many others). It started with small trips to the coffee truck for cold brews and eventually led us hopping around town to all kinds of music shows. I’ll never forget the time she brought my mother and I to the Lincoln Center for jazz night and to Carnegie Hall for Philip Glass. Hollie loved sharing music and culture, she was such a beautiful soul. We shared our love for Sade, Prince, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. And whenever you went to Hollie’s home in Brooklyn, she had a glass of wine for you and an awesome playlist playing in the background.
Hollister allowed me to be my authentic self 100% of the time. She saw me at my best and she saw me at my worst. But she never casted any judgement and was only there to help lift me up. Not only did she lift me up, she lifted the lives up of thousands of women in her community. Hollie helped me spearhead a movement to bring more women and women of color into the tech industry. Seven years ago, she launched the NYC Geekettes hub alongside Anna, Wendy and Flo. Just four months ago, she officially joined me as a cofounder. Together we had plans to scale our Geekettes hubs to Africa, Latin America and Asia. Together we had dreams of bringing this community to greater heights.
Hollie was a doer, a connector and a real community builder. Over the years, Hollie co-organized 30+ events for Geekettes in NYC and workshops ranged intro to coding, entrepreneurship and advancing women’s careers in tech. At one of her hosted first meetups she met Tammy Butow who would then later recruit her to Digital Ocean, a company that she really enjoyed working for, a company that hosted Geekettes meetups over the years.
In 2016 she led diversity efforts for DO and I was leading them for 500 Startups. With the support of our companies, we worked closely together to build two conferences aimed at driving diversity and inclusion into the venture capital/startup world. We addressed the intersectional experiences of all people in tech and shared the stories and lived experiences of refugees, LGBTQ+ community, underrepresented minorities and women in tech in both NYC and Berlin. Hollie always pulled her close friends into these great programs and I want to thank Sully and Ruth for supporting us at these events, I know it meant a lot to her.
Hollie would often tell me we were way ahead of our time in introducing these stories to the greater industry. I’d like to say we were the catalyst that hopefully inspired others to think about inclusion and equity in tech.
I’m so very glad I shared a cubicle with Hollie. I’m forever grateful that our paths crossed. I knew Hollie during a defining period in both of our lives. We brought Geekettes into the world, we celebrated milestones together in both our careers and traveled to amazing cities together. Hollie was devoted to what she cared most about her life - her family, friends, community and continuous exploration. We shared experiences that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I choose to remember Hollie in the moments of happiness and pure joy.
Hollister, I love you, I miss you but I know you will forever live in my heart and the hearts of so many others.
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Q&A with General Partner at August Capital
Q&A with Investment Director at Intel Capital
Q&A with Partner at Passion Capital
DJ'ing on a little rooftop with Traktor // Native Instruments crew
Four groups bringing together women in tech
Geekettes Is Going Global!
Over the years, I've learned a lot about what it takes to build a strong community. In two years, our community has grown and blossomed into something more than just a network. This past July we opened our second hub in Hamburg, and now it feels more like a movement.
Our talks, workshops, hackathons and mentorship programs have connected women through a grassroots structure and built a space to share wisdom and experience. It's been a pleasure to watch the interaction between the women in our community and to see the shared value in helping one another.
After much consideration, we've decided to expand the Geekettes footprint beyond Germany and unite women across Europe and America with hopes of someday expanding to Asia, Latin American, Africa and further beyond. But for now, we're not biting off more than we can chew and we're going to expand into a select number of cities where we see strong community leaders with their hearts in the right place.
Over the years, I've had the wonderful opportunity to build personal relationships with brilliant women of tech across the globe. Women who are pioneering their own businesses, women who are building their own products, women who are creating communities and inspiring the next generation of women to follow in their footsteps.
Berlin - I had the pleasure of meeting Denise at the first Rails Girls event where we connected over a shared interest in learning how to code. Later she would join me to become Cofounder of the Geekettes organization, and together we took the leap and left our daytime jobs to go full-time with our pursuit of bringing more women into the tech industry. We see this as a very important goal to have in the coming years and we're so very happy to be working with our ambassadors Lisa, Aurelie and Amelie. End goal? We want to work in an industry that is diverse and have a long-lasting impact for the future.
Hamburg - Later we would connect with Diana, a mom and full time engineer who participated in the first Berlin Geekettes hackathon. She was impressed by the two-day event and asked if Tina and herself could spearhead the second hub in their hometown of Hamburg. We loved their ideas and collectively said "lets do it". They are really killing it right now and we couldn't be more proud of their work and dedication.
London - After our first hackathon, a wonderful Facebook engineer based in London introduced us to Marily. She is a bright-eyed, high-spirited individual who fell in love with Berlin Geekettes and took the step to reach out to us and ask if we would consider opening up in London. We connected over a shared interest in getting more women into hackathons and this in turn got us thinking about the bigger picture. She later introduced us to Claire who was also a big fan of supporting women and together they are ready to rock it in London town.
Maastricht - I met Ana through the Maastricht Week of Entrepreneurship. She graciously invited me to be a guest speaker and I had a really wonderful time connecting with her peers. All were studying in their Masters and PhD programs and were interested in possibly jumpstarting their own businesses. It was wonderful to see them open up, discuss issues in the industry and brainstorm solutions for the future. Ana has a way of effortlessly connecting people and building programs all over Europe. In many ways, she will be welcoming next gen of women into the tech industry through her outreach at University. I'm excited to see what's to come.
NYC - Ahhh, my old stomping grounds. A wonderful city with amazing women. I'm so lucky that I had the pleasure of building a friendship with Anna and Hollie. I studied with Anna in London and would later reconnect with her in NYC. Together we shared a passion for music, and today we share a passion for tech. It's the future, but these are definitely gals I wouldn't mind heading to a SXSW rock show with. We are also gaining support from Wendy and Florencia, dear friends from my days studying at LSE. All of them make up a very diverse team that will surely introduce a diverse set of programs this year.
Portugal - If you live in Europe and work in tech, you have probably met Ines. If not, you're living under a rock. Here is a woman who is uniting European entrepreneurs and connecting interesting people across countries. We met through Sandbox, another powerful community that has a presence in different corners of the world. She introduced me to Ana at the Switch Conference in Lisbon. Ana spearheaded coding initiatives in Portugal among many other achievements. Together, the two will host Geekettes events across many cities, so get ready!
Twin Cities - Ok, this one was a no brainer for me. Minneapolis is my hometown and will always be where my heart is. I was so excited to reconnect with an old colleague Sara over a discussion around the Grace Hopper Conference. You could hear the excitement in her voice and through her emails. She was blown away by the energy and collaborative spirit of the conference. She took that energy and spearheaded a movement within Best Buy and would later reach out to us in hopes of expanding the Geekettes footprint to the Twin Cities. She would then later introduce us to her colleague Shruti, a talented engineer who had a keen interest on helping us grow. P.S. You can be sure my mother will be attending future meet ups ;)
I'm really looking forward to 2014. This is the year that I believe we will see a major evolution for women in tech. With programs sprouting all over the world to support women, we're definitely going to see some big progress. More women will begin starting their own businesses, breaking into engineering roles and pioneering fresh ideas within the industry as a whole. I'm more confident than ever before and very excited to see what our new ambassadors will create in their respective cities. We hope to someday bring all the women in each new city together and foster a collaborative environment that crosses all borders. Synergies between ambassadors are already happening, I can only imagine what will happen next.
If you want to join our community, please sign up for membership today: http://www.geekettes.io/membership/
With love,
Jess
Official hashtag: #geekettesgoglobal
10 reasons why you should move abroad: Jess Erickson at TEDxYouth@Berlin 2014
Three women changing the face, and style, of app development
To read the full piece, please visit the Women in Leadership section of the Guardian here.
Growing Up - Hapa // Halfie // Half-Asian
Photo cred: Alfred Steffen
The word "Hapa" originally comes from a Hawaiian word for “half". It used to be considered a derogatory word but today it is embraced as a term of identity by folks who are mixed-race heritage that includes Asian or Pacific Rim ancestry.
Question: "So, what are you?"
Answer: I am of Korean and Norwegian heritage and often identify myself as "Korwegian". My ancestors were Vikings, Mongolians, adventurers, nomads, immigrants and entrepreneurs. I am proud of who I am.
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In the past, I had an identity crisis due to kids picking on me but today I'm proud of my unique cultural makeup and believe that it has contributed to my curiosity of the outside world and made me a lover of all things different.
I compiled a list of random thoughts this morning over breakfast that I'm sure my fellow Hapas can relate to. If I'm missing anything, feel free to add them in the comments section below.
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Here we go:
1) Koreans think I'm white and white folks think I'm Asian.
2) People often ask, "so, what are you?"
3) You meet a fellow hapa and there is an instant connection
4) You get excited when you spot a hapa on an advert.
Devon Aoki
5) People use to ask: "Is that your dad? Were you adopted?"
Learning how to play the piano.
6) Its normal to be eating dried squid one day and pickled herring the next.
7) As a kid, you get called Asian derogatory names. You feel sad, ashamed and embarrassed. Then as you grow older, you begin to embrace your Asian roots and identity and ignore the meanies. You finally begin to celebrate your heritage and be proud of your differences and rich cultural background. Screw this Jonas brother, he's ignorant.
8) As an adult, you're still called derogatory names. Only this time, you know how to stand up for yourself and report the abuse.
9) People ask "do you date white guys or asian guys?"
10) You often get mistaken for a variety of different nationalities/backgrounds. You've been told you look Mexican, Hawaiian, Alaskan, Mongolian, Japanese, Chinese, Uzbekistani, North Korean....the list goes on (you should have been an international spy).
11) You celebrate Loving Day, an important milestone in American history where interracial marriage was legally allowed in the U.S. in 1967. The Loving Day name comes from Loving v. Virginia (1967), the landmark Supreme Court decision that declared all laws against interracial marriage unconstitutional in the United States. Everyone should have the right to marry. If they are of different race, same sex, different religion. Let's just love one another.
12) You get excited at the growing list of well-known hapas: Keanu Reeves, Devon Aoki, Sean Lennon, Norah Jones, Kelis, Anne Curry, Apolo Ohno, Hines Ward.... who am I missing?
13) You're delighted at the fact that Dave McClure has just told you San Francisco has a large population of hapas and you now will strongly consider moving there in the future:) Hapa mecca is calling...
California or bust
14) You were frustrated when filling out university applications because you were only allowed to click one ethnic background box (White, Asian, Native American, African American). Do you pick your mom or dad's side? Pick one! Are you white or Asian??
15) Before we were rare, now we're everywhere.
Must read
16) Are we the face of the future? When cultures blend more and more, will we all eventually look the same?
17) Question: Who is asian? Your mom or your dad?
Answer: My mom.
Reply: Was she a nurse and met your father in the war?
18) You want to fit into both worlds but sometimes that can be a struggle. But somehow you always find a way;)
Study abroad in Seoul
19) For the first time, the U.S. Census Bureau allowed you to classify yourself in 2 or more racial and ethnic categories. It's about damn time.
20) The 21st century has brought us globalization. People are more open to mixed relationships and interracial marriage. Faith in humanity is restored.
I'm proud to be a hapa and happy that my parents fell in love and grew old together in a time where it was not always accepted.
My lovely parents.
Leading a Smarter, More Productive Life with Evernote
Finding the optimal work-life balance is always a tough task. But stress no more. We have assembled some of our finest ambassadors to show you how to not only make your business more effective and productive, but also how to streamline your workflow too.
Join Jess Erickson (Founder of Berlin Geekettes), Josh Zerkel (User Education Specialist from Evernote) and Moritz Zumbühl (Evernote Business customer and CEO of Feinheit) as they share their experiences and best practices on how to make the most of Evernote on iOS to improve your business’ productivity.
Location: Apple Store, Kufürstendamm (Berlin, Germany)
My Circle Inspired Me to Open A Conversation Beyond Just Tech
I remember the first time I became interested in technology. It was when I was working for a small startup out of Manhattan but I knew the feeling was part of something bigger. I immediately fell in love with how limitless technology felt; how it crossed borders, ages and skills sets.
I have always wanted to push myself and take my energy and intelligence as far as it can go. I knew working with technology would allow me to do just that. But the more I delved deeper, the more I realized there was a gender imbalance. I quickly discovered that technology wasn’t so limitless; it was actually limited for me—as a woman. I wasn’t given the opportunities I deserved and I was often silenced when I wanted to take things to the next level. People treated me differently because I was a woman. I wondered how many other women were going through the same experience, and the more I asked, the more I realized I wasn’t alone.
For full piece, please visit Lean In Org here.
Social Media Week Berlin - Podcast Interview
#smwtalk07
Interview with James
For full interview please visit James' blog
BERLIN GEEKETTES LEAN IN
Foto by Daniel Zeppelzauer
Today I opened up WSJ and read an article on Chief Executive Marissa Mayer’s performance at Yahoo this past year. Share price has risen to more than 70%, 17 tech startups were acquired and morale has improved in both the engineering and product departments. Mayer joined Yahoo when she was 6 months pregnant. Conclusion? Marissa is a fearless leader. A woman who is willing to take big risks.
A woman who chose to ignore rude questions and accusatory remarks about shortchanging both her job and child. It’s no surprise to me that Yahoo now offers up to 16 weeks paid leave for new mothers (doubling that of the past), and an 8-week sabbatical for every five years of tenure with the company. It’s small changes like this that can have a long lasting impact for future families and working moms. However, despite Mayer’s ability to make things better for her employees, her quick return to work after the birth of her child struck a chord of discontent among many. Which leads me to the discussion that takes place in Sheryl Sandberg’s new book Lean In.
For full article visit Berlin Geekettes
Robert Scoble Q&A: ‘There’s No Bubble, Only Growth’
"Some of the most influential figures in tech gathered in Amsterdam this past weekend at The Next Web conference to discuss, review and report on the latest developments and trends in both the European and American scenes. Among them was Robert Scoble, renowned Silicon Valley-based tech blogger also known as the Scobelizer. Silicon Allee caught up with him to find out his views on startups in Europe and what he thinks is hot at the moment."
For the full article visit Silicon Allee
Finding the Wunder Women @NEXT Conference
"In the coming years I hope to see more female leaders within the tech scene who will have a greater impact on the professional world. Thanks Amanda and Katrin for paving the way."
For the full article visit The Next Women
Konstantina Zoehrer: Rebuilding Greece’s Economy through STARTup Live Athens
"Her mission is to rebuild her country’s economy by promoting Greece to the European entrepreneurial system and shedding light on the vibrant Greek startup scene."
For full article visit The Next Women
A Believer on Why Changers is Worth Saving
"But with Changers, I genuinely believe this mindset can changed by getting the people closest to you involved – neighbors, friends, fellow students maybe. By getting together, decentralizing the whole process, many people can do a lot with very little."
For full article visit Silicon Allee
The Rise of Women in the Tech Startup World
"The ‘solution’ is for us to open our eyes, and see that women have as much opportunity in the tech startup scene as men – not limited by physical or mental strength, and not bound by the limitations of apparatus or, in this case, technology."
For the full article please visit Silicon Allee