Go Away With … Abbey Romeo
For Abbey Romeo, having her life featured on the Netflix reality show “Love on the Spectrum” was a way to show viewers that autistic people are not that different from individuals who are neurotypical.
Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
For Abbey Romeo, having her life featured on the Netflix reality show “Love on the Spectrum” was a way to show viewers that autistic people are not that different from individuals who are neurotypical.
“Thailand is huge, but I personally love Chiang Mai, Pai and the southern islands,” said indie rock artist Meaningful Stone. “Thailand is, how should I put it, a place where sacredness and partying coexist. And since I love both, it’s a place I really need.”
Brian d’Arcy James said that when he was a young actor, he couldn’t have imagined landing prominent roles in three major projects in one year. “You never really aim to try to orchestrate these kinds of things,” said James, who this year is promoting a film (“The Family McMullen”), a series (“The Copenhagen Test”) and an off-Broadway show (“Anna Christie”).”
“Being a kid in Hawaii is like having a huge playground you can explore endlessly,” singer-songwriter Mikah said. “I used to hike to watch the sunrise, surf, bodysurf, dive, bike around the island, skateboard … the list just goes on. I always think back to my childhood and reminisce about how beautiful it was.”
“The genesis of ‘Horn of Plenty” was a request from NPR to create a radio special celebrating Thanksgiving,” said Paul Winter. “Pieces on the album have been inspired by my experiences in Brazil, Ireland, Russia and Bulgaria, as well as the ocean and the Grand Canyon.”
“The house in Montebello where we film all of the exteriors of the mansion definitely feels like its own character on the show,” said “Ghosts” star Richie Moriarty. “It’s the site of the deaths of all of the ghosts, so it feels so deeply personal to each character and their backstory. And now that we’re 80-plus episodes into the show, we’ve gotten to explore and showcase so many parts of that amazing property.”
Actress, producer and wellness entrepreneur Zina Wilde is used to traveling the world. Born in London and raised in Thessaloniki [Greece], she currently splits her time between homes in New York and Los Angeles. Wilde said that one of the things she has learned over the years is to go with the flow.
“When I was a wee child, my family took a trip to Key West and we climbed up to the top of some old lighthouse,” he recalled. “The perimeter of it had a chain-link fence around it prohibiting people from falling off the edge,” said Thurston Moore. “I thought that was rather controlling. I climbed over it and prowled around the edge until my father spotted me and yelled for me to come back, and I did. I was wondering why he was so angry. I climbed back over to the safe side and got a bit of a wallop.”
“I think travel shouldn’t turn into work, so I usually don’t do any songwriting while I’m away,” said singer-songwriter Song Sohee. “However, when I visit a place that inspires me or go somewhere peaceful where I can enjoy quiet reflection, I sometimes end up writing lyrics. None of those songs have been released yet, though.”
“There was no version of media that could convince me or my sisters differently about the value of who we were, as defined by the examples we were blessed to see in our parents, grandparents and cousins, ” said “Reasonable Doubt” actor McKinley Freeman. “Having the courage to tell truthful points of view is important in storytelling, but having the courage to know and be who you are [is just as important].”
Comedian and author JT Habersaat is a keen observer of life, which is why a lot of things he hears make their way into his stand-up shows. “I tend to pull from real life quite often,” said Habersaat, who resides in Austin. “I’m a bit of a storyteller. The constant travel of stand-up comedy lends itself well to adventure and insane situations. I try not to include specific people by name unless they are crucial to the material, but that happens sometimes too.”
“My maternal grandfather took me to Germany the summer between junior and senior year of high school,” Vitamin String Quartet cellist Derek Stein saids. “It was my first time out of the [United] States and an amazing experience. We went there specifically to look for a cello that he would purchase for me. We went all around the German countryside visiting different string shops and looking at the instruments that they had for sale. I was able to sit in on a couple rehearsals for a little community orchestra in one of the villages that we stayed in for a couple of days.”
Some people have said that Asian Americans should just feel grateful to be represented at all, and I absolutely do not feel that way. I used to when I was a child when there was almost no representation, and that’s actually a bit depressing to think about.
“When you travel, you bring back what you’ve heard and you also take with you what you know,” said musician Charlie Sexton. “There’s this amazing Chinese instrument [sanzian] with a long neck and a little snakeskin body. It’s a three-string instrument and I’m obsessed with it. I’ve heard it being played on the street in various parts of the world, and it has the most beautiful, haunting sound.”
“When I was five, my mom took me on a bus from San Diego to Key West, Florida, to see my relatives, ” remembered “On and On” singer Stephen Bishop. “Looking back now, with a child of my own, I have no idea how my mom kept me sane with one comic book for almost five days. We did not fly. It was not fun. It was hot and exhausting. So was the ride back.”
“I love walking through a museum, thinking my thoughts, then getting a coffee and working on a song,” said “Hummingbird Highway” singer Dar Williams. “I also love being at home with my guitar and messing around with different chords to jumpstart things. The best is when songs just come up in daily life.”
TWICE’s Chaeyoung talks about her debut solo album, “LIL FANTASY vol.1,” plus writing songs for her fellow introverts, working on the hit “KPop Demon Hunters,” and more. My latest exclusive for Rolling Stone magazine.
When “Cobra Kai” actress Alicia Hannah-Kim was asked to help secure a team of western actors to appear in the K-drama “Tempest,” she went to work to assemble a cast that includes well-known actors like John Cho, Spencer Garrett, Michael Gaston, Brooke Smith, Christopher Gorham and Jacob Bertrand. “I think a lot of people think that K-dramas are all romantic love stories, but there are a lot of different genres,” Kim said in a Zoom interview from Los Angeles. “’Tempest’ is an international spy thriller. It’s a very sexy show with a lot of different elements.”
Singer-songwriter Maia Sharp remembers what it was like when she was a struggling musician trying to get gigs. “It was on a Monday night at 10 p.m. at Molly Malone’s Irish Pub in Los Angeles,” Sharp said. “The booker told me I needed to bring 50 people to get called back. I brought 51.”
For my latest Rolling Stone exclusive, I talked to Monsta X to discuss their new album “The X,” celebrating their 10th anniversary, and their place in K-pop.