With new owners taking over Capitol Hill venue Chop Suey, some in Seattle's music community think it's time for a name change. One such musician is Andy Panda of My Parade (who dub themselves "An all People of Color dance punk band"; you can hear their music here). In late January, Panda wrote a letter—which you can read in full after the jump—to one of Chop Suey's owners, Brianna Rettig, outlining why he thinks the club should get a new name and change its décor. I interviewed Panda about his grievances and what changes he wants to see. I also asked Rettig for Chop Suey's owners' views on this topic, but have not received a response.

Have Chop Suey's owners responded to you yet?
Andy Panda: As far as I know, I and the several other people who have emailed them directly have not heard any responses yet.

In your letter, you write "many of us have avoided going to the venue because of the racial implications that the name and theme have." Can you estimate how big this boycott is? And how long has it been going on?
I don't think anyone has ever called an official boycott of Chop Suey. I do know that the number of people who have shown support of the letter I wrote is in the hundreds and dozens have directly emailed the new owners asking them to change the name.

How do you respond to people who say something to the effect of, "Chill out. The décor is just kitsch and the phrase 'chop suey' has been assimilated into mainstream culture. In the grand scheme of social injustices, this is pretty minor."
I just see this as a real opportunity for the new ownership to make a quick an effective change in the way that racism persists today. Just looking at the support that my letter received over the last couple of weeks, it's clear that people realize that subtle forms of racism still exist and that it's important to keep talking about how it still affects people today.

If Chop Suey keeps its name and décor, will you take any other steps to try to effect change, to expand the protest?
I'm still just looking for them to actually have a conversation with all of us who have proposed the name change. So far, that hasn't happened.

Below is Panda's letter.

Dear Brianna,
I was very excited to hear that you have become an owner of Chop Suey. First of all, as a fellow musician it is great to hear that another musician will keep the tradition of bringing great bands to Seattle. But, most importantly, I’m excited because you have the opportunity to enact some real change.

I and many other people I know love the acts that have come through Chop Suey over the years. However, many of us have avoided going to the venue because of the racial implications that the name and theme have. As a Chinese person, seeing fake Chinese decor in a club that is not owned by Chinese people makes my heart sink. No one should have to see their own race caricatured in a venue that hosts so many great touring bands.

The name itself, Chop Suey, comes from a time of real racism, hatred and violence towards Asian Americans. In the 1800’s, California had laws that made it illegal for Chinese people to testify in court. This was at a time when white Goldrush miners had particular hatred towards Chinese immigrants who they saw as a group moving in on their gold claims. White miners committed horrible atrocities on Chinese immigrants with no repercussions because no one could testify against them. The dish came about when a group of drunken miners stumbled into a Chinese restaurant. Though the restaurant was closing and out of food, the miners demanded service. Out of fear for their lives, the workers assembled all the table scraps, fried them up and served them to the miners. The miners loved the dish and asked what the name of it was. The workers made up the name Chop Suey.

With the new ownership and vision for this club, this would be a great opportunity for a fresh start. In a place like Seattle, making this change would be seen as a real positive and could garner you an even bigger fan base. I hope you consider this opportunity and if you want some support or ideas on this, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,
Andy Panda

In addition to this, Chop Suey sent out a press release yesterday, announcing details about its first shows and some changes to its infrastructure.

New Chop Suey owners and operators Brian Houck, Erin Carnes, and Brianna Rettig hailing from Chicago, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles are gearing up to open unfinished doors for their Soft Opening on March 6th. In collaboration with Do206, an invite only party has been scheduled from 7-9pm with local band, Pig Snout, and DJ, Nick Fenton. Chop Suey will open to the public after 9pm so you can come check out the progress of the new space with headliners, Constant Lovers, Beautiful Mothers, and KA.

Though the Chop Suey name remains, Houck, Carnes and Rettig have made it their own. By keeping the integrity of all that 1325 Madison St. has been through the years, the interior will reflect it’s stint as an auto parts shop, The Breakroom, Chop Suey, and the future home of The Den. The previous Dragon Lounge has been remodeled and renamed, The Den, with an updated bar and stage for smaller bands. Both Chop Suey and The Den will be open daily for happy hours and earlier on the weekends for neighborhood day drinkers. There will be something for everybody, as the new owners have decided to incorporate local spirits and craft brews into The Den and weekly drink specials in Chop Suey.

Friday the 13th marks the Grand Opening for Chop Suey with Dead Moon coming out of their Seattle retirement to headline, and notorious Girl Trouble in support. Talent Buyer, Jodi Ecklund, has stayed on with the new team and has worked out an incredibly diverse, creative and mind-blowing calendar for the upcoming months.

Seattle based, TommySound, is installing a state of the art active stereo compact line array system, manufactured by SAE and designed by amplifier guru, Bill Lee. A smaller system will be installed in The Den and addressable from any point in the system. This system is designed and implemented by TommySound’s lead engineers Curt Nelson, Tommy Martin and Sean Gaylord. Among some old school alumni from Seattle, Curt, Tommy and Sean will be mixing and accommodating live entertainment several nights a week.

Creating success in downtown Los Angeles with both Houck’s first bar, Bar 107, and his partnership with Carnes at The Escondite, make them no strangers to bringing soul to the seediest of neighborhoods with artists and musicians at the forefront. This time with Rettig’s help, they’ll be doing just the opposite by trying to preserve some of the grittiness of a developing neighborhood and keeping a home for local bands and live music.