Q&A with Charlene Kaye on Diversity Shredder Ahead of the Edinburgh Fringe
Your work explores racism, tokenism and sexism in the music industry through humour. Was comedy the most effective way to tackle those Experiences?
Absolutely. I love music so much, but years of being an earnest singer-songwriter has really reframed how I want to express myself and what medium I can most effectively get certain ideas across the net. There’s a reason why Trump brought the hammer down on Kimmel, and why dictators throughout history are most afraid of comedians. Comedy is scary to fascists because it completely pops the balloon of intimidation. If you can make a scary person look foolish, they lose their power. I think that’s why I’ve found so much empowerment in my comedy, because so much of what I do is sucking the air out of these Asian stereotypes that used to have so much power over me.
Your parody videos have amassed over 100 million views. Did social media completely change your career trajectory?
Yes! It was actually this time in 2024, when I did my first Fringe, that everything started to pop off in a crazy way. I am so grateful for social media for extending the reach of my work and bringing people to my shows. It’s really fun for me to make short silly videos for social media, AND I also love the intricate, slow work of building a full hour-long comedy show. It’s cool that I’ve built a career where everything I do kind of feeds into each other.
Having spent years in traditional music industry structures before building your own online audience, do you think artists now have more freedom than Ever?
I really do. It’s not a popular opinion right now, but I’m very optimistic about the industry. Labels and streaming and the systems we thought had all the power are slowly crumbling, which is making everybody panic, but I think that just means everyone needs to start being more creative and resourceful. I have never been on a major label and I’ve never been at the mercy of anyone approving of or disapproving of what I make. When I was in my 20s I would AGONIZE about nobody believing in me enough to want to invest in me, but with the success I’m seeing now, I think I was always meant to carve out my own weird path. I’m proud to be a niche artist, because my fan base is that much more passionate. Everything I do, all the weird gender-flipped cover bands I start like Nine Inch Nail Salon and Labiahead and Sister of a Down - it’s largely comedy for musicians, but everyone can enjoy it. I love that everything feels like one big inside joke with my fan base.
Tiger Daughter was such a breakout success and is now becoming a comedy special. Did that success change your confidence going into this new show?
Thank you! No, I didn’t feel intimidated about following up Tiger Daughter. If anything, it’s insane to me that my debut comedy special was an hour-long monologue of me screaming and impersonating my mother in a Chinese accent. I started my career as a musician, so music is where I live. I’m glad I pushed myself out of my comfort zone for my first comedy effort, but for a long time, I’d been itching to do a show that was primarily about my experience in the music industry - so that’s what this is! It’s ALMOST…a musical? I hesitate to use that term, but it’s definitely storytelling with bangers I’m really proud of.
There’s such technical skill behind your performances, but also so much chaos and comedy. How do you balance musicianship with humour onstage?
Thank you! I absolutely love playing guitar, and shredding is something I don’t see very much in comedy. I grew up being obsessed with Tenacious D and their metal-influenced, balls-to the wall musical comedy, so the spirit of Jack Black and Kyle Gass is very much alive in this Asian millennial woman. Furthermore, the world doesn’t have very much cultural context for an Asian woman melting your face off, so I enjoy the surprise on people’s faces when they see the incongruity of me shredding a crazy guitar solo while singing about that time I gave a restaurant a one-star review.
Charlene Kaye: Diversity Shredder performs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 5th – 30th (not 11th, 18th & 25th). For more information visit: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/charlene-kaye-diversity-shredder
