Uplifting Queer Bands with Casper

Casper

In this profile series, Revry is highlighting authentic contributors to the queer music community. We ask questions to find out who they are and where they are going in the future. The questions remain the same but the answers tell their unique story. It’s time to explore and celebrate true representation beyond the limits of Hollywood.

Born in Olongapo, Philippines, Casper (They/Them) now resides in Philadelphia, PA after living in NYC and growing up in North Carolina. Casper has done communications for the Association of Independents in Radio and is the overseer for their fellowship programs. They've been an independent podcaster for 11+ years and have been a community organizer at heart with a love for strategizing projects. Casper is also a creativity and productivity coach and runs a queer virtual coworking & creative space.

What are you best known for?

I'm best known for my podcast, Homoground, that has been uplifting LGBTQIA bands since 2011. We've featured hundreds of bands and the podcast has received over half a million downloads. Homoground.com My most recent endeavor was starting a queer virtual coworking and creative space during COVID. We hold guided coworking sessions called Focus/Time 6 days a week for LGBTQIA freelancers, creators, entrepreneurs, creatives, etc to dedicate time to their most important work. I'm also known for a collaborative project I organized called: Feminist Playing Cards. Some people know me best from my photos of broken umbrellas or wearing a vegan hot dog suit.

What is the first thing you worked on professionally?

I received a fellowship at Working Films during college. They created audience engagement campaigns for documentary films on a variety of social justice issues. I helped develop their online presence as their social media strategist, and led trainings and strategy sessions on how to best use their films to encourage audiences to take actions on the issues covered in their films. This is where I learned the power of narrative storytelling and using media as a platform to tell those stories.

What are you working on that no one knows about yet?

With Homoground, we are launching a new podcast series later this summer! The new series will feature songs celebrating Queer Joy along with stories from the musicians themselves about how they celebrate themselves. For me personally, I've been working on a collection of writings about my experiences as a queer, non-binary, 1st generation half filipinx-american who grew up in the Southern USA.