T.Wong on His Achievements and Inspirations

By Lacey Luce, Marketing, Communications & Events Strategist for the Greater Columbus Arts Council

Local singer/songwriter T.Wong is the mastermind behind the genre-defying album The Upside Down. He’ll be performing at the upcoming Columbus Museum of Art gala on Oct. 18, and at Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza on Oct. 21. Here he ponders the beauty of Gregorian chant, his difficulty with the word “no” and his two shopping weaknesses in the Art Makes Columbus’ version of a Proust questionnaire.

Lacey: What is your idea of perfect happiness?
T.Wong: Living in my highest form of potential, everyday.

Lacey: What is your greatest regret?
T.Wong: I try very hard not to look at anything as a regret. I try to see things from a learning perspective. Learning more who I am and hoping I made a free choice regardless of whether I or anyone else views it as positively or negatively. It’s a tricky thing to grasp, but I’m hoping I’ll have a handle on it after a while.

Lacey: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
T.Wong: Maybe the difficulty I have with the word “no.” I have a hard time saying no to people, especially when it’s something in which they seem really vested.

Lacey: What do you consider your greatest achievement?
T.Wong: I think I’ve had some pretty cool experiences, but I don’t know if I would consider them my greatest achievements. I feel really good that when I think back I see where things I wanted to do I actually did.

Lacey: What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
T.Wong: Culture truly inspires me. I love learning new cultures. Spiritual beliefs, religious beliefs, community beliefs, ethnic constructs, diverse mindsets, they are beautiful things. I find there’s generally something to appreciate and add to my own person when sitting and learning with different schools of thought or people who look, feel and think differently from myself.

Lacey: What turns you off?
T.Wong: Humiliation. It really gets to me when I observe people being humiliated or treated as though they are less.

Lacey: What sound or noise do you love?
T.Wong: I love Gregorian Chant. It’s a wonderfully engulfing dark, harmonic, spiritually transcending sound. 

Lacey: What sound or noise do you hate?
T.Wong: Scraping noises that resemble nails on a chalkboard.

Lacey: What is your greatest extravagance?
T.Wong: It’s a toss up between books and shoes! I order books or visit the bookstore at least four times a month and never one at time. Some of my friends call me a geek because I always have some book I’m reading. And, it’s really hard for me to pass by a dope – AFFORDABLE –shoe!

You can see T.Wong performing at the Columbus Museum of Art’s annual Art Celebration gala on Thursday, Oct. 18, or you can catch him performing at Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza in Worthington on Sunday, Oct. 21. Learn more about his work at twongcreates.com.