Kuwaisiana

About the band

With songs in Arabic & English, Kuwaisiana is a bilingual alternative rock trio based in Seattle-Tacoma 🇰🇼🇺🇸🇵🇸Inspired by +Aziz’s Kuwaiti-American identity, they provide an articulation of Arab angst and the bliss of becoming one through music. 

+Aziz originally formed the band as an 8-piece (New Orleans, 2016) and then re-formed it as a trio (Seattle, 2022) with Yousef Shami (drums) and Brian Riedel (bass).

WE ARE SOCIAL

What a run! It’s back to studio now until late August for @gravelpittacoma. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter & be the first to see, hear, smell the goods!

#bands #bandphoto #sunday #weekendvibes #three #chill #kuwaiti #arab
Oh letterpress glory! What a beautiful piece of @tacomaporchfest memorabilia. It reminds me of the blue you would find for Kuwait Airways or the national soccer team. Makes me wanna start a 2024 scrapbook 📔 

Shout out to @saturnine.press for putting this together to commemorate our unforgettable #Tacoma porchfest debut with @skullkatmewsic and @studentnurseband 🎉 #tacomaporchfest #letterpress #typography #flyer #graphicdesign #pnw
Join us at Edison Square (5145 S Tacoma Way) this Saturday night (5pm) for an ALL AGES 🇵🇸 benefit raising money for 4 Palestinian families. $10-25 NOTAFLOF. Event starts right after our PorchFest set ♥️ 

Raffle! Bake sale! Weird bands n freaky DJ’s!

#seattle #tacoma #pnw #arab #palestine #freepalestine🇵🇸 #stopwar #streetart
This sunny Saturday will be a double-whammy where we’ll play @TacomaPorchfest @ 4pm and a fundraising event for @TacomaMutualAid shortly after.

Excited to plug back into our Tacoma community! Come rock with us! #tacoma #porch #weekendvibes #showtime #fundraising #pnw #freepalestine
Kuwaiti actors! High quality animation! Coupled with sleek band performance shots 🤩 It’s a perfect recipe for our forthcoming music video. Swipe for screenshots & follow @akhfilmkw today!

🛑 We’re on the End Credits of this indie film, which faced a setback in May. Censorship in Kuwait is REAL.

#proud #kuwait #musicvideo #accomplishment #seattle #pnw #middleeast #khaleeji #khaliji #arabic #arabmusic #censorship
Next newsletter goes out Monday 📨 Get your sure shot by subscribing to Tribe of Tribes on Substack as we build a path to podcasting 📻 Link in bio

June was a month of moving tasks downstream & enjoying good weather 📝 Here’s the topline:

- Fresh photoshoot, done! Swipe for #BTS 

- Application for $25k grant, done

- Kick off our livestream with OBS, which will help us broadcast to different platforms simultaneously. DONE

- What’s next? Finish up tracking all instrumentals for our upcoming EP (6 tracks 🌝).

- More convos with photographers/videographers.

- As you might recall, our song Chub is the End Credits song for an indie Kuwaiti film called Akh (which means ‘brother’). We’ll release a music video soon as the film passes Kuwait’s censorship apparatus.

- Expressing our political anger with Status Quo, a new song we’ll be playing at our next shows in #Seattle (7/12 at @skylarkcafe) and Tacoma (7/20 - @tacomamutualaid show and @tacomaporchfest). Two sets in one day! #nosleep 

#pnw #musicians #kuwaiti #arabrock #menswear #arabstyle #90s #gulfwar #photoshoot
Gearing up to do 3 shows in 3 cities 🍒 Swipe for Portland (6.29), Olympia (6.30) and Seattle (7.12) flyers! 

📝 We’re NOT calling this a tour just for the record.

#weekendwarrior #cherryblossom #fruits #portland #seattle #olympia #arab #artistsoninstagram
We’re bringing our sound to Portland this weekend! Pumped to play with @tndrgrl and @sodajinxpdx at @pdxswandive on Saturday (6.29) followed by a stop at Olympia’s @le.voyeur.olympia on our way back on Sunday (6.30). Details in our bio.

Next Seattle show: July 12th 💫

📸 @rabbithutchpunk 

#musicians #portland #seattle #olympia #weekendwarrior #together
I first tried makeup in a theater class at Penn State 👨🏻‍🎓 My curiosity took on a fresh turn after realizing a Patreon supporter is a makeup wiz 👩🏻‍🎤

We tried this “K” concept & the results were FAB 💋 DM for a glimpse at the Pinterest board! Going to gather materials to replicate this look.

#tryit #makeup #kuwait #khaleeji #inspiration #musicianlife #menswear #solarpunk #grit
A good drummer holds down a beat but a GREAT drummer is someone who fully apply themselves, bringing a whole other layer to a band’s workstreams across songwriting, practices, recording process, etc.

Excited to be cooking up new material this summer!

📸 @rabbithutchpunk 

#seattle #arabamerican #arabs #drummer #drumlife #rocknroll #tacoma #musicians
The future is multicultural 🇲🇽 🇱🇧 Beautiful work by @nlvss702

 #streetart #graffiti #lebanon #mexico #pride #habibi
Last night was unforgettable 📸 Thanks for snapping these moments Rebecca Berrace and Ayesha Q! Make sure to follow @shaker_bloomheart and @raenandfire for phenomenal music!

#polaroid #seattle #livemusic #onstage #weekendvibes #sundayfunday
Can’t tell you the last time we performed in a well lit room. Grateful for windows🪟and these great shots from @barksdalejonesphotography!!

#tacoma #rockband #livemusic #bandphotography #armory #light #lighting
In the studio groove: we have about 4 new songs to take from raw to refined. The next batch is refining our recording workstream and it’s starting to show fruit in our productivity💡 PS: As you see we’re keeping books around to stay curious & inspired. Time to read!

#musicislife #recording #seattle #sunday #goodmorning #kuwaiti #arab #portrait #bookworm
Being shunned by your people, whether it’s family, friends or a broader community, can be triggering for those of us on the margins of belonging.

🗳️ Here are 3 tips for dealing with those who shun you. Add your advice in the comments:

1) Remember why you began on your path to begin with. Don’t allow their ghosting or callousness to overshadow the bigger mission you’ve embarked on.

2) Take the higher road. Mirror their word count and keep your emotions out of it. If they ghost or start writing in an unusual way, focus on identifying if there’s anything in the relationship worth salvaging. Read between the lines and allow that to help you make peace with letting them go.

3) Being shunned can motivate some to double down  and work harder, but if you feel broken, take a step back. Find new faces and communities that can help you move on. Trust that you’ll find more supportive people even if it doesn’t feel like it right now.

📸 @rabbithutchpunk 

#livemusic #seattle #unity #community #ghosting
Guess the artist 🧐 Yes, it’s a Keffieh made of silky smooth hair. #palestine #art #fineart #keffiyeh #hair #arabart #arab
We had an absolute blast on Friday, hands down the most fun night since getting together. It was @layla.riedel’s birthday alongside the venue owner’s 🤯NEXT SHOW: 5.19 at Royal Room. Featuring @omarhagagonemanband on oud #inshallah

Insider factoid: This venue is where Nirvana played their first Seattle show!

#seattle #weekendvibes #friends #nightout #musicians #selfie #arab #kuwaiti
Back at it this Friday ⏰ Seattleites join us 8PM tomorrow @centralsaloon as we open the set for Mike’s b-day bash!

10:20pm - @chrome_lakes
9:30pm - @fleshproduce 
8:45pm - @kingnajmusic 

Cover $10 / Doors 7pm 

#seattle #livemusic #showtime #happybirthday
Brian plays two main characters on camera 📸 #rattlesnake #smile #ootd #genz
We counted 12 shows in our first year together. Can we bump it up to 24 this year? We have 3 next month alone 😬

BONUS 🎁 🎉 New music video for Lost Empire drops 4.19. Can’t wait!!

#seattle #livemusic #arabs #bands #rock #rockmusic
Brian communicating with the bass Gods. Really enjoyed playing this little bar in Tacoma ♥️
This show turned into a proper photoshoot! Holy smokes; definitely wore the correct guitar strap for this occasion with @rabbithutchpunk 📸  More soon!

⏰ We’re switching gears to focus on recording after tonight’s gig. It’s the Ramadan Lull until we release our music video in April. 

It was so cool to meet @bearhugtacoma and get these photos from @rabbithutchpunk. Everyone was in such a good mood despite the batshit crazy world we live in. MAJOR SHOUT OUT TO @hopelesshorizons for a great set. The vocals were so dynamic and doing acoustic in the middle was hyyype. 

#tacoma #blackandwhite #arab #washingtonstate #liveshow #saturday
Next show is tomorrow! Join us at @chopsueyseattle via the link in our bio 🌟 PS: check out our new website design. Freshly updated for the years ahead 🙂 

📸 @ianphares 

#seattle #showtime #arab #musicians #guitar #guitarist #washingtonstate #rockmusic
The magic is within. Unleash it for the betterment of all 🌈 Our shows for the new year already look interesting!! 🎇

LET’S GO 👏🏼 Bushwick Book Club: Aesop’s Fables, Saturday, Jan 13 · 6–11:30 PM @ Town Hall Seattle (1119 8th Ave). We’re writing a new song for this.

Jan. 18 🚨 Making noise @chopsueyseattle ($15 ADV, Thursday night) with @cherrydragonband and @pent_up_band. Doors 7pm, music starts 8pm.
Swipe for crew + some video ⏭️ New tracks dropping in ‘24 🎧 Patreoners hear em first. Link in bio
Spotted by Brian 🛑 Chub is a song that was originally commissioned by an indie Kuwaiti movie director. It means ‘shut up’ in Kuwaiti. Somehow we found the same word at a venue we were playing at!

The song has added a lot of dimension to the new Kuwaisiana sound. Excited to share soon 🤍 #seattle #bands #kuwaiti #signs #goodtimes
Thank you Portland! The first of many great nights as we grow the fam 🏆 We’ll be supporting Yemen Blues *AGAIN* on Tuesday @nectarlounge. 

Come get it 💋 

#pdx #seattle #liveshow #selfie #portland #arab
We play our first weekend night this Friday 👏🏼 🎉 Playing @thevalleytacoma, $10, music starts 9pm. 

All the previous shows we’ve done have been weekday nights 🤔 Honestly I wasn’t super confident we’d reach this milestone so soon but it shows you how important it is to keep the faith!

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