About Me — Evan Wildstein
Big personality. Small man.
Don’t let the monkey fool you; on a good day I stand at a towering five-foot-three.
I decided 2020 was a badgood year to continue academic studies, so I went back to school. One of my first grad assignments was a 25-words-or-less auto-biographical statement which had to “ask more questions than it answers.”
Super easy, clear, and not-at-all-vague, right? I landed on this —
Short, multi-religious southpaw, NYC → Houston transplant, who spent the last 20 years as a rock-singing, bagel-slinging, Asian opera-producing, nonprofit enthusiast.
Lots to unpack! Let’s dive in.
Short
I was actually a pretty tall third-grader, until everybody else kept growing but moi. They don’t (yet) make men’s pants in petite sizes, so for now, I’m on a first-name-basis with my tailor. (Hi Rob!) My wife and I are the same height, so all the top shelves in our kitchen and pantry are nice and vacant. We also have 20-foot ceilings, so please send your thoughts and prayers the lightbulbs never burn out.
Multi-Religious
By birth, by choice, and by love, I’ve been all three of the world’s Abrahamic faiths. It’s been a fascinating ride to get to know the different corners of myself through the lens(es) of these massive religions. The key takeaways are as follows: alcohol and pork are goodbad, definitely don’t steal from your neighbor, and everyone either talks too much or too little.
Southpaw
Lefties are only 10% of the world’s population! That fact seems much more interesting until you realize that’s ~780 million people. Don’t worry, though, I get by just fine using your scissors and spiral notebooks. But don’t ask about my desk from primary school — I don’t want to talk about it.
NYC → Houston
I like to say I’m from New York, but of Houston. 2020 marked the 10-year anniversary of my move, and it’s been a pretty amazing decade. In New York, I grew up in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island, and while I’ve experienced the world’s best pizza and bagels, Houston has stellar food charm and an ever-evolving coffee game. Also, the people here look you in the eye when they talk to you in person and greet you when you get in the elevator — I mean, when we were doing those things pre-pandemic. Above all, my wife and I met here (about three years into my Houston adventure) and it was just about that time when the city first started to shine for me.
Rock ’n’ Roll
I’ve been the lead singer of four bands since the mid-1990s, one of which was a ska band called Infinite Alliance — yes, seriously. Since 2005 I’ve had the pleasure of performing with a group called Space, though we’ve done most of that long-distance since my move south of the Mason Dixon. [Watch our newest video below!]
Bagel Slinger
One of my all-time, favourite jobs ever was working at a bagel store in New York. It wasn’t the most personally meaningful job, but it paid the bills while I was in college. Also, I got to yell at customers and take home free carbs. I remember once, the husband-and-wife owners decided to start charging customers tax. One regular named Michael (not “Mike”) decided this was outrageous so he attempted to flip over a table. The problem was, all the tables were bolted down, so he demonstrated his protest by unwrapping a bunch of straws and throwing them on the floor. The next day he came back to apologize, and the bosses never charged him tax again. (Fun fact, Michael also showed me how to use the cappuccino machine to properly froth milk.)
Asian Operas and Nonprofits
These are technically under the same umbrella. At present I am a fundraiser for a local university, and my entire career has been spent working in/around nonprofit organizations. Much of that time was spent in the performing arts, and much of that time was spent in creative programming on all-things-Asia. This included producing and presenting tons of cultural programs — like author talks, a Kobe beef cook-off, and a world premiere Japanese ballet — as well as several years of commissioning brand new operas about the Asian-American experience in Houston.
Thanks, fellow humans. Appreciate you!
