After discovering me on myspace, the editors of the Vietnamese Music Audio Blog site approached me with this interview. Although I do speak Vietnamese, I could have never interpreted my thoughts in such detail. Thank you Ngoc Hoang for doing such a great job on the translation. Here is the interview in English, if you wish to read it in Vietnamese, please visit www.vietnameseaudio.blogspot.com
INTERIVIEW WITH VIETNAMESE MUSIC AUDIO BLOG: OCT. 12TH 2006
VMAB-Briefly tell us about your family background. Were you raised up in a musical family? Were you very musical as a child?
CS-I was born in a small village in Vietnam called Minh Hai. My grandmother owned a restaurant, and my mother (1 of 12 children) was a school teacher. My father was a barber, but also a musician. He was a guitar player and singer. My father left as a refugee in 1982, when I was only 2 years old, and came to Canada to start a new life for us. In 1986, he sponsored myself, my sister and my mother over to Canada, where he had established himself as a insurance salesman. He was tragically taken away from us in a car accident only 1 year later. As a single mother of three (they had conceived my new born sister in the first year that we were here) it was very difficult for my mother and my sisters. We had a little help from my uncles who lived in the States, but they had their own families to care for. Those first years we were very dependent on the benevolence of the Canadian government who we have eternal gratitude for. My mother then met my stepfather, a green house farmer, and developed a family with him. We sponsored his two children from Vietnam, and they had two children together, which makes for 7 of us in total!
My very first passionate musical memory is of myself singing my heart out to Paula Abdul in my bedroom and having my dad walk in totally mollified by my utter abandonment and torch like performance. It was funny. When I started becoming confident and serious about singing (and singing well) was at Church. We started going to the Burnaby Vietnamese Alliance Church when I was 12.
VMAB -Did your family support your decision to become a singer? Any particular obstacles?
CS- At Church my family was quite impressed by my talent and proud of my inclusion in all special events and worships. They soon sang a different tune when I announced my plans to attend Music School in College. Because of my Honour Roll status all through school, their hopes were set on me becoming a lawyer. This was the hardest obstacle that I have had to face as a first generation Vietnamese musician in Canada. THE ACCEPTANCE OF MY PARENTS. They were hell bent on discouraging me and did not even want to sign my papers for student loans. Many an argument about me "throwing the opportunities that they sacrificed their happiness for me to have" were heard at all family gatherings. The first years of College for me were traumatizing. It was hard enough that I had a 6-8 class course load, but coming home to constant nagging did in no way aid my peace of mind. I still managed to get pretty much straight A's and was awarded numerous grants and Scholarships; how, I don't know.
VMAB -How long have you been singing? Could you give us a brief timeline of your musical career?
CS- A brief timeline of my career would be singing in church---releasing records with Sean Dimitrie---going to College---collaborations with numerous producers---maintaining residencies at clubs singing---starting band Destineak with Bobby James/Drumattic---recording and writing for our upcoming release in 2007. Some of these events overlap.
VMAB -You got an amazing vocal range and can sing quite a variety of styles, including jazz and opera. Tell us about your vocal training. Why classical music?
CS-. Classical music is a very good way to start vocal training, because good technique is the key to always sounding good. If these innate mechanisms are not ingrained in you, then you are always at the mercy of distractions and mistakes. Classical voice allows you to have great control. I went on to study Jazz vocals, which was wonderful for writing and performing, because jazz music really stresses improvisation. Jazz harmony is also very interesting to me, and it is more obscure, which I love. I was lucky because Douglas College (the first school I applied to) had a program called basic musicianship that taught people that did not have any previous training at all, and prepared them for later in depth study. It happened to be that Classical music was what they taught.
VMAB -What inspired you to get academic musical training? Tell us about your academic life. How much those academic years help your career?
CS-. I was very lucky to start playing with some of the best players in Vancouver as soon as I joined my first band Shazzam. Namely Sean Dimitrie (who co-owns Bombay Records and is reputable songwriter, producer and DJ) and Ray Garraway (who is now the drummer in K-Os's band) and Scott Sanft, Dave Lee, Carolyn Wong and Jeff Backhouse. These players were all in their late 20's and early 30's when I first started playing with them in 1997 when I was 17. They had all gone to music school and were all amazing at their instruments. This inspired me go to school. Also, I knew it would give me more creative license, and I would move on from just being a singer to a singer songwriter. Going to music school is one of the best decisions that I ever made. It has let me speak truthfully, and given me the freedom to work with many people, because I can translate my ideas with a universal language. It also taught me how to play piano, which is an invaluable tool.
VMAB -Why and when did you start writing your own music? What is your first song? What is the favorite song that you..ve ever written? Why this song?
CS-. I started writing my own songs at the age of 17. My first song was called "Time" (which was later recorded and released on PFB Records). It was about healing your heart after a break up and moving on, but how this is mostly only possible with time. My favorite song that I have written so far is a song called "Release Me", about greed and social decline, and how the more we accumulate the more we hare tied down by the materialism of this society.
VMAB -What are your topics of interest in writing music? What inspired you most?
CS- I like to write about current trends and their effects on the emotional evolution of society. I am also prone to write about hypothetical situations like homelessness, freedom of speech, jealousy, technology and so forth. I used to write about heart break a lot, because that was what I was going through, but now that I am in a happy relationship, I feel that my emotions have been opened up to more soul searching topics. Don't get me wrong though, a good love song is always in the works, and those are often the best ones.
VMAB -Tell us about your most recent project ..Destineak.. and your collaboration with Sean Dimitrie. What is the writing process between you and Sean?
CS- My current project Destineak is with producer Bobby James. The name is something that we made up, and it means unique destination. We have been writing for 2 years, and now are finally putting the record together properly. Bobby and I are boyfriend and girlfriend, and this puts an interesting twist on things, as you can imagine. He and I co-write and produce everything, and play on all of it. We have some guest performers, such as David Spidel on bass, Courtenay Ennis on keys, Andrew Spence on saxophone and Pete Black on guitar. We own a studio of our own called Song Doll Studios, which is also our home in Downtown Vancouver. Our music has elements of jazz, rock, dance and electronica that permeate it all. We like to call it Euro-tech-funk-rock.
VMAB -How do you describe and categorize your music? What is your comfort zone? Are you comfortable to play any genre of music?
CS-. I would describe our music as edgy but poppy. It doesn't want to sound like everything else out there, but still all borrows from the same legends.
VMAB -You took ..voice over acting.. training at the Vancouver film school? Tell us more about the reason behind this type of training and your assignment with Play Management? Any ambition to become an actress?
CS- I took voice over acting because as a musician, you are not always guaranteed success right away, so in the mean time, it is wise to support yourself in an industry that is related. Signing with an agent means you get sent out on auditions for television and commercials and radio. I have been lucky to land a few spots, and it is really fun work. You can be asked to do wild things like sound like a dog that is really a 12 year old boy, like a hyper lady talking about hardwood floors, like a gangster, like a superhero....etc. I am also signed with Pacific Artist Management as an onscreen commercial and television actress. This is fun as well, and doesn't take that much skill, you just need a look. I have taken acting classes, but at the moment am happy with just light auditions because serious acting is something that requires a lot of time to develop, which I would rather be spending time working on music. Maybe in the future though....
VMAB -You..ve been working with different producers. From your working experience, what are the qualifications of a good producer? What part of the whole production was the most critical? Pre-production? Recording? Mixing and mastering? Or post-production? ..
CS- A good producer has to know your style, and like it. If you are working with someone that doesn't like your music, you are pretty much digging yourself into a hole, because neither of you will be represented correctly. I am also lucky that I have only worked with producers who own their own studios, and know their gear. It is very important that your producer is open to your input, because I have worked with people that had their own set ideas about how the song should sound, and it is not fun to record when you feel limited creatively. The most critical parts of production are 1. the songwriting process (without a good song you are pretty much recording blindly) 2. the mix (a great recording can have the most wicked parts and performances, but if the mix sucks, people probably won't listen to it, or play it).
VMAB -Being Vietnamese and a female artist/song writer, how did you manage to survive and get to this far in Western music industry? What are your secret weapons, besides your vocal gift?
CS- Being a Vietnamese musician in Canada is hard, because at a very young age you are taught that fame & money=musical success. When you look at the North American market, there are no Asian super popstars to look up to. Along with the pressures of being a star, you are also trying to break a mold that hasn't been broken--talk about a tough feat. This used to bug me, until I realized that the people that I looked up to most musically were rarely on TV, or on the radio. My big influences are BT, Garbage, Bjork, Gaelle, and Imogen Heap. These people are HUGE in their own categories, but are so because they are fantastic songwriters and producers. They are not the puppets and icons that teenagers rely on to influence their hair colors and fashion choices. Not that obscurity is something that I am seeking, on the contrary I would love to blown up into a major star and have all the riches in the world, but who wouldn't?
What I have come to terms with is that I am already lucky enough to be doing music, and that success is only measured by how YOU feel about your own accomplishments. I definitely would love to have a solid fanbase by the end of my career, but does that mean I need Britney Spears fame? I don't think so. In terms of money, my piece of advice to anybody that is in it for the millions, get out now. If you want to be rich, go into investment banking, real estate whatever, the world has enough musicians without you. If you are like me, who breathes, eats and walks music, and can't imagine going another day without playing your instrument, then maybe you'll have a chance of happiness as a musician. I guess my secret weapon is knowing that music chose me and that I better get used to it if I want to be happy, for richer or poorer.
VMAB-What is the craziest thing that your fans ever did to you? What do you like and dislike about performing live?
CS-. I don't recall a crazy fan moment. I got to tell you though, when people started asking me for my autograph and for me to sign their CD's, that was a major moment for me. Who knew people needed to be that close to me because of my music? That in itself is pretty outrageous I think.
What I love about performing live, is the opening of my soul to the entire world, and letting them come in. I lose myself on stage, and people get lost with me. That's pretty cool. Ironically, what I don't like about performing live is somewhat the same. Opening up your soul is pretty emotionally straining, and the aftermath can be quite traumatic. Going from the centre of attention back to normal takes a little easing into. My friend who is a live theatre actress and I have a secret joke about this. We call it "anti-climactic -performer-syndrome". Symptoms include slight depression and constant urge to go back on stage and do it all over again. Maybe that's why musicians need to perform so much. It's like a high.
VMAB-How do you vision yourself in the next 5 years in this entertainment business?
CS-. In 5 years, I would have liked to have sold enough records and have garnered enough attention with my band Destineak to go on a world tour. I would come back from that world tour and be ready to have my first child at 31 years old, and start a family. I would then start recording another record. I am also interested in doing production work for other people and writing songs for other artists as well.
VMAB-Last but not least, having left Viet Nam at the age of 6, do you remember anything about your homeland? Culturally and musically speaking, have you been involved with the Vietnamese community in Canada or any elsewhere? If not, would you consider if opportunities strike in the future?
CS- Having left Vietnam at the age of 6, I don't remember a lot. I do have small flashes, like collecting firewood for the stove with my little sister for my grand ma. My elementary school teacher that had really long hair. My house in Saigon on the second story. I went back about 4 years ago, and it was totally surreal. I couldn't believe how poor everyone was, and how much desperation was still a rampant theme amongst the people, and this was in the city! The only real solid interaction that kept with the Vietnamese community was through church, which was pretty strong. I taught Sunday school when I was younger, and of course sang in the church choir. I would definitely be interested in considering opportunities of being more active in the Vietnamese community, and thanks to you I have taken my first step!
