Coffee with BAO Episode 22 ft. JohnnyD Nguyen – Founder of Viet Q Media

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29 May 2021

Coffee with BAO Episode 22 ft. JohnnyD Nguyen – Founder of Viet Q Media

By BAO
In this special #AAPIheritagemonth episode, Vietnamese American entrepreneur and entertainment industry veteran JohnnyD Nguyen chats with BAO about topics that are top-of-mind for the Vietnamese diaspora all around the world. We discuss his upbringing in between cultures, his unexpected entry into the entertainment industry via a supporting role in The Fast And The Furious franchise, and his career as a producer in various parts of the entertainment industry. JohnnyD’s latest business Viet Q Media curates and promotes talent from the Vietnamese diaspora all around the world.

Learn more about Viet Q Media at vietqmedia.com

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

This week, we give a special shout out to the organizations that are doing great work to tell AAPI and Vietnamese stories: DVAN and Diacritics, The Sóng Collective, VAALA, The Slants Foundation and these podcasts: The Vietnamese with Kenneth Nguyen, Vietverse, Vietnamese Boat People, Asian Not Asian, Asian Hustle Network, The Hot Potcast, Rice and Shine (German), Project Yellow Dress, Project Voice, and the Consenting Adults podcast ft. Leyna Nguyen.

22 May 2021

Coffee with BAO Episode 21 ft. Denise Santos – Film and TV Composer

By Angel
Film and television composer Denise Santos chats with BAO about her musical upbringing in Manilla, her unplanned decision to stay in the US, and her career as a touring musician and composer. We discuss her work on Ella Jay Basco’s music video “Gold” featuring Ruby Ibarra and its topic of skin lighteners, beauty standards, and self-acceptance. We also explore the sluggish acceptance of women of color in the entertainment industry and how her experience as a woman channels in the music she has composed for productions such as “Surviving Jeffrey Epstein.”

Learn more about Denise at bleedingfingersmusic.com

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

15 May 2021

Coffee with BAO Episode 20 ft. Jeremy Nguyen – Illustrator and New Yorker Cartoonist

By BAO
Illustrator and New Yorker cartoonist Jeremy Nguyen chats with BAO about his Vietnamese American upbringing and complicated relationship with being Asian. We take a look at some of his artwork and cartoons for The New Yorker and discuss his latest endeavors into sharing his knowledge with others. Jeremy is giving a free public lecture with Creatively on May 20, 2021 (get info).

Find Jeremy at jeremywinslife.com

You can also listen to the podcast version here:

08 May 2021

Coffee with BAO Episode 19 ft. Alan Z – Hip Hop and R&B Artist

By BAO
Alan Z, a Chinese American Hip Hop, R&B artist from Atlanta joins Bao Vo for Coffee with BAO. We talk about his international upbringing, early infatuation with rap music, and his new album Face Value, a collaboration with Jason Chu dropping May 14, 2021. The album was partially sponsored by The Slants Foundation, where BAO serves on the board of directors.

Find info on Alan Z and Jason Chu’s album Face Value at alanzmusic.com or on social media @alanzmusic

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast:

27 Mar 2021

Coffee with BAO Episode 18 ft. Pierre T. Lambert – Photographer and Youtuber

By Angel
Adventure photographer and Youtuber Pierre T. Lambert chats with BAO about his French American identity and making his escape from a career in engineering for the fossil fuels industry to starting his successful photography Youtube channel and online photography course “30 Days to Great Photos.” Pierre also shares his thoughts on entrepreneurship, creative inspiration, and learning to be more present.

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

Learn more about Pierre T. Lambert.

13 Mar 2021

Coffee with BAO Episode 17 ft. Johnny Cubert White – Artist, filmmaker, and photographer

By Angel
Artist, filmmaker, and photographer Johnny Cubert White joins BAO for a conversation about his career as a television art director, his art, and his life from the Midwest to Downtown Los Angeles. Johnny shares his Greek, Indigenous, and Appalachian family history, his 30-plus year process of embracing his queer identity, and how all of that is encapsulated in his vibrant art and personality. Johnny White’s ongoing decade-long photography series #myBROKENcamera​ is a powerful reflection of all of that.

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

Learn more about Johnny Cubert White.

Special thanks to The Soul Thief Vision for the great portrait photo!

08 Mar 2021

“The Brass Parade” by Sunrise Transparence ft. BAO

By BAO
Hi, hello! It’s me again, like TLC again. My friend and collaborator Sunrise Transparence, who played horns on Perpetual Heartbreak and co-wrote my song “Burn It Down,” created this one-person brass band cover version “Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance and I provided the vocals on it. That’s 54 layers of horns all played by Sunrise Transparence and 46 layers of voice by yours truly. Hope you like and share and buy this song!

Watch the video on Youtube.


We worked really hard on this and a way to support indie artists like us is to help us fund these crazy ambitious endeavors, so if you feel like downloading this cover song, here’s a glorious button:

Buy on Bandcamp
28 Feb 2021

Coffee with BAO Episode 16 ft. Bennie Mitchell III – Director of “It Is Well”

By Angel
Artist, musician, and filmmaker Bennie Mitchell III has an intimate conversation with BAO about his complicated African American history in Savannah, Georgia, his professional and creative journey in music and filmmaking, and the creation of his debut feature-length documentary “It Is Well.” The film documents the life and legacy of Bennie’s father Reverend Dr. Bennie R. Mitchell Jr., a respected educator, preacher, and activist. He also shares his thoughts on the ongoing process of defining one’s personal identity, engaging his community, and nurturing his own mental health.

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

Learn more about Bennie Mitchell III and watch his film “It Is Well” on Amazon Prime Video.

30 Jan 2021

Coffee with BAO Episode 15 ft. Sahra Nguyen – Founder of Nguyen Coffee Supply

By Angel
Sahra Nguyen, the award-winning filmmaker, activist, and founder of Nguyen Coffee Supply, speaks with BAO about digging deeper into her Vietnamese American family’s refugee story, developing a passion for art and activism as a teenager, and channeling that passion into a successful documentary filmmaking career. Sahra founded Nguyen Coffee Supply, the first specialty Vietnamese Coffee importer and roaster in the US, with the same mission as her award-winning video journalism: to help advance social and economic equality through education and empathy.

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

Learn more about Sahra Nguyen.

16 Jan 2021

Coffee with BAO Episode 13 ft. Tessa Young – DJ and founder of Prism DJs

By Angel
Tessa Young AKA DJ Tessa, the founder of Prism DJs, chats with BAO about her mixed-race background, the twists and turns of her career, and the struggles and failures that have helped her level up. She explains how her all-female DJ agency, Prism DJs, has teamed up with Sansar to pivot to VR and streaming DJ events during the pandemic.

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

Learn more about Tessa Young.

03 Jan 2021

Coffee with BAO Episode 11 ft. Amarantha Da Cruz – Founder of OyeDrum Magazine

By Angel
Writer, editor-in-chief, and founder of “OyeDrum Magazine” Amarantha Da Cruz chats with BAO about her cross-cultural upbringing in Brazil and the United States, the channeling of her passion for language and music into various careers, her continued growth as a person and a leader, and her women-centered online publication OyeDrum Magazine. OyeDrum’s latest release is Volume 3: The Sex Issue and it features creative works in a variety of mediums around the topic of sex.

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

Learn more about Amarantha Da Cruz.

19 Dec 2020

Coffee with BAO Episode 10 ft. Jamie Hosmer – Musician and singer/songwriter

By Angel
Singer/songwriter Jamie Hosmer joins BAO for a casual conversation about his three-decade career as a touring musician, charting his own path from gigging as a teenager in Massachusetts to playing with some of the world’s biggest stars in Las Vegas and around the world. Jamie’s debut solo album “Comfortable Shoes” has strong influences from the pop and rock songs of the 70s and 80s.

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

Learn more about Jamie Hosmer.

12 Dec 2020

Coffee with BAO Episode 9 ft. Kristina Wong – Performance artist, comedian, and actor

By Angel
Performance artist, comedian, and actor Kristina Wong speaks with BAO about her upbringing as a third-generation Chinese American, her path to creating a whole new medium for her performance art, and how her art is intertwined with real-life events. She recently concluded a month-long run of her show “Kristina Wong for Public Office” presented by the Center Theater Group and is now embarking on a new show called “Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord.

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

Learn more about Kristina Wong​.

05 Dec 2020

Coffee with BAO Episode 8 ft. Dale Edward Chung – GRAMMY-winning musician and actor

By Angel
Actor, musician, and GRAMMY Award-winning producer Dale Edward Chung chats with BAO about his Chinese American family’s long history in Northern California, his quest to make music his living, his GRAMMY-winning work as a musician and producer with The Lucky Band, and his recent ventures into film production.

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

Learn more about Dale Edward Chung​.

28 Nov 2020

Coffee with BAO Episode 7 ft. Trung Le Nguyen – Illustrator and author of “The Magic Fish”

By Angel
Comic book artist, illustrator, and debut graphic novelist Trung Le Nguyen talks with BAO about his family’s experience as refugees from Vietnam, his hustle as a freelance illustrator, accidentally coming out as gay to his family, and his new YA graphic novel “The Magic Fish,” published by Random House Graphic.

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

Learn more about Trung Le Nguyen​.

17 Oct 2020

Coffee with BAO Episode 2 ft. Elissa R. Sloan – Author of “The Unravelling of Cassidy Holmes”

By Angel
Japanese American author Elissa R. Sloan talks with BAO about her mixed-race upbringing in Houston, TX, her career and process as a professional wedding photographer, and goes into detail about the mental health challenges faced while writing her debut novel “The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes” published by William Morrow.

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

Learn more about Elissa R. Sloan​.

12 Oct 2020

Coffee with BAO Episode 1 ft. Hieu Gray – Producer and director of “Quan 13”

By Angel
Vietnamese American director, producer, and actor Hieu Gray joins BAO for some Vietnamese coffee and food and a conversation about her immigrant story, her creative process as a visual storyteller, and the challenges and goals she has faced as a woman in entertainment. Hieu’s food documentary “Quan 13” is screening at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival until October 31, 2020. It features a soundtrack by BAO.

You can also listen to this episode as a podcast.

Learn more about Hieu Gray.

 

12 Oct 2020

Introducing: Coffee with BAO

By BAO
I’m really excited to launch my new show Coffee with BAO. It’s a series where I have coffee with people in business, music, entertainment, pop culture, and more. We chat about their roots, process, personal and cultural identity, and personal growth. Coffee with BAO is a Youtube video series and an audio podcast available on all major podcast platforms.

Watch Episode 1 featuring Director, producer, and storyteller Hieu Gray:

My first episode features fellow Vietnamese American creative Hieu Gray. Hieu is a director, producer, and storyteller whose Asian American immigrant story starts in Vietnam, makes detours in Indonesia and Hong Kong, and spans a childhood in Georgia. Formerly, Hieu worked for years as an award-winning producer at CNN on shows including Larry King Live and Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown.

More recently, she’s been an on-camera superstar in her own films, including a short food documentary film “Quan 13,” which she also produced and directed. The film features a soundtrack by BAO and is screening during the month of October 2020 at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Get passes at festival.vcmedia.org

Find Hieu Gray at hieugray.com or find her Instagram @lapetitebelle_eats

Here are links to Coffee with BAO on Youtube and on Podcast platforms.

It takes a lot of time and resources to create this content and your financial support is super-duper appreciated. I don’t even eat, I just survive on the coffee that you buy me!

14 May 2020

New Release: A Little Bottle of Tears (Original Soundtrack)

By BAO
Several years ago, I scored a soundtrack for Jess Iglehart’s short animated film “A Little Bottle of Tears.” I decided to release it as a soundtrack album so that the music can live on its own. So here we are.

A Little Bottle of Tears | CalArts Showcase 2012 from Jess Idlehart on Vimeo.

The soundtrack is broken up into three parts and, to mirror the aesthetic of the film, it combines old sampled sounds with new digital sounds. Watch it for yourself on Vimeo and check out Jess Iglehart’s latest work on Instagram. 🙂
 

If you’d like to support my work, here are a few other ways:

Thank you!
❤ BAO

14 Nov 2017

Video: “Do The Move” Live at the Viper Room

By BAO
BAO’s very first live show was in September at the Viper Room in West Hollywood. We shot some footage and our friend Dave helped put this little video together. Hope you dig it. We’re also starting to book more shows upcoming, so contact us if you’ve got an event for us.

Subscribe to BAO on YouTube to get updated each time a new video is posted.

Ripping guitar solo by Jesse McInturff of the band VVIVES. Bass solo by Timm Shingler of the band Open Grave Surfers. Second mini guitar solo by BAO. Hype AF drum solo by Rogie Lucero from the band Purple Fuzz Machine. Thanks to The Slants for inviting us to share the stage.