Southern Fried Asian: Thao Nguyen
On this week’s episode of Southern Fried Asian, Keith talks to Thao Nguyen, the frontwoman of the critically acclaimed indie band Thao & The Get Down Stay Down.
Thao and Keith talk about growing up in Virginia and whether Northern Virginia even counts as the South (3:30). Then she discusses her early country and folk music influence and why there aren’t many Asian Americans in those genres (7:00). Thao remembers her other early influences, which trace back to Lillith Fair and — no shame — Sarah MacLachlan (11:00), what it was like being the only Asian American girl in Virginia’s indie folk/country scene (14:00), and what happens when your college town is also Colonial Williamsburg (17:00). Finally, Thao reveals how she turned an emotional trip to Vietnam with her mother into an equally emotional movie about the experience (23:00) and why steamed rockfish reminds her of home (37:00).
Nobody Dies makes it world premiere on Thursday, September 7 at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. Tickets for the screening and a music performance by Thao are available here.
Subscribe to the Southern Fried Asian podcast on iTunes and Google Play.
Our official theme music is the song “Top Down” by Chops, Timothy Flu, and Mic Barz. This episode also features the song “Nobody Dies” from the album A Man Alive by Thao & The Get Down Stay Down.
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