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[W]aab [S]ite >> Music
Whyte Shadow |
Paradise |
Hmong Pop Bands Make Waves
Groups appealing to larger audiences
By Nzong Xiong/AP
As a new generation of Hmong-Americans comes of age in the central San Joaquin Valley in California, contemporary rock and roll bands are trying to appeal to their audience’s ever-changing tastes.
And now, encouraged by the boom in Latin music that’s crossed over into mainstream pop, some bands from families that immigrated from Southeast Asia after the Vietnam conflict are trying to reach out to non-Hmong audiences.
The appetite for Hmong bands’ music outside their own community is "getting better compared to two to five years ago. The market is open and wider," said Mitch Her, manager of the band Whyteshadows.
At the same time, the Hmong community seems more accepting of new and different styles of music emerging from Hmong bands.
"There’s a market for it now. I think there’s a good chance, not only for Whyteshadows, but for any band to make it," Herr said.
"It’s like a revolution," says Long Her of the Hmong band called Paradise. "Things are changing so quickly. The youth moved from something like rock to something more hip-hop."
Paradise, Whyte shadows and High Voltage are examples of bands that are playing to those changing music trends within the Hmong community.
High Voltage, one of the earliest Hmong bands in the United States, was formed in the 1980s by three friends who started jamming at a party one night -- a spontaneous performance that eventually led to six albums.
Soon the band got serious about its music and started touring cities with large Hmong populations: Fresno, Calif.; Eau Claire and Madison in Wisconsin; Minnesota’s twin cities, St. Paul and Minneapolis, and Morganton, N.C. The band expanded to six members as its popularity grew.
"We had the right ingredients at the right time. It was techno, new wave. It was what people wanted at a party," said Paul Long Lo, originally the drummer and now lead singer.
Singing mainly in Hmong, High Voltage is equally at ease with slow love ballads and songs with feet-moving dance music for young people. At parties, the band also sings a few traditional Laotian songs for parents in the crowd.
"We like to grab the interest of everybody," Lo said.
Paradise is a big draw, too. Their choreographed dance moves remind fans of the boys-only pop groups Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync, and set Paradise apart from other Hmong bands.
A group of friends started Paradise to stay out of trouble, says lead singer Ko Yang.
"Back then, the gangs were pretty hot and there were a lot of problems in the community," says Yang, 29. But as the band began to get serious, members took lessons and "it evolved from there on."
Paradise has been around since the early 1990s, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that the band’s name began to make waves in the Hmong community.
"When we started, we shot for a rock-culture feel," Her says. When it didn’t work, "we changed our music to more modern, more R&B music."
That worked. Paradise’s fourth album, "Heavenly Sent," was released during the 2000 Hmong International New Year in Fresno, and another is due out before the year is over and there’s a concert tour in the works, too. Songs, most of them with a hip-hop feel, are sung in Hmong, English and, occasionally, French.
Whyteshadows, on the other hand, won the band contest during the 1991 Fresno Hmong New Year celebration, released its debut album in 1992, then didn’t have a second album until last year.
"What really got us started was last year when we started our second album. Everyone’s more settled now. They have the time to put in and work hard with the band," said Seah Fang, 22, who plays the keyboard and composes most of the music. And there’s more of an audience.
"Even though the Hmong market is small, it’s better now than five years ago," says Whyteshadows’ Mitch Herr, 29, who plays guitar and manages the six-member band.
The audience, primarily teens, like the pop flavor of Whyteshadows’ music. Still, some performers are a bit wary of the music’s growing popularity and say they’d like to see some things less Americanized.
"The Hmong music scene has moved away from our culture," said High Voltage’s Paul Long Lo. "We really need to do more songs about the Hmong people."
But the ultimate dream for many of Hmong bands is to hit it big in mainstream American music.
"I think there’s room for improvement," says Whyteshadows’ Seah Fang.
"But I think we’ve come a long way and that other nationalities are starting to take notice that the Hmong people have talent and music, too," Fang said.
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