Coffee with BAO

I'm trying out a more informal and shorter format, please let me know if it's better, worse, or if you have other ideas! Also, podcasts now include video too, if your Podcast player supports it. This week Katie Hargrove joins me before our co-writing session to talk about the breadth of her work as a songwriter, her journey in the music industry, and how her normal life as a human influences her work. We talk about her path from playing music in Knoxville TN at age 13 to moving to Los Angeles a few years ago to pursue songwriting. We also touch on having a real life outside of music, being a gay woman in the music industry, and what's been on our minds lately.

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and music producer Bao Vo. The show explores the cultural identity, creative process, and personal growth of diverse guests from the creative and business world. Coffee with BAO is available as a Youtube video series and audio podcast. Your financial support is super appreciated. You can donate to help create this content at http://coffeewithbao.com

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 http://vietqmedia.com  

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and music producer Bao Vo. The show explores the cultural identity, creative process, and personal growth of diverse guests from the creative and business world. Coffee with BAO is available as a Youtube video series and audio podcast. Your financial support is super appreciated. You can donate to help create this content at http://coffeewithbao.com

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. We also get some advice from Alan Z about preserving personal spaces as an entertainer and harnessing the power of your own unique voice.

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

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and music producer Bao Vo. The show explores the cultural identity, creative process, and personal growth of diverse guests from the creative and business world. Coffee with BAO is available as a Youtube video series and audio podcast. Your financial support is super appreciated. You can donate to help create this content at http://coffeewithbao.com

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.

Find Pierre T. Lambert at http://pierretlambert.com

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and music producer Bao Vo. The show explores the cultural identity, creative process, and personal growth of diverse guests from the creative and business world. Coffee with BAO is available as a Youtube video series and audio podcast. Your financial support is super appreciated. You can donate to help create this content at http://coffeewithbao.com

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. 

Find Johnny Cubert White and his photography at http://lensculture.com/johnny-white
And thanks to The Soul Thief Vision for the great headshot.

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and music producer Bao Vo. The show explores the cultural identity, creative process, and personal growth of diverse guests from the creative and business world. Coffee with BAO is available as a Youtube video series and audio podcast. Your financial support is super appreciated. You can donate to help create this content at http://coffeewithbao.com

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.

Find Bennie and the BRM Jr Institute at https://brmjrinstitute.org and watch his film "It Is Well" on Amazon Prime Video at https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B08JZ7M62X

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and music producer Bao Vo. The show explores the cultural identity, creative process, and personal growth of diverse guests from the creative and business world. Coffee with BAO is available as a Youtube video series and audio podcast. Your financial support is super appreciated. You can donate to help create this content at http://coffeewithbao.com

Rapper, poet, and activist Jason Chu joins BAO for the inaugural "beer with BAO" as they discuss his Chinese family's history in Southeast Asia, his journey building a decade-long career in hip hop, and his latest album "living.room," released with support from The Slants Foundation. Find Jason Chu at http://jasonchumusic.com

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and producer Bao Vo exploring creative process, cultural identity, and personal growth. Coffee with BAO is also available as a podcast. Your financial support is super appreciated. You can donate to help create this content at http://coffeewithbao.com

Happy holidays! I'm grateful to have had such thoughtful conversations with all of my guests on Coffee with BAO in the last couple of months. And also for the the chance to share their stories and to get constructive feedback from many of you. Thank you so much.

There's no new episode of Coffee with BAO this week. But I wanted to tell you about why I started the show and where I'd like to see it go.

A lot of interview shows are what I consider "Success Porn," glorifying people who've done great things by detailing how hard they worked or how innovative their solutions were. That's cool, but that's not what I wanted to do with Coffee with BAO. On my show, I want to emphasize that it's OK to be a work in progress. I want to highlight stories of people who made a few wrong turns and reiterate that wherever someone is in their path, it's an ongoing process and that we call can keep learning from each other.

I wanna link to three podcasts that influenced the approach I took on Coffee with BAO.

"How I Built This" with Guy Raz for giving Insight into the struggles, failures, and pivots of people who have accomplished notable things. https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this

"Open Belly" with Danielle Lehman for Seeking out stories of immigrants, industry outsiders, and oftentimes, showing how people reinvent themselves to pursue their culinary dreams. Open Belly is exceptionally well-produced by my good friend Danielle Lehman and her team. https://www.openbellypodcast.com

"And the Writer Is..." with Ross Golan. I love the format of the casual conversation because such interesting stories are told that way. Ross draws a connection between a songwriter's life story and their work and their process. Overall, a great variety of music industry stories. https://www.andthewriteris.com

What's next for Coffee with BAO?

I'm looking forward to making Coffee with BAO even better in 2021 with better production value and more awesome guests. One thing I've been struggling with is getting more people to discover my show. So I'm asking you to help share your favorite episode with two people who you think would appreciate the show. I'm also using your comments and testimonials to apply for grants for the show. And when I get enough of a budget, I'll run some ads to grow my audience, so if you're feeling generous, please head over to coffeewithBAO.com to hit the blue "support" button and pitch in whatever you think this content is worth. It's a weird time, so no pressure.

Coffee with BAO will be back in January with a few improvements and a slew of fascinating guests!

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. Find Jamie and get a copy of his new album at http://jamiehosmer.com

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and producer Bao Vo exploring creative process, cultural identity, and personal growth. Coffee with BAO is also available as a Youtube video series. Your financial support is super appreciated. You can donate to help create this content at http://coffeewithbao.com

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."  Learn more about Kristina at kristinawong.com  

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and producer Bao Vo exploring creative process, cultural identity, and personal growth. Coffee with BAO is also available as a Youtube video series. Your financial support is super appreciated. You can donate to help create this content at http://coffeewithbao.com

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. Find Dale at http://DEdwardmusic.com  

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and producer Bao Vo exploring creative process, cultural identity, and personal growth. Coffee with BAO is also available as a Youtube video series. Your financial support is super appreciated. You can donate to help create this content at http://coffeewithbao.com

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. Find Trung at http://trungles.com

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and producer Bao Vo exploring creative process, cultural identity, and personal growth. Coffee with BAO is also available as a Youtube video series. Your financial support is super appreciated. You can donate to help create this content at http://coffeewithbao.com

There’s no new episode of Coffee with BAO this week, but I wanted to take this time to introduce you to my new Youtube series called "BAO Breaks Down." This is where I take a song and show you how it evolved by playing old demo versions. I'll open up my Logic files to show you the songwriting and music production side of things.  

You don't have to be a music maker to appreciate these. Music is conceptual art. But if you are a songwriter or music producer, you'll see behind the scenes of producing an album from the perspective of a visual artist... who makes music!  I'm starting with Perpetual Heartbreak, but if you like these videos, I'll do more including songs by Ming & Ping and other artists that I've worked with.  The first episode comes out tomorrow. 

And if you can financially support me keep making this content, I'd really appreciate that. All this stuff costs time and money. There's a big blue "Support" button at coffeewithbao.com I'll see you next week for Coffee With BAO. Thanks a lot.

Entrepreneur and podcaster Sean Li chats with BAO about his Asian American immigrant story, how the Haas School of Business has informed his recent business ventures like Alumni.FM and Voyce.FM, and practices he has found to help him be productive while staying human. Find Sean at http://seanli.me

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and producer Bao Vo exploring creative process, cultural identity, and personal growth. Coffee with BAO is also available as a Youtube video series. Your financial support is super appreciated. You can donate to help create this content at http://coffeewithbao.com

Author and cultural journalist Jim Gladstone talks with BAO about his varied career documenting pop culture and his experience as a gay creative throughout the decades. Jim also shares his recent experience at an artist's residency at the Fish Factory in Iceland, where he focused on writing a new novel.  Find Jim Gladstone at https://jimgladstone.com

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and producer Bao Vo exploring creative process, cultural identity, and personal growth. Coffee with BAO is also available as a Youtube video series. Your financial support is super appreciated. You can donate to help create this content at http://coffeewithbao.com

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.

Find Elissa R. Sloan at http://elissarsloan.com or find her Instagram at http://instagram.com/elissareads/  

Coffee with BAO is a series of casual conversations with Vietnamese American songwriter and producer Bao Vo exploring creative process, cultural identity, and personal growth. Coffee with BAO is also available as a Youtube video series. Support the show at http://coffeewithbao.com

Hey, It's BAO! I'm a Vietnamese American songwriter, producer, and coffee lover in Los Angeles. Coffee With BAO is an audio podcast and Youtube video series where I have a chat over coffee with guests in music, entertainment, the arts, business, and more. I'll highlight people with interesting cultural stories and their interesting work. Along with the creative process, we'll talk about stuff including personal growth and cultural identity and the end of the world. Find more info about me and my projects at heyitsbao.com