NAASCon 2004 @ USC - Performers

Nemo

Nemo's experiences in the past two years have produced a veteran stage presence. Their performances can be summed up in two words: energy and passion. Quickly gaining popularity, Nemo has found themselves performing in front of increasing crowds throughout all of California. Major Sunset venues have found it impossible to ignore Nemo as evidenced by a sold out show at the world famous Viper Room. Their music has expanded from coast to coast, as legions of fans who believe in Nemo have flown them to New York, Connecticut, with numerous more offers to expand their playground to places such as Ohio and Florida. Small college radio stations, who have also come across Nemo's EP, have given them airplay all over California. Perhaps Nemo's most accomplished feat in the punk-pop world has been their stint as an unknown band on the Warped Tour opening for a band called Yellowcard. Needless to say, Nemo has gone and is going places.
http://www.nemorocks.com

HereAndNow

hereandnow is a compelling Asian American theatre company that has performed across the nation for the past 12 years. hereandnow uses the collective voices of its diverse cast to reach out to the audience through universal themes of the show: that everyone comes from a unique experience, and that all people have stories to share.
http://www.hereandnowtheatre.org

Ken Oak

After spending a year 'undecided' at the University of Michigan, Ken moved to Los Angeles to study music at the University of Southern California. During this time, he devoted himself to the development of his vocal and guitar skills and was exposed to a bunch of music he'd never heard before. Most of it crap. Luckily, he kept a supplemental diet of music that mattered to him.

Upon graduating, Ken moved to the DC area and immersed himself in the local singer-songwriter scene in search of his own sound. Combining influences ranging from The Smiths to Duran Duran to the Indigo Girls, he has quickly gained recognition as an emerging talent in the pop-rock arena. Ken moved back to LA in early 2003 to record an independent EP with producer/engineer Howard Karp (Lifehouse, Lisa Loeb).

Ken's first full-length release, Half Step Down, is scheduled for release in September 2004. The album will be co-produced by Ken Oak and Stefon Taylor.
http://www.kenoak.net

Zero 3

Challenging themselves to explore the planes of social struggles, Art, literature, and the mundane march through everyday life by means of spoken word, written language, song, and the stage, zero 3 fuses the performer, the performance, and the piece into a unique show that cannot be summed up in one sentence.

Emerging out of distant parts of Los Angeles come three supporters of the written word: Kennedy Kabasares, Traci Kato-Kiriyama, and Edren T. Sumagaysay. Working together since February of 2000, their original works focus on world, womyn, personal and social issues and extend from poetry, prose, monologues, scenes, stream-of-consciousness meditations to songs about "sitting on things." "zero 3 is a good balance between the written word, spoken word and theater," says Kabasares. "We each come from three very distinctly different backgrounds and experiences and surprisingly that lends toward the great rapport we have with each other."

Zero 3 are also artists-in-residence and teach spoken word workshops at Visual Communications in Los Angeles, the nation's oldest Asian American media arts group.
http://www.zero3.org

Kristina Sheryl Wong aka Big Bad Chinese Mama

Kristina Sheryl Wong is a solo performer, writer, actor, educator, activist, and filmmaker. Her first solo show, "Miss Chinatown 2nd Runner Up" was commissioned for development by the TeAda Works New Works Festival ("An LA Times' "Best Bet"). She currently tours "Free?" (her second full length solo show) across the country. She was commissioned by LA's Mark Taper Forum to create "Holding in Los Angeles" for "LAsians", part of the Asian Theater Workshop. She was also awarded the Durfee ARC grant and an Artist-in-Residence grant from the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department. A former field news reporter for KPFK radio, she produced and directed her first short documentary, "Beat the Bus" with Visual Communications' "Armed with a Camera" Fellowship. She's the notorious webmistress behind http://www.bigbadchinesemama.com, a mock mail order bride site visited by perverts, academics, activists and klansmen worldwide. She is published in the Harper Collins' Yell-oh Girls Anthology and Northeastern University Press' Catching A Wave anthology. Kristina is working on her first novel, "Between the Peaks" thanks to support from the Rosenthal PEN USA Emerging Voices Fellowship.

Kristina lectures and presents workshops in universities and panels nationwide. She works as the Artistic Director of the Asian American Teen Theater Company, creating educational theater with youth. Kristina graduated from UCLA and has double degrees in English with Creative Writing and World Arts and Cultures, with a minor in Asian American Studies.
http://www.kristinasherylwong.com

Thomas' Apartment

In the Fall of 1999, Nam Tran and Bao Truong were casual acquaintances, both undergraduate students attending UCLA. The two met through UCLA's Vietnamese Student Union and found that they both had a deep love for music and dreamed of someday making music of their own. When Nam bought a bass guitar that Christmas, Bao was happy to have found a friend to play guitar with in the UCLA dorms. Beginning with a few original tunes and classic 80's songs from bands like The Cure and Depeche Mode, Nam and Bao soon met Thomas Tran and Billy Vu Lam to expand their weekly jam sessions. With Thomas taking up vocals & synths, and Billy on rhythm guitar, the foursome met frequently at Thomas' apartment to improvise songs, share ideas, and to have fun. They soon became close friends, joined by their love for making music. By April of 2000, the guys had found an exceptional drummer in Paul Yanson, Thomas' old friend from earlier college years.

With much anticipation from fans, friends, and family, the band's self-titled debut album, Thomas' Apartment, was released in January 2004. This debut album is a collection of 12 original songs written by the individual band members, some dating back to years before the band was formed. All songs underwent intense refining and collective collaboration, blending the eclectic musical styles of the group. The songs reflect the band's wide-ranging backgrounds, from Nam & Bao's 80's rock, to Thomas' trance/electronica, to Billy's soft/classic rock, to Ian's hard/metal rock influences. Together, Thomas' Apartment's sound is as unique as it is lively energetic.
http://www.thomasapartment.com

Jeet Kune Flow

It's Jeet Kune Flow Camp// representing k-town los angeles man//Asian emcees bringing you some fresh jams//All trying to master that mic in our hands// jeet kune flow @ kiwa every sundays//us young cats are steppin up to the runway//gettin our shine//bringing ya'll some real hiphop, hope ya'll dont mind//it's just the 5 of us performin but theres alot more//of Jeet Kune Flow Fam members if ya'll didn't kno//

Chaotic 3
Chaotic 3 is a collegiate co-ed Hip Hop dance team based at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Created in 1999 originally as an artistic outlet for members of the CASA organization, Chaotic 3, or C3 has since become a widely recognized dance organization within both the USC student body and the California collegiate hiphop dance circuit.

C3 is comprised of a diverse group of twenty-some members from all over the U.S. and other countries, a trademark characteristic of the SC student community. Dance experience ranges from little/no training to years of technique development. And because we delve into a bit of every style - break dancing, popping, locking, nu skool, jazz, and lyrical, we strive to continually participate, promote, and support all forms of dance.

The principle behind C3 is the fusion of the positive benefits of dance, as both an extracurricular and sport, with strong team camaraderie and family environment in order to promote quality, build character, and provide a healthy niche for USC students."
http://www.chaoticthree.com