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Three foreign bands embracing Saigon

Monday, March 3, 2014
Saigon is known for its dynamic and pioneering lifestyle. Thus, the birth and development of foreign bands are contributing to the cultural life of Saigonese and helping to bring more entertainment choices to the masses.
Cuban outfit Q’vans.
Multinational bands
New resident band of Caravelle Hotel, Q’vans from Cuba is led by drummer Dalyor Vazquez and trumpeter, keyboardist and singer Joel Rodriguez with female singing trio Irian Flores, Sonia Hamilton and Lisandra Rondon. The band’s Latin music and dance moves make them a big hit with audiences.
Rodriguez, who has lived in Vietnam for two years, said: “We used to live and work in Cuba, Venezuela, Singapore and Cambodia but finally the band has chosen Vietnam as a promising place for a long-term future.”
Q’vans members feel comfortable with the pace of life in Vietnam.
“Our first visit to the city was quite tough. However, we received great support from Andres Arias, the owner of Pacharan Restaurant in HCMC’s District 1 who gave us a job opportunity to perform on his restaurant’s stage and we received a great response from audiences,” added Rodriguez.
Then, Q’vans had a chance to perform at the popular Apocalypse discotheque and Hard Rock Café HCMC prior to their exclusive performances at Saigon Saigon Bar on level 9 of the five-star Caravelle Hotel. Due to regular shows, the band can have a stable life.
Recently, Q’vans performed local diva Thu Minh’s hit “Bay” (flying) in Vietnamese at the New Year Countdown 2014 at the Sailing Club in Nha Trang and received a great reaction from the crowd.
Another band making a good life in Vietnam is The Lost Art, a four-piece rock band from England and Japan. The three English members Daniel Tooman (guitarist/vocalist), George Bussell (drummer) and Andrew Thompson (bassist) are full-time English teachers at city-based foreign languages centers and added into the mix is bluesy-rock veteran guitarist Yuichi Matsumoto.
The big difference between The Lost Art and other expat bands is that the band cover many Vietnamese songs rock-style and leader Tooman can speak and sing Vietnamese fluently.
“I have learnt Vietnamese for 18 months at HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities and I’m also self-taught at home. I have received great support from Tuan Khanh, leader of HCMC-based rock band Microwave and Mr. Lam from RFC Band who helped improve my vocals,” he said.
The Lost Art has weekly performances at local bars and stages, including RFC (Tu Xuong Street, District 3), Acoustic (Ngo Thoi Nhiem Street, District 3), Darts Darts Darts (Pasteur Street, District 3), and Yoko (Nguyen Thi Dieu Street, District 3). Tooman hopes that his band can later perform requests for Vietnamese songs from audiences.
@ Groove Band from the Philippines is under management of city-based Bui Dung Music Company. The four-piece band consists of Sarah, Harold, Cathy and leader Sammy who has lived in Saigon for ten years. The band covers English songs in many styles, play requests and can perform with numerous musical instruments. @ Groove Band is also able to perform Vietnamese songs such as “Binh minh se mang em di”, “Xin loi tinh yeu”, “60 nam cuoc doi” and “Sai Gon dep lam Sai Gon oi.” Especially, Sarah can sing Vietnamese songs like “Trong Com” and “Tinh thoi xot xa” in opera style. They usually perform at Seventeen Salon and Cavent Bar.
@ Groove Band loves the lifestyle in Vietnam and the guys are keen to work here for a long time if they have a stable income.
Local projects    
All three bands are keen to hang around and have put some plans in place to ensure their stay in Saigon doesn’t end any time soon.
Q’vans and @ Groove bands will try to spend more time improving their Vietnamese to be able to sing more songs that are appreciated by local audiences.
The Lost Art are keen on a professional musical career as they try to come up with more original songs in a bid to take part in Vietnam’s biggest rock stage - Rock Storm. Their upcoming activities include releasing an album in Vietnamese and a music video and two liveshows with Microwave in Hanoi and HCMC next month.    
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