lol...anyone can write like me. You just have to write from your heart...lol...
To answermiss mai's questions...
I truely understand all your points and I know that you’re all not being harsh, but I also have my reasons….lol.
What I’m going to say is just a reflection of my experiences and what I’ve gone through so that in the event any of you girls should want to take on producing, you won’t make the same mistakes that I had.
I wish I can spill the beans on what truly goes on behind closed doors…lol… I am sure that every production company has its share of horror stories. From what I’ve heard from other producers, its always almost the same stories so I don’t feel so bad…lol
I think I’ve made enough mistakes and been lied to by so many people that it doesn’t even phase me anymore. I don’t take people at face value like I used to. And I've learned to be more of a "show me" person. SO you say you can sing, dance , have money, power...whatever....so show me......uh huh.... Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a person who does what she says. If I say certain things is going to happen then it will happen. I have never lied to any of my cast, crew or singers. Whatever I siad had always come to past. And they know that I disrespect people who talk the talk but cannot walk the walk the most...lol....
Going through what we went through the past two years has taught us not to be so trusting and naive about our young Hmong star wannabe’s. I don’t want the word“wannabe� to be misunderstood. What I mean by it is that they all “want to be stars�, but falls short when it comes time to walk that walk. … …sure all the kids I talk to want to be a star, but they lack the superstar mentality. My motto has always been “talent may make you a star, but a superstar is not made by talent alone�.
To be a superstar , you have to be willing to make sacrifices. And I have found out the hard way that not too many of these kids are willing to make that sacrifice. They run at the first sign of hardship. They all want to be stars, but they want it to happen over night and….without any hard work involved…lol…
So what if their parents are divorcing, so what if they broke up with their boyfriend/girlfriend …..so what if they have no job, so what if they don’t have a car, so what if their family and friends are against them to be pursuing their dream of becoming a singer …..and so what if their friends are all having fun and they can’t join in…lol
I’m not saying that they should shrug off some of the more important issues, but where there is a will there is a way….just because your life is falling apart, it does not mean that you should not come to practice….if this is really your dream…you will find a way to overcome it. In addition…all practice sessions are on weekends only…..we get them for two days (not even full days) and they get 5 other days to take care of their business….so there should be no excuses…..come on…if you’re depressed, you can’t be depressed all 7 days…lol.. and if you had that much stress , wouldn’t you want to get out of your house and go do something that you claim you “really love� (singing)…lol…
Look...what I'm saying is...if I as a Hmong woman, with 7 kids ..... and I'm married to a very traditional hmong husband who also gives me crap because his friends are giving him crap about letting "your woman" run off to do her business, can bypass all the hardships (running off to SAC driving 8 hours every freakn week to the shoots, dealing with my own kids crisis at home, ...findining the financing for the projects...scheduling my talents and preparing them for shows...and hold a full time job) then I can't comprehend why they can't.
I also understand that at first they will essentially be doing this for free because we’re not paying them. They may think that we’re wasting their time and that they can do better things with their time elsewhere, but they have to also understand that we’re trying to help them. We’re wasting our time, money and effort on them. They’re not losing a dime. They’re the “unknowns� whom we’re betting our reputations and money on to make a name for. And if it should work out as planned…they’re the ones with the fame, the money, and the fans…not us. We’re just the company that backed them…no one will ever see our hard work or the sacrifices that we’ve made for these kids. BUT most of these kid don’t think that way.
As far as the other countries… the Koreans and other countries can do a lot more for their talents because they have the FINANCES and have been around far longer than us. They also have the benefit of having their own country ( something that we don’t).
All I can say is that SEG fully believes in all of their talents. And for a Hmong production company, I think we’ve already done more than others that I’ve heard of. We’ve provided transportation ( we’ve always paid for our talents Amtrak tickets to and from Fresno, we’ve drove all over town to pick up our talents every weekend for practice, we’ve paid for most of their meals and room/board where ever we take them to …so they’re actually getting a free ride on us), vocal training (hired a vocal coach for them), wardrobe (had wardrobe allowance allocated for them) and all the perks so that all our singers would be financially worried-free and be able to just sing when they’re in the house. BUT…..some of them still couldn’t work around us….lol…. and all we expected was for them to show up to scheduled practice sessions and sing. Lol If this is too much to ask then I must be the worst producer out there.
SO yes I’m going to be very picky from now on because I can’t afford to have the wannabe’s take the spots of kids who truly want to be with us for the long haul. I know that somewhere out there is a talented guy/girl who truly deserves our kind of support.
I also want to clarify this thing about the “whole package�
I understand what you’re all saying and I don’t expect my talents to have it all and I don’t expect them to be drop dead gorgeous, because anyone can be good looking/beautiful given the right make-up and clothing. It’s the attitude and vocal ability and their ability to respect my time, effort and financial backing that I am looking for.
In addition, if you are signed under me…I expect you to show up to practice and to all of the event venues that we book you to play at. I will do my part to promote you, but you’ve got to do your part and show up. I CANNOT promote someone who is always unavailable for shows. What’s the point of doing promos if you won’t go to the events to make fans…lol… (this is also an issue I have with some of my current talents…then they complain that they’re not well known…well….duh….).
What Chue Vang says is also true….in order to survive in this business, you have to be able to adapt to differenr genres. My big thing is to get the OG's approval as well as the younger crowd. Therefore, if you are singed under me you will be required to adapt to various styles of music.
Although you all may not know it, AV can actually sing Malum, as well as pop, R&B and RAP …and if need be they can sing kws txiaj….lol… I made the group the way it is because of my specific reasons....they had to be able to adapt. One has to be able to play off of the others strengths to cover up their weakness. BUT...the only time you’ll ever see any of them doing it is if you attend an OG party that they perform at. I am not saying that they are the best, but their performances are passable…lol….the OG’s love them and we're winning their approval slowly...lol...
To Monstaness....
I am aware of your vocal abilities. Its really nice. I just havn't figured out what to do with you yet!!! lol..... You're up in Chico and we're based in SAC and the OC. I will have to file your vocals away until I can get an idea of where my next group will come from. I most likely will build new groups around AV members. Hopefully if all goes as planned, I can meet you in person and we can discuss further.
