Getting Little Saigon’s Ear
He’s known as the godfather of live entertainment in Little Saigon.
His voice streams to thousands of Vietnamese in Orange County, Los Angeles and San Jose who tune in daily to the Westminster-based Saigon Radio program he founded. He’s a member of a long-lived Vietnamese band in Southern California and can still lay down a tango, bolero and bossa nova melody like no other. He sings on weekends at a local Vietnamese nightclub and is also the muscle behind a 2-year-old community theater troupe.
At 38, Thomas Quoc Thai Nguyen has transformed the face of entertainment in Orange County’s Vietnamese community.
“If we had something that was the equivalent of the Grammys, Quoc Thai would be winner of the Best Entertainer of the Year award,” said Du Mien, a former writer for the Vietnamese newspaper Nguoi Viet, who was well-acquainted with the performer and his family in Vietnam.
Known simply by his Vietnamese first name, Quoc Thai seldom shied from the stage he grew up on. His hopes to reach a wider audience lead him to radio.
As part owner and program director of Saigon Radio, Quoc Thai saw a need to bring news and information to the Vietnamese community in Vietnamese, and he partnered with marketing director Julie Nguyen to launch the effort five years ago. Saigon Radio now has an estimated 200,000 listeners tuned to 106.3-FM in Southern California and about 100,000 on 1430-AM in San Jose.
Quoc Thai also is the afternoon deejay with co-host Quynh Huong from 4 to 7 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. The pair’s rapid-fire, on-air banter along with a mix of news, a talk show, guest speakers and music comprise the program.
“Quoc Thai is very charismatic, energetic and enthusiastic, and he knows what to say to keep the listeners’ attention,” co-founder Julie Nguyen said. “Most of my advertising clients want him to host their shows and events because he helps attract customers.”
Although the two are not related, Julie Nguyen said they work together like family rather than business partners. “He has a lot of good ideas and he likes to keep busy all the time,” she said. “He’s a genuine person and relates with everyone and anyone well. He doesn’t make anyone feel unhappy or uncomfortable.”
When Quoc Thai began as program director, he featured a talent search that enabled listeners to submit their karaoke-style videos for review. He also hosts the hugely popular radio program “Talk Show” on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, for which fans submit thousands of letters to the station on real-life issues regarding romance, family relationships, employment, finance and friendship. The deejay in turn offers moral support and allows listeners to call in and offer suggestions to resolve problems.
And that’s just his day job. Quoc Thai moonlights as a musician at a local nightclub on weekends.
The second oldest of five, Nguyen comes from a musical family that fled Saigon as boat refugees in April 1975. His father, Lam Nguyen, was an established dentist and famed composer who played Hawaiian steel and electric guitars. His older sister, Phi Khanh, was a classical pianist and singer. Quoc Thai was trained as a classical violinist.
The Nguyens moved to Topeka, Kan., home of their sponsors, parishioners of Faith Lutheran Church. But the family struggled to make a living. His father worked as a dental lab technician.
“We were so poor at the time,” Quoc Thai said. “We put our music on hold in order to survive from day to day.”
After the Nguyens settled into their new life in the United States, they bought musical instruments and played at Sunday Bible school. “Amazing Grace” was Quoc Thai’s favorite song.
Shortly after, the family made a name for itself playing Vietnamese songs for immigrant communities in Houston, Wichita, Kan., Portland, Ore., and Seattle. It formed the five-member family band, May Bon Phuong (Four Directions), in 1977. Eventually the band was invited to play at events where it was paid up to $500. The family traveled by car, sleeping on the side of the road and performing four to five shows a year.
In 1978, they left Kansas and drifted across the country, looking for a place to call home. “We didn’t know anyone in California, but we heard the weather was good so we wanted to move there,” Quoc Thai said.
The Nguyens drove hundreds of miles in their blue Ford van with a Volkswagen Beetle in tow, which carried all their musical instruments.
They settled in Fullerton in 1981. One of their first concerts in Orange County was at the Elks Lodge in Santa Ana, where they sold out 600 seats by word of mouth. They knew they had a better chance of being supported as entertainers and could make a living with their music.
“Before we started organizing and scheduling live performances for people to go to, they just partied in their garages,” Quoc Thai said.
The Nguyens opened the first Vietnamese nightclub in Orange County, the Diamond Club, in 1986. Here, May Bon Phuong performed for eight years. It’s now the Red Velvet, and is operated by Quoc Thai’s older sister, Phi Khanh. More Vietnamese performers and bands emerged in the early 1980s, but few could sell out large venues such as the Disneyland Hotel and other large hotels in the county the way May Bon Phuong did.
“No one ever thought when we came to the United States that we would be able to hear live concerts and performances in Vietnamese, but Quoc Thai and his family was the first to organize live Vietnamese entertainment,” Du Mien said.
Despite his celebrity status in the community, Quoc Thai remains modest, friends say.
“Quoc Thai isn’t a superstar. He doesn’t have the best voice, but he’s contributed to the livelihoods of musicians and entertainers in the community, so many have him to thank,” Du Mien said.
A graduate of Cal State Fullerton, majoring in biology with a minor in graphic design, Quoc Thai attended dental school at UCLA for a year before he dropped out to manage the Diamond Club. He expanded the family business with a second Vietnamese nightclub, Majestic Club.
Survival remained a concern for the Nguyens even in their gradual accomplishments. Quoc Thai continued to perform in the evenings while working during the day at a printing company.
Though mostly involved with the music industry, Nguyen said he saw a need for more professional Vietnamese theater shows. In his latest endeavors, Nguyen co-founded Kich Doan Hai Ngoai (Vietnamese Drama Group of America) in August 1998 with actress Mai Phuong. The theater group staged the first Vietnamese theatrical adaptation of “Carmen.”
Nguyen collaborates with a core of a dozen professional entertainers.
He works 14-hour days doing what he loves. On Sundays, he spends quiet time with his wife, Elizabeth, and their three children.
“My wish was to bring the Vietnamese people together through music and drama, and use the radio show to bring them information they need to know,” Quoc Thai said.
“We’re all far from home--so my efforts to bring Vietnamese music, theater shows and dancing to the community is a small contribution to help us feel that we’re not too far away from Vietnam. My hope is that the younger generations feel they have something special to be proud after the 25 years we’ve lived in the United States.”