I've been quite fortunate to have befriended quite a few good people in my life. One of those people has been a good friend of mine who is also in the music business, a singer by the name of Kha Tu.
Our friendship began during a trip to Dallas, Texas in the winter of 1997. I was there to do a one night performance on New Year's Eve at a club called the Queen Bee with fellow singers, Manh Hung and Diamond Hong Ngoc. When I arrived, I saw posters pinned all around the Vietnamese community, and especially at the Queen Bee nightclub, of an upcoming show that would take place the night after my performance and would feature a cai luong play, Thuy Kieu Gia Tu Thanh Lau, starring Kha Tu, Ky Anh and Huong Huyen, along with a special appearance of Phuong Hung, Elvis Phuong's son. Since our flight back to California wasn't until January 2nd, Manh Hung and I thought, why not attend the show? I had met Kha Tu once or twice before, and Ky Anh and I had been friends for quite some time.
The day after my performance at the Queen Bee, Kha Tu and her entourage flew into Dallas. I was really happy to see Ky Anh, since it had been a while since the last time we had seen each other back in California. But what I didn't expect was the instant connection I would make with Kha Tu and Phuong Hung. We became the best of friends immediately. It turns out the owner of the Queen Bee, Loc, was also Kha Tu's uncle. Loc had asked if I could cook lunch for everyone. After he drove me to the supermarket, I did just that. One of the things I love to do besides singing is cooking. According to Manh Hung, I cook the best steak in the whole world. Everyone loved my steaks prepared with red wine, worcestershire sauce, mushrooms and black pepper. It was during lunch that Kha Tu kindly asked me if I could attend her show and perform a song or two. The way she asked me was so sweet, I just couldn't say no.
I had to portray the role of a whorehouse madam...
On the night of Kha Tu's show, unfortunately, Dallas was hit by a terrible storm. The bad weather would be the reason for the low attendance. I felt bad for Kha Tu. From what I saw, she had made a great deal of effort to put on a great show. But because of the horrendous weather, less than 100 people showed up to see the show. However, those that were in the audience that night all stayed to the very end and were extremely receptive to Kha Tu's performance. The next day, Ky Anh and Huong Huyen had to board their flights back to California. Loc, the owner of Queen Bee, then suggested to Kha Tu that she should stay until the weekend and do a reprisal performance on Saturday night to hopefully recover some of the financial loss from the low attendance of the previous night's performance. The only problem was that two of her cast members for the play Thuy Kieu Gia Tu Thanh Lau, Ky Anh, who played the role of Thuc Sinh, and Huong Huyen, who played the role of Tu Ba, had already flown back to California. That was when Manh Hung and I stepped in. Manh Hung would play the role of Thuc Sinh. And, you guessed it, I took on the role of Tu Ba, the brothel owner. To put it more accurately, I had to portray the role of a whorehouse madam.... You read it right. Not pimp, but indeed, MADAM.
In one night, both Manh Hung and I had to learn the lines to Thuy Kieu Gia Tu Thanh Lau. I had never acted in cai luong before. But with Kha Tu's encouragement and coaching, I managed to pull it off. The next night, which was Saturday, Kha Tu, Manh Hung and I put on a reprisal performance of Thuy Kieu Gia Tu Thanh Lau to a packed house at the Queen Bee. I couldn't believe it, but my portrayal of Tu Ba turned out to be quite a hit. Kha Tu was so sweet, as she thanked me repeatedly. I was just happy to see that we were able to perform in front of a packed house that Saturday.
After our performance on Saturday night, the storm wouldn't let up in Dallas. Kha Tu, Phuong Hung, Manh Hung and I were all stuck in Dallas for a total of 18 days. During the 18 days, we all became really close. We had to. We were stuck there the whole time in a very small house. When we got back to California, the friendship that had developed between the four of us grew even stronger. Kha Tu had introduced me to Bien Tinh Productions, who would produce and release my debut album, Tiec Nho. In the summer of 1998, I had put together a CD release event show held at the Majestic. Kha Tu, Manh Hung and Phuong Hung all pitched in with a great deal of effort each in helping me to put this show together and making it a success. I'll never forget how gracious Kha Tu was for helping out as the mistress of ceremonies alongside Quoc Thai on that night. It seemed like I could always count on Kha Tu and Phuong Hung for anything. At times I wondered, where had these two been all my life?
As the years went by, Kha Tu and Phuong Hung had both relocated outside of Southern California. Phuong Hung moved back to Houston. And Kha Tu went to live with her parents in San Jose. As for Manh Hung, last I heard he is now living somewhere in Vietnam. It's been years since I've heard from him.
Sometime in 2012, when I performed in Houston at Maxim's, I was able to reunite with Phuong Hung. Right after that, out of the blue, I heard from Kha Tu when she contacted me through Facebook. She had introduced me to Uy Long, the owner of Viet Star Productions, and arranged for me to be a part of a live show taping in Seattle. I don't know what I've done to deserve such a generous friend like Kha Tu. When we met up in Seattle, I was so glad to see her. She looked the same after all these years. Kha Tu is as pretty as ever. I only wished she still lived here in Orange County. We've had such good times together as pals. Kha Tu, in my book, is simply just the best.
Our friendship began during a trip to Dallas, Texas in the winter of 1997. I was there to do a one night performance on New Year's Eve at a club called the Queen Bee with fellow singers, Manh Hung and Diamond Hong Ngoc. When I arrived, I saw posters pinned all around the Vietnamese community, and especially at the Queen Bee nightclub, of an upcoming show that would take place the night after my performance and would feature a cai luong play, Thuy Kieu Gia Tu Thanh Lau, starring Kha Tu, Ky Anh and Huong Huyen, along with a special appearance of Phuong Hung, Elvis Phuong's son. Since our flight back to California wasn't until January 2nd, Manh Hung and I thought, why not attend the show? I had met Kha Tu once or twice before, and Ky Anh and I had been friends for quite some time.
The day after my performance at the Queen Bee, Kha Tu and her entourage flew into Dallas. I was really happy to see Ky Anh, since it had been a while since the last time we had seen each other back in California. But what I didn't expect was the instant connection I would make with Kha Tu and Phuong Hung. We became the best of friends immediately. It turns out the owner of the Queen Bee, Loc, was also Kha Tu's uncle. Loc had asked if I could cook lunch for everyone. After he drove me to the supermarket, I did just that. One of the things I love to do besides singing is cooking. According to Manh Hung, I cook the best steak in the whole world. Everyone loved my steaks prepared with red wine, worcestershire sauce, mushrooms and black pepper. It was during lunch that Kha Tu kindly asked me if I could attend her show and perform a song or two. The way she asked me was so sweet, I just couldn't say no.
I had to portray the role of a whorehouse madam...
On the night of Kha Tu's show, unfortunately, Dallas was hit by a terrible storm. The bad weather would be the reason for the low attendance. I felt bad for Kha Tu. From what I saw, she had made a great deal of effort to put on a great show. But because of the horrendous weather, less than 100 people showed up to see the show. However, those that were in the audience that night all stayed to the very end and were extremely receptive to Kha Tu's performance. The next day, Ky Anh and Huong Huyen had to board their flights back to California. Loc, the owner of Queen Bee, then suggested to Kha Tu that she should stay until the weekend and do a reprisal performance on Saturday night to hopefully recover some of the financial loss from the low attendance of the previous night's performance. The only problem was that two of her cast members for the play Thuy Kieu Gia Tu Thanh Lau, Ky Anh, who played the role of Thuc Sinh, and Huong Huyen, who played the role of Tu Ba, had already flown back to California. That was when Manh Hung and I stepped in. Manh Hung would play the role of Thuc Sinh. And, you guessed it, I took on the role of Tu Ba, the brothel owner. To put it more accurately, I had to portray the role of a whorehouse madam.... You read it right. Not pimp, but indeed, MADAM.
In one night, both Manh Hung and I had to learn the lines to Thuy Kieu Gia Tu Thanh Lau. I had never acted in cai luong before. But with Kha Tu's encouragement and coaching, I managed to pull it off. The next night, which was Saturday, Kha Tu, Manh Hung and I put on a reprisal performance of Thuy Kieu Gia Tu Thanh Lau to a packed house at the Queen Bee. I couldn't believe it, but my portrayal of Tu Ba turned out to be quite a hit. Kha Tu was so sweet, as she thanked me repeatedly. I was just happy to see that we were able to perform in front of a packed house that Saturday.
After our performance on Saturday night, the storm wouldn't let up in Dallas. Kha Tu, Phuong Hung, Manh Hung and I were all stuck in Dallas for a total of 18 days. During the 18 days, we all became really close. We had to. We were stuck there the whole time in a very small house. When we got back to California, the friendship that had developed between the four of us grew even stronger. Kha Tu had introduced me to Bien Tinh Productions, who would produce and release my debut album, Tiec Nho. In the summer of 1998, I had put together a CD release event show held at the Majestic. Kha Tu, Manh Hung and Phuong Hung all pitched in with a great deal of effort each in helping me to put this show together and making it a success. I'll never forget how gracious Kha Tu was for helping out as the mistress of ceremonies alongside Quoc Thai on that night. It seemed like I could always count on Kha Tu and Phuong Hung for anything. At times I wondered, where had these two been all my life?
As the years went by, Kha Tu and Phuong Hung had both relocated outside of Southern California. Phuong Hung moved back to Houston. And Kha Tu went to live with her parents in San Jose. As for Manh Hung, last I heard he is now living somewhere in Vietnam. It's been years since I've heard from him.
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| Kha Tu, Thien Phu and Julie Quang |
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