Today we’d like to introduce you to Xóchitl Nguyen.
Hi Xóchitl, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started singing in Maria, an Oxnard dream-pop band created by Eric Bello, the mastermind behind Yay! Records, earlier this summer. Maria has been on a brief hiatus as we have shifted our focus from performing to recording our next album. During this lull, my dear friend Mikayla Mansir and I formed a girl band called Setsuna with our friend Emily Bradford. Mikayla is a musical genius, shredding on electric bass guitar and standup bass, among other instruments. She’s also a member of Bonnie Boy and The Hand Me Down Band, two other talented local bands. Emily is a self-taught guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist. Most recently, I have joined the Free Will Chamber Orchestra, founded by Simon Reyes, to brush up on my trumpet skills for Maria. I just released my first single, written and performed by me, on all platforms! The song, called “saboteur,” is produced and engineered by Tanner Lee, the lead singer of Pink Depression.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a crazy journey! I definitely struggled with the idea of not being the lead-singer in Maria. Being half of a double-female-fronted vocal lineup was admittedly a humbling experience, but a learning one. There was no room for ego, only collaboration, and we grew to feel stronger as a whole. Especially on our first tour as a band in the Bay Area, it was comforting to have another girl on the road.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I sing, songwrite, and play the trumpet. I specialize in social media, marketing and branding, community organizing, and event planning. I am notorious for my ability to network. I am most proud of Manifest, an annual music & art festival that I organized, where we donated Maria’s sticker proceeds to VC Defensa, a community group that combats the effects of ICE raids. I think my go-getter attitude and inexplicable belief in myself set me apart from the masses. Closed mouths don’t get fed.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I had a hard time fitting in growing up. As a Vietnamese-Mexican American, I was too Hispanic for the Asian side of my family and too Asian for the Hispanic side. I felt like a black sheep with one hoof in each door. I retreated into myself and music. The first band I was ever in was technically a mariachi group, Mariachi Inlakech from Oxnard, with my mom. It was there that I first heard myself really sing and performed in front of an audience. I played the violin and felt immersed in my Mexican culture. I was a band kid. I played in the symphonic band, the jazz band, and the marching band. I chose the trumpet because I wanted to be different from the other girls who chose the flute. Sometimes I wish I had chosen a quieter instrument.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xochitlgnguyen?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bUeg-n7Rbmg
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/0SzsgGalbKTclD8zo9Dt0E?utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=Email+&utm_source=SendGrid
Image Credits
Nick Jackson @nickjacksonsphotos
Marco Medina
Travis Lozano
@kennywiththaflicks_
Marian Castro @sweetnessandlightradio
Jared Javier @jj.mp3
Kenneth Brill
