Everyone was standing shoulder-to-shoulder on Friday night at L.A.-based Bluebook Productions’ website launch party at Chop Suey Café & Lounge. It was hard to navigate around people rocking out to the performances by Vudoo Soul and rapper Shin-B, and the women who were playfully showcasing their love for Sam Kang.

Along with a killer drink special (kudos to the men who downed the bright blue colored cocktails so that proceeds could go to Bluebook!) and beats provided by DJ Young Duzzin, the crowd was able to show their support for the production company’s goal of trying to introduce new Asian American talent into the industry — which isn’t an easy task.

Kang, who’s not only an awesome musician but also a co-founder of Bluebook, says “the hard part is not the talent” when it comes to Asian American artists. But instead, “it’s just that it’s a social curtain” that prevents some people from realizing that you can be Asian and perform as hard as notable musicians today.

“We create music that is up to the standard of mainstream music,” Kang says.

The website, spearheaded by Khem Sophea, is Bluebook’s way of trying to advance Asian American artists into the worldwide phenomenon of online music stars. Sophea says the site is to “introduce Bluebook Productions to the world.”

The site includes a constantly-updated stream of music videos, musicians’ bios and upcoming events.

Kang says the internet has changed how people do business, and that includes how musicians are tapping into new audiences. But Bluebook is more than just a portal for Asian Americans, it’s also the key to what Kang calls “our baby” — a musical in the making.

The production company is using its network of musicians and artists to create a musical based on a burgeoning romance during the time of the L.A. riots. But why focus on the L.A. riots? Kang says “it needs to be done” because of the lack of attention it’s been given in the past. When the idea came to him about three years ago, his goal was to have the musical — casting mostly local talent — ready for L.A. performances by the 25th anniversary of the riots (five years from now). But because of major progress that’s been made, he’s now confident in saying it could be just another three years.

After debuting the musical in LA, he wants to take the project on tour up and down the California coast, and eventually make a stop in New York. He wants to have the glory of saying, “We created a musical in L.A. that now, New York wants us.”

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Tags: Bluebook Productions, DJ Young Duzzin, Khem Sophea, LA riots, musicals, Sam Kang, Shin-B

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