Interview: Hana Vu and How Many Times Have You Driven By
Young LA-based indie rock artist Hana Vu discussed her experience in the music industry right before performing a show at the University of Texas at Austin.
Written by Emily Gruner and Neel Homchowdhury
Photos courtesy of Maddie Rice
At the beginning of her hit song “426”, Hana (pronounced h-ahn-ah) Vu exclaims, “They always get my name wrong,” –– but that won’t be happening for long. This up-and coming indie rock artist has already worked with Willow Smith and opened for Soccer Mommy and SALES in support of her new EP, How Many Times Have You Driven By. Not to mention, she’s only 18. I caught up with her and her bandmates Chris, Jair, and Sebastian before their show at UT to get their experiences in the industry thus far.
You’ve written your EP, How Many Times Have You Driven By, released it and have been touring with SALES and Soccer Mommy in the past year. How has that been?
Hana: Yeah, we opened for Soccer Mommy in March, and that was really fun. She was really cool. We went on a cross-country tour with SALES for the month of September, and we’ve never been on tour before, so it was a good experience. We learned a lot and saw most of America.
What was your favorite part of the tour?
Hana: Mine was Burlington, Vermont. It was so beautiful there.
That’s so interesting because you’re from LA …
Hana: But it’s also one of those vacation destinations. It’s not one of those big city glam towns. It’s a nice, quaint, little place and there’s like … lots of ice cream.
Sebastian: It’s like a middle of nowhere vibe where you can just chill out.
Hana: It just seems like little hippies live there! And they make stained glass art!
How do you think your age influences people’s perceptions of you in the music industry?
Hana: It’s sort of like the art is a part of the artist, so my age influences my music. [My age is] kind of like a shock factor for people. People have strong opinions either which way, like if I’m deserving or not deserving, what have you. But I think a lot of musicians that are coming out now are really young. You know, it’s the game — the entertainment game.
What’s it like being an Asian-American woman in the music industry? When you get down to it, the indie-pop scene is very white-centered in a lot of different ways. How is the experience of being one of the few Asian-American people representing the demographic?
Hana: I think it’s cool! I think that it’s harder for any person of color to make it in any sort of indie capacity. And I think now people are starting to pay more attention to people of color and women of color. I think it’s cool to see more people to come out as successful.
Who are your inspirations when writing music?
Hana: It kind of depends on what I’m listening to in the moment. Right now, I’m listening to Alanis Morissette. I wasn’t even born when she was popular. When I was growing up, I pretty much only listened to Radio Disney, so probably Radio Disney. I think it’s a hard question because people have so many different influences that subconsciously influence their music — what you grew up listening to, what is in right now, what your parents listen to, what your friends listened to in high school. It’s hard to be like, “I try to replicate — Taylor Swift’s 2012 Red.
“Team” is one of my favorite songs off your new EP, and it’s softer than some of your other songs.What was the inspiration behind it?
Hana: Team is a different mood and arrangement from my other songs. I think I like having an eclectic mix in a project. It’s a change in mood, but I still wanted to be interesting and unique with it. People’s inherent connection with music is an emotional connection, and that’s what I wanted to do with that song. [I wanted to] bring that out more than instrumentals or anything else. I wrote that song when I was in high school, and now it’s out! And we’re playing it in Texas!
What’s your theme song if you had one?
Hana: The Lizzie Mcguire theme song. Haha okay, but personally my theme song is [Alanis Morissette’s] “Hand In My Pocket.” That’s kind of my vibe, my whole vibe right now.
Chris: Kacey Musgraves. Either “Velvet Elvis” or “Butterflies.” I’ve never dated anyone, so I don’t think I can connect with it on that level. I’m going to be honest though, I’m just kind of thinking out loud.
Sebastian: “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran! Haha, no, my theme song would “Naima” by John Coltrane.
Hana: The band theme song was Housefires’ “Yes and Amen.”
Chris: It’s a Christian song. We drove through a couple of storms on the tour with SALES and we would get scared —
Hana: You would get scared —
Chris (motioning to Sebastian): He would play the Indiana Jones theme song when he got really scared.
What product would you buy a lifetime stock of if it were discontinued?
Hana: It would be food. Like the Hostess cupcakes. You go to Costco and get a bunch of those. I’ll do that sometimes, go to Costco and get like 32.
Chris: The Yerb [Yerba Mate] got me super stoked, like a powerup. I’m a big fan of the mint. But like, guitar picks.
Hana: Use your f---ing fingers!
Chris: Then guitar strings. I can’t live without guitar strings!
Interview has been minimally edited for clarity and length.