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Biography
Antuan Tran has been commanding a growing army of eclectic musical
warriors and a growing number of multi-cultural fans including
collaborators such as The Black Eyed Peas and Kid (from Kid N Play) in Los
Angeles venues over the past two years under the moniker of ANTONEUS
MAXIMUS AND THE NUTHOUZE BAND and before you know it, he may just cause a
musical revolution, whether the music industry likes it or not.
Born and raised in the Bay, Tran projects a peaceful warrior delivery of
positive lyrical messages with a commanding Napoleonic stance, and the
rapid fan base of the Nuthouze is not just listening, they’re dancing. “I
want people to feel good. To get out there… to dance. It’s about moving.”
Growing old with traditional hip hop, just under two years ago, Tran began
driving down to Los Angeles twice a month to expand his own musical vision
from Nor Cal hip hop to develop what he calls universal music. “It all
sounds the same right now. We need to explore more styles. Let’s start
saying something instead of saying nothing. Rappers speaking about how
much money they got, how many cars… ,” Tran says as he shakes his head and
twists one of his many dreadlocks.
Although a self-professed non-rapper (“I don’t rap, I’m an artist,” Tran
says), don’t let his mischievous smile fool you. Antoneus Maximus and the
Nuthouze Band is a modern day carnival style blend of Bob Marley, Stevie
Wonder, Funkadelic, Fishbone and even Snoop Dog. “Marijuana is a universal
language that breaks down all barriers,” says Tran. “At times, I find it’s
the one language that any one body of any culture in a room understands.”
There’s a reason artists such as Danté and DJ Motiv8 from the Black Eyed
Peas as well as Kid from the classic hip hop group Kid N Play frequently
join him on stage amongst other surprise guests.
In fact, what began as a three piece consisting of an acoustic guitar, a
set of bongos and Tran rhyming, has blossomed into a 16 piece
multi-cultural live band including back up singers of every shape, color
and size, and the mind and ear boggling human beat boxing and scratching
of Spencer Nezey, who is a one man band in himself. With such a large
musical collective on stage, you’ll more than often find some of the
hottest jam sessions happening on even the smallest of stages. “There is
certainly a structure (to the pieces being played), but certain songs, you
have to let the band be themselves and explore. When we jam, I let them
wild out,” says Tran who also writes and produces each song the Nuthouze
performs.
With an almost countless number of acts in Los Angeles looking for a
break, it might be expected for one to fall off the path of righteousness
on their journey. Yet for Tran, keeping grounded in both his roots and his
spirituality remains at the forefront of both his music and his life’s
philosophy. “Being spiritual is having a way of discipline as well as
having faith in something and sticking with it,” Tran says as he fiddles
with his fried Chicken at a crowded 101 Café. “Me, I feel like the Lord
has been guiding me. Know what I’m saying? I have my own personal
relationship with the Lord. I talk to him like I talk to my homies. It
might be just my conscience talking to me, but that’s what keeps me going.
I just know its right. My roots are everything to me,” Tran says as he
gives a re-affirming look across the table to Jimmy Duvall, a cult-status
actor, guitarist for the Nuthouze, and one of Tran’s closest friends. “You
can hear that through the music. ‘The 80’s song’ (a Nuthouze crowd
pleasing track) means a lot to me and my mom. It’s about the time in the
‘80s when we were struggling. Your roots are what humble you, they build
character.”
If it’s character you’re looking for, perhaps you might find that
something clearer than the fog has indeed rolled into Los Angeles in the
form of a dreadlocked Vietnamese musical artist who plants his roots mote
into Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley than Biggie Smalls. That’s right,
Vietnamese. “We need to stop being scared of other people’s differences.
Once we learn other people’s differences, we can move forward. We’re all
the same underneath. Open your mind, look what’s going on,” says Tran as
the last beams of a Hollywood sun reflects off of his sungla |
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