Second issue of Suspended in Time—"a series of zines about music and life + an occasional record label" by NY-based writer Hua Hsu.
This is about the Vietnamese-American New Wave scene of the 80's and 90's, "when young folks in Southern Califonia, displaced by war, and full of dreams, became local pop sensations. The issue tells the story of Thai Tai, who parlayed a chance encounter with a photographer into a life as a singer, actor, and cornerstone of the local, eurodisco-influenced new wave scene. The issue is a collaboration with Elizabeth Ai, who's making a documentary and book about this overlooked world of "mile-high hair, synthesized music and underground parties"
Enter a world of mile-high hair, high-energy dance music, and underground parties, where names like lynda trang dai, trizzie phuong trinh, and leyna phuong nguyen loomed largest. thai tai grew up in a world of vietnamese americans displaced by war, looking for something to do, wondering what was even possible. as a teenager, he stumbled upon work as a model, then an actor, and finally a singer and cornerstone of the vietnamese american new wave scene of the 80s and 90s. it’s a story of dreaming, chosen families, and doing it yourself.
14 pages featuring Thai Tai’s story, with original flyers, photographs, and fan mail from back in the day
Note: This is the second zine in the series, but is titled SiT-03 because SiT-02 was actually a mixtape! Confusing, I know ;)
Hand-stamped covers, each one is a little different! Edition of 100, these are hand-numbered as spillover edition 101x-108x.
Softcover, staple-bound, in poly bag sleeve with sticker, 26 pages, 8.5" x 5.5", color, 2023.
