Jared Rehberg - Waking up American
Tieng Magazine is doing a two part series on Jared Rehberg. This month we check out what he is about and next month we will explore the music that he creates.
Hi Jared - Can you tell us what you are about?
What am I all about?
I’m all about my lifework. I love writing and performing live music. My work is focused towards the adoption community. The beginning of my own life inspired my lifework and the major points of success in my journey so far.
I was born somewhere in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in 1974. With the love and support of Betty Tisdale and Madame Ngai, I was kept alive at the An Lac orphanage. Near the end of the war in 1975, I came to the United States on Operation Babylift. There will be a special ceremony in April to honor the 30 year anniversary. I will be there to perform a song from my first record, “Waking Up American”. My album was inspired by the discovery of my past and the Vietnamese Adoptee Reunion in 2000. I started asking about my past history and heard moving stories by other adoptees who grew up in America.
I never did much thinking about adoption as a teenager. I never really embraced my Vietnamese side of me. I think there was 2 other Vietnamese girls in my high school in central Massachusetts. I didn’t connect with them or the Vietnamese community in the closest city. Looking back, I don’t think I had time. I was so busy being a kid. There might have been some fear of rejection or the subtle feeling of rejection.
2 years ago I had the opportunity to return to Vietnam for a Motherland tour run by Holt International. On this trip, I got a glimpse at the site where my orphanage once stood. I enjoyed the diversity of Vietnamese faces, the bright green landscape, and the fresh food from the Mekong Delta. I spent many hours writing and wondering what life would have been like if I had grown up in Vietnam. I wish I knew how to speak Vietnamese. I remember trying a year ago. My mouth and voice has a hard time shaping the sounds. I hoped I would still be accepted as a Vietnamese person without speaking the language. At the same time I thought of my childhood in America and the love and support I have here. I honored the opportunities and felt grateful for the chance I had to come to this special country. I even felt guilty thinking about how lucky I am to be alive. I could have been one of the guys selling ice on the street. I could have been one of the children who died on the fatal C-5 crash during the week of Operation Babylift.
Sometimes I look at my monthly rent money and the rising standards we surround ourselves with in America and think, maybe a simpler life would be easier. I take all those thoughts and put them into my creative juice machine. Last year I performed at a few culture camps in the mid-west and the east coast with Catalyst Foundation. I sang on a parade float in Chinatown NYC on the 4th of July. I’ve open up for a few well known Asian American musicians like Kevin So and Angela Ai. I fulfilled a dream by performing with Kevin So at the famous folk music venue Club Passim in Cambridge, MA.
It feels good to sing my own songs and tell my stories in front of crowds of Asian and non Asian Americans. It is extra special to sing in front of Vietnamese children adopted from Vietnam. I think it also helps the adoptive parents understand the confusions and sadness I experienced growing up. I’m always available to share my experiences as a trans-racial adoptee. I hope to perform at more culture camps and adoption events next year. Beyond the politics, there is child without a home. It’s great to know that someone is willing to give food and shelter to a child in need, no matter what race, nationality or religion.
At home in New York City, I love playing open mics and small gigs around the city. There is a small group of Asian American artists who inspire me every day. We play in Chinatown at a show called Teabag Open Mic on Friday nights at 8pm. I’m currently writing and performing new material for my next album due out sometime in 2005. I’m so proud to represent and be Vietnamese.
During the day I work on the Interactive Services Team at ImaginAsianTV. We are America’s first 24/7 Asian American Network. Movies, Drama, Anime and etc. www.iatv.tv.