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Vancouver musician gets creative to highlight Chinatown’s history

Click to play video: 'This is BC: Musician inspired by Vancouver Chinatown’s history'
This is BC: Musician inspired by Vancouver Chinatown’s history
A Vancouver musician is devising different ways to showcase the history of Chinatown. Shon Wong is drawing on his own family and other generations that came before. Jay Durant has it all on This is BC.

They may have just created their own genre of music altogether.

“We do China trucker funk, and that’s my thing right? It’s a big rig rolling down a dusty highway carrying a cargo full of silk,” said musician Shon Wong.

With his band Son of James, Wong’s Chinatown Nights series has been showcasing a mix of younger acts alongside Vancouver legends.

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“I want to bring a bit of history into it with Henry Young who was a staple here in Chinatown,” said Wong. “Played all up and down the streets, Marco Polo, Smilin’ Budha.”

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Wong’s roots run deep in the community. His grandfather and father ran a shop on Pender Street

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“They started a watch-making business in this very building right here, at the Sam Kee building,” said Wong.

He grew up hearing stories from their days at family dinners.

“We went to a lot of them, and it’s a big part of my DNA as a Chinese kid,” said Wong.

“Everyone’s birthday, your cousins, your mom, your dad, your grandfather. So I was probably in one of these restaurants twice, maybe three times a month.”

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Family, food, and music, a combination which has led to his latest production: a murder mystery series with the latest set in 1950s Chinatown.

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“I’m just trying to make something a little more, you know not “R” rated, but just a little something for the adults,” said Wong.

Leaving his own creative stamp with new shows that serve as a little tribute to the past and all those great Chinatown nights.

“I’m going to keep going man, this is my thing, this is how I breathe,” said Wong.

“This is in my bones. I’ve got no choice. It’s what I love and I’m going to keep doing it.”

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