It is never easy to make it in the music business but Bryan Chan managed to get a jump start by first being chosen as one of the finalists in the hit TV series "Making the Band," then formed his own group LMNT, and now he's gone solo with his first CD titled "The Solo Sessions." He took a moment to answer some questions for us so we could find out a little bit more about him.

Your Site URL
http://www.bryanchanonline.com

What's your ethnic background? How many siblings do you have? Are you the oldest, youngest?
I was born and raised in Northern California...where the majority of my family still resides today. I am a second generation AA born to a filipino mother and a Chinese/Irish father - I have one younger brother who is an entertainment lawyer in San Francisco (aside from dealing with me as a brother, by default he also handles all of my legal work).

Favorite foods:
Growing up we NEVER went out to eat, I think before I left for UCSB where I went to school I could count the number of times that we went to a restaurant on one hand. My family always got together, but it was always at our homes - so my favorite foods are my family staples. My grandmothers adobo and pancit - I have yet to encounter a chef that comes close.

Favorite music:
I listen to a lot of top 40 music. I would say that I am more into pop then anything else. I can appreciate rap, country and hip hop although you won't find any of those stations on my radio presets.

What was your first job?
My first job was delivering this weekly paper called the Dollar Saver. I think I made like $20 a month for delivering 200 papers every Wednesday. I won't go into how many of those ended up "double rolled" (If you've ever had a paper route you know what I'm talking about) or in someone's trash can.

Nicknames:
I never had a nickname growing up. It was always Bryan or Bry. My grandpa use to call my brother Billy - "Illy Will." I always thought that was a cool nickname to have but no one ever came up with one for me.

What do your parents think of your music or you pursuing a career in the music industry?
They couldn't be more supportive. My mom can't help bragging to all of her friends or embarrassing me whenever I'm home. She thinks she's pretty sly, but I'm on to her. We'll be out driving somewhere or running an errand and then out of the blue she'll say "Oh, can we just stop at so and so's house to pick up something?" So we get there and six or seven girls will be waiting with a CD or poster asking if I can sign it or take pictures.

Do you get to visit your parents in the Bay Area regularly?
I go home as often and for as long a stretch as I can, and I can honestly say that when I'm home I'm a complete hermit. I travel so much that a vacation for me is BEING at home and doing nothing. I love spending time with my cousins, I go to their basketball games, or hula shows or go to church with my grandma. It's pretty boring when you think about it, but it's all stuff that I would be doing normally if I wasn't singing and that means a lot to me. I don't really ask people over or bring guests with me either. I'm kind of selfish with them - what little time I get with them I want to myself. I don't ever go home without spending at least one night with my grandma and for anyone who's ever met my grandma there's always a pot of adobo and no one ever leaves hungry.

What, if anything, other than your outward appearance, do you think would lead people to say "oh yeah, he's definitely Filipino" or "oh yeah, he's definitely Chinese?"
I don't know how to answer this. I'm not sure if there are traits or mannerisms that are typically Asian that I have. I was born and raised in California so I don't have an accent. I don't know. My dance skills have often been compared to William Hung so maybe that's a tip off.

When you are not performing and have some free time, what are some of your guilty pleasures?
I can sleep through a full day and not get out of bed except to go to the bathroom and order Chinese delivery.

What do you think you learned about the music industry from being part of "Making the Band" and LMNT that will help you with your solo efforts? Are your days with LMNT no longer?
I think there are lessons learned with every experience and especially in this industry where there is so much going on it can really be hard to absorb and process things fast enough so you don't get taken advantage of. I guess I'm thankful that I have a strong support system with my family and friends and I've learned that to really make it in this business you have to pull yourself though. Waiting for someone else to do it will never happen. I met a lot of nice people, but nice people can't always help you get to where you're going. I've also met a lot of snakes, be careful of those. And through some careful sifting there are some good people out there that can really help you along. I would say being in a group and on a TV show really gave me a rounded experience in the music business. I'm glad that I was able to get into the door with other people, so that the burdens and lessons could be shared - I think it would have been difficult to get into it alone. I was just reading an article about Justin Guarini and how he was let go of by his label and really messed with by people he trusted. I definitely got messed with, but thankfully I didn't go it alone in the beginning.

I haven't put any sort of time limit or time frame on LMNT - I think things will work themselves out according to how our individual projects turn out.

How would you describe your music in "The Solo Sessions?"
Very acoustic driven. I wanted it to sound very organic and have a live band feel. Somewhere between Seal and Train, two of my favorite artists

What would you like the listeners of "The Solo Sessions" to come away with after hearing the CD?
A piece of me as an artist, I think that's what every songwriter hopes for, that someone else will listen to their song and say, "Yeah, I totally get where he's coming from - I've been there myself and he really gets it."

As an Asian American in the music industry, do you think you've had a more difficult time or an easier time compared to others in the industry? What advice do you have for other Asian Americans who want to live out their dreams in the music industry?
I think this industry is hard for anyone trying to get in because of the supply demand factor. I haven't quite nailed down if being different (i.e. being an Asian American) is a good or bad thing. It's good to be different but not too different and you want to stand out but sometimes labels say "well, we don't know where to put you.

I will say that I think one reason that there are so few Asian Artists is because from my experiences with my circle of friends, not many families are open to having such an untraditional career. Being a pop singer is not something you can earn a degree in, or go to school for. There is no direct route and therefore is often looked at as a careless and unwise road to travel. I was lucky enough to have parents and a family that supported whatever decisions I wanted to take - they understood that my happiness was going to come from chasing a star that I sought after, not one that they told me to catch.

I believe anyone that truly wants something will find a way to get it, no matter what stands in their way. Sure, a lot of people would like to be famous or be on TV or make a lot of money - but to have a true passion for performing or singing or writing songs is a totally different ball game. So to those that are pursuing or thinking of pursuing a music career, if you live, eat and sleep music then don't let anything stop you. Be prepared for some disappointments - life surely will serve you some (I know I've had some and many more to follow) - but if you walk the road long enough you'll eventually land your destination.

Thanks, Bryan, for giving us time for this interview.
Thanks for the interview and thanks for providing such a great outlet for other AA artists - you're doing an important thing and I'm proud to be a part of it.

Would you like to be featured on this site? Click here for more info.

This issue of A-Profiler is brought to you by Nelson Wong
with special thanks to Brian Mayes (Nashville Publicity Group) and Grace.

Images used with permission. Copyright retained by original copyright holder.