Rice Channel is one of the emerging bands based in the Twin Cities that has been pleasantly contaminated by our water systems and for this, a majority of our citizens are pleased. Its members boasts of their various birth roots (France, Thailand, and Rochester, MN ), addresses the importance of ethnocentrisms and musical experimentations, and jokes about how their group came to be—out of convenience and who had access to what instrument.



Imagine the different connotations attached to the label “lead vocalist” and you have Peter Chang who possesses swoon-worthy attractiveness and the subtle charisma that still packs a punch expected from a front man. Philip Yang (lead guitarist) is characterized by his band mates as the weird, awkward, handsome goofball with the guitar rifts that could keep doe-eyed spectators wide-eyed and dropped-jawed. Equally essential to the bands’ sound is bassist Kenny Lee who, confirmed by the others, to be the innovative dormant genius of the group. Staying low-key in the back is the most laidback member of the group, Blooj Chu-Yang-Heu (drummer), who is so laidback that he doesn’t require me to even link other adjectives to his name. And the final essential element to Rice Channel is manager Saab Chu-Yang Heu, who is a self-proclaimed air-instrumentalist-turned band manager and water boy. Despite his modesty, the others consider him to be the backbone of their band. (Saymoukda Vongsay, Hmong Today)