Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

TV Girl's Forkcast

Trung Ngo and Brad Petering, otherwise known as TV Girl, were as surprised as anybody to find that Pitchfork had given their new EP, a catchy patchwork quilt of songs crafted over time and distance (Ngo works at a local marketing firm, Petering attends UC Davis), a solid thumbs-up.

“I remember seeing it and doing a double take,” says Petering of the online mention. “It was kind of weird, like, getting picked up so fast.”

The reviewers at Pitchfork used the words “balmy and inviting” to describe TV Girl’s ballad “If You Want It” and posted a link to the song on their Forkcast blog. They called TV Girl’s use of a sample lifted from the once-popular “Hello It’s Me,” Todd Rundgren’s 1973 hit, “ballsy.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

A Pitchfork mention carries no small weight in the music business. Their often snarky reviews have a reputation for making or breaking CD sales and band careers.

“They found us,” says Petering. “We sent our stuff to some smaller blogs. We didn’t bother sending it to the bigger blogs right away.” He says their song took off and got picked up by a lot of other blogs. “Eventually, it got to Pitchfork.” Eventually, in virtual terms, means one week in this case.

“Yeah,” says Ngo. “That [Pitchfork review] was only about a week after we self-released the EP.” Petering says it got picked up next by the bloggers at the UK Guardian. “And, I heard it was on a BBC podcast,” he says.

TV Girl is an eponymous four-song EP and is available from a music-sharing site called Bandcamp (tvgirl.bandcamp.com). But other than a MySpace page, information about the band on the internet is thin to nonexistent.

“We don’t really focus too much on the MySpace page,” says Ngo. “The Guardian commented that it’s weird to see a band get, like, this kind of exposure and then see only 25 friends on MySpace or whatever.”

Petering and Ngo grew up in the same Scripps Ranch neighborhood and attended the same high school. But they met and discovered a mutual appreciation for music while skating a mini-ramp in a friend’s backyard. They started making music three or four years ago while in college — “random projects here and there,” says Ngo. “It’s always been a side thing that we, like, did.”

What’s next for TV Girl? “We have lots of songs in various stages of completion right now,” says Peterman. “Finishing them and rehearsing a live show are priorities.”

“We’re looking to play shows in January and February…once Brad gets back and we’ve had time to practice,” says Ngo. Live, Peterman says one can expect to see a stage littered with a conglomeration of turntables, amplifiers, analog instruments, and keyboards.

“We’ve never really played out,” says Ngo. “It’s always been a recording project.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

At Comedor Nishi a world of cuisines meet for brunch

A Mexican eatery with Japanese and French influences
Next Article

Memories of bonfires amid the pits off Palm

Before it was Ocean View Hills, it was party central

Trung Ngo and Brad Petering, otherwise known as TV Girl, were as surprised as anybody to find that Pitchfork had given their new EP, a catchy patchwork quilt of songs crafted over time and distance (Ngo works at a local marketing firm, Petering attends UC Davis), a solid thumbs-up.

“I remember seeing it and doing a double take,” says Petering of the online mention. “It was kind of weird, like, getting picked up so fast.”

The reviewers at Pitchfork used the words “balmy and inviting” to describe TV Girl’s ballad “If You Want It” and posted a link to the song on their Forkcast blog. They called TV Girl’s use of a sample lifted from the once-popular “Hello It’s Me,” Todd Rundgren’s 1973 hit, “ballsy.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

A Pitchfork mention carries no small weight in the music business. Their often snarky reviews have a reputation for making or breaking CD sales and band careers.

“They found us,” says Petering. “We sent our stuff to some smaller blogs. We didn’t bother sending it to the bigger blogs right away.” He says their song took off and got picked up by a lot of other blogs. “Eventually, it got to Pitchfork.” Eventually, in virtual terms, means one week in this case.

“Yeah,” says Ngo. “That [Pitchfork review] was only about a week after we self-released the EP.” Petering says it got picked up next by the bloggers at the UK Guardian. “And, I heard it was on a BBC podcast,” he says.

TV Girl is an eponymous four-song EP and is available from a music-sharing site called Bandcamp (tvgirl.bandcamp.com). But other than a MySpace page, information about the band on the internet is thin to nonexistent.

“We don’t really focus too much on the MySpace page,” says Ngo. “The Guardian commented that it’s weird to see a band get, like, this kind of exposure and then see only 25 friends on MySpace or whatever.”

Petering and Ngo grew up in the same Scripps Ranch neighborhood and attended the same high school. But they met and discovered a mutual appreciation for music while skating a mini-ramp in a friend’s backyard. They started making music three or four years ago while in college — “random projects here and there,” says Ngo. “It’s always been a side thing that we, like, did.”

What’s next for TV Girl? “We have lots of songs in various stages of completion right now,” says Peterman. “Finishing them and rehearsing a live show are priorities.”

“We’re looking to play shows in January and February…once Brad gets back and we’ve had time to practice,” says Ngo. Live, Peterman says one can expect to see a stage littered with a conglomeration of turntables, amplifiers, analog instruments, and keyboards.

“We’ve never really played out,” says Ngo. “It’s always been a recording project.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Born & Raised offers a less decadent Holiday Punch

Cognac serves to lighten the mood
Next Article

Live Five: Rebecca Jade, Stoney B. Blues, Manzanita Blues, Blame Betty, Marujah

Holiday music, blues, rockabilly, and record releases in Carlsbad, San Carlos, Little Italy, downtown
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader