Before she became the lead singer of the internationally known rock band Dengue Fever, Chhom Nimol lived in a gritty neighborhood most people in Long Beach (not to mention the rest of Southern California) might not realize even exists. It's called Cambodia Town and it boasts the largest population of Cambodians outside Southeast Asia and France. The neighborhood is easy to miss, stretching along the north side of Anaheim Street between Atlantic and Junipero Aves.
With the recent release of the band's fifth album, the wonderfully moody and psychedelic The Deepest Lake–which finds the band at the height of their songwriting and performing prowess–we figured it'd be a great time to check out Nimol's old haunts.
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After a delicious meal at Sophy's Fine Thai & Cambodian Cuisine, we checked out a hole-in-the-hall music shop that happens to be the epicenter of the Khmer-language music world, Sarika Entertainment, where Nimol gave us a private performance of a classic Cambodia karaoke song. Next, we checked out a fantastic bridal shop called Srey's Boutique (it also carries traditional men's clothing and krama scarves), before joining Nimol for a quick prayer stop at a local Cambodian temple.
Enjoy the tour and be sure to catch Dengue Fever at the Observatory's Burgerama Festival, Sunday March 29.
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. Twitter: @NickSchou. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
Award-winning investigative journalist Nick Schou is Editor of OC Weekly. He is the author of Kill the Messenger: How the CIA’s Crack Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb (Nation Books 2006), which provided the basis for the 2014 Focus Features release starring Jeremy Renner and the L.A. Times-bestseller Orange Sunshine: The Brotherhood of Eternal Love’s Quest to bring Peace, Love and Acid to the World, (Thomas Dunne 2009). He is also the author of The Weed Runners (2013) and Spooked: How the CIA Manipulates the Media and Hoodwinks Hollywood (2016).