Pastepunk contributor Charles Chaussinand (of Get Outta Town Records) recently caught up with Korea's legendary hardcore band THE GEEKS. The group made a huge splash in the US with the 2007 release of Everytime We Fall on Think Fast Records. Fans of traditional straight-edge hardcore widely consider these guys to be Asia's version of YOUTH OF TODAY (during the golden years, not before the legacy of SHELTER mucked everything up), and as far as I'm considered, that's as good as a compliment as any. This interview was conducted with lead singer Kiseok (Ki) in early March 2008. - Jordan
Pastepunk: The Geeks are South Korea's first EVER touring band. Do you think that this was made possible by the scene you're involved in, just a sheer strength of will on the band's part, or a combination of the two?
Kiseok: What made it possible was our will and effort to try I would say. To give you a bit more of background, it's really hard to play any type of music in Korea and the venues where you can play are really limited. (When it comes to music, it's way worse…) In this weak environment, it's so easy to get lazy just floating around. We didn't wanna to be like that. We always try to move forward and come up with new idea because we love the core and playing hardcore is what keeps us alive. We had zero expectation for our first tour and, knew that we would lose a lot of money in the end. But it won't stop us! So when the chances are given to us, we just like "fuck it. Let's just do it. We might end up losing tons of money but this could be our last chance that our dreams come true! We can work harder to pay off our debt!" Surprisingly, everything was way beyond our expectation and worth losing money :)
Pastepunk: A lot of foreign hardcore bands that live outside of the US or English speaking countries often sing in English, sometimes at the sacrifice of the flow and meaning of a song. Do you guys ever feel like you're confined to mostly sing songs in English to be taken seriously in the hardcore scene?
Kiseok: This is a great question - I know this has been talked and discussed for years and years. Singing in English both has a good point and a bad point at the same time. Like you said, you can sacrifice of the flow and meaning of a song but if you do it right, you can also reach more crowds in other countries. To be honest, no would care about us if we sang in Korean. Initial reaction would be positive but I know that would be it. It would be easier to write lyrics in Korean for me. But I believe Hardcore is about the message and having lyrics written in English is giving more chances to help them to be heard and talk to the kids who care about this music and message. So I decided to sing it English. When I write lyrics, I want it to be really good and get my point across the way I originally wanted. I don't want them to be misunderstood. So after I was done writing lyrics, I sat down with my friends from English speaking countries and asked them to give me advice. It's a pain in the ass and takes so much time but it was all worth doing!
Pastepunk: I notice a lot of foreign hardcore bands have a difficult time getting noticed in the US, but US bands can do well in other countries. Why do you think this is? Do you feel lucky for being a band that the US likes so much?
Kiseok: I still think we are one of the luckiest hardcore bands in the world because I know how hard it is for foreign bands to be noticed in the US. What has happened since the day one was unreal and all that dreamed of became a reality. What I feel the luckiest about is to have opportunities to meet all these great kids from all over the US. Nothing would have been possible without support from them. I never took it for granted and won't get cocky because we got "known" in the US scene. I do appreciate all the support we've got. As for US bands doing so well in other countries, I guess it was because hardcore started in the US and there are always great bands that lead the scene (style) and started something new. Survival in tough competition I guess? :) Kids outside of US know it and appreciate their efforts. I know that there are tons of great bands outside the US and it's a shame that kids don't give them a chance. I don't blame them tough because the US scene is always full of good bands so kids are busy checking them out. :) But as you know, things have changed a lot for the past few years, which is really cool.
Pastepunk: How did The Geeks originally team up with Think Fast! Records?
Kiseok: Looking back how it all worked out, it was just unbelievable. Especially because we never thought anyone would care about us in the US. I was trying to buy a Flame Still Burns demo from early TF! Records and got to know Larry from there. During my hardcore trip to Boston in 2004, I went to Have Heart / Youth Attack / Death Before Dishonor show in Providence with Sweet Pete and Larry was there selling merch while he was on vacation. We got introduced and I gave him our CD. And then I met him again at Posi Fest 04 and we hung out a bit. After I got back home, we talked to each other very often on AIM and one day he offered to release our 7" on TF! And also explained that main purpose behind the idea was to show kids that we can feel the same through hardcore no matter where you are from. It was just unbelievable. I couldn't believe what he just said to me. Since then, we released the What's Inside 7" and Every Time We Fall CD. Larry and Ryan have done everything they could to get us recognized. They even booked our US tours! We can't thank them enough for what they have done to us for the past few years. TF! Rules / Outbreak Rules
Pastepunk: For a band that is from another country and toured all over, how does the US hardcore scene hold up against other countries?
Kiseok: I know kids in the US used to be pretty biased in terms of hardcore scene outside the US - but I can definitely say that things have changed. Thanks to the internet, it got easier to build a network than before (still difficult though). With that, so many hardcore bands from the US have toured all around the world (Europe, Asia and South America) and brought awesome local bands to the shows. As a result, I notice more and more kids are wearing t-shirts from non-US hardcore bands and being stoked on bands outside the US. I think it is great in a sense that hardcore is about striving together for a better future and breaking down barriers all together no matter where you are from.
Pastepunk: You guys 100% embody something I think that was missing in hardcore in the US for a while – fun. I don't mean to say a lot of bands aren't having fun while they play, but you guys don't act goofy, you get up on stage and smile and engage everyone in the show to make sure that not one person can just stand there and not be blown away. Through knowing you guys personally and playing shows with you, I see it in everything you do. Is this something the band sets as a goal for itself, or just something that naturally happens?
Kiseok: Thanks for saying that. It means a lot to me! In answer to your question, it just comes naturally we never set any goals in that matter. Some people can argue that "hey they got a chance to play in the US, and that's why they look happy on the stage." Partially it's true but we are always having fun while playing. I can't speak for the rest guys of the band, but speaking of myself, playing hardcore music with these guys and makes me feel so alive no matter how many people are watching us play. Korea is all about metal and heavy sounding music and people didn't care about us at all and tried to bring us down for that reason when we first started. It was no surprise to us! All that mattered to us at that time was the fact that we were playing hardcore (music that we wanted to play) in Korea! We were just happy about that. It made a whole lot of difference. It's just so easy to forget about our original intention of the band and it's very hard to maintain it as well. We never set out to impress anyone; we did this band for having fun! The most important thing thatI try not to forget is I am having fun with my favorite dudes in the world. Nothing could give me more thrills than this. It's been 10 years – but still, these dudes are my life.
Pastepunk: What are some other notable bands from your area that kids in the US should be checking out?
Kiseok: Things We Say, The Patience, Join The Circle, 10 Minutes Later – You can find the links to their MySpace pages at www.myspace.com/thexgeeks
Pastepunk contributor Charles Chaussinand (of Get Outta Town Records) recently caught up with Korea's legendary hardcore band THE GEEKS. The group made a huge splash in the US with the 2007 release of Everytime We Fall on Think Fast Records. Fans of traditional straight-edge hardcore widely consider these guys to be Asia's version of YOUTH OF TODAY (during the golden years, not before the legacy of SHELTER mucked everything up), and as far as I'm considered, that's as good as a compliment as any. This interview was conducted with lead singer Kiseok (Ki) in early March 2008. - Jordan
Pastepunk: How did The Geeks originally team up with Think Fast! Records?
