Seoul punk band Gumiho plays final shows with guitarist

Gumiho performs at Pet Sounds during HBC Fest on May 25. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

By Jon Dunbar

Three white guys started a punk band in Korea, and brought in a female singer with no music experience whatsoever, and they recorded a demo for 20,000 won in a practice space and a hotel room. You might not be reading about this in a newspaper, except the demo blew listeners away and led to the swift rise of Gumiho.

It's a raw punk recording that sounds crystal clear perfect, and the vocals are charismatic and instantly iconic. It's hard to believe it was made in Korea.

"We had been working on songs for a while and collectively trying to avoid having to assume vocal duties, when our departed guitarist messaged us out of the blue to tell us that he had a friend who is interested in having a go at singing," Steve Gange, guitarist, told The Korea Times. "He did mention that she had no experience being in a band or being a singer. And with that, Caspin filled a very noticeable void in the band."

"When Caspin entered the picture she was like the soul of the band that we were missing," said Matt Nolan, bassist. "Things started moving very fast once she was settled and cranking out lyrics. We kind of threw her to the wolves a bit right after she joined because she basically only had a few weeks to get comfortable with the songs. She knocked it out of the park though, especially for someone that had never been in a band before."

They took a while to settle on a band name.

"We literally had lists and lists of terrible to mediocre band name ideas but nothing seemed to fit," Nolan said. "All the good band names are taken."

"We spent a lot of time coming up with awful band names but none of them really stuck," Gange said. "I was partial to Cassholes."

"Cassholes was my favorite," Caspin said. "I got many different silly ones as I was writing lyrics and came up with Acid Pop which was our group messenger name for a while until Matt came up with Gumiho and we thought it was perfect. It was odd because it wasn't a typical cringing band name but it felt like it's us."

"After adding Caspin we decided on Gumiho. I guess she's our Gumiho, the boss, leading these three hapless men in some musical endeavor," Nolan said. "The modern depictions are always really cutesy K-dramas like My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. The original legend is pretty dark with the gumiho's main goal to trick men and eat their livers."

When they recorded Caspin's vocals for the demo at Gange's posh apartment, she made them wait outside.

"I always have liked singing but had difficulties facing my shyness," Caspin said. "Since I'm too shy and it was my first vocal recording of anything, I kindly asked them to f*** off to the balcony. Gratefully enough, they understood and Steve taught me which buttons to click before and after recording. I waited until they were out of sight and started recording when I was ready. I still remember running to that balcony excitedly to tell them I'm done. Then they'd come in and we listened to stuff together."

Gange mixed the album and they released it on Bandcamp on April 19 to the surprise of their friends, who heaped praise on them. The final product has elements of 1970s punk, power-pop, and early 1990s Australian punk, depending on which member you ask.

"It was supposed to be a rough kind of dirty demo but I think we were all surprised by how well it turned out," Nolan said, "especially since the day we recorded drums was a disaster. After recording drums for three hours we realized none of the takes saved so we had one hour to rush through all the songs with no click track."

"It was our secret project and we're more than overwhelmed at the response," Gange said. "The whole point of the demo was to help land us some gigs. Getting a start in Korea, and Seoul in particular can be a very difficult. There are many barriers to entry and many, many gatekeepers. We hoped offering a sense of what we sound like might open a few of those doors that would otherwise have remained closed. The other motivation, which is more personal, was to leave something tangible. I will be leaving Korea soon and wanted to leave some kind of mark and beyond that make sure that the band was in good hands."

Gange plays his final two shows with Gumiho this weekend, first at IT'S A FEST! on Muui Island, then at Salon Nomad on Sunday.

"Having friends move away is always a bummer, but it's also part of the life of an expat in Korea," Merriwether said.

"I see Steve as the Johnny Appleseed of punk bands in Asia," Nolan said. "I think it's his lot in life to travel Asia and start bands before moving on to the next country. He's been the core of Gumiho and probably the spark that started it so it's tough to see him go so soon."

"We won't abandon it because he's leaving," Caspin said. "We're going to stick together, make more songs and play more shows BECAUSE he's leaving."

Visit fb.com/gumihopunk for more information or gumiho-band.bandcamp.com to hear their album.