Jon Dunbar is a copy editor at The Korea Times, as well as editor of the Foreign Community page and curator of the Korea Times Archive. If you have suggestions for possible articles, or wish to contribute articles yourself, contact jdunbar@koreatimes.co.kr.
Zandari 2018 Daegu skatepunk band 'keeps drinking'
Daegu skatepunk band Drinking Boys and Girls Choir perform at Zandari Festa 2018 on Saturday, Oct. 6. / Image by Jon Dunbar
By Jon Dunbar
This is the second article in a series on Zandari Festa 2018, held Oct. 4 to 7.
By Anastasia Traynin
Once again
the skate-punk trio Drinking Boys and Girls Choir (DBGC)
made the long trip up from Daegu, this time performing at Club Steel Face for this year's Zandari Festa, Oct. 4 to 7.
After a year-and-a-half break, DBGC has come back with a vengeance, releasing its debut full-length album
in February, headlining the fourth Big Day South festival in Busan in April, touring Indonesia in August, and now preparing for more overseas shows next year, including a newly announced slot at Austin's SXSW. The trio has signed with Seoul's Electric Muse and the U.K.'s Damnably, joining fellow southeast Korea band
.
The consensus from all band members is “our future is unclear.” Starting as a group of friends having fun in their hometown, singer-bassist Bae Meena, singer-guitarist Seo Bondu and singer-drummer Kim Myeong-jin still work day jobs and never planned for DBGC to get so big that they have to take vacations for their tours.
“This is a huge chance in my life,” Bae told The Korea Times after the Zandari performance. “If we can have success after a few tours, I can find another job again.”
DBGC names the Japanese bands Hi-Standard and Dustbox as major influences. Kim, who writes a major part of the lyrics, explains that their personal sound and attitude could be encapsulated in the opening and closing title tracks of “Keep Drinking!” through which they want to encourage young people to enjoy themselves, living in the present and the moment.
“So many young people are wasting their lives. They are not finding hope so we want to tell them to just keep going,” Bae said with guitarist Seo chiming in: “Just let go.”
Although they are focusing on becoming bigger and growing their audience, Bae explains the conflict between practical realities.
“Because Korea is really small, we don't have limitations on going to another city to play. But, it's easier to play in our hometown. If we move to Seoul, not only playing in a band, but everyday life is hard. So we are staying in our hometown because it is more comfortable and we can keep going. The bad thing about that is we can't meet a wider audience. If we want to be well known, we have to play in Seoul many times.”
DBGC's next show is the
10th annual “Still Alive” Halloween concert this coming Saturday at Hongdae's DGBD
. Next, they're back in Seoul on Nov. 10 for a concert of
. After the success of “Keep Drinking!” and a string of performances, 2019 looks to be a big year for the band.