Canadian band to to perform in Seoul
.jpg?w=728)
Members of the Canadian punk band Career Suicide perform at East 7th Punx, Los Angeles, Jan. 14, before flying to Asia for shows in Korea, China and Japan. / Courtesy of Albert Licano
By Jon Dunbar
Canadian hardcore punk band Career Suicide will give a concert in Seoul, Friday, as part of a quick five-nation world tour.
“The next two weeks are about as crazy a travel schedule as Career Suicide has had in 10 years of touring and certainly the most insane trip any of us could have ever hoped the band would take us on,” said the band on its Facebook page last week.
Starting at home in Toronto, they play five dates in the U.S. before crossing back to Vancouver and heading to Hong Kong and Shanghai. After one Seoul date, they head to Tokyo for two weekend shows.
The Seoul gig will be held at the newly opened GBN Live House in Mullae-dong, a metalworking district in southern Seoul being overrun by music and art venues. They’ll be joined by four of Korea’s loudest bands: Find the Spot, Scumraid, the Kitsches and Agari.
Though they’ve played China and Japan before, this is their first foray into Korea.
“We’re aware of the punk and hardcore scene in Korea, and really wanted to take a chance on coming,” guitarist Jonah Falco told The Korea Times.
Formed in 2001, they’re known for their 1980s old school hardcore influence, having evolved their own take over the last 15 years.
For this tour they rushed to complete their latest full-length album, but remain unsure how many copies would be ready in time. Their last recording was released in 2008, an EP called “Cherry Beach.”
Career Suicide were mostly active until around 2008 when Falco’s duties as drummer of the hardcore sextet F’d Up became more demanding.
“Some of us are professional musicians outside of this band, but CS is definitely a labor of love more than anything else,” said Falco. “We’re just a part-time band, and we all have other obligations.”
That sounds surprisingly career-minded for a band called Career Suicide, but Falco thinks it fits perfectly with their style.
“It’s a name like The Damned,” he explained. “No one wants to be damned or commit career suicide, but the point is you can still live a full and productive life with these false stigmas, and in fact they’re nothing to be afraid of.”
Entry is 10,000 won and the show starts at 7 p.m.