Rockabilly bands from Korea, Hong Kong, Japan prepare for 'Rumble in Seoul'

Japanese rockabilly band Johnny Pandora / Courtesy of Johnny Pandora

Rockabilly bands from three countries will gather in Seoul this Friday and Saturday for the Asian Rockabilly Festival, also being called Rumble in Seoul.

Two Japanese bands, Johnny Pandora and the Biscats, and one band from Hong Kong, the Boogie Playboys, will join five Korean live acts plus two DJs. This includes Korean rockabilly legends Streetguns, plus Busan rockabilly band the Hoppers, as well as rock and country bands like the Greatballs, Texas Karaoke and Jinu Konda.

Streetguns has been carrying the torch for Korea's small rockabilly scene for the past decade, after lineup changes prompted a transformation from the earlier RockTigers.

The leader of both those bands is a guitarist nicknamed Tiger, who has gone by that name since 2001 with the creation of RockTigers. He began his music career in 1999 with the punk band Blue Punk Bugs, so if you want to know his original name, just find one of their albums. Tiger's own label, ATM Records (which stands for "Against the Main Stream"), is the official organizer of the rockabilly fest.

"In 2004, when I was with The RockTigers, we were invited to the Tokyo Big Rumble festival, a rockabilly and psychobilly festival held in Tokyo," Tiger told The Korea Times. "At that festival, I was struck by many things — it was my first time directly experiencing rockabilly and psychobilly culture, and I started to get deeply into this music and culture."

He said he was particularly impressed by Mutsumi, the organizer of Tokyo Big Rumble, who not only ran the event but also performed as a headliner.

"I thought to myself that one day, I would definitely want to create a festival like this in Korea," he said.

After that festival, The RockTigers' music shifted gradually more toward rockabilly, and for several years they hosted a monthly concert called "Kimchibilly Nights," often inviting bands from Japan or sometimes even further away.

Later, Streetguns created Retro Festival, which ran in 2018 and 2019 before being cut short by the pandemic.

"The Retro Festival was a comprehensive celebration with swing dancing, barber shows, retro films, live performances, fashion and artwork, but organizing it was quite challenging," Tiger said. "So, starting this year, we've decided to focus more on music. Fortunately, several rockabilly-style bands have emerged in Korea, and through this festival, I hope to expand the rockabilly scene here."

Korean rockabilly band Streetguns / Courtesy of Streetguns

He admitted that rockabilly, a throwback subgenre of rock 'n' roll going back to the 1950s that has since enjoyed several revivals, is far from mainstream here in Korea. He added that rockabilly has seen some momentum in Korea thanks to the growth in recent years of barber culture, which has associations with the fashion side of rockabilly, known for its towering pompadour haircuts.

"Although it's a very, very small scene, the rockabilly scene in Korea definitely exists, and I hope it can continue to be maintained in the future," Tiger said. "The rockabilly scene is considered underground, even within the underground. There aren’t many bands, and there are even fewer fans dedicated solely to rockabilly. However, over the past 20 years, through the activities of The RockTigers and Streetguns, we've consistently promoted the music and culture of rockabilly, and some bands have gradually emerged. We have continued to organize performances, bringing together the few rockabilly bands that do exist."

He added that rockabilly isn't much better known in other Asian countries, saying that he's aware of only one rockabilly band in China, as well as the one in Hong Kong and also one in Thailand.

"So it’s almost like there’s just one band active in each country in Asia," he said. "As a result, we all know each other and share close relationships."

He said when Streetguns played a music festival in Macao in 2017, the members of Boogie Playboys took a ferry from Hong Kong to see them. And Streetguns contributed a song to Boogie Playboys' Asian rockabilly compilation.

Meanwhile, over in Japan, there is a quite large rockabilly and psychobilly scene, but Tiger said it has been advancing in age.

"There aren’t many young bands, but recently Johnny Pandora and The Biscats have emerged," he said. "It’s like young stars have appeared in Japan's rockabilly scene. Johnny Pandora is seen as a successor in the Japanese rockabilly world, while The Biscats' vocalist Misaki is actually the daughter of Hiroshi, the drummer for legendary Japanese rockabilly bands Black Cats and Magic. Inviting these two bands was a natural choice because they are currently the hottest bands in Japan's rockabilly scene."

There will be an exclusive opening party on Friday night at Strange Fruit, with only 30 tickets available, before the main event starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Freebird.

The event picked up a sponsor, Shinsegae's fast food chain No Brand Burger, which will be providing burgers to people at the festival.

Visit fb.com/RumbleinSeoul2024 for more information.