Get Into The Scene

Coming to Gwangju for the first time, it can be daunting trying to find any sort of local music. It seems to be almost non-existent, but like an epiphany, the music scene kind of shows itself after a while. Maybe it starts with a trip to Club Nevermind near Daein Market or Bu-jik in Chonnam-dae. A little word of mouth or a post on a blog leads to a live show and then it hits: the local scene. It’s there, it’s alive and it’s well.

Korea can be a tough place to get a handle on a local music scene. Local music, to me, is vital. It is part of a region’s personality. Whatever led me to Club Nevermind early last year or what led me to Bu-jik these past two months has been a response to my need to get a handle on what the musical geography of Gwangju is like.

“Punk Day II” and “Punk Day III” were two shows at Bu-jik this past August and September that were met with great success. Great bands were supported by an equally great crowd. This is what a local scene is all about, a good crowd of people supporting the creation of original music and loving it. The local punk bands here attract a loyal local following and after these past few punk days, a loyal foreigner following as well.

The first thing that struck me about Punk Day was the support of the audience. They were into the bands. This is one aspect of Korea that I have seen again and again at live music shows; the crowds love a good live show and as long as the band is into it, the crowd will be too. While not local in any sense, the World Music Festival had an exceptionally lively crowd that was ready to really give themselves to the band. This was also the feeling I got in Bu-jik. While a much smaller venue, the crowd was really into the bands.

Betty Ass is one of the mainstays of the Gwangju local punk rock scene. They play the unofficial (or maybe official) hosts of the Gwangju Punk Days and they have met with some success over the years. I met up with the drummer, Matthew Jenkins, lead guitarist, Seo Bu-jin and their manager, Wi Yeong-tae of Betty Ass to talk about the local music scene in Gwangju and to get an idea of how local musicians see it.

Betty Ass is a four-piece punk rock band in the vein of NOFX or Millencolin, they are thoroughly skate punk. Jeong Yong-woo and Travis-ji are the two founding members of the group and they play bass and guitar. Both of them are the lead singers of the group. Along with Monkey Pee Quartet and Match Point, these three bands comprise the Gwangju punk scene; a scene that the band says is not a big one here in Korea.

But, as far as local, independent music in Korea, Gwangju is doing rather well for itself. Matthew explained that in Korea, Seoul is something all its own and Seoul is where all the bands end up going to. They gain some fame in their respective home cities and then they go to Seoul in the hopes of making it big.

The current line-up of Betty Ass came about after Travis-ji returned to Korea from studying in America and Canada, with Matthew and Seo joining the group. Matthew moved to Korea from L.A. and, after playing in a group with his now wife, he started playing drums with Betty Ass.

Over some sake and OB, they gave me a brief history of the independent music scene in Gwangju. The modern-indie scene started around 1999 with a popular club, Gok’s, and the scene grew with the opening of the Backstage Club in 2000 and Club Nevermind in 2003. Today Nevermind and Bu-jik Club are where most of the bigger local bands show and where other indie groups from around Korea come to play. Just this past weekend, Nevermind hosted their annual Hello Indie concert featuring Galaxy Express and Rocket Diaries.

For the time being Betty Ass is enjoying their underground status and they have an “if it happens, it happens” attitude towards fame. They gave a resounding no when I asked if they would sell out for a sweet slice of the pie up in Seoul. That’s good to know.

With that spirit in mind, it is good to know that indie music is being supported locally here in Gwangju and it is there if you go out and look for it. Also, keep in mind that local can be just about anywhere in Korea within a three hour bus-ride. Matthew warns that some “indie” music is nothing more than some Busker Busker wannabes, but I support the spirit shown by some people grabbing guitars and putting themselves out there.

For the time being, support the music coming through Club Nevermind and Bu-jik. It is the local music scene and it is worth getting to know. Support local music and no one will get bored.