Article and Interview from Sangsang Madang 2009

This is an interview and an article on Guckkasten from Sangsang Madang. The article was written back in 2009, so it is outdated, but it is definitely worth reading to know more about Guckkasten.

All translation done by Guckkasten-English

Original link - http://www.sangsangmadang.com/webzine/pickupView.asp?seq=3272

[Happy breadwinning] Guckkasten, How passionately insane are you?

Date: 2009.08.18

Guckkasten, a band that turns lunacy to luminescence

The zenith of ‘bahl-gwang(發狂, lunacy)’ is ‘bahl-gwang(發光, luminescence)’. At the peak of mad insanity, at the heat’s extreme, at the moment of ecstasy, the madness turns to radiance. Such light is different from the natural lights that chase away the darkness. It’s the light that bends and distorts. At the climax of distortion, it creates another madness, and its light infects the surroundings in no time.

Here, there are four guys. These guys are the ones that shake their bodies wildly. The sounds and motions that they create aim for sky and all the things way down below. These men that seek the polar opposites are lunacy themselves. They easily cross the borders of each poles of lunacy. Hence the radiance is their nature.

The men that hold both ‘gwang (lunacy and radiance)’ are called ‘Guckkasten’.They have been selected as The Rookie of the Year at EBS Space Sympathy, and they are one of the most popular indie bands these days. The concert hall becomes especially noisy when they go on stage as many fans gather to see them perform. Their 1st album ‘Guckkasten (Before Regular Album)’, which they released in February, has already sold over 3,000 copies. Riding the momentum, they held concerts in China and Japan. They met the best year in 8 years since they formed the band.

Guckkasten’s music, resembling a fine fabric

Guckkasten’s music is very much like a finely woven fabric. The texture of their sound is delicate, and the structure that that connects each seconds and minutes is sophisticated. The harmony of a hearty vocal (Hyunwoo Ha, born 1981), drummer (Jung-gil Lee, born 1981) and bassist (Kibum Kim, born 1985) with sturdiness and groove, and guitarist (Gyuho Jun, born 1979) makes one resemble a fine and delicate garment. The extraordinary timbre of guitar that appears at every corner of their songs is one of the best features of their music. Their music has the charm to capture the listeners to play their music over and over again.

A pop-music critic, Eunseok Park, said “The only miss is sound production. Thus, their first step is all the more promising.” on Guckkasten’s music. Dongyun Lee, a professor from Korea National University of Arts, have welcomed the rookie saying “Attractive sound, extraordinary lyrics, charming vocal, hope they will do more than just in the indie scene.” The editor of webzine ‘Bo-Da’, Haksun Kim, have also given a favorable comment, “a psychedelic kaleidoscope that becomes new at each listening”. These people who are also the judges of Korea's Pop Music Awards have graded 4 stars and 4.5 stars (out of 5 stars) on Guckkasten’s 1st album.

However, the studio album does not prove Guckkasten’s true abilities. Their real worth can be found on the concert stage. They do not lose a moment during their performance. They turn the stage upside down and shake the audience from head to toe. Thus it brings one to sit on the edge of a chair. Their performances make one wonder if a man’s flesh and bones could stand such explosiveness. That is how wild and impressive Guckkasten’s stage is.

Recently we met with Guckkasten, with a little anxiousness on the welfare of their flesh and bones. The four of them were drenched in sweat. Their voices were louder than necessary. But no one frowned. It may be because we felt the innocent passion of the youth, and also due to the earnesty they permeated when they spoke on the wretched reality.

‘Wretched reality?’ you may ask. Contrary to their life on stage, their reality and living looked rather humble. Scarcity and shabbiness were mingled together. But it was clear that they looked happier than anyone else. We’ve looked into the two very different sides of Guckkasten; Guckkasten as an artist, and Guckkasten as an everyday human being. 

The 20s adolescents, dropping out of school for music

Q: You’re one of the hottest indie bands. Can you feel and realize your popularity?

HW: The number of audience increase for each concerts, and they get louder. The bass sound did not come out in the middle of today’s performance (Psychedelic Factory 3) but the audience cheered on nevertheless.

Q:Kibum’s performance was impressive. We were worried if you’d fall off the stage.

KB: No one can predict what I’ll do on stage. We were very much looking forward to today’s concert. But it wasn’t very different from other days. I threw off the bass guitar once or twice. To be honest, I regretted doing it. (laughs) I realized it is a foolish thing to do. And the bass guitar I used today is quite an expensive one. (laughs) If I am a fuel, then Jung-gil is a fire. When Jung-gil sets the fire on, I burn it up. When we go on stage, I commune with him mostly, and today we had a good connection. So I played right next to the drums and got hit by the cymbals and got a scratch.

Q: You performed in China and went to Japan before that. How was it?

HW: The concert in China was arranged by a record company in Japan. It was arranged in a tour format, comprised of 3 teams of musicians from Korea, Japan, and China. Originally we were supposed to perform in Beijing. They say it’s quite like Hongdae area in Korea. (Note: Hongdae is short for Hong-Ik University. Around Hong-Ik University, there are many clubs and small concert halls for indie bands.) But due to the outbreak of influenza virus, we had to change location to Shanghai all of sudden. There weren’t many people there because indie bands are not very active in Shanghai. We received good remarks, but it’s hard to say that we got a taste of Chinese band culture. We’re just happy to get an experience to perform overseas.

There were many audiences at Music Valley concert in Japan. I think there were about 3~400? We heard that there is a typical Japanese culture for the audiences there and we really felt it. They watch the concert quietly with their arms folded. We gained confidence that our music could be well received in overseas markets. Some foreigners came up to us and told us in person that they liked Guckkasten, and a journalist who writes about rock music in Asia told us “I don’t see Japanese bands’ performance because they put you asleep, but your performance was such an eye opener and a fantastic one.”

Q: The name of the band changed from ‘New Unbalance’, to ‘The C.O.M’, and to ‘Guckkasten’ over the period of 8 years.

HW: Guckkasten is the 3rd name. The first one was ‘New Unbalance’. That was back in 2001.We mostly played other bands’ music. We didn’t know how to write a song. Jung-gil, Gyuho, and myself are the original band members. At first we were hopeless. Then around 2002~3, we tried to find our own identity as ‘The C.O.M’. We had a keyboardist at that time. We were appointed as the Hidden Whiz at 2003 Ssamzie Sound Festival, but the band dismembered as Jung-gil and I had to do our military service. When we were discharged, Gyuho got in touch with me to do music one last time. I went to Gangwondo where Gyuho was, and we lived together and practiced for a year and half.

Kibum is a friend that I knew since high school. He played the bass guitar very well and he had a good showmanship, and I wanted him in our band. It’s been a year since he joined us. He was the bassist in Kim Kyungho band before he became the bassist of Guckkasten. (Note: Kyungho Kim is one of the most popular rock musicians in Korea.) You can say that only the bassist’s position changed in our band.

Q: It’s surprising to know that you had a keyboardist before. Looks like you have an ambition for keyboard sounds, but how come you don’t have a keyboard now?

HW: Because we have Gyuho and he is fantastic. His performance on guitar itself is great, but I think his technique with the effectors is the best in Korea. Therefore we don’t need a keyboard. When we first released our album, we were questioned a lot on whether we had a keyboardist because there are many sounds that are hard to express on guitar. That is how diverse he is in expressing with different sources.

Q: It is said that Hyunwoo and Jung-gil are friends from university.

HW: I first met Jung-gil when I was in uni. I was walking down a street and he approached me.

JG: Hyunwoo looked cool then. His outfit, behavior, and the looks in his eyes were something that I liked.  They were unique. So I went up to talk to him, but it turned out that he is without any thoughts. (laughs)

HW: Jung-gil is good at talking to strangers. One day he asks me if I like music. He asked me to join a school band that he was in. I was an art student then, but I became addicted as I performed. So I suggested that we go to Seoul if we are to do music seriously. We left a note saying ‘Sorry, everyone’ in the band’s room, quit school, and went to Seoul.

Living together for a year a half made Guckkasten

Q: When was the first time you did music?

HW: It was year 2000, when I met Jung-gil.

JG: When I was in year 12 at high school. The band just fizzled out.

GH: I formed a band in university. Actually I didn’t plan on going to a uni. I didn’t study much. In the end I got into a university but as the school was established not long ago, it didn’t have a school band. I asked if there was one, and the school said that I should elect a student council and make one myself. So I supported the school election by playing a guitar, singing, and making speeches. The student council was elected and he supported the practice room, bought a drum set, and supported the band in many ways. I first held a guitar when I was in year 5 but I started practicing seriously from year 9. My brother plays the guitar well. He went to serve the military when I was in year 11 and he teased me a lot then because I wasn’t that good. So I practiced hard to play better than him by the time he was discharged from the military service.

KB: When I was in year 10. I pestered my parents to buy me a bass guitar since my middle school years. I learned music from an institute and went to college as a music major, but it’s not a named school.

Q: Have you ever received a formal music education?

GH: I studied music theory separately. I studied harmonics on my own, but sometimes I studied with my brother when he was receiving music lessons. I didn’t specially pay a tuition fee to learn music.

JG: I went to an applied music institute in 2001. I learned drums for a year, and after that I got lessons for about 5 months. I practiced very hard in that 5 months, playing drums for 12 hours a day. The tuition fee was really expensive. It was KRW 50,000 (approx. US$ 50) per day, and I wanted to make the most out of it. (laughs) My drum skills improved a lot then.

Q: If Kibum played as a bassist in Kim Kyungho’s band, it means you are very talented. Are you not playing as a session these days?

JG: He quit these days.

HW: He should not do such a thing when he is in our team.

KB: They said I could continue playing as a session and that they will not cut off my income source. But they’re harassing me physically and verbally. (laughs) I’m only joking. I joined because I like Guckkasten’s music.

Q: It says that composition is a co-work of Guckkasten members. How do you make the melody?

GH: Hyunwoo brings us the image, which is the theme of a song. That is the raw material. These days, he brings us the material that is a little bit processed, but nevertheless, we all work to shape it together.

Q: Can you give some more details about living together in Gangwondo?

GH: I called Hyunwoo when he was discharged from the military service. He told me he was learning pottery and guitar. I asked him to meet up and questioned if he had an intention to do music once again. I told him I had the courage to try once more regardless of failure. He told me he would do it again, too. So I told him to leave wherever he was and come over.

JG: We met critical moments a lot. A year and half is easy to be said, but we got into arguments so many times. Our musical taste and our privacy got us quarreling all the time. It’s easy to get into arguments when you live together, no matter how close you are. We had no time for ourselves. But luckily we kept the same members. When I look back now, it seems that all this is our destiny, like there is one huge flow of fortune and that we are all getting dragged into it without us even realizing.

HW: Even if we did get into an argument, not one of us lost temper. We made peace quickly. Jung-gil was the peacemaker.

Q: How did you make earnings for living costs?

GH: We didn’t have to pay rent because we stayed at a lodge that my parents ran. I ran a small bar and used its earnings for other living costs, buying instruments, and paying for meals. It helped a lot. If we had different jobs, we wouldn’t have been able to concentrate and would’ve made things more difficult.

Q: Must have been truly difficult. Have you not thought about quitting?

JG: Not at all. We thought it was the final one and wanted to see an end to it.

Q: Your families must have been severely against you doing music.

JG: My family gave up on me. (laughs) They didn’t pay much attention.

GH: I told them straightforwardly about me doing music since I was young. I told them I will do music until I become 30 and told them not to interfere, but if I am left with no achievement in music at 30, then I would quit. My eldest brother, who graduated from Seoul National University and working in traditional Korean music industry, told me that it is difficult enough for him to make a living even if he got a degree from the the top university in Korea, and therefore it will be even more difficult to major foreign music and make a living out of it. He advised that if I’m to do it as a hobby, then I would just enjoy as a hobby, but if I were to take it seriously, I should set an age limit. That is why I set my age limit at 30.

JG: Hyunwoo was in the worst situation. Gyuho and I are the youngest in our families, but Hyunwoo is the eldest.

HW: My family was extremely against me doing music and it is worse than anyone can ever imagine. I was told that I shouldn’t set foot in the house ever again. I quit school on my own without consulting them. I got into the university because my mother had supported me. She had sent me to an art school secretly without letting my father know. Hence she felt extremely betrayed. The situation turned really bad when I told her that I quit school for music. My mother was seriously let down and she even went on the verge of suing other members. But in my opinion, music is an addiction and a gamble. Even the parents cannot stop you. It just makes you do it until you make the decision to stop.

KB: I think I’d sleep better at night when I buy a nice imported car for each of my parents. My parents fully supported me. When I was in the middle school, I didn’t last more than 3 months in institutes for studying other subjects because I lacked persistence. But I lasted more than 3 years with music and told them earnestly that I will play bass guitar, so that impressed my parents. They even bough me a bass guitar that cost more than KRW 3 million (approx. US$ 3,000). They encouraged me to go on and they are still very supportive.

Q: Guckkasten’s profile has improved recently. Has this changed anything?

HW: Although the profile has improved, the situation we’re in is not that different. I still don’t have any other job. But I think my family’s view on me has changed. At least they don’t see me as an ‘utter moron’ now.

GH: There is no special change. My mother came to our concerts a few times. She enjoyed them. She said she’s sorry for not helping much. She doesn’t disapprove now.

Q: Do you have any other side jobs?

GH: We have side jobs because we need to survive. I work at factories sometimes. Working at a factory started when I went to an institute under scholarship. I had to study but didn’t have time for part-time jobs. Nonetheless I had to pay rent and eat, so the quickest solution was to do physical labor. You can go there to work during the day or night, and if you work there for a few days, you make enough earnings to pay the rent and a glass of soju. I went to the factory, thinking I’d survive another day if I worked there. There are so many other things that I did besides this. Manual labor was the most efficient. Simple, no time limit, and paid on the spot.

JG: We’re in a better condition now. Besides Hyunwoo, we all teach and give lessons for students. We don’t do any other work.

Q: You once said there was a time when the three of you shared one ramyun (Note:'ramyun' is Korean instant noodle).

JG: I lived with Gyuho before going to military service. Hyunwoo then joined us and we had to eat, but there was only one packet of ramyun and some rice. So we cooked the noodle with a lot of water and ate our meal with that. When there was some leftover of that ramyun, we froze it, and cooked it again the next day. When we were 20, there was a time when I lived with Hyunwoo at a warehouse for a month. We lived with a single pair of socks for a month because it was too cold to wash. There was no hot water running, and when we turned on cold water, it froze instantly. There were no heaters and we couldn’t wash. When we worked part-time and got paid, we went to take a bath first and foremost.

Q: What makes you do music when it is so difficult?

JG: Music has been the biggest comfort for me at the most difficult times. It’s like a religion.

HW: There’s no other choice. Music is a way of communication and a weapon for me to live in this world. It’s daunting and scary to imagine having to live without this weapon. I’m not confident that I’d survive without music because my life is already hooked firmly on it. Music is the essence that I can communicate and survive in this world.

Q: Even so, would you have had to give in your everything? You could have done it(music) as a hobby.

HW: The moment you decide to take it as a hobby, that’s as far as you’re going to get. It’s hard enough to succeed even if you put everything in, so the game is over if you decide it’s going to be a hobby. It won’t even satisfy one’s self. Would earnesty and desperation be felt from a song made from one’s pastime? No way. And I wanted to see an end to something. I was very much irresolute until high school and I gained nothing. Personally, I needed something to accomplish with all my life and my everything.

JG: We had to concentrate although we went hungry and were starved. Concentration is everything in music. The pleasure you get from it cannot be forgotten.

Don’t leave your dream as just a dream but take challenge

Q: Is there anything you want to achieve in the name of Guckkasten?

HW: We’d like to share Guckkasten’s music with the world. It’s like the video game ‘Street Fighters’. When you beat Blanka, you then want to beat Dhalsim, and once you win over Dhalsim, you want to beat Chun-Li, and so on. It’s important to be recognized in Korea, but we’d like to share our music on the big stages. We’d like to go on Summer Sonic Festival in Japan, and we’d like to go to UK. Personally, I’d like to play in a band until I die.

JG: We’d like to be on the stage with Radiohead. And I think I’d be satisfied to have about KRW 500,000 (approx. US$ 500) in my bank account after paying all the rents and living costs from Guckkasten work.

GH: We need to make a lot of earnings then. (laughs)

Q: Can you give an advice for the ones that are starting an indie band?

HW: When I first formed a band, I though I would change the world. I thought I would become a hero, a rockstar. I was wrong. If you think in this way, you will fall quickly. I would like to advise them to be ambitious in music but cast away vanity.

GH: Don’t just think but do it. Playing the guitar well on your own at home will do no good. You have to come out and take challenge.

KB: Gyuho’s words are really important. You can think all you want on your own. Idling the time away will bring nothing. You have to step out if you want to do it.

Q: When can we listen to your 2nd album?

HW: We’re working on it now. We think you would be able to hear it early next year. We think it will be more organized. My part would become more complicated so it may be hard for me to go as crazy as the 1st album. We plan to take out all the unnecessary sources. We hope to present the compact package of all things we can show you. It will probably be the best sound that Guckkasten can currently create.

The four men constantly laughed and talked. Even when they were talking about the distress of having to smoke the cigarette buds on the ground, the difficulties of having to ask for leftover food, they were smiling and laughing. The hard life and the troubles they went through had turned into confidence that can paint their future and current life.

I suffered illness for a few days after doing the interview. I had to, really. It was due to the weight of passion that they showed me. How desperately are you working for your dreams, for your present and future? This question that sprang from the stories that Guckkasten shared on the day, had turned into a splinter that stuck deeply in my mind. And the weight of it grew. The pain that I felt then, shows the deficiency of a person who only lived to sustain an average life.

If you are lost because you do not know where to go in your life, I advise you to look into their life. The same advice goes to the ones who agonize over the basis of happiness. The same question will appear. The question that makes you look back at your present life is another present that Guckkasten has left for us.

‘Have you ever been passionately crazy for something?’

Article/Photo | Daewook Kim, Heesun Hong