2 Taiwanese punk bands to tour Korea's southeast

By Jon Dunbar

Two Taiwanese bands are coming to Korea's southeast for a two-day tour of Daegu and Busan on Nov. 22 and 23.

The prolific punk band 88balaz and female-fronted band BB Bomb received an invitation from Daegu skate punk band Drinking Boys and Girls Choir (DBGC) to do the tour.

"I’ve always loved inviting our international punk rocker friends to Korea," said Bae Meena, bassist/vocalist of DBGC, which just wrapped up a North America tour on Sunday. "We're excited to have our friends from Taiwan join us. Since we’ve known each other, we’ve supported each other’s music; these are truly amazing punk bands, and I wanted to introduce them to Korean audiences."

The cross-country connection began in 2018, when 88balaz came to Korea to play at Zandari Festa. The next year, both bands encountered each other again at Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival. They met a third time in 2019, when both bands played at Indie Week in Toronto, Canada.

DBGC went to Taiwan for the first time last year to play at the Ultimate Freedom Festival, and returned this year for a tour of Taipei and Taichung with fellow Korean act OhChill.

Meena noted that Balaz Lee, lead vocalist/guitarist of 88balaz, came to all of their Taiwan shows. She added that she reached out on social media to BB Bomb, who helped organize the latest tour.

"When we finally met in person in Taipei, we instantly became friends," Meena said.

The friendship between 88balaz and BB Bomb dates back about 20 years in their music scene.

"We saw BB Bomb’s first performance, and we've been good friends for a long time," Balaz, who formed his band in 1996 while in high school, told The Korea Times. "We've seen BB Bomb go through member changes and various transitions, and to this day, we still frequently perform together and discuss all kinds of things — about the band, or life in general. Since we have a bit more experience, we've often ended up playing the role of mentors or coaches for them."

"Whenever I have something going on in my life or with the band, I always turn to 88balaz for help," said Hsu Pei, lead vocalist of BB Bomb, which started in 2003. "It feels like consulting an elder, even though he’s only a little older than me."

Although the band names have a mild similarity — starting with BB and 88, double letters/numbers that have similar shapes — they said this was a complete coincidence.

"BB Bomb and 88balaz actually have no connection in their names," said Pei, who is the only remaining member from the original lineup.

"88balaz is actually a phonetic transcription of a Chinese name which translates to 88 Guava Seeds," explained Balaz, who is one of two original members having been in the band since the start 28 years ago. "The pronunciation of guava seeds sounds like balaz in Taiwanese. At the time, we wanted a tongue-twister name, like 44 Stone Lions, but also wanted something that felt Taiwanese, so we chose 88 Guava Seeds. Technically, you have to say it in Taiwanese to get the full meaning."

The origin behind BB Bomb's name is simpler. "Initially, BB Bomb was a girl band that wanted a cute yet fierce name, so we chose BB Bomb,” Pei said.

BB Bomb started off with an all-women lineup, but over the years they have included male musicians — sort of going in the opposite direction of DBGC, which had started as a mixed-gender band, but is now all women.

So far, BB Bomb has released only one full-length album, which came out in 2019. "Because the band members kept changing and there weren't many savings, it wasn't until 2019 that the lineup became stable," she said.

Meanwhile, 88balaz has recorded several albums over the years, with four full-lengths and two mini-albums listed on Bandcamp. Their version of punk has an interesting sound, taking influence from various genres including soul and blues. In recent years, they've often included an accordion in their live performances. Their 2016 album "Punk Floyd" includes at least three songs heavily themed on alcohol and drinking, which may explain how they get along so well with DBGC.

"I started drinking at a young age, so I've always liked alcohol," Balaz said. "I often use it to open up more creative possibilities while writing music, and even during performances, I sometimes rely on alcohol to shake up the routines and practiced songs to create more surprises. In a way, alcohol is like a partner in my performances — it pushes me to create more art and inspiration. At the same time, I have to constantly keep it in check so it doesn’t take over."

As well as emphasizing their love of alcohol, their bio also underlines their opposition to "false art" and "false depth," which seems like a stronger influence on their newest, recently released album, "“Legend of the Romantic Baseball Warriors," with songs titled "How Can You Understand rock n roll Without Being Poor" and "Congratulations, You Survived!!"

"Modern art and music are already filled with a lot of fake art and fake depth," Balaz said. "Especially in this era where social media is so prevalent, the impact is even more severe. This culture makes many worthwhile ideas and actions seem like things that shouldn’t be done or things that lead to poverty if pursued. But we started playing rock because we didn’t like pop music or anything fake. Even if that means we can’t make as much money, we should still keep that spirit — that’s what real rock is."

According to him, Taiwan's scene has grown mostly within the last decade.

"Taiwan's indie music scene began growing rapidly after 2015, which should be a good thing," he said. "However, with a flood of pop music elements entering the indie scene, it's become a bit more boring. A lot of rock, punk and other niche music has ended up facing more restrictions as a result. Still, I can't deny that there are a lot more people listening to music and going to shows than when we first started out."

"In Taiwan, people are not very receptive to overly loud music," Pei added. "The popular punk genre here is pop punk. In recent years, audiences prefer to attend music festivals for performances, resulting in a significant decrease in regular attendees at live houses."

Just like Korean bands — including DBGC — they often have to resort to touring overseas to find acceptance and fame.

For this tour, they'll play only in Busan's Ovantgarde on Friday and Daegu's Club Heavy on Saturday, avoiding the capital region. Both shows will also feature DBGC and fellow Daegu band Sindosi. At the Busan show, local band Soumbalgwang will open, and Daegu's opener will be Daydreamers.

"We wanted to focus more on the local music scene outside of Seoul," Meena said. "People living in other areas usually travel to Seoul for events, so this time we wanted to bring our shows to our hometowns." Last year, Meena helped bring Japan's Otoboke Beaver to Seoul.

Balaz added that he also likes welcoming bands to his home country. "I've also invited a few Korean bands I like to perform in Taiwan, and I hope we can keep building more exchange opportunities," he said. "Whether in Taiwan, Korea, Japan or even China, I want to see bands across Asia continue to interact and grow the live music market together."

"Taiwanese people are warm and friendly, and they love to introduce delicious food to foreigners," Pei added. "They tend to be very enthusiastic about performances by international bands. We are a wonderful country and welcome everyone to visit often!"

She mentioned that none of her band members have visited Korea yet. "I've heard that Korean food is delicious and that there's an interesting drinking culture," she said. "We're really looking forward to it!"

Follow @88balaz and @bbbombband on Instagram for more information.