Fellow KJW lovers,
I tremendously enjoyed this interview, it was one of the most inspiring thing ever. If u are doing something creative and feeling frustrated, this thing works like magic! (at least worked for me)
It's not like I can go any deep, KJW..................but I dig KJW deeper now!
When told it took them a very long time to release their first single album, Walrus' Kim Jae-wook (vocalist, guitarist) answered with a smile, "The fact that we made it happen is what's important." It has now been close to ten years since they met as seniors and juniors of the same major in college in 2002 and started their band. And during that time, Kim has pursued a modeling and acting career, Kim Tae-hyun (drums) has worked in over 20 bands, and Yu Seoung-beom (guitar) has gained on his experience in bands and as a member of the chorus to pop singers. The group gained speed when former Bremen member Yang Si-on (bass) joined and finally, early this year, they released their first single "WALRUS." Below are excerpts from 10Asia's interview with the four who are still not rushing things and not compromising.
1. How did you come up with the name Walrus?
Kim JW: It doesn't mean anything at all.
2. So are you saying what's important is the band itself and not being able to do music that Walrus does not matter?
Kim JW: They'd be able to play our music but they wouldn't actually be doing our music.
3. Did you already have a few demos prepared? As much as you've known each other for a long time, I'm sure you would've wanted to produce some results soon.
Kim JW: We worked on things here and there but never prepared crazily with the thought "We'll show them when we get the chance!"
4. Do you think Walrus would've never come about if you had been like that then?
Kim JW: None of us are the types that try frantically. No matter how pressed we may be, we'll move only when things become extremely urgent. (laugh)
5. You've pursued a variety of activities and have worked with many bands. What is it about Walrus that has made you stay with the group for so long?
Kim JW: While everyone else was pursuing careers in music, I took on modeling and acting but when it comes to doing music, not once have I considered doing music with other people. I always thought 'The band I made with these people = Music I do." No matter how big or successful their other bands might become, I knew they'd come back as soon as I say "Let's start our band now."
6. But I think being good friends and being part of a band that makes music together are different things. You may exchange opinions or worst case, end up yelling at each other. How was it prepping for your single?
Kim JW: I think we may all have different thoughts on this. In my case, I'd do what I want and these guys would come and cut or bring out what they want. The other guys might've felt like dying. (laugh) These three let me do whatever I want to my hearts content.
7. What do you think is cool? Even the three tracks listed in your single album are all of different styles so I'm curious to know what sort of 'cool' you were going for.
Kim JW: When you listen to a song, there's an effect the energy coming from that music gives off to you, aside from it being good technically such as having a nice riff, containing good vocals or having great structure. That's ultimately what we're striving for as well. But we don't know exactly what creates that so us four want to create that through a filter called music. We're trying to think of how in the 21st century, when we're close to 30, we can do never-before-seen music and express an explosiveness that can only be felt from rock music. We also want to express resistance or rebelliousness toward systems.
8. You must've thought about that a lot for your lyrics as well.
Kim JW: Whether it be the song or its lyrics, we like things that are raw. "The Witch of Seoul" is an exception because we came up with the title first and tried writing soft and pretty lyrics to the song Seoung-bum came up with. Some people say the lyrics to "To be" or "Mosaic" are difficult to understand, although I thought I had written it with a very clear-cut topic, so it's interesting to see how people are laying forth different interpretations for it. Rather than feeling frustrated about people not realizing my intentions, I've realized that what people accept is beyond my power. That's why I feel even more so that I can write whatever I want.
9. "To be" sort of seems like an homage to Nirvana's "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" from their album "In Utero."
Kim JW: Nirvana is the band I had listened to the most since elementary school. I listened to a lot of other music as well while growing up but there's still a lot of Nirvana influence that comes out of me when I make music, for the riff or melody.
11. The album shows that 'Walrus' composed all the songs. Did you all work on the song together?
Kim JW: Different people came up with the motifs or ideas for each song. I guess you could say "The Witch of Seoul" was written mainly by Yu Seoung-beom, "Mosaic" by Kim Tae-hyun, and "To be" by me and they do a pretty good job of representing our tendencies. We felt that ourselves after completing the songs.
12. Well working as a member of a band is related to your livelihood but your rock sound strays quite far from the 'soft' music done in the Indie scene these days. Don't you feel pressured by the gap your music has in terms of being music that so-called 'sells' versus doing music that you want to do.
Kim JW: We don't not feel any pressure. But no matter how much we think about it, there's nothing we can do. We just need to believe in ourselves. I'm not trying to say that such soft music is good or bad -- we're just doing what we want and they're doing what they want and there's nothing else to it. And we'd become meaningless if we changed our style of music.
13. Kim Jae-wook, I heard that you recent fan meeting in Japan was close to a mini-concert. But the audience there must've been unfamiliar with your music.
Kim JW: I'm sure that 99 percent of them were there to see me for my image as an actor or model because I hadn't done much while a member of Walrus. I also tried anticipating what response I'd get because I'd be showing them a completely different image of me and I was straight on. They rooted for me very loud at first but it quieted down later. (laugh) It was a lot of fun seeing that in person. 'I'm sorry, this is the real me, I'm like this when I sing' was the mindset I had while singing and just gave it my all. Oh, but I'm not saying the person you see otherwise is not the real me.
14. But there are times you're made to adhere to strict rules when it comes to expressing yourself in Korean society, even if you're not doing harm to anyone.
Kim JW: I think that's what'll become fun. (laugh) This isn't about sex, drugs or thinking that rockers have to be a certain way -- it's about the emotions I want to express through music. I believe that Kurt Cobain smashing his guitar on someone's head and Marilyn Manson tearing off the head of a chicken are all part of the visual performances they're putting on to express their music. So if there is anger or rebelliousness I want to express, I want to show that. But I wonder how that would be accepted in Korea, whether I'd be able to continue my acting career. (laugh) Nonetheless, I'm going to try and be as honest as I can while acting as a member of Walrus.
