Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Saturday October 8th the Los Angeles branch of Not in Our Name sponsored a free concert in front of the Federal Building in Westwood to protest the Bush Regime. Several bands performed, and I only saw a few but was very impressed with what I did see.
The first performer I saw was DMZ//38, a Korean-American singer-songwriter and Columbia University alum whose passion is for the re-unification and healing of Korea, a nation afflicted with hardships since the Korean War. His piercing voice expresses this angst in “Never Surrender,” his first solo recording:
“Now I’m set free
Though I burn inside
The wounds still fresh
There’s nowhere to hide…” - Rock City News
DMZ//38, who graduated from Columbia University, has released his first solo recording titled “Never Surrender”...He has been attracting lots of attention recently, as his message is especially relevant due to the nuclear situation from a Korean American perspective.
“I have chosen this music because I want people who are tired of politics to hear my message effectively.” In addition, the reason why he chose the name DMZ//38 is to let American people know the sad situation of Korea accurately...
Even though DMZ//38 has only been playing for several months, he has already been acknowledged from the mainstream Korean society in US...Many performances are being planned for October and November including benefit concerts. He pledges that “I will keep expressing the reality of Korea to the world until Korea is reunified and at peace.” - Korea Times
http://vod2.ytn.co.kr/special/mov/newsq/2005/200510150920105111_s.wmv
Requires Windows Media Player - YTN
Discography
No Man's Land LP (Taegukki Records, 2006)
Never Surrender EP (Taegukki Records, 2005)
"Sand" (Track 2) and "Never Surrender" (Track 1) receiving radio airplay on Imaginasian Radio and ISWM Radio
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Acclaimed Korean American rocker DMZ//38 has been more than hot in his first year as a solo artist: he has garnered awards, front page news articles, radio action, prestigious concert dates and is working on an upcoming album. This rebel poet’s awards include Outstanding Political Band of the Year and a nomination for Outstanding New Artist at the 2005 Rockie Awards... View recent video feature on DMZ//38 on YTN Korea's 24-hour News Network.
Lead vocalist/songwriter DMZ//38 first came into prominence in the 90’s while attending Columbia University and helped form the band UghUghUgh. This band was part of the famed Black Rock Coalition which included groups like Living Color and Fishbone. He then co-founded the highly political Korean American rap group Fists of Fury after relocating to the West Coast, and has the distinction of being one of the first Korean hip-hop artists. Fists of Fury gained international acclaim for their work on inter-ethnic relations in the wake of the LA riots. DMZ//38 is classically trained in voice, percussion, piano and violin.
DMZ//38's lineup was formed in Los Angeles in mid-2005, and includes guitarist Ben Palvera graduate of Musicians Institute, and seasonsed session master Pat Godwin on drums. Their sound has been compared to artists as wide-ranging as Neil Young, early Clash, Pet Shop Boys, Public Enemy, and Violent Femmes. The name DMZ//38 refers to the De-Militarized Zone located at the 38th Parallel separating North and South Korea from the close of the Korean War in 1953 to the present day. It is perhaps the most heavily militarized region on the planet, an area former President Bill Clinton referred to as the “scariest place on Earth.” DMZ//38 pledges “to never be silent until Korea is reunified and my name itself becomes a historical term.”
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