Last year’s Seoulsonic 2K12 was an amazing show. I attended both San Francisco and Los Angeles, which were the beginning and end of the tour. This year, a new set of bands (Goonam, Lowdown 30, and No Brain) are going to tour in the United States and are starting with San Francisco again.

The first stop will also feature Galaxy Express who are going on a nationwide tour and 3rd Line Butterfly who are attending SXSW.

Goonam or Goonamguayeoridingstella or 구남과여라이딩스텔라 depending on when you look for them are a band that I’ve listened to a little bit. I haven’t listened to anything more recent so watching them live will be like discovering them all over again. They sound partially like strange retro-indie rock, but there is a hook to their music that makes them interesting to listen to.

I’m sure the music is going to either captivate or alienate, but they should put on a good show.

Lowdown 30 play blues rock. Amazing blues rock. This is one of the bands I’m most interested in seeing live.

I actually know nothing about No Brain other than four years ago they did a song with Big Bang (proof). So their performance in San Francisco will be my first sight of the band.

Galaxy Express has a long history with koreanindie. They were featured in our mini-doc and I had a chance to talk with Jonghyun in Seoul after Monster’s Rock Show Volume 3. Basically, they always perform an amazing show and are one of the best bands that represent Korean indie music.

We are also going to co-present Turn It Up to 11: Part 2: Wild Days at CAMMFest.

Fresh off their win at the Korean Music Awards 2013, 3rd Line Butterfly’s return with dreamtalk was amazing. Their English language album, Ice Cube, is perfect if you want an introduction to the rock music.

There are other bands attending SXSW like Guckkasten, The Geeks, and even Kpop group f(x), but they aren’t playing the San Francisco show or are a part of the official Seoulsonic 2K13 tour.

If you can support Seoulsonic 2K13 or any of the bands playing at SXSW, please head to the show and pass on the information to your friends. Success on these tours is the only way Korean bands can continue to tour outside of South Korea.

Chris P

Korean Indie Editor-At-Large The person in the background watching over everything.