Ktown213: Please give our Ktown213
viewers a quick intro of your band, as well as the band members.
Sunn: Hello, My name is Sunn Wee
and I am the drummer.
Daniel: We're four guys who
invested a lot of time, money, heart, and headaches into a dream we all
believe in and think of as important.
Yongstar: Hi, I'm Yong and I do
guitar work for Nemo.
Abe: Nemo is actually a secret
superhero organization that fights evil-stereotypes of all kinds. Disguised
as punk-pop rockers. Abe, student by day, bassist by night. Yongstar, waiter
by day, lead guitarist by night. Daniel, recovering alcoholic by day, lead
vocalist by night. Sunn, home wrecker by day, home wrecker by night.
KT213: How did you guys get your start? How did you guys
meet?
Daniel: Sunn and I were childhood
friends. Yong and Abe were childhood friends. All four of us came together
at UCSD. How did the band start? We all were at the Troubadour in Hollywood
and after the show were drinking some forties behind the venue. We all
decided we wanted to start our own band, so we named it after the small
street we were on.
KT213: Tell us about your current
album, Real Eyes.
Daniel: Well with our music we
always try to be genuine with what we're singing about and although we
started off as a band that wanted to raise social/political issues, when it
came down to recording "Real Eyes" we were in a really desperate situation.
As a result, some of the songs are about Asian American issues, some of them
are about the feelings of despair and desperation artists go through, and
some of them are about nothing at all.
Yongstar: I like to think of it as
a time-capsule created by us four. But we feel anybody can relate to it.
More than anything though, it's very personal to all of us. I'm sure when
I'm 60, I'll play it back and have a vivid picture of how things were back
then.
Abe: Basically it's probably the
biggest accomplishment of all our real lives.
KT213:
On your first track, Hidden Agenda, Nemo confidently tells their
parents "Sorry mom we’re not going to law school because we believe in
music." Has your family been supportive of you guys?
Sunn: They've been very
supportive. My parents funded the production of our CD's. They always ask me
about Nemo and how it's doing...I'm fortunate to have very understanding
parents.
Yongstar: My parents have "given
up" on convincing me to change this music path I'm on. Now, they sell our
cds at their Korean-DVD store and bug the kids that come by to buy one. It's
amazing to see how supportive they are when they see you're so passionate
about something.
Daniel: Sometimes.
Abe: Yup. I even met members of my
family I didn't know I had through Nemo.
KT213: In the entertainment
industry, what's it been like for Nemo for the past couple of years?
Sunn: It's difficult not to get
any recognition from the big labels yet....but it just drives us more to try
harder.
Abe: The first year sucked. The
second year got better.
Yongstar: You definitely run into
some characters in the scene. We've met some people recently that have been
extremely beneficial in our maturity and growth. Hopefully they will get us
to the next level.
Daniel: People didn't give a shit about us at first. We really wanted to
stir everyone and get people to support our cause. Luckily we developed the
best fans over the past two years and we've managed to maintain the support
of our friends. I remember the second gig we ever played was the 4/29 rally
in k-town. We specifically made a song about the L.A. Riots for the event,
but when we finally hit the stage some Korean ah-juh-shi tried to cut us off
right before we even got to play the song. We were pissed off because here
we were supposedly playing for an event in remembrance of a true American
tragedy and some fuckin' ah-juh-shi wanted to cut us off so he could do some
bull shit to make himself look better. We played the song anyways. Afterward
there was a peace march through out the city and only a handful of people
came out. Everyone that was Korean w/in a 100 mile radius should've been
there.
KT213: Any upcoming projects?
Where can we see Nemo next?
Abe: Nemo will be fighting racism
and stereotypes everywhere from Hollywood to New Jersey in the next month.
Nemo is currently working on new songs and actively seeking record labels
and more press.
Sunn: We're also doing a song with
Far East Movement - a LA hip hop group. They're really cool guys and very
passionate and talented.
Yongstar: Hopefully on your Ipod
or mp3 player downloaded from our purevolume.com/nemo site or off Kazaa. I
personally want to see more Koreans and Asians in rock. If not us, then why
not you?
KT213: For the sake of people
being introduced to Nemo for the first time, tell us more about your music
and its genre. What can they expect?
NEMO: We sound like a combination
of Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Fight Club.
KT213: Have any of you guys
actually been to K-Town? Any favorite places to visit, eat, party?
Sunn: Yes. My favorite
restaurant/bar is Deet-Gohl-Mok. Favorite night club is the Velvet Room.
Abe: I've been to K-Town. It's
very Korean-y. I'm from the bay area, which is better. favorite places to
party in K-Town for me is Jack-in-the-Box, Carl's Jr., and the Taqueria.
Daniel: Oh hell yea, I've been
spending all my money and weekends in k-town since 10th grade. Best place to
kick it at in my high school days was Renaissance - I'm talking about back
in the days when they had everyone's picture on the wall and that one dude
with the long hair worked there. Best place to party? That was Velz from
1999-2001...when Tiny was the bouncer. The best place to eat right now is
Manna - all u can eat duk-bok-sam for $15!
Yongstar: Deet-Gohl-Mok is my
favorite. Nandarang is a special place.
KT213: Are any of you single? I
must let all the K-Town ladies know...
Sunn: Yes!
Abe: Nemo is currently involved
with the nemoettes. Not like we got any groupies anyway.
Yongstar: Huh? Sunn's so hot.
Daniel: I dunno.
KT213: Thank you for your time, we
wish you guys the best of luck!
NEMO: Thank you guys. Rock n roll!
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