NASHVILLE |FROM: LIBBY HENRY/MSO
818-380-0400 x224
MIKE PARK
PREPARES FOR THE RELEASE OF HIS NEW ALBUM
‘NORTH HANGOOK FALLING’ AUGUST 23 ON SUB CITY RECORDS
FALL PLEA FOR PEACE TOUR
‘BIKE FOR PEACE’
SET TO KICK OFF SEPTEMBER 9
NOVEMBER U.K. TOUR WITH ALKALINE TRIO CONFIRMED
As singer, songwriter, musician and activist MIKE PARK prepares to release his new album NORTH HANGOOK FALLING (Sub City Records), he has announced a series of West Coast dates for his Fall Plea For Peace trek, billed as the “Bike For Peace” tour. Before heading out on the bicycle tour, PARK will perform a one-off show August 26 in Sacramento with Kevin Seconds, leader of punk pioneers 7Seconds. In November, PARK will head to the UK for a slew of solo shows including a special stop for a live session on BBC Radio 1 “Lock Up” November 22. In addition, PARK will join emo-goth punks Alkaline Trio for a two-week UK tour.
For the “Bike For Peace” trek, PARK–along with a group of musicians including RANDY STROHMEYER of Finch, DAN POTTHAST of MU330, MATT EMBREE and STEVE CHOI of RX Bandits and JENNY CHOI of Sanawon and more acts to be announced–will trek down the West Coast via bicycle for a series of shows to raise money for a youth center in San Jose, CA near PARK’s hometown. The traveling group of musicians will camp near the beach on most nights and perform impromptu acoustic sets for fans (see date list below for campground sites). “This year San Jose will surpass Detroit as the 10th largest city in the U.S. yet there are no all-ages venues that provide a place for youth to perform or see live music,” PARK explains. “Our goal is to raise $250,000 to make this dream a reality.”
The follow-up to his 2003 solo debut For The Love Of Music, NORTH HANGOOK FALLING offers the most vivid glimpse yet into PARK’s musical world. Throughout, PARK uses his music to reveal insights into his Korean heritage; the word “Hangook” means “the country of Korea” in Korean. “Making this album was a way for me to learn about my own cultural background,” PARK explains. Throughout the self-produced album, PARK balances finely etched acoustic guitar and string arrangements and lyrics about politics, war and race relations with subtle melodies, which lend his songs extra dimension. Check out “Blue Marble,” a haunting song–inspired by a children’s book–about melding our cultural differences. Another album highlight is “Keeping This Seat Warm,” a blatant commentary on our indifference to war: “I’m living far from all the tragedy/Can’t hear the bombs through all the merry themed dramas that come over me/I’m keeping this seat warm, And we watch/The desert keeps talking and I’m drinking for the machine/Let’s hurry up, The anchor is talking/Let’s head to the market in rains, I’d rather be riding on trains/I’m keeping this seat warm/In case we all get bored, From the simple life in store/Forget the men at war.”
We’ve attached a Q&A from MIKE PARK, feel free to utilize these quotes.
1) Over the course of your 20-year career, you’ve experimented with many different musical genres. How do you feel the new album NORTH HANGOOK FALLING stands apart from your previous solo album?
I decided to use a full band this time around. Sure, there are still a few songs that just feature voice and guitar, but the previous album was predominantly a solo acoustic release. It seems naked in comparison to the new record. Being able to collaborate with a set group of musicians on this release gave us more of a band sound compared to a solo record with guest musicians.
2) What inspired the album’s title? What’s the inspiration behind the CD cover artwork and what does it mean to you?
It was a way for me to learn about my own cultural background. Whenever I tried to discuss the Korean War with my family, they refused. I had learned that my father’s sister was killed during the way along with her unborn child. The only word I could get of my father was ‘genocide;’ ‘the same Hangook looking faces killing each other.’
The cover art depicts a group of young women who are part of a drum corps. You’d think they would be enjoying themselves with smiles, but their stoic expressions are an example of the constant bewilderment that is North Korea. A famine starved society with an insane ruler, a strong military, and a population who has no rights. North Hangook Falling is my hope to unify Korea as one country.
3) Why did you decide to release NORTH HANGOOK FALLING on the Sub City label vs. your own Asian Man Records?
Whenever you run your own record label and also happen to be a musician releasing records, there’s a conflict of interest. I didn’t want there to be any animosity between myself as a record label owner and myself as a musician. If one of my artists sees more promotion for the owner’s release than their own, we’ll that’s just a problem waiting to happen. I’d run into this problem in the past and wanted to separate myself from the equation. The next part was finding a label that fit for not only my music, but also my charity work. I’ve always donated a percentage of the funds of my music to charity and Sub City was the only logical choice for a label with a long history of activism through music.
4) Sonically, what were you aiming to achieve on this album? How would you describe the results?
I wanted to write a rich-sounding record using layered guitar melodies. At the same time it was important for me to keep an acoustic sound. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that with the use of a full band, but I recorded acoustic tracks on each song to give it the background to build on. We recorded everything on analog tape to give it a warm sound. No Pro-Tools/Auto-Tune devices were used during the recording. I wanted this album to have a sound reminiscent of bands from the late 80’s. Over-produced recordings these days make for fake-sounding releases. With every note being altered on the computer, a lot of today’s music is often unlistenable to my ears. I wanted to make sure I recorded an album that was free from computer enhancements.
5) Which tracks on the new album would you describe as the pivotal ones? Why?
“Blue Marble.” the last track, was recorded live in a small art space in Berkeley. It’s a song that gave me chills when I wrote it and still gives me chills when I perform. The song is based on a children’s book that my dad shared with me once. It showed people of different cultures and he would flip through the pages showing me all the differences in ethnicity. He would say “But we’re all the same…Do you understand?” I do understand, and this song is a tribute to my father’s influence on my life.
Another one of my favorites is “Keeping This Seat Warm.” Without being overtly political, I wanted to write a song that gave insight to war and how it seems we in America are sheltered by the horrors of war. The majority of people seem more interested or knowledgeable about who is going to make it to the next round of “American Idol” as compared to what is going on politically in our country and abroad.
Catch MIKE PARK on the road (see tour dates below), more shows to be added.
DATE CITY VENUE
With Kevin Seconds
Fri 08/26 Sacramento, CA Luna’s Café
PLEA FOR PEACE BIKE FOR PEACE TOUR 2005
Thu 9/8 Olympia, WA American Heritage Campground
Fri 9/9 Seaquest, WA Seaquest State Park
Sat 9/10 Portland, OR Ride Day
Sun 9/11 Grand Ronde, OR Wandering Spirit RV Park & Tent Camping
Mon 9/12 South Beach, OR South Beach State Park
Tue 9/13 Florence, OR Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State
Wed 9/14 Sunset Bay, OR Sunset Bay State Park
Thu 9/15 Cape Blanco Lighthouse, OR Cape Blanco State Park
Fri 9/16 Harris Beach, OR Harris Beach State Park
Sat 9/17 Trinidad, CA Patrick’s Point State Park
Sun 9/18 Myers Flat, CA Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Mon 9/19 Westport, CA Westport-Union Landing State Beach
Tue 9/20 Gualala, CA Gualala Point Regional Park
Wed 9/21 Bodega Bay, CA Bodega Dunes
Thu 9/22 San Francisco, CA Ride Day
With RX Bandits and Dan Potthast
Fri 9/23 Oakland, CA iMusicast
Sat 9/24 Oakland, CA iMusicast
Sun 9/25 Big Sur, CA Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
Sat 9/26 San Simeon, CA San Simeon State Park
Tue 9/27 Oceano, CA Pismo State Beach
Wed 9/28 Gaviota, CA El Capitan State Beach
Thu 9/29 Ventura, CA McGrath State Beach
With RX Bandits and Dan Potthast
Fri 9/30 Anaheim, CA Chain Reaction
Sat 10/1 Anaheim, CA Ride Day
Sun 10/2 San Clemente, CA San Onofre State Beach
Mon 10/3 Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA San Elijo State Beach
Tue 10/4 San Diego, CA Ride Day
Thu 10/6 Fullerton, CA Cal State Fullerton-Underground Pub
Mike Park solo UK tour
Fri 11/11 Cambridge, UK Portland Arms
Sun 11/13 Exeter, UK Cavern Club
Mon 11/14 Brighton, UK The Albert
UK tour with Alkaline Trio
Tue 11/15 Southampton, UK Guildhall
Wed 11/16 London, UK Brixton Academy
Thu 11/17 Leeds, UK University
Fri 11/18 Newcastle, UK Northumbria University
Sat 11/19 Thirsk, UK Lord Nelson (Mike Park solo date)
Sun 11/20 Glasgow, UK Barrowlands
Mon 11/21 Nottingham, UK Rock City
Tue 11/22 London, UK BBC Radio 1 Live Session on the Lock Up (solo)
Wed 11/23 Norwich, UK UEA
Thu 11/24 Manchester, UK Academy
Fri 11/25 Bristol, UK Academy
Sat 11/26 Birmingham, UK Academy
Mon 11/28 Paris, FRA Trabendo
Tue 11/29 Brussels, BEL Ancienne Belgique 9Box
For more information on MIKE PARK log onto: www.mikeparkmusic.com, www.pleaforpeace.com, www.asianmanrecords.com and www.subcity.net.
Contact MSO:
Libby Henry/MSO 818-380-0400 x224
lhenry@msopr.com
Gina Rodriguez/MSO 818-380-0400 x232
grodriguez@msopr.com
###
