Reviewsic [ri-vyoo-zik] -noun: Music worth talking about

Having just released their debut album, Death Wave in May of this year, indie rock collective Hemmingbirds are still a little wet behind the ears as they work on getting known in the burgeoning Chicago music scene. The band originally began as a solo project by front-man Yoo Soo Kim in the fall of 2009 and over a period of seven months, Yoo Soo performed, recorded, produced, mixed, and self-released Death Wave with the aid of Zach Benkowski on drums. Eventually Kim recruited Tim Cap, Laurence Almalvez, and Joe Capacete to create the 5-piece band. The band has already seen a few line-up changes in its short time, the most recent of which is the departure of bassist Laurence Almalvez who said goodbye to the project just this month. In his place is friend to the Hemmingbirds,  Matt McGuire, who will be plucking out bass lines in the band’s upcoming show at Martyrs on January 11^th.
Hemmingbirds deliver a nice clean-cut sound with their interpretation of indie rock. Apart from songs “Perpetrator” and “Light and Darkness”, Death Wave is relatively devoid of the spacey fills and echoing guitar riffs that today’s conception of indie rock is generally filled with, instead opting for a style more along the lines of Nada Surf or Nightmare of You. Death Wave doesn’t stand out in any particular way as far as innovation goes, making it seem that instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, Kim decided to simply use it better than anyone else. Little nuances like the band’s use of viola, the handclaps in “Treetops” and buzzing in just the right places make Death Wave familiar enough for people to be drawn to it but unique enough to prove that Hemmingbirds has a strong pool of musical talent to pull from.

Download Hemmingbirds’ Christmas Album, Carol of the Birds Free

Yoo Soo Kim recently spoke with Reviewsic about Death Wave, his biggest influences and the instrument he wishes he could play.

Reviewsic: Can you give us a quick recap of what Hemmingbirds have been up to lately?

Yoo Soo Kim: Well, most recently we re-mixed and re-mastered some Christmas music that Zach and I have recorded in the past and put those songs up for free download on our store, MySpace, and SoundCloud. A couple weeks ago we filmed a music video for “Mellow Gold Haze.” It was our first time making a proper music video, so that was both  blast and a learning experience. We shot with a Minnesota film student, Jerry Jeong. He’s really got a good eye for shots and is a bit of an actor himself, so I think we’re going to be pretty pleased with the end result which should be ready in less than a month. And outside of those recent events, we’ve been playing shows to continuously promote our album, Death Wave.

Reviewsic: What are your top three musical influences?

Yoo Soo Kim: Radiohead, The Beatles, and Arcade Fire. All three always seek to write great, well crafted songs that are memorable, yet are very adventurous. That ideology is something that I always try to strive for. They also have a wide range of songs that go from gritty to pretty and as a violist, their frequent use of strings always appealed to me.

Reviewsic: Is there any instrument you don’t play, but wish you did?

Yoo Soo Kim: I really wish that I could play the trumpet. I think because I’m a multi-instrumentalist, I’m always very eager to learn more and more instruments. Instruments to me are like languages and if you learn one type of instrument, in this instance the trumpet, it makes it easier to learn those other types of instruments, horns. Playing in orchestras and not in bands my whole life, horns have always fascinated me. They’re so warm, yet are powerfully loud and can range from sentimental to crass. If I ever did pick that up, though, it would probably take years before I would feel comfortable with it.

Reviewsic: What are the last three albums or bands you listened to?

Yoo Soo Kim: I’m really, really into the new Kanye album. That really might be one of my favorite albums ever. I have a fondness for raw albums and nothing comes across more raw than Kanye’s after the death of his mom, the Taylor Swift incident, and his breakups. I hate his ego, but I could keep going on about that album. I’ve also been listening to the latest Sufjan album. That album is just crazy. It’s such a contrast to his previous material in a very good way. It’s so richly layered and is beyond anything I could ever write. The third album in my playlist is Girl Talk’s newest album. I really wasn’t sure what to expect from him after having that many mashup albums. But, I still keep really enjoying the stuff he puts out. There really is an aesthetic to it.

Reviewsic: If you could work with one person in the music industry (musician, label, producer etc), who would it be and why?
Yoo Soo Kim: I think, not to snub my other heroes, it would be producer Nigel Godrich. The man’s worked on such a broad spectrum of music and everything he’s touched sounds fantastic. Being a sound engineer and musician, I would like to learn his secrets on how I can improve my recordings and mixes. I would also like his thoughts on my music. He’s not a songwriter, but he’s able to bring the best out of people. If he’s capable of improving Radiohead and Paul McCartney, I’m sure he has a good amount of advice and criticism he can give to me.

Reviewsic: If you could book a tour with any 3 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

Yoo Soo Kim: I think I would skip the aesthetics of putting together a well-fitting bill and just choose three acts that I’d never be able to see. So, here’s my bill not necessarily in this order – The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Queen with Freddie Mercury. The Beatles changed my life; Jimi Hendrix shaped how I perceive guitar; Freddie Mercury makes me aspire to be a great singer and performer.

Reviewsic: Lately we’ve been on this kick of revisiting bands we didn’t pay as much attention to in the past and wondering, “Why didn’t I listen to this 10 years ago?”- If you could go back in time and push 3 bands/records on your younger self, who/what would they be and why?

Yoo Soo Kim: I really wished I listened to The Beatles when I was a lot younger. I had a music teacher in middle school that was absolutely obsessed with them. I highly doubt he’ll read this, so I can say it: that guy was a jerk. And my dislike of him brought me away from The Beatles for a number of years. The Police would be another band. There’s that basic punk rock energy that I was into at that age and a lot of musicianship that I would’ve appreciated. I really can’t think of that many bands, though. Sorry to cop out at two bands. I think I listened to music in a certain chronological order because that was when I appreciated it the most. I remember my friend showed me Animal Collective and Velvet Underground in high school and I just didn’t get it. I was an angsty child, so I needed music I could relate to more. I also got into rock music late (freshman year of high school), so I needed stuff to be accessible.

Reviewsic: Tell us about your music- where does the inspiration for it come from? Did you set out with the specific intention to make the kind of music you make? What does each member bring to the table to make Hemmingbirds what it is?

Yoo Soo Kim: As a music listener, I really enjoy different types of music, so consequentially, I like to play different types of music. I think if I didn’t do that, then I would get bored very quickly with just one sound, which is likely why our music is so eclectic. While making Death Wave, the only basic intention I had was to make it as catchy and memorable as possible without making it sound like a cookie-cutter rock band. As for lyrics, I write a lot about the motions of getting older. I almost always write what I feel and I’m at an age right now where I should start planning what the rest of my life will be like and growing up into an adult. Yikes. Since the band is so young, the collective creative process is still being felt out. Hemmingbirds started as an extension of myself since it was me teaching parts that I wrote. I prefer being a band over a solo artist, though. As of late, we’ve been trying to write new material and because everyone’s good, song-writing musicians, there’s a lot being brought to the table.

Reviewsic: How would you compare yourselves as musicians at this point as opposed to when you first began playing together?

Yoo Soo Kim: It’s tough to say how much we’ve changed since we haven’t been together that long. That and we’ve had a revolving door for members. Regardless, the core chemistry of this band is continually strengthening and we feed off of each other much more naturally than when we first started playing together.

Reviewsic: What are some of your favorite cities/venues to play? Any places you haven’t gotten to that you’re dying to play at?

Yoo Soo Kim: I really enjoy playing at the Beat Kitchen. The sound, location, size, and food/liquor selection are all great. I haven’t had the opportunity to play outside the Midwest yet, so it’s hard to say what my favorite city would be. I’m also biased since I’m a die-hard Chicagoan. I would love to play at the Metro in the future, though. It’s a staple of my teenage years and to be on that stage would be awesome.

Reviewsic: What are the best and worst band moments so far in your career?

Yoo Soo Kim: So far nothing too amazing yet. Getting played on 93.1 XRT, my favorite Chicago station, has been my highlight so far. My last band was based out of Champaign-Urbana, but being a Chicagoan at heart, it was cool to hear us on there.

As for worst moment, we luckily haven’t had anything too disastrous happen to us yet. Well, except that one time where Tim got hit by a bus the night of the show. Just kidding. I wish I could give a good story. The only dissatisfying memory I have is one of our earlier shows where we spent 3 weeks learning “Don’t Stop Me Now” only to have our keyboard break during the show. Later that night, the former keyboardist Justin dropped my amp head. So I kicked him out of the band. No, I didn’t. And then he quit. Yes, he did. But for different reasons. Haha. Can I laugh at my own jokes? Really though, the show was still okay and my amp still works.

Reviewsic: What are three words you’d use to describe your music to someone who’s never heard it?

Yoo Soo Kim: Indie. Pop. Rock. Genres…as much as I dislike them, they’re so efficient. *shakes fist*

Reviewsic: What are your plans for your music in the next year?

Yoo Soo Kim: I would like us to start writing for another EP or LP in the coming year. Tim Cap and I built a recording studio in the basement of my family home and it’s been awesome being able to jam and write in there and immediately get feedback on what happened. It makes the writing and recording process a lot more organic and hopefully we can get a lot of good material to put out soon. I also want to start playing more shows. We’ve been limiting ourselves to only a few shows a month, but we’re going to try to start touring more nationally to get ourselves out there.