Skasucks | |
|---|---|
 Skasucks were the penultimate act of the New Generation of Ska Festival, held in Culture Street of Sinchon on 30 August 2014. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Seoul, South Korea |
| Genres | Ska punk |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | Rock Whale Company Dope Entertainment I Wanna Riot |
| Members | Ryu Jinsuk, Lee Donghyuk, Jang Booil, Kim Goyang, MH Ryu |
Skasucks is aska punk band based inSeoul, South Korea.[1] They are heavily influenced by ska-punk as well as2 tone.[2] Formed in 2006, they opened forThe Slackers in 2007 and theChris Murray Combo in 2008. They are known for their lively stage presence.[3] Their lead vocalist Ryu, who also works as a tattoo artist, has become a prominent organiser of the Korean punk music scene.[4] After the lead singers ofRux andSuck Stuff stepped down, Ryu took over Korean operations for the annual Korea/Japan Punk Festival.[5] Ryu also runs the live music venue Club SHARP and tattoo parlour SHARP INK in the same building.
In 2009 two of their songs were nominated forAsia Voice Independent Music Awards, "The Ship is Going Down" for Best Instrumental and "Skaholic" for Genre Bending – Mindboggling – Out of This World Track!
The band name is said to be an absurdity with no literal meaning disparaging ska music.[6]
When Skasucks began, Ryu promoted ska and ska-punk concerts under the name New Generation of Ska.[7] In 2013, after his ninth New Generation of Ska show, he decided to upgrade next year's installment into a festival. The first New Generation of Ska Festival was held on August 30, 2014, as a free outdoor concert in the car-free street ofSinchon leading betweenSinchon Station andYonsei University. The show was free, paid for through 15 million KRW in crowdfunding on the website Tumblbug.[8]
The show included nine Korean ska and punk bands, two Japanese ska bands, and one American band. The Korean bands included Skasucks, Rudy Guns, Ska Wakers, Burning Hepburn, Pegurians, No.1 Korean, Lazybone, Reska, and Beach Valley. The twoJapanese ska bands wereThe Autocratics andThe Rollings. The American band was theBruce Lee Band, led byKorean-American musicianMike Park. The festival was selected by the Jamaican music site Reggae Steady Ska as the 9th best ska festival of 2014.[9]
In 2015, the festival was moved to Multipurpose Art Hall EMU in downtown Seoul.[10] The headlining act isThe Toasters, a New York ska band fronted byRobert "Bucket" Hingley. Rather than bring the entire band to Korea, theJapanese ska band Beat Bahnhof will accompany Hingley as backing band, as well as playing their own music.[11] Hingley had the idea to tour Korea through his friendMike Park.[12]
The festival moved to the small Club SHARP, owned by Skasucks singer Ryu Jinsuk, inMangwon in 2016, headlined by the Japanese Oi-Skall Mates. In 2017, the festival moves back to the outdoorSinchon shopping street and admission will again be free. Headliners will be theSuicide Machines from the US, and the Japanese bands Rollings and Coquettish.
