:: cyclists inciting change
thru live exchange
Musician Mike Park Embarks on Bike Benefit Ride
Published August 26, 2005 by Mercury News
"North Hangook Falling''
(four stars)
Sub City Records
Mike Park doesn't care about tradition. At least not when it comes to getting
things done in
the music business.
This San Jose singer-songwriter (who recently moved to Santa Cruz) and record
company owner
(Asian Man Records) just released a stunning new album, "North Hangook
Falling,'' (Sub City records) and instead of going on a national tour to promote
it, he is going on a bicycle ride to raise money to build a San Jose youth
center.
Park and 15 people, including some top musicians, will ride from Seattle
to San Diego from
Sept. 8 to Oct. 4 with pledges of support from friends and family for each
of the 1,200 or
so miles they will cover. They will play the new music in campgrounds down
the coast and will
do two formal gigs, in Oakland and Anaheim.
"We'll see what the DIY (Do It Yourself) spirit is out there,'' says
Park, who will be
joined by singer Jenny Choi, Randy Strohmeier of Finch and others who
found out about the ride from the Web site, www.pleaforpeace.com.
Park's Asian Man records, started in his parents' Saratoga garage, is a huge
success,
selling millions of punk and ska albums. But Park, who could have been a multimillionaire
by
charging a dollar more per album, chose not to, keeping prices at an affordable
$8 for kids.
His new album documents the life of an Asian-American in the United States,
and it does so
without sounding preachy. He sings like Elvis Costello, with layered rich
melodies that recall
the Beatles.
There is only one pure love song on the work, "Kiss Me Baby, I'm Always Here for You,'' but Park
If you didn't listen to the words carefully, you might be fooled into thinking that all the songs are romantic ballads.
"The politics are subtle,'' says Park, 35.
The best artists don't have to hit you on the head to clue you in.
"Asian Prodigy'' with a sad cello backing, describes a man who wants
to be loved, but not
for being a doctor or lawyer.
In "Korea Is So Far Away,'' with an early Cars catchiness, he sings
about his sharing his
"round eyed devil with you.'' One wonders whether this is a sad love
song between two people
or two cultures.
The title song, "North Hangook Falling,'' is a reference to the fall
of North Korea, a plea
for unity between the two countries from a man raised in California.
At a time when even punk records cost more than $100,000 to make, this disc
was made for
$2,800. It sounds as polished as anything released today … but not too
polished.
"I feel like records today don't sound real,'' says Park. "They
sound so fake and polished
and perfect. All these bands are trying to emulate that instead of trying
to emulate Black
Flag.''
Park, who just completed another unconventional tour, playing 56 house concerts
in 36
states, will tour Europe later this year, opening for the much harder punk
rock band Alkaline
Trio.
He next plans multiple dates in the United States in March, although he may
do smaller
local shows before that.
But now, he's back to training, doing 30 miles a day to prepare for the 60
to 80 miles a
day he usually will have to do for the next month.
"It's an open invitation,'' he says. "Anyone can join us.''
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