Sooyoung Park of Seam

Today, Sooyoung Park dropped by GRHQ. Wow, how long have I known Sooyoung? I first met him at Bogart's in Long Beach where his band Seam was sandwiched on a bill between Poster Children and The Fluid. It was the Chicago group's first time on the West Coast, and they needed a place to stay. I was a fan with a little bit of space and no roommates, so I offered my pad. I recall drummer Bob Wising throwing up on the side of my car on the way to the place I was renting in Los Feliz. This was well before Giant Robot...

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My place became the band's crash-pad whenever they'd play L.A. and even though the lineup shifted over the years, Sooyoung was constant and we became pretty good friends. As GR started and got bigger, the band eventually co-headlined a show at our then-working space with my friend Lance's band, J Church (who also stayed with me when they toured L.A.). What a rad weekend that was. I rode down with both bands to catch the Casbah show in San Diego right afterward. Another time, I rode down with Seam to see them play with Three-Mile Pilot at the World Beat Center. Another stellar lineup.

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Seems like a lifetime ago. These days Seam is on hiatus and has not played one but two reunion shows, and Sooyoung and his wife now live in Singapore, where he does tech stuff. (Remember his Perfect Day an issue or two ago?) But Sooyoung seems to keep up with his old bandmates and the re-release of music from his first band, Bitch Magnet, is pending. So it was great to catch up with him and find out all that he's been doing.

Meanwhile, I'm still here doing GR...