The wonderland ride of Lazybone - Korea's OG ska punk band

By Jamie Finn (@jamiefinn2209)

Korea's ska punk OGs Lazybone's time as a band has had all the ups and downs of a rollercoaster. With a carousel of lineup changes and the occasional bumper-car clash, the band are ready to return to the funhouse of great live shows. With the release of their new amusement park-themed single Wonderland (that's why I was doing all the fairground ride references, and I promise I will stop now), the band talk to us about their journey so far.

Lazybone are the ultimate good energy band. Their reputation for infectious live energy is second to none, and their penchant for bouncy ska-punk bangers has made them one of Korea's must-see bands for almost 30 friggin' years. It hasn't always been that way, though. But despite their ups and downs over the years, Lazybone are back with a new lineup, new energy, and a shitload of new songs. 

One of those new songs is Wonderland, a typically lively ska-punk offering that might just be their most fun song to date. "I'm not sure about that," explains Lazybone frontman Jundoy, "because we have some pretty crazy songs. But this one is very fun. It's about innocence, like the mind of a child. These days, we see everything differently, and we want people to keep their imagination until they die."

The new stripped-down roster of Lazybone members joining us today consists of singer Jundoy, guitarist Junkyu, and bassist Taejun. The band originally came together back in 97 and are considered part of the first wave of Korean punk bands, known as Chosun Punk. Along with the likes of Crying Nut and No Brain, Lazybone has been part of ushering in the counter-cultural punch of punk for almost three decades, a label the band relishes. "It's an honour to be thought of like that. Those other bands are great, and since we were young, we three bands have performed together. We're still very good friends, actually," explains Jundoy. "The only difference between Lazybone and those bands is that we're younger, taller, and better looking."

The members of Lazybone first connected through a mutual love of skateboarding. "We were just kids who loved skating," says Junkyu. "We would watch skateboarding videos together and became infatuated with the punk, ska, and reggae in them. After that, we decided to form the band."

It should come as no surprise that the band found their origin in something like skating, as they have channelled the same kind of energetic anti-establishment into everything they do. "The Lazybone ethos is 'do whatever you want to do'. That's what we think whenever we're preparing band activities."

One of the high points of Lazybone's tenure came in 2002, thanks to the World Cup, which, that year, was hosted by Korea. "The Korean national team's supporters association approached us about recording a cover version of Go West (originally by Village People) as a cheer song for our team," explains Jundoy. "They asked us to do it in the Lazybone style, so we did. It became so popular during the World Cup. We ended up playing it in front of hundreds of thousands of people whenever our team played."

"Playing Go West in front of hundreds of thousands of people on the City Hall Plaza Stage is unforgettable," adds Junkyu. That is one of my favourite memories."

The other live moment the band are quick to highlight is the 2013 Jisan Valley Rock Festival, the band's first big performance after a lengthy split. In 2006, the members of Lazybone splintered into two separate bands. Here, things get a little confusing. The members that continued under the Lazybone name began making emo-core music. The other members went on to form Copy Machine which, slightly ironically, would make the kind of ska punk Lazybone had been known for. If you don't get it, it's fine. All you need to know is that the band got back together in 2013, and it's been a non-stop party ever since, with 2013's Jisan Valley Rock Festival being a maiden voyage of Lazybone ver 2.0. "When we started playing, there were only two rows of people there, but during our set, people kept running to our stage. By the end, the crowd went all the way back to the hills. That was amazing to see."

Since the reformation, Lazybone has gotten back into the groove, releasing a load of stand-alone singles and two albums which Jundoy argues are the band's best work. "Lazybone XX was a 20th-anniversary album we made. That and (2019's) 어기여차 EP are both very recent but are the best things we've done, I think. The sound quality is so much better on them. But I still have a lot of love for our older material, and first-time listeners should definitely check that out, too."

Having been part of Korea's punk tapestry since the mid-90s, Lazybone have seen how the scene has grown and changed over the last three decades. "These days, the punk scene isn't as big as it has been here," shares Jundoy. "But there's definitely more diversity in the sounds coming from the scene now. Back in the 90s, it was chaos. Loads of guys starting punk bands that didn't know much about the music or the culture behind it. Over the years, it has developed and evolved. It's been great to see so many musicians make their own way."

While Lazybone are happy to talk about the changes in Korea's punk scene, they're quick to point out the limitations of "Korean punk" as a label. "Borders do not matter any more," they explain. "Music style, ability, outfits; these things are not so different these days between countries. What is different is the kind of things that kind of things that bands from each country sing about. Punk bands like to write songs about the issues in their society, and Korean bands do that, too. We sing about Korean society."

When asked which bands they currently enjoy, Lazybone simply replied, "Rumkicks."

So, what's next for Lazybone? "During COVID, we were forced to spend more time in the studio recording music. This year, we'll be unleashing them one by one. After that, we'll be doing what we do best - rocking as many stages as possible".