Dirty Small Town

As previously detailed on this site, the retirement of one of Korea's wildest, craziest skinheads resulted in the dissolution of Jiraltan99. The guitarist and bassist of that band went on to make their own project, Dirty Small Town. This band didn't last long, but they managed to get one good professional-sounding EP out before the inevitable.

The core of the band was Yongwook and Seokyoon, and they went through a few drummers and were even joined by the occasional guest vocalist.

They switched back and forth on vocal duties, but I got the impression Yongwook was supposed to be the main singer.



Seokyoon was a worryingly short guy, but as usual the short guys tend to be the toughest for some reason. And he was never afraid to take off his shirt. In fact, a little too not afraid. I have it on good authority from a Canadian skingirl who will go unnamed, but who was somewhat overweight at the time, that he was able to pick her up and carry her back to his home, where he had his way with her four times in one night.

(Yes, I make skinhead collector cards. Good for a laugh.)

To be honest, they were a little baffling to watch at times because of the dual vocals, but they had a few performances where they really nailed it. Whenever they performed, all the skinheads physically able to make it would be standing on stage with them, adding backing vocals and I guess trying to be in my photos.

Here's their old singer Seungpa coming temporarily back from retirement.


And this singer is Jiwoong, who used to front the band Oi Broker who never did a single recording.


Yongwook eventually grew tired of the direction the skinhead scene was taking, more deeply into far-right politics, and ended up growing his hair out. Seokyoon went the opposite direction, joining Samchung and I'm assuming joining the far-right brigade. I'll have a report on them in the future.

They released a six-song EP that does them justice and features the usual brigade of guest vocalists. Notable songs are track 2, "Working Hard, and track 6, "Dirty Small Town" (not another Pogues cover, don't worry) which features Yeongsoon from Attacking Forces and Jonghee from Rux. The funniest song is track 3, Gochu Chingu, which translates to the meaningless-sounding "Pepper Friend" but in Korean is a term for freakishly close friends, and gochu/pepper is slang for penis. Download "All Together Now" by Dirty Small Town.

Attacking Forces

It was January 25, 2004, the day after Skunk Hell, Korea's main punk club, had their first show. I woke up hungover and not totally sure I got back to my own bed. I had everything with me, the remains of my wrecked camera and all that. On the memory card was a recollection of things my own memory had blocked out. Oh, and there was something else new. A name/e-mail that I didn't remember getting. Yeong Soon, Kong Kyuk Dae, and contact info.

Who the hell was this? I asked a Korean female friend on MSN, and we agreed that Yeong Soon sounded like a girl's name, and Kong Kyuk Dae was possibly a university, as "Dae" is shorthand for university. It could be Konkuk University.

I don't know if she was pulling my leg, because Kong Kyuk Dae means "Attacking Forces," and Yeongsoon is one of the last guys I photographed that night. Here's me with him in a picture I have no memory taking.



Back in those days, the only people who went to shows in Korea were band members and people starting bands. It was a fiercely talented crowd but it meant no money for promoters as just about everyone there got comped at the door.

Attacking Forces was a rare band based outside of Seoul. Back then, there virtually was no punk scene outside Seoul, and it's still pretty well the same. The exception is the small inland university town of Cheongju, population just over half a million. There's basically no punk scene in larger Korean cities, including Busan, Korea's second largest city, but for some unknown reason this one little place has produced some of the best punk and hardcore of the peninsula.

Part of it is due to the management of MF Crew, a record label that supports local bands as well as other non-Seoul bands. Attacking Forces is the only skinhead band on that label.

The two skinhead members, Yeongsoon, the singer, and Jongo, the guitarist, are my favourite Koreans.



For a long time, Attacking Forces was a bit of a typical Asian cookie-cutter oi band, but then every single other Korean band doing that sound either broke up or turned metal. Part of the reason is Yeongsoon was conscripted when the scene was at its height, and when he came back everything had changed but him. Oh, except he lost a ton of weight. Now they always get a good rise at shows because they're a rare fun, uncomplicated band with memorable tunes.



There's one other story you must hear about guitarist Jongo. You wouldn't know it to look at him because he's a small guy, but he's the lightweight boxing champion of his entire province.

Apparently at the tournament, just before weigh-in, he was going to be the smallest guy in his weight class. Then he took a dump, and weighed in just at the top of the weight class below. So basically, he won this trophy for defecating.



Attacking Forces were working on an album just before Yeongsoon was sent up to the border fence. It sat in a box for two years before he returned and they finished laying down all the tracks. This was one long-assed recording several years in the making, but it was worth the wait. Download Beer, Blood, and Boots here.

Also included is a cover of "Dirty Old Town" by the Goo Gang Sung Gyo Orchestra, which is just a masturbation reference Yeongsoon made up when he was fooling around with some recording equipment at work one day.

Here's me with the AF boys back when I had my Abraham Lincoln chops.

Jiraltan99

Translating literally to "Mad Bullet 99," which is the Korean term for a gas grenade, Jiraltan99 is a name that stirs up weird feelings in Korean people. Once while at work my boss caught me with a Korean dictionary translating the song "바보처럼 살련다" ("Live Like Idiots"), and he simply said "Don't listen to that song." He was simultaneously offended by the band name, the song title's implication, and the disrespectful verb tense of the song. It doesn't take a lot to offend people in South Korea.

These guys were the flagship skinhead band of Korea in 2003 and 2004, when Captain Bootbois vocalist Donghyun was in the army. They were a great live band, partly for their preference of vocals in their native tongue and partly because everyone who saw them play tended to know all the vocals themselves.




Their vocalist, Seungpa, was basically the Korean Joe Hawkins--he was wild, unpredictable, and always up for either verbal or physical sparring.



He had a, uh, special relationship with me, and would always taunt me by reminding me that my name, Jon, is a popular Korean name for pet dogs. In retaliation, I named a kitten after him:



In retaliation, he nicknamed my then girlfriend (now wife) "Mongol Mary."



Unfortunately he was one of those guys who would be all skinhead as fuck one year, and then the next year he'd sober up and try to stop being a jerk. When I first saw Jiraltan99, Seungpa was sporting a pompadour, and a tattoo I'm sure he regrets by now:



Still, it never kept him from taking his shirt off on stage. A few months after that picture, he shaved in again for a year or so, then he officially went into the Skinhead Retirement Plan: rockabilly.



At that point, he gave up the band, and never got back on stage, not even for his new genre of choice. Jiraltan99 was finished, without leaving us a quintessential recording--except for one song on the Skunk Label compilation, and one poorly recorded split album with a band I've never heard of.

The remaining members, Seokyoon and Jongwook, started their own band, Dirty Small Town, who will be spotlighted on this site in the near future. However, Dirty Small Town lacked a good frontman, with the guitarist and bassist switching off vocals a little too frequently to follow along with and leading to the feeling that they're just backup vocalists and their lead singer is offstage. To their credit, they released a good EP with some well-produced songs. Still, their only good shows were when Seungpa jumped back on stage and sang "바보처럼 살련다."

Download the one good Jiraltan99 song, and their half of the split album here.

V.A. - Up The Oi!

This is the Up The Oi! - Japanese Skinhead Compilation Album. It has alot of well known Japanese Oi! bands each doing one of their own songs and one classic cover. Being looking for this one for a while.


V.A. - Up The Oi!
01 - Youth - Booted Cocks
02 - Music For The Bootboys - United We Stand
03 - Oppressed Youth - The Solution
04 - All Your Life - Oi! Valcans
05 - Skinheads - Strong Crowd
06 - I Never, You Never - Raise A Flag
07 - Rip Off - Raise A Flag (Sham 69)
08 - The Trooper - Strong Crowd (Iron Maiden)
09 - Little Bitch - Oi! Valcans (The Specials)
10 - Skinhead Times - The Solution (The Oppressed)
11 - Razors In The Night - United We Stand (Blitz)
12 - Dirty Old Town - Booted Cocks (The Pogues)
Download

Captain Bootbois

Since they began, Captain Bootbois have been the quintessential Korean skinhead band, with one two-year break while singer Donghyun was drafted. They haven't always exactly been a skinhead band, and at no point has the band lineup been 100% skinhead. They have had a lot of talent go through the band though. One of the founding members, Joohyun, also founded and played bass for Rux, Ghetto Bombs, and most recently Galaxy Express.

While Donghyun was serving his country, the band replaced him and renamed themselves Blood Pledge. By the time he returned, Blood Pledge and Captain Bootbois were two separate entities with no shared musicians.

Today, Captain Bootbois is made up of:
-Donghyun on vocals, nicknamed "nongbu" or "farmer" for some reason


-Skele or Changwon on guitar. He was one of Korea's original skinheads, and a founding member of Samchung, but disappeared from the scene for a few years and ended up almost becoming a minister. He had a kid, shaved his head, and came back.


-JunKyu on bass. To combat stage fright, he always chews gum while he plays, and you can see him blowing bubbles on stage. Kind of an odd habit.


-Kirk, a Canadian metal drummer who most recently joined the band and pointed them much more into the metal camp.


Captain Bootbois have released one full-length a few years back and one rougher demo earlier. Recently they put out a hard-to-find split with fellow skinhead-turned-metal band Samchung. Unlike their previous songs, these ones are sung mostly in Korean, the only exception being "Fight For Your Right." The song "Belief Like Rock" is a poor translation of a phrase that makes more sense in Korean, basically about a belief that is as strong as rock. There's also one song where they collaborate with Samchung.

The four songs by them are available for download.

Under 18

Under 18 is a hardcore/oi band in the vein of Warzone and Agnostic Front. They started in Bandung in 1997 as a bunch of 15 and 16 year old kids.

http://www.myspace.com/under18bchc


Line Up
Tepeng - Vocals
Seeon - Vocals
B-Tai - Guitar
Budrex - Bass
Ievdskin - Guitar
Joko B.I.G - Drums

Discography
- OSHC..Till Die!! EP - 3 Song DIY Project 1999
- Indoground Compilation - In France 2001
- 4 Way Split Band Rockin' Riot Vol 2 - United Races Records 2003
- Loyalitas Full Album - Linoleum Records 2007
- Total Destroy Vol 1 - Chaotic Records 2007
- Riot Connection Records Compilation - In Germany 2008




Under 18
01 - Keep It's True
02 - Ingatkan Aku
03 - Bandung Brotherhood
04 - O.S.H.C. Till Die!!!
05 - Loyalitas
06 - Skinhead
07 - You Got
08 - Track 1
09 - Track 2

Download

The Anarchy Jerks

The Anarchy Jerks are from Beijing and play a great mix of streetpunk/Oi!. I have their 2005 album, "Wuliao Contingent" which refers I believe to the earliest punks in Beijing. It includes a cover of the Hard Skin classic, "My One Skin". Their releases are pretty hard to track down but here is a link to their old split with the much more harder hitting earlier Brainfailure.
http://www.interpunk.com/item.cfm?Item=81225&



Wuliao Contingent (2005)
01 - Women Juebu Tuoxie (Never Compromise)
02 - Oh! Sucks!
03 - Oi! Lai Ba! (Oi! Is Here)
04 - Dui Ni De Shenghuo Han Oi! (Oi! Is Life)
05 - Loser's R'N'R
06 - I Don't Know
07 - Cuowu (Mistake)
08 - Chinese Oi!
09 - My One Skin
10 - Ska Song

Download

V.A. - Oi! The Uprising II Comp

This is a real good showcase for some newer Malaysian Oi! Brewing Boots is outstanding. If anyone has volume I, please share with me.

V.A. - Oi! The Uprising II

01 - Brewing Boots - Bois In Blue
02 - Brewing Boots - Violence
03 - Firm On Fire - Beerbelly
04 - Firm On Fire - Wanker
05 - Secret Army - Secret army
06 - Secret Army - This Is Not The End
07 - Shavenheads - Junkies
08 - Shavenheads - We Are The Bootboys
09 - The Bois - Coppers Bastard
10 - The Bois - Die Troopers
11 - The Maniacs - We're Coming Back
12 - The Maniacs - You're Fascist
13 - The Ruction - Frightening Nightmare
14 - The Ruction - Split Personality
15 - Unknown Soldiers - Left Alone
16 - Unknown Soldiers - Youth Of Today

Download

V.A. - Kita Harus Berani Menghadapi Kenyataan Comp

This is a comp I got a little while back. Its another one of the great things I got from France.

V.A. - Kita Harus Berani Menghadapi Kenyataan (2002)

01 - Anti Squad - Soldier
02 - Septic Tank - Our Freedom
03 - Total Anarchy - Bomb Shock
04 - Total Anarchy - Victim Violence Prison Action
05 - Kremlin - Democracy Coma
06 - The Sardonik - Think Fool
07 - Discoriot - Lady Di Is Dead
08 - City Chaos - Hentikan Perang
09 - Keparat - Berontak Et Society Frustration
10 - Dead Germs - Time To Kill
11 - Kremlin - Bersatu Melawan Penindasan
12 - Jeruji - Dimanaanakku
13 - Begundal Lowokwaru - Kita Para Punk
14 - The End - Patriot
15 - Anti Squad - Freedom And Justice
16 - Anti Squad - Noise For Violence
17 - The Gross - Tak Ada Perbedaan
18 - Sexy Pig - Let's Drunk
19 - Porno Star - Dead For Them
20 - Porno Star - Public Sex
21 - Total Anarchy - Central City Chaos
22 - Antiphaty - Manusia
23 - Jeruji - Gila Kuasa
24 - Kremlin - Why Do We Fight
25 - The Idiots - From Religion To War
26 - The Clown - Sick Life
27 - Marjinal - Belajar Sama Sama

Download

V.A. - Son Of Skinhead Vol. 1

This is the Son Of Skinhead Vol. 1 Comp. It fucking rocks. Zero Fighter and Snake are my favorite 2 bands on here but no one disappoints. Vol. 2 is still available for sale from Rock'N'Oi! the last time I checked.

V.A. - Son Of Skinhead Vol. 1

01 - United Force - Working Class Hero
02 - Zero Fighter - Kanji
03 - Natural Born Masters - We Are Gonna Out
04 - Kanji - Ima No Kono Toki
05 - Booted Cocks - Spirit 03
06 - Kage-Law - Ware Ikiru
07 - Supporters - Perfect People
08 - Snake - Kanji
09 - 4B-Union - One Shot Oi
10 - No Escape - Starting Point
11 - Build - We Are The Boys

Download

Blood Pledge

The draft really fucks you up. No, not draught beer--I'm talking about having to sacrifice two years of your life between the ages of 18 and 30 to the army, where you will get paid maybe $5 a month and get maybe 10 days off in the entire two years (and that means no weekends). As you can imagine, this wreaks havoc on the Seoul punk scene.

When Captain Bootbois' lead singer Donghyun went into the army, they were fucked for two years. Along came Jonghyuk, his friend and a fellow skinhead willing to step up to the plate. Jonghyuk was post-army, so he took over vocal duties, renaming the band 혈맹 (pronounced Hyul Maeng, translates roughly to Blood Pledge).



They played off and on for the next two years, covering a lot of Bootbois stuff and making their own material. Jonghyuk spent a lot of time in Japan as a youth and is fluent in Japanese, so he was heavily influenced by the Japanese nationalist bands identified as Skinhead Samurai Spirit. He managed to release one four-song EP full of roughly recorded nationalistic songs.



The band never broke up, but after Donghyun returned and Captain Bootbois reactivated, Jonghyuk didn't perform much anymore. You'll still see them once or twice a year, however, usually with an assorted lineup of his friends who aren't also in Bootbois.

Line Up (as of the recording)
Jong-Hyuk Lee - Vocals
Myung-Hyun Kim - Bass
Ju-Hyun Lee - Guitar
Zin-Man Cho - Drums

Eastern Tiger (1st Demo)(2004)
01 - Blood Pledge
02 - Way Of Myself
03 - Strong Mind
04 - Eastern Tiger

Download

동방의 호랑이 - 혈맹 / Eastern Tiger - Blood Pledge
수세기동안 행해진 억울했던 침략
The bitter invasions suffered for centuries
수세기동안 행해진 억압되었던 자유
The freedom that has been suppressed for centuries
이제는 더 이상 당하지만은 않는 다 숨지기만은 않는다.
We won’t endure it anymore, we won’t just hide it anymore
잊지 마라! 굶주린 호랑이의 발톱을
Don’t forget! The claws of the starving tiger
잊지 마라! 굶주린 호랑이의 이 빨을
Don’t forget! The teeth of the starving tiger
수세기동안 행해진 왜곡된 진실
The history distorted for centuries
수세기동안 짓밟힌 호랑이의 위상
The dignity trampled for centuries
이제는 더 이상 당하지만은 않는다 숨기지만은 않는다
We won’t endure it anymore, we won’t just hide it anymore
보이는가! 장엄한 호랑이의 광채가
Do you see it? The majestic splendor of the tiger
들리는가! 우렁찬 호랑이의 포효가
Do you hear it? The resounding roar of the tiger
느끼는가! 진정한 호랑이의 혼을
Do you feel it? The true spirit of the tiger
각인하라 우리가 바로 동방의 호랑이다.
Carve it in your memory, we are the tigers of the East.

Hitcock

Hitcock is an Indonesian Oi! band on United Races Records. I have a shit ton of pictures.



Hitcock
01 - Boots On Yer Face
02 - Hentikan Kekerasan Bersenjata
03 - Negeri Kita
04 - Tanah Rencong

Download

V.A. - Beijing Rejects

This is the Beijing Rejects comp with a bunch of great Chinese Oi!/Punk bands. I don't really remember where I got this from, but the files are in the open source .ogg format so you will have to use VLC player or something else to listen to them.

V.A. - Beijing Rejects
01 Kill Tomorrow - Who's The Causer
02 Kill Tomorrow - River Of Blood
03 Misandao - Clamp Down
04 Misandao - Oi Oi Skin Head
05 Misandao - Army Song
06 Goober Skin Bomb - Punk No Star
07 Goober Skin Bomb - At All Have No Fun
08 Goober Skin Bomb - Fucking Shit CCTV
09 The Unsafe - Army Coming Down
10 The Unsafe - Kill The Leader
11 Anti - Violent Solutions
12 The Turmoil - Fuck Policeman
13 The Turmoil - Come On Rebel
14 The Turmoil - Turmoil In The China
15 Last Chance Of Youth - Attack
16 Last Chance Of Youth - Last Chance Of Youth
17 Last Chance Of Youth - Shed Blood Before Die

Download

Oppression Head

Oppression Head is a hard hitting Skinhead/Oi! band from the West End Flower City. They've been around since 2001 and are heavily influenced by first wave Oi! bands like The 4 Skins and The Oppressed, etc. They were founded by Bres, Butong, Vino, and Egi but they split up in 2006. Now they have reformed with a new line up and and are releasing a new split this year on Warrior Records. If you have any of their releases please email me!

http://www.myspace.com/oppressionhead


Line Up (Present)
Enis Megat - Vocals
Butong - Guitar
Eri - Guitar
Irfan - Drums
Bongging - Bass

Discography
V/A Oi! Life Forever 2003
West Flower City.Ep 2004 (d.i.y/100copy)
V/A Oi! Attack 2007
V/A We Are The Young 2008
2-Way Split Album with The Stomper (Warriors Records Jakarta 2008)
Available on Cassette


Oppression Head
1 - Fuck Gank Boy
2 - Sama Dan Tak Beda
3 - Back The SkinHead (Kids Version)
4 - A Way Of Life
5 - (We're)Skinhead Revolution

Download

One Voice

One Voice is an Oi band from Bandung that was formed in 1998. They are on United Races Records.

http://www.myspace.com/onevoicereadytofight


Line Up
Ana Etep - Bass
Rooney Kumbang Bastard - Vocals
Ipul Suck - Drums
Anggi Headholes - Lead Guitar
Bongging - Guitar




One Voice
1 - Bersatu
2 - Bunga Untuk Indonesia
3 - Skinheads

Download

The Sanfranskins

The Sanfranskins are an Oi! band from Bandung. I only have a few tracks by them but I really like them. Thanks Fred!

Line Up
Dower : Drum & Vocal
Rizki : Bass & Lead Vocal
Iyai : Guitar & Vocal



Track Listing
1 Can If You Think
2 Flower city boot bois
3 Girl
4 Maju Terus Serang Lawan
5 Oi Dalam Cinta
6 Quired Girl
7 Share On The gigs
8 Sorry I`m Too Rock Part 1

Download

South Korea Sampler Vol. 1

Well, I've noticed I've neglected Korea until now so I threw together a small sampler of some good Korean bands. If I get a good response I'll post some of the bands albums. Check out Broke in Korea and Skunk Records for info about these bands and alot of other great ones.
http://brokeinkorea.proboards46.com/index.cgi
http://www.skunklabel.com/ or if you want the older english page: http://skunklabel.com/english/
Oh, and one more thing, I've moved and no longer have my cable internet so right now I'm stealing my neighbors slow-ass wireless so my uploads might become a little more spread out. Cheers.

South Korea Sampler
01 Attacking Forces
02 Captain Bootbois - Way of Life
03 Crying Nut - Ride A Horse (Speak Differently)
04 Geeks - If the Kids are United
05 Ghetto Bombs - OK OK
06 Hyul Maeng - Oriental Tiger
07 Johnny Royal - Homeless
08 RUX - Corea Belongs To Me
09 shorty cat - I hate her
10 Ska Sucks - International War Criminal
11 Suck Stuff - D.D.Y.
12 suck stuff - why do we have to respect him

SA - Stiff Upper Lip

SA is my all time favorite japanese punk band.
They’re formed in 1985 and ended in 1988. During their first phase, they only released one single named “I Get Position”.
In the year 2000, Taisei, the vocalist in their early years, reformed the band together with Naoki (Laughin’ Nose former guitar player), plus other two guys, and since then, they keep doing, what in my opinion is, the best punk music in Japan.
Their sound is fast and aggressive, but, at the same time, is really catchy, with a lot of sing-alongs. The only bad thing is their english.
They have already release 7 full length, 2 mini albums, and 4 singles. I’ve upload a very rare mini album released in 2003. This album contains their best song Naughty Boys (meet us there), a classic punk rock’n’roll Cock Sparrer style song.
Enjoy!



Tracklist:
01-Stay Strong
02-Climber’s song
03-No man’s nation
04-Sunrise hunter
05-Brace & the gain
06-サマーホリデイズ スカイ
07-Yet!Yet!Yet!
08-Naughty Boys (meet us there)

Link: http://www.zshare.net/download/179672004fbb0c92/

2nd Guess

2nd Guess is a Oi! band from Taiping, Malaysia. They formed in 2000. They released a 7 track Demo in 2000 and the Young Vesparados Club album on Clockwork Records in 2002. I have never heard the demo so If anyone would like to share it with me please do.

http://www.myspace.com/syed2ndguess



2000 Line Up-
Syed - Vocalist
Maizal - Bass
Aboi - Lead Guitar
Hafiz - Drums

2003 Line Up -
Syed - Vocalist
Maizal - Bass Guitar
Ojoe - Bass Guitar
Aboi - Lead Guitar
Mamat - Rhythm Guitar
Bard - Drums

Discography
7 Track Demo (2000)
Young Vesparados Club (2002)(Clockwork Records)


Young Vesparados Club
01 Hope
02 Young Vesparados Club
03 To Be A Man Has To Beat A Man
04 Skinhead Girl
05 Cyber Skin
06 Warisan
07 Plain And Simple
08 Jalur Gemilang
09 Don't You
10 Silver State United Skinheads

Download

4 Sides of Oi!

Since I'm doing 4 way split albums, how about one from Malaysia? The 4 Sides of Oi! 4-way split CD was released in 2004 on Clockwork Records and it is great!

4 Sides of Oi!
01 Lawan Kembali - Steeltoe Solutions
02 Don't Give Up - Steeltoe Solutions
03 Tie Up Your Boots & Shave Your Head - Steeltoe Solutions
04 Kuala Lumpur Skinheads - Steeltoe Solutions
05 Devastation - Steelies
06 Victory To Us - Steelies
07 Last Stand Kids - Steelies
08 Tomorrow's Youth - Steelies
09 Wicked Witch Brainwashing - Brewing Boots
10 Disco Loser - Brewing Boots
11 Bois In Blue - Brewing Boots
12 Lion City Hooligans - Brewing Boots
13 Mengerti - Offside
14 Street Kids - Offside
15 Never Say - Offside
16 Hijau Kuning - Offside

Download