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‘Hyoja band’ rising up

February 28, 2014

L.A.-based Korean American folk-rock band Run River North

Self-titled album released this week

From left, Alex Hwang, Sally Kang, Daniel Chae, Joe Chun, Jennifer Rim, and John Chong of Run River North. (Photo – Catie Lafoon)

*hyoja – good son

*hyonyeo – good daughter

By Lee Kyutae

The self-titled album from Los Angeles-based Korean American band Run River North (RRN) went on sale this week.

RRN, formerly known as Monsters Calling Home, is an indie folk-rock band made up of six classically trained musicians – Alex Hwang (lead singer-songwriter); Sally Kang (keyboard); Daniel Chae (guitar and violin); Joe Chun (bass); Jennifer Rim (violin); and John Chong (drums).

Interestingly enough, they say their music is inspired by their immigrant parents and the sacrifice they made for their children, which begs the question: aren’t they making their parents squirm at the same time with their career choices?

Becoming band members after spending years learning the piano and violin and attending nice schools like Claremont McKenna may not be what their parents had in mind for their kids.

All’s well that ends well, and for RRN, it all began with a music video the band shot inside their Honda automobiles (Youtube Video) less than two years ago. They couldn’t afford a studio at the time and came up with this brilliant idea, as they all just happened to drive Honda models – a Fit, an Accord, and a few CRVs. To make a long story short, the YouTube video went viral and gained a lot of traction, which led the carmaker to reward them by scheduling a surprise appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live (Youtube Video). A few gigs later, an offer came from Nettwerk, one of the largest and most influential independent record labels in the world.

Nettwerk founder Terry McBride was quoted as saying, “I didn’t know what they even looked like. The song wasn’t about immigrants; it was about a dilemma that half the population in the world goes through.” In other words, RRN’s music has universal appeal. They’ve also been getting rave reviews from critics.

Along the way, they’ve sold out the legendary Troubadour concert venue twice, and were featured on National Public Radio (NPR) and in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Since opening in 1957 in West Hollywood, the Troubadour has been a prominent live-music venue for up-and-coming artists, whose star-studded alumni include Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon, and James Taylor, to name a few.

“Getting on Jimmy Kimmel was a bigger prize for our parents than for us. They think if you are on TV, you are legitimate, but we thought we were going to get a car,” Hwang and Chong said with a laugh in an interview with the Korea Times. “There is that expectation of, ‘Because we did this for you, we hope you have a good job. We hope you can live the American dream.’ And we finally find that in music now,” explained Hwang, 28, the oldest member of the band.

Perhaps the lyrics of one their songs explain it the best: their parents are just “Digging for worth under a foreign sun; their children call, bitter words of a strange tongue…”