By Kyle Decker and Fleurette Estes
Korea Times
CHICAGO — Drinking Boys and Girls Choir’s founding members Bae Meena and Kim Myeong-jin (MJ) have been relentless in the face of adversity and indifference after forming the skate punk band way back in 2013 in Daegu.
Punk music has never been hugely popular in Korea, but after signing to Britain-based label Damnably, they had the opportunity to tour Britain in 2019. They toured Europe in early 2020 and plans were made for a U.S. tour later that year, but you can guess what happened next. In March 2024, they were finally able to tour the United States as well as Canada with labelmates Otoboke Beaver from Japan.
From Feb. 20 until March 30, the two East Asian bands played 27 shows in the U.S. and two in Canada.
The three members of Drinking Boys and Girls Choir perform at Thalia Hall in Chicago, March 9, during their U.S. tour. Courtesy of Fleurette Estes
During their two nights at Chicago’s Thalia Hall on March 9 and 10, DBGC ran into some old friends and made some new ones. Here are two perspectives of that show, one from an old fan, and one from a new one.
New fan, photographer Fleurette Estes
I was excited to have the opportunity to photograph DBGC at Thalia Hall in Chicago. I mean who doesn’t want to see an all-girl punk band from Korea, right? When we met with them for an interview, they were the kindest people I’ve ever met! If time had permitted, I would have loved to just hang out with them. I am looking forward to seeing them again in the future.
The three members of Drinking Boys and Girls Choir pose with Fleurette Estes, lower right, Kyle Decker, back left, and sound engineer Young-do at Chicago’s Thalia Hall, March 9, while on tour in the U.S. Courtesy of Raymond B. Estes
Whatever expectations I had were blown away! I’d heard about how much energy they have and, well, they have enough for 100 people. And they sounded great! Sometimes you prepare for a show and you never really know what a show is going to be like in person. Thalia Hall was a great place to experience them for the first time. I hope more people get out to see them and support these amazingly talented gems. Especially in their home country!
I first met Megan in the lounge room before Meena and MJ joined us. Megan greeted us by offering beverages. I was immediately surprised at how down-to-earth, nice and accommodating she was. I wish the roles were reversed — I felt like I should have been the one offering her a beverage. We sat down for a small chat before Meena and MJ came in.
Many moments stood out during the show. But seeing MJ on the drums was the best! She is a beast! She is about five feet tall (152.4 cm) and has the most incredible stamina. It was amazing and an inspiration to female punk rockers.
Drinking Boys and Girls Choir’s MJ plays the drums during a show at Thalia Hall in Chicago, March 9. Courtesy of Fleurette Estes
You can tell that Meena and MJ have been playing together for over 12 years, but it’s unbelievable to me that this lineup has been together for only a little over a year. Megan has fit in seamlessly and brings a fresh breath of air to the group. The drums were on point, the bass and guitar played well, and the vocals were awesome!
I loved looking at the crowd and seeing their response as they danced and sang to the music. You can also tell that the band was having fun doing their thing.
Witnessing all three members enjoying the moments like playing a sold-out show was inspiring not only to me but to many fans, too.
DBGC had so much energy. Considering they had been on tour for almost two weeks at this point, I was amazed at how vibrant they were. I’ve been following them on social media and being able to see fans across the U.S. excited to be part of their sold-out shows is pretty incredible. They deserve the welcome and recognition for their music and the hard work it took to get them here. And to be an all-woman band paves the way for more women punk rockers not only in South Korea and the U.S. but worldwide.
Fleurette Estes is a Navajo visual artist originally from the Southwest United States now residing in Chicago. Drawn to a variety of subjects, from florals to landscapes, Fleurette celebrates her native cultural background as her main subject. Her work has been shown through four online publications, Dying Scene, Native Hoop, ReGen and Statik Magazines. When she is not photographing, Fleurette enjoys painting, crafting, participating at any of the American Indian Center events and attending live music shows with her husband.
Old fan and friend of the band, Kyle Decker
Smiths founder Morrissey once sang, “We hate it when our friends become successful.” But standing amid a sold-out crowd at Chicago’s 800-capacity Thalia Hall as my good friends and former scene mates DBGC took the stage, nothing felt further from the truth. My heart swelled to the point of bursting. The joy was overwhelming.
While living in Daegu, the city’s music scene was quite literally underground as most of the venues were in basements. Bands came and went at a dizzying rate. Foreigners are on a constant rotation and the Korean men who are of the age at which one typically plays in punk and indie bands get sent to their army conscription. Yet DBGC was and remains a constant. My own band at the time, Food for Worms, played our first show with them at the long-gone Jengiy Collective in September 2014.
I got a chance to meet up with OG members Meena and MJ at Bang Bang Pie and Biscuits for lunch before their Chicago show, and we reminisced about the bands and clubs in Daegu during that era. We recalled defunct clubs like Jengiy and Urban, and the still-active Club Heavy and Led Zeppelin. They filled me in on the renovations at Communes. We discussed bands like Sevendred, Skanking Bunny, Skaleton, Keukryul and The Plastic Kiz — a former project of MJ’s. These days, it seems, the punk scene is them, Meena and MJ, Daegu’s first two punks and last two punks.
While DBGC may struggle to gather people in its hometown, the Windy City showed up en masse. It had been on a 42-day tour across North America with Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver, finally doing what was supposed to happen over three years ago. It has been getting some State-side buzz ever since they played SXSW in 2019, but its jaunts on this side of the pond had yet to bring them to Chicago. And say what you will about this city, it treats bands well. DBGC’s unique plethora of angelic harmonies sung over lightning-fast So Cal-style melodic punk has been warmly embraced by the Midwest’s largest city.
Meena, bassist of Drinking Boys and Girls Choir, performs at Thalia Hall in Chicago, March 9. Courtesy of Fleurette Estes
I happened to mention at a Super Bowl party that some friends of mine from a Korean band were touring with Otoboke Beaver, and someone chimed in, “You know Drinking Boys and Girls Choir!?” When I was standing in the audience on the second night — Chicago needed two nights — someone shouted, “Play ‘Oh My California,’” a song the band has been doing for 12 years. This was a song I’d seen the band play to a room in its local scene that consisted only of the other bands on the bill and the significant others of said bands. And one they’d done the night before, to enthusiastic response.
“We are not in California,” vocalist Meena responded wryly, “we are in Chicago.”
To see hundreds of people go buck-wild to its cover of The Blue Hearts’ “Linda, Linda,” another long-standing part of its set? I nearly cried. This is what the band deserved.
Meena had the audience eating out of her hand like petting zoo ponies. She even dove into the audience to slap some bass amid a circle pit. MJ has always been a beast on the drums, and she’s only gotten faster and more precise. The woman is a blur. And relative newcomer Megan Nisbet brings more guitar prowess than any other member who has cycled through that role. Her chill stage demeanor while shredding solos provided a wonderful juxtaposition to Meena’s wild, audience-baiting antics.
Megan of Drinking Boys and Girls Choir performs during a show at Thalia Hall in Chicago, March 9. Courtesy of Fleurette Estes
The band has made it its mission to show the world that Korean music has more to offer the world than K-pop, although the members will roll their eyes at the “K-punk” label, and the tendency to slap a “K-” on anything coming out of Korea.
It’s been a long road for Daegu’s most resilient punks. But as the band’s first album’s title suggests, the mbmers just “Keep Drinking.” Album #2, “Marriage License,” picked up international buzz and found itself on SPIN’s best of the year list. But these women have their eyes ever forward. They released a new single, “History,” earlier this year. Given that the recording features Nisbet on guitar, the track is a great example of what DBGC will sound like moving forward.
As for their next target? They have their sights set on putting together a headlining tour. And when that day comes, and they pass through Chicago I will gather every punk, skater and fan of great music I can find. Daegu might not fully appreciate what they’ve had sitting under their noises for 12 years, but Chicago does. And it took them less than two nights.
Kyle Decker is a Chicago-based author, educator and punk vocalist. He lived in Daegu from 2013 to 2018, where he fronted the multi-national punk band Food for Worms and co-organized the Once a Month Punk show series. He currently provides vocals for Bad Chemicals, the punk band from his 2023 novel “This Rancid Mill.”
