Interview with Dead Buttons

KoME had the opportunity to conduct an interview with Dead Buttons while the band is touring in the UK. The Seoul-based duo plays a fine rock 'n' roll with hints of blues, country, rockabilly and many other flavors.

Dead Buttons shared their thoughts about the UK tour and their album Whoever you are. Also, you can check a live performance of Baby, Please Be Youserlf for Balcony TV at the end of this interview.


Could you please introduce yourselves and explain the meaning behind the name Dead Buttons?

Ji Hyun: Hi, we’re the Seoul rock ‘n’ roll duo Dead Buttons. We started our band in 2012. I play guitar and Kang Hee plays drums. We released our first EP, Whoever You Are back in February and now we’re in the middle of a UK tour! It’s nice to meet you!

Kang Hee: As for our name, well, there’s no meaning behind it. We like bands like Dead Kennedys and The Dead Weather so we wanted to choose a moniker with that included the word “dead". We originally picked Dead Buttons as just a temporary name, but then we couldn't think of anything that we thought sounded better so it stuck permanently.


How do you feel about touring in the UK so far? How different is it from performing in South Korea?

Kang Hee: We’re having a blast so far. I really loved Liverpool. It was an amazing place. Playing there has been the best moment of my life so far as a musician.

Ji Hyun: Liverpool was really good. We just arrived in London and are excited about playing here, in Bristol and in Southampton over the next few days. As for the shows we've done so far, they haven’t been any different from our gigs in South Korea. We played hard and with a lot of energy and the audience at Liverpool Sound City reacted great, just like crowds behave at our concerts back home.

One thing that is different about touring, though, is that more equipment is needed here. In South Korea, all of the live clubs have amps and drums for the bands to use. But in the UK bands have to bring their own.


Do you have any special memories from this tour so far? Have you had time to do any sightseeing?

Kang Hee: We met a really old couple who looked like they were the same age as my grandparents. They were at Liverpool Sound City and were looking for new bands to see. And they actually recommended a few bands for me to check it. I can’t imagine anything like that ever happening in Korea. As for sightseeing, we went to the Walker Art Gallery and St John's Gardens in Liverpool. I tried to go to The Beatles museum too but I arrived too late and it was closed.

Ji Hyun: We've been able to make some new friends so far, which is great. Meeting and hanging out with new people is always a good memory for me.


Witch has a heavy sound and the intro reminds a little bit the famous punk rock band Ramones. On the other hand, Baby, Please Be Yourself has a completely different sound. On your Facebook page, it lists your influences as rockabilly, punk rock, country music and Delta blues. How these influences fit in your composing process?

Ji Hyun: We both listen to a wide range of music and have been influenced and inspired by countless artists from many different genres. At our core, we’re a rock ‘n’ roll band but we like to flesh out our songs with bits and pieces of all the other things we like to give the songs their own unique flavors and make them more fun to play.


Please, could you give a message to our readers?

Kang Hee: Thanks so much to KoME for interviewing us and to everyone for reading about Dead Buttons. We’re going to be releasing a few new singles over the coming months. Please keep an eye out for them. We promise you’ll like what you hear! We’ll be finishing our UK tour this week with concerts in Bristol, Southampton and London. If you’re in the area, please come see us and let’s have fun together! We hope to see you all in England, Korea or somewhere else in the world soon!





We would like to thank Dead Buttons and Shawn Despres for their time and to make this interview possible.