The War Lovers / Courtesy of The War Lovers
By Jon Dunbar
The War Lovers, a two-piece street punk/oi! band from Syracuse, New York, is coming to Korea this month for only one show.
“We are actually spending Tet (Vietnamese New Year) in Ho Chi Minh City. We decided that since we’ll be closish to Korea, we should try to go to some shows, and possibly play a show,” Jamie Pickslide, guitarist/lead vocalist of The War Lovers, told The Korea Times. “We really love the type of punk rock that is coming out of that area. We have been fans of bands like Pogo Attack, Rux, the Rumkicks and various other Korean punk bands for years.”
U.S. punk band The War Lovers / Courtesy of The War Lovers
The duo will get a chance to share the stage with a couple of those bands on Feb. 24, when they’ll play a show at Club Steel Face with scene legends Rux and pogo punk supergroup Pogo Attack, as well as the recently resurrected Spiky Brats, “death punk disco band” 18Fevers and Busan band Stoned.
“The guys in Pogo Attack have been awesome in helping us,” Jamie added.
The War Lovers was formed in 2018 by Jamie and Thao Crash, his wife, on drums. Having just the two of them in the band certainly keeps things simple, from figuring out schedules to airfare to reach far-flung countries like Korea.
“Thao and I had both been in bands before, with up to as many as seven members,” Jamie said. “We wanted to simplify and really make a raw sound without any fanciness. We’ve had the same goal since day one: do as much as we can with just ourselves, keeping it simple, raw, pure, passionate. It’s much easier to do that with just two people.”
The band gets its name from “The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898,” a 2010 nonfiction book by Evan Thomas that focuses on U.S. actions leading up to and during the Spanish-American War of 1898.
“The book is a historical look at how the United States uses war as a way to unify itself,” Jamie said. “After the U.S. Civil War, the country was very divided, and as a way to patch things up, we created a common enemy, and went to war against Spain. It was (unfortunately) successful, and the U.S. has been using the same imperialistic tactics since the 1890s. It’s an antiquated practice that only leads to hyper-nationalism and borderline fascism.”
The covers of four albums by The War Lovers / Courtesy of The War Lovers
The cover of their debut album, “Punk is a War,” weighs in on this in a way that most Koreans will notice: it contains a Japanese imperial flag motif. But Jamie expects this won’t trigger a controversy in Korea. “If you look closely at the rising sun image on our album, it is burned and destroyed, with yellow stains like someone pissed on it,” he pointed out.
The War Lovers’ sound is reminiscent of The Virus, Lower Class Brats, Anti-Nowhere League and The Exploited, bands that don’t get namedropped in Korea’s scene enough these days.
Their latest album, “Chaos Chaos Chaos” released last November, ranges between silly, fun punk songs to songs tackling heavy themes like warfare, racism and authoritarianism.
The song “I Only Like Punk” is a fun song about hating all other types of music. It includes an interlude in which people from around the world shout the song title in their own language, with Korean contributed by Yeawon, frontwoman of the Rumkicks.
“Yeawon was very kind to contribute her voice to us,” Jamie said. “We have a ton of friends all over the place, and want everyone to be recognized. There is a camaraderie in punk that transcends language, and we thought this was a good way to show that.”
Meanwhile, the track “Saigon” looks at the Vietnam War from many angles and how it only destroyed lives. The song “Punk and Anarchy” confronts racism and anti-immigration opposition.
“The world is fucked up, and punk is around because the world is fucked up. If the world was all great and happy, there would be no need for punk,” Jamie said. “With all this said, The War Lovers is not a political band — we are about having fun with our friends and telling it how we see it.”
Thao Crash, drummer of U.S. punk band The War Lovers, gets lifted up at a show. Courtesy of The War Lovers
Jamie speaks — and sings — about war and militarism with contempt, but with the contempt of one who’s been there and seen it for himself, not just some basement anarchist. He himself spent four years in the U.S. Navy from 2008 to 2012.
“I had gotten in some legal trouble in 2007, and was given a chance to expunge my record by going into the military for four years,” he admitted. “I am staunchly against imperialism, militarism and war. But in my military service I did a lot of traveling, learned a lot about the world and made some life-long friends.”
The two members of The War Lovers pose with a big group of friends at a show in Rochester, New York. Courtesy of The War Lovers
He spent most of those four years stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, and said he had been directly involved in the rescue and cleanup operations following the 2011 Sendai earthquake/tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster.
“I am proud that I got to help, at least a little bit,” he added.
During his time in the Navy, he also had a few opportunities to visit Korea, so this will be a return visit of sorts.
“I loved everything I saw while I was there and promised myself to visit again as a civilian,” Jamie said. “Playing in Korea isn’t about traveling to a different country, it is about meeting more punks. We feel that our style is greatly influenced by not only our personal experiences but in seeing other musicians. We have a strong belief that punk rock is stronger than any nationalities or country borders. Punk is a worldwide culture.”
Visit linktr.ee/thewarlovers to find out more about the band.