DIY gives us a chance to have a voice.
SVA is: Gerik (guitar), Lillith (bass), Evan (drums), Ethan (vox).
EV: A lot of people assume that DIY shows are a bunch of underage kids doing drugs because unfortunately, pockets of the scene have turned into that over the past few years. But historically, it’s been a place for upcoming musicians to grow and develop professionally.
LIL: It gives opportunities to smaller groups that don’t have the chance to play in venues to develop a lot of experience and gain exposure.
GG: A lot of people see this as a phase, but not everybody has enough money to go to the Forum and spend $40 on a ticket.
ET: If you’re in a DIY band or play DIY shows, people might think you’re automatically a really sh*tty band or you don’t know anything about music. But it’s been proven to me that these musicians can be some of the best you can find.
Every DIY show I’ve been to has had the most insane drummers. And taking shows in other cities gets us out of our bubbles and invested in other communities — we represent Koreatown. That’s our family, the homies. There’s not really a scene around where we’re from, so we’ve always had to travel outside our community for shows. Visiting Riverside was really f*cking cool. There’s some really good bands over there, depending on what genre you’re into.
GG: It’s all East Los or South Central when you represent LA. There’s nothing really punk around East Hollywood or Ktown.
ET: Being a part of the scene has brought a lot of joy to my life. All I mainly do is skate and work – this gives me an outlet to relax, chill, and have fun with everybody instead of always worrying so much about rent and bills.
EV: It’s a great creative outlet. I go f*cking crazy when I’m not doing anything with music; I’m either super overwhelmed with what I got going on since I’m in 3 bands, or I’m like holy sh*t, I’m not doing anything right now.
LIL: I’ve felt a lot better mentally after playing shows with my band members. Showcasing new bands is so important and DIY is the place for these bands to start.
GG: Everyone at these shows comes out to escape our natural lives, get our aggression out, have fun. It’s not always about getting fucked up, we all have our sh*t head phases. It’s all about peace and love. F*ck the fighting. The kids will be alright, they are alright.
We do what we do, play what we want to play, and hear what we want to hear.
