Kim Reviews
I thought I'd archive them here since the Kim band's website isn't current...
Some pics of Kim from a private party, taken by Theo Feng!
Digital City
"Back Story
In 1999, Miss Mia Park started a band with Melissa Urbanski but the two split over creative differences (Urbanski went on to found The Tuffets). Park (drums and vocals) had always dreamed of rocking the stage in an entirely Asian-American girl group, so she began her search. She found Janet Kim (guitar) through a Reader ad and Yanti Arifin (guitar, vocals) through connections in the scene, and the current line-up of Kim was complete. The bass-free band rocks indie-pop, and yes, references to Sleater-Kinney come easily and often, but Kim marks their own turf with catchy hooks, melodic female vocals and driving rhythms that maintain a bubble-gum insouciance against unapologetic, activist assertions.
Playing the Town
''The Abbey has a loud but good sound system. The Hideout is the coziest place to absorb music. If you stand in the right place, the Double Door has good sound, and of course, Schuba's has a rocking sound system, stage monitors too!''
Ones to Watch
''The Baldwin Brothers! Jenny Choi Band, The Ghost, without a doubt? local influences include Chicago's emo scene (Alkaline Trio), pop scene (The Cells) and the most rocking and talented guitarist in Chicago, Andy Hopkins and his band, Mr. Rudy Day... because you can DANCE to that ROCK!''
After-Show
''We like to talk to folks at the venue until closing time then head for home? or White Castle! We prefer to make a whole evening out of rocking out.''
Local Heroes
''Non-musical influences include other Asian-American arts-activists like Quincy Wong (R.I.P.) and Tatsu Aoki. They're mentors. Jake Austen is my (Miss Mia's) 'Chic A Go Go' partner-in-crime and he and his wife, Jackie Stewart, continually inspire me to work with positive energy.''
Rock Candy
Mia drums in Rooted, Tatsu Aoki's big-band jazz project on Asianimprov Records. She is also an actress fortunate to get enough film gigs to make a modest living.
Janet studies computer engineering in UIC's graduate program.
Yanti works a full-time job at an ad agency, while raising a beautiful new-born at home.
Future plans for Kim include a follow-up to the five-song EP they released in 2000, delighting in Yanti's spankin' new baby boy and showing the globe ''that Asian-American women can rock? hard.''
This review is in Korean & I can't really understand it, but I'm so glad to see us reviewed in the mother land!
WLUW "Radio Free Chicago": Best Local Releases of 2002, --Nick's Pick: Kim / Evil Cadillac / New Demo / Self-Released
Illinois Entertainer Around Hear Staff Favorites:
Beginning as a power-pop foursome in 1999, Kim slimmed down to a smarter and tighter-sounding trio.
"The bass-free band rocks indie-pop, and yes, references to Sleater-Kinney come easily and often, but Kim marks their own turf with catchy hooks, melodic female vocals and driving rhythms that maintain a bubble-gum insouciance against unapologetic, activist assertions." -www.digitalcity.com
"...the band members have some pretty good ideas about writing pop music." - New City
"The entire scene was heated up by the music of Kim." - aOnline.com
"Three asian gals from chicago represent with a disc chock full of jam...I popped 'Kim' into my player and was immediately hit back with a catchy riff that pretty much set the tone for the entire EP...these girls know how to get down." -IIStix.com
"Finally, and most importantly, these are the discs that kept me listening; discs that I couldn't just eject from the CD player after a song or two. In the best cases, they're the ones I wanted to play again as soon as they were over.
Kim EP
The members of this quartet arrive bearing impressive pedigrees. Bassist Atsu Nagayama played in the Boredoms and the Prescriptions, and drummer Mia Park hosts the cable TV show "Chic a Go Go!" But those facts and the group's political agenda of challenging the stereotypes of Asian-American women should both be considered footnotes to the real reason Kim is worth your attention: its effervescent, high-energy indie-rock. Accomplished players one and all, the musicians craft intricate "math-rock" arrangements (witness the instrumental "Candy Candy") that are leavened by massively catchy pop hooks, a winning sense of humor and a disarming emotional honesty ("Mortified")."
- Chicago Sun Times
"On top of thier musical prowess, the lyrics of Kim's songs showcase thier songwriting talent." - Koream Journal
"All-Asian, all-female rockers Kim shatter the myth of the timid, submissive Asian woman." - Chicago Tribune
"They rock. This EP hows that this all-female band is on the right track, with melodic vocals and driving rhythms." - AAAMPLITUDE
"You're as likely to find band members teaching seminars on 'sterotype busting' or playing for the National Association of Asian American Professionals as you are to encounter them in a rock club." - Chicago Reader
"Kim, a band that plays chick-generated, melodious yet mind blowing rock music. The kind that delivers like kisses in your ear; you never stop feeling, and you keep thinking...about how kick ass it all feels." - Yellohgirls.com
"If ever a band had a height disadvantage, it's Kim. The female Asian-American trio filled the room with a homer crowd and the air with shards of Sleater-Kinney-inspired post-punk, but the two songs IE caught were spent by the audience in a perpetual side-to-side motion -- once the tall people near the front moved, the rest of us had to adjust. Riot-grrrl wannabes tend to overdo the message and hope their lack of musical ideas can catch up, but Kim played deft songs that showcased a billowing fire and a sense of candied pop when we needed to catch our breath." - Illinois Entertainer