For my latest Korea Times article, I interviewed Hahn Dae Soo and looked back at his life and career and his reflections on recent losses in his life, including the sudden passing of his wife. I’m honoured he reached out to me for what is his first long-form interview in four years.
Not everything could be included in the final, published interview, so here is much of what was left out:
In response to me asking if he’d ever met Kim Jung-ho (1952-1985), he answered:
I love Kim Jung-ho. He’s my favorite. Very sincere and very sad and also, he was very sick and tragedy was big part of his life. I was glad that he included my song, “land of happiness” in his monumental first album. No, he did not get my permission, haha. But I am glad he sang my song before he passed away. I never met him, because I was in the navy when he was active in music scene at the time. I truly wish that I had met him and had a dish of makgeolli.
As for his favorite music, he wrote,
The only time I cry is when I listen to music. Johan Sebastian Bach made me cry with “Passacaglia And Fugue,” Wagner made me cry with his overtures, especially “Tannhauser,” and of course, my main man, Beethoven, every symphony and every concerto, and the Fifth and the last, the Ninth. Rock wise, I would have to say, I love John Lennon - every song is a therapy session. 1. Nowhere Man 2. Mother 3. Watching The Wheels 4. Woman 5. Imagine 6. Jealousy Guy 7. Losing You
His favorite film directors and writers?
I love directors Stanley Kubrick, Fassbinder, Kurosawa, Coppola, many, many more. For writers, Shelly, Edgar Ellen Poe, Jack Kerouac, Samuel Beckett and my favorite, Oscar Wilde.
What was his most memorable performance?
I would say “Fukuoka live” and “Hahn Dae Soo rebirth at L/G Arts Center”. These had really great responses and the band, the promotion staff, and sound engineers were perfect. At Fukuoka, Kim Do-kyun and Hachi were double lead guitarists, and Lee Woo-chang was the pianist, and Lee Sang-eun was my chorus (she volunteered and flew over to Japan on one day’s notice).
At the L/G concert, we had a number called, “4G” meaning 4 lead guitarists. Kim Do-kyun, Sohn Moo-hyun, Shin Dae-chul and Kim Mok-kyung. They all did the lead guitar parts on my song, “If you want me to,” and I myself was so moved that I cried during my singing. It was a song to urge the woman to love me, if she wants to, and the four guitarists just cried out their desire and emotions with their incredible guitar solos. Wow, the audience went wild, because they have never understood the power of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck or Steve Vai (whom I performed with at the Busan International Rock Festival 20 years ago).
He also listed the top five concerts he ever attended:
5. David Bowie’s Heroes tour at Madison Square Garden, around 1980? Great performance and fashion. He had the crowd so enthralled that I thought the garden was going to crash, as the mezzanine was swaying too much and I had to push my wife out the door, afraid that the whole concert hall was going to collapse. Great show and really his career climax.
4. Iggy Pop at Long Beach, California. His voice and the band just were so powerful and loud, I lost my hearing for two days. Iggy is craaazy, just completely out of control and this was what the fans want, a rock star gone berserk. Peanut butter all over his body, sticking violin bow between his legs. Leaping into the crowd and the fans lifting him up like a godly crusader. But, never mind the antics, as a musician myself, I adore his incredible, powerful baritone voice. Really great voice. And the band was just “kick ass.” That is why he is a great rocker!
3. Jean Michel Jarre at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, 2017. Mesmerizing, full synthesizer sound with digital light show, spectacular. Unlike other rock shows, he was introducing a whole new world of synthesizer sound that can rock you, almost as good as Jimi Hendrix! Wow!
2. Paul Butterfield Blues Band at Cafe Au Go Go in New York City in 1967. It was mesmerizing. My very first blues concert, and Paul with his harmonica just blew my mind. To add to that, Mike Bloomfield's guitar was so dramatic and sad. The whole show was top notch. Paul became the first and most important white blues artist. He paved the way for Allman Bros, Eric Clapton, etc. I become nostalgic, when I think of Paul and Mike. They died early. Paul at 44 and Mike at 37. Too young, so very young.
1. Tina Turner at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. She was powerful, she was crazy, and she was hypnotic!!! When she first stepped on the stage in high heels and a mini skirt and belted out “Proud Mary,” that was it! The crowd went wild. She suffered a lot from the abuses of her late husband, Ike, with beatings and not even giving her the fair share of their income, when she was the only singer. She came back to the rock and roll kingdom with vengeance. I consider Tina Turner as the ultimate rocker. God bless you, Tina.
Two of the worst concerts I have ever seen in my life:
2. King Crimson Town Hall, New York City, around 1989. I was a die-hard King Crimson fan, and loved their albums, but the singer, Adrian Belew, was a real poser with no substance. The leader, Robert Fripp, was sitting on his chair like a professor, with no emotion. It was the boringest one and a half hours I have ever experienced.
1. The worst concert I have ever seen was Bob Dylan at Jones Beach around 1997. This guy was not singing but teasing us. He did not remember his lyrics and he was off tune most of the time, while the band tried so hard to keep it up. What an ass. The many hits he has, he was mocking them. You could not recognize which hit he was singing, until you found a little piece of a refrain. Terrible, Mr. Dylan. You only love your money and you think you are a legend. He took the money and ran back to Malibu.
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