The voyage eastward has opened our eyes to the history and traditions of our beloved country, largely through the means of folk music. The moment we landed at Providence, Rhode Island, we shuffled our way to Boston. We started our two-day, sporadic tour of Boston at the Common. We visited the sites of Park Street Church, Granary Burying Ground (the resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including signers of the Declaration of Independence), The Boston Massacre, the home of Paul Revere, and Faneuil Hall. Walking through these sites, you could almost feel the passion and intensity of revolutionary past. Seeing the aged-grounds of history brought to life the dedication and sacrifice of many patriots. We were in awe of how much historical depth we were seeing with our own eyes from the brick buildings and cobble-stone alleyways in Boston to the lighthouses along the Rhode Island coast. Below are several pictures from our tour.
The Paul Revere House
Built 1680
Owned by Paul Revere 1770-1800
Faneuil Hall
Built 1724
Served as the first town hall in Boston and during
the years leading up to the American Revolution.
Lyrics to the patriotic song 'America'
in Park Street Church
To top off our trip, we attended a two-day folk music revival at Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island. And let me just tell you, our toupes were blown right off! From the earthy melodies of Brown Bird, the rootsy-richness of Spirit Family Reunion, to the heart-warming performance of 'This Land is Your Land' by the Guthrie Family Reunion (descendents of legendary American singer-songwriter and folk musician Woodie Guthrie), we soaked in the creative folk juices like a dry sponge laying out on the dry summer roads of Temecula...
So, after the weekend of musical mayhem, we asked ourselves: What is folk music and what does it mean to us?
First off, folk music is a traditional musical style used to story-tell the emotional and visual observations of the life of a community. In other words, it's a way to express one's life into a simple rhythm and melody that is understandable to the neighbor. In this modern day, it causes the listener to pause from the hustle and bustle of his or her metropolis to get back to the roots of life. Folk is story-telling at its purest, raw and unfiltered.
For the band, the wider exposure to this genre has opened a door to connecting the rich heritage of our Korean background to the equally rich heritage of our cherished country of the United States of America. Being Korean-Americans, we'd like to interweave our ethnic identities into the music we create and perform in hopes of taking our listeners on an emotional, historical, and educational journey to the past and present. The trip has been a stepping stone for us as a band. It'll be interesting to see where we go from here.
Thanks for tuning in and happy folkin'.
Newport Folk Festival 2012
View of the Newport Bay
The Band
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