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Korea Girl | |
|---|---|
| Origin | San Jose, California |
| Years active | 1996-1999 |
| Past members | Elizabeth Yi, Tobin Mori, Summer Farnese, Mark Duarte, Scott Landucci |
Korea Girl was an American indie rock band from San Jose, California. The band's members included Elizabeth Yi on vocals and guitar, Tobin Mori on guitar, vocals, and keyboard, Summer on electric bass guitar and Marc Duarte on drums. The name was suggested by a female friend of Mori's after he told her he was "jamming with this Korean girl". [1] They formed in January 1996 and then broke up in 1999 after Tobin Mori left the band due to disagreements. [2] [3] The group received a Bammie (Bay Area Music Award) nomination in 1997 for Outstanding Independent Album. [4]
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Jennifer Yee and Che Chou both later joined the band temporarily, but neither appear on any of the group's recordings. [1] [5] Mori and Chou went on to play together in Ee. Scott Landucci later replaced Duarte on drums. Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu was also briefly a member of the band. [6]
They released a demo cassette shortly after forming in March 1996. [7] They released one CD (Korea Girl in 1997; re-released in 1999 with additional bonus tracks) and one 7" (Reunion in 1997) on Asian Man Records, and they appear on various Asian Man compilations. Korea Girl was declared Album of the Year in 1997 by Santa Clara University radio station KSCU. [8] The album was re-released again in 2023 by Los Angeles indie label 7th Heaven. [9]
Korea Girl's music was described as generally melodic and understated, featuring both male and female vocals and using clean and undistorted guitars in the manner of such earlier indie rock groups as Blake Babies. Mori describes being inspired by Pavement's "Slanted and Enchanted" during the recording process. [9] A 1999 review for In Music We Trust called it "sweet indie-pop that also contains enough energy to wrestle with the rockers, while never losing any sincerity or emotions contained in the soft moments [...] It is sweet, innocent, and very gentle, without being too soft". [10]
