Victor Ha shows off zines available for purchase at Spin and Grind in western Seoul's Sinchon area, Feb. 22. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar
Spin and Grind, a new music and skate shop, pulled off the loudest, hardest soft open in the history of soft opens in western Seoul's Sinchon area on Feb. 15. Following a vinyl record fair organized by Record Threat, four bands played the heaviest music that could be heard anywhere in Korea that night.
Tables and racks were moved aside and drums were brought in, transforming the tiny second-floor store temporarily into a hardcore punk venue.Desecrate, a hardcore band from Montreal, headlined the show for the final stop on their Asia tour, joined by local acts Palecistus, Second Damage and Cutt Deep.
"The space is very small for a band performance, but I thought it would be possible," said Victor Ha, the shop owner. "One of my favorite shelves was damaged, but as the first hardcore show in the new space, I couldn’t have asked for more — it was completely satisfying."
Only 20 tickets were available, and those who didn't get one either had to go home or stand out front. Counting musicians, up to about 40 people crammed into the small space. Between the racks of LPs, skateboard decks andkendamas, there was a frenzy of moshing, two-stepping, and even stage diving and crowd surfing.
Canadian hardcore band Desecrate performs during a soft opening event for Spin and Grind in western Seoul's Sinchon area, Feb. 15. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar
It was a legendary start for Ha's latest endeavor. Spin and Grind, as the name implies, focuses mainly on vinyl records and skateboard equipment, but a lot more is available, including kendamas, local zines, band shirts and various other merch.
Out of view was a button-making machine that he uses for a project he callsButton King, through which he has helped accessorize the country's underground music scene for years. Ha said he often receives massive orders for thousands of customized pins, but he also has good deals for his friends' bands looking to offer their own merch.
Spin and Grind is the successor to his previous store, Look Beyond, which was located in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, until it closed last month.
"Cheonan didn’t have enough demand to sustain a space centered on skate culture, record culture and live shows — especially hardcore and punk," Ha said. "I knew that eventually I would have to move to Seoul, but it took the right timing and the determination to make it happen."
Source: Korea Times News
