◆ Royal Pirates, Dreaming of the “Beatles”
When asked on the subject of rivals they said “My own self.” Even if they get upset in this musical competition, they want to enjoy their time together and try out lots of different types of music. They didn’t start out with the thought “Let’s become superstars” in mind. They have a dream to just make music together, to go on tour with playful hearts. The boys also said, “We also want to go overseas and meet our fans and let them listen to our music.” For the next album they want to be involved directly in the lyric making process.
“I think that the next album will have a lot of our own color in the lyrics. I also want to directly write my own lyrics, as I originally like to. For next time, it would be great if people can say that “Ah, so Sooyoon/Moon/James write these types of songs.” We want to show something similar to the Beatles but with our own song and preferences. We want to be like the Beatles. They are every band’s role-models and that it our greatest dream.”
If
that’s the case, then what is Royal Pirates’ competitive edge? Sooyoon
says, “An understanding of multinational cultures? There are a lot of
people who are good at English but I think that since all our members
speak English and understand the culture it can become a benefit for us.
If you are good at English but don’t understand the culture, then it
can be hard to understand the humor and adapt, but doesn’t it come down
to knowing both Korea and America well?” The members adopted serious
expressions while thinking about their own personal charms. While
listing their personal charming points you can really feel the
liveliness of this new band.
“Without needing embellishments, I have a natural charm. I also have a manly charm.” (Moon)
“As a band that was born into itself rather than being made it can be boring but… it’s like a brotherhood.” (Sooyoon)
“This started out as our hobby. We did this because we fell for music. Our personal roles or color. When composing we can do it with our own color. I think that’s a big charm.” (James)
“It’s not perfect but looking at it personally I think being imperfect is beautiful. We ourselves are not perfect, and it can be a disadvantage but also a benefit. I hope that our characters can come out for such a place.” (Moon)
◆ Royal Pirates, Our Real Personalities~
The three guys are living in the dorms and have become tuned to each other, revealing that there are many things that go on. One thing that drew attention, was that before working on this album there was an incident in which their producer broke his arm. “We went to play basketball and within two minutes that hyung broke his arm,” they said. They brought flowers and visited him in the hospital but before that there’s the story of watching his arm be put back together.
“I went with our manager and the other members to visit him in the hospital but we all couldn’t stand to watch. But Moon opened his eyes so round and he watched them put his arm back into place. You can hear the producer screaming ‘Euack~’. With that sound you can feel how much pain he was in but Moon watched all of it.” (James)
To this Moon reveals, “Actually I like things like the horror movie “Saw”. We go to the emergency room often. When we were training in America Sooyoon got tonsillitis and we went to the emergency room. A week after that we were practicing and I was going to spin my guitar but I hit James’ brow
and he needed seven stitches.” They have a ‘tough guy’ personality.
So how are the member’s real personalities? Member Moon says of himself that he is a bit slow, optimistic, and has a laid-back personality. Sooyoon says he is sharp but has a geeky side. “I‘m quiet… and you can’t quite tell what sort of character I am.” James is “genial and friendly and (has) a lot of friends. I am active and diligent. I get up early in the morning to exercise and hate being late for schedules- It gives me stress. I’m a bit of an opposite from the other two. They’re more free.”
It’s because of this that they needed time to understand each other. But after living together for four years they’re getting to know each other and think they’re well suited. Moon expressed, “I’m the type to say things with no hesitation. Sometimes I say things jokingly but James is the sensitive type and takes it seriously. That’s why I think we needed time to get used to each other. Nowadays he hears the fun in it and we get each other.”
◆ Young boys in their 20s who like A Wild Camomile, History of the Three Kingdoms, and Exercising?
When asked if there was any celebrity they wanted to meet, Moon replied with actor Moon Chaewon. James answered that he likes the actors Hwang Jungmin and Park Shinhye. As for Sooyoon, he wants to meet actor Lee Byunghun and A Wild Camomile (band). Sooyoon was a bit boastful as he explained, “I like A Wild Camomile. By chance I met Jeon Inkwon-sunbaenim in Hongdae. Because I’m a fan I greeted him, and he had a lot of presence. He told me to ‘work hard’.”
Their manager reveals that Moon is a Samgukji enthusiast, saying “He’s a history buff, a samgukji buff.” “I have Samgukji mania. I’ve read almost all versions and have even read the manhwa versions. I think I’ve read anything and everything related to the Samgukji. Every writer has his or her own interpretation, it’s interesting. Novels are good, but I recommend Yi Munyol’s Samgukji and the manhwa “ChangCheon Passage/蒼天航路/Souten Kouro”. “It holds the meaning that ‘under this blue sky I will make and walk my own path’ and the main character of the manhwa is Jojo. Sometimes at home I look at history’s strongest Jangsu (of Goguryeo). When I see it, it’s interesting and sad.” (Moon)
James likes to exercise everyday for about three to four hours. Sooyoon doesn’t like to exercise but recently has taken a liking to it. “There was a lot of time spent just waiting to debut so I wondered ‘what am I doing’. I started exercising and felt ‘so this is what it’s like to be alive’. It helped my mental health.”
In light of this James says that Sooyoon’s body is good, surprisingly remarking, “If Sooyoon focuses on exercising, after two months his body can be in top shape. His DNA is good. His parents are in good shape even now, and his father was an athlete.” Sooyoon surprised us by disclosing that his father was a judo athlete and his mother was a volleyball athlete. But Sooyoon laughs, saying, “I have no interest in exercising.”
The Royal Pirates think that they still have a lot more overseas fans, remembering the fans who came to watch them perform in the club, and especially the ones dressed up as pirates and wielding swords. They gained a sense of responsibility for the fans that came especially for each member and James, who reveals that he wanted to show a proud appearance told fans and shyly greeted them with “thank you very much”.
“We want to try winning first place. You have to dream big, right? If you hold big dreams, I think you’ll live big. When we first said we would start the band it seemed like we catch the clouds floating around us… it’s like we’re catching those clouds now. Even though they’re floating, with hard work and dreams we can catch them, right?”
