"It Was So Loud He Threw Up": Dragon Pony Recalls You Hee Yul's First Band Rehearsal [Interview①]

"Our CEO told us about his first band rehearsal," Ko Gang Hun said. "He said everyone was focused only on their own playing, and nothing came together. It was so loud that he ended up throwing up."

That anecdote, shared by You Hee Yul, CEO of Antenna, inspired part of a new song by Korean band Dragon Pony.

Dragon Pony members An Tae Gyu, Kwon Se Hyuk and Ko sat down for an interview at the K-POPIT office in Seoul's Jung District on Nov. 3 to discuss the inspiration behind their new single, "Calling back."

The single features two songs: the title track of the same name and "Back when we were young." You collaborated with the members on the lyrics for the latter track.

"Back when we were young" came together as the members revisited their early approach to making music together.

"The idea was to try writing songs the way we used to, by jamming together," An said.

"Our CEO told us about his first band rehearsal," Ko Gang Hun said. "He said everyone was focused only on their own playing, and nothing came together. It was so loud that he ended up throwing up."

Ko explained that they wanted to recapture the feelings they had as trainees.

"We decided to write a song together while jamming," he said. "Maybe because we were in sync, the music naturally took on a British rock sound."

As they developed the melody, the phrase "back when we were young" came to mind.

"It fit the melody so well that we felt we had to keep it," Ko said. "From there, we built the song around the excitement of the first band practice of a new school year."

The theme was personal to the members, who all attended a music high school. Ko and Kwon were classmates and played in the same band during their first year. They have continued making music together ever since.

"There's a line in the lyrics about 'clumsy playing,'" Ko said. "I also listened to Tae Gyu's story and wrote it while thinking about what we were like back then."

You's memories of his first band rehearsal provided another source of inspiration.

"His story stayed with me," Ko said. "It reminded me of how nervous we were and how we tried too hard for no reason. I wrote the line 'trying too hard because I didn't want to look discouraged,' and his story inspired it."

You also praised the song's sound.

"I made a synthesizer sound and sent it to him, and he told me it was 'old-fashioned and cool,'" Ko said.

Kwon added, "We were aiming for a retro sound, so I was happy that he recognized what we were going for."

The members also reflected on how their approach to music has changed since their school days.

"When we listen to music together and discuss what to use as a reference, we now pay more attention to the characteristics of the sound and the finer details," An said.

Their confidence on stage has also grown.

"Back then, we didn't know much and were very nervous," An said. "Now I feel we've improved a lot in how we perform, connect with the audience and encourage them to respond."

Dragon Pony will hold solo concerts on Dec. 5 and 6 at Blue Square Woori WON Banking Hall in Seoul's Hannam-dong.

"We plan to perform the songs from the new single live for the first time at our solo concerts," Kwon said. "We're preparing something that will give the audience a new experience, different from our previous shows."

Dragon Pony's new single, "Calling back," will be released on Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. KST.