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81 h o t b e d f o r m u S i c For a small city, Jeonju has a thriving music scene. One venue that gets its fair share of expat customers is Radiostar, owned by Park In-yeol. In the few years it has been open, the watering hole has become a hub for people to drink, play music and generally have a good time. You don’t need to have a band, as the Jeonju Rock Lottery demonstrates: On those nights, the venue offers free license to use the stage and accompanying instruments, with bands created and bonds formed in the process. “One thing (Jeonju) has more than any other city I’ve played in is diver- sity. No two bands here are alike, and they’re all full of talented and pas- sionate musicians,” says Spencer LoSchiavo, lead singer of local band Asleep Without Dreaming. “Recent- ly, we’ve also had an explosion of new bands coming out, like Harder Than Walking, an awesome new for- eigner band. I feel lucky to be in a city where I can go to the same place every weekend and see a completely different show every time.” AWD, formed in 2010, is one of the more successful groups to come out of the city. The band has toured all over Korea and LoSchiavo points to the Jarasum Jazz Festival as a partic- ular highlight: “It was a great moment for me. We played in front of a crowd of at least a thousand people going absolutely crazy for us. I felt a lot of love from that moment and I’ll never forget it.” While AWD tours all over Korea, their music never strays too far from home. “Jeonju reminds us of our humble beginnings. Our music is quite simple and any time we’ve tried to venture away from that style, it’s never quite worked.” They may well have had humble beginnings, but the rest of their story is anything but. In addition to a regular tour schedule, they have appeared on KBS and JTV and released their debut CD, “Forever Endeavor.” Work on the follow-up is underway. ‘i feel lucky to be in a city where i can go to the same place every weekend and see a completely different show every time.’ spencer loschiavo, asleep without dreaming lead singer