for the love of music
‘First of all, let’s discuss the cover of this album. It’s a cute pale blue with two animated people on it. Ina text balloon a little girl holding a dolly says, “Hook me up!” and a taller boy with a briefcase remarks, “I am Shacho!”
Sound nonsensical? You’re right. Grasping the true meaning of this requires digging much deeper than the surface.
This picture originated in Japan a few years ago. A friend of Mike Park’s quickly sketched out this drawing in what he claimed to be a matter of seconds. He was so impressed with the work that he hung it on the wall of his parents’ garage, home of Asian Man Records. The drawing remains in the same place today.
So, Park asked her to redraw the two people again so that he could use it as his album cover. Gladly, she agreed. This time, though, she added the text bubbles. The girl’s statement may be some sort of inside joke but, as far as Park cared to share, he had no insight on its meaning. Shacho, on the other hand, was a nickname given to him by some friends.
Friendship and love: the two most prominently and still somewhat subliminally displayed emotions on this site. They are also the two motivations in Park’s life and his music. He lives it in his everyday life and sings about it in his songs.
In a sense, they have merged to form something beautiful in these man-and-guitar tunes. As emo – gasp! – as it may sound, Park is simply a man with a good heart placed firmly on his sleeve.
Open your eyes. Open your heart. Open your mind. These are the three prerequisites to fully enjoying “For the Love of Music.”
Of course, there is much more than a message of positive reinforcement on this album. There are 11 solid sing-along quality tracks that have more of a stripped-down-punk-rock feel than a singer-songwriter air to them. Sometimes, though, it’s more about the message than the music but Park brings both to the table.
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