Punk Band Ditches Olympics for Seoul Gig: Fans Stunned! What Happens Next?!

While the Winter Olympics are blanketing Tadzio Pederzolli's hometown, he'll be thousands of miles away, thankfully. Pederzolli, the frontman of Milanese Hardcore band Golpe, is launching the band's Korea-Japan tour in Seoul. Talk about a change of scenery!

Punk Band Ditches Olympics for Seoul Gig: Fans Stu...

"The more I miss the games, the better it's gonna be. Actually I'm gonna spend almost all month away to skip them as much as possible," Pederzolli told *The Korea Times*. He didn't mince words, expressing his frustration with the event's impact on his home. "It's been five years since they started destroying naturalistic spots and leaving unfinished buildings because of these games to come. Unfortunately a lot of money is involved in these kinds of events and every time something like this is happening in Italy it's a total mess." It's a sentiment I think a lot of people can relate to, honestly. Big events often come with a big price.

The East Asia tour wasn't just thrown together overnight; it's been simmering for a while now. Originally, the focus was solely on Japan, but a Japanese promoter encouraged Pederzolli to spread the hardcore love to Korea. It turns out Garrett, drummer for Korean Hardcore band Slant and owner of the Sinchon live music venue Baby Doll, returned the favor after Pederzolli booked Slant in Italy, by setting up some shows in Korea.

"I was happy that the international connection worked out in both ways. Slant are one of my favorite bands of the past years," Pederzolli said. "I really can't wait and don't know what to expect, I'm pretty excited!" That kind of mutual respect and support is what makes the hardcore scene so special.

A true veteran of Italy's hardcore punk scene, Pederzolli founded Golpe back in 2019 with Luca Calafati. Calafati gets the credit for naming the band. It's a powerful word with multiple meanings. It's the Spanish term for coup d'etat, plus it means punch or strike in several Romance languages, including Italian. Pretty fitting for hardcore, right?

Over time, Calafati's focus shifted, and Pederzolli continued Golpe as a solo project, handling all the songwriting and recording himself. Golpe's sound is raw and politically charged, definitely influenced by D-beat and raw hardcore. Copies of the band's 2021 debut LP, "La Colpa E Solo Tua," even included a one-page political manifesto. Gotta love that commitment.

"When I'm writing lyrics I do my best to use words that could help the reader/listener to awaken to be more careful to several subjects, mostly around the concept of taking responsibility for our everyday actions," Pederzolli explained. "Modern society has made us think that we can always delegate power, actions and responsibilities. We all as human beings should use our intelligence and energy to make this world a better place, or at least not to make it worse." It's a message that definitely resonates in today's world.

While Golpe is mostly a one-man show, Pederzolli relies on collaborators for touring. This tour's lineup will be all Italian, but past lineups have featured musicians from all over – the U.S., Portugal, France, Poland, Sweden, and Russia. That's the beauty of hardcore: it transcends borders.

So, if you're in Seoul this weekend, catch Golpe this Saturday at Baby Doll, along with local bands 13 Steps, Chasm, Beacon, and Years From Now. The show kicks off at 7 p.m., with tickets costing 18,000 won in advance and 25,000 won at the door. Ditch the Olympics and support some real, raw, and politically charged music!