We get it, especially in the climate that you based in the US are in. Especially in Florida. I'd be lying if I said this name was not meant to jerk some knees. However, just like a good joke, context is everything. China is ethnocentric, even to its own “citizens,” including Uyghur Muslims, Mongolians, Tibetans and over 50 other ethnic groups, all of whom are treated as 2nd class citizens to the H
an majority. It's a sad truth. We, being expat musicians, are treated as such in the Chinese music industry, often being segregated to different stages and different procedures for booking gigs, and different rule sets by the Ministry of Culture. So, though we lovingly call China home for over a decade, we see it's not perfect by any stretch, and try to show this through our music, lyrics, performances, and by our very name. We call ourselves Round Eye because we are constantly ostracized for being different. We are very much influenced by the social criticisms and artistic approaches of bands like DEVO and Bu****le Surfers, and so we decided to take the tongue-firmly-in-cheek method and nipped the name right in the bud. Yes we're foreigners, yes we're the round eyes, yes we're not Chinese. Now what? Our name is not merely racial, like an Asian band calling themselves the Slants or a black band calling themselves Whole Wheat Bread. Here in China we are continuously referred to as outsiders. It's not by the English word "Round Eye" but rather by it's Chinese equivalent: 老外 which is a dismissive, rather derogatory term used for foreigners by the Chinese, or worse 鬼佬 (ghost), 白皮猪 (white pig). In the early days, they simply referred to us as “this foreign band” or “band of foreigners” rather than by our band name. Not everyone, mind you, but enough to notice. Besides, as expats, we always have the idea of expulsion dangling over our heads…
We aren't making fun of anyone's race. We are making fun of ourselves and the system that only foreign artists operate under and deal with every time we step out of our hutongs and play a gig on Chinese soil. Obviously no one likes to be laughed at. If you go beyond our name you'd see that our aim is trueIt's part of the punk rock tradition. The Slits were an intelligent band of females. It points out the obvious so everyone can move on to what actually makes you unique: the art. We've fought and played hard in a country where counter culture is as out of place as chopsticks in an Olive Garden. There is a lot of anger and frustration in Round Eye, as with any punk band, and we've learned to accept and celebrate our "foreign-ness" and use it as a unique perspective in our song writing. Our last album was a f**k you to Trump and his cult. Our current album (produced by Mike Watt and Bill Stevenson and released by Joe Sh****ad of DOA, all of whom are pretty left in their political leanings) is a direct f**k you to XJP's China and the Communist Party. We see the humor in all of what's happened in the last 10 years and we see the humor in our roles in this comedy. As strange as it is, China is our home and we have 4 countries (USA, Italy, Gabon, and Ireland) represented in this band. I speak English, Spanish, and Mandarin fluently (working very very hard on the last one haha). We have Chinese wives, friends, and family. Still, China is a problematic country. The USA is a problematic country. That won't stop us from trying to lift a mirror to both sides, scream, and take a good look and learn to laugh at ourself and our shortcomings. We aren't punching down, but nor are we punching up. In the grand punk rock tradition, we're beating you to the punch, and punching ourselves. That way, we can all get the threatened violence out of the way and move on to the actual dialogue. Dialogue…with guitars!
“It’s probably safe to say that you’ve never heard punk that sounds like Round Eye.” - Liz Tung, Time Out Shanghai
"Round Eye,plays some of the most insane experiment sax-laden punk music ever. We’re at the halfway point for 2015 and it still may be a little early to be making this call but Round Eye may really be album of the year material." - John Naessig, Surviving the Golden Age
"I can’t tell if Round Eye are authentically freaks, or if they just tried so hard to be freaky that the accidentally became true freaks, but regardless of their journey, they’ve arrived at their destination." - Yellow Green Red
“While China is hardly an apt place from which to lob brickbats against abuse of power, Round Eye’s critique is nonetheless dead-on in its depiction of the US right wing’s paranoid fantasies about Muslims, g**s, the urban underclass, and non-white people.” - Ron Kretsch, Dangerous Minds
"Politics aside, it’s [Monstervision] the group’s most ambitious album to date, expanding their Minutemen/Stooges/doo-wop/free jazz freakout into further territories, from Oingo Boingo new wave to God Bullies noise rock to Bu****le Surfers psychedelic insanity, making for a completely unpredictable album that exists on its own plane of genius. Meet the best punk album of the year, narrated by horror movie host/legend Joe Bob Briggs – really!. - Chuck Foster, The Big Takeover
“All I know is Round Eye takes the torch passed down from the Reagan-era boom-time punks (they kinda meld Biafra snot with gut-punch early Flag in this one [Greg Ginn is also a past Round Eye collaborator]), and use it to burn churches, and flags, and — whatever,these guys already said it best: “Round Eye is a Communist China loving anti-American rock band that will make you sick.” - VidMAX” - Josh Feola, Tiny Mix Tapes
"How can I describe Round Eye's music? It’s a madcap barrage of experimental punk tinged with jazz, metal, whatever and a reckless regard for normal... And it’s insanely brilliant." - Matt Dangerfield (The Boys)
"Old-school meets the present as hardcore punk comes comes "Full Circle" — a blistering collaboration of the American crew Libyan Hit Squad and Shanghai's Round Eye with legendary Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn on the title track. Ni Hao, this record could forever change East-West relations!"
— Steven Blush, author/filmmaker, American Hardcore
“ This stuff is just all over the place enough to make it work.” - Razorcake (US)
"... Round Eye sure sounds like just the revolution we need." - Bill Adams, Ground Control Magazine
