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and in college, I met an American guy and actually I moved because I was once married to that
guy. So I came here, had a day job almost until I turned 30, and that's when I started playing
music like publicly.

BiTS: Your normal home is in Rochester, New York. Is that right?

HPK: So far it has been, but I'm just in the process of moving to Louisiana.

BiTS: You're going to move permanently?

HPK: I think so. Yeah, I think I'm about to make
Kenny Neal
it official. It's been a process because it's a big
change because I've been in Rochester for so

long and I actually really love it there. So I've
been taking my time to make this move happen
by just travelling back and forth a lot, but for
many reasons and also for legal reasons, I have
to make a decision at some point, and I'm very
close to making it official. Like this coming week
official.

BiTS: I think you've been playing a series of gigs
in Baton Rouge over the last few weeks. Is that
right?

HPK: Yeah, so that's one of the trials I've been
doing, try to really feel around is this really what
I want to do?

BiTS: Kenny Neal was the producer of your last
record, which I want to talk to you about in just
a moment. Is he influential on you?

HPK: Oh yeah, definitely and even this Baton
Rouge connection, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't
even have come here in the first place to even
visit. Not only as a musician, he's obviously
amazing at what he does, there are just so many
things I could learn from him. Even just the fact
that someone like him saw something in me. That encouragement really does a lot.

BiTS: It must have been very daunting for you to come all the way from South Korea to America.

HPK: Yeah, but I guess that's what you do when you're young and in love. You don't even think
about anything else [chuckles]. Yeah, I remember having a conversation with a person at the US
Embassy back in South Korea. Even he was surprised I was going to do this thing [chuckles],
based on what I was doing in Korea, going to a great college in the city and suddenly I was going
to go to America. Yeah, it's ironic. I can be very logical, very rational and try to do things carefully,
just like moving to Louisiana alone, it's been a process. Going to do it and pack up and leave, but
at the same time, I'm also the kind of person that when something speaks to my heart, nothing
stops me. So I kind of have both sides in me I think.

BiTS: I've never been to Baton Rouge, but I have been to New Orleans and one of the things that
is so wonderful about Louisiana is that when you're walking down the street, there's music
coming out from every door that is open. Absolutely fabulous.