Lo-fi dream pop band Shindigs features singer Beejay Buduan, a 2012 SDSU finance grad who played in high school emo groups and an indie band named Clockart. Buduan emigrated to San Diego from the Philippines with his parents when he was four, though he returned to Korea after graduating college to spend four years teaching English to children.
“I wanted to travel and experience something new. I lived in San Diego for most of my life. I got to know Korea, because I had studied abroad there for a month.” Buduan says the Korean teaching job he took in 2013 paid him $325 a month. “I made a lot of friends. It really opened my eyes.” He says the low cost of living and Korea’s friendly culture kept him there longer than expected. “I went for one year, which turned into another… after four years, I finally got over it, and I came back in 2017.”
Several Shindigs releases happened while Buduan was in Korea, beginning with EPs such as Tamayuras and Shindigs Abroad in 2014, a Like So EP in 2015, and then Summa! Goddess! followed by Sen Says in 2016.
As of 2018, the Shindigs featured Buduan backed by bassist Grant Glibert (Freezing Vinyl, Splavender), drummer Anthony Batista, and keyboardist Zach O’Reilly. Their album Chilland was released in late 2018 via Cleopatra Records.