NMFT vol 3 Update pt 2
Some great news that I forgot to mention is that uhnellys plan on coming back to Toronto for Canadian Music Fest (March 9-13, 2011).If possible they plan on hitting Montreal and New York at that time as well. Hopefully they managed to sneak their Sonicbids application for SXSW in on time.
Also, when Kokaji was in town he told me that グーミ enjoyed playing in Canada so much that when they finish their next album they plan on doing a "world tour." I'm not exactly sure what "world tour" entails but they'll probably play in Korea, Canada, and ?Europe. They'll need to start saving up money and airmiles. =)
Oneof the main reasons I created this tour is to foster greater interest in Japanese bands coming to Canada. Looks like it's working. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With regard to holding NMFT vol 3 in May, I'm basically starting tabula rasa (with a blank slate) as to who I want to invite. The Mornings are technically on-board BUT they'll only be able to do part of the tour. Since I'm paying tens of thousands of dollars to fly the bands to Canada, I'd prefer inviting a band that can play the entire schedule (no sh*t). I really, REALLY want to bring these guys but it's been the same issue each time regarding their inability to get enough time off work.
In the comments section of the previous post I suggested partnering up with my friend Ian and bringing some Fukuoka bands for a Next Music from Tokyo/Fukuoka tour:
And if we invite Coet Cocoeh, she can team up with Kajiwara (hyacca) and Miwako (masadaymasa) for their side project band: miu mau:
Just a suggestion. I haven't even brought the idea to Ian's attention yet. Since the Mornings and Hyacca would both have difficulty getting vacation time in May, how about: ミドリ, nisennenmondai, the Mornings, and Hyacca in October. I'm not sure all the bands will get along but on a scale of 1 to 10 for awesomeness this line-up is absurdly off the charts at 16.
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Other bands I'm considering:
SuiseiNoboAz For the original NMFT tour I was torn between choosing OWARIKARA and SuiseiNoboAz. They were the 2 most hyped up & coming bands in Tokyo's underground circuit. The 2 bands were like brothers with SuiseiNoboAz being the slightly older sempai. At the time SuiseiNoboAz had much greater "buzz" due to their partnership with and praise from Mukai Shutoku (Zazen Boys/Number Girl). Based on merit within the Tokyo indie/underground scene SuiseiNoboAz and Mahiruno (R.I.P.) were the 2 obvious candidates most deserving of an invitation to NMFT. However, I went with the underdogs OWARIKARA instead b/c I was closer friends with Kameda & Tsuda and I felt OWARIKARA had intangibles that made them the slightly more interesting band. SuiseiNoboAz is ridiculously tight. Masaharu's gruff vocals may take getting used to, but his distinctive voice and style add significant character to the music. The fact that Mukai Shutoku can be found in the audience at Boaz' shows as an admirer, mentor and fan speaks volumes about the quality of their music and showmanship. They're already slightly upset at me for not inviting them on 2 occasions but I had future plans on bringing them one day with their peers, Zazen Boys.
FAR FRANCE is another band I know fairly well whose members I can't avoid because we're always going to the same shows. Their singer Shinya can be found crowd surfing in half of the clips uploaded on my Youtube channel. For example: here here here. They're good friends with SuiseiNoboAz and are playing with Zazen Boys next week. I once promised to bring them to Canada (next year in fact) but based given how much money I'm spending and the poor turnout of vol 2 I reserve the right to cater my invitations to creating the best line-up possible that suits my fickle tastes.
viridian Not to be confused by the inferior Tokyo band with the same name, viridian hail from around Nagoya. Very melancholic, soulful and intense music. They've been a favorite band of mine since I saw them a few years back at a show with the Mornings/YOMOYA/ふくろ/knock note alien/school food punishment/birds melt sky/the SORRYS! They are signed to the Victor Records umbrella of labels along with チーナ, FAR FRANCE and rega. I've already told them how I'd like to bring them to Canada along with their friends/labelmates, チーナ.
チーナ (chiina) Kenta (susquatch) messaged me a few days ago saying he has fallen in love with a new band called, チーナ. He recommended them to me as a band I should check out if I didn't know them already. Haha. I discovered them a long time ago, wrote them up in the original dope female bassist thread (not in this blog) and have seen play them live 3-4 times already. I've also invited them as a potential band for future tours but the fact they have 5 members and use a contrabass (bitch to carry on an airplane) makes them less than ideal candidates. However, their music and performances are so good I definitely continue to have them under consideration.
^^My video footage from May, 2009.
BUGY CRAXONE Bugy were one of the first bands I fell in love with when I discovered (good) Japanese music. Naming the tour "Next Music from TOKYO" was something the bands on the original tour came up with. Although bringing bands that play music atypical to N American styles is something I try to do, by no means do I want to limit myself to just that. BUGY are a veteran band who play straightforward garage-punk with a female guitar/vocalist. Nothing out of the ordinary except Suzuki Yukiko deserves recognition as one of the sexiest/coolest frontwomen in rock & roll history. In 2008 I had asked them to come to the US as part of the Japan Nite tour (since their friends detroit7 would be doing so for the 2nd time). But that was before I realized Japan Nite is a MASSIVE RIP-OFF and very few bands can afford to pay their exorbitant handling fees. Bugy's music is straightforward and they're a little bit past their prime but I would love to bring a band like them (or Chatmonchy!) to Canada. Mainly for nostalgic reasons as they were one of my original favorite Japanese bands.
And if they come, I'm making them play "4-count" since it's one of the songs they've retired and a favorite of mine I've never seen played live.
*will edit with more bands when I get back from the gym. *Back from the gym and I'll respond to the 2 comments (that was fast) directly in the post. @Jonathan: the fact you like viridian, far france and BUGY is rather awesome. But what about 'Boaz and チーナ? Did you leave them out on purpose? I don't mind if you don't like them or feel they're nothing special. I'm interested in honest opinions.
@Ian: That's good to know since I thought there may be some bizarre rivalry between hyacca and midori. I know your opinion about the latter band and thought their may be some level of friction between the two bands themselves. Yes, I would LOVE to bring Praha Depart on tour. The fact that playing abroad is one of their missions makes them ideal candidates. I didn't know they were planning to add a 4th member, but you're right it could free up Mai to mesmerize us all with her dance. What if it's a 2nd guitarist? that might be interesting too. In response to the comments in the previous post: first of all, the Mornings, hyacca and Zibanchinka????! DAMN!! The people in Fukuoka are privy to one of the best concerts all year!! I'm not paying lip service regarding inviting you and Kaname along with the Mornings/Hyacca. You're part of the reason I started this tour in the first place and it would be a riot hanging with all of you guys here in Canada instead of Japan. And please forward my invitation to Masadayomasa if you run into Miwako or Luu while you're in Fukuoka. I've tried emailing them in the past to no avail.
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Some more bands under heavy consideration:
Praha Depart The first time I watched this band was at Basement Bar with Kulu Kulu Garden. I thought to myself maybe it's not too late to switch KKG with Praha for the original tour... hahaha j/k Ryotaro!!! But yeah, I was definitely impressed by their performance and their CDs are great too. Along with the Mornings, tacobonds and Deracine, they were my favorite performers at the recent Tokyo Boredom @ Todai. The drummer is phenomenal!! Intense, soulful, with a quirky sense of humor and a passion to play in countries outside Japan, I am definitely thinking of bringing Praha on tour.
DODDODO I think I missed half her set @ Tokyo Boredom talking with Ian and Ponta (the Mornings) outside but she did leave enough of an impression to look more closely into her music. I'd love to bring her as the DJ/MC to play/perform between sets if I don't have the time to give her an individual slot. I'm choked that afrirampo were willing to do NMFT vol 2 if I had contacted them before they planned on breaking up. Inviting DODDODO (close of friends of afrirampo) is a form of atonement as her mad genius is just as zany and fun. Plus she's just one person which saves me $$. She's been to Europe multiple times and has a cult following. If she says no, illreme can be my backup.
Owllights Ian introduced me to this band last year and my first time watching them was at Tokyo Boredom. Their music is lo-fi indie but has so much soul and heart with such great riffs by Gogatech, I can't comprehend why they're not more popular in and around Tokyo. They used to have a female drummer but she left the band. Not that it matters but I can't blog about her in the dope female drummers thread anymore. hahaha. Their song "Brightesthope(nohopever)" is one of the greatest songs ever made!!! Love it to death. You would have heard it played between sets if you went to any of the Next Music from TOKYO shows. Natsuko (MOTFD) herself was curious and asked me who plays that particular song. The owllights are one of the best bands even most indie heads in Tokyo don't know about.