Well, I have to admit, even though I’m not normally a live music kind of guy, I’m kind of excited about one of this year’s events at South-by-Southwest (SXSW). On Friday, March 19th, 2010 at Elysium on Red River, seven up-and-coming bands from Japan are participating in the annual Japan Nite. This event has hosted a number of popular bands, including everybody’s favorite FLCL band The Pillows.
So, without further ado, here’s this year’s lineup.
7:00pm – Jinny Oops!
This all-girl indie punk-rock band is from Sakai City in Osaka.
- Lead vocals and guitar: Mitsuyo Ishibashi
- Bass and backup vocals: Chihiro Ishida
- Drums and backup vocals: Hitomi Futemma
8:00pm – Riddim Saunter
This band has a bit of an R&B sound mixed with what the French call a certain “I don’t know what.” A couple of their songs remind me a little of the pre-1980’s Chicago sound.
- Lead vocals – Keishi Tanaka
- Guitar – Hiroshi Sato
- Bass – Masamichi Hamada
- Trumpet and Flute – Hiroto Homma
- Drums – Taichi Furukawa
9:00pm – Okamoto’s
Hailing from Shinjuku, Tokyo, this band of 19-year-old’s claim to have an “illmatic R&B” sound. Their sound is a blend of R&B and psychedelic garage.
- Vocals – Shou Okamoto
- Guitar – Kouki Okamoto
- Bass – Hama Okamoto
- Drums – Reiji Okamoto
10:00pm – Red Bacteria Vaccuum
Another all-girl punk band from Osaka (by way of Tokyo), these girls are … umm… different.
- Vocals and bass – Kassan
- Vocals and guitar – Ikum!
- Vocals and drums – Jasmine
11:00pm – Omodaka
If you like 8-bit video game music and traditional Japanese folk songs, this might just be the most awesome band ever for you. I would say more, but I think only their music can really speak for them.
Members: (as shown on the SXSW site)
- Soichi Terada
- an Apple MacBook Pro, a Nintendo DS Lite, a Sony PSP, a Gameboy Color, a Korg Kaossilator, and the LCD monitor
12:00am – Chatmonchy
Their tagline is “Three Girls from Japan Who Rock.”
- Vocals and Guitar – Eriko Hashimoto
- Backup vocals and Bass – Akiko Fukuoka
- Backup vocals and Drums – Kumiko Takahashi
1:00am – Dolly
What would Japan Nite be without representation from the “visual kei” segment of J-rockers? Dolly, named after the cloned sheep, is that Visual Kei band. If you don’t come for the music, at least show up for the costumes.
- Vocals – Mitsu
- Guitar – Masa
- Bass – Hachi
- Drums – Tsuguki
If you’re interested in attending, Japan Nite is on Friday, March 19th at Elysium (705 Red River, Austin TX 78705). I’ll try to capture some photos and video while I’m there as well.