Most Japanese students love J-POP, and knowing the difference between Mr. Children and Hey! Say! Jump!, or being able to say who your favourite member of Arashi is (Sakurai Sho all the way!!) can greatly help you to bond with your students. By all means, learn about J-POP bands. They are part of Japanese pop culture and the more you know about the things that interest your students the easier a time you will have interacting with them.

If you are like me, though, J-POP will not satiate your musical hunger. I have an eclectic taste in music and I enjoy many genres, but Top 40 Pop is not one of them. The bands I discuss here are not hugely popular here in Japan or overseas. These are simply bands that I enjoy listening to and, hopefully, some of them will become bands that you enjoy listening to as well. On a final note, some of the bands sing in English and some sing in Japanese. Personally, I have never had a problem with listening to lyrics I don’t understand, and hey, maybe it will help you with your Japanese listening skills.

The Polysics

The Polysics: The Polysics was one of the few Japanese bands I knew before coming to Japan. After watching a Devo video the singer decided to quit his high school soccer team to form the band. Easily identified by their matching orange boiler suits, The Polysics play a fast paced combination of new wave, pop, and punk, which they call “Technicolour Pogo Punk”. Their music combines shredded guitars with a myriad of synths and hyper fast lyrics sung in English, Japanese, or just plain gibberish. Listening to any of their albums is like listening to musical instruments having an epileptic fit. If you need to feel re-energized The Polysics brand of hyper-spastic, abrasive pop is sure to do the trick.

Recommended albums: “Neu,” “Hey! Bob! My Friend!”

P-Model

P-Model: Formed in 1979, P-Model was a new wave/techno-pop band and had an influence on later Japanese bands like The Polysics. The band made heavy use of drum machines, synths, and call and response vocals to create rhythmic, pulsing pop songs. The track 美術館で会った人だろ (“Bijutsukan De Atta Hito Daro”) is a prime example, with its steady thumping bass and gurgling, ping-pong synth lines. After the first three albums the band went through numerous member changes before officially disbanding in 1999. The members of P-Model continue to be heavily involved in the Japanese music scene today.

Recommended album: “In A Model Room”

The Plastics: Another P-named new wave/techno-pop band. The Plastics can possibly be seen as similar to The B-52s if the latter sung with Japanese accents, but this a little bit of an oversimplification. Do they have male and female call and response vocals? Check. Bouncy pop tunes perfect for your next live dance party? Yep. Do they know how to have fun? Just listen to their cover of The Monkees’ “Last Train To Clarksville.” However, while The B-52s were all about partying, The Plastics have a serious side, too. The band critiques modern life in such tracks as “Copy,” “Robot,” “Complex,” and “I Am Plastic.”

The Plastics began around the same time as P-Model and, despite existing for only a few years, were also influential on later bands. American new wave bands like The B-52s, Talking Heads, and Devo were all fans of The Plastics and, in fact, the band even appeared on the American sketch comedy SCTV.

Recommended album: “Origato25″

Shugo Tokumaru

Shugo Tokumaru: Shugo Tokumaru is an artist I discovered shortly after arriving in Japan and he has quickly become my favourite Japanese musician. Although he tours with a band, he plays all the instruments on his albums and records alone. Tokumaru’s indie-folk, Beach Boys-influenced songs are stuffed to the brim with different sounds. A proficient multi-instrumentalist, he has used over a hundred instruments on his recordings from guitar and ukulele to toys and noisemakers. Tokumaru sings exclusively in Japanese using his dreams as subjects for his songs. So far he has released four albums including his most recent work “Port Entropy” this past spring.

Recommended album: “EXIT”

Toe: Toe is a mostly instrumental math-rock band. The band’s music features complex, propulsive drumming, subtle rhythmic shifts, and clean guitars. As the band’s sound has progressed they have slowly added acoustic guitars, rhodes piano, and vibraphone. This is great headphone music and I especially love listening to this band while biking at the gym. It really gets you moving.

Recommended album: “For Long Tomorrow”

Mouse On The Keys: Mouse On The Keys consists of three musicians: two keyboardists/pianists and a drummer. Part of the Machu Picchu label run by Toe, there are some similarities between the two bands. Both are instrumental and both fall vaguely into the post-rock genre. However, Mouse On The Keys draws more influence from jazz, and member Daisuke Miitone used to play drums for funk/hip-hop bands. Also, while Toe has a clean, smooth sound, Mouse On The Keys has a more bombastic, urgent feel to their music. Their first full-length album ”An Anxious Object” was released last year.

Recommended album: “An Anxious Object”

Cibo Matto: This is a bit of a cheat. Cibo Matto was a band back in the 90s that consisted of two Japanese women, Yuki Honda and Miho Hatori. However, the band was based out of New York and was never very popular in Japan. Cibo Matto actually means “crazy food” in Italian, and the duo used a combination of jazz, hip-hop, and rock to sing about food in songs with titles like “Know Your Chicken,” “Sugar Water,” and my personal favourite, “Birthday Cake.” After the group broke up, Miho became a member of the group Gorillaz.

Recommended album: “Viva” La Woman”

Boris

Boris: An experimental rock band, Boris is a many-headed beast of pummeling noise. This group is known for constantly changing their sound and have released 17 albums of drone metal, noise rock, psychedelia, and more. This is easily the most extreme band on the list and probably the one that the fewest number of people will enjoy. Given their constantly changing sound it is difficult to say where to begin with Boris but their 2005 album “Pink” has received the most positive critical attention.

Recommended album: “Pink”

The Candies: Okay, confession time. While I’m not a fan of current Top 40s Pop, I love 60s pop. I know that smacks of elitism, but I just don’t care. The Candies were an all-girl pop trio and were extremely popular during the 70s. Honeyed harmonies, funky horns, matching outfits and dance moves, these girls had it all. I dare you to not fall in love.

Recommended album: “Golden Best”

Ichi: Ichi is another artist who is difficult to categorize. His one-man band seems to include everything except the kitchen sink, though I may have in fact heard a kitchen sink or two on his CD. The songs are made up of all sorts of sounds, from steel drums (he plays steel drums for a Nagoya band) to tape loops to cats meowing. The CD makes for a good listen, but it is as a live performer that Ichi really excels. The one show I went to began with him dancing around on stilts with noisemakers, only to be followed by a song during which he played a typewriter as a rhythm track and then finished the song by eating the paper. He seems to tour a lot so if you get the chance you should definitely check him out.

Recommended album: “Mono”

A few recommended sites to learn more about the non-J-POP music scene:

www.clearandrefreshing.jp

www.japanlive.blogspot.com

Irish heartthrob David Ding

Originally published Nov. 8, 2009.

Following on from the great success of the Tyler Battles the Cactopus gig in July, Jimo Cafe and PEPY present a live performance from JindaLee Lehmann.

The event will be 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13, at Jimo Cafe in Hatchobori, Hiroshima city. The event was organized by Hiroshima city JET Laura Graham.

JindaLee is musician from Montreal, Canada, and currently a JET in Fukuyama. Combining a variety of styles but stemming primarily from folk and indie rock, her debut album, entitled Stranger’s Lives, is composed of songs inspired by the people that pass through our lives everyday or even just once….described as a ‘train ride through the seasons’ on the website http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jindalee (where you can also download the album).

JindaLee was born and raised in small town Alberta. She began singing and playing guitar as a self taught artist, while living in Munich, Germany. She went to Montreal in 2004 to study Creative Writing at Concordia University. JindaLee began playing small shows, zine launches and at alternative performance spaces which soon led to her own shows at cafés and bigger concert venues. Her interest in various genres is evident in the subtle nuances of the album. Her fascination with travelling led her to Japan, and the people she meets along the way help inspire the lyrics for the songs she writes.

Also check out her music at http://www.myspace.com/jindaleemusic.

Musical support from other guest stars including Irish heartthrob David Ding and Fukuyama JET Darren Carter.

Tickets are 1,500 yen. The includes one drink and 600 yen goes to supporting educational projects in Cambodia through the NGO PEPY http://pepyride.org/.

Takarazuka Theatre (Photo by Anime & Manga Japan Net)

By Natalie Oram

As a foreigner with little knowledge of Japan, but a love of all things theatre, I was sure to come across Takarazuka revue eventually. Takarazuka is definitely a part of Japan that I am glad to have experienced.

The first thing I noticed about Japan is how shy and quiet Japanese people and Japanese culture can be. Everything is done slowly as to follow Zen Buddhist meditations. However, Takarazuka is not shy and not quiet. In fact, Takarazuka is quite hard to ignore. I remember the first time I found out about Takarazuka, I was walking round Umeda Hankyu station, on my way to do some more shopping when the big screen in the atrium caught my eye. Like most inquisitive people, I can’t ignore new things, especially in Japan and especially on TV. On the big screen I saw what seemed to be just a normal musical. I normally don’t fancy musicals in Japan because they change the words and sometimes even the tunes, but this was different. I could not quite put my finger on it till it suddenly dawned on me that all the performers were women!

To us Western folk this may not seem so strange because we have films like “Tootsie” and “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” as well as all male ballets, but just how often do you see women in drag? Females in drag are simply not that popular, possibly because it is not that taboo or odd. However, in Japan it is a little more out there because Japanese women just seem so much more feminine than Western women. Most Japanese ladies walk around Hiroshima wearing pretty pastel-coloured dresses partnered with sun protection gloves, hats and a parasol overhead. You also seldom come across adult tomboys or lesbians. In Takarazuka women play all the roles, much as men did in Shakespeare’s time. Though, they seem to take the step beyond that of a woman acting as a man. The Takarazuka actresses become men or rather an androgynous combination of the two. Generally though, Japanese men are not as bulky and hairy as Western men, so this does make the male role for Takarazuka actresses easier to fill.

That said, it still takes a lot of training for the female actresses to become believable men on stage. Those who train to be the male actors or otokoyaku only train for that role. They cannot play women. They cut their hair short, practice the manner of walking like men, behaving like men and even lowering their voice to sound like men. This was perhaps the most striking part for me as the deep voice really helps make the entire package believable. When Takarazuka formed in 1914 there were actual men who were employed as actors, but by 1954 women took over all their leads. Takarazuka can thus be seen as a loud cheer for feminism in Japan. Many believe that the females in the audience enjoy watching Takarzuka for this reason. They admire the actresses’ bravery to act against social norms.

Despite all the background information I learned, nothing could prepare me for the Takarazuka experience. It really is like none other, and the audience is a special kind. I am sure you often see the ladies at coffee shops sharing conversations over cake. Imagine that all these ladies in Hiroshima Prefecture gather into one audience and you have the typical Takarazuka audience. After mentioning to my Japanese friends that I was going to watch a Takarazuka performance I got very strange looks and gulps of breath, so I thought for sure the fans are overzealous drag-loving fans. But no, the audience is quite normal. There were even some young men who came with their girlfriends and old ladies with their daughters and granddaughters. But do bear in mind that beneath their ordinary exterior hides a crazed fan. This you will realise at the end of the show at the gift shops when you are being knocked over by ladies with baskets brimmed full of souvenirs. The souvenir shop must make a packet because Takarazuka revues are always performing new shows. This is made possible by the five troupes within the Takarazuka umbrella. Each troupe is said to be different from the other and so you probably should see them all perform to be considered a true fan. The five troupes are named after things found in nature: “Flower”, “Moon”, “Star”, “Cosmos” and “Snow”.

I was very lucky to see the “Star” troupe perform as they are said to be particularly strong in otokoyaku. This was most certainly needed for “The Scarlet Pimpernel!”, for which the leads are mostly male. This musical is a Western musical based on the novel by Baroness Orctzy. This Takarazuka production was actually directed by a man, Koike Schuuichirou. He has directed many of the Takarazuka productions including the Star Troupe in “Legend Ver. II”, which I am sure you have seen advertised in the JR trains. This runs from June 26 to July 27 in the Grand Theater. The advertisement shows the image of warriors with swords. Judging by the fantastic sword fights in “The Scarlet Pimpernel” I am sure “Legend Ver. II” will be equally as exciting. “The Scarlet Pimpernel” was completely done in Japanese but they did not lose the magic of the music from the original production. The actors are so well rehearsed and express their emotions in such a way that even someone with no knowledge of Japanese could understand what was happening.

However, the ending kind of blew me away, but in the wrong way. One minute we were experiencing the sadness of the “The Scarlet Pimpernel”, the next minute the actors were surrounded by women in bright sparkles and huge feathers. Kind of like something I would expect to see in Las Vegas, minus the boobies. This appears to be the most popular part of the show. One of my guy friends in Hyogo Prefecture was dragged to one of these variety-style Takarazuka performances. Hyogo is close to the main Takarazuka theatre, so the ladies he went with go quite regularly. I suppose they figured he would prefer the variety-style performance over a serious story but it was all too much sparkle and insanity for a first-timer. Fortunately Takarazuka Revue caters to all tastes, with adaptations of Western novels, operas and musicals as well as Japanese novels, manga and even video games. Be sure to check out the adverts in the train and the Takarazuka website at http://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/ so you too can experience Takarazuka.

How to get to the Takarazuka Grand Theater:

Address: 1-1-57 Sakaemachi, Takarazuka-city, Hyogo 665-855

Phone: 0570-00-5100

• From Umeda (Osaka)

Take the express train on the Takarazuka Line from Hankyu Umeda Station. Get off at Takarazuka Station and then walk 10 minutes. (It takes about 35-40 minutes.)

• From Sannomiya (Kobe)

Take the limited express train on the Kobe Line from Hankyu Sannomiya Station and change at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station to the Hankyu Imazu Line. Get off at Takarazuka Station and then walk 10 minutes. (It takes about 35-40 minutes.)

• From Shin-Osaka (Osaka)

1.) Take the JR Tokaido Line from Shin-Osaka Station and change at Osaka Station to the Fukuchiyama Line. Get off at Takarazuka Station and then walk 10 minutes. (It takes about 40ー45 minutes.)

2.) Take Midosuji Subway Line from Shin-Osaka Station and change at Umeda Station to the Hankyu Takarazuka Line. Take the express train and get off at Takarazuka Station, and then walk 10 minutes. (It takes about 50-55 minutes.)

By Brody Nixon

Hiroshima, being the commercial and industrial hub of the Chugoku region, has a solid local music scene. Since coming here, going to local live shows has become a bit of a hobby, and through it, I have not only discovered some fantastic music, but also made some very close friends. Here’s a list of clubs in Hiroshima that you can look to for exploring the local music scene.

Club Quattro: The best rock club in Hiroshima, in terms of the venue itself. Artists range from my friends (i.e. small-time local bands), to nationally-known rock stars, to the occasional international show (Jason Mraz played a few weeks ago). Located in the heart of downtown, at the top of the Parco Shinkan. Full schedule available on the Web site: http://www.club-quattro.com/schedule_hiro.php

Namiki Junction: A small but quality rock club on Ebisu-dori, just behind the Tenmaya and Mitsukoshi department stores. Mostly regional shows, with a few moderately famous names here and there. It’s located on the fourth floor of a building with some restaurants and a McDonald’s, and is quite easy to miss. Check the Web site for a map and schedule: http://namikijunction.com/

Cave Be: Small club a few blocks north of the Ebisu-dori streetcar stop. It’s similar in size to Namiki Junction, but a bit crummier. More small-time local bands, not many famous acts. The venue itself is pretty bare bones, but I’ve seen some great bands here. Web site: http://www.cave-be.net/hiroshima/top.html

There are plenty of other small “live houses” to be found around the city, so don’t stop at just these. In addition, there are a number of cafes and restaurants that have live music on a regular basis, such as Sumatra Tiger (in Nagarekawa, on the ground floor of the Barcos building) and Aina Haina (a Hawaiian café near the Tokaichi-machi streetcar stop). I have a few favorite rock bands that I go to see. If you want to know about them, feel free to ask me, or you can grab a friend and try going to some shows at random and see what you find!

By Brody Nixon

Living in Japan is a great opportunity to dive into the rich world of Japanese music, but getting to the good stuff can be difficult. If you’re only living in a place for a year, how are you supposed to find all the best music in that short time? This article will serve as a starting point, offering just a few suggestions to help you get into the music here. These aren’t just my personal suggestions, because that wouldn’t be terribly useful to most people. Rather, the stuff listed here is material that also tends to be popular with most JETs…assuming they ever have a chance to hear it!

Let’s start with pop. By now, most of you are more than likely familiar with names like Ayumi Hamasaki, Hikaru Utada, or Ai Otsuka, a few of the reigning pop queens, but let’s talk about a few others. One of the new big names on the pop scene right now is Ayaka, a girl who has rocketed to stardom at the age of 19. And as opposed to many other pop stars, she writes her own music, and has legitimate talent. Her songs usually come in the form of slow ballads, full of emotion and great melodies. Try her smash hit debut song “I Believe,” the more recent “手を繋ごう (te wo tsunagou),” or her hit collaboration with the male pop duo Kobukuro, “Winding Road.”

If you’re looking for pop with a more alternative vibe, try the stunningly eclectic Shiina Ringo. Equipped with one of the more unique and powerful voices in the pop world, this diva has made songs in almost every conceivable musical style over the years. Her music is wonderfully original, and rarely disappoints. A few years ago, she formed a band called Tokyo Jihen (東京事変) and has been producing great material with them — their most recent album, “娯楽 (goraku),” is one of the best pop rock albums I’ve heard in years. Try her song “ここでキスして (koko de kisu shite)” for straight pop, “遣っ付け仕事 (yattsuke shigoto)” for something more offbeat, or anything from the Tokyo Jihen album I mentioned.

Now, let’s talk rock. Japanese rock music is some of the best in the world, in my armchair opinion, and there are a great many bands to sift through. Here are a few particularly good ones. If you like laid-back, acoustically driven rock, then you’ll love Bump of Chicken, a band with a funny name and some great songs. They’re very big right now, and chances are at least 75 percent of your high school students love them. Try “花の名 (hana no na)” for something slow, “Sailing Day” for something faster, and “supernova” for just a damn good song.

Another band that’s becoming big recently, and has a growing following among foreigners, is Radwimps. They started off as yet another melodic pop-punk band but with songs better than most, and their songwriting has matured over the years to cover a broad range of styles — again, eclectic is the best word here. The vocalist has great range, and speaks natural-sounding English thanks to his years of living in the States as a child (though the English lyrics don’t make much sense if you actually listen to them). Recommended songs: “ふたりごと (futarigoto)” “05410-(ん)”, and “いいんですか? (iindesuka?).”

And I can’t write about Japanese rock without mentioning my personal favorite, the pillows. Many people back home and in Japan know them from the soundtrack to the anime show “Furi Kuri (FLCL),” but they’ve made tons of great music since then as well. Their music is rock, plain and simple, with tremendous hooks and a lot of energy. They have too many songs to pick just a few, but their most recent album, “Pied Piper,” is very good! They tour Japan (and the States) pretty often, so keep an eye out for them.

So those are a few of the top artists that I like, and that other JETs tend to like too. There are countless more of course, but my space is limited. A few final suggestions: Soul Flower Union (rather obscure and eclectic folk rock), YMCK (the biggest stars in the Nintendo-inspired chiptune genre), GO!GO!7188 (girl-fronted rock, with bite), Ketsumeishi (laid-back Japanese-style hip-hop), and X Japan (old-school heavy metal with a dramatic flair).

So, the final question is, where can you find this music? Not that we want to condone piracy, but the Internet is always a great place to start. At the very least, you can find many Japanese music videos on YouTube. Another option is to head to a large record store and see if you have some luck with what they have available at the many listening stations. Finally, if it’s convenient, you can try finding a JET in your area who has some music to share. Happy listening!

Buono Musica (Photo by Toby Ley)

By Toby Ley

Buono!Musica!2007: a weekend spent at a musical oasis. There was no J-pop. We didn’t hear the Beatles once, perhaps because of the absence of department stores and konbinis… Buono!Musica!2007 was simply a beautiful day and night of music, delicious food and camping. Held in a campground in Sera-Nishi, a small town an hour drive north of Onomichi, it proved to be a secluded spot with plenty of green-space, overlooking a peaceful lake. There was room for lazing around with a beer, or even tossing a frisbee, if you felt up to that strenuous task! In the evening, a big bonfire was lit for people to relax around. There were also barbeque facilities near the stage, so we loaded up on supermarket goodies before we arrived. It really was an excellent little valley for seeing some great live music.

The campsite opened up at around midday on Saturday, allowing a good couple of hours to pitch tents and settle into the laid-back vibe before the music actually began. There were a number of stalls selling a variety of beers and delicious food. The Portuguese grilled chicken was absolutely incredible and, as the evening wore on and the temperature dropped, there was also heart-warming hot, spiced wine on offer to keep us going.

But what about the music? Well, what I heard was great! The first act started at around 3 p.m. and the music continued on until about 2 or 3 a.m. The earlier acts were almost purely acoustic and had a distinct folk sound. Most of the performances consisted of just one or two people on stage at a time. One stand-out act for me was Kyoto-based, solo artist Chiyuki Eda of Xanthipita. Xanthipita complemented her simple guitar riffs with melancholy but sweet vocals, giving a really gorgeous sound. If only I could have understood the lyrics…

Upping the tempo later on in the evening was Tokyo’s Kijima Sound System: a band with at times six and at others, seven, members. These guys were awesome. They really performed well. A fantastic fusion of more traditional percussion with electronica and interesting base lines made this group a definite highlight of the weekend for me. During the performance, one of the artists from KSS would occasionally change position and move in front of the band to start conducting a kind of spontaneous jam session. It was the first time I had seen a band member suddenly transform from performer to conductor. It seemed a little strange at the time, but actually made for some pretty interesting music!

Whether you are into folk, hip-hop, jazz, techno, J-pop, grunge, classical or electronica, or even if you’re tone-deaf, Buono Musica should definitely be on next year’s “must attend” list.

For more information on next year’s Buono!Musica! check out http://buono-musica.com/

“For those about to rock we salute you!” There are no better words to describe my feelings about the Fuji Rock Festival. Let’s be honest here; going to this festival is a true testament to your love of rock. The three-day ticket costs 40,000 yen, the Shinkansen costs another 40,000 yen, and then all the food, drink and swag you buy at the concert is going to cost you as well. Of course, you clever people will have figured out that there are cheaper ways to get around Japan, but I couldn’t go with the clever option. I had a workshop the day before and made the last train out of Fukuyama. I was off and ready to rock out with my wallet out!

Day One – Friday

I get to the venue about 1:30 am, then eat and set up my tent. Get about 4 hours sleep and meet my friend Rory. Tip #1: When meeting people leave cell phone on! We see our first band; I’ll call them Kanji Orchestra. They have a crazy show with dancers and nakedness that totally matches their cool sound. Then we go to the “Stoned Circle” (insert your funny laugh now) to play drums and see what’s going on at the other end of this huge venue. This changes the course of events for Rory and I. Our Fuji Rock experience becomes very different from everyone else’s once a group of cavemen, or cave people, comes by. No matter what the proper term is these days for cavemen; these things grab Rory and he becomes an instant member of their group. I at once take the role of Jane Goodall. But our good friend Jane was not at a rock concert and I am. So, after some time taking photos and laughing, I go to see Kings of Leon,  Muse and Fountains of Wayne. All three put on a great set and I’m enjoying Rocking Fuji. But what about Rory? I’ll explain as best I can. He and the cavemen are walking around with a big rock, bringing a bit of prehistoric fun to a concert full of people from the year 2007.

I meet up with Rory after he evolves again and we go to see Hifana. Hifana is a two man Japanese DJ group that mixes music and video to create a wicked cool show. After getting into the vibe set by Hifana, we dance the night away listening to various DJs until about 5am.

Day Two – Saturday

I hit up the onsen after waiting in line for an hour. Tip #2: Hot water feels better than cold water. Then, we hit up the Dragandola ropeway to listen to the Dexpistols and keep the dancing vibe going strong. It’s raining a little at this point, but the weather in general was great for the first time ever at Fuji Rock. Very little rain until Monday when it was over! Let’s not get there too fast, though. Rory de-evolves and joins the cavemen. I have bands I need to see today, the main one being Less Than Jake, who   I’ve seen tons of times before and want to watch rocking out Japan. They live up to my expectations by getting a huge circle pit going around the sound stage. The band claims it’s the biggest one they’ve ever seen, so we must believe them! They also say later that this was the cleanest festival in the world; now this is very believable and very true. Go Japan!

After resting from mosh pitting activities, I go to chill out with G. Love & Special Sauce: apparently a very popular group in Japan, if the wall-to-wall people sweating in the covered stage are anything to go by. Rory evolves in time to see the Beastie Boys; in my opinion the best show of Fuji Rock! That night we hang out with the evolved cavemen and enjoy some music at the “Rookie a Go-Go” stage, where Kingdom Afrocks put on a pretty good show. One of the members plays the keyboard with her feet as well as her hands!

Day Three – Sunday

I wake up after another few hours sleep. This may be the reason I decide that it will be a great idea finally to join Rory and the others. Yes, I will de-evolve and get down to the basics of what Fuji is all about… Rock! Yelling the word ROCK!”, and running around entertaining people. That makes it sound a lot less crazy than it turns out to be! But really, having a blast with the concert-goers while dressed as a caveman is better than seeing any of the bands on Sunday. No offense to them; I’m just saying that I can see them again. Being a caveman is a once in a lifetime opportunity! That being said, I do get to see The Shins and The Chemical Brothers while dressed as a caveman.

So, go to Fuji Rock, because you never know what can happen. I even met some non-cave people from Wales and Australia! There is so much going on each day that you end up sleep deprived, but you still have the energy to get up and want more! The music, food, and people all make Fuji Rock worth every yen I spent and my experience, which was truly unique, will be with me forever.

Bar/Rock Club Sumatra Tiger

By Jason Rosenholtz-Witt

I was once like you. Wandering the streets of Hiroshima, gazing at row upon row of snack bars, pondering where to go to listen to some decent music. Desperately searching, in vain, for good live music venues. Painfully sitting through one bad song after another at Club Jamaica / Sacred Spirits / ‘This is no longer a dancing establishment – please dance outside on the sidewalk’. Well don’t worry, there actually are things going on here. Granted, the local music scene possesses nowhere near the same level of cool as Osaka and Tokyo, but hey, at least we don’t live in Shimane. But before you buy that shink ticket to Kansai, listen up: my countless nights of wandering and bad music have paid off - I have uncovered a small yet enjoyable music scene in Hiroshima City.

If you’re interested in checking out some good local rock, try starting off at a Hiroshima staple, El Barco. Most people know how to get there so ask a friend or, failing that, check out the Get Hiroshima map or website – wandering blind through Nagarekawa in search of the venue will likely leave you lost.

Alternatively, instead of going upstairs to El Barco, stay grounded – on the first floor of that building is a charming bar/rock club called Sumatra Tiger. A wide array of music can be heard here, from indie rock to punk to avante-garde jazz. Recent artists have included: Sazusa Snows, led by former JET Liam Haggerty and containing current JET Travis Lewis; Eyescream; The Spins who are, in my opinion, the best band Hiroshima has to offer; and experimental jazz drummer extraordinaire, the renowned Shoji Hano. Seriously, Shoji Hano is a badass.

An upcoming Sumatra Tiger event that I would strongly urge you to attend is The Bass Ninja. He will make an appearance on Friday, March 23rd. Your mind will be blown away by the sheer awesomeness that is The Bass Ninja (starting at 8 p.m.) Plus, his name is The Bass Ningja. How could anyone not want to see that?

For more information, see: www.sumatratiger.com

To read about Shoji Hano, see www.japanimprov.com/hano/index.html

For more on The Bass Ninja, see www.bassninja.com

I stood huddled outside the music room door in my socks, debating whether or not I really wanted to enter. Wide Island H.Q. had requested that I cover an aspect of Japanese culture; in particular, an aspect of culture that the busy gaijin about-town might like to get involved in to keep themselves warm during the winter of discontent. With that in mind, I had been asked for a few words about Japanese musical instruments. Keep you warm? Musical instruments? Perhaps they knew something I didn’t – after all, before coming to Japan a heated table was only the stuff of dreams. ‘Besides,’ I was told, ‘You might even have fun.’ It was with this damning prophecy ringing in my ears, and bearing about as much musical knowledge as there are copies of Mills & Boon publications in the Vatican library, that I stood attempting to infiltrate the secrecy of the music room.

Unfortunately, once inside, there was no instrument of ethnic-looking character to be found. More unfortunately still, neither the teacher nor the students seemed to have knowledge of any either. After many enthusiastic hand gestures on my part, the teacher started to pull something down from a top shelf. Oh dear. This did not bode well. Students gathered round and we all sat staring at the thing. No one, it would seem, knew how to play it. Not even which side to sit on.

The koto (for thus it was) is a long, rather handsome-looking piece of grained wood. It’s often described as a Japanese thirteen-stringed zither. That meant nothing to me either. Finally the music teacher forced three picks onto my fingers and thumb and showed me how to strum it. As I tentatively plucked at it she translated the sheet music into numbered fingering. This was easier than I’d imagined, rather like playing the bass guitar at school. And the sound? Pleasingly and reassuringly, oriental. Then, as I started to practice the same refrain over and over, a strange thing happened. I started to have fun. Maybe Wide Island were onto something after all.

However, one instrument does not a musical history make – clearly I required more information. Luckily, Brian Wood, a third year ALT based in Kurahashi (near Kure), was rumoured to be hot on Japanese instruments. Brian has been playing the shamisen for about a year. The shamisen is the most safe-looking of all Japanese instruments, a guitar-banjo cross-breed. It sounds, at times, like a sitar, at times like a twangy country and western guitar. It has three strings and numbers down the neck to indicate fingering positions, rather like fretless frets. Disturbingly, it is made from cat and, more recently, dog skin. There are also different styles, getting bigger the further north up the country  you travel; a smaller version is native to Okinawa and a much bigger style can be found in the north. This larger instrument is used to perform tsugaro jamisen, a more rhythmic, genki musical style designed, appropriately enough, to keep the player warm, replete with paddle slapping.

Brian tells me that while players of stringed instruments would be obvious candidates, the technique is very different from that used to play a guitar. Rather than strumming, the playing style involves a paddle, both to pick the strings and determine rhythm. Brian makes it look disgustingly easy. He lets me loose on it, only confirming my suspicions: If I thought I was bad on the guitar, this sorry little attempt sees me reach new depths of woefulness. The paddle technique is, indeed, difficult to attempt cack-handedly, let alone master.

Brian also plays the most iconic of all the Japanese instruments, the taiko. (Nobody likes a clever bastard.) Anyone unfortunate enough to witness the breathtakingly poor British Council party in Tokyo would appreciate the enlivening affect taiko can have on the spirits. This performance managed to turn what at first resembled a limp engagement party at the bowling club into a shindig. There’s a real sense of spectacle surrounding taiko, incorporating costume and dance. This is truly life-affirming stuff. As a clever man once said, the rhythm of life is a powerful thing.

As luck would have it, Brian’s group was performing that weekend. Ondo Kiyomori Taiko Hozon-Kai, as they are known, was fortunate enough to be on the bill with Imafuku Yu, a bit of a taiko celebrity in these parts. At one point, sweating and stripped naked to the waist, he was throwing everything into driving out a rhythm on a standing taiko drum the size of a wagon wheel (no, not the biscuity treat). During the mandatory audience participation moment, I was dragged up on stage to have a bash (literally). Under the glare of stage lights I gingerly hit the skin with what resembled large rolling pins. Luckily, it’s not difficult – I can imagine a beginner would pick this up quickly – and I believe I held my own not too badly. But the best commendation came from the old man sitting beside me in the audience when I returned to my seat: The same type of man who stares nervous JETs down in the street was smiling so hard his faced could have split.

So will I be taking up the pursuit of Occidental music? Well, no. But that’s not to say someone with a hair’s breadth more musical aptitude than myself couldn’t become skilled fairly quickly. What’s more, there’s an arsenal of instruments out there for the willing – the biwa, the shakuhachi… But, hell, I might once in a while even drift by the music department at school. After all, it’s the only room in the building with a carpeted floor. Enough to keep me warm in fact…