GREAT JAP BANDS VOL. 1
Yukue Shirezu
Mind you I have seen quite a few terrible Japanese bands
along the way. I'm happy to say that YSR isn't one of them. Yukue
Shirezu means 'whereabouts unknown' as in a missing person. The name draws
strange looks and half-smiles from the Japanese themselves, having sinister
suggestions of foul play. But this is not another vaguely dark and pointless
Japanese band with a confused and stolen identity .
They bill themselves as 'Japanese Blues Punk' but they will
transcend that definition and have your jaw dropping in the first minute of
play. One could not ask for a band with a finer sense of composition,
musicianship and cool stage presence. Virtually out-of-control while
delivering flawless performances of genuine and original songs, friendly to
the ear and free of clutter or contrivance.
Masaki Toyama's mellow rythm guitar and chain-smoked vocals
are bedecked with a solid Rock Bass and Hyperactive Electric Guitar Lead and
a Peter Gunn in Ska-ville Trumpet, Trombone and Saxophone horn
section.
YSR is one of the hardest working bands I know of in
Japan. They manage to have a few gigs a week, I believe they had 15 shows
in January 2001, when we produced the Bill Furry Presents show
in Hatsudai for Afghan Refugee Relief, where they also played. If you
know about the Japanese 'Noruma' system of having bands cover the club fees
themselves and having to knock out tickets to cover it, you know that a band
that can beat this system with a solid reputation and loyal fan base is the
exception to the norm. But the quality of the music and the musician's
spirits make this feat seem effortless. Play they do, every other night it
seems, and they've just finished a Japanese national tour. Next stop,
hopefully, New York City.
Last Friday they had a sold-out show at Yaneura in
Shimokitazawa, and I happened to be walking past that afternoon as they were
unloading their gear, so I got my customary invite. Yaneura isn't a very big
room, but not many bands pack it like it was packed that night. Until you
hear them stepping through a set of a dozen songs, without missing a note, a
break, or a change, as precise and demented as turns on a roller coaster,
looking like they went straight from a hangover to the Boston Marathon, and
could do it anytime, you won't know what a thrill is.
Furry |
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