This article appeared as the cover feature article of the February 2002
issue of Japan Zine.
Osaka
Burning Men
Anybody
who stayed at home new year’s eve this year might have found themselves,
along with half of the country, watching the Kohaku singing contest, at the
same time probably coming to conclusions about the dim state of affairs in the
Japanese music industry. But what
a lot of people probably don’t realize is that underneath the skin there
are some J-pop bands that are actually quite. And if you were to sink a knife deep into the soft white
underbelly of the mammoth industry you’d find a vibrant
grassroots D.I.Y. music industry shaking it all up, the heart of which is in
one of Japan’s
gutsiest cities –
Osaka.
The
Osaka sound is generally characterized by two scenes, the first being of
buzzing guitars represented by scene-obsasans Shonen Knife and centering around
Juso live house Fandango as a kind of Whiskey-A-Go-Go supporting small rock and
punk acts until they make their way to larger market… or obscurity. The second sound is the experimental
noise scene, a strange world of avant-garde fantasy led by noise patriarchs
such as music anarchists the Boredoms and king of noise Masonna. This scene centers around the CBGB of
the scene, Bears, where the best acts work their way up into the obscurity of
having very small legions of devoted otaku fans in Japan and overseas.
The
current rising star of the scene is 3.6 Milk, a fun pop power punk ska outfit
already well-loved in Kansai for their energetic songs, infectious friendliness
and stage presence, audience rapport, and all-around good grooves. Made up of three kids who met in CATO
Technical College after high school and started a band in 1996, skinny
guitarist Teppei, skinny bass player Satoshi, and burly drummer XXX have
already toured the country several times as an indies band on the Strawberry
Maze label where they had two CD releases. Now signed to the Sony label, where they are small and gutsy
enough to be allowed to mostly manage themselves, they have a big year ahead of
them: a mini-CD to be released on February 3rd with a
seven-date tour, then a full-length release in the summer with a 50 date tour
that will take them all over Japan, the the United States and Canada, and
possibly Europe.
Getting
to know the guys
Japanzine
caught up with 3.6 Milk before their appearance at the Osaka Burning 2 event in
Shinsaibashi in January and took them to the Dotonbori Ebisubashi bridge,
favorite place for buskers and amateur artists, for a photo shoot and to
conduct a short interview.
“What’s
the real story behind your name?”
“Well,
you know 3.5 milk that you can buy in the stores? Well, we’re 3.6.”
“One
louder, I guess. I heard something
about March 6th, 3-6, you always had gigs at some place and that’s
how you got your name.”
“Well,
that was Rockets. And March 6th is ‘3.6
Milk Day.’ But this year we’ll be playing
at Osaka Bayside Jenny’s instead. Gotta change some time. Oh yeah, in our name also there is the 6, in Japanese ‘roku.’ It sounds like ‘rock,’
so we think it’s
a good name.”
“Sure. What are your musical influences?”
“Sublime,
311, Very Micro, Full Mary, Long Beach Dub All-Stars.”
“What
major band would you like to open up for?”
“Long
Beach Dub All-Stars.”
“What’s
in your walkman?”
“A
mixed tape. But it has Long Beach
Dub All-Stars on it.”
“What
are the best Kansai bands?”
“The
bands we’re
playing with tonight, Knuckles and Burl and Pet are great. There are lots of great bands in
Kansai!”
Wild
Underground Event in the Naked City
The
show later on was a wild, fun event.
The crowd were young and excited, the air filled with a good, strong
vibe. Leather and hair product
galore, pins and patches, metal queens in spandex and spikes, and not a few
well-coiffed damsels in heels and trendy winter coats to add some color. The crowd was friendly, with kids
gathering in groups to hang out, without any of the too-cool-for-school posing
that haunts the techno and hip-hop scenes, as well as many of the live music
scenes back home. A large part of
the audience were probably in bands themselves.
A
slick intro on a large movie screen opened up Osaka Burning 2 and set up the
bands. First up were Knuckles, a
tense punk group that flirted with jazz and pop and calypso styles, oi oi oi,
then the second band Burl with an intense, nasty hardcore assault. Raging glam mobsters Pet were
introduced by that clip from Pulp Fiction (“I love you honey bunny”), whence
they proceeded to pump up the mood with their infectious, raunchy, blistering
party attack. Finally, the crowd
was warmed up enough for 3.6 Milk, who came out shirtless and hit the audience
with everything they had. Wiry
bass player Satoshi had shaved his head since the afternoon and his smoothe
pate bobbed with the music as his whole body contorted and bounced around. Deep into the music, into working
together, and into reaching the audience, 3.6 Milk are a world apart from the
bands you see on TV that seem to be too busy thinking about their upcoming solo
careers to notice anyone else around them. Good time ska and good guitar punk kept the set lively, the
group then changed things up when they introduced their recent collaborator
Barry Micron, a legendary reggae singer from Jamaica who now lives in
Japan. Larger than life with hat
and shades and long long dreads and beard, in a cool green Jamaica suit, Barry
delivered a fast reggae rap to give the punky ska a brilliant crossover
feel. Viva l’internazionalization
musicale! To round out the evening
after the 3.6 Milk set, the members of the four bands came onstage to sing a
big group version of the Sex Pistols’ “Friggin’
In The Rigging.” It felt like an
Osaka LiveAid. Or maybe hearin’
aid!
There
are plenty of chances to see 3.6 Milk and Barry Micron this year, starting with
their upcoming mini-tour. Check
them out, at the same time catch the local opening bands they’ll
be playing with:
2/9
Osaka Sun Hall
2/15
Fukuoka Zepp
2/15
Kobe Star Club
2/22
Nagoya
2/24
Tokyo
3/3
Tokyo
3/6
Osaka Bayside Jenny
Gaijin
arrives on the scene
The
Kansai music scene is not for the Japanese only, as the ever-growing number of
foreigners making appearances attests.
Zines like Bananafish and Matt Exile’s Exile Osaka have
been documenting the scene in print, websites have been doing the same
electronically, and foreigners have started labels like Public Bath and Japan
overseas, or maybe even married local musicians. The list of foreigners who have gotten onstage themselves is
even more extensive and could never be conclusive without leaving anyone out,
but among the names to look for are Tripod Jimmy, Tim Olive, Roi Tan, Phillip
Sanartzis, Jeff Bell and his many projects like Empty Orchestra and Live Evil,
and others. Keep your eyes open –
gaijin are involved in the creative process everywhere! Barry Micron, once a member of the Garwood
Brothers and a solo artist who has performed at Reggae Sunsplash in Japan and
has hung out with Bob Marley, is surely one of the scene elder venerables. Now living in Japan with his Japanese
wife, he plays occasional reggae shows of his own as well, particularly at year
end. With the 3.6 Milk gaijin crew
it is not only Barry who’s sharing the excitement –
local jack-of-all-trades Guido was on hand at the Osaka Burning 2 show with his
film crew to shoot a video for the group with long-time band pal and
songwriting collaborator Chris Howe.
Chris, who is also a sound engineer for Barry Micron’s
reggae projects, brought him together with 3.6 Milk last summer and watched
unexpected crossover magic happen.
Expect even more magic in the near future.
Exploring
the Scene
The
Kansai music scene has already spread its feelers all over Japan, with the
smallest bands sending their demo tapes to many of the smallest live houses,
often touring without any CD releases or label tour support and practically
paying to play. Feel the devotion,
experience the commitment to non-mainstream music alive and well even in Japan,
see the fresh young faces that know they probably won’t become
superstars and not really giving a rat’s ass since they’re
clearly having a ball just being onstage.
Information about musical events is best gathered from handbills left on
racks in local music shops and sometimes other trendy/fashionable outlets, not
to forget the clubs themselves.
Going out to shows is a great way to make local friends that are a part
of the scene and making friends with people who have similar tastes and like to
have a good time.