April 30 - May 15 It Came From Japan UK Tour Featuring Lillies and Remains, Natccu, Sunset Drive and Sputniko!
April 30 + 1 May - BRIGHTON Moshi Moshi Sushi outdoor festival Natccu (both days), Sunset Drive (both days) and Sputniko! (May 1) Free entry! Japanese stalls and food, etc
2 May - LONDON The Camden Crawl @ The Fiddler’s Elbow Natccu, Sunset Drive and Sputniko! Compere: Rock’n'roll comedian (and Electric Eel Shock’s manager) Bob Slayer. Daytime show! Free sushi! Free entry with festival pass
3 May - BOURNEMOUTH Solid Air: Mayday! Mayday! @ The Winchester Natccu, Sunset Drive Free entry! Plus other bands from around the world
7 May - LIVERPOOL Zanzibar Sunset Drive
8 May - LONDON Terracotta Film Festival afterparty @ Slug & Lettuce, Soho Sunset Drive
12 May - LONDON Dublin Castle Sunset Drive
13 May - BRISTOL Mother’s Ruin Natccu, Sunset Drive Free entry! Plus local bands
14 May - LONDON White Light @ The Lexington Natccu
15 May - BRIGHTON The Great Escape @ The Basement Natccu, Sunset Drive, Lillies And Remains Compere: TV/radio presenter and Japanese music buff Iain Lee. Daytime show! Free sushi! Free beer! Free entry with festival pass
Tuesday, April 28 / The Independent - San Francisco, CA Thursday, April 30 / Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR Friday, May 1 / The Crocodile - Seattle, WA Saturday, May 2 / The Badlander - Missoula, MT Monday, May 4 / 7th Street Entry at First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN Tuesday, May 5 / Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL Wednesday, May 6 / The Crofoot (The Pike Room) - Pontiac, MI Thursday, May 7 / Andy Warhol Museum - Pittsburgh, PA Friday, May 8 / Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia, PA Saturday, May 9 / Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY Sunday, May 10 / Velvet Lounge - Washington, DC Monday, May 11 / Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC Tuesday, May 12 / Grey Eagle Tavern & Music - Asheville, NC Wednesday, May 13 / Tasty World - Athens, GA Thursday, May 14 / Bottletree - Birmingham, AL Friday, May 15 / One-Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, LA Saturday, May 16 / The Mohawk - Austin, TX Monday, May 18 / Hi Dive - Denver, CO Tuesday, May 19 / Launchpad - Albuquerque, NM Wednesday, May 20 / Hotel Congress - Tucson, AZ Thursday, May 21 / Spaceland - Los Angeles, CA
April is finally here (or just about), so it's time to take a long hard look at the upcoming events!
This month, it's all about the anime cons. Sakura-Con, Anime Matsuri and Kawaii Kon are all taking place at the same time, April 10-12th. Even better, they are all chocked full of great musical guests.
First, there's Detroit7, who are actually ending the US leg of their tour, then jumping off to the rest of the world through April.
Then there are the cons, all taking place April 10th through the 12th. You've got both girugamesh and Hangry & Angry at Sakura Con in Seattle. There's Miyavi and DJ Takuya Angel at Anime Matsuri. Then there's the total rock and roll show at Kawaii Kon, featuring both The Emeralds and Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re.
Oh, and there's also An Cafe, who will be ending their world tour with three shows in California on the 11th, 12th and 14th.
Obviously, it's going to be a crazy month for both anime and Japanese music fans. Will you be getting out to any of these shows? See something missing? Just say so in the comments.
February 19, 2009 - Japanese fashion legend Takuya Angel, will be making his US Debut as both a clothing designer, and a DJ at Anime Matsuri in The Woodlands, Texas, courtesy of Tainted Reality. His appearance at the convention includes a DJ set at the convention rave, and several of his personally designed outfits being featured in the convention fashion show. In addition to these main events, he will be participating in autograph sessions, fan Q&A panels, and selling merchandise, including his debut CD being released through Darkest Labyrinth Records.
About Takuya Angel:
Takuya is a respectable fashion designer and DJ who is capturing the hearts of the visual and cyber generation. Born in Osaka, Japan in 1967, Takuya always wanted to create something different and unique. He thought it should be possible to combine old Japanese fashion with modern Japanese fashion. Takuya Angel clothes and accessories are a huge combination of colors, patterns and shapes. Traditional and modern materials put together in a stylish way with wild exotic colors that will blow you away. In 1985, Takuya started the original brand Takuya Angel wanting to bring Japan back into fashion, and he followed his artistic instincts to create an amazing line that has captivated the eye of not only the Japanese crowd, but all around the globe. Takuya's inspiration came from various sources, such as bringing old Kimonos into the 21st century, taking inspiration from his own environment, historical events, childhood, and anime. Takuya looks beyond what is right or wrong, and all of his ambitions and efforts have made him the Takuya of today.
Takuya started playing as a DJ in 1986, and worked on many different genres. Takuya himself is a huge techno fan, and creates his own club music. In 2007, Takuya toured outside of Japan and played shows in Paris, Germany, Holland, England, Spain, Switzerland, and Belgium. Takuya collaborates often with the Tokyo Decandence, one of the hottest events in Tokyo, and participates in special club nights where he often DJs.
About Anime Matsuri: Anime Matsuri is a Houston based convention dedicated to anime, manga, gaming and Japanese culture. Continuing to combine many aspects of the Japanese culture to its line-up, Anime Matsuri 2009, held on April 10-12, 2009, features Import Reactor (a rooftop Car Show), an outdoor theater, and a wide range of cultural activities. Once a year, the beautiful Woodlands area turns into a world of anime, a meeting place for thousands of fans, enthusiasts, celebrities, industry personnel and artists. Anime Matsuri is an annual Anime and Japanese Pop Culture convention held in Houston, Texas. The 2009 convention will be held on Easter weekend, April 10th – 12th, 2009at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center.
Anime Matsuri Links: www.animematsuri.com
About Tainted Reality: Tainted Reality is the premiere source of Japanese rock (J-Rock) entertainment in the United States. Tainted Reality hosts their own internet radio network dedicated to Japanese musical programming and produces radio shows such as Tainted Reality & The Tainted Reality Talkshow. Tainted Reality often conducts interviews with some of the biggest musical artists of Japan like Yoshiki of X Japan, Die of Dir en grey, Miyavi and MUCC. They also manage and organize tours for prominent J-Rock bands such as BLOOD, Versailles -Philharmonic Quintet-, The Candy Spooky Theater as well as producing media such as the Darkest Labyrinth Vol.1 DVD and the Darkest Labyrinth CD.
10 Apr Thu - Eindhoven NED Effenaar 11 Apr Fri - Groningen NED Oosterpoort KZ 12 Apr Sat - Utrecht NED Tivoli 14 Apr Mon - Brussels Belgium Botanique 15 Apr Tue - London UK Astoria 16 Apr Wed - Brighton UK Concorde 2 18 Apr Fri - Bristol UK Carling Academy 19 Apr Sat - Birmingham UK Carling Academy 20 Apr Sun - Manchester UK Master Academy 2 22 Apr Tue - Newcastle UK Carling Academy 23 Apr Wed - Glasgow UK Carling Academy 25 Apr Fri - Belfast UK Spring & Airbrake 26 Apr Sat - Dublin Ireland Tripod
J-Pop and J-Rock are only the beginning. The modern Japanese music scene is just as vibrant and varied as any other music scene in the world. I'm Zac Bentz, writer, musician, designer and all around Japanese music fanatic. Here I hope to share with you a comprehensive (!!) list of Japanese artists and bands (with a strong focus on underground and indie acts) that you may or may not have heard of, in the hopes of expanding our mutual awareness of Japanese music.
I don't mean to suggest that everything I listen to is great. Quite the contrary, I hope that you will take the time to recommend your own favorite artists in the comments so that we can all learn a bit more about the huge range of Japanese music that's out there.
"The best Japanese music blog in the world." - Door Slam "Definitely a must-visit for J-pop and J-rock fans!" -The Otaku "Zac Bentz loves music. A lot." -Japanator "Very cool!" -J-ENT "...one of the foremost blogs and information centers on all J-pop and J-rock...the top source for tour information on Japanese bands in the US..." -YankeeOtaku "Wer mehr darüber wissen will, der sollte sich mal hier umschauen, ein sehr gutes J-Music Blog übrigens." -CommandSheep "...very well-written, and there’s an excellent range of artists...a useful resource." -International Wota "не плохая энциклопедия японских исполнителей/групп" -Diary.ru "Great resource for Japanese music fans who want to explore today's J-rhythms beyond Johnny's Entertainment bishonen music and anime music. XD" -Kaishi "If you are a J-Rock fan, [ZB's A-Z] is a must see." -Crunchyroll community "Otaku USA magazine finally got wise and hired Zac Bentz as a J-music contributing editor."-Radicalpatriot "Reviews practically every Asian band that has ever created a recording."- Zallie "Gewährt spannende Einblicke in die japanische Musikszene." -Laut.de
