May Calendar - It Came From Japan - UK Tour

May 11-30
It Came From Japan
UK Tour

Featuring:

Natccu
16 Brighton, The Great Escape @ The Queen's Hotel (1-4pm; free sushi and beer)
17 London, It Came From Japan @ The Fly
23 Liverpool Sound City @ Bumper
29 London, The Dublin Castle
30 Brighton, Moshi Moshi open-air festival (with Levelload)

TOKYO PINSALOCKS
14 Bath, Moles Club (with Casiokids)
16 Brighton, The Great Escape @ The Queen's Hotel (1-4pm; free sushi and beer)
17 London, It Came From Japan @ The Fly
20 Liverpool Sound City @ Magnet

SKUNKRICE
16 Brighton, The Great Escape @ The Queen's Hotel (1-4pm; free sushi and beer)
17 London, It Came From Japan @ The Fly
18 London, The Dublin Castle
21 Liverpool Sound City @ Korova

REMAIN ON
11 London, The Dublin Castle
16 Brighton, The Great Escape @ The Queen's Hotel (1-4pm; free sushi and beer)
17 London, It Came From Japan @ The Fly
20 Liverpool Sound City @ Bumper

LEVELLOAD
23 London, Meat Raffle @ Catch
26 London, Old Blue Last (single launch party)
30 Brighton, Moshi Moshi open-air festival (with Natccu)

Source: MySpace

Interviews: ketchup mania, tokyo pinsalocks, Freezepop

I've recently done a few interviews (part of the reason for the slow updating lately!), so I wanted to collect them all into one post. All interviews were either by phone or in person and recored, so hit those links and start listening!

tokyo pinsalocks


tokyo pinsalocks are an all-girl, fuzzy psych-rock band who recently played a couple shows in America, and I had a chance to talk to them after their show at Anime Boston on March 21st.

Download: TORRENT | DIRECT

ketchup mania


ketchup mania are a pop-punk band. They were recently on tour with Japan Nite, and also played at Sakura-Con. I talked to them after the con on March 30th, and it sounds like they had a great time!

Download: TORRENT | DIRECT

Freezepop


These guys aren't Japanese, but an American electro-pop band based out of Boston. They've been on a ton of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, even though they don't have a guitar player! I talked to them before their free show at the University of Minnesota, Duluth on March 31st.

Download: TORRENT | DIRECT

Enjoy!

tokyo pinsalocks - My Japanator Interview

It's been a good month for tokyo pinsalocks. First their new album was released on JapanFiles.com, and then on March 21st they played their first show in American at Anime Boston.

I recently had a chance to sit down with the electro-fueled psychedelic trio the day after their Anime Boston gig. I plied them with questions and tried to find out what they planed to do with their time in the States, their formative past and their future dreams. You can download an mp3 of the interview over on Japanator.

Did I indeed get a private show from them in my dreams that night? I think I'll just have to save my answer until they make good on their promise to visit Minnesota on their next tour. I AM WAITING.

Once again, huge thanks to the JapanFiles.com crew for the interview, and to tokyo pinsalocks for being awesome. Let's hope they come back soon!

[update: Get the torrent here!]

March Calendar

February 9-March 3
Polysics
European Tour

3-01 - Dijon/France GeneriQ Festival Vapeur
3-02 - Agen/France Florida
3-03 - Nantes/France Olympic

Source: Japanator

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March 1-8th
Maximum the Hormone

03/01 Reno, NV - New Oasis (w/Dropkick Murphys)
03/02 Anaheim, CA - The Grove (w/Dropkick Murphys)
03/03 Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theatre (w/Dropkick Murphys)
03/04 Albuquerque, NM - Midnight Rodeo/Gotham (w/Dropkick Murphys)
03/08 Kathedral (Toronto, Ontario)

Source: Japanator

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March 7-9th
Swinging Popsicle
Convencion de Juegos de Mesa y Comics
Monterrey, Mexico

Source: Japanator

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March 8th
Pine AM
Rhode Island School of Design
Provenance, RI

Source: Japanator

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March 13-22
The Pillows and Noodles
Delicious Bump Tour In USA 08

March 13 (thu) Los Angeles @ El Rey Theatre (Tickets)
March 15 (sat) Austin @ Elysium [The Pillows only] (SXSW)
March 17 (mon) San Francisco @ Slim's (Tickets)
March 21 (fri) New York @ Blender theatre at Gramercy(Tickets)
March 22 (sat) Boston @ Hynes Convention Center [The Pillows only] (Anime Boston)

Source: Japanator

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March 14-23
Petty Booka - The Emeralds - Ketchup Mania - Detroit 7 - THE BEACHES - SCANDAL - quartz-head 02 - Avengers in Sci-Fi - Sodopp
Japan Nite Tour
(See each venue for actual line-up)

3-14 (Fri) - SXSW 2008- JAPAN NITE - Austin, TX @ Elysium
3-16 (Sun) - NEW YORK @Knitting Factory
3-17 (Mon) - Cambridge, MA @ T.T. The Bear's
3-18 (Tue) - CHICAGO @ Empty Bottle
3-19 (Wed) - DENVER @ Hi-Dive
3-20 (Thu) - SEATTLE @ Hi Dive
3-21 (Fri) - SF @ Independent
3-23 (Sun) - LA @ Knitting Factory -Main Stage-

Source: SxSW-Asia - Japanator.com

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March 15th and 16th
Haruko Momoi
Hawaii Convention Center

Source: Japanator.com

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March 15-27
Antic Cafe
Tour

03-15 - Tavastia/Helsinki
03-16 - Klubben/Stockholm
03-18 - Markthalle/Hamburg
03-19 - Columbia Club/Berlin
03-20 - Zeche Bochum/Bochum
03-22 - Georg Elser Club/Munchen
03-23 - Roxy/Saarbrucken
03-24 - LaLoco/Paris
03-25 - Underworld/London
03-27 - Bikini/Barcelona

Source: Japanator.com

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March 15-April 3
Boredoms
US Tour

3-15 - San Diego, CA - Cane's Bar and Grill
3-16 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
3-18 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
3-20 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
3-21 - Seattle, WA - Neumo's
3-25 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
3-26 - Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
3-29 - Boston, MA - Paradise
3-30 - New York, NY - Terminal 5

CONTINUES INTO APRIL

Source: Japan Media Midwest

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March 21-23
Aural Vampire - Bespa Kumamero - Nirgilis
Anime Matsuri - Houston, TX

Source: Japanator

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March 21-23
Toyko Pinsalocks - The Pillows
Anime Boston - Boston, MA

Source: Japanator

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March 28-30
Ketchup Mania - SCANDAL
Sakura-Con - Seattle, WA

SCANDAL itinerary:
3/28 (Fri)
15:00 SCANDAL live performance
17:30-18:30 Fan Meeting - SCANDAL Autograph Session

3/29 (Sat)
10:00-11:00 SCANDAL Q&A Session
11:30-12:30 Sakura-Con 2008 Press Meeting

3/30 (Sun)
11:00 SCANDAL live performance
13:30-14:30 Fan Meeting - SCANDAL Autograph Session

Source: Japanator

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February 29-April 15
MUCC - D'espairsRay - The Underneath
Rockstar Taste of Chaos US Tour

3-01 - Saturday - Memorial Hall (Kansas City, MO)
3-02 - Sunday - The Eagles Ballroom (Milwaukee, WI)
3-04 - Tuesday - Roy Wilkins Auditorium (Minneapolis, MN)
3-05 - Wednesday - Family Arena (St. Louis, MO)
3-07 - Friday - Hara Arena (Dayton, OH)
3-08 - Saturday - Cobo Arena (Detroit, MI)
3-10 - Monday - The Armory (Rochester, NY)
3-11 - Tuesday - Aragon Ballroom (Chicago, IL)
3-14 - Friday - Tweeter Center (Philadelphia, PA)
3-15 - Saturday - Convention Center (Asbury Park, NJ)
3-17 - Monday - Patriot Center (Washington, DC)
3-18 - Tuesday - Cumberland County Civic Center (Portland, ME)
3-20 - Thursday - Nassau Coliseum (Nassau, NY)
3-21 - Friday - Tsongas Arena (Boston, MA)
3-22 - Saturday - The Armory (Albany, NY)
3-24 - Monday - Gwinnet Center (Atlanta, GA)
3-25 - Tuesday - USF Sundome (Tampa, FL)
3-26 - Wednesday - Bayfront Park (Miami, FL)
3-28 - Friday - UCF Arena (Orlando, FL)
3-29 - Saturday - Mississippi Coast Coliseum (Biloxi, MS)
3-30 - Sunday - TBA

CONTINUES INTO APRIL

Source: J-Rock Revolution

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See something missing? Add it in the comments!

Shojo Beat's Best Japanese Music Contest

I just wanted to drop this quick note. I posted a story over on Japanator about Shojo Beat's 3rd Annual Music Awards. There are a ton of great bands this time around (many of them from JapanFiles), like Polysics, Budo Grape, Tokyo Pinsalocks, Electric Eel Shock, Halcali, Puffy AmiYumi, L'Arc~en~Ciel, Bo-Peep and many more. Check out the story, then head on over and vote!

Tokyo Pinsalocks

The all female trio that is Tokyo Pinsalocks was formed in the year 2000 in Tokyo. The historically futuristic millennium was the perfect time for the band to form. Their sound encapsulates both the past and the future.

On the one hand, they seem to be influenced by the early 60s psychedelic scene, with ethereal vocals floating over a sea of bass and jangly drums. On the other hand, they focus heavily on lo-fi keyboard sounds and modern production tricks, which is much more in line with more modern new-wave techniques. There is very little guitar to be heard in their music, other than the occasional backing track to fill in the spaces. Instead they focus on the electro vibe as the main instrument. Their live shows are much more stripped down to the essentials, with the electronics creating just as much of a blissful wave of sound as the fuzzed out bass and trancelike drums. Through it all they are also rather poppy and upbeat. The hooks are downplayed in favor of the more dreamlike qualities, but the rhythms are funky enough to keep things from falling anywhere near jam-band self-indulgence. In fact they are more like a band of slightly strange aliens finding amusement in our primitive earthly instruments.

Tokyo Pinsalocks will also be making an apperance in America in 2008 at Anime Boston.

Plutonium



Official Site
On JapanFiles
MySapce

Members
Naoko - Vocal, Keyboards
Hisayo - Bass, Backing Vocal
Reiko - Drums, Programming

Major Releases
STAY HERE - 2003.7.16
『バブルガール - 2004.3.3
Rhythm Channel - 2005.10.5
Plutonium (EP) - 2007.4.11

Repeat


Plutonium (live)


Rhythm (live)