Purple SKY Web Exclusive

Japan Nite 2008

detroit7

Intro: Briana "b-chan" Hunter
Interview: Brian "boo" Stewart

Like an endless string of firecrackers, detroit7 has been releasing their hard rockin' garage rock in loud bursts for the last seven years. Formed in 2001, word of the band's furious performances spread quickly throughout Tokyo's rock scene, leading them to open for such artists as Okuda Tamio, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Teenage Fanclub. Vocalist and Guitarist Nabana's soulful voice and left-handed, barefoot performing style has left many a concertgoer breathless. Their first major release, the mini album Vertigo, was released on the Sony associated label rudie&records in 2003. Detroit7 would then release the single Come On in 2004 and the album 1Love in 2005 on rudie&records, before debuting on Virgin with EP vol. 1 in July of 2005 and EP vol. 2 in November of the same year. 2006 proved to be one of the band's busiest, with their cover of Nirvana's "Rape Me" appearing on the tribute album All Apologizes, and a trip to Memphis to record their next album Great Romantic with producer John Hampton, who has worked with such revolutionary artists as The White Stripes.

detroit7 kicked off 2008 with a new mini album Third Star From The Earth and a return to rudie&records. While they did play a few shows during their time in Memphis, this year's Japan Nite tour is the band's first real chance to explode across the U.S.

pS: What's the story behind the name detroit7? Have you ever been to Detroit?

Nabana: The sound of it. I've never been to Detroit.

pS: Your new mini album is called Third Star from the Earth, what does that mean? Normally the Earth is referred to as the "third rock from the sun."

Nabana: It refers to the sun.

pS: It seems you tried out a lot of different sounds to express the theme of this album, how did you approach the writing and recording?

Nabana: We made this album with the theme of a garage band and dance fusion.

pS: There are many English language songs on this release, why is that?

Nabana: We decide on whether to use English or Japanese depending upon what the song calls for when we're making it.

pS: You covered Nirvana's "Rape Me" for the All Apologizes tribute album. What was it about Nirvana and Kurt Cobain that detroit7 connected with?

Nabana: The way Kurt lived his life.

pS: Like GO!GO!7188 one of your members is male, but the band on whole is sometimes referred to as a girl band. Is there animosity there?

Nabana: None.

pS: Are there any memorable stories you have from the last time you came to America?

Nabana: We recorded in Memphis, TN, and everyone was really friendly. Also in the midst of recording, I was walking around barefoot and stubbed my pinky on some equipment. It was bleeding everywhere. I played while still bleeding.

To hear more from detroit7, check out their myspace page.

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SCANDAL

Intro: Briana "b-chan" Hunter
Interview: Brian "boo" Stewart

Of all the artists on the Japan Nite tour Scandal is the youngest — not only are most of the band members high school students, but Scandal itself formed only two years ago. Based in Osaka, every week the band would go and perform at Shiroten Street in Osaka Castle Park, a place known for its numerous street performances. Through word of mouth, the girls began to build a fan base in Osaka and Kyoto and performed in Tokyo for the first time a year later, all without a single CD release.

This year Scandal expands their activities not only to the rest of Japan, but to America as well. Their debut single Space Ranger will be released in Japan on March 3rd (the holiday of Hina Matsuri), with their second and third singles to be released in April and May. Representing themselves in anime-style likenesses, the formation of Scandal and their adventures is currently being serialized as animated shorts on the band's website (scandal-4.com). Now Scandal is bringing their powerful pop-rock sound to the U.S., not only performing on the Japan Nite tour, but also at Sakura Con in Seattle.

Scandal took a moment out of their tour preparations to talk to purple SKY about their musical background.

pS: What made you want to form a band? How did you meet?

Scandal: We each had separate auditions that we learned about through member wanted flyers posted at specialty Dance and Vocal schools in Osaka and Nagoya. That's when the four of us met.

pS: When and how did you first encounter music? What artists influenced you?

Scandal: We'd listen to J-POP but we discovered dance music through dancing. We still love dance music but since we started this band, we've become interested in the sound of rock legends like Nirvana and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

pS: What made you decide to use anime-style drawings for promotion rather than real photos of the members?

Scandal: In order to convey our "school girl" image, we thought it was interesting and there was more we could do with an anime style.

pS: Will this be the style you continue to use from here on out?

Scandal: That we're not sure of. (laughs)

pS: Are there any set hand motions of movements for your songs?

Scandal: We don't have any but after hearing this question, and being that we come from a dance school background, it has us thinking what an interesting idea it might be.

pS: You're getting more popular, you're doing shows overseas, how do you balance your musical activities with your high school life?

Scandal: This is a very difficult question. In order to succeed with both, we concentrate on using the weekends for rehearsal, meetings and recording.

pS: And lastly, a message for the fans in America?

Scandal: Scandal treasures playing live for people! If you have a chance come see us play!

To hear more from Scandal, check out their myspace page.

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THE BEACHES

Intro: Briana "b-chan" Hunter
Interview: Brian "boo" Stewart

Whether it's the punk dance rock of The Jerry Lee Phantom or the funk island grooves of The Beaches, this band has always been about making people get up and dance.

The Beaches first began as The Jerry Lee Phantom. Formed in Nagoya in 1996, the band made their major label debut in 1998. They released seven albums over the course of the next nine years and in 2001 and 2002 they appeared at Japan Nite at SXSW. As the band's style changed and evolved, the members began to feel that the music they were composing was not in the style of The Jerry Lee Phantom — instead it was a completely new sound for a new band. In 2006 The Jerry Lee Phantom became The Beaches.

Designed to make your body move, The Beaches' music combines rock, disco, new wave, reggae, punk, and island rhythms. Their first album The Beaches was released in May of 2006 and the band spent the remainder of that year touring and promoting their new sound. The Beaches kicked of 2007 with a performance at the large year-end music festival Countdown Japan and released their second album Hana Hou in July of that year. Now in 2008, The Beaches return to America.

For this interview, vocalist and guitarist HISASHI the KID provided purple SKY a guided tour of The Beaches.

pS: You took part in Japan Nite in 2001 and 2002 as The Jerry Lee Phantom. What are you looking forward to out of this current tour of America? Are you nervous at all?

Beaches: We're not particularly anxious. We're looking forward to seeing what people think of our music because even when we perform in Japan, people think we're strange. Also, super-sized French Fries the likes of which you'd never see in Japan. I guess we're looking forward to that?

pS: Your musical sound combines the sounds of many island cultures. How did you become interested in these styles of music? Have you traveled to places such as Hawaii or Jamaica for inspiration?

Beaches: We've been to Hawaii on holiday. There's like, a record store on every corner in Tokyo, so you can get music from all over the world easily. The computer offers similar accessibility. There's no way you can hear all this wonderful music and not be inspired, right? I think the first one to inspire me was The Clash, especially their fourth album Sandinista. There were songs on that album that were influenced by all kinds of music that knew no borders and before I knew it, I started to become interested in all kinds of sounds.

pS: According to the biography on the Japan Nite site you were also inspired by the music of M.I.A. What about her do you like?

Beaches: I feel like M.I.A shook me out of the immunity I'd developed towards all the types of music that my childhood love of the Clash had rooted deep within me. I think M.I.A.'s way of just jumping into all kinds of different music and cultures without fear is in the same spirit as The Clash. M.I.A.'s beats have an extremely original sound, and make me feel like I need to be this way too.

pS: The song "wikiwiki off of the album Hana Hou is very catchy and unique. What inspired you to make a song like this?

Beaches: I think a lot of music inspired it. There's some classical Latin and Baile Funk, which thanks to M.I.A. we were both into at the time, and since the album Hana Hou mixed traditional Okinawan folk melodies there was that. "wikiwiki was born from these and the music of other Asian countries. We play it in a punk style. As for whether we went to those places to inspire us, well, we didn't but that made us imagine them. And that created a new sound! We may be influenced by various types of music but we've no intention of playing them as is.

pS: Since the band name is The Beaches, we have to ask, what do you enjoy doing at the beach?

Beaches: Like the Beach Boys before us, there is not a surfer among us, and the beach really doesn't suit us! Our music brings the beaches of the world to people's ordinary boring lives. I think it's music that is headed for the beach. Do you understand? Something like that. If it does reach the beach, we're gonna hit on chicks. Even though that's something we normally never do.

pS: Tell us what three items you would bring to the beach.

Beaches: Bikini, Snorkel, and Beach Sandals.

pS: Which beaches would you recommend?

Beaches: The beach we recommend is the dance floor at the front of the stage during a Beaches show. It's a beach with killer waves made by great music.

To hear more from The Beaches check out their Myspace page.

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Petty Booka

Intro: Briana "b-chan" Hunter
Interview: Brian "boo" Stewart

Since 1996 Petty Booka have been performing a wide variety of songs, from golden oldies to punk classics — on ukuleles. Combining Polynesian, Bluegrass, Country Western, and their self described Tokyo Dance Hall style, Petty Booka transform their musical inspirations into a brand new sound. The duo first appeared at SXSW in 2002, returning to the festival for the next three years. Their first U.S. CD Let's Talk Dirty In Hawaiian was released in 2003 and they spent the next few years touring the U.S. off and on with solo tours, opening for the Aquabats, and as part of the Japan Girls Nite Tour. In 2006 their second U.S. CD Dancing with Petty Booka was released and in recent years they have focused more on their bluegrass style.

The original Petty and Booka were members of the all girl punk band Flamenco A Go Go, however over the years the line up has changed, with each new generation bringing new energy and inspiration to the duo. At this year's Japan Nite the fourth generation of Petty Booka will make its U.S. debut, in support of their forthcoming album Tokyo Bluegrass Honeys.

pS: How did the members meet each other?

Petty Booka: We lived close to one another when we were kids.

pS: There have been other incarnations of Petty and Booka, how did you inherit the names of Petty and Booka?

Petty: It was fate! I was born to be Petty!

Booka: It was fate! I was born to be Booka!

pS: When did you start playing the ukelele?

Petty Booka: About two months ago. We're hard at work practicing now.

pS: What made you want to pick up that instrument?

Petty Booka: Because we became Petty Booka.

pS: What other instruments can you play?

Petty: I can play guitar and the keyboard.

Booka: I can whistle.

pS: The last album you released here was Dancing with Petty Booka which was described as "Tokyo Dance Hall". Your previous works were done in such opposing styles as Hawaiian and Bluegrass. What kind of style can we expect from Petty Booka this time?

Petty Booka: Bluegrass, strictly bluegrass! We both love country music. There's not too many Japanese girls singing bluegrass and country music, and we'll be covering all kinds of songs. It's really about how we both felt the hand of fate in finding the adorable Petty Booka this way.

pS: You've covered songs from all over the world, which do you find most interesting?

Petty: I like "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight" by Kinky Friedman

Booka: I like "Seven Lonely Days" by Pasty Cline

pS: Are there any songs that you'd like to cover which you haven't yet?

Petty Booka: Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Diana Ross and the Supremes. We want to sing "Iko Iko" and "Together Again".

pS: Lastly, do you have a message for the people that will come see you on this tour?

Petty Booka: Hello! Konnichiwa! We can't wait to meet you all! Wait for us with bated breath! From Petty Booka (the 4th)

To hear more from Petty Booka, check out their website.

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The Emeralds

Intro: Briana "b-chan" Hunter
Interview: Brian "boo" Stewart

The Emeralds like to talk about love. Describing themselves as a "Samurai Rock 'n' Roll Trio" and "Sekai no Koibito" (Lovers of the World), The Emeralds play lighting fast rock 'n' roll that aims straight for the heart. The band formed in 2002 when Kazuya, a time traveling rock 'n' roller from 100 years in the future, landed in the 21st century. Happening upon Osuke and Akio in a run down host club, they decided to form a rock band and thus The Emeralds were born. Their first mini album, Talk About Love, was released in 2004, and their first maxi-single, Surfing Baby, followed a year later. This year marks the fifth time for the band to play SXSW and their fourth as part of the Japan Nite tour. Since being interviewed for purple SKY's Spring 2007 issue, the band has been hard at work recording their first full length album.

pS: This is your fifth time to play at SXSW and your fourth time on the Japan Nite Tour. How has the band's performance changed since last March?

Akio: There are more new songs for everyone to enjoy!

Kazuya: Akio is more intense, Osuke is rowdier, and I have improved the speed at which I remove my sunglasses. (laughs) In other words, each member has grown in some way. That in turn has helped hone our solid, straight-up rock music. So I think that this year we'll hit people's hearts more directly and deeper than we did last year. That's our love.

Osuke: I get the feeling that the people coming to our recent shows are smiling more and moving their bodies more compared to last year's shows. I bet their hearts are dancing too. That's made me get rowdier, made me smile more, and made my heart and soul dance. It's got to be because the songs have matured and i t's just so much fun.

pS: You spent a lot of last year working on your first full length album. How was the writing and recording process different from your previous works?

Akio: There was no difference in the recording process. The biggest difference was that we had Andy from New York City do the mixing. We came up with an incredibly exciting sound.

Osuke: The process hasn't changed much, but we were more detail oriented than before. It came down to these songs being songs we've played a lot in concert, so we wanted to make something high quality that people who may have heard the songs before could enjoy with fresh enthusiasm. In other words, we wanted the best performance of our careers because this is our one and only chance to have a "first album" and we refused to settle for anything less. It took a really long time but it came out great.

Kazuya: If after listening to what we recorded we thought that we could do better, we would start all over again from scratch. Once we re-recorded it always ended up coming out better than the first take, so the process was endless. (laughs)

pS: Where did you record this album? Did the location have some influence on the album itself?

Akio: We recorded in the studio we always use. Every time we record it's stressful and this time was no different. We brought in the same recording engineer as usual, who we work well with, and things went smoothly.

Osuke: Since we were huddled together in this tiny space, I feel like it let us get to know each other through the sound. We mixed in New York City but we talked through things over and over on this higher level, and it raised our own understanding of our music. Thanks to the engineer we again realized the quality of each individual song. Every time we heard a finished mixed track we got all excited, it was great fun.

Kazuya: While we were still recording they announced that the studio was sold and going to close down, so we were in a mad rush to finish up until the day before it closed its doors -so next time we have to find a new place. And this has nothing to do with that, but our Recording Engineer loves sweets, and we used to always eat cakes together. That's when I confirmed that the Mont Blanc is the best of all cakes. (Note: Mont Blanc cakes are mentioned in the song Love Fire on the Surfing Baby single)

pS: The overall theme of your works thus far has been "love". How did you approach this concept for the new album?

Akio: Oh lots of ways. The love that wraps around a person. The love that spins its wheels within you. The love you feel when you think about the world. Basically, the love of treasuring those dearest to you.

Osuke: Love comes in many different shapes but every love has the great power to move people. I wanted to show the power of love that these different facets have in common. It's my intention to express the importance of love from many perspectives.

Kazuya: The new album has a lot of love stories on it. From the love story that grows from a tiny room to the love story that traverses space and time. I mean, I write whatever I want really. (laughs) We think about the people who listen to our music, those who invest their love in our music. We made this wanting to be one with them. We want to link with you through our rock music. We want to be one with everyone at the venue. We're always aware of that.

Osuke: "Love is very precious to us." (From our song "Talk About Love")

Akio: "This world is a big ball of love." (From our song "Love Is Rolling")

pS: Is there a theme aside from love for this record? If so, what is it?

Akio: To have fun! If it ain't fun it ain't rock 'n' roll!

Osuke: It's not "aside from love" but people are living beings with emotions, and because of these emotions each one of us is different. I think it's interesting that when you mix us together you get different chemical reactions. So we must cherish those emotions.

Kazuya: Right. It's important to enjoy life and live positively, and live in harmony with those you meet.

Osuke: "Everybody has their differences but you recognize them, and you don't fight about it." [From our song "Toki o Kakeru Rock 'n' Roller" (Time Traveling Rock 'n' Roller)]

Akio: This applies to our live show too. I want to have a show where a lot of different types of people hear our songs and have a good time. "It doesn't matter what style dance you do, dance however you wanna. Hey everybody let's dance tonight!" (From our song "Hey Everybody, Let's Dance Tonight")

pS: There are many songs on the new album that you've been playing in concert for a long time, do you think they will change now that they are recorded?

Akio: Songs are living things. Through the experiences of recording, and concerts, our understanding of them deepens or we make new discoveries about them. We're always looking for a better arrangement.

Osuke: Right. When we play them over and over again live, we discover new things about them. They've changed completely, and so we recorded them but I still feel they may continue to evolve. Opposite to how you may think, I hope to show you an even more impressive performance now that we've recorded them.

Kazuya: Songs are always changing. And the way our audience hears them changes too. I feel like we'll have more harmonious shows than ever before.

Akio: Yeah, I'm always saying, "Let's sing together!" from the stage. Now that they're going to have heard the album when I say that, I'd be so happy if more and more people sang with me. Being in Japanese makes it tough but... I'd be happy if they at least knew the rhythm and moved their bodies.

pS: Which song from the new album do you enjoy performing live best?

Akio: "Shimokita Dream!!"

Osuke: "Love is Rolling!!"

Kazuya: "All my love for you!!"

pS: Which song do you think best expresses the current The Emeralds sound?

All: "All my love for you!!"

pS: And finally, since this interview is being published on Valentine's Day, Kazuya, what's Valentine's Day like 100 years from now?

Kazuya: 100 years in the future Valentine's Day comes twice a year. A few years from now a crazy rock n roll band from Asia releases a song called "Manatsu no Valentine" (Mid-Summer Valentine) and it becomes a huge hit worldwide. The candy shops pick up on it and everyone is super happy to have another chance to say how they feel. They still do this by giving chocolates, but 100 years from now, when you eat a Hershey's Kiss it has a gummy middle that makes you crazy to kiss someone.

To hear more from The Emeralds check out their Myspace page.