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mothercoat tour diary from SXSW 2007

Those of you who had a chance to read our Spring 2007 edition will no doubt have read the fascinating interview with up and coming rockers mothercoat, whose music you can download now through JapanFiles. David Cirone had a chance to spend time with the band and catalogue what life in an indie rock band is really like.

Mar. 13 - Arrival

mothercoat* needs a cigarette, bad.

The band is tired from an overly-long flight that took them from Tokyo to Washington, DC, then back to Austin. An indie band saves money wherever it can, even if the cheaper flight adds an extra seven hours to their trip.

I first met them at Fanime Musicfest in May 2006. They all look mostly the same, except for Toki's new power-afro hairstyle. "I like to change it. Plus no one else in Tokyo has this style," she explains. "I like to be different."

At the Austin-Bergstrom airport, I get my first experience of Toki's twice-as-long-as-the-rest trips to the bathroom. "She is legendary," Tomo says. Toki's the appointed shepherd of this group, so her personal time often comes after everyone else's.

Ruben meets us at the baggage claim, his goatee and long hair making him look much older than his 23 years. He (like so many other Austinites) has volunteered his apartment for the band to stay in during their visit so they can save on hotel costs. He's e-mailed Toki over the past few months and is genuinely happy to meet them.

A bright red short-bus picks us up, driven by Mike, a friendly volunteer who has spent the past two days shuttling bands from the airport. The entire city puts its support behind SXSW, and many residents take time off from their regular day jobs to assist wherever they can. Mike offers his cooler of beer, but the band declines. They'll relax when they're not in transit.

While most of the band speaks limited English, Toki has spent many months in the USA and her conversational skill far exceeds that of the other members. She asks the driver about renting a van, and he laughs out loud.

Every rental van and truck in Austin has been reserved months in advance and there's zero chance that we'll find one available for the week they're in town. Toki purses her lips in frustration. After weeks of worry, mothercoat managed only yesterday to find a band willing to loan them their back line (drums and amps) and suddenly the idea of having no control over their transportation is a mood-killer. Not much is said in the few minutes it takes us to arrive at Metropolis.

The Metropolis Apartments are a cluster of buildings just minutes from downtown Austin. With a population made up of almost entirely students, each building is painted in vivid purples, reds, and yellows. Music and loud outdoor conversations are heard non-stop 24 hours a day. Slamming doors and clanking beer bottles are also constant. The city's unofficial motto is "Keep Austin Weird," and we've just hit headquarters.

Cigarette butts litter the damp grass and sidewalk as we quickly haul their luggage and instruments out of the short-bus so the driver can get back to the airport for more arrivals. Ruben leads us down the outdoor hallway to room 1006.

And then we open the door.

I want to be fair and mention that Ruben is in fact borrowing this apartment from two friends who legally occupy it. I also want to be fair and say that the generosity of all residents of the Metropolis was beyond compare.

Disclaimers aside, the place is a wreck - wet, unwashed towels, cigarette butts floating in half-empty party cups, a sink with standing water that's days old, and the predictable absence of toilet paper.

An indie band saves money wherever it can.

Debris is shuffled away just enough to find everyone a place to sit as I make calls to check on the van situation and it's just as the driver told us - nothing until next Monday.

Beers, sodas and pizzas. Then bed. The lucky few of us stationed in the living room get the extended company of some of the neighbors. Tomo and Junpei lay down in opposite directions to share the couch on the far wall. An hour later our new friends catch word of beer at such-and-such's apartment and quickly leave. I tap Tomo lightly on the foot to send him over to the free sofa. "Domo" he says quietly and heads over, instantly returning to sleep.

Mar 14 - Show Day

Our early arrival at the Austin Convention Center for SXSW pays off and mothercoat checks in quickly. The venue for their official show tonight is just two blocks away. It's noon and the door is locked. A quick and hard knock on the door brings out the owner and he eagerly welcomes them in to take a quick look around. The conversation's in Japanese, but it's clear they approve.

Giga wanders (he wanders a lot) over to the side of the stage and firmly pushes on the stacked speakers to test their stability. He's planning something. He's been known to go airborne.

Lunch at the sports bar. One of my favorite things is to watch Japanese visitors order American food. Wings are "Weeeeeeengs!" Burgers and guacamole are a big hit at today's table, and two of them admit to trying a quesadilla for the first time.

Catching cabs in Austin - Adventure #1. Sixth Street, Fifth Street, and Fourth Street are all strike-outs. Half-a-mile later at the Austin Hilton, it's still a short wait, and even though we take the first cab and hand the driver a map, we're still five minutes late getting back to the apartment behind the other half of the band. The cab drivers are tired and cranky.

Junpei is in charge of schedules and he's running through the SXSW guide to plan their show attendance later in the week. Each of them is excited at the chance to see some of their favorite UK and USA bands up close. But now there's an emergency - the band suddenly cannot find their bag of self-produced promo booklets.

We call the short-bus driver and the airport, but no one's seen the missing bag. There are still some postcard flyers for their show, but these booklets were designed to be cool "keeper" items that fans could use to spread the word about mothercoat here in the States. Toki especially is depressed. "We worked all night to make them and staple them. We were very proud of them."

At 3:30 PM, they get a short rehearsal courtesy of a neighbor's in-apartment studio. Building 10 of the Metropolis is the unofficial "Musician's Building," so there's enough pro equipment around to give mothercoat what they need. Four guys are hanging out on the couch, and three more are in the neighboring doorways, smoking and comparing notes on this year's "South By." Junpei hustles to get the band ready to go.

They start with "angle" from their first full-length CD interphone - the song that will open tonight's show. The sound carries out the open door and echoes off the courtyard walls. By the end of their "warm-up" rehearsal, the Metropolites have stopped all conversation, now cramped into the hallway to watch. "They're fucking good," says Brian, who's one of the actual residents of 1006. "I mean, really fucking good."

Ruben's friends pack us up in two cars and we head to downtown Austin for our 6 PM load-in. This area really hits its stride around nine o'clock, but even now at 5:45 there's considerable car and foot traffic. They haven't closed off Fifth Street yet so they're able to get right to Latitude 30's front door with their gear.

Go figure - the Japanese band is the only band on time for their load-in. The stage manager James gives us some thanks for that, and it buys a little extra time for Junpei to talk with the sound engineer for the event. Poor Dennis-the-SXSW-Sound-Guy isn't prepared for Junpei's good-enough English, his printed diagrams and charts or his exacting specificity. After a few moments of broken communication, Dennis smiles and backs off, watching Junpei test and make adjustments. Junpei loves to attack a sound board. "Play time," he says.

A few minutes later, the stage manager boots us to get ready for the 8 PM band - the first of 6 bands tonight. We hit the street at the corner of Fifth and San Jacinto. This section of downtown is blocked off now, so everyone roams the pavement at will. Toki divides up the flyers for tonight's show and assigns Makoto and Tomo to the opposite corner of the street.

Before he can receive any such instructions, Giga walks decidedly across the street to an upstairs bar to watch some live music. We don't see him again for an hour. "He vexes me," she says.

Today is Junpei's birthday and he spends the evening wearing a rabbit mask and passing out flyers to the streams of SXSW patrons - some interested, some just happy to grab something shrink-wrapped and "free."

Toki is the most aggressive of the group. She chases down a passer-by that missed her chance for eye-contact. Toki is great at making people smile and this passer-by promises show up at midnight to see mothercoat.

mothercoat returns to the club to watch the 11 PM performance by The Sterns from Boston, Mass., the band who's been kind enough to loan them their back line. Midway through the set, they change clothes and get ready for the quick change-over. When The Sterns finish, there will be a total of 20 minutes to rearrange equipment, check each member's instrument lines and microphones, and adjust the sound board's settings. They're ready on time, just barely.

Junpei gives a thumbs-up from the back of the house, and Giga gives a spare introduction in English: "Hello. We are mothercoat from Japan - Tokyo."

Most clubs at SXSW don't charge a cover, so patrons walk in and out of several places a night just to sample the different artists. There's a lot of talking going on no matter where you go - Industry talk, Oh-my-God!-how-are-you talk, and Let's-have-a-beer talk. But the live version of "angle" is doubly more intense than the CD version, and in each of the three live shows they'll perform here in Texas this week, the opening notes do one very important job:

They make people shut the fuck up and listen.

The set list for Latitude 30: angle / potofu / movie (unreleased) / yogurt bus (unreleased) / galileo / yoku to bou

"galileo" is the band's signature 7-and-a-half-minute number, and its mid-song high-adrenaline build-up brings Toki and Giga into choreographed close-quarters. At its apex, sometimes they kiss and other times he spits right in her face. The unpredictability of that moment keeps it fresh, and they both enjoy it. Tonight it's neither kissing nor spitting for this SXSW audience - the pair treats them to a solid thirty-seconds of frenetic dry-humping (Toki does the pounding, her pelvis smacking her bass against Giga's ass).

Giga mounts the speakers not once but twice, takes a trip over to the far bar to stand on top of it next to the television, steps over the drum kit onto the window sill to greet the people on the sidewalk outside and then jumps back to his microphone in time to join the vocals for "galileo's" end. For the last song, he steps down into the audience and embraces the members of the front row.

All the band members are beaming for the genuine applause and they each say thank you in English. The afterglow is cut thirty seconds later by the house music as the next band politely steps in and mothercoat clears off to make room.

The band makes a point to say another thank you to The Sterns before digging up their equipment cases from behind the pile of assorted gear left by the other bands. They sell 25 CDs tonight, roughly 1 for every 4 people in the house and down a few free drinks courtesy of thankful fans.

Catching cabs in Austin - Adventure #2. Out on the corner of Fourth and San Jacinto, we might as well forget about it. Guardian Angel Ruben rustles up some help from fellow Metropolite musician Joshua and they manage to get two cars downtown to pick us up.

While we wait, Toki launches herself onto Junpei's back for a quick piggy-back up the street, giggling.

March 15 - the day after

The toilet backed up last night. "Maji yabai" has been a favorite term of the band this trip and it definitely applies today. Junpei is making the most of it, laughing as he tries to plunge the toilet. A few members of the band watch and laugh with him. No luck. So there are two choices this morning - a neighbor's apartment or the five minute walk to the CVS.

At the CVS, Tomo and Makoto remark on the high price of cigarettes. Despite my objections, Makoto and his girlfriend Mina try a Monster energy drink. After a sip, they pass it around to share the experience of how bad it tastes.

Catching cabs in Austin - Adventure #3. The 45-minute wait for our taxis reminds me to call the car rental places again. Still no dice.

Last night's show is over, but the PR is still going. mothercoat arrives at the outdoor Brush Park stage downtown to set up at their Japan Bash booth. Japan Bash is hosted by the Japanese trade organization JETRO and features free performances by the six bands on the official "Japan Nite" lineup appearing tomorrow night. Japan Nite has a solid reputation here at SXSW and most attendees assume every Japanese band they spot is part of that event.

A fan comes up to the table and meets Toki and Giga, clutching her HY flyer and a sticker from The 50 Kaitenz.
"Are you part of Japan Nite?" the girl asks.
"We're mothercoat from Tokyo, Japan," Toki quickly replies and hands her a sampler CD across the table.
"But you're not in the Japan Nite show?" the fan persists.
"No, we're not playing tomorrow night, but please listen to our CD. I think you'll like it."
The fan is already distracted, looking for another target. She spots two members of Pistol Valve and mutters a "thank you" as she darts away.

Dusk comes and the free concerts are over. Everyone clears out, and mothercoat is almost completely out of sampler CDs, so their wrap-up is especially easy. "Onaka ga suita," Tomo says, rubbing his stomach. A friend of the band who's been to Austin before takes us to a noodle restaurant just a few blocks away. The line is 20 minutes for a table, so Toki and Makoto go down the street to hand out more flyers for their show in San Antonio on Sunday with Peelander-Z.

While we wait outside the restaurant, a flushed-face fat man with a guitar comes over and starts strumming his guitar, singing for a tip. Even after our polite dismissal he sticks around to push his luck. Giga must recognize drunk in any language, so he starts to freestyle scat with the man's song. Giga stays playful, but he's enjoying pissing this guy off.

After dinner, Toki and Giga head to Antone's to make absolutely super-sure they'll get in to see Sparklehorse, one of their favorite American bands. I follow Junpei to catch Fujiya & Miyagi, a techno group from the UK. After the show, Junpei wants his shirt signed by the whole band. Junpei's charisma has captivated them and even though the third keyboard player has already gone downstairs with the gear, the band's singer chases him down to make sure Junpei gets his wish.

We arrive at Antone's just in time to stand front row with Giga and Toki. Toki is slumped over the front speaker taking a quick nap and Giga watches the crowd, always taking mental notes.

Sparklehorse arrives and Toki comes back to life, whipping out her video camera. The singer, steamed at coming on stage nearly a half hour late, puts on a good face and asks the audience "We didn't get a sound check, so please bear with us." The 200+ crowd knows the words to the first song and Toki and Giga literally jump for joy.

After the show, the house crew orders everyone out of the venue "Now!", but the band pushes their way over to catch a picture with Sparklehorse and get autographs. On the way out, she leans in over the stage to place their CDs on top of the singer's guitar case.

mothercoat is happy.

They're also a bit buzzed on top of exhausted. They walk Fifth Street among the other last-call refugees, just in time to get collared by a freelance video camera crew. "We love Sparklehorse!" Toki screams into the camera - then adds, "And mothercoat!" Junpei tops her by leaning in to kiss the lens.

Walking away, for a moment I see Giga holding Toki's hand. When I look again, it's gone.

Pizza on the curbside helps everyone come down from the high of seeing a long-loved band. The mounted police start their march down the middle of the street, widening their formation to push back the crowd. A drunken 20-something decides he's going to run up toward one of the police horses, but a bike cop grabs him by the shirt just in time to stop the punk from touching the horse. "Go to jail," Makoto says, chewing.

A few drunk Americans spot the band and yell whatever Japanese words come to mind: "Sayonara! Konnichiwa! Arigatou!" Junpei yells back at them with a smile, waving.

You guessed it - no cabs. Bless his heart, Ruben comes through again.

Mar 16 - Shopping

With the help of Michael, Ruben's next-door neighbor, we wake up early for clothes shopping at Austin's best second-hand clothing store - Buffalo Exchange. A half-hour bus ride gets us to the UT campus, and then its a few minutes walk from there. Once they arrive, Japanese citizens eagerly contribute 300 dollars to our nation's economy in the space of 90 minutes.

I take some photos of the band next to some frog-like creature spray-painted on a brick wall. Giga takes a quick look at his close-up shot on my camera. "Pussy," he says. Toki smacks him on the arm. "Don't talk like that," is all I hear in English before she starts to whisper to him in Japanese.

Toki and Giga whisper a lot to each other. Onstage or during rehearsal, there's a marked unity in this group, but socially Giga and Toki tend to keep apart from the rest (though Toki will often flit back and forth to Junpei for comic relief).

Individually, a few of them have spoken to me about the significance of this event in the USA - it is Tomo's last performance with the band before he joins his family's business. The importance of family honor in Japan is never to be underestimated and it's not been an easy decision for Tomo, who started this band with Makoto nearly six years ago.

It's not a subject for open discussion and while Toki and Tomo have been so close in the past, at no time in this trip do I see them together in conversation. It's easy to read the change of moods in Toki's face and the few times anything about the future is mentioned, she looks away.

The bus takes us back downtown for their scheduled interview with JETRO for the organization's newsletter. We're an hour early, so nearly everyone finds a chair to crash in. Tomo and I have a conversation about girls and the Red Hot Chili Peppers ("Re Chi Li") to pass the time. Everyone is very, very tired.

The group makes its way to the Elysium for the Japan Nite show, but not before doing more PR with the waiting fans. These poor souls are hoping to get in without a badge or wristband. "Welcome to the land of ain't-gonna-happen," one fan says as he watches the wristbands walk in to fill the venue.

Mothercoat gives every person in line a flyer for their San Antonio show, a sampler CD and an earnest hello. The J-fans gobble up the freebies, and we head in (wristbands!) to catch performances by The 50 Kaitenz and GO!GO!7188. Junpei asks me to get ready to take a photo as soon as he can find Akko, GO!GO!'s cute bassist. He gestures and teaches me "yotte, yotte" ("closer, closer") so I know exactly what he wants me to do when they're posing together. Junpei is devilish.

On the walk to the Hilton to get in the taxi line, they mention they wish they could see Iggy and the Stooges tomorrow, but spending the whole day in line just isn't worth it.

Mar 17 - Crawfish

A 9 AM call to Enterprise scores us a Jeep Cherokee. It's not big enough for all of us plus gear, but it will hold most of us so two others can ride with Peelander-Z to San Antonio tomorrow. A big transportation problem solved by good fortune.

Lunch of crawfish and crabs, then a quick stop at the grocery store to buy cleaning supplies. Back at the Metropolis, the band proceeds to clean the kitchen, bathroom, and living room. Ruben doesn't know how to take this and is still somewhat embarrassed by these living conditions he has no control over. I tell him he might as well yell at a cloud to stop raining and advise him to simply repeat "thank you."

mothercoat has agreed to play for a pool party at the complex later that night. The student volunteers are having a hard time getting things organized and Tomo and Junpei are the first to step in, with the rest of the band quickly following suit. Just like cleaning the apartment a few hours earlier, it's an example of the work ethic they all share - no one in mothercoat is looking for excuses to relax.

mothercoat will close the show tonight after three other local bands. As the first band starts their set, Tomo leans up against a nearby railing to take a breather. "We are good volunteers," he says, grinning.

The party's late start makes this young audience restless and I hear a few mentions of "Where's the Japanese band?" as many people leave to pursue other entertainment. mothercoat takes the stage nearly an hour later than planned, and dangerously close to the apartment's official shut-down time for the party.

Toki leans into the microphone and announces the next song is "No Beatles," a number cut from Latitude 30's show due to time. "This is a strange tribute to the Beatles. Everybody loves the Beatles, but... it's our turn now." The remaining crowd of 40 cheers in drunken agreement. Later, Makoto tells me that he requested that song tonight - it's one of his favorites (also the title of his personal blog on mothercoat.com).

The students enjoy the show and give lots of love. Giga once or twice eyes the railing between him and the pool but to everyone's relief stays on the stage.

We drive to get food for the night. Toki makes a quick call to Mai Mai, Peelander-Z's manager, to confirm the details for tomorrow's trek to San Antonio. Once we arrive at the IHOP, Tomo mercilessly destroys a T-bone steak.

Mar 18 - Sam's Burger Joint

2 PM - We arrive at the Elysium where Peelander-Z's van is loaded and waiting for us. Peelander Yellow is energetic - always. "You ready, you got the map, okay!" Giga and Toki ride with the Peelander crew to the post-SXSW "Japan Nite Fever" event at Sam's Burger Joint. It's an hour's drive away through flat, bright Texas.

Makoto tells me he'd like to come back to the USA and see Niagara Falls. We compare Aerosmith and the Rolling Stones. Tomo sleeps almost the entire ride.

Jonny Yen at Sam's has put on this show for three years running and it's a popular follow up to the more hectic time at SXSW. Five bands will play tonight: mothercoat, Kiiiiiii, nekomushi, Metalchicks and Peelander-Z.

But first, today's opening act: Junpei vs. The Emperor.

No one can blame the house sound engineer for being protective of his control board - it's not uncommon for young musicians to crank levels past this older system's capacity. It's already happened once this year and Hollis is going to make sure nothing like that happens today or any other day. "No one's touching my fucking board," he says, already stressed by his limited time to sound-check five very different bands.

Junpei is the official fifth member of the band and a necessary contributor to mothercoat's live show, making level adjustments and sharply choreographed fades during each number. Mothercoat could possibly do "a" show without him, but they can't do "their" show, it's a simple as that. The direct approach doesn't work, so we seek help.

A half hour later, Jonny has gathered Sam's staff to form a circle outside, imploring Hollis to allow Junpei access to the sound board. In Japan, mothercoat has never encountered this resistance, partly because of Junpei's reputation in the indie music community. Here in America, he just sits patiently with his charts and headphones next to the sound booth, waiting.

Looking through the glass doors, I see Peelander Red adding his support in the conversation. Hollis is nodding, his stone expression turning warmer. I say to Junpei, "He's the Emperor and this is his Castle. He's going to let you in." A quick look back to check, then I add: "Soon."

After a few minutes, the circle outside breaks and Jonny comes back in to give me a secret thumbs-up. Toki has toiled away all this time writing in English a list of exactly what Junpei does in each song. It's taken away from her preparation time, but she's dutifully done what needed to be done. Hollis looks it over and is impressed by the band's tenacity and complete lack of a standard rock-n-roll attitude. "We'll try it," he says.

Tonight's set list is the same as their show at the Metropolis:

angle / potofu / movie / yogurt bus / No Beatles / galileo / yoku to bou

The intensity of this performance is more focused than any of the shows previous. It's a bigger stage, it's a packed crowd of jumping fans, including other musicians - and it's the last official show for this team of five.

For tonight's "galileo," Giga plants a full-on kiss on Toki. The crowd hoots in approval. At the end of the set, there's a full two minutes of applause before the band comes out to say thank you and collect their instruments.

Hollis yells into the microphone: "Let's hear it for motherrrr-coat!" and gives Junpei a long hug. "You guys can come back anytime!"

A line forms at the merchandise table to buy mothercoat's CDs and get autographs. Everyone in the band is beaming. A young female fan comes up to Giga and asks "Can I have a hug?" He's happy to oblige.

Drinks in hand - with free burgers courtesy of Sam's - they relax to enjoy the rest of the show. After Kiiiiiii's set, Peelander Yellow jumps up on stage to seize the microphone. "Buy Kiiiiiii's CDs! Buy mothercoat's CDs! Right now!"

Later, Makoto and Mina sell the last of the CDs, while Junpei and Tomo enjoy liquor shots outside courtesy of happy fans. Toki and Giga pair up to play with the video camera. Peelander-Z takes the stage with their raw, unstoppable energy. Several times during the night they bring up audience members and even other bands to play instruments.

For the extended live version of "Y.Y.Y." it's mothercoat's turn. Peelander-Z's manic lead singer screams out "MOTHER-COAT-O! MOTHER-COAT-O!" Having just seen Metalchicks' suGar dragged up to the stage to play guest-guitar, Tomo and Makoto save him the trouble. They eagerly run up to join the party.

Mar 19 - Mata ne

6 AM - back at the airport. After checking in for their early morning flight, we pause for some last-minute conversation. The band has grown very fond of Ruben and they invite him to visit them in Japan any time.

They walk away to the TSA checkpoint fatigued, but all smiles. After much debate, they have decided to look for another drummer to replace Tomo and Toki tells me they are focused on moving forward.

On the way out of the airport, I hit a red light and turn to look out the open window. I'm struck by the quiet of the morning - mist on the ground and the steady click of the turn signal.

*mothercoat, like many Japanese bands, chooses the capitalization of their English words very carefully. mothercoat's name is always in lowercase, as are most of their song titles.

David Cirone is a writer and photographer in Los Angeles, CA. He is also the media director for JapanFiles.com.