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Motoharu is the alto sax player for the internationally acclaimed Japanese jazz band Soil & "Pimp" Sessions.

Motoharu began playing sax in middle school and realized very quickly that this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. In high school, he saw professors of the Berkeley school of music in Boston jam at a summer session in Japan and decided then and there that he would one day learn from them. Says Motoharu, "That was the first time I ever cried watching music." A few years later, after a huge win at the horse tracks and some good runs at the pachinko parlor, he earned enough money to head to Boston. He got his degree ("a gift for my mother"), but stresses that much more important than his degree were the people he met and what he learned from them, namely, that the point of music is to have fun. Also while in Boston, Motoharu openly acknowledged that he is gay and continues to be open about it in Japan, a rarity for someone of his stature in such a relatively conservative society. He explains, "I don't try to hide it and will talk to anybody about it if they ask... my friendships have deepened, actually, by talking about it."

He returned to Japan shortly after graduation, determined to create a new scene. He worked for a time in construction while jamming at night with members of what would eventually become Soil & "Pimp" Sessions. The jazz old guard was not particularly keen on his vision for a new jazz scene, where musicians and guests have fun together, where the rapport between the two is intimate, almost like a family. But with his band mates, all of whom had the same goals, they prevailed and managed to help create a young, vibrant jazz scene in Tokyo, Yokohama and wherever else they play.

Now, the band regularly tours Europe and just recently got back from South Africa. Motoharu claims that Soil & "Pimp" Sessions is in a really good zone right now, and he envisions artistic development for years to come. "There's still a lot we want to do." Let's hope they keep doing it.

Full interview at Koe Magazine
(This picture was taken back stage after the "nbsa" concert at Bayhall, Yokohama in April, 2010)

I was apprehensive as I watched Special Others live for the first time. I had been listening to their CDs almost like an addiction for the nearly two years since discovering their video for “Star” late one night, and I was keen to see them transform their clean studio sound into an even better live performance. Several songs into their set at Fukuoka’s 2009 Sunset Live festival they finally hit their groove and the packed crowd began to undulate. Shooting from a corner of the stage, I looked to my side to find Furuya Kenji and other members of Dragon Ash, visibly impressed by the spectacle. From what I’ve heard, their respect for Special Others is generally shared in the Japanese rock community.

The jazz-rock quartet’s recent sold-out tour culminated with an extra show at Bay Hall, so they could finish in their hometown of Yokohama where it all started for them. The first set charged the house. The second set? That word again: supernova. A week later, after a session at their studio (also in Yokohama), Miyahara Ryota (drums), Matayoshi Yuya (bass), Yanagashita Takeshi (guitar) and Serizawa Yuma (keyboards) sat down to relate their remarkable journey from scrappy high school band to legend in the making. Success came after much struggle and sacrifice. All four reminisce about the long, hard years, when they had to keep their day jobs but play gigs at night, getting little, if any, sleep. Serizawa worked at a pizza shop, Miyahara worked at a soba shop, Yanagashita was a construction worker, and Matayoshi was a fisherman. As Serizawa relates, “Around 2000 we all started to take ourselves more seriously. It was never explicitly spoken among us, just felt in spirit—let’s give this a go!” But it wasn’t until 2005, with the release of their 2nd EP Uncle John, that they were able to concentrate entirely on their music.

Their sound is typically bright and fast-paced. When asked about their influences, Miyahara notes, “All the various CDs that we listen to while recording bear on our music and we listen widely.” When pressed, they give a shout out to African pops and Big Frog. They are also kindred spirits with the likes of Soulive, Galactic, maybe even Charlie Hunter—jazz-funk-rock acts with a head-bobbing groove. A friend once complained that they are like a repetitive wall of sound. Maybe. But I think the looping motifs sound like American minimalism (as in Philip Glass) gone electric and happy.

Special Others is currently focusing on the next tour and CD release. Serizawa confesses that overseas gigs would be financially risky, but that they would go if invited under the right conditions. For now, though, they are happy to be where they are. “We love Yokohama, we can’t explain why—we just do.”

Full article + 日本語 at:
www.koemagazine.com

Actually, Ao lives in Chigasaki, the beach-side town just outside of Yokohama, but that still makes him a peep...

Ao is the lead guitarist and singer for the Japanese psychedelic rock-jam band Dachambo. I wrote about them in the last issue of Koe Magazine. Since discovering them at Fukuoka's Sunset Live 2009, I've been following them and they've been kind enough to let me shoot at their concerts from the stage.

I was really surprised and happy when I discovered this picture. I shot it backstage at Sunset Live, after Ego Wrappin's huge encore on the last night when multiple artists came on stage for a rendition of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." I forgot taking this picture and didn't even realize it was Ao at the time. Months later, after shooting them at several shows, both backstage and on stage, I rediscover this little gem!

Yokoyama Ken, singer for the Crazy Ken Band, is more than just a Yokohama legend; he is a Japanese pop icon who has been playing and writing songs for decades. Most of his songs celebrate Kanagawa or Yokohama in some way, but his sound transcends national borders.

He grew up in Honmoku, Yokohama, which was then home to a large U.S. military base. He recalls hearing rock-n-roll from ventilation ducts of bars that catered to Americans and being intrigued by the sound. As his tastes matured, he began listening to other genres of music in the international city: rockabilly, reggae, hip hop, R&B, Motown. As for native influences, he cites old Showa folk ballads.

But Ken and his band don't want to simply create nostalgic songs. They like variety and try to play a mix of modern music. Ken calls it the sound of the streets.

Ken's life before he was a superstar was humble. Although he started playing in bands when he was 14, for a while he operated a forklift in Yokohama's Chinatown just to get by. He was also an export inspector, opening crates for 8 years. It's no accident that his songs have an appeal to working-class crowds, much like, say, Bruce Springsteen in the U.S.

When not crooning, he enjoys driving his car around nearby towns or dropping in to hip hop and reggae events in the neighborhood. A celebrity nationwide, Ken remains a local at heart.

Before Suganuma Shige's story, some background about Dean Moon (1927-87), who founded MOON Speed Equipment in 1950, is in order.

Moon was a godfather of the hotrod industry, though his influence extends beyond racing. An innovator of speed parts and flashy presentation, he inspired the sports car industry as a whole and contributed immensely to so-called “Kustom Kulture.” At its heart, the movement is about taking mass-produced machines and turning them into individual works of art through customization. It is a hobby for many, a way of life for some.

Cars have long been a core part of American cultural and industrial history and Shige is an unexpected part of that history. He met Dean Moon in 1983, when he visited the store in California to buy some Moon discs (shiny hubcaps). Shige knew the logo as a kid, as Moon was already famous in Japan in the 1960s. After Shige’s visit, the two exchanged letters for years. Shige recalls, “During my trips to the US, he was like a father to me.” Through Dean’s blessing, Shige opened Moon of Japan.

In 1987, Shige organized the Tokyo Street Car Nationals, the first event for customized American cars in Japan. The year was also a turning point because Dean Moon passed away. Moon’s wife took over but then passed away in 1990. Moon Speed Equipment faced uncertainty. Large corporations only wanted to buy the logos to exploit them for profit, but not the business itself. Since Shige had been running his store in Japan for several years, he decided to step in and save it. “I loved the tradition,” he says, “loved being a part of it.” He purchased the rights, kept the old buildings and called back the original employees.

Some people questioned why the quintessentially American business was passed to a Japanese man. And one industry insider’s account relates that Shige himself expressed concern over lingering anti-Japanese sentiment. Many others, however, have written that they were happy to work with Shige. He did, after all, commit his life to the business. When asked why, he says, “It’s very difficult to explain. I love hot rods—that’s it.” Today, Shige is widely recognized in the US for his role, and the annual Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show he organizes draws thousands of people from around the world.