Is Lemon Drop Kick any good? And also.. they're from Long Beach? How the hell can you be J-rock and from America? O_o Wouldn't it be an American band speaking Japanese... and also... three of the members were non-Japanese.. do THEY speak Japanese? Does this mean if I wrote a song, then had my Japanese friend translate it into.. well Japanese, that I would be a J-rock artist? wtf... I thought J-rock simply meant rock from Japan >_>

it is. they're mislabelled.

[quote="h2orowe"]Is Lemon Drop Kick any good? And also.. they're from Long Beach? How the hell can you be J-rock and from America? O_o Wouldn't it be an American band speaking Japanese... and also... three of the members were non-Japanese.. do THEY speak Japanese? Does this mean if I wrote a song, then had my Japanese friend translate it into.. well Japanese, that I would be a J-rock artist? wtf... I thought J-rock simply meant rock from Japan >_>[/quote]

Yeah, I guess they are trying to say that they make music for a more Japanese audience, but its not japanese. Your definition of J-rock is correct (being rock from japan) you can't go by race though... otherwise it'll be proven wring with even japanese groups.

[quote="Bell02"][quote="h2orowe"]Is Lemon Drop Kick any good? And also.. they're from Long Beach? How the hell can you be J-rock and from America? O_o Wouldn't it be an American band speaking Japanese... and also... three of the members were non-Japanese.. do THEY speak Japanese? Does this mean if I wrote a song, then had my Japanese friend translate it into.. well Japanese, that I would be a J-rock artist? wtf... I thought J-rock simply meant rock from Japan >_>[/quote]

Yeah, I guess they are trying to say that they make music for a more Japanese audience, but its not japanese. Your definition of J-rock is correct (being rock from japan) you can't go by race though... otherwise it'll be proven wring with even japanese groups.[/quote]
The reason I brought up the race is because they're from So-Cal, and there's two Japanese people in the group.. that's not the same as being in Japan with one non-Japanese person in the group. Guitar Vader has a touring Keyboardist who's white, but I'm sure he speaks Japanese if he's able to play for Guitar Vader, considering they are a band from Japan. These non-Japanese people in the other band, Lemon Drop Kick, are from Souther California, hence they wouldn't need to know Japanese to survive, hence they wouldn't actually have learned it (unless they did and that's why they're in the j-rock band), so they probably don't know what their singer is saying. That might not have made sense, but I think you can get my point.

Ok, guys, here's some of the backstory you probably don't know....

After the concert at Slim's, my girlfriend and I were snagged by one of the Pillows crew and told that Manabe wanted to see us in their dressing room.

We went downstairs and Masuo (I *think* that's her name- the short girl with the videocam) banged on their door and it opened about 2 inches and Jun peeked out....and then I heard "It's Craig!" and the door flew open- and there were Jun and Sawao and Yoshiaki completely drenched in sweat and stripped down to their underpants (which was sort of weird, because we had just passed Shin and he was dressed and dry as a bone).

Anyway, they all crowded out into the hall and we were hugging and laughing like crazy- you could feel the relief that it was all over; I thought it was because Sawao got the shit scared out of him in LA, but then Yoshiaki grabbed me and said "Craig! Craig! I had a BIG PROBLEM!!!!!"

Turns out he had LOST HIS PASSPORT...and they had just gotten word from the Japanese embassy that everything was straightened out and they could go home on their scheduled flight. They had been freaked out about it for days....

They kept apologizing for being all wet, but my girlfriend Sasha and I kept hugging them anyway, and Manabe started taking pictures of *us*, which was also a little strange- but he wanted them for the folks back home, since we're supposed to go over to Japan and get married at some point, and we'll hook up with them when we do.

Anyway, there's lot's more to tell but I'm getting a kick out of reading the posts, and I'm looking forward to giving Manabe a report on the fan response to this tour.

Incidently- in the video outside of the Whiskey you can just see my geezer ass going around a corner, but Sasha is the one that comes and rescues Sawao when he's trying to get into that locked door....

...and *yes*. Terra is a TOTAL hottie....

That's really cool, but how do you know them so well? I'm obviously a n00b to this forum, and the only other Forum I was in was Planet Pillows UK when they had their other message board.

[quote="Bell02"]That's really cool, but how do you know them so well? I'm obviously a n00b to this forum, and the only other Forum I was in was Planet Pillows UK when they had their other message board.[/quote]

(*chuckle*) Well, you can't make people love you- you can only stalk them and hope for the best....

...which in this case is sorta the way it went. Last year, when I heard they were going to play in Austin at SXSW, I got to the club two weeks ahead of time and more or less groveled my way into being semi- on staff. Then when they showed up, I introduced myself and zeroed in on Manabe, because the guy literally changed my life with his music. I got to spend the whole day with them, starting with the sound check.

I must have said something right, because he emailed me when he got home and we've kept up a correspondence ever since. (I should say that it's very hard work for him since we both have to use a computer translator- we spend HOURS getting an email right, and I KNOW his time is *very* limited, so it's always a precious thing to get an email from him.)

Then last Christmas I went to Japan and we hooked up for dinner a few times, and he took me to their New Year's concert in Shibuya.

I'd say more, but I'd be revealing parts of his private life that are best left for him to decide if he wants known. Suffice it to say, he's utterly normal and laid back. Like all the very best musicians, he's got nothing to prove and no egotisical personality problems whatsoever.

Oh- and the joke was, they thought I actually _was_ management when I first met them, and we all had a good laugh in Shibuya when they finally got told I was just a fan.

I'd take a bullet for any one of them- they're real sweethearts, seriously. Maybe they're just humoring an old man, but they've been absolutely wonderful to me.

Oh yeah Craig, I talked to Yoshiaki for a while.

Did he tell you?

[quote="Kaze no Mirai"]Oh yeah Craig, I talked to Yoshiaki for a while.

Did he tell you?[/quote]

No- we really didn't have much time, especially since we got cross-threaded on our planned meeting before the LA show- it turns out he WAS in town, but he notified me by email and I wasn't checking it. I think he called my cell phone, but I missed the call and the number was blocked so I couldn't return the call. So that's why we never heard from him those two days.

At the Whiskey, he took us into the dressing room first thing, but we normally don't hang around too much backstage because we don't want to wear out our welcome. We drank about half a Sprite and then some people came in to interview them and we ducked out down to the floor where we could sit through the sound check.

After that, we split to get something to eat, and didn't come back in until the club opened and the entire crowd was inside. We popped out of the restaurant only to find them smoking out in front of the place next door, so we missed eating with them, and it was time for them to go back up to their dressing room.

So we positioned ourselves up on the second floor where they come out of the dressing room to go down to the stage; we high-fived them all when they took the stage. Then after the stage invasion, we did it again when they came back up, but it was different; Sawao and I started to slap hands but it turned into sort of a reassuring gentle squeeze as he passed- I think he was really pretty scared. I know I would have been.

We talked to Jun later, and he said the guy who grabbed him stuck his finger in Jun's ribs like a gun. (He told Sasha, "He *fuck* with me!")

Anyway, we saw them again at the Kinokuniya bookstore in SF for the press interview, but they didn't have any time there. Then we walked around with terra and Over-Amped after that, and didn't get to Slim's until much later.

Yoshiaki was going to put us on the guest list but he got tied up with the passport thing, and we weren't on it when we checked, so the club manager wouldn't let us in. We hung out across the street until the crowd was all in and the first band was finished, and then went over, only to find their manager Miura out looking for us. Fortunately, I don't think he'd been looking very long, but apparently Manabe had gotten worried when he realized he forgot to put us on the guest list.

So we caught the show, and then had the meeting at their dressing room afterward.

We kept that very brief- they still had to cool down and get dressed, and they were flying out that night...so the last thing we wanted to do was slow them down. We know we'll see them again, so it was another opportunity to not wear out our welcome.

Anyway, I'm SO GLAD you got to talk to them! I had hoped we'd have an evening a day or two before the LA show and could all (us and you and Cuddly Takkun and Carl and Manabe) have dinner together, but thanks to me not even thinking to check email, I blew THAT one.....

[quote="Lepton"]Anyway, there's lot's more to tell but I'm getting a kick out of reading the posts, and I'm looking forward to giving Manabe a report on the fan response to this tour.[/quote]
Feel free to mention that the guy in the Ivy t-shirt from SF had an absolutely amazing time at the concert.
I'm now even more eager to see them perform in Japan if I ever get the chance.

You're such a lucky guy. Oh, and be sure to tell us if you get any inside info on the next Nine Miles album.

[quote="h2orowe"]Is Lemon Drop Kick any good? And also.. they're from Long Beach? How the hell can you be J-rock and from America? O_o Wouldn't it be an American band speaking Japanese... and also... three of the members were non-Japanese.. do THEY speak Japanese? Does this mean if I wrote a song, then had my Japanese friend translate it into.. well Japanese, that I would be a J-rock artist? wtf... I thought J-rock simply meant rock from Japan >_>[/quote]

from my experience, if "indie" doesn't mean you're on an independent label anymore, then "j-rock" doesn't have to mean that you're from japan. and, listening to those other bands, i truly believe that the pillows are not j-rock.

...

A lot of labels that are called indie actually have deals with major labels about distribution and stuff. You can't really call them independent at all. If you're in it for the name though, be my guest.

Hi I'm new here and I've been visiting this board for about a year.

I was fortunate enough to meet [i]the pillows[/i] at the Kinokuniya Book Store at Japan Town in SF. I got to show Manabe my [i]pillows[/i] tattoo. His reaction was priceless.

Well here's the tattoo that I showed Manabe and Sawao.
[img]http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a283/konno5/onelifetattooresized.jpg[/img]

Take care.

Nice tattoo though it would've probably been better if I actually saw it. If I were at SF at all. It's cool really.

[quote="Konno"]Hi I'm new here and I've been visiting this board for about a year.

I was fortunate enough to meet [i]the pillows[/i] at the Kinokuniya Book Store at Japan Town in SF. I got to show Manabe my [i]pillows[/i] tattoo. His reaction was priceless.

Well here's the tattoo that I showed Manabe and Sawao.
[img]http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a283/konno5/onelifetattooresized.jpg[/img]

Take care.[/quote]

haha hey thats pretty awesome.