Japanese imports

From punk to all-girl teen rock, tour brings Far East bands to US

By Sarah Rodman, Globe Staff  |  March 20, 2009

"Don't drink the tap water. Watch out for the guns." This was the advice given to Taisei, lead singer for the Japanese rock band SA, about coming to the United States.

Hopefully, he won't have to worry about either Monday night when his band plays T.T. the Bear's Place in Cambridge as part of the annual "Japan Night" tour. The road show brings together a handful of bands from across Japan - and across the stylistic board - to storm the United States and Europe for nearly two dozen shows - including appearances at this week's South By Southwest music festival in Austin.

"We would like to show as many faces of music here [as] possible," festival producer Audrey Kimura, says via e-mail from Japan. And indeed, the bands playing T.T.'s (hosting the tour for the fourth year in a row) are quite diverse, ranging from experimental electro-folk to straight-up punk rock. The groups are usually strangers to one another at the beginning of the tour, says Kimura, but by the end "they become very best friends."

Here's a quick rundown of the six bands bringing a taste of Japan to Cambridge Monday night, a few of whom we spoke to through a translator via e-mail.

This all-girl band of teenage rockers from Okinawa formed at a McDonald's, of all places, in 2005. The quartet's debut mini-album "Haha Kara Umareta Hinekure No Uta" was released last summer. The songs on the group's MySpace page show off heavy rock guitar riffs topped by strong pop vocals - in English and Japanese - that sound like a young Kelly Clarkson fronting the Raconteurs. www.myspace.com/flipokinawa

This punk and hard rock quartet, a.k.a. Samurai Attack, has been kicking around the Japanese rock scene for nearly 25 years. The Tokyo group formed in 1984, broke up in 1989, and reformed 10 years later. "Vandals Bop," the band's latest release, should appeal to anyone who digs the robust energy and singalong charms of Rancid and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. "I want to show Japanese punk energy no matter what language we speak," says vocalist Taisei, who sings in English and says the band will also be looking for an American label while it's here. Taisei's heroes include Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, and Sid Vicious: "I love crazy people who have attitude." www.myspace.com/samuraiattack

"Hey it's Friday night, rock 'n' roll party!" This lively Yokohama trio gets right to the point on "Love Is Rolling," the title song from its most recent album, which combines power pop, punk energy, Japanese and English lyrics, and scruffy garage rock charm. The album cover is a takeoff on the Clash's "London Calling," so they get extra points for style and taste. www.myspace.com/theemeralds

Singer-guitarist Tomomi Nabana toggles between a girlish-laid back delivery and frenzied shouting that evokes Kim Deal of the Pixies/Breeders. Her power trio lays down crunchy grunge riffs and swaggering beats to match. It's Detroit 7's second time touring with the festival, and Nabana hopes to raise the Tokyo rock band's profile in the States. "We really had a great time last year. I was so happy to see that lots of people appreciate our music and what we do," Nabana says. She cites Iggy and the Stooges as an influence and describes her band's style as "roaring sound, garage disco music." www.myspace.com/detroit7

The pride of Fukuoka, this quartet sounds like the Japanese entrant into the post-punk sweepstakes. Strutting bass lines, spiky guitars, and loose, whining vocals put them in the same ballpark as Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, and Interpol. They may sing in Japanese, but their rock 'n' roll attitude transcends language. www.myspace.com/spartalocals

The alter ego of musician Soichi Terada of Tokyo combines Japanese folk music with electronic flourishes and has a very quirky biography. To wit: "Omodaka is the name of the project developed through a trial and error process of mutational fusion of music and motion graphics." The video for "Kokiriko Bushi" (above) has gotten 700,000 views on YouTube since 2007. On his MySpace page, Terada promises the music and video "will knock over your existing image toward a music video by a beautiful trajectory." Who can argue with that? It is pretty trippy. A disembodied hand serves as puppet master to a dancing skeleton as flowers with eyeballs observe. www.myspace.com/omodakafareastrecordings