W♥M

Japan: Guitar Wolf, Otonana Trio, and Yoshiki

Read More Guitar Wolf The stage at Minneapolis’ 7th Street Entry (the 250-capacity room attached to First Avenue) is quite small. In the past, bands that are used to playing larger stages elsewhere have had to.…

Read more Japanese Bands.

GUITAR WOLF
guitarwolf.net

Legendary cool Japanese band Guitar Wolf will be back in the US & Canada this fall in support of their 12" vinyl of Beast Vibrator. If you can make it to one of their live tour dates, the vinyl is available online, including guitarwolfshop.com.

Anyway, words from singer/guitarist Seiji indicate his inspiration of the title track ("Beast Vibrator") from his cell phone: "Be wild! Find your wild instinct! Don’t sit still! Hey, don’t keep staring at your mobile. Fxxk “healing”! Shake your body and heart hard with power of beast!!!"

This new "Tour Magma" throughout the U.S. is with The Coathangers (the all-girl band that I wrote about five years ago, comparing them to "Bikini Kill, the Slits, and other Riot Grrl-type bands") and Coward (a punk band from Nashville). I'm really looking forward to seeing all these bands live.

Tour Magma tour kicks off next week:

09/26 Memphis GONERFEST10 09/27 Nashville Exit/In. 09/28 Baltimore Ottobar 09/29 NYC Santos Party House 09/30 Montreal Sala Rossa 10/01 Toronto Hard Luck Bar 10/03 Saint Paul Turf Club 10/04 Chicago Subterranean 10/05 Lincoln Knickerbockers 10/06 Denver Marquis Theatre

10/08 Seattle Chop Suey 10/09 Vancouver Rickshaw Theatre 10/10 Portland Dante's 10/12 San Francisco Bottom of the Hill 10/13 Los Angeles The Satellite 10/14 San Diego Soda Bar 10/16 Austin Red 7 (inside) 10/17 Houston Walter's 10/18 New Orleans Siberia 10/19 Atlanta Drunken Unicorn 10/20 Memphis HiTone

OTONANA TRIO
otonanatrio.com

Otonana Trio, as their name suggests, is a three-piece rock band from Dynamite Club's Kentaro Saito, The Cavemans' Naoya Miyara, and Goshi "the hardest working bassists in Japan" Miura.

Their name translate to English as "Three Grown-ups" in broken Japanese. The trio will be in the U.S. in support of their sophomore album The Ramen War:

9.18.13 North Charleston, SC @ The Mill
9.21.13 NYC, NY @ Leftfield
9.22.13 Wilmington, DE @ Mojo 13
9.24.13 Johnson City, TN @ Acoustic Coffeehouse
9.25.13 Clarksville, TN @ The Coup
9.26.13 Huntsville, AL @ Copper Top
9.27.13 Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box
9.28.13 Monroe, LA @ Trial Bar
9.29.13 Ocean Springs, MS @ Squeaky Lizard
10.1.13 New Orleans, LA @ Café Istanbul
10.2.13 Baton Rouge, LA @ Culture Bar
10.5.13 Austin, TX @ Hole in the Wall
10.7.13 El Paso, TX @ The Low Brow
10.9.13 Tuscon, AZ @ Tucson Live
10.17.13 Tulsa, OK @ Sound Pony
10.18.13 Tecumseh, KS @ Farmesan
10.19.13 Omaha, NB @ Sweatshop Gallery
10.20.13 Minneapolis, MN @ Hexagon
10.21.13 Milwaukee, WI @ Quarter's
10.22.13 Dekalb, IL @ House Café
10.13.13 Colombia, MO @ 602 Fay Street
10.25.13 Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
10.26.13 Galveston, TX @ Vanishing Point
10.28.13 Beaumont, TX @ The GIG
10.29.13 Austin, TX @ Infest
10.31.13 Houston, TX @ Super Happy Funland
11.1.13 Lufkin, TX @ StandPipe Coffee

YOSHIKI
yoshikiclassical.com

Yoshiki's double album Yoshiki Presents Eternal Melody is one of Japan's top-selling classical albums, and he is back with Yoshiki Classical. The new album features his collaboration with legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo City Philharmonic Symphony and the Quartet San Francisco. It was supposed to have been released last month, but due to a controversial "skeleton album art", the album has been delayed to next week, September 24th.

Hear "Miracle" on Soundcloud.

It's kind of interesting to see classical musicians in today's environment, but there is definitely a market for this - considering that Olafur Arnalds does well and Japan's Yoshiki selling out his debut solo performance in Los Angeles last month at The Grammy Museum.

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Turning Japanese

Read More Peelander-Z You know the story, we here at W♥M loves Peelander-Z, so..

PEELANDER-Z
peelander-z.com

The problem with seeing a favorite band over and over again is that it might old. That's why bands keep releasing new music, hoping to play old favorites, but mixing in new songs they haven't tried before. Since Cristina and I have been steadily following Peelander-Z since 2008, I have to say that it's been really fun to see the band through the evolution of their gigs. Sometime it's the same-old-thing, but it's fun and never gets old.

So, I have been listening to Peelander-Z's new album, Space Vacation, it doesn't capture the energy and happiness of seeing them live. But what it is, it's a good themed album. Unlike their moving to the countryside theme of "P-TV-Z, Space Vacation seems to follow a visitor who came to Earth and is introduced to Sushi. It's not as complicated as it sound.

The music is typical Peelander-Z, a little DIY and punk attitude, however I thought their lead single "Star Bowling" and "Mr Tea" sounded really pop. Fans of punk should be comfortable with "Big Bang" and "Sa Yo Na La-La", which sounds like the Ramones from Japan.

As a cover-lover, you know that I did appreciate their cover of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". I wasn't absolutely sure if it's some voice modification, but I think it's Peelander-Pink on lead vocals for this song. One of the problems of reviewing music via digital MP3 is that they never send the liner notes so you have to guess at these things. I will find out the truth when I see them live in May.

BONUS: Listen to Introduction to Peelander-Z and Peelander-Black explained (26 mins in).

Peelander-Z, is, of course, always on tour:

04/11 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Upstairs 04/12 New York, NY @ Rocks Off Concert Cruise 04/13 Philadelphia, PA @ The Fire 04/14 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar 04/15 Washington, DC @ DC9 04/16 Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter 04/17 Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall 04/19 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade 04/20 Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum 04/21 Gainesville, FL @ Double Down 04/22 Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall 04/24 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks 04/25 Houston, TX @ Walter's On Washington 04/26 San Antonio, TX @ The Korova 04/27 Norman, OK @ Opolis Norman Music Festival

04/28 Dallas, TX @ Prophet Bar 04/30 Kansas City, MO @ Recordbar 05/02 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater 05/05 Los Angeles, CA @ Roxy Theatre 05/06 San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge 05/08 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater 05/09 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon 05/11 Bozeman, MT @ Zebra Cocktail Lounge 05/13 Sioux Falls, SD @ Boonies Bar & BBQ 05/14 Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium 05/15 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry 05/16 Chicago, IL @ Reggies Music Joint 05/17 Pontiac, MI @ The Crofoot 05/18 Akron, OH @ Musica

Read More Guitar Wolf The legend is back in the USA! The last we heard from them was when the original Bass Guitar died. With new Bass Guitar (UG) and Drum Wolf, be prepared to have your face melt off when they come to town.

GUITAR WOLF
guitarwolf.net

Yeah, I know, you must be tired of hearing me talk about Guitar Wolf (here, here, here, and here) - but I wanted to remind you that Guitar Wolf's show in Minneapolis is this week, on SUNDAY. I know it is Easter.

I will be picking up some 10" of Jet Satisfaction which was originally released in Japan in 2009, but available for the first time in the USA with this tour. I did take a sneak peak at some of their tour merchandise at guitarwolfshop.com and I will likely pick up a set of pins as well. I wish bands would make patches; I'd love a Guitar Wolf logo to sew on my bag…

Here is what's left of their USA tour:

4/05 St Louis, MO Firebird
4/06 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck
4/07 Des Moines, IA Gas Lamp
4/08 Minneapolis, MN 7th St Entry
4/09 Fargo, ND Aquarium
4/10 Rapid City, SD Skullets
4/11 Missoula, MT The Top Hat
4/13 Bellingham, WA The Shakedown
4/14 Seattle, WA Corazon
4/15 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
4/17 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
4/18 Los Angeles, CA The Satellite
4/19 Santa Ana, CA Constellation Room
4/20 San Diego, CA Casbah
4/21 Phoenix, AZ Martini Ranch
4/22 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
4/24 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit
4/25 Dallas, TX Trees
4/26 Memphis, TN Hi-Tone

BRIEFLY:

ELECTRIC EEL SHOCK electriceelshock.com Originally an 11-piece band, it was absolutely a logistic nightmare that they're currently just a trio. Electric Eel Shock or EES is currently back in Japan, doing some local Tokyo dates: 2012/04/06 新宿JAM / Shinjuku JAM Tokyo 2012/04/11 下北沢シェルター / Shimokitazawa Shelter、Tokyo 2012/05/01 下北沢シェルター / Shimokitazawa Shelter、Tokyo

MONO monoishere.com Not to be confused with the defunct French band, this Mono is a Japanese instrumental shoegaze band. Their last album, called Hymn to the Immortal Wind, which was three years ago, and rumor is that Mono has a yet-to-be-titled album coming out this year, 2012.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

W♥M127: Groovin the Moo 2012 Preview

W♥M127 (33 mins) Read More Groovin' the Moo Groovin' the Moo is an annual festival across Australia. It started in 2005, and is going strong in 2011 with a healthy lineup.

W♥M Radio is available on iTunes. It's now much easier to find us and add us to your automatic podcast download.

Sally previews some bands from the upcoming Groovin' the Moo music festival, which takes place at Prince of Wales Showground, Bendigo (5/5), Murray Sports Complex, Townsville (5/6), Showgrounds, Maitland (5/12), University of Canberra (5/13) and Hay Park, Bunbury (5/19).

For more articles on GTM, head over to gtm.net.au or W♥M.

Song of the Sally is "Sally in The Galaxy" by The Penelopes (download available at soundcloud).

Andrew WK's conspiracy is true, the current Andrew WK is not the same as first Andrew WK (see Wikipedia)

Public Enemy's Flavor Flav is having fun with some recent restaurant adventures.

San Cisco, everybody's favorite young band at the moment.

Ball Park Music is cute… with a monkey.

Wavves … I don't get them at all, they're too noisy for me, but Americans love them.

Adrian Lux, Swedish DJ?

Bluejuice's "Act Yr Age" video is disturbing

Kimbra is the only female act at Maitland!

Song of the show is Maccabees' "Pelican", from their third album Given to the Wild.

BONUS: Guitar Wolf is on tour! Read their tour dates here and here. Also, Dig It Up at Sydney on April 22nd: Sally is looking forward to Red Kross, Hoodoo Gurus, and The 5,6,7,8's. And let's not forget Super Morrissey Brothers' "This Charming Man" in 8-bit style.

Maccabees are on tour:

04/21/12 Rotterdam - Motel Mozaique Festival 04/25/12 FLORENCE (Italy) Viper 04/26/12 BOLOGNA (Italy) Estragon 04/27/12 ROME (Italy) Orion 05/05/12 Bendigo - Prince of Wales Showground 05/06/12 Townsville - Murray Sports Complex 05/09/12 Brisbane - The Hi Fi

05/10/12 Sydney - Metro Theatre 05/12/12 Maitland - Maitland Showground 05/13/12 Canberra - The Meadows 05/16/12 Melbourne - The Hi-Fi 05/18/12 Perth - The Capital 05/19/12 Bunbury (Australia) Hay Park (16+) 05/23/12 Osaka (Japan) Umeda Akaso

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Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Asian Invasion II: Japan

Please also check out the first Asian Invasion article.

Just to let you know, W♥M Radio is available on iTunes. You can find it by searching for "we heart music" on its podcast section. In an upcoming show (to be posted on next week?), Sally and I did talk a little about Guitar Wolf.

Also, in anticipation and excitement for Guitar Wolf to come to Minneapolis, for their "Alien Action Tour 2012", I've put up a screen print from the movie, "Wild Zero".

Check out the tour trailer below, check with guitarwolf.net for the latest updates. You can grab the strictly limited US pressing of the 10" EP "Jet Satisfaction" only available on tour. I may pick up an extra copy for my brother.

US TOUR 2012 "Alien Action Tour 2012" 03/27@Nashville, TN 12th & Porter 03/28@Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 03/29@Richmond, VA Kingdom 03/30@Baltimore, MD Ottobar 03/31@Brooklyn, NY Knitting Factory 04/01@Philadelphia, PA JB's 04/03@Fort Wayne, IN Brass Rail 04/04@Columbia, MO Mojo's 04/05@St Louis, MO Firebird 04/06@Lawrence, KS Bottleneck 04/07@Des Moines, IA Gas Lamp 04/08@Minneapolis, MN 7th St Entry 04/09@Fargo, ND Aquarium

04/10@Rapid City, SD Budd Uglys 04/11@Missoula, MT The Top Hat 04/13@Bellingham, WA The Shakedown 04/14@Seattle, WA El Corazon 04/15@Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre 04/17@San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill 04/18@Los Angeles, CA The Satellite 04/19@Santa Ana, CA Constellation Room 04/20@San Diego, CA Casbah 04/21@Phoenix, AZ Martini Ranch 04/22@Albuquerque, NM Launchpad 04/24@San Antonio, TX White Rabbit 04/25@Dallas, TX Trees 04/26@Memphis, TN Hi-Tone

In other "Asian Invasion" news, briefly:

FAR EAST MOMENT fareastmovement.com My brother thinks these guys are cool. They are a really successful "asian" high energy dance/hip hop band that opened up for Lady Gaga about two years ago. They also have the misfortunate acronym of "FEM", which they have been using "FM" (for frequency modulation) instead. I read that their single, "Live My Life" is enjoying radio airplay. Also, check it out, you can hear FM's theme song for the anime "Monsuno" every Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. (ET) on Nicktoons.

SIGH (サイ) candlelightrecordsusa.com Sigh is described as "extreme black metal", but throwing in everything from jazz to traditional Indian music. Their new studio album, In Somniphobia, came out March 13th via Candlelight Records. For a band that's been around since 1990 Tokyo, the band doesn't actually have a website… but I don't think they care (or know about the internet). Pitchfork is streaming their album now.

TAFFY taffy8.com You know that Sally and I love Britpop, so I couldn't ignore this Japanese band that, according to the Guardian, sounds like bis, Echobelly, Sleeper and Salad! Far out. I did end up listening to Haah, it's very guitar noisy with sweet vocals. I don't really see those Britpop bands in that song. Then again, it's just one song that I heard. Their debut UK single, So Long, will be out on Record Store Day, April 21st, 2012.

AVEC AVEC soundcloud.com Speaking of the Guardian, the newspaper called Avec Avec's music "one of the most joyous sounds to come out of Japan" (link). Osaka's Avec Avec, whose real name is Takuma Hosokawa, his latest release is Plastic Soul Redux (released January 24th, 2012). I did to the 4-track EP, which sounds like a mashup of interesting warpy twitchy sounds. The most accessible song on the EP is "Jimmys". If you like that sort of thing, you can pick up the record at mushrecords.com.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

On Tour: Guitar Wolf, Bombay Bicycle Club, and James

Here are some bands on tour. I am dubbing this the "Read More Edition" because we've previously written about each band (because we love them).

Read More Guitar Wolf Wild Zero, If you've ever seen this movie, it's so great, Guitar Wolf is just the best.

GUITAR WOLF (ギターウルフ)
guitarwolf.net

The legend is back in the USA! The last we heard from them was when the original Bass Guitar died. With new Bass Guitar (UG) and Drum Wolf, be prepared to have your face melt off when they come to town. I was telling everyone to go see them, even though with fire hazards and safety regulations that the band won't be permitted to have their "fire-spewing microphone" on stage… however, I wouldn't be surprised if they snuck them in their shows. I will be sure to take pictures of their "comically oversized speakers" when I see them in Minneapolis, this April 8th. Opening up for them at 7th Street are New Zealanders' The Transistors and Minneapolis bass/drum Japanese duo Birthday Suits.

In the meantime, remember when Guitar Wolf appeared in Puffy AmiYumi's music video for "Teen Titans Go!"? Here is a still from the video from my DVD.

Also, I am told that the record label will be pressing new 10" EP of Jet Satisfaction and will be available to purchase at their live show.

PS, based on "Wild Zero" movie's cult status, I would hazard a guess that they will sell out the 7th Street Entry due to the venue's small capacity. You may want to order your tickets now instead of later, especially since this Japanese band doesn't often tour in the USA.

Alien Action TOUR 2012

Date (日付)	Location (場所)	Venue (会場)	Ticket (チケット)	Age (年齢)
3/27（火）	Nashville, TN	12th & Porter	$13/$15	18+
3/28（水）	Chapel Hill, NC	Local 506	$12/$14	ALL
3/29（木）	Richmond, VA	Kingdom	$15	ALL
3/30（金）	Baltimore, MD	Ottobar	$15	ALL
3/31（土）	Brooklyn, NY	Knitting Factory	$15/$17	ALL
4/01（日）	Philadelphia, PA	JB's	$13/$15	21+
4/03（火）	Fort Wayne, IN	Brass Rail	$13/$15	ALL
4/04（水）	Columbia, MO	Mojo's	$15	ALL
4/05（木）	St Louis, MO	Firebird	$15	ALL
4/06（金）	Lawrence, KS	Bottleneck	$12/$14	ALL
4/07（土）	Des Moines, IA	Gas Lamp	$10/$12	ALL
4/08（日）	Minneapolis, MN	7th St Entry	$15	18+
4/09（月）	Fargo, ND	Aquarium	$10/$12	21+
4/10（火）	Rapid City, SD	Skullets	$10	ALL
4/11（水）	Missoula, MT	The Top Hat	$12/$14	21+
4/13（金）	Bellingham, WA	The Shakedown	$10	21+
4/14（土）	Seattle, WA	Corazon	$13.5/$15	21+
4/15（日）	Portland, OR	Hawthorne Theatre	$13.5/$15	21+
4/17（火）	San Francisco, CA	Bottom of the Hill	$16	21+
4/18（水）	Los Angeles, CA	The Satellite	$13/$15	21+
4/19（木）	Santa Ana, CA	Constellation Room	$13/$15	ALL
4/20（金）	San Diego, CA	Casbah	$15	21+
4/21（土）	Phoenix, AZ	Martini Ranch	$15	21+
4/22（日）	Albuquerque, NM	Launchpad	$12	ALL
4/24（火）	San Antonio, TX	White Rabbit	$15/$17	ALL
4/25（水）	Dallas, TX	Trees	$12/$15	ALL
4/26（木）	Memphis, TN	Hi-Tone	$13	ALL

Read More Bombay Bicycle Club Bombay Bicycle Club were all fellow classmates and formed when they were 15 years old, just two years ago. They were named after an Indian restaurant…

BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB
bombaybicycleclubmusic.com

I'm quite pleased to see that Bombay Bicycle Club have really hit their stride with a Valentine Day's release of Leave It EP via A&M/Octone Records and have been recently been nominated for three NME Awards!

Leave It EP tracklisting:

1. Leave It (Flipbook Remix)
2. Leave It (acoustic)
3. Lights Out, Words Gone (Rub A Dub)
4. Shuffle (acoustic)

You may remember that they came to my attention in 2007. I knew then that they were going to do well, especially having won over the Road to V award in 2006 when they were still in high school.

As you can see below, the British band has been selling out their shows in America.

2012 U.S./Canada Tour Dates:

2/20/12 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore (upgraded) 2/21/12 Kamloops, BC @ Blue Grotto (19+) 2/22/12 Calgary, AB @ Republik (18+) 2/23/12 Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room (18+) 2/25/12 Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural (All Ages) 2/26/12 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street – SOLD OUT 2/27/12 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean (17+) – SOLD OUT 2/29/12 Columbus, OH @ The Basement (All Ages)

3/1/12 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix (Venue upgraded - 19+) 3/2/12 Montreal, QC @ Cabaret Mile End (18+) 3/3/12 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall – SOLD OUT 3/5/12 New York, NY @ Bowery (18+) – SOLD OUT 3/7/12 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club (All Ages) 3/8/12 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s – SOLD OUT 3/9/12 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Downstairs (18+) 3/10/12 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer (All Ages)

Read More James I wanted to let you know James has a double album called The Morning After The Night Before, out last Tuesday on UMe. Technically, the latest release are comprised of two recently released EP called The Night Before and The Morning After…

JAMES
wearejames.com

We've mentioned James a few times here. Most of you will probably remember that band as a one-hit wonder with their "Laid" song, clearly a classic.

James will be returning to North America for a West Coast tour, then heading to Mexico and South America. Singer Tim Booth notes: "We return to the land of milk and honey. In our gnarly battered tour bus we follow the path of the wagon trains. The West coast calls. Sorry East coast fans—economics... next time.”

Booth also adds, "Don't miss us this time. You never know how much more of this we have in us." Does this mean that they're about to break up? (Again?)

Look for The Gathering Sound, a special limited edition box set coming out this Spring. It will contain three CDs, a DVD, a 12" vinyl record and a James USB stick (including all eleven studio albums and a "Best Of" in glorious FLAC and 320kbps MP3, plus music videos). You know that sounds uber expensive. Hardcore fans only!

JAMES Tour Dates

Apr 07 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom + Apr 08 Seattle, WA – Neumos + Apr 09 Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre + Apr 11 San Francisco, CA – The Independent + Apr 13 Indio, CA – Coachella Music Festival Apr 15 Las Vegas, NV – Hard Rock Café On The Strip + Apr 16 Tempe, AZ – The Marquee + Apr 18 Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre +

Apr 19 San Diego, CA – The House Of Blues + Apr 20 Indio, CA – Coachella Music Festival Apr 25 Monterrey, Mexico – Details TBA Apr 26 Mexico City, Mexico – Details TBA Apr 28 Santiago, Chile - Teatro Caupolican Apr 30 San Paolo, Brazil – Details TBA May 02 Buenos Aires, Argentina – Details TBA +Special Guest ELIZAVETA

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Puffy AmiYumi - Teen Titans Theme

Trivia

Puffy's cover to Nice (2003) is based on John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Bed-In for Peace.

 

 

Puffy AmiYumi - Teen Titans Theme

Puffy AmiYumi

Okay, so I've started this video page over at Stage6: W♥M. The quality is so much better than youtube. I've only uploaded a few videos, including T.Rex and Belle & Sebastian.

Anyway, today's video is for Christopher: it's both theme song and it's Jpop.

Since I was already a big fan of Marv Wolfman and George Perez's Teen Titans, so I was really excited for the cartoon series that they were developing in 2003. Because the show was deeply inspired by Japanese animation (or simply japanimation or anime), the show's creators sought after Puffy AmiYumi to do their theme song.

I remember reading an interview with one of the show's creator in a fanzine that he also based the music and song in the style of "Secret Agent Man". It's funny because Johnny Rivers' "Secret Agent Man", which is the theme song to Danger Man (aka Secret Agent) also lifted the music from James Bond 007. (For a Spanish version of Secret Agent Man, see The Plugz - Hombre Secreto.)

Anyway, Puffy's relationship to Sam Register through Teen Titans, lead them to starring in their own television show called "Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi". The show only lasted 39 episodes.

If you watch the video to the "Teen Titans Theme", you'll notice a surprise guest star: Guitar Wolf! He does what he does best, looking cool and stuff. When he turns his back to you, if you press pause, you can read the back of his jacket:

 

To Seiji,
You are a true rocker,

Love,
Joan Jett

Who knew Guitar Wolf was such a fanboy :).

 

See full-sized video at stage6.divx.com

Related Entry:: Guitar Wolf - Black Rock'n'roll

�July 06, 2007 2:33 AM� vu [email protected] puffyamiyumi.com

Guitar Wolf - Black Rock'n'roll

Wild Zero

It's 4am, we just saw the Kaiser Chiefs at this new venue, Trocadero (will write about this show a little later) and then we came back and watched the movie, "Wild Zero", the zombie/rock 'n roll movie starring Guitar Wolf!!

Love knows no boundaries, nationality, or gender! ROCK N ROLL!!

If you've ever seen this movie, it's so great, Guitar Wolf is just the best. I'm too tired to actually write any useless trivia (Bass Wolf died last year?), or put together a comprehensive Guitar Wolf discography. The only thing that I will write is that this album I picked up called Loverock is REALLY LOUD.

I will be back later to add in more details about this band... in the meantime, please listen with the volume lowered.

Updated Sun, 22 Apr 2007 17:11:46 CST:
So the guests just left the house, so I'm finally home and I have a few minutes to update this. Here is an interview with Seiji (singer) from Guitar Wolf, which pretty much sum up what Guitar Wolf are all about:

 

 

Guitar Wolf - Black Rock'n'roll

P: Even the live show seems to be getting noisier. Like maybe there is a longer period in between songs...
S: Oh really? But maybe from long time ago. I always, I like, I need noise. Because we are no skill. Our skill is no good. No technique. We need...Basic rock and roll is: Number one is looks; Number two is guts, tension; Number three is action; Maybe four, five nothing; Six is skill, technique.

 

I love how he dismisses skills to number six because he doesn't think it's as important as looks and attitude. They have also self-proclaimed themselves as the coolest band in the world.

Trivia: Also, as I mentioned earlier, Bass Wolf died March 30th, 2005 (when I heard the news that he died on April 1st, I had dismissed it as an April's Fool joke) from a heartattack. He's been replaced by a new bassist, U.G.

Trivia #2: The origin of the movie "Wild Zero" came from a music video shoot. Apparently, they had written and shot enough footage that they decided to add even more story to make it into a 90 minute feature. As a result, the movie is a crazy mix of zombies, UFO/aliens, explosions (LOTS of it), love, motorcyles, and, of course, rock 'n' roll.

 

ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY [1993] Wolf Rock! [1994] Kung Fu Ramone [1994] Run Wolf Run [1995] Missile Me! [1997] Planet Of The Wolves [1999] Jet Generation [2000] Wild Zero [2000] Rock'n'roll Etiquette [2000] Live!! [2003] UFO Romantics [2003] UFO Romantics (Spain) [2004] Loverock [2005] Golden Black [2007] Dead Rock

vu Links: www.guitarwolf.net | www.matadorrecords.com/guitar_wolf