Things happen naturally, unplanned, in this band. They just happen. That’s how this Japanese tour came about. I never thought about it, and since I have a family, I honestly don’t have any desire for any long-distance trips.
Radek was breaking us into an American tour with CONTROLLED EXISTENCE, which they had planned and played at the excellently packed Zesta Grande festival, where we were also able to play. It was tempting, but it’s like when you want something, but at the same time you know it’s not going to happen. I was just an injured hockey player who wants to play a game, but the injury won’t let you go. It’s as simple as a slap in the face – I won’t be able to sing for two and a half weeks. If you played concerts regularly, your vocal cords are muscles and then there wouldn’t be a problem. Which is not the case with us.
Plus, I remember from the LYCANTHROPHY American tour, the air conditioners were on full blast everywhere, and how often someone in the band would drop out with hoarseness and a fever. So I was really pissed off about that.
Sometime in July, after the concert at 007 with WORLD PEACE, Aleš tells me that we don’t care about it, but we could do Japan and just a few concerts. That was a different story. Since then, a lot has happened – the split five-inch BORIS / SKIPLIFE was realized, and they planned to go to Tokyo to celebrate with a joint concert, Max (625 Thrash) came along, who introduced us and connected us with Shiggy , a cult figure in Japanese power violence circles, and the work on this tour began.
Aleš was on another American tour as a tour manager with DINOSAUR JR. just before the tour, so we were in touch via messages and he suggested that we book our own flights and meet in Tokyo. I didn’t really welcome this, because I would get lost in Cologne too, so we bought the tickets together with one transfer in Beijing. Radek, the soloist, had already been booked with a transfer via Italy.
An unlimited and economically advantageous ticket for tourists “ Rail We started to deal with the “ Pass ” late, so we didn’t take advantage of this advantageous opportunity. Then I was having heart attacks at work, when I was involved in an important project and the central team was supposed to train us during the period when I was supposed to leave. Participation is mandatory and the train doesn’t move without it. Somehow I threw a switch on the train, made a promise to the devil that I would catch up on everything after the tour, and relieved myself.
Honza Taitl cut out beautiful artwork in the style of JUDAS PRIEST and “ Screaming“ for The Violence “tour could have fully erupted!
20. 11. 2024
Packed, ready and triple checked. What are we going to do – I want my passport, phone and wallet. I can buy everything else. I had my passport reissued because it was going to expire soon. I was so glad later because they might not let you into Japan either – your passport must not be expired to cover your stay. Some Asian countries even require a six-month reserve before it expires.
We have a family suitcase, a big one, so the evening before our flight I went to borrow a smaller one from my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law, like a good Christian, makes the sign of the cross on my forehead before the trip. I tell her: „So, ave Satan.“
In the morning, I say goodbye to my family and get ready. I didn’t feel like dragging my suitcase to the station, so I take the bus. The first bus leaves, I’m already catching the second one. I’m taking local transport for about twenty years, I don’t even know how and where to buy tickets anymore. On the bus, I hide even deeper into my cap and jacket collar because I catch a glimpse of a classmate from elementary school who had been teasing me for a class reunion a few days ago. I promised, but didn’t go. I don’t do these sessions. Most of my classmates are nerds with belly buttons , and I really don’t share their hobbies, such as fishing, Netflix series, or recipes from Marsálek.
I get off the bus like a hotcake and in a moment the train to Prague will be here. I haven’t been on a train in a long time either, probably the last time was a few years ago when I went to a SKIPLIFE test in Kojetín. Phew , suddenly we’re stopped and the train has some kind of malfunction. Since the timing is just right for me, I’m starting to get nervous. Luckily, we’ll be leaving soon.
In Prague, I get off at Hlavák and look for Aleš and Alenka, who are already waiting for the Airport Express bus, which will take us to the terminal for a hundred roubles . Aleš is wearing luxurious sweatpants with some kind of scorpion on them – really stylish. That must be heard here, haha. There is some Asian guy standing in front of me and the arrogant driver is swearing at him because the guy doesn’t understand at all and doesn’t know what to do or how to pay. What a difference compared to the behavior we will experience in Japan.
At the airport counter, Aleš meets an old friend from HC concerts, Radim D., who checks us in, and we have a nice chat. Rumdimek – that’s a good sign to start with. We have time, so we go into a restaurant and the three of us have a nice dewy Pilsner. Fuck, that’s what he says.
Then security check and boarding. We fly with Hainan Airlines, which has the advantage that as a Chinese airline they fly via Russia and the flight is a little shorter. The first transfer station is Beijing and we have nine and a half hours of fun in the Airbus. Departure from Prague at 13:00 and arrival at 5:20. So we will be in China early in the morning.
Our company on the plane is mostly Asians and Russians. One Russian, who sits across the aisle from me, spends most of the flight eating food from large plastic bowls that he has with him. He’s a mess. A terrible, arrogant bastard. The journey is a combination of boredom, poisoning and suffering. I get some sleep, but I mostly read and listen to music. That’s the best combination.
Despite some turbulence, the flight is fine, and we finally land in Beijing, at a huge airport, where it is as quiet as a tomb thanks to the early morning hour and there is hardly a soul anywhere. We pass through the shops – everything is closed – and the only functional one is a kiosk where we sit next to a couple of Czechs and have, let’s say, expensive beer. But hey, you’re not here every day.
There’s a young guy sitting next to me who’s also Czech, so we start talking to him and find out that he’s from the Jihlava region, where I work, and he plans to stay in Tokyo for a year and just enjoy himself. Nice.
The wait is over, so we head out to check in and go for a tour, which the Chinese take seriously and really boss us around during. There, an idiot is scolding me for the iPod I have in my fanny pack because he doesn’t know what it is.
We are three and a half hours away from Tokyo, to Narita Airport , which is about 80 kilometers from central Tokyo and is used for international traffic. It is among the fifty largest airports in the world.
The Boeing is now filled with a more mixed group of passengers – more Europeans and quite a few young Czechs who are heading to the land of the rising sun for tourism. This is what always comes to mind when I think of that flight. When we eat the disgusting food wrapped in a ton of plastic, we are already approaching Tokyo in the morning hours and the light, the brightness of the sun, completely illuminates us. We are finally here!
We still have one more test to go through, the immigration one. There is a bunch of people waiting in an endless line, and the staff is sorting us into groups for an interview with a customs officer. There was a chance to prepare in advance and check -in from home, which we took advantage of, so a photo, passport control, short questions and we are done.
Now we still need to find Radek, who will be in another terminal and will arrive by bus. There are many shops in the airport hall, especially the popular 7-Eleven market , where I checked in advance that you can withdraw money and the ATM should be fine. I try it right away and everything works perfectly. So I have Yen, so I am calmer – I didn’t change anything in advance.
Radek arrives, we share our experiences from the trip and head out for something to eat. To our surprise, there is also a vegan restaurant here, with a great selection for us, so we sit down and in a moment we can enjoy a great vegan hot meal. I don’t normally eat with chopsticks and in Asian restaurants I reach for a fork, so if any of the locals saw me at that match, I deeply apologize for this uncultured experience.
Shiggy is chasing us because something bad happened to him and the tour he booked for SPEECH ODD ( fastcore from Bangkok) is cancelled. The band won’t fly and he’s nervous about whether we’ll even make it. We calm him down and write that we’re already here. Too bad, I was looking forward to performing together, maybe another time.
Satisfied and stuffed, we set off to explore the airport to see if there is a chance of getting a Rail Pass . And at the info center we receive the encouraging information – there will be a pass! It is really a shame not to take advantage of this opportunity. The pass costs fifty thousand yen (over six thousand crowns) for seven days and can be used for most transport, including the shinkansen . Without it, we would have paid several thousand extra.
Everything works out, we get our passports and we head out into the world. Literally. After a while, you have to get used to crowds. However, the Japanese are really extremely consistent even when walking, holding one side, and when standing in line, they act as one man. It’s fascinating, especially for us Czechs, where the goal is always to get ahead of someone, to screw something up for our own benefit.
Another fascinating place is the famous crossing in Shibuya , where thousands of people run from several directions at once when the light turns green, creating incredible chaos. You probably know it best from the movie „Fast and Furious.“
We try our luck again and head to the first record store, which is the famous TOWER RECORDS. And it is a monstrous affair! The appearance of this building looks incredible and we are waiting for seven floors, where you will find something different every time. On the second floor there is a café and a place to rest after a tiring search in the assortment, which supposedly contains about three hundred thousand records.
I skip the third and fifth floors, it’s more about pop and anime . We take the elevator to the sixth, where there are vinyls and cassettes, and then to the seventh, where there are only CDs. The tower has a red design, everything is precisely arranged and displayed. If you have time, you really get paid here. There’s everything you can think of – from garage punk to hardcore to metal and rock classics.
There are second-hand vinyls and rare original singles by THIN LIZZY, JIMMY HENDRIX and other classics. It makes my heart skip a beat to see this. The music in the store is also quite loud and there is no problem playing anything. For now, I am bitterly letting my appetite go, because there will be time during the trip and we have the last day off in Tokyo. And I don’t want to take care of vinyls on the first day of the trip.
Night is approaching, so we set out to find accommodation, which we manage to do after a while of suffering and searching. It’s in a quiet neighborhood and it works like a classic impersonal check -in – you get a password and you unlock the keys in a box. It’s basically one room, beds next to each other and sleeping upstairs. The omnipresent cold, no central heating. A mini bathroom where you can kind of stretch out, step into the bathtub and take a shower.
It’s a problem to get in with four people and luggage. But we give it a go and we can go have some beer. The neighborhood is really quiet, we come across a tiny bar where there’s no one, so we sit down. The service is very helpful and we get bottled beer of various brands, labels and flavors. It’s a mixture of euphoria that we’re here, and later also fatigue. In a while we pass out and fall asleep, if we can.
We’re still waiting for Atsu from BORIS, because he’s bringing us a bass and cymbals to borrow. In the end, Aleš only takes the bass and an invitation to a local concert where we were supposed to go falls through – we probably wouldn’t have given up on that.
22. 11. 2024 – Nagoya
The day of the first concert is ahead of us. We pack our things and hit the street into a fairly sunny morning, complemented by the crisp cold air of November. Fortunately, in Japan at this time of year the temperature is sometimes around twenty degrees, which is very pleasant. But it fluctuates, as we will see the next day in Okayama .
We head towards Shinjuku , where you’ll find a bunch of clubs and karaoke places, but also towering skyscrapers, over which a giant plane often flies. Above the Metropolitan Government The ominous Hakone volcano looms over the building . It is probably completely unnecessary to mention the flowing crowd of people.
At 11:08 we have a shinkansen to Nagoya from Shinagawa , so we go to deal with tickets. Not only that – we are basically going to learn how to operate the local ticket machines. Shinagawa is one of the twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, known as an important transport and commercial hub with many companies and embassies.
This time we managed to reserve seats, because for the first time we were kicked off the train by a bunch of mischievous Indians. You have to learn to use apps like JR-EAST and Travel Japan, where you can find specific connections, buy tickets and make seat reservations. Once you learn it, everything works like clockwork.
For now we are traveling lightly – we have a bass from BORIS, our own luggage, but that will soon change radically. It was worth it for me to install Google Translate – you can display any sign and the spilled tea will turn into quite understandable Czech. The main signs and names are in English, but many instructions are only in Japanese.
When I look around, everything is absolutely clean. No trash, no garbage on the ground – that doesn’t exist here. Everyone takes their own trash with them, there are no bins. You drink a can, eat your food, and put your trash neatly in a backpack and throw it away later.
We’re getting feedback from the organizers of today’s concert, the grind band MÜRMÜR, whether we want an afterparty . We’ll see.
I also take an egg sandwich on the train and this seems to be a certainty when buying food. I was worried about the food, or rather, that we wouldn’t be able to get vegetarian food. But that’s not the case, times have changed. A choice of one meatless dish (toast or rice ball) for thirty with some sea creatures.
We usually shop at various convenience stores along the way, but especially at 7-Eleven stores , which are on every corner here. It is the most common retail outlet where you can get packaged food that you can heat up, drinks and alcohol. The prices are pretty good – some are more expensive, but some are similar or even cheaper than here.
I’m looking at a receipt from Family Mart, another retail store, and the price for a beer is 293 yen, which is about 39 crowns, and an espresso is 390 yen, or 51 crowns. By the way, Google Lens translates the name of the beer I bought as „blissful bitterness.“ That sounds great, right?
The bullet train arrives, we board and take our reserved seats. The boarding number is written on the ground and the train stops right in front of you. Everything is drawn with a ruler. The Japanese stand in line as one man.
Along the way, food, beer, coffee and also exploring the surroundings. So far we have seen all the hustle and bustle and cities, now finally some greenery and the sea along the way. There is absolute peace on the train, which is „disturbed“ from time to time by the conductor – he comes to the carriage, opens the door, bows, walks through, bows, closes it and leaves. And so on and on.
The Shinkansen travels at an average speed of 320 km/h, so we can get from Tokyo to Nagoya in just under two hours.
Nagoya is the fourth largest city in Japan, with over two million inhabitants. However, at first glance, there is less traffic and fewer people here compared to the metropolis. However, the first task is: to find music and buy sticks and a guitar strap. We will borrow everything else from local bands. I don’t envy others – playing foreign instruments. But there is simply no other way. They are their own.
The music is upstairs, the selection is huge, everything is available on site. There is one room that is dimmed , and inside there are two beautiful Yamaha drum sets. One is a Live Custom Hybrid, it has a beautiful blue and black design and costs 411,400 yen. Just try it, pay and it’s yours.
We take the elevator down and look for the bus stop that will take us to the Red Club. Dragon . A moment of waiting at Hirokoji stop Fushimi and in a moment we are standing in front of a panel house marked Fuji Plaza. It is an underground shopping center and in its bowels is the aforementioned club.
Today’s concert is organized by the aforementioned MÜRMÜR, who you may know from their recently released single on 625 Thrash. And here they are! Our first meeting with natives from the same tribe. Guitarist Mie and singer Andy arrive, who has a typical hat on his head, which the uncles here wear when fishing. They are really nice – respectful, nice and friendly. Their English is also absolutely fine and we have no problems talking and agreeing on what and how.
We get into the elevator, the destination is the fifth floor. A few steps through the bowels of the apartment building and suddenly we are in a club the size of Sedmička. I look at the posters and realize that before us there were more punk-type events – REALITY CRISIS or even SOB played here. The club has a bar, a sound booth, the stage is small and slightly elevated. The 625 Thrash flag hangs on it.
What doesn’t make me happy is the corner on the right, where people go to smoke. Fortunately, people are considerate and the corner is empty. I wouldn’t need this for vocal cords at all. Aleš reports that merch will arrive. He had T-shirts and long sleeves printed in Japan, which he had delivered here to the club. They are two massive boxes that we often dream about later, haha.
We have an echo that it is time for our soundboard – this early in the afternoon, which is a common custom here, something unthinkable for us. Radek is loaned a guitar, a stylish arrow from Mia, covered in SPAZZ or PLUTOCRACY stickers. The girl is obviously knowledgeable, so to speak – she has a great connection to the American extreme hardcore scene. She played in the fastcore band MIND OF ASIAN, which released, for example, a split with VOETSEK or UNHOLY GRAVE. The records were released under SOUND POLLUTION ( Ken’s label from HELLNATION) or on DEEP SIX, which is of course Bob’s label from LACK OF INTEREST. Decent company.
The sound is powerful, it’s really loud as hell. I try one roll and I’m gone. We practiced every day before the tour, so we’re ready (this is a hidden forum for the band members, when they read this, haha).
The sound is ready , now we have to figure out what to do with the merch and how to haul it on our travels by train. Aleš and I recruit Mia and go to the mall, where we need to get a large travel bag. Preferably the kind that hockey players carry for their equipment. Ideally a goalie’s bag, haha. That’s to give you an idea of the size I’m talking about.
I also need to buy a power bank, I forgot mine in my luggage and they threw it away at the airport. We walk for about ten minutes and we’re here. Several floors, lots of shops, but finally we find the suitcase and luggage section. Suitcases with wheels are quite expensive, so we take a huge bag on our shoulder. Suitcases cost up to twelve thousand yen, we take the cheaper option.
It takes me a while to get my power bank. They don’t take my card when paying downstairs, so I’m glad I got cash at the airport. We’re going out, but it’s getting really windy, which I’m worried about because coming in showered and wearing the one jacket I have wouldn’t be ideal.
We’re going to arrange accommodation. There are three rooms and a hallway with a sink. There’s air conditioning, which we’ll turn on, and a perfect toilet – a throne, where you have a heated cutting board, a control panel and a handy flushing system. I would introduce this in the Czech Republic, where many pigs don’t know what a toilet brush is for.
We have a problem! We can’t get the code to unlock the door, but luckily I have a phone contact and especially Mie, who takes the phone and they talk to each other in Japanese. Everything works out in the end.
Meanwhile, Radek disappeared to hunt for the Disk Union shop, where we wanted to go, but there was no time. The bag was a priority. I know what will come next. And in the group chat, photos of rare vinyls that they have for a solid amount of money are already starting to fly. This is the best way to tease you. There is also the single DEATH CULTURE DEPRIVATION or PANGS OF REMORSE / MRTVÁ BUDOUCNOST. Finally, he finds the first press of NAPALM DEATH “ Mass Appeal Madness „. As Grandpa Homolka says in the movie Homolka and Tobolka : one hiss!
The first band of the evening is about to perform, so Alda and I grab some more food and head to the club. There are already people there, and the organizers tell us that there will be fewer people because it’s Friday. I don’t quite understand this, but it’s a different region, different customs.
We’ll sort out the merch and hang it on the wall. Next to us are the bands that are also playing today, VIDEO GIRL and I ACCEPT. They’re all nice guys and greet us in a friendly way. Then two guys from the band FACE CLASHER come and give us all their demo CD.
There is a waiter at the bar – a guy who looks thick and has a solidly tattooed face. Every time you pay, he takes the banknote with both hands, and when he returns, he counts the coins in front of you, returns them and bows. His glass is chilled and the menu includes Dry and Sapporo beers . It is quite good, but the price is higher – 600 yen for a beer, and that’s just a third of it.
Meanwhile, the lights go out and MÜRMÜR is on for the first time. In 2007, they released a full-length CD and, as I wrote, they have a separate EP on 625 Thrash. What I hear takes my breath away. I immediately reach into my fanny pack and look for earplugs. I’ve never had or worn them in my life. At OEF, I stand next to the boxes by the stage and have no problem. So far. Here I am.
This is a massacre. Like a jet taking off next to you. The band plays the first song, which slowly builds to remind me of INSECT WARFARE, their opening track on “ World Extermination „. Slow, brutally killing passage and a crazy scream Andy behind the microphone. Grindcore like a beast – what else do you want from the place where UNHOLY GRAVE comes from?
Mie also explains to me that they haven’t booked them because they only play occasionally. Too bad. Otherwise, the feedback from the other bandmates confirms my point and the loudness is acknowledged with a shake of the head and an incredulous smile.
Then I ACCEPT come on. This band sounds like that famous, crazy and epileptic Japanese fastcore . The bassist looks like an English teacher with glasses. The singer starts the show and people are hooked. The audience reacts great to the band’s movements and has fun.
I’m getting used to the fact that there’s no rehearsal here in advance – a sound check is made, the band comes on, they play you for a maximum of fifteen minutes, everything is destroyed and then they leave. Great!
So far, not many people are interested in our merch . We will have to perform on stage and then sell something to lighten our huge baggage. And then comes the surprise of the evening – VIDEO GIRL. Great drummer, nice technique, well-done vocals and the overall sound of the band.
I don’t know if I’m getting used to it, but I’m taking out my earplugs and enjoying it without protection. Fast, energetic fastcore that will make even our Alda dance. He suddenly jumps into people, mows down a few poor Japanese people and unleashes the next beast . Excellent!
We praise them and go through their distro , what could be stolen. They have a split with MORE SMOKE – right here. Last up are FACE CLASHER. The guitarist is wearing a red EXCRUCIATING TERROR t-shirt, which looks promising. They always reveal a little bit of what you’re wearing, and yes – it’s a solid grindcore wash of that coarse-grained school, with murmured vocals and a yelp .
This was simply an inexhaustible showcase of unknown Japanese extreme bands that have been playing for years, have some split, demo and then just laugh you off the face of the earth. So, go fuck yourself with the Relapse catalog and look for the treasures here.
We talk to them after the concert and they are forty-four years old, which is unbelievable. Not the age, but the fact that they look half their age, their age is totally deceiving. The guy with them, with such a rascally appearance, says he is fifty-three years old. We shake our heads. Unbelievable. The members of VIDEO GIRL are about thirty-five, but they look twenty-five. We are having a warm chat with the Japanese .
Okay, our first concert is coming up. We’re getting ready, a visibly older ( nooo …) sound engineer from the band CROWN comes in and says he knows Atsu from BORIS. At the same time, he compliments me on the CORRUPTED t-shirt I’m wearing. We’re ready . Aleš wants a song for rehearsal, but I refuse – that’s not what we do here. Here it is, the moment of entry, we’ve already finished the sound check.
We play and people immediately get hooked, they are wild from the first moment. There are even jumps from the stage, the response is decent and our first concert is a success. People come after the concert and praise us. They actually shout “ one more“, we give two and go to rest.
The shopping finally starts and maybe ten longsleeves are sold, which is decent. I chat with people and they are excited that we have arrived. There are photo maneuvers going on, we talk a lot with people from the bands and I have to say that I am excited about the approach. The scene here is small, but it holds together. I really like their approach, togetherness, differentness, rarity and a completely different way of working.
They do it their own way. They take influences from elsewhere, but they have their own rituals that they stick to. The audience is mixed – you see a guy with a HELLNATION cap and completely ordinary Japanese people threatening to punch grindcore .
customary here after the concert party and group photo. We receive an invitation to the uchiage , i.e. the after-concert party . I suck on the lozenges that Alenka gives me after a weekend in Poland with SHITBRAINS. But I want to avoid iced drinks and talking on the first day, so since we have a room, I’m staying there.
I need to be ready for the next concerts and I don’t know how I’ll look vocally. So I’m taking it easy today. Others praise uchiage – the Japanese are said to be very warm, willingly pouring sake and serving fried mushrooms. They even accompany us on the way and wave. That’s not something you see for granted.
23/11/2024 – Okayama , Pepperland
Morning hygiene, Alda never waits for anything and orders an Uber. We have a really monstrously heavy bag with merch , plus we’re dragging our personal belongings and a bass guitar. The original plan was to take cymbals and we’re really happy that we didn’t take them because we probably wouldn’t be able to carry them.
It is not easy at all to move through the narrow streets of various transfer points, buses and metro stations and drag this crazy bag by the ears towards the crowds heading towards us. We wrote everywhere that we were traveling “ light „, which is definitely not the case at the moment. During one of the maneuvers with the bag, Aleš bruises his shoulder, which hurts him, but fortunately it does not have a negative impact on his function as a plant grower – sorry, drummer.
An Uber arrives and the driver only speaks Japanese. The best part is that he talks all the time and doesn’t stop. We don’t understand, but it sounds great. Of course, he opens the door for us, takes our luggage from our hands, and there’s no way you’d put your suitcase in the car yourself. Unbelievable. If he could still fasten your seatbelt, he would.
The size of the car, a Toyota, is typically Japanese and adapted to the size of a Japanese person. Along the way, you can see the Sea Train Land, which is an amusement park that offers the largest Ferris wheel. We make reservations for the shinkansen again , everyone manages to get in and we pick up our tickets at the station. There is another head-on collision and a huge white-faced bug is pushing its way forward.
Buying food at the train station. I take a classic rice cube and it has fried vegetables in it. So this is what Google Translate tells me, which I use to inspect the food and the packaging before buying it. I bite into it, it’s a bit tougher and I prefer not to think about what it could all be. In the store, various seafood delicacies are staring at you from the shelves, wrapped in wrappers, and to eat this, bite into it… I don’t know if I could survive it.
Traditionally, green tea is served with meals. Basically, I’m going on the whole tour on green tea, which you can buy cold, but there’s usually a warm version on the shelf next to it. I can basically say that thanks to the tea, I survived without falling asleep due to a sleep deficit and without any major fatigue that would otherwise logically arise. On my feet all day, a lot of traveling and everything was basically fine.
Phew , even the shinkansen is almost an hour late and it looks like some obstacle fell or jumped onto the tracks on its way. Hmm, the stress and speed of local life here must be difficult. Finally, it’s here and stops again exactly as it should.
As I mentioned, there’s a number on the ground that’s on your ticket, and you just have to stand in a precisely aligned queue. The train will arrive exactly a millimeter ahead of you, so you just have to get on. Everything runs smoothly.
We sit in reserved seats. Next to me is a couple with a small child who is rolling on the floor and screaming loudly, without a break. Great. We’ll have to solve this with headphones and some more pleasant music.
Shiggy writes that he is waiting for us at the Okayama stop and has a car, which is great. I think as an organizer he is really happy that we are here, after all the trouble with SPEECH ODD. The concerts here start very early and today they start at 4:00 PM , we are playing before 7:00 PM .
It’s a concert in honor of the legendary CAPITALIST CASUALTIES, who are a very popular and respected band in the local extreme hardcore scene. If you gain the respect of the Japanese, be sure that they will show it to you often, regularly and very devotedly. For this occasion we wanted to rehearse a cover of CC, but before the tour Aleš was in South America for a long time on that tour with DINOSAUR JR. and before that in the northern part of the USA with BORIS, so it didn’t work out.
If you don’t know, after reading the interview with Aleš on other pages of this issue you will find out who he travels with, where and how often as a tour manager. Unfortunately, things turned out so unfavourably that Aleš returned a few days before his flight to Japan.
We get off the train, walk through the hall, and finally at the exit where there is a door, you have to insert the Rail Pass , which will come out on the other side. It’s all beautifully described, painted, thought out, and most importantly 100% functional.
A manik is already waiting behind the paid zone – essentially an icon of local power violence scene, whose face I’ve known for years and it’s an honor to meet him in person. Max wrote to me about him that Shiggy is a madman , and that fits him perfectly. Dedicated to hardcore and the scene, friendly, reliable and in his own way goofy. He laughs right away, which lasts until the end of the tour, and you feel like you’ve known him forever. Simply crazy, crazy and the best guy.
Skinhead Aho , or our Aleš, as he calls himself, is his second in command and these two are soon a perfect duo. There is another Japanese guy with Shiggy who also welcomes us warmly. Later I find out that he is the singer TILL EWING, but more on that later.
The guys have a car, so they take us – and especially the merch – to the venue, to the local cult club Pepperland . But first, they say, food, which we like to hear. An empty stomach definitely doesn’t protest. Shiggy speaks very good English thanks to his stay in San Francisco, which is a brutal advantage. In the end, English is generally not that bad, I expected it to be much worse. The people from the bands mostly spoke quite well and some spoke excellently. I really didn’t expect it and it’s a nice surprise.
We go to an Indian restaurant that looks very stylish. We order food and beers, which according to the local custom are poured for you by your neighbor. A really strange but nice custom. You always have a drink, which is nice. The conversation is absolutely fine, Shiggy is a guy you feel like you’ve known all your life. His constant, half-crazy laugh makes you laugh, even when you don’t feel like laughing.
From the first minute we all sit down with him and from then on we are Shiggy team. In the meantime they bring us luxurious chili, some rice, some naan bread and we feast. Time is running out, so Massamo , the singer of TILL EWING, pays the bill first, and we set off towards Pepperland .
This place is absolutely magical and you have to stop and lose a few words. It has been operating for an incredible 50 years and its owner, Nose Iseo-san , still goes to concerts even in his advanced age. He has his typical pipe in his mouth , smokes tobacco and watches the hot bands that change here like on a conveyor belt with a sly smile.
He is said to be the godfather of graffiti in Japan and still has his own music show on the radio, where he regularly broadcasts. As a gift, he receives a split five-inch EP with BORIS and promptly promises to play it on his show on the air. He is small and, as a matter of classic courtesy – but here also as an expression of great respect and admiration – we bow to him to the ground.
He tells how FUGAZI, for example, played at Pepperland , and the old man nods his head when Aleš shows him fresh photos on his phone from a meeting with Ian MacKay . Besides, if you Google it, you’ll find that many more of those legendary bands have played here.
When we enter the club, there is a picture of Ise on the wall on the left side and of course in the photo he is with his iconic pipe. Everyone greets us very pleasantly and warmly and bows to us. It’s incredible.
The club has a slightly raised stage, there is a bar on the right, you can walk around the stage to the backstage , from which you can go out. There is a lot of equipment and band stuff, you can walk here from the street, but it is probably unnecessary to say that nothing was lost and no strangers climb here. I leave my phone here to charge for almost two hours and it is still in place.
Again, you can smoke inside, but you smoke outside. Besides, due to the size of the club, there are tables outside and almost all the bands, including us, have their merch on them . That wouldn’t really matter, except that today is a very cold day and it’s definitely the coldest day of our stay in Japan. I have my jacket buttoned up to my neck, but it still feels very cold.
I meet Yusuke from COMPLETED EXPOSITION for the first time and hand him the cassettes I brought him. A very nice guy and he surprises with his understandable English. A huge, almost un-Japanese giant named Hiro from the band HYDROPHOBIA / SHREDDED MERCH arrives, who printed our merch . He plays guitar in the band, they have been playing very brutal and underground death / grind since 1996. Hiro even snorts into the microphone and when he plays, he screams into it bent like a bow. I saw it on video – but they didn’t play with us. Maybe another time.
Hiro printed the merch he brought and made a trip of about 450 kilometers to arrive. He only got the money here on the spot. We talk briefly, as much as possible, and then we meet a few more times. I go to call home, the time works out for me thanks to the shift. I make a video call via WhatsApp and my younger son asks me if I want to go play hockey with him now. Of course, that doesn’t work out and I’m a little sad about it, but I quickly chase away the gloom…
eSIM is a huge advantage , where you can choose different tariffs and services. I have unlimited internet, I have a temporary Japanese number and it’s great. It’s not too expensive and I have regular contact with my family and work.
The crowd starts off slow and easy, but I notice it getting wilder. Nobody, absolutely nobody, stands outside while the bands play. No chatter, beer and cigars. The band starts, a man comes majestically outside, rings a bell and everyone climbs in to watch the band.
And what happens towards the end regarding the audience looks like in the Czech Republic or Slovakia at the end of the nineties, when some rare band came. Total hell. Stagediving , jumping into people, moshpit and madness. Enthusiasm for fast music. I’m standing by the wall so as not to buy one, my football boot is hanging in the air. I have a smile from ear to ear and I don’t want to go home.
There were a lot of bands, so I’ll summarize them as follows, because I didn’t see everything in its entirety – some only a little bit, due to various circumstances.
The first to open the show were GRINNING. A trio that got down to business with 100% verve from the very first moment. At first it was a shock. The dedication of the band members is hard to see and I have to say that I’m simply not used to this. All three, including the drummer, were as if under a current and pounded us with merciless fastcore , fast hardcore, where cutting passages were completely prevalent. A punch between the eyes to start with and a clear message of what the whole evening and part of the afternoon will be like.
RUNNER from Osaka performed a pedaling and cleverly crafted fast hardcore, power violence , which was played in Japan and is still played. It seemed similar to the band QUILL. Also good – how could it be otherwise.
DESERVE TO DIE is a three-piece band and they have unabashedly given us aggressive, straightforward grindcore . There is a strong Japanese school of feeling there, which I love about these bands. Yes, the NAPALM DEATH reference is also noticeable here, but while in our country it is often composed very blatantly according to ND, here they go their own way. This band reminded me of excellent Japanese grind bands like 324 or RISE ABOVE. Stomping, raw and pumped grindcore full of blast beats. An intense experience that I later indulge in from their debut CD with sixteen songs from 2022.
The fourth was COMPLETED EXPOSITION, whom I was looking forward to, and who don’t need to be described in detail. They have quite a few recordings available here. They played exactly as I imagined and dreamed. Tempo changes, surgical stop-and-go passages, frantic sand blasts and all in a short time frame. A very energetic show from all members and it’s great to watch Yosuke dancing and jumping with his bass guitar. Top quality, simply great!
The band BELCH in front of us had an energetic bass player who took the microphone, made visibly funny remarks to the people and ran through the people with his bass several times, did a cartwheel and jumped from the upper balcony. Plug it in, we have a strong and stable supply of electricity. Otherwise more hardcore, japancore , skate style, but also very good.
We’re going up on stage. There was no sound system today, so we’re exceptionally rehearsing in advance and playing our standard set. We had 25 minutes , some bands only had 10-minute sets . I think we played very well and the response is in line with that. Anyway, there are so many good bands here today that my head is spinning. Especially the people – the commitment is incredible. The Japanese are as flexible as rubber dolls and the energy is simply inimitable.
After us, SECRET TEMPLE blew it up, playing a hybrid of metal and grindcore . The guitar alternates thrash riffs with grindcore and it sounds great. The long-haired guitarist then starts talking to us later at the bar and says that he was in the Czech Republic, in Olomouc. The band released a split CD with the cult CARCASS GRINDER this year, so that says it all.
Next up are hardcore punk band ISLKA with a short-haired guitarist who weighs thirty kilos, but later during the mosh pit she performs such tricks and jumps into people that it drives me crazy.
Another highlight of the evening – and there were several – are LEECH from Funabashi . They are a tornado. Epileptic and brutal power violence dump. I look forward to meeting them again, at the last concert in El Puente .
And the biggest surprise of the evening is here: TILL EWING. I’ve never heard of them. We sleep at the singer Massam’s place and he takes care of us, but what they showed… A whirlwind of hardcore punk spiced with thrash fast HC and even fastcore . Very original and interesting techniques.
The performance of the singer, the whole band and of course the audience can already be described as a sport, athletics. It was ma-sa-kr ! I must also note that in general the greatest strength of Japanese bands is in concerts – the sound and energy of the bands are a huge asset.
After the concert, each band receives an envelope with money. By the way, in Nagoya all the bands gave up their fees in our favor. Then there is another joint organization, we receive a ticket for food and drinks and the traditional uchiage is prepared . Plated trays with food – a lot of seafood, but a vegan tray awaits us. Nice.
We sit down with him, LEECH and Yosuke from COMPLETED EXPOSITION. He has really good English, so we talk a lot. Thanks to being on a European tour with WOJCZECH, he knows the local customs and knows where the hare runs at concerts in Europe. He explains that they rent studios and that they would like to visit Europe again. A pleasant conversation.
Yosuke is curious if we usually play concerts in living rooms. He saw our video where we play in Gusta’s living room and people jump off the bunk beds. „No,“ I tell Yosuke , „this is really not common.“ Radek chats with LEECH and finds out that they went to the same places on their west coast tour as CONTROLLED EXISTENCE.
Then another group photo, a speech from Shiggy about CAPITALIST CASUALTIES and a memory of Mike. We applaud, it’s touching. They will never forget.
We go to eat and it’s very good. We finish, have drinks and go to sleep. We are driven by Massam from TILL EWING again. On stage, a madman, a fool and a maniac, but otherwise a nice guy – helpful, kind, pleasant. As usual. The Japanese here are like a template: look normal , play brutal . Probably like us.
We sleep at Massamo’s , he has a larger family house, so we climb the wooden stairs up to where there are two rooms for us. We sleep on the floor on traditional slats, which is fine, but it’s quite cold here. I sleep in a jacket.
But before that, we go down to the first room, where we explain and cut ourselves together with Shiggy . He and our Aho skinhead play the main roles, as usual.
What probably gets the biggest laughs is when Shiggy reveals to us that Tsuyochi from FUCK ON THE BEACH was a porn actor. It really brings us to our knees. He underlines everything by adding that he was very bad.
24. 11. 2024 – Osaka
Massam arrives , we pack up and say goodbye to his beautiful wife. Massam takes us to the train. We are again descending underground, into the crowd of passengers, and let’s say that statistically we spent part of the tour under the streets of Japanese metropolises and drove crisscrossing this beautiful country. A nice farewell to Massam , who still says: “ Please come back again .” It’s nice.
What’s interesting is that the vast majority of European bands would tell you in such a situation: you played here now and next time we’ll come again, will you arrange it? But that’s not how people think here.
We quickly find the right train and look forward to the short journey, which takes about two hours. Osaka has a historic part of the city, so visiting the castle is an absolute must. We get off the train, take an Uber, a short journey and we are there. The Hokage is right on a busy street, you won’t even know if you’re going into a food shop or a clothes shop.
The organizer Shin , the drummer from COMPLETED EXPOSITION, arrives. He’s wearing a beanie, I haven’t talked to him much before, so I don’t know what to expect, but he’s really cool and cool. We climb into the club, there’s a classic A-lister standing outside, where today’s line-up is written in chalk.
You go down the stairs, a narrow backstage , where there are clothes hangers, and a bar with a pretty Japanese woman with dreadlocks . She then thanks me for a great concert – what can I say? The performance room is smaller, with a few mirrors in the back of the band area. I won’t write „stage“ because there is no stage here.
We’re supposed to go to the sound check, again very soon, and there are already a few guys who are watching us closely. Unfortunately, they’re smoking, and I have to report the only negative thing that’s happened here so far. Sorry , but I’ve just gotten out of the habit of spending time in a smoky space.
We’re set up in relaxation mode and the sound engineer (yes, again!) tells us to turn it down. The crash of skulls, the roar of a tiger – and she doesn’t even bat an eyelid. She’s an elderly lady, by the way, and after the concert she congratulates us, bows and thanks us for a great concert. It’s simply incredible, I have no words. The sound is slightly quieter than usual here, so just turn it slightly to the right and it’s fine.
We call Shiggy and he immediately finds out all the organizational information and also where the nearest record store is, so we can let our wallets bleed a little. And look – the recently announced Punk and Destroy is hiding a few dozen steps away in the alleys near the club.
This shop has been around for at least twenty years. It wasn’t easy to find, as it’s in the basement of a building, but then we follow the poster, a classic display of A-list advertising and punk posters and stickers. A very small noodle shop, with crates of twelve-inch records on the left, and rare first pressings of punk classics like MOB 47, DETESTATION, SUBHUMANS and others displayed on the wall above them.
There is a giant DISCLOSE and DISCHARGE poster hanging on the ceiling above you. The salesman is very nice, helpful and speaks English, so he immediately asks where we are from. Besides, the concert poster is hanging inside, so he knows what kind of group of criminals has just arrived.
Okay, the fever is starting. I look around, my heart rate is racing, and I pray that I’ll be the first to get a gem. There’s no love between record collectors – this is the first minute of the match, haha.
There are not only records here, but also cassettes and a lot of CDs. The space is cramped and there are a ton of titles. I find SEE YOU IN HELL CD and SHEEVA YOGA CD. Then a lot of Japancore singles and of course their national punk treasures – GAUZE, GISM, FORWARD. It’s all here.
Even an LP with a selection of John Carpenter’s films from 1974-1996. Price 2,600 yen, about 360 crowns – isn’t it beautiful? Electronics TOMOKO ARAN on LP for about 28,000 yen, here it’s significantly worse. But I like that the selection is not limited to extreme music, it’s really varied.
Yes, the original CD ASSÜCK on Sound Pollution is laughing at me from one of the shelves. I also found some older 625 titles on cassette, so I take them and we slowly disappear.
Back again, the corridors here remind me of an older type of block of flats in our country, where there were apartments upstairs and maybe a pharmacy or doctor’s office downstairs. They were always led to by a corridor like this. Ehmm … but this isn’t a pharmacy, this is a punk record store!
Osaka has almost three million inhabitants and is said to be the noisiest Japanese city with a rich nightlife. I would say that it is obvious and noticeable at first glance. The flow of people flows through the streets, there are a lot of young people, an abundance of shops and „hungry“ windows that invite you to have fun and feed your stomach. The overall hustle and bustle and atmosphere are felt at every step.
We are faced with a loud and energetic performance by a girls‘ club. They dance and sing, and the audience, which surrounds the dancers, also gives choruses with them. This would not be seen here – no one would join in, they would just stand and stare…
We’ll take a picture with them, but first Shiggy has to find their social profile and like it properly . That’s the way things are these days. 🙂
There is another shop with grind goods here, stylishly called GRIND Records , and in addition to records, it has a brick-and-mortar store with snacks, good tea and coffee. Unfortunately, we can’t do that. Today, in addition to hunting for records, we also have to make room for culture, because Osaka Castle is a significant monument, visited by 2.5 million tourists a year, and the battle for the castle in 1615 brought Japan into the era of a centralized state.
But we are quite tight on time and there is probably no chance of being late here – everything is going according to plan. We take an Uber and head towards the castle. Yes, I won’t disappoint you and like real poseurs we take a few photos in front of the castle.
The entire area inside the walls is 61,000 m² , but we still manage to walk the path lined with sakura to the gardens, where there are several beautiful gates and a tea house. There I ring the historic bronze dotaku bell . We sit and relax, but after a while we have to weigh anchor. It was beautiful and I’m glad we made it.
The Uber arrives on time and after a short journey we are at Shiggy’s , who is picking up Yusuke , and we head towards the Mexican restaurant. Hungry is hungry. Again a nice selection of vegan versions, so I take the burritos beans and wash them down with a nice chilled Sapporo beer .
As a beer drinker, I should say a few words about beers. Okay. The local beer market here is dominated by four big companies: Sapporo , Asahi , Kirin and Suntory . The absolute number one is Asahi Super Dry, which also controls half of the Czech market, because it owns Plzeňský Prazdroj. I’m not entirely thrilled with Asahi Dry – it’s more watery and reminds me of sweet beers like Gambrinus 10°. I understand the consternation of some of you.
I personally liked Sapporo , which is drinkable. But it’s best to find a craft microbrewery, just like ours. The best beer was Shiggy’s in his den El Puente – it was stronger, beautifully bitter and of course came from a microbrewery whose name I have successfully forgotten.
Back to the restaurant, because I think of asking Shiggy about Yakuza itself . Watching it from our distance, it seems unreal. Not when you’re sitting right here. Shiggy, for the first time on tour, gets serious, starts whispering that they’re here too and that it’s all real. Mazec.
Time is starting to become our enemy. Alda still needs ointment for his sore shoulder and COMPLETED EXPOSITION is about to start in a few minutes. We walk briskly through the streets of lively Osaka and after a few minutes we are standing in front of the club. We just make it – they are starting.
Today COMPLETED EXPOSITION are even better, they are at home here. The description fits them just as well as the one from the concert at Hokage – they are phenomenal and they are an absolutely top band of contemporary power violence .
Our already well-known VIDEO GIRL are not waiting for anything and are unpacking their fastcore manifesto. Just like in Nagoya, nothing is different here. I enjoy the drummer’s playing again and I consider the band to be a great promise in the fastcore style. Hopefully they will manage to come out with some successful record or split and better, worldwide distribution through underground channels.
Next up are GOD FREE HO from Kochi . More hardcore punk style with a strong clean bass and guitar leads . It’s a nice change from all the thrashing. What I like is that all the people from the bands are in the audience and they support each other. Yusuke from CE is currently standing next to me, doing moves exactly like on stage while playing. A nice quarter of an hour.
TONE DEAF follow this smoothly. I would say they are very similar in style – Japanese-style hardcore punk spiced up with 80s hardcore made in the USA. Energetic beats and the band is well-coordinated. I really enjoyed it live, and in the studio, if anyone wants, they have a recording released on Iron Lung. Records .
Our time is coming. There’s something about that sound card in advance, because you can start playing immediately, without any rehearsals or sound tuning. Just throw it at people right away. We play piece after piece and people go wild like Satan. I see fists waving in front of me, dancing and joy in their eyes. I enjoy it a lot and the joy of playing results in us being at the end of the set without anyone even realizing it.
We add and after the concert we receive warm applause. We end up completely sweaty like mice. Again – whoever I meet after the concert praises us and bows down. You won’t experience this anywhere else, only here.
I enter the claustrophobic hallway to get a dry T-shirt and meet the singer of TONE DEAF, whom I haven’t had the chance to really meet yet. He surprises me with his perfect English, so the communication is on point and I learn a lot of interesting information. Nice guy. Oh, and by the way – this guy did the SEE YOU IN HELL concert here in Osaka.
We have a lot of fun with the guys from the band VIDEO GIRL. We met in Nagoya, they like our music and we like theirs, we have this vibe between us . We take a group photo and tease them to come to Europe. Oh, and the name VIDEO GIRL – isn’t it magical?
We pack up, but outside I still talk to Yuki , the singer of COMPLETED EXPOSITION. I’ve never talked to him before, he seemed less approachable to me. But here everything is the opposite. Although he looks like a hunk and a valid member of the Yakuza , he’s actually like a lamb.
At first he doesn’t understand a word I say, so it seems like a nice faux pas, but then he starts talking and we have a nice chat about music and family. A pleasant surprise. Then he picks up our giant bag of merch with his huge paw like a feather and helps us carry it away.
We say goodbye to everyone and leave in two cars. On the way, we unload the camera at the studio that COMPLETED EXPOSITION has rented. Everyone gets out, but I can’t open the car door – probably some clever safety feature that I can’t beat (it’s for small children, right?). I stay trapped in the car, so I can’t look into the studio or say a final goodbye. At least I wave to Yuki from the car.
And why didn’t I call the others to open the door for me? The million-dollar question. Well, when you’re hoarse and can’t speak, it’s hard to call for help. It’s like this. It happens every night anyway – after the concert I can’t speak, but by sucking miracle pills it gets better and the next day I’m pretty good.
We continue our journey, stopping for supplies, which as usual I limit to cans of Sapporo beer and a rice ball with vegetables. Shin from COMPLETED goes with me to get a beer and asks me if I’m also the drummer from LYCANTHROPHY. He says „very fast drummer „. I say: „Yeah, yeah, I am.“
In about an hour we are in front of the house where CE’s drummer, Shin , lives . Shiggy says that a lot of bands spend the night here on their tours. We disembark and walk across the garden to the house, which at first glance, in the dead of night, doesn’t seem small. And it certainly isn’t – it’s huge. In the morning, I take pictures of my mother-in-law’s garden around the house so she can get inspired. She won’t see this in church.
We climb a few stairs into the house and in the hallway we are immediately – and of course especially our Aleš – struck by a collection of skateboards with logos of bands like LOS CRUDOS or GODSTOMPER. A beautiful collection! To the right of the hallway is a large room with mattresses and duvets on the floor. Ideal.
A typical Japanese-style room – beautiful ceramics, decorations, statues and altars. I feel like I’m in a temple. We go into the living room and sit around the table. People drink and feast. Shin brings tequila, so we all toast.
The entertainment is mainly provided by Aleš, who tells his classic stories and jokes, and then he plays the film „Tour de France“, which makes funny jokes and parodies the atmosphere and profiles of the Tour de France cycling race. We laugh out loud.
There’s nothing we can do – we have to go to bed and sleep. We get up early in the morning and have the longest journey back to Tokyo.
25/11/2024 – Tokyo
Fangsanalsatan
The unpleasant sound of the alarm clock wakes us up. Who even came up with such an annoying thing? We pack up, put the duvets on the mattresses, so that it can be seen that we have decent manners. Today is Monday, a new week begins and there are two lovely little Shina girls in the living room . They don’t mind that they don’t understand us – they keep babbling at us in Japanese, show us a funny video of a roller coaster ride on their watch and give us a live hamster to bury. Of course, they like our Aho skinhead the most.
I take a cleansing shower and Shin’s lovely wife prepares breakfast for us. Just like in a hotel. There are eggs, meatless pasta, vegetables and coffee on the table. Shin knows exactly how to do it, and it’s a luxury. He and his wife are very kind and helpful. We thank them very much and say goodbye.
Alenka and Shiggy take the bus because there are too many of us in one car. Shin drives us and explains on the way that he has the day off today and is really looking forward to it because he will be lying around and drinking beer all day. Well, that’s what I’m talking about! He also says that he works as a postman. I don’t really like such luxurious living, but everything is explained – it’s my parents‘ house and his father is a neurosurgeon. He had a photo of one of his surgeries on the wall in the living room, and there were also a bunch of pictures from various trips around the world that he and his wife had taken. Prague and Český Krumlov were not missing.
We say goodbye to Shin and head to Kyoto. A short bus ride, where it’s classically as quiet as a tomb – except for us. Here, all you have to do is talk and you’ll make a huge noise.
We’re here after a short journey. Classic obligations: buying tickets, booking by phone, finding a platform and waiting for the shinkansen . It’s really essential to have a reservation so that you have a certain seat. Thanks to that I can sit, drink beer, coffee and write this report. In headphones UNHOLY GRAVE. Beauty. My head will fall off in a moment, but I’m pretty good at writing.
Writing down my experiences right away proved to be a good idea on the LYCANTHROPHY American tour – it’s much better than writing it backwards. I’m thinking about it and Aleš announces that he’s putting Shiggy and Max Ward on the guest list for the Tokyo concert. aka 625 and his wife. BORIS have the most sophisticated organization. Here it is not the case that you come somewhere and want something – everything is arranged in advance, no anarchy, total chaos, and most importantly no PADLOCK.
I don’t even count all the trains, buses and transfers, there were countless. A popular daily game is also „find your right train“. Rail The pass was absolutely worth it for us here and I think we got the most out of it. Without it, we would have paid many times more. And we almost didn’t have it because we started to deal with it at the last minute.
Fever club , but it wasn’t free. It’s a little outside the center, where there’s a huge movement of people. The word „crowd“ takes on a completely different dimension here. Interestingly, Shiggy himself has to ask questions about the route – and he does so almost constantly. I can’t imagine what it would be like if we were traveling without him.
up to Fever and we are in a large lobby, where BORIS already has its diverse merch . There is also a wardrobe, where many different BORIS T-shirts hang on hangers. They also offer a stuffed animal, lots of small goods and of course an arsenal of records in the best form – on vinyl.
From the left you enter the hall, which is quite large, with a high stage and the typical gap between the stage and the audience, where there is space for photographers. It is separated from the people by barriers. Well, this doesn’t look like a small concert. The more I go here, the more curious I am about the course of the evening itself.
The first person we meet from BORIS is guitarist Takeshi . A warm welcome from Aleš and then an introduction to us. A nice and easy-going guy. He’s wearing a LACK OF INTEREST t-shirt, so it can’t be any other way, haha. Then we meet the sound engineer BORIS and finally the boss of the whole band – Atsu . He exudes natural respect and behaves differently from the others.
After a tour of the club and introductions , it’s time to relax, so we go backstage , which is very spacious. Each band has its own spot, its own seating, everything is marked. There’s a toilet and a large drinks machine. There’s a socket on the table where we can charge our phones. What more could you want?
The soundtrack starts and the whirring of a jet taking off can be heard from the hall. Yes, FUCK ON THE BEACH play almost the entire set and it’s a massacre. We wave to them and the response is positive, they remember us. Sure, we arranged a joint split via email, I once released a split EP for them with YACOEPSAE, but we met for the very first time at Obscene Extreme , where they played. The concert in Trutnov was played by Tsuyochi on an out-of-tune guitar – punk as fuck , haha.
We’ll say hello to FOB. The bassist doesn’t speak any English, but he digs through his phone and immediately shows me a photo of us together from Obscene. Extreme . That will please.
The sound is waiting for us too, at exactly 3:00 PM , not a minute later. We try a few rounds and the sound is great as usual in Japan – loud and dynamic, everything is audible as it should be. It’s going to be good.
The duo Takeshi and Tsuyochi are coming with a diabolical plan to play a cover of “ Total“ together. Control ” by THE SWANKYS. Aleš told us about it, but I still wasn’t sure about it. But they are convinced and really want it.
The plan is clear: we’ll play our set, then Takeshi will come as a guest on second guitar and Tsuyochi as second vocals with me. You can’t refuse to join forces with FUCK ON THE BEACH and BORIS, right? It’s a simple and punchy punk whip.
We find the lyrics – a short verse and a chorus “ Total control „. Song comes from the album This Is My Lifestyle from 1985 and here it is considered a cult hardcore/punk/ noise act. We play it decently for the first time, thanks to Takeshi’s guitar it’s a brutal mess. I save my voice and leave it more to Tsuyochi , let him pull it off. Everything is good. We pack up and finish the soundtrack.
I walk through the hall and the last person I meet from BORIS is the legendary guitarist Wata – all in black, of course – and the drummer, who doesn’t speak English, but he’s still smiling.
Then hunger and a look at the evening’s line-up come into play. Now we have our last chance to get out and eat somewhere. Shiggy is called madman , who promptly locates a vegan restaurant, and off we go.
This corner of Tokyo is fantastic. It’s quiet here, we walk between the houses, up the hill over the train tracks and after a while we’re standing at a restaurant that’s almost empty. We go inside, the owner greets us with a bow and sends a young waiter to us, who is apparently learning English, so he’ll give us a good try.
Before they bring us our food, we teach Shiggy some Czech expressions for a change. He asks about dessert and his pronunciation of the word „buchtička“ brings us to our knees. You can see it on our IG as a now legendary invitation to our concert in El Puente .
Meanwhile, the food is on the table and it’s fantastic. I could eat this every day. Fried vegetable balls, perfectly seasoned, rice, sauce – all vegan. Yummy.
Max Ward gives an echo that he is already at the club, so we bring the leftovers, pour some liquid bread over it and head back. The club has already filled up with people. Aleš chases us and heads outside, where Max is waiting for us.
You have to understand that this is not an ordinary meeting. You probably won’t meet Max in Europe, so the only chance is in Japan or the US – and he flew in specifically to meet us. That’s nice.
Max is a legendary drummer for bands like SPAZZ, the publisher of the cult label 625 Thrash, and in a moment I’m shaking hands with him and his Japanese wife outside. They’re very pleasant and nice. I give Max a previous issue of Go and Kill where I interviewed him. It’s really incredible that we’re meeting here – I never would have dreamed of this.
Max is on the guest list , so he sticks a „SKIPLIFE – guest “ card with access everywhere. This is where it’s really played out. We go backstage , where I can already see Atsuo putting on makeup and getting ready for the concert.
The hall is packed to the brim and everyone is waiting for the first band of the evening – BORIS themselves. Seeing them here at home is simply an experience that is unforgettable. I look at them for the first time from the side of the stage, where I climbed from backstage , and the floor beneath me is shaking. I check if I am not falling down into hell somewhere – such was the pressure. An earthquake with a strength of IV. on the Richter scale .
The first few songs are heavy, then they play a new song from our split. The second part of the concert is tried and tested older songs. Max then tells me that this is his personal favorite period.
The stage is shrouded in smoke and Atsuo has everyone in his grasp, dictating like a demon. He speaks to the audience alternately in English and Japanese. I understand that he is saying something about “ čeko “ SKIPLIFE. They don’t call us Czech, but “ čeko „. Everyone understands that.
After the concert, we praise everyone from BORIS backstage – it was an experience. Max is also here, whom Aleš introduces to BORIS. Atsuo acts as the band leader. It’s a ceremony, it’s not an ordinary meeting. Everything is different here.
Max will be releasing, or rather he has already released our joint split, so we all meet here together, which is great. We chat with Max and Shiggy , we have a great time. However, the noise coming from the bowels of the hall, when we are actually behind the stage, forces us to interrupt the conversation and go see the next band.
They’re SMASH YOUR FACE. They were originally going to play SLIGHT SLAPPER, which didn’t work out, and MELT-BANANA almost did too – that would have been something!
SMASH YOUR FACE are from Yokohama and have been playing for over 25 years . They debuted with the record Dirty , Nasty & Fuckin ‚ High Energy from 1997 , and the name is not accidental – it basically perfectly describes their musical style. It’s a very lively and unbridled hardcore punk, drawing from both Japanese hardcore of the 1980s and American influences like BAD BRAINS.
It’s nice that they’re constantly trying to change their style. They also have a DJ in the band who scratches to the beat . Visually, it’s a massacre too – funny glowing space costumes and disguises. Singer Nan goes wild like crazy and the audience takes it out of his hands.
Speaking of the audience – it’s not easy to identify. It’s not like in Europe, where musical taste is often obvious and uniform based on clothing. Do you see a serious guy in a suit and tie partying like a maniac to FUCK ON THE BEACH? Well, here you do.
I also see Martin in the pit, whom we met at the airport in Beijing. I’m surprised and happy that he’s here. At least he’s an adventurer who knows how to enjoy himself. To leave home for a year like this, without a plan – you have to have balls for that.
I take a moment to relax and drink Sapporo , and after a while I see a masked guy with a helmet on his head, half naked, and calling himself DO RODOROSHITERU. His music is playing from boxes, it’s hard to identify – a blast beat for a moment, then something like heavy metal with a violin – and he articulates and shouts along to it. There are silences in the pauses and he gestures at people and chants something in Japanese. You can probably only see a performance show like this in Japan.
FUCK ON THE BEACH already had a crushing sound on the soundboard, but the concert surpassed this madness. Fastcore hurricane. The guys are doing one massacre after another and Tsuyochi is simply a fastcore legend , and at the same time a funny guy who knows ten words of English, and we still understand each other.
After them, we. I feel a question mark in my head about how the audience will receive us. After all, it’s very mixed in terms of style here and, as I wrote, a lot of people don’t wear band t-shirts as merch , but they wear completely unidentifiable clothes. Basically, you can’t tell where the person belongs and what they listen to.
We get on, the curtain is drawn, we get ready and we go – as they say at Baník – to rock. Everything fits, the stops, the transitions, everything fits together and cuts. The audience is happy and reacts furiously and actively. Don’t worry, they like it here too. I see a circle, the Japanese are going wild, the front rows are going crazy, so we’re going for it at one hundred and six.
I’m dripping with sweat, but I’m floating – pure euphoria. I was worried about my voice, but I managed to hold out at 90% . This was supposed to be the highlight and I can’t imagine what I would do if I couldn’t speak. Revoice tablets rule with an iron fist. By the way, I sucked three boxes.
We grind the remnants of the Japanese and from the stage I call for Takeshi and Tsuyochi . SKIPLIFE and guests from BORIS and FUCK ON THE BEACH. I look – Takeshi is wearing a SKIPLIFE longsleeve and he’s going for it. He’s already shown us the reworked Metal Zone effect, which uncompromisingly vibrates the floor beneath us, exactly like during BORIS‘ set. Brutal .
People are acting like they’ve been ripped off, the boiler is running, we’re playing THE SWANKYS – “ Total Control ”. I stand on the edge of the stage, it’s a shame that there are barriers in front of us, behind which photographers cower. It would be better if there were only people below us. But never mind . Tsuyochi and I hold each other’s shoulders and shout the chorus “ Total control „.
I’m standing next to a fool I used to watch on records like I Love Power in my twenties Violence Forever released on Slap-a-Ham – something that was completely unattainable for us at the time.
We finish and people are still screaming, yelling, the noise doesn’t stop. What now? There’s a crisis meeting for a few seconds and we play the same song again, reinforced by the singer from SMASH YOUR FACE. During those few minutes I forget everything – absolute ecstasy.
Then it’s the definitive end. Hugs with all the performers, applause from the audience that keeps applauding us, and hands outstretched for the setlists. We’ll hand them out, there’s a fight for them. Is it just me?
We go backstage and I have to say that I’m not making this up. When I read it, I have to laugh like you, but yes – it really was that absurd compared to our habits and response. Backstage, everyone – people from the bands including BORIS – is clapping and bowing to us. There’s no need to describe it any further…
An excited Shiggy comes running , keeps asking if we want anything, thanks us, hugs us and it never ends. He serves beer as first aid and Martin comes running out of nowhere, even with a plate full of beers.
Max and his wife had to leave during our set because they needed to catch the last night train from Tokyo to Yokohama. Later at El Puente I ask him when he actually disappeared and he says we were playing about the sixth act – and in our case it’s a matter of two minutes, haha.
I meet people, someone keeps tapping me on the shoulder and praising me. I’m almost starting to be afraid to go anywhere. I run to the BORIS distro and take the Absolutego CD – a very brutal work from 1996. It’s probably unnecessary to write that the girl selling merch bows to me and praises the great concert.
Unknowingly, we have perhaps only one – and fortunately temporary – mishap: Aleš leaves his MacBook here. He only finds out later. It takes a while and it’s not pleasant, but the device is found. Shiggy says he would be surprised if someone stole it, and given my experience, I agree with him. I can only be ashamed of the country we come from.
The club is slowly emptying and we have to pack up too. Today we have a wonderful convenience – transportation by van. It is impossible to even count how much time we spent underground in local transportation, so we accept the transportation to our place of accommodation today with great gratitude.
We say goodbye to BORIS and everyone else. Takeshi hugs me and says: “ What a night.“ And today I feel like I need to drink this down properly.
We stop at our local 7-Eleven and I uncompromisingly take a pack of beers and sake. I can’t judge the quality of the Namagenshu sake offered , but in this rare and euphoric moment it’s completely irrelevant. Well, when there’s something to celebrate, you can wash it down with Braník, right? Huh .
After less than an hour, we arrive at the place. We are greeted by a guy whom Shiggy describes as a great guy and his brother. He says we will love him too. He doesn’t speak much English, but he understands something and can use his phone and Google Translate in an emergency. He waits on the street, immediately grabs our luggage and leads us down the narrow stairs to the entrance of his house, which he shares with a roommate.
We’ll be sleeping here tomorrow too, so we welcome the opportunity to leave our suitcases here and take only our personal belongings to tomorrow’s gig. We climb the stairs, where the landlord’s room is on the left, and we fit into the one on the right, where there is ideally a toilet.
The room is covered in hardcore punk posters, record covers, flyers, and various memorabilia from our industry. On the fridge are stickers from a Tokyo club and thank-you notes from previous sleepovers, such as ONA SNOP or SHITSTORM.
It’s cold again, although it’s probably more bearable in the room than in the hallway, where there’s a real scythe like in a Russian movie. As in the previous accommodations, there’s no central heating and in the middle of the room on the floor is a so-called kotatsu – a kind of hybrid between a table, a blanket and a heater. There are mattresses on the tatami and I get a spot dangerously close to Aleša- Mindlock man , aka the snoring monster.
We need to start pouring sake and shouting “ kanpai !“ We are discussing all the fresh experiences from the past hectic hours and it is clear that everyone is satisfied. So far I have been really sparing myself – I was worried about how my vocal cords would turn out, I tried to sleep and not drink too much cold beer after concerts. I have never sucked so many medicinal candies in my life as I am now.
However, there is one more concert ahead of us, the – let’s say – main one is behind us, so I lift the floodgates of restraint really high and let it flow down my throat. Since I’m probably already slapping, I fall headfirst into the bunk. It’s late in the morning, a little after four, and so we all fall asleep contentedly.
26. 11. Yokohama
We sleep until lunch. It’s not really lunch, so to be precise – we sleep until twelve. This is the first time we’ve indulged in this, otherwise it’s all about getting up early and moving to concert venues. I take a shower, but it’s not free. Finding out how the battery and the whole system work is for college, haha. The next day, neither Radek nor I can turn on the hot water. Hell, you have to pay for everything.
We shout at the host, who welcomes us, and head into town for lunch. Yokohama is the second largest city and largest port in Japan (3.6 million people). It is located over 30 km from Tokyo and is largely a residential area for people commuting to the metropolis. We cross a large bridge and I notice the Nissan factory. It reminds me of the domestic corporation where I work, and I quickly push these thoughts of work to the back of my mind.
On the way we pass grapefruit and tangerine trees , also an ingenious parking system. Cars are stacked on platforms one above the other, and you can easily find such a mobile parking lot next to a block of flats – the street is free. We pass a construction site, or rather a road repair: one guy stops cars, bows to us, the other stands at the end and bows again. Mazec. A trifle, but it never ceases to surprise me personally.
We arrive at an Indian restaurant, where stylish spiritual music is playing, and we order some goodies. We give the curry a “medium” heat and I look forward to the reactions of those who take it even hotter. Takehisha shows us a video on YouTube of him playing at El Puente with his band, and explains very brokenly that the drummer Koba from SYSTEMATIC DEATH plays in the band with him. He lives in Yokohama, by the way.
Later I look them up – the band is called RYDEEN, they play melodic hardcore punk and have a few solid records under their belt. Too bad about the language barrier, I think there would be enough to discuss. Alda gives us a classic bun at the end, pays for the host as a warm thank you for the kind night and we head back.
In the main epicenter of power violence , El Puente , we are supposed to be there at five, so we slowly set off. We take an Uber and after a while we get out in front of the glass doors, where there is a sticker THRASH ZONE – El Puente . It is fascinating how the taxi driver literally runs out, unloads our luggage himself and takes it from our hands. The fact that he goes around the car and opens the door is almost unnecessary to write. I can totally see the taxi driver here.
Down the stairs, on the walls are posters from concerts, dominated by a large CAPITALIST CASUALTIES Tribute poster . Of course, it includes guitarist Spider Mike, who is unfortunately no longer with us, and his portrait has a big heart painted on it. It’s touching how these people never forget.
Countless tribute concerts have already taken place here in honor of CC. We even played at one, and there’s a poster from 2022 hanging here, where the Japanese top bands played – SYSTEMATIC DEATH, COMPLETED EXPOSITION, SLIGHT SLAPPERS, etc. Shiggy lived in San Francisco for a while and after returning, he wanted to set up a DIY place where independent artists would meet and play. He succeeded in that without fail.
It is a unique space that spreads DIY ideas. In Japan, it is common to only play in official clubs or studios, which is not a cheap matter. Bands told us that they often do not have their own rehearsal rooms and rent expensive studios. The advantage is the perfect sound, equipment and recording possibilities, the disadvantage is the lack of their own space.
A few days ago, the bar was surprised by Barney from NAPALM DEATH himself, wearing a DINOSAUR JR. T-shirt, when he came back from the ongoing ND Japanese tour. He also left his message there. The walls are written with the names of the bands that played here – DEZINFEKCE also left a message there and we will scratch the logo right next to INFEST themselves.
There is another tribute to CAPITALIST CASUALTIES by the stage – on the wall hang photos from concerts in the bar, including singer CC Shawn , who died in 2018. A very friendly and nice guy. I interviewed him for GaK and I remember a pleasant debate when he came to ask me for warm tea with honey for my vocal cords during a concert in Vysoké Mýto. After the tour, CC boss Jeff Robinson, long-time boss of the cult label SIX WEEKS and publisher of the fanzine Short , Fast and Loud , who is one of the reasons why you are holding this fanzine in your hand right now, also added me on Instagram.
I notice the hidden giant 625 Thrash flag that I always saw in El Puente videos , so with the help of the others I unwrap it and take a photo. Everyone worships a different flag, hehe .
There is a small space for bands and bands , a playroom, a restroom, and a bar. Madman arrives Shiggy , we welcome you and he immediately takes charge of the bar. He has a special draft of a stronger IPA and a KIRA beer – both draft by the glass, which is not very common here. Of course, he doesn’t ask for any money from us and just supplies us with this tasty drink. The IPA is great and finally really bitter, as it should be.
There’s no time to waste, so we’re going to tune the equipment and do a quick sound check. It’s not official today and we have a special to finish. Aleš suggests we surprise Max and play a cover. SPAZZ . We were already asking him for drums in Tokyo, but he kept making excuses that he was old and broken .
Anyway, a few days ago, Yosuke from COMPLETED EXPOSITION told us that he and Max have a project in which the guitarist from EXCLAIMED also plays. I’m already looking forward to it – they say they have about 30 songs ready and it’s sure to be a hit.
Practicing SPAZZ in a moment is not exactly easy , so our band leader chooses a song by playing SPAZZ and one of the last songs they ever played – “I Hate Kids ” by SOA, which can be heard on their compilation album Sweatin ‚ to the Oldies . We can play the original version, but in the end we will take it in the SPAZZ style.
The icing on the cake is that I’m behind the drums and Alda is behind the microphone. The equipment here isn’t exactly ideal, the drum stands are flimsy, but that’s a minor thing. The sound is fine, we put on three shows and then we go and try a cover – Shiggy himself gets behind the microphone . It takes a while to tune it and we’re done. It sounds good.
Satisfied, we part ways and I meet Max at the entrance. Fortunately, he said he didn’t hear anything, so that’s fine – the surprise remains! Another surprise is that there is smoking here. Kája from DEZINFEKCE already pointed this out to me. You don’t even realize what a gift it is not to have to breathe smoke and not have your clothes stink of nicotine.
Slowly people start to disperse and other bands arrive. One guy sits at the cash register opposite the entrance and collects 2,000 yen, which is a little over three kilos. We are happily welcomed by FUCK ON THE BEACH. The bass player doesn’t speak English at all, the drummer is better and understands a little, so we communicate in a few English words. But the best is the boss and the main face of the band Tsuyochi . He arrives last and when we meet, he is smiling from ear to ear.
His clothes are a little more modest tonight, including a modest headpiece, but backstage he starts changing into his concert attire. He pulls his torn pants and a sweatshirt out of his backpack and promptly changes. I tell him, “ Let’s have a beer today ,” but he doesn’t understand. I shorten it to the magic word “ beer .” He starts to drink, but he indicates that today was a “hard job ” and that he is tired. He says that today is just an energy drink, which I actually meet him with later.
what job he does with visibly practiced gestures, indicating the movement of a shovel. As you can see, he went from being a bad porn actor to a digger – that’s not bad and it’s still a manual job, haha.
Another nice guy comes, I don’t know if he’s from New Zealand, who immediately introduces himself and hands us the records and a t-shirt of the band THIRSTY. He explains that he was the one responsible for booking the band SPEECH ODD, who, as I wrote, were turned away at immigration and sent back to Thailand. He says that he doesn’t regret the lost money or the time he spent on it, but especially the unfortunate ending – for the band, the promoters and the people.
What happened after the concert is unbelievable. As part of a group photoshoot, as is customary here, Shiggy starts shouting „SPEECH ODD, please come back “ and the others shout it in unison. This will create a video specifically for Thais. No reproaches, no finding the guilty party – just this nice message. There is nothing left to do but to keep learning from them, because not only their habits, but also their way of thinking is sometimes miles away from us.
Meanwhile, the first LEECH is being prepared and in a moment it will start without warning. Slow, pounding passages alternate with ultra-fast percussion , the singer’s epileptic movements and his screamed speech will make you feel crazy. It is not for nothing that their first song on their separate 7” EP is called “In the Madness ”. Even though the space is small, people gather around the band and move.
LEECH relentlessly continue. It’s a very, very intense attack with many tempo changes and brilliantly thought out ideas in really short bursts, in the best tradition of Japanese power. violence . Again, just like in Okayama – a treat!
Shiggy’s fast lager works great and gets in my head a little, but I’m keeping it moderate. I still need to get ready to play a SOA cover and I’m playing this jumpy song in my head until I’m crazy. I already remember the chorus, the cymbals are pounding on it nicely, so I turn it off and go to the next band.
They are MUT. The singer speaks good English, she is not Japanese, she explains that she does not know the lyrics yet, so it will be one big improvisation. It is supposed to be the first, or one of the very first concerts. The style is hardcore, which does not suit me at all – more like tough guy HC. This encourages a few guys to dance, who I didn’t like until tonight, and my sense of smell for them is confirmed. The guys need to work out, the gym is far away, so they start a set of figures and dances that I don’t understand. I’d rather not write about it so that someone doesn’t get offended. The macho guys knock out a few more people, finish practicing the set and the band ends. I didn’t like them or their fans , but OK.
the distro bands during the break , but I already have everything I need at LEECH and FOTB, so no shopping spree. That’ll come later.
Then comes today’s surprise for the staff. This band was not originally supposed to play here at all, but they wanted to – and signed up to play with us. They are FABOTAGE ORGANIZED BARBARIANS ! That’s how Shiggy jokingly introduced them on the invitation and it’s just a slogan from the current merch . Yes, of course they are FUCK ON THE BEACH.
I’m sure many of you have seen them at OEF, where they played it without any scruples with an out-of-tune guitar and at the afterparty everything was fine. This was probably the only band in the world that managed to do this at OEF – play the main concert for thousands of people out of tune and then have the afterparty for a few hundred in the tent already in tune. Haha.
It was also funny during the sound check in Tokyo when Tsuyochi plucked a string and told us: „I don’t need this .” Aleš and I are still laughing about it now.
I have to say, seeing FUCK ON THE BEACH at OEF was great, but seeing them on home turf at El Puente is a level of experience. The fastcore expressway is back in full swing, the mosh pit turns into a menagerie, and Tsuyochi is once again showing off his traditional grimaces.
Aleš wished and asked Shiggy to have the mosh pit happen behind his drums, so he himself shows how to do it. He runs around the people and then around the drummer. They probably haven’t seen this before. FUCK ON THE BEACH shoots one volley after another, the drummer plays fantastically and demonstrates “ flying fingers “ blast beats“, where he moves the drumstick not with his wrist, but with his fingers – a technique used by top grind and fastcore drummers. Beautiful.
What do I hear? The FOB anthem begins to play – “ Fuck on the Beach „. It appears on many vinyl records and in various versions. Perhaps the most popular is the yellow CD The Very Best of Hero , released on Killed by Fast Records , with artwork stolen from the SEX PISTOLS, featuring only the track “ Fuck on the Beach ” played differently every time.
The band ends, people bow, clap and shout. Tsuyochi bows comically and shows off his traditional strongman gestures and signs. Again, amazing. I could do this over and over again.
Then here’s another surprise of the evening. I was expecting a lineup of bands that were all fastcore and power. violence , but that’s another story. 9991 from Tokyo is a band made up of girls from whom I have absolutely no idea what to expect – the tiny, bleached blonde singer Sena, the ever-smiling drummer Haruna and the guitarist with a long curly mane. Will it be punk rock? Phew .
The girls play absolutely brutal and heavy-duty hardcore. They load the riffs like a cow and the girl behind the microphone She makes faces at the audience and uses a hoarse voice. The drummer is incredible, she plays very well, powerfully and precisely, she goes over the kettledrums with breaks and always smiles broadly – incredible.
The music sometimes reminds me of WEEKEND NACHOS, sometimes it’s a bit of a shovel-like HC, which I don’t need, but in general I really enjoyed it. There was a lot of energy and strength from it. Later I see that they normally play concerts with PV and fastcore bands, but at the same time they also have their own HC scene. Why not – it’s absolutely cool and I’ll definitely listen to 9991 again sometime.
OK, it’s time for our last concert in the land of the rising sun. People are already reacting a lot to the soundtrack, so I have a feeling it’s going to be simply great – and that’s fully confirmed. I could stop describing it here, because I’m repeating myself anyway, but I’ll point out a few things.
I didn’t expect that one of the first to mosh at us like a child would be Max Ward . Later, Shiggy confirmed this to me , saying that he hadn’t seen Max mosh like that in years. If this is what power looks like violence heaven, so we are just entering it.
We’re not giving the set 100%, but 200% . I don’t care if I don’t speak afterwards, but I’m going completely over my head with my vocals . People are partying, roaring like baboons, they’re excited and we’re with them. It’s one big family and this evening is already legendary and unforgettable. Can it get any better? It can!
Shiggy joins in and we do a cover of SOA dedicated to Max. It’s an absolute beast! I throw away the drumsticks, the applause from people is endless and I go to the bar to drink an ice-cold beer – my vocal cords are already gone.
Max offers to release a CD version of our split with GRIDE on 625, but Čert later rejects it. After that, it’s just chatter, joy, peace and love.
In the kitchen I’m chatting with a boy in our t-shirt and Max introduces him to me as the drummer of the biggest Japanese fastcore hope who will soon release a solo single. The band’s name is… you’d like to know, wouldn’t you? Well, I forgot. I even had it written on a piece of paper, which I successfully lost. Anyway, Radek got hold of the CDr with the demo , so he has the info .
Then Shiggy calls everyone together for the group photo I described above. We then have our own photo sessions with FUCK ON THE BEACH and Max.
We say goodbye to Aleš and Max. Aleš is leaving with the girls from 9991 for Tokyo. A few days ago he returned from a long tour of the USA with BORIS and immediately after that with DINOSAUR JR. in South America. However, this is not the reason for his departure, but the arrival of his family in Tokyo, with whom he will spend the next week in Japan. A nice indulgence, right?
Gradually everyone else says goodbye – they come and shake hands. The three of us stay and sit at the bar behind Shiggy and the rest of the El Puente team. Everyone has their own role and does it as one of their jobs. We go through the local CD collection and hunt down LACK OF INTEREST – “ Trapped Inside ”, which we are playing immediately.
It’s time for a toast and Shiggy pours a nice dose of delicious sake from a huge bottle. Time passes, we drink and discuss the scene in general, both ours and theirs. We explain how we came to be, what the original PV scene was like and the beginnings here, what it’s like now and so on. We also get to the company, work and so on.
Shiggy translates everything into Japanese and passes it on to the others. We could have sat there until morning, but all good things come to an end. One last beer, a warm farewell and we’re off.
It’s brutal outside, suddenly raining. A taxi arrives and we load our things with the assistance of Shiggy , who kindly holds an umbrella for each of us. We say goodbye to him, thank him for everything, hug him – and then we disappear into the rain and darkness.
We climb back to the same place where we slept. We chat for a while longer, the euphoria from tonight won’t let us fall asleep right away. But we want to get up early in the morning so we can get out early and do as much as possible during tomorrow’s free day in Tokyo.
27. 11. Tokyo
I managed to fall asleep, but I still wake up around four in the morning and can’t do anything. Our songs, the great cover , and the whole evening in general are playing in my head. I guess sleeping until lunch the day before also plays a role in that. I turn on my phone and watch football, the Champions League, under the covers, where Sparta gets six bananas from Atlético Madrid. I do something for a while in the morning.
We also take a shower – Radek doesn’t have hot water and of course I struggle to turn it on. Japanese toilets and bathrooms sometimes need instructions on how to do it. Hm… except shit. I come up as cold as a rock, but it’s the perfect thing to wake up to. Uber is here, so we thank him, say goodbye to our lovely host and go to the station. There we catch the train to Tokyo quite calmly and arrive in just under an hour.
The plan is absolutely simple and it won’t be hard to guess: two record shops and buying gifts for the families. Originally, I mainly wanted Harry Potter, or rather the Warner Bros. studio where these films were filmed, but what looks like a piece of land on the map is actually a terrible mess.
Our first destination is Base Records, which most bands and people recommended to us. We disembark in Shinjuku and first look for a luggage storage. We’re dragging the rest of the merch that we need to hide so Aleš can pick it up, as well as our own luggage – we want to have our hands free for any record purchases. A clever idea.
We find a storage room – a nice lady sells and repairs iPhones here – and we leave our bags there. We have a coffee to wake us up and set off in search of Base Records. After wandering around for a while, we find it, it’s located in one of the buildings – we take the elevator and we’re there. A relatively small room where the tables and shelves are literally covered in vinyl. A paradise for lovers of Japanese hardcore punk. I understand that you’ll leave tens of thousands here, because there’s gem after gem: GISM, STALIN, GAI, KURO and others.
DOOM box with records I’ve never seen. Ráďa has a handle and comes across the single REPULSION, which I don’t even know was released. Then he pulls out the second part of the cult compilation Bllleeeaaauuurrrggghhh !!! on colored vinyl. Alenka finds me the debut LP THE LOCUST, which we talked about a few days ago. I take the missing sevens SENSELESS APOCALYPSE (split with RUPTURE), the original single SEX PISTOLS, “ Massacrecore “ live EP by CRIPPLE BASTARDS (more out of nostalgia and to complete the collection – I’ve never held this single in my life, I haven’t watched CB for a long time), 3 WAY CUM “ Battle of Opinions ”, DUDMAN/COMRADES single, DS-13/CODE 13 single and others at very nice prices.
Chaos of is already more expensive Destruction on Dan-Doh Records, produced by Kawakami himself from DISCLOSE. A wonderful selection of rough and noisy Japanese raw punk – I take it. From power violence there aren’t many titles, but I can find BURN YOUR BRIDGES LP on Deep Six , starring Chris Dodge. Missing gap in the collection filled.
Grindcore is almost completely absent here, but at least my wallet doesn’t cry so much. I’ll also take The Roxy London WC2 (BUZZCOCKS, EATER, WIRE etc.), recorded live at The Roxy , Covent Garden, London, over three nights in April 1977 – considered the best live punk album of all time. I can’t forget my beloved sixties: the double LP TEN YEARS AFTER literally for a pittance, a Japanese release of some live JIMI HENDRIX and other stuff.
I’ll drag this out of Japan because these Japanese releases cost a fortune here and I don’t intend to sponsor the cheeky dealers on Aukra. There’s basically no point in buying records there anymore – pure theft. I’m leaving around 33,000 yen there, or about five liters, so I’ve kept it short. But being an ultra crust punk, I don’t know how I’d survive this.
The salesman is nice, he plays nice burners, and we end up talking to him. He knows about us, he greets Shiggy and others. A good time spent. Alenka also buys THE SWANKYS for Aleš – since we already played that cover , it’s a must. We also take beautiful bags with the store logo (I gave away the black one and choose the yellow one) and disappear.
Next destination: legendary NAT Records. Originally from Osaka, now relocated to Nishi-Shinjuku . I promise Radek from the very first days that he will see a harvest here, especially in the field of grindcore and fastcore titles. I headed here with the greatest expectations. I collected quite a few NAT titles at the turn of 1997 and later – AGATHOCLES/ABSTAIN, CRIPPLE BASTARDS/WORLD, CHARLES BRONSON/QUILL, WARSORE/IRF and others.
But hey. It’s exactly as the local insiders said . BUZZCOCKS, THE STRANGLERS, THE CLASH, lots of indie stuff, punk rock, a decent section of old 60s titles, prog rock and hard rock. At least something. I’ll dig up a great compilation Consolidation on a 7”EP with Britcore and UK hardcore (VOORHEES, KITO, STAND OFF), 3 WAY CUM/DEFORMED CONSCIENCE split for a ridiculous 330 yen.
So that I don’t leave empty-handed, I dig into the hard rock section: FREE, more HENDRIX, CREAM, THIN LIZZY, various compilations at ridiculous prices. The bag of vinyls gets heavy, but dragging this load is a joyful chore.
We continue. On the way we pass “station booths ” – small work booths where you pay for your time and can close in and work. Something like a home office at the station. We also come across a sign “ records for sale „, metal, rock, etc. Even though I claim that I’m not going anywhere anymore, at least not for a while. We climb upstairs – only CDs. So we disappear.
Hunger is calling. You rejoice at the plates, but you don’t eat. The Indian restaurant is out of order, the pizzeria upstairs doesn’t look like a pizzeria, so again, it’s a certainty: 7-Eleven . A rice ball with ketchup and an egg pancake on top. Not a gourmet experience, but enough to satisfy your hunger.
The last task: gifts for relatives. We can’t find a toy store for a long time, or rather we find one, but it’s not what we’re looking for. Finally, we find ourselves in a giant shopping mall with seven floors. We discover a section with souvenirs and beautiful ceramics – exactly what I’m looking for. The saleswomen then pack the cups and plates with surgical precision, wearing gloves, and we spend about an hour there. Unbelievable.
We have a hotel booked with a pick-up service to Narita Airport – an ideal scenario. We wander around for a while before we find the right connection. We don’t have a reservation and almost miss the train. In confusion, we jump into the nearest carriage with leather seats – obviously first class. We laugh at how we’ve matured for everything. The conductor just walks by and bows. The fun lasts for five minutes. Then a pretty conductor comes, asks for our tickets and packs us away. But she’s nice, and she still finds us free seats in second class.
Less than two hours fly by. It’s a cold night. Uber arrives right away, an older guy speaks only Japanese to us, serves us in a classic way – and gives us each an epic candy to suck on. We’re there in a moment. The hotel looks luxurious, the price for three people of around 1500 CZK is ridiculous. Check -in, we ride in the elevator with the pilot, who also lives here, and we fit into a nice room.
Cleansing, chatting, looking at the captured records – and then just sleep.
28. 11. 2024 Tokyo–Beijing–Prague
We take a luxurious shower, Radek takes a souvenir of the hotel’s pajamas ala kimono and breakfast awaits us. The selection is rich for vegetarians and vegans, so of course we arrange ourselves accordingly and stuff ourselves to bursting. The last meal on a ceramic plate, a fork and a knife – that’s what you have to enjoy before sitting on a plane all day and tasting the local gastronomy.
We comfortably catch a bus that goes around nearby hotels and takes tourists and passengers to the airport. The expected depression sets in a bit and the topic of conversation shifts to the classic: what the hell awaits us at work.
Radek tells how they flew away with CONTROLLED EXISTENCE on tour in the summer and Zubár simply didn’t say anything at work – he just left and left . When he returned, his boss just told him that he hadn’t seen him for a long time. That’s what they call „I’ve got everything in my pussy“. Beauty.
First, the bus drops Radek off at his terminal, so we say goodbye and continue on our way. The goal is clear: in addition to the experiences and the vinyl collection, which even my wife, let alone my children, will not appreciate, to buy some gifts. I was a little worried, but it works out. After a little hesitation over the price, I take a beautiful handmade bag with a beautiful painting for my wife, traditional matcha teas and sweets made from them.
Alenka buys a Japanese headband and wears it – it looks like Hašek when he flew in after winning the Nagano Olympics.
We still go through duty-free, but it’s more or less all booze, rags and food. We get checked in, it’s going pretty well, but the worst is yet to come. Before two o’clock in the afternoon, our Boeing 737-800 leaves as planned, so we wave to the Japanese islands and hold back tears. The flight back is an hour longer due to the wind distribution and the flight route – thanks, but this may not have been so necessary.
In four and a half hours we will land at a completely deserted, uncomfortable airport in Beijing, where we will have to wait a beautiful nine hours for the plane. It leaves at two in the morning local time and we basically have three options: either get a permit (something like a temporary visa), leave the airport and go „outside“. Or lie down on the seats and try to fall asleep – but you don’t really want to go on a plane, where you will then fly for ten hours, feeling sleepy. And finally, the most pleasant and expensive option: sit in an airport bar, drink beer and strengthen the peace. A clear thing.
We alternate between two kiosks and chat about everything possible and impossible. In the first restaurant, the waiter has an armband with the Chinese flag on his arm and looks like a conscious communist. Besides, at the security check, the local bastards once again beat me up and fucked me for various forgotten coins. Rude, annoying, almost superior, but you have to keep your mouth shut and keep moving.
Time drags on like a Monday morning, but eventually it catches up. I jump for the last round of dark beer we haven’t tasted, and Alenka signals that I have to finish it myself. We lift ourselves up very heavily, and the tunnel we use to get to the plane suddenly becomes narrow and wobbly.
Thanks to my drunkenness, I forget to take my headphones at the entrance to the Airbus, but I don’t go back to get them. We both immediately fall into a deep coma. I wake up only when the flight attendant serves me food somewhere over Mongolia. I wake Alenka, she gets it too, and we both ask the flight attendant for water – my throat is dry.
I wake up over Moscow and I can’t take it anymore. I look at the places we fly over and, willy-nilly, I think about the state of security in the world we live in today. One of the reasons why times are the way they are lies somewhere below us. I can’t watch the movies on the panel because I don’t have a headset, so I at least play music on my phone and somehow live to see the arrival at Ruzyne.
Over nine hours of suffering are behind us. It is before six in the morning. We wait for our suitcases, which takes quite a while, and outside we are stunned by an absolutely terrible scythe. Paradoxically, yesterday we were walking around in T-shirts in Tokyo and here we are shivering with cold in the flying snow.
We wait for the train at the station and I call work to say that I definitely won’t be coming today. The original plan was to come in the morning, pretend to work and disappear home after lunch. That doesn’t work out – work morale is at zero and the boss understands this. He even gives me a vacation. Isn’t this the ideal work symbiosis?
We buy a super vegan baguette at the train station. I say goodbye to Alenka, who is heading towards Kojetín via Olomouc, and I head straight to my home town of Žďár. Surprisingly, I survive two and a half hours without sleep – a person can easily wake up at a different stop than intended.
My wife and younger son are already waiting at the station in a light snowfall. We greet each other and they take me home.
Late at night I reach into my precious yellow bag from Base Records in Tokyo, pull out the BORIS CD, look out into the snowy night and think about what we have experienced in the past few days. It was a great experience in another country and society, completely different from ours – or from traditional European ones in general.
In several things, the Japanese have completely convinced me and charmed me with the way they behave, their dedication to the things they do, and the way they live them to the fullest. Thanks for that lesson.
Ondra Fastcore