Fujirockers: The official fansite of the Fuji Rock Festival

DAISUKE FUWA LEADS AN ECLECTIC PERFORMANCE

A self-described Japanese free jazz orchestra, the Shibusashirazu Orchestra more closely resembles Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. There are many parallels as both groups are led by a charismatic leader and employ just about any visual or musical gag they can get their hands on.

Shibusashirazu Orchestra was formed in 1989 by Daisuke Fuwa who has been successful in attracting some of Japan’s best free jazz musicians. He’s also got a fondness for Butoh dancers, stilt performers, and clowns, acrobats, and divas. As you can imagine, this makes for a terrific stage show with little rival. This is precisely the reason there was a large crowd at the Orange Court despite the fact most of Fuji Crowd had trudged to the Green Stage to see Radiohead.

Years ago, I saw the Shibusashirazu Orchestra close the festival on the Green Stage, and was impressed with their flair for the dramatic. On a bigger stage, Fuwa has more opportunities to perform, as he would stand mid-stage lazily smoking a cigarette with one group of performing artists after another floating by. It was an unforgettable memory, and when given the chance to cover the group again, I eagerly volunteered.

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Lindigo in Orange Court

With Fuji Rock taking place in Japan, it should come as little surprise that many fest-goers only have a basic understanding of English.  As a result, international performers who speak slowly and keep their banter basic are usually the easiest for much of the crowd to understand.  Front man Harry Araste had a good understanding of this during Lindigo’s lunchtime set, addressing the Orange Court crowd by simply saying “Today is a very good day,” before the eight-piece band from Réunion Island launched into their uplifting opening number. Continue Reading…

Some people probably think modern jazz is terrible, because the only jazz anyone hears in the mainstream is somewhere between good-but-light jazz (Diana Krall) or full-bore smooth jazz. The thing is, there’s plenty of amazing modern jazz around the world, and Quasimode are at the fore of the new jazz movement in Japan. Around the interwebs, it says their music is “based on the sounds of the ‘60s and ‘70s” but it seems more classic than that, rooted somewhere deeper in the past.

Quasimode’s members, clad mostly in black, consisted of core members Yusuke Hirado on piano and keys, Takahiro “Mattz” Matsuoka on percussion, Kazuhiro Sunaga on bass and Sohnosuke Imaizumi on drums, as well as a horn section. Interestingly, though, many of the songs seemed to be based around the melodies of the trumpet and tenor sax lines (though the horn lines seemed more like a gathering place from which the group branched out into solos). They were fairly staid throughout the set, with the exception of Hirado and especially Matsuoka, whose movements on the bongos and joyful expression captured the spirit of the music. Hirado hit the keys with precision and focus, banging out rhythmic solos in a way that never overshadowed the other players. One of the highlights of the set was a lengthy samba number, carrying the audience along with its samba rhythm for well over ten minutes. In fact, during the number, I was trying to pay attention, specifically to the way the bass player’s fingers strolled across the strings, but I’m not writing anything about that, because I got too swept up in the rhythm and watching the solos, and I forgot to pay attention. Distracting a semi-professional reviewer is the sign of a great band (that or I’ve the attention span of a small Jack Russell puppy).

Quasimode also played their new single, “Summer Madness,” and you should check it out if you want to hear what they’re about.

Photo: 平川　けいこ For more photos go here

The 10-piece Orquesta Libre was a perfect band to see first thing on Sunday – except I saw them second, after the high-energy Japandroids set. No matter; the Orquesta succeeded in chilling me out a little, so it worked out well.

It’s difficult to explain what, exactly, the Orquesta Libre really is. They feature horns, guitars, percussion, keys and a vibraphone that chimed out across the open spaces. Headed up by Yasuhiro Yoshigaki, the (ostensibly) jazz group was put together to rework, deconstruct and reassemble “various kinds standard tunes”, which is exactly what they did. They opened with Simon and Garfunkel’s “Cecelia,” giving it a strong Brazilian rhythm reminiscent of another Paul Simon classic, “Obvious Child” (note to the Orquesta: it would be super cool if did a medley here…)

Something about the group’s orqueststration (sorry, couldn’t resist) is oddly old-timey. That became even more evident by their second tune, a cover of “Hello, Dolly” that started molasses-slow, with some extended trumpet work, before it unexpectedly turned left into a ska song. The Orquesta was soon joined by their special guest, singer/guitarist Yuichi Ohata, who led them through a song that sounded like Al Jolson’s band backing a J-pop artist on a lazy Sunday in the heat. They followed up with more standards – “Lili Marlene,” “Champs Elysees” – all of which they disassembled and put back together again. Reeds wound their way out of corners of the songs, the vibes chimed, the tempos slowed, sped and slowed again, but the songs always remained within the realm of recognisability. The audience swayed to the music, genuinely invested, and perhaps a little thankful that they able to relax to some good music in the crazy-hot sun.

Photo: 平川　けいこ For more photos go here.

One thousandth time's a charm

The South Americans might not be household names over here, but the photographer tells me they’re well known in Spain, where they reside. They’ve been at this game for ten years, playing 2 or 3 times a week, and they’ve mastered the art of a show.

The members come onstage one at a time, playing as they arrive, building the sound until the final member joins in and we’re away. From that point, there’s no lull.

It’s hard not to think about Ozomatli. The two bands blend a ridiculous number of genres without every sounding contrived. Che Sudaka have a bit more rumba and reggae in them, and a bit less hip-hop, but I’d wager that those two bands would enjoy each others’ sets. They also share an ethos about audiences, shows, and getting feet moving.

They have a massive crowd for the Orange Stage at this time of day. It’s not even sunset and the field is 60% full. It might be thanks to their show last night at the Crystal Palace. I was asleep by the time they played, and I’m kicking myself now. Bet it was memorable.

They play a rumba-style cover of Englishman in New York, then their own song which today has the lyrics “onaka suita, shiawase de aritai” (I’m hungry, I want to be happy). You can probably imagine how the crowd reacted to a song sung in Japanese.

The band’s website says one of the Fuji Rock shows will be their 1,000th show. If it was this one, it was worthy of the milestone.

And if you want to hear their album, they’re giving it away free here.

Photo: Julen Esteban-Pretel
More photos: http://fujirockexpress.net/12/14057.html

DID THEY HAVE A GOOD TIME OR WHAT!

Since 1993 this ensemble hailing from Amsterdam has been redefining their own brand of Dutch jazz, and gaining headway in more diverse venues and pop and rock festivals like Fuji Rock as well as Roskilde, Pink Pop, Lowlands, Camden Mix and Aberdeen Alternative.

Tonight as the sun set and the sky went from orange to midnight blue to black, the 8-piece took us on a trip. There was bossa nova, free jazz, Afro-beat, all utterly seamlessly blended to perfection. Then come the solos.

But, these guys don’t solo. Solo does not explain what they do; doesn’t do them justice. What they do is bend and re-adapt instruments both playfully and smart. Take drummer Joost Kroon, who plays so unbelievably fast and can decrescendo to a whisper sustaining that machine gun beat only to bring you back strong and steady maintaining composure and accuracy, leaving you wondering how the hell he is doing that! Seriously one of the best if not the best drum solos I have ever seen.

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YAEL NAIM PROVED SHARING IS CARING AT THE ORANGE COURT

I sometimes wonder where the Fuji Rock organizers find some of the acts on the bill. But that’s one of the intricacies that make this music festival so interesting: there’s quite literally something for everyone.

Born in Paris in 1978, Yael Naim is a French-Israeli singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the US after her single “New Soul” was used by Apple in an advertising campaign for its new MacBook Air. Her style mixes traditional folk melodies with a touch of jazz, leading audiences through her lifetime experiences via lyrics even she describes as deeply personal. Seeing her tear up at the conclusion of her first song of the afternoon was a handy reminder that there are still plenty of musicians left in this world who are producing material they feel deeply connected to. Continue Reading…

SPOKEN WORD HAS NEVER SOUNDED SUCH FUN

Fuji Rock seems to be a touch short of prominent frontmen so far this year (disclaimer: Neither Fucked Up or Jack White had played at the time of writing this review). Seun Kuti lead the Egypt 80 with gusto on Saturday afternoon but ruled over his musical dominion with a certain statesman-like quality that is tough to compare.

So it was refreshing to see Anthony Joseph marching around the stage at the Orange Court on Saturday evening, leading a spritely crowd through his Afro-Caribbean funk numbers with aplomb. In short, he owned the stage.

The grooves created by The Spasm Band were infectious to say the least, referencing free jazz, Calypso, rock and the spiritual Baptist rhythms that Joseph grew up amongst during his childhood in Trinidad. It was the kind of performance that works especially well at Fuji Rock, with the frontman riding on the coattails of an unrelenting bassline from Andrew John with eye-popping solo interludes from Colin Webster on the sax and Christian Arcucci on guitar. Continue Reading…

Decked out in vests, ties and sharp hats, jazz-funk monsters Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro took to the Orange Court stage in front of what must have been a capacity crowd (even if some of them were merely in line for food). Without pause, they kicked into their ‘heavyweight funk’ led by guitarist Naokazu “Bobsan” Kobayashi, whose dance and strut would have looked genuinely funky. Now, the band aren’t straight-up funk, but there was always a groove being laid, often led by keyboardist Yuki “Mzo” Mizoguchi; you knew it was going to get even groovier by the second song, when Mizoguchi busted out the clavichord sound. Kobayashi even announced something about starting “FujiFunk,” (sorry, my Japanese is mediocre at best), and the audience seemed more than happy to go along.

Needless to say, if you’re in a band this tight, you’re a s**t-hot player, and each member took the time to prove it. They didn’t let go of the energy, though, which proves they’re all in the same frame of mind; no wankery came into play and it never sounded over-rehearsed. By the middle of the set, even one of the slower tunes seemed to keep the audience in sway; a few songs later, Kobayashi had thousands of people making the same motion (I’ll call it a “clasped-hand, overhand-throwing motion” so you can picture it) as if to prove Kilimanjaro weren’t going to let these people go until they were through with them. And that’s what they did.

Photo: 北村勇祐. For more photos go here.

Everyday I got 'em

Buddy Guy was supposed to play at last year’s festival but cancelled at the last minute due to illness, which is understandable since he’s about to turn 76. Old bluesmen are not the kind of anomaly that old rockers tend to be, the idea being that the scourges of experience add weight to the traditional subject matters of the blues–women, money, and women. That said, Buddy Guy doesn’t seem ready to go just yet. Unlike a lot of blues musicians his age, he won’t sit down during a set, and, in fact, wanders far and wide–even into the audience. On the title song of his newest album, “Living Proof,” he claims to be “74 years young,” which sort of makes for a conundrum: he’s still got the juice, but who’s gonna put out for an old man? As he muttered after singing a line about the temptations of a 19 year old, “I didn’t write that.” Now that’s the blues.

The juice was channeled into the performance, which he’s obviously done so many times he could probably block it out in his sleep. “I don’t bring a set list,” he told the audience, who didn’t care anyway, though he seemed a bit put off by the Steve Kimock set at the adjoining Heaven stage. The bleed interfered with his very carefully planned quieter moments. The audience kept up like troopers. They know all these standards, so when he asked the crowd to finish a line from “Hoochie Coochie Man” or “While You Were Slipping Out” they obliged with no special prompting. And as brilliant a line as “gonna play something so funky you can smell it” is, you know he says it every concert. Being as old as he is it’s perhaps surprising he doesn’t say it twice.

But it wasn’t age that allowed him the dispensation he sought. It was just raw talent. Everybody knows he’s the guy Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton looked to as a model, and if he’s never been as famous as the former or as rich as the latter, he’s done well and as he kept telling the audience, “I’m happy.” Is that the blues? Well, maybe a little more dispensation is in order. He did guitar impersonations of both Hendrix and Clapton that were actually pretty funny, as if to not only say, “I taught them this shit,” but “I can even do it better.” No argument there, but when he went into “Strange Brew” he also imitated the vocal. All my life I thought Jack Bruce sang that song. You can learn a lot from an old bluesman.

photo: Okamura

Makeshift Duo

Moments before Moritz Von Oswald Trio were scheduled to begin their early evening Orange Court set, a staff member appeared onstage and announced that Moritz Von Oswald was unable to attend Fuji Rock.  Apparently he traveled to Japan for the fest, but he was hospitalized in Tokyo prior to the start of FRF so he could not make the trip to Naeba.  We hope he has a speedy recovery.

Although the leader of the act was unavailable, the show went ahead as planned with band mates Max Loderbauer and Sasu Ripatti playing a set of cool, experimental dance music. Loderbauer toyed with his laptop and mixer while Ripatti banged away on bongos.  Despite the lineup change, audience members happily danced around to the bass-heavy, instrumental jams being turned out.  The tunes were making one particular Japanese fellow feel a little amorous.  Already shirtless, he stuck a long stemmed fake flower down the front of his pants and was grooving all around the front of Orange Court.  Unfortunately for him, no one seemed interested in the flower he was offering.

Photo by: Julen Esteban-Pretel.  For more photos, go here.

Onda Vaga still going strong Saturday

Argentina’s Onda Vaga have been averaging two shows a day at this year’s Fuji Rock, and that’s just going off of what the official schedule lists. Their iron-man resolve is plenty of impressive, but trumping that was how energized the crowd at their Orange Court gig Saturday afternoon was. Despite already playing at least two shows with another set for tonight, the fans loved Onda Vaga’s playful take on Argentinian music, swaying along to it even as the afternoon sky turned ominous and even breaking out flags to wave along with their tunes.

Part of the appeal lies in Onda Vaga’s let’s-put-on-a-show-gang feel, the way their songs sound like they were constructed by friends afterschool who happen to have a lot of time on their hands and a few horn lessons under their belt. Almost every member of the group sings the vocals, resulting in a sound resembling impromptu singing in the street. The horns and percussion lend Onda Vaga’s music a hip-shaking quality, while the acoustic-guitar strumming offers softness. Despite being sung in Onda Vaga’s native tongue, the Japanese-centric crowd sang along, and the group even provided cue cards with Japanese translations of a song for them. The highlight, though, came via a tune that has managed to cut across various cultural borders – Onda Vaga’s relaxed cover of The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer” prompted a massive sing-a-long in the Orange Court. They could probably pull that trick out for their next three gigs here at Fuji Rock and get the same thrilled response.

Photo by 府川展也, see more photos here.

Mouse on the Keys are jazz by proxy; a combination of rock drums, sax and trumpet, and some seriously complex, syncopated interplay between keyboardists. As the sun beat down with a vengeance on the mostly-shade-free Orange Court, they climbed the stage, oddly, to Wagner, only to launch into something very different. At times electronic (especially during song intros) dub-infused, free jazzy, smooth and rocky, the band revolved mostly around the trio of keyboardists Akira Kawasaki and Atsushi Kiyota (formerly of Nine Days Wonder) and drummer/composer Daisuke Niitome. They set up in the middle of the stage, in close quarters, intensifying the energy; the group nodded enthusiastically to the beat and played off one another incessantly.

Others joined in too – trumpet, a white-suited saxophonist-cum-hype man and a black-clad guitarist who appeared out of nowhere and stayed in the background (e-teamer J pointed out he bore a strange resemblance to Edward Scissorhands, and who left the stage mid-set to take a photo of the band and its sizeable audience). Niitome played more like a rock musician than a jazz player, but then, the band owe as much to post-rock as jazz; the beat laid the groundwork for Kawasaki and Kiyota to interlock their steps with even more intricacy. As the set progressed, they maintained a vibe largely based around the piano sound, which held together songs that were in many other ways quite disparate. At one point, they keyboards sounded like something Tony Banks would have used on …and then there were three (yes, that’s a very specific Genesis reference) while, at the opposite end, there was a breakdown in the last ten minutes where the horns squonked and squealed through a free-jazz duet. Near the end the groove became stronger, more pronounced; the audience felt it; despite the heat, people were dancing, and the band never stopped the head-bobbing enthusiasm until the set was done.

Photo by Julen Esteban-Pretel. For more photos go here.

BASS IS THE PLACE

Aging British rockers Jah Wobble and Keith Levene have both been known as pioneers in the field of bringing a reggae edge to what had been quite standard punk and rock in the late 70’s. Multi-instrumentalist Levene was a member of the Clash who essentially created that fusion of dub rhythms, echoes and effects with the rebellious angst of punk. Jah Wobble changed his name from John Warble presumably to pay tribute to the influence of Rastafarian culture and his wobbling bass lines which are strongly influenced by roots reggae of the 70’s. Continue Reading…

DJ AKI AND YUUKI MC

Watch out in the front row, freaking flamethrowers, dude!

Round 1 of 5, DJ Aki and YUUKI MC open the show in rebel jungle fashion. Drum and Bass with sweet serenades sampled and dropping on the incoming masses. Cornrowed Aki is feeling it, feeding the front rows, and Yuuki MC with his stereo surround British-twang spitting hooks on a soapbox help focus the otherwise visual onslaught; 5 screens, lasers, smoke and mirrors, oh yeah, and flames singeing eyebrows of those innocent dancers in the front rows.

The food and drink lines are growing, as is the toilet line (funny how that works out), then the camping foldy chair beasts are beginning to build their sit village in the back. All-in-all the Orange Court is happy to be this packed, at this late hour well past sundown.

Brazilian food, coconut curry, Korean and fruit smoothies are available as delectable midnight snacks to fill the void before dancing 5 more hours. The only vein in is the boardwalk, so take your time, it is a two-way street. Don’t take a million pictures of the fancy disco balls. Yeah they are cool, but they will still be there tomorrow night. And watch your step as waterlogged boardwalk steps are beginning to break and buckle under the tired (heavy) feet of thousands.

Dexpistols gave Aki and Yuuki a run for their money, with oldies like Prodigy’s “Smack My Bitch Up” thrown in the mix, Bryan Burton Lewis in some Lady Gaga-worthy getup keeping things in line, introducing the DJs to follow: legends like DJ Emma and Krush are coming up!

Photo Courtesy Smashing Mag 前田博史. See more here.

The hair's the thing

Frankly, I was pretty surprised when I showed up for jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara’s show at the Orange Court at 7:40 Friday evening. The place was packed, which seemed unusual for a rock festival. Uehara is considered one of the finest technicians in the biz, which would seem to render her fan base refined, but the people there were ready to be impressed, and they got their money’s worth. Continue Reading…

MAGNIFICENT MIMI, PUERTO RICO REPRESENT

Midnerely Acevedo, stage name Mimi Maura, struts sexy and sings sweetly mature to match, in chameleon blue Doc Martens. Her vocal style coupled with Sergio’s sax attack antics and guitar cameo, between hopping around his gray afro bouncing happily along, Fernando Ricciardi on drums making sure the beat (cue snare solo) goes on.

The trio teams with the Ishikawa Michihisa Session, 6 more talented fellows on guitar, congas, percussion, sax and trumpet. Sergio’s energy persuades the stoic fellows to loosen those hips and 2-step in time with the music. Have a little fun guys!

With dub, reggae, a Bob Marley cover “Judge Me,” a guest vocalist Naruko I think was her name, and an acapella encore or three, by high noon, if you weren’t blazing from the sun, you might still be blistered and glowing from Mimi’s presence.

Hailing from Puerto Rico, the heat was not a problem at all. And with 8 albums under her belt, as well as a number of international collaborations, since her start at the age of 14 with a metal band called Rencor, she has burgeoned to emit an aura of class and confident refinement.

She was totally making eyes at the cameraman in the pit.

Photo Courtesy Smashing Mag Julen Esteban-Pretel. See more here.

DJ Nobu last year on the decks at the Red Marquee

All-Night Fuji, a special Friday night rave DJ Royal Rumble of sorts, way back in the Orange Court where you can be freaky as you wanna be, celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the festival. And my top pick for Sunday night, Annie Mac closing out the fest in style with one last surge of dancing frenzy, for the win!

Ringing in the 10-year anniversary of Fuji Rock Festival, the bludgeoning jungle-y DnB tracks of DJ AKI, Future Terror artist DJ NOBU, DJ KRUSH, techno axe murderer Ken Ishii, DJ “Psy-Trance” Tsuyoshi, and that is only half the lineup. (Already I have twice been obliterated by DJ Aki who is equally as energetic on stage while he plays as the furious dancers in the dust rising just trying to keep up with his raunchy 280bpms!)

In Osaka and seemingly the whole of Kansai, government has put the sledgehammer to all-night parties. And yet they are putting nuclear reactors back online, disregarding the 80-some percent of the population who begs and protests otherwise. Major bummer. Anyway, unless you live in Tokyo (or Kanazawa) it seems that you are quite possibly doomed to ipod dance parties in your underwear at home on an otherwise awesome Saturday night. Coming from Kyoto, I for one am stoked sideways for the electronic onslaught kicking off Friday night, out at Orange where no one can hear you scream. Continue Reading…

HE IS WAY CUTER THAN COMMON ISN'T HE?

So you see this picture and think for sure it is the American rapper Common. Or conversely, you don’t see a picture but only hear the poetic stream flowing atop some sick backing music and automatically assume it is a matured Saul Williams–after a long vacation in the Caribbean. As such, you would both be sadly mistaken.

Hailing from Trinidad, Anthony Joseph has honed his word crafting artistry in the UK since 1989. He has published volumes of poetry, novels and numerous academic essays, and is now working towards a Ph.D. This guy seriously has something to say. Taking to the stage, he is likened to Gil Scott Heron or the Last Poets in his methods, conveying dense searing commentary and thought-provoking dialogue about diaspora and native ways alongside free jazz, funk, calypso, etc.

Lucky for us, Birkbeck College where he lectures will be out on summer vacation when Fuji Rock ensues! That means a special appearance by this fresh and invigorating collaboration of Anthony Joseph rhyming betwixt the diverse musical styling of The Spasm Band (not to be confused with these guys from Wales). Continue Reading…

In bed with Maradona

Remember Rafven from Fuji Rock 2009?

They came unknown, played every stage they could get their feet on, and left as arguably the festival’s highlight. This year, labelmates Onda Vaga will attempt the same feat. They’re scheduled for 6 shows, from the Orange Court to the tiny Naeba Shokudo. Chances are you’ll see them whether you want to or not.

They hail from Argentina, but they formed on a beach in Uruguay in 2007. The official story is that they grabbed whatever instruments were lying around, started jamming, and never really stopped. When a venue boss asked the boys their name, they made one up on the spot and kept it. It translates literally as vague wave, but I believe it means something more like free-and-easy style. Or it might not.

I emailed the band’s trumpeter, Marcelo Blanco, last week to pick his mind. Here’s what he said:

Most people string together half a dozen genres when they try to define your sound. How would you describe it?

Pop acoustic coral psycho party rumba reggae.
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In the film Lost in Translation there’s a moment when a cheesy lounge singer introduces her band.  “We’re Sausalito,” she coos; I myself shouted at the screen, “Of course you are!”  It was the perfect name for some westerners living in Japan playing limp jazz standards.  As a westerner living in Japan, I’d seen my share of limp jazz standards. 

Japanese jazz – real modern Japanese jazz – is at the opposite end of the spectrum.  Brash, energetic, sometimes hyperkinetic, it has an energy that belies the virtuosity of the players.  They haven’t had the spirit trained out of them, and they capture the spirit of jazz and jack it full of an energy that’s almost punk rock.

Such a description describes Quasimode, the Tokyo four-piece who return to FujiRock for their second time this summer.  Taking cues from ‘60s and ’70s, Quasimode have a sound that is at once classic and forward-thinking. 

Pianist Yusuke Hirado recognizes that Japanese and European jazz artists have reinvigorated the jazz scene on a global scale – that those who think jazz is Sausalito are sorely mistaken.

“In Japan, Sleep Walker, Soil & “Pimp” Sessions and Quasimode still play around the world,” says Hirado.  “We gain popularity little by little – I can see it myself.”

A Quasimoto show makes a strong case for the viability and energy of today’s jazz scene, but Quasimode aren’t just for the heads.  Hirado says that the spirit of rock’n’roll, for the most part, isn’t so far from the attitude of jazz.

“I think we believe jazz is totally dance music,” says Hirado, “and jazz is not a difficult music. 

So I think we fit in very well with rock audiences – and I am sure our attitude delivers to non-jazz fans.”

As for this summer’s appearance at FujiRock, Hirado looks forward to the festival for many of the same reasons we do.

“I can check out lots of artists or bands in same day,” he says.  “That’s the main point for me.  Of course I am looking forward to chillin’ with band members, staff and friends!!”

You can see more about the band at http://quasimode.jp

Photo by 直田亨 courtesy of Smashing Mag.

Hey Toots

So Toots & the Maytals are this year’s Booker T/John Fogerty/old farts that are still on top form.

Recentclips show them still putting on a great show, which is amazing for a group that’s been together for nearly 50 years. Even more amazingly, though they’ve released 28 studio albums, they only have 5 songs: Pressure Drop, Funky Kingston, 54-46 Was My Number, Sweet & Dandy and wasn’t there another one?

For those of you who only know Toots and the Maytals as the people who made a fifth of one of the greatest soundtracks of all time, here’s ten other things you should know:

1) The band holds the record for number one hits in Jamaica.

2) They were the undisputed superstars of Jamaica’s music scene from the mid ‘60s until Bob Marley.

3) The band became famous in Jamaica by winning the inaugural Jamaica Song Festival in 1966 with “Bam Bam”. They won the next year, too, with the now much more famous “Sweet & Dandy”. After winning the third year, they decided not to enter again.

4) Toots is really Fred Hibbert, the youngest of 14 children. Both his parents were dead by the time he was 14.

5) The band won a Grammy in 2006 for an album of collaborations with some of the greatest musicians of all time, plus Shaggy.

6) Toots is a Jamaican country bumpkin and used to walk 5 miles to school each day. His cover of John Denver’s “Country Road” switched West Virginia for West Jamaica.

7) A lot of ska is about dancing, shooting or pleasuring ladies, but early Maytals ska includes some tunes about the Bible, including one that gives shout outs to the various books of the Old Testament. “You have Genesis, and Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, Deutoronomy and Joshua, Judges and Ruth.”

8 ) One of Toots’ producers asked him to write a song about how ugly his brother is. So he wrote “Monkey Man”.

9) Toots & The Maytals were the original Diana Ross and the Supremes. Mr Hibbert wasn’t the frontman until Island Records boss Chris Blackwell told him he was. The rest of them (name one) couldn’t have been too miffed because they’ve been playing as his band for five decades since then. The ones you’ll see at Fuji Rock are the ones you heard on The Harder They Come.

10) Chris Blackwell was also sort-of responsible for the track Funky Kingston. After Funky Nassau went huge, Blackwell figured that it was the combination of Funky + City Name in the title that made it such a hit, so he asked Toots to make another one. And because apparently Mr Hibbert will write a song about anything you like, he obliged. It never became the phenomenon that Funky Nassau still is, but it’s a bloody great record.

So check them out at Fuji Rock. And if you catch Toots wandering around, why not ask him to write a song about an ugly relative or whatever else you like? He seems pretty open to ideas.

www.tootsandthemaytals.com

Buddy's new book. Not just for blues geeks.

But George “Buddy” Guy is fortunately still going strong. According to his new book, When I Left Home: My Story, which just came out a few months ago, he still cooks soul food every day and spends most evenings sitting anonymously on a stool at the bar in his namesake blues club, Buddy Guy Legends, in Chicago. (“To most everyone, I’m just a guy at the bar. That’s how I like it. I don’t need no attention…”) Buddy owns the building the club lives in, and it hosts live blues seven nights a week, including, quite naturally, his own performances.

But the reason to see Buddy Guy at Fuji Rock this year is not just to check off a box on the list of legends you can say you’ve seen. The reason is that Guy is simply one of the best blues stage showmen of all time, not to mention one of the genre’s greatest guitarists. He was playing his guitar with drumsticks, his chest, his teeth behind his head or whatever the moment inspires him to, and he was doing it before Jimi Hendrix. (Buddy claims some of these stunts were picked up from Guitar Slim, and several sources cite Guy as an influence on Hendrix.) Continue Reading…

feast for the eyes

It seems like I am not the only one who thought these sausage sandwiches at the Russian food tent in the Orange Court were delectable. While I was browsing through the Japanese counterpart to this English site today, I noticed that one of the Japanese writers had also devoured one of these bad boys and been as equally as impressed. Seeing as this sausage was being sold at a Russian food stand, I guess that the translation of the Japanese katakana name was “kielbasa,” which seems to be a thick sausage common in Eastern Europe and the Ukraine. Anyway, this was the best food I ate at Fuji Rock and if you see this stall at the festival, please try one of these. Not only was the sausage amazing but there was a perfectly balanced spicy mayonaise sauce to go with it. Continue Reading…