JAPANESE UNDERGROUND BANDS

Violent Onsen Geisha: "Onsen" means "hot spring." This 
is one guy, Masaya Nakahara. He's one of those noise art-
ists you might have heard about. But this is not the pure 
noise of a Merzbow or a Masonna, who put out CDs of static. 
Violent Onsen Geisha mixes noise with pop and other random 
sounds, and it's all done with a sense of humor. The result 
is highly entertaining, a send-up of mainstream music and 
society in general. The CD Que Sera Sera (Things Go from 
Bad to Worse) is the masterpiece. But anything you find is 
worth getting. Be ready to enter a world created by a unique 
mind. For a discography go to the Australian fan site.

Soap Jo Henshi: The emphasis is on the bass rather than 
guitar, but this is definitely punk, not reggae. My first 
exposure was the "Byoin de Go" single, a wonderful track, 
loud and fast. The B-side, "Ushi Ushi," is also very cool, 
and more exemplifies the signature sound of the dominant 
bass plucking out the riffs. After waiting what seemed like 
forever, I finally found their self-titled CD, and was sur-
prised it was much mellower than the single. Nonetheless 
I was not in the least disappointed. The distinctive style 
is explored in many interesting ways, and the album is a 
classic. It's a work that I'll never tire of, but take out 
and enjoy for many years to come. I don't think the band 
exists anymore, but I'm not positive. That CD came out 
quite a while ago.

Evil Hoo Doo: A great band that is no more. They really 
captured the sixties garage sound, complete with groovy 
keyboards. I'm not aware of any CD by them. I just have a 
few 7" singles, which I treasure greatly. I'm also glad I 
got to see them live a couple times.

Coa: How can two girls on drums and bass sound like boys 
on guitars? They manage to do it. And I saw them live, so 
I know it's no fake. Just look at this photo (at Bears, 
Osaka, spring of 1998):


See? Drums and bass! That's it! They really can make two 
instruments sound like five. And the one with the sweet, 
cute speaking voice sings like Lurch with emphysema. Just 
to confuse things more, in their CD booklet, they call 
themselves "Eddie" and "Bill." Hardcore punk. Amazing. 
Great. Get it!

Takako Minekawa: Minimalist electronics. Her easy, soft 
vocals put you at ease and make you feel welcome. You want 
the whole universe to be like this all the time. Ms. Mine-
kawa has also written a novel, and currently writes a fea-
ture column on various topics. I hope someone will trans-
late them. Okay, I guess I have to study my Japanese. Until 
I can read her words, I can enjoy her music, which is mar-
velous. It makes me feel like I've been playing ping pong 
with robots for an audience of kittens.



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