JAPANESE UNDERGROUND BANDS

Pugs: This is an ensemble of wacky characters, lead by 
a Nina Hagen-esque beauty. They make great pop punk, with 
a lot of humor and some heavy guitar riffs. They like to 
wear funny clothes on stage. The singer/lyricist Honey K
not only resembles a young Nina Hagen, her mugging and 
frolicking seem influenced by the German diva. But that 
might be a coincidence.

  

In any case, the Pugs are a lot of fun live, and their 
CDs are joyful and energizing. Pugs Bite the Red Knee is 
a good place to start. Cool covers of "Popcorn" and "Te-
quila," and originals with lyrics like: "Hello, I'm Ein-
stein with big breasts." When I saw them their encore 
was an extended version of Blondie's "One Way or Another," 
and Honey called the mostly female audience her "babies." 
They have a website. Photos taken at Club 251, Daizawa, 
spring of 1998.

Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O.:
Couldn't decide which name to use so they put them to-
gether (just my theory). Psychedelia of the highest qual-
ity. Long, spacey tracks, occasional vocals. Generally 
they start out slow and easy-going, then once you're hyp-
notized, they pounce with a full rockin' psyche assault. 
Your brain has been kidnapped and you're happy to be ma-
nipulated by these freaky hippies as they deposit you in 
a mythical 1968. Wonderful experience to see live, and I 
love their CD called Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 
Album: Ivan Piskov's Wild Gals A Go Go, apparently a Rus-
sian underground flick, though I suspect it doesn't really 
exist, as the CD cover has a Japanese couple posing like 
Bonnie and Clyde, surrounded by photos taken from Russian 
porno. But then it looks like it might be a real movie 
when you read their website, which also has the band's
history and discography.
(See also: Mady Gula Blue Heaven)

Mady Gula Blue Heaven: One of the great bands that
has gone by the wayside. The singer, Cotton, now fronts
Acid Mothers Temple. Mady Gula Blue Heaven was an all-
beautiful-girl group that put out terrific songs, mostly
psychedelic, all of them dreamy and mellow. Very cool
stuff. I've yet to find the out-of-print first CD, but 
the second one, called O, is still available.

Spoozys: Amazing live show. They come out in space suits 
and helmets (the helmets come off after the first song)
and jump around to ulta-cool new wave with surfy guitar.


I got their CD Astral Astronauts. Instead of listing the
time of each track, they list the beats per minute. Music 
you can exercise to, and feel like you're on a flying sau-
cer with Frankie and Annette and the B-52s. Retro-Future. 
They're from outer space by way of Tokyo. They have a 
website. Photo taken at the Silverlake Lounge, March 23, 
2000.

Lolita #18: Ramones-emulating girl group with cute, he-
lium vocals. The CDs are good, fun punk rock, but their 
greatness is in their live delivery. The singer is clearly 
insane as she thrashes about, and can't keep her hand from 
sliding down her pants as she banters between songs (at 
one point she stuffed a set list down there the time I saw 
them). They're all beautiful. My favorite is the bass player. 
Joey Ramone produced one of their albums. Learn more on the 
Sister Records site. Photos taken at the Silverlake Lounge, 
March 23, 2000.





Supersnazz: Fun pop punk by some very cute, energetic girls. 
A band to see live. Lots of jumping around in short skirts. 
They're also very friendly and happy to talk to their fans.


more bands to come ...



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