Poly Poly Poly Polysics @ The Rock & Roll Hotel: Feb. 16, 2010!

When the tour dates for POLYSICS' North American tour were announced, I instantly fell into a transfixed state of excitement over making a mini-pilgrimage up to DC to see one of my favorite bands.


But the anticipation took a somewhat bittersweet turn when a major announcement was made on their official website. Keyboardist and vocalist Kayo had decided it was time to pursue a normal life and follow her own dreams outside of Polysics. After this tour and their upcoming sold-out show at Budokan, she would no longer be in the band. With this news, it became clear that going to this show was no longer a whim, but a priority. Plans were made and tickets were bought, and earlier this week, the day finally came…


Okay, first of all, The Rock & Roll Hotel is not a hotel, they just thought it was a cool name for a club. It's a small place, with the show capacity listed as only 400 people. It's fascinating to think that back in Japan, Polysics packs huge halls and plays to giant crowds, but over here, their shows are smaller and more intimate affairs. On one hand, I wish the USA would get with it and embrace this band on a bigger level, but on the other, more selfish hand, I got to enjoy the band with only a few other dedicated fans.

After the opening band finished, the members of Polysics started rolling out their own equipment. They had a couple of helpers, including their tour manager, but this was not an entourage you'd associate with a band that's headlining Budokan in a few days. They had their famous straight-bar glasses off, and were all business as they set up. As frontman Hiroyuki Hayashi set up his microphone, he was singing along with A-Ha's hit "Take On Me" playing on the sound system. Then they left the stage and got themselves mentally ready to rock. The tour manager stepped up to Kayo's mic, introduced the band, and the four of them sprang back up on stage in full POLYSICS mode! The show was on!


If you're familiar with Polysics' legendary stage show, then you have some idea of how it went. The songs came at the audience fast, loud, and full of impossible to resist energy. It wasn't long at all before Kayo pulled out her famous golden pom-poms and was jumping on one foot to "Peach Pie On The Beach". And before anyone knew what hit them, Hiro was practically right up in the audience with with guitar, and at one point stuck his butt out and shook it in the crowd and encouraged us all to give it a spank. Who can pass up that offer? I managed to give his skinny ass a firm pat before he darted over to the other side of the stage…

The band ripped through a virtual greatest hits collection of songs that the crowd around me seemed to love as much as I did. The set also scattered around much of the newer stuff from "We Ate The Machine" and the most recent album "Absolute Polysics". (Here's the awesome setlist) Audience participation was pretty much required, be it spinning around for "I Me Mine" or jumping jacks for "Baby Bias", and everyone did their best to keep up. The band was both tight with musical precision and yet completely all over the place at the same time.


Fumi rocked the bass and kept the timing with master-drummer Yano flawless and pounding. Hiro was the maniac we all love. I can't figure out how he manages to handle his guitar while jumping up and down like he does. He even took a few moments to make amazing swipes at a theremin nearby! And then there was Kayo, adding wonderful layers of synth to the whole thing, and delivering her trademark vocals with robotic flair. One thing I realized during the show, when Kayo has those glasses on and looks out at the audience, you feel like she's staring right through you!

After the show was over, we went upstairs because we heard that they would most likely join us later. A small group of us hung out and made new acquaintances. There was a fellow named Mark, with a perfect homemade Polysics uniform and his gang of friendly folks. He had flown all the way from England to see them in Akron, Ohio as well as the DC show. He's blogging about his experience over here!


There was also a crew of people who flew over from Japan for this show! These were the truest Polysics fans you could hope for. They drew Polysics logos in the condensation on the windows as we waited for the band to come out, and at last, they did!



When I got home, I realized that I didn't get a decent photo of Yano on my card! #$@#!, sorry Yano!

The members of Polysics are just some of the nicest people you could be lucky enough to meet. All of them signed autographs, posed for photos and took time to talk a moment to everyone there. One special moment I got to observe was when the Japanese fans greeted Kayo. There was this wonderful quiet moment when they bowed to each other, and you could really see the pure joy in the fan's faces when they were taking photos with her. I enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed the show. It really made the trip worthwhile.



As for myself, I wanted to create something to give to Kayo since she's leaving the band, and made a little 4.5" square drawing of her. After I made that, I thought, "why not make one for the whole band?" and there you have it. I threw these together at the last second, and with no time to scan them, I shot this quick photo.

I gave each member their own mini-portrait in a sealed envelope and encouraged them to open it later. I'd like to imagine that perhaps they forgot about them for a second, and maybe came across the envelope when they got home and opened it…



Anyway, it was a great night. I'm just completely honored that I got to see one of their last shows with Kayo. The other members of Polysics intend to stay together and continue as a three-piece, and I look forward to hearing what they'll do next. I also hope that maybe we'll get an occasional glimpse into what Kayo's up to.

So to the band and all the great fans I met, TOISU!

HOLY F**K I ♥ GUITAR WOLF!

It's a firm belief of mine that music can change your life and make you a better person, especially if the music is rock n' roll. I can remember the exact moment of my life when I first heard Elvis, Link Wray, The Stooges, The Ramones, and I can tell you where I was when Guitar Wolf nearly destroyed my stereo speakers. It was a life-changing musical moment up there with the best of them.



Guitar Wolf is the insane bastard step-child of all the names mentioned above, a band who's trademark is loud and quick bursts of "jet rock n' roll" distilled into it's most powerful package. The band's first recording line-up consisted of Toru (Drum Wolf, although there was an earlier drummer named Narita), Billy (Bass Wolf) and a bringing it all together, the ear-ringingly awesome axe-master, Seiji, a man we simply call Guitar Wolf.


Before the days of widely accessible internet, (It was around, but you usually had to go to school and deal with dial-up) we had to rely on self-published amateur zines to find out about music happenings in far away places. At the time, Guitar Wolf was this god-like rock n' roll mystery man, unattainable and fascinating. In Matt Kaufman's seminal Japanese noise/punk/garage zine, Exile Osaka, he reported the following….

"Singer Seiji special R&R ritual revealed… He has a big glass case in his apartment in which he keeps his guitar and leather jacket. The night before a performance, he enters the glass case and gets charged with Rock & Roll energy.

Also, Seiji never takes off his sunglasses. When King Joe crashed at his house, he saw him sleeping in his sunglasses. He even took a shower with his sunglasses! Believe it or not…"

And so the legend of Guitar Wolf grew. The band eventually graduated from homemade basement demos and got signed. They appeared on television, and before long, film. They played "Men in Black" in the little-seen flick The Sore Losers, and zombie fighting defenders of Earth in the drive-in classic Wild Zero, which as I've said before, just might be the the greatest film you will ever lay your eyes upon...



Here's Seiji's Oscar clip while we're at it. In a perfect world, he would've been chosen as best actor of 2000...



Guitar Wolf's rise to new rock n' roll heights continued. Seiji and his Joan Jett autographed jacket made a cameo in Puffy's Teen Titans theme-song video (he shows up at 2:07), and landed a much-deserved signature guitar from Epiphone. And oh yeah, don't forget the designer jeans...


But tragedy struck in 2005 when Billy "Bass" Wolf passed away shortly after returning from a US tour. The band went through a spell of soul-searching before choosing "U-G" as their new bassist. Shortly later, Seiji's intensely physical stage presence took it's toll when he seriously injured his hip jumping from a 6-meter high stack of amps.


Guitar Wolf would be silent for a year and a half, far too long for this world to be without them. On April 4th of 2009 they triumphantly played their comeback show, and all was right with the world again. It feels good to know that Guitar Wolf is truly here to stay.



Seiji, aka "Guitar Wolf", I salute you. Thank you for spreading the message of rock n' roll, and here's to the rock to come….


This post is also my entry in the January 2010 Japan Blog Matsuri, “Famous Japanese People”....

Big-Eyed Art!

I just love the classic "Big Eyed Art" of the 60's and 70's, a genre originated by the wonderful artist Margaret Keane.

Below is a piece by one of her numerous imitators. I found this particular print at a local flea market, a bargain at only one dollar!



Honestly, my infatuation with this type of art spawned from my love of kitsch, but over the years I've really come to love these "doe-eyed waifs" and treasure them among my favorite pieces of art. I truly love the sad-but-pretty images these artists mass-produced during this fad, and proudly hang them on the walls of the compound.

I've got several more similar prints, and I'll share some of those a little later.

If you want to know more about big-eyed art, the best place to start is over at Besmirched....

Five Days of Shonen Knife: Day Four - Why Do We Love Shonen Knife?

Shonen Knife was a pet project imagined by two office ladies that originally met in college. They started out with a quickly recorded cassette tape and highly rudimentary musicianship. They didn't even quit their day jobs until the mid-nineties. So how did Shonen Knife become a beloved phenomenon that's lasted for 27 years?


It's simple, really.

Shonen Knife is still loved today because they tapped into something the world needs badly. A wonderfully positive vision that never turned a cynical eye onto the world. To see a band that sings about jellybeans, cookies, and the joy of bicycling without a hint of sarcasm and irony makes them a true breath of fresh air. Shonen Knife frequently experiments with new styles and sounds, but they never changed the vision. They're the Ramones on a sunny day.


Shonen Knife is still loved today because of the bond they've formed with their fans. Everything I've heard is that all of them have always been very approachable, friendly, and kind to their fans. It makes sense when you think about it, after all this is a band made by fans of music themselves. Shonen Knife exists purely out of a love for music, and it shows.


Shonen Knife is still loved today because they understand exactly what rock n' roll is supposed to be. Their music is simple, but wonderfully catchy. They've recorded songs that are up there with the best pop-nugget classics.

One day listening to their music, I realized that I knew all the words without ever trying to memorize them. Their music gently became embedded in my head, and now I find myself humming their songs all the time. I don't mind it one bit. :)



So you see, it's easy to love Shonen Knife, and it's no mystery how they've managed to continuing rocking after 27 years. They have one of the best formulas for musical longevity I've ever seen, and I hope they're around for another 27 years.

If you're fellow fan, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Why do you love these ladies from Osaka so much?

I'll Miss David Carradine

David Carradine was a true legend, and man of zen and collected calm who elevated any film or tv show he was in. He could even make a Yellow Pages commercial cool with his presence. Even if the movie wasn't that good, if Carradine was in it, I was watching.



David Carradine will be remembered best as Cain in the early-seveties television series Kung-Fu, a show that will always have a certain amount of controversy. Did the network steal Bruce Lee's concept? Did Hollywood racism lead to a caucasion actor taking a "yellowface" role? I'll leave that debate to others. When you watch Carradine practice his craft, it's clear that he portrayed martial arts and asian culture with a heartfelt respect to it's Eastern roots. Whatever the circumstances, he helped usher something new and exciting into Western entertainment.


He cemented his image as a master of zen in the terrific film Circle of Iron, (based on a story by Bruce Lee) where he took on four separate roles that were more about philosophy than kicking butt. It's an amazing, inspiring movie that will make you want to take a long walk in the mountains and think about life...


As much as I love his martial arts flicks, my personal favorite David Carradine movie is the 1976 Roger Corman classic Death Race 2000. Carradine plays a cynical anti-hero trained for the sole purpose of unleashing mayhem for our entertainment. (I get giddy just thinking about it!) It's a very different character from Kung Fu's Cain, but the cool factor is still there. It's exactly the right mix of twisted satire and black comedy....



During the eighties, He took on some villainous parts and showed that he did the bad-guy gig quite well. He clashed with Chuck Norris in Lone Wolf McQuade, which also happens to be my favorite Chuck Norris movie. The final fight scene is a classic moment of cable TV action-movie greatness.



Through the nineties he kept quite busy, offering his voice to animated films, and even reprising his role as Cain in a revival Kung-Fu series. And then into the new millennium you have Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films, where Carradine delivers some of his most amazing and powerful acting.....



The man leaves behind an incredible body of work to be proud of. IMDB credits him with over 200 movies. He may not be with us anymore, but there's still plenty David Carradine has to offer. I look forward to the films I have yet to see.



Take care, Grasshopper. May you find zen.

Cüneyt Arkın, The Greatest Turkish Action Star Of All Time!

There are legendary action movie actors, and then there's Fahrettin Cüreklibatur, better known as Cüneyt Arkın, a man who transcends a mere word like "legend".



In his home country of Turkey, Dr. (that's right, doctor) Cüneyt Arkın is an institution of epic proportions, a revered figure known to all. There's a reason for that, and once you've witnessed this expert in several forms of martial arts in action, you'll understand why.

Let's take a look at En Buyuk Yumruk (The Biggest Fist)...



Oh man, did you see those moves?!?

Don't try and tell me that's just some made-up karate, what you've seen is Cüneyt-Fu, a deadly art that only this one Turk has mastered.

In every film I've had the pleasure to see Dr. Arkın in, he cuts a super-human swath through his opponents without even breaking a sweat. The bad guys barely even get in a punch before being pummeled by one of his deadly blows. Why I've even see him chop his foes in half!



Which brings me to what is probably Cüneyt Arkın's most infamous role, his absolutely mind-blowing turn as the heroic Murat in the film Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam (The Man Who Saves the World), or perhaps, as you may know better, Turkish Star Wars...



Yeah, I know it's confusing. Hell, I'm not sure what in the world just happened either. (As a matter of fact, Dr. Arkin wrote the screenplay!) Turkish Star Wars deserves it's rep as one the strangest films ever made.

It's a bizarre mishmash of ultra low budget craziness mixed with a healthy dose of stolen footage from the real Star Wars mixed to snippets of music from other films. But you know, it's certainly got more entertainment value than Lucas' prequel trilogy. It's the Citizen Kane of grade Z films.



Not content with saving other planets, Dr. Arkin has taken stabs at ancient history as well. In Lionman, he plays a man raised by... well, lions. He rises up to battle evil christians who dare impose their will on his fellow Turks with a badass pre-Wolverine set of claws that he utilizes into his rather unique fighting style. (At least I think that's what's happening, my copy isn't dubbed) I think the fight scenes in this movie are even more absurdist than the more famous Star Wars rip-off....





Now here's my personal favorite Cüneyt Arkın classic. He tackled sci-fi and crime movies, and now finally we have a proper ninja flick, directed by the man himself! Nothing is more over the top and completely insane as Olum Savascisi, aka Death Warrior!

Alright, I wouldn't usually do this, but here's the ending of this incredible movie. It's not like I'm giving that much away anyhow. Here we see the Doctor fight off waves of evil henchmen with his trampoline-assisted acrobatic fighting technique, until only the boss remains, and the villain is VERY unwilling to die.

Warning: This is going to warp you for life.....



Dr. Arkın is still around these days, he even made a sequel to Turkish Star Wars. (with CGI effects, apparently) He's quite well-loved in Turkey, and I have to say I love the guy too.

It would easy to dismiss Cüneyt Arkın as a maker of cheaply made kitsch, a hack with movies that are unintentionally hilarious, but you know what? I think he's a real inspiration. A man who puts his heart into his films and is clearly having a lot of fun. Cüneyt Arkın has never been in a boring movie, and you can't say that about many people.

Here's to you, Dr. Arkın!

I'll Miss Dom DeLuise

Mr. DeLuise always made laugh. He was terrific in Blazing Saddles, but it was his role in The Cannonball Run as Victor "Captain Chaos" Prinzim that will remain my childhood memory. Dom DeLusie always seemed like a an incredibly warm person who loved life, and we loved him.

Rest well, Captain.

I'll Miss Lux Interior

In all sincerity I really do think Cramps singer Lux Interior was hands down one on the greastest musical frontmen of all time. The skin-tight clothes, the spastic movements, and his howling vocals helped keep the garage-punk spirit alive in a world of dull and sanitized middle of the road music.

But as much as I loved the Cramps' music, it was their love of pop-culture nuttiness that really inspired me. Lux and Poison Ivy were avid collectors of strange thrift-store records, found video tapes, and all around forgotten weirdness who went out their way to share with like-minded maniacs. Lux turned me on to so much crazy stuff, I'd never possibly be able to thank him properly.

Thanks for everything, Lux Interior, I'll miss you.

I'll Miss Ricardo Montalban

Have you ever seen the early pilot attempt at a Wonder Woman TV series starring Cathy Lee Crosby? It's pretty terrible. But you know what's good about it? Ricardo Monteban is the main villain, and for the brief moments he's on screen, it's pretty damn awesome.

A little Monteban made a lot of things that should've been awful into great things. And when he was in something good, like when he played Khan in the Star Trek series, it was just about as good as it gets.

Ricardo Monteban, a true gentleman that's far too rare in this world. I'm going to miss him.

I'll Miss Jerry Reed

Jerry Reed always delivered a ton a laughs and some awesome guitar work during his extensive music and acting career. I'm really gonna miss him...





Y'Know, I once sang "She Got The Goldmine (I Got The Shaft)" at a karaoke night in a restaurant full of rednecks. I was absolutely horrible, but the crowd loved me and somebody bought me a beer.

Thanks for the good music and memories, Jerry.

I'll Miss Charlton Heston

Every time I try to to ponder the scope of Charlton Heston's film career I get a little overwhelmed. My thoughts bounce around as I try to mentally list my favorite movies starring the man. Naturally I recall the big ones like Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, and Touch Of Evil, but my real favorites are his sci-fi genre flicks like Soylent Green, The Omega Man, and foremost of all, Planet Of The Apes which is easily one of my personal top movies of all time.
I'm sure many folks dismiss Charlton Heston's acting style as being hammy and over the top, but I'll argue that's exactly what I love about it. So many of his characters brim over with a black and white righteousness that is quite rare in modern film. Men like Taylor, Robert Neville, and Moses carry the weight of the entire human race on their on their shoulders.

To me, the characters of Charlton Heston represented men who would empower us to pull back from the brink and save ourselves from destruction. The men who refuse to go blindly, the men who'll risk all to live on their own terms. For this reason, Mr. Heston will always be one of my very favorite actors.

Bless you and rest well, Mr. Heston.

I'll Miss Dave Stevens

Dave Stevens, creator of the Rocketeer and pin-up artist extraordinare, has passed away at the too-soon age of 52.

Dave was an amazing artist in the classic pulp tradition with the kind of craftsmanship you just don't see enough of these days. He'll be greatly missed.

More links and kind words over at DRAWN!, the illustration blog.

And let me also say for the record, the the film adaptation of The Rocketeer is criminally underrated. I'm watching it again first chance I get.

Special Shout out!!!

When I think of a man who basks in the mighty halls of the gods, rules in the temple of all that rules and stands on the pillars of awesomesness, I am compelled to kneel and proclaim that Jimmy Valiant is hands down one of the greatest human beings to walk the face of this rock that we live on.




Hail Jimmy!