If you’re in Japan for four successive weekends starting at the end of July, you will have a chance to see the Big Four Rock Festivals…Fuji Rock Festival, Rock in Japan, Summer Sonic, and Rising Sun Rock Festival In Ezo.

Fuji Rock Festival

The Fuji Rock Festival is arguably Japan’s premier rock festival. This year, there will be more than 200 acts performing on more than 10 stages. Some of the Western acts includes some older artists like The Cure, Beastie Boys, and Iggy & The Stooges as well as more recent artists like Fountains of Wayne, Mika, and Lily Allen. Japanese artists include Shonen Knife, Boom Boom Satellites, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Shinichi Osawa, Kan Mikami, and Shibusa Shirazu Orchestra.

• Dates: July 27-29
• Time: From 11 a.m.
• Venue: Naeba Ski Resort, Niigata Prefecture
• Information: www.fujirockfestival.com (Japanese & English)

Rock In Japan

Rock in Japan is Japan’s largest rock festival for domestic artists and second largest overall. While the other festivals feature camping facilities, this festival is more for day-trippers. Over 100 artists are expected to perform on the four main stages including The Cro-Magnons, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Dragon Ash, Mars Eurythmics, Ai, and Bump of Chicken.

• Dates: Aug. 3-5
• Time: From 10:30 a.m.
• Venue: Hitachi Seaside Park in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture
• Information: www.rijfes.co.jp (Japanese only)

Summer Sonic

The next weekend will feature Summer Sonic…a two day festival with two venues (Tokyo and Osaka). The artists who perform in Tokyo on day 1 will perform in Osaka on day 2 and vice versa. The Western acts include Cyndi Lauper, Pet Shop Boys, Avril Lavigne, The Black Eyed Peas, and Gwen Sefani. The Japanese acts include The Pillows, Puffy AmiYumi, Remioromen, Kaela Kimura, Yanokami, and Polysics.

• Dates: Aug. 11-12
• Time: From 11 a.m.
• Venues: Chiba Marine Stadium and Makuhari Messe in Chiba; Maishima Summer Sonic Osaka Site in Osaka.
• Information: www.summersonic.com (Japanese & English)

Rising Sun Rock Festival

The Rising Sun Rock Festival In Ezo will be held the following weekend. Like Rock in Japan, the Rising Sun Festival features domestic artists. Unlike the other three festivals, the Rising Sun Festival is held on the northern island of Hokkaido while the other three are held on the main island of Honshu. The artists include Tha Blue Herb, Hidefumi Ino, Scoobie Do, The Cornelius Group, Lost in Time, and Ellegarden. Also, there will be some artists who performed at the earlier festivals like The Pillows and Boom Boom Satellites.

• Dates: Aug. 17-18
• Time: From 11 a.m.
• Venue: Ishikari Bay New Port Tarukawa Futoyoko Special Outdoor Stage in Ishikari, Hokkaido.
• Information: http://rsr.wess.co.jp (Japanese only)

Ryukyu Festival

Fans of Okinawan music who are in the Tokyo area in late July can go to the Ryukyu Festival. This annual event showcases traditional island songs to current pop. Featured artists include Misako Oshiro and the group Pasha Club.

• Date: July 29
• Time: From 4 p.m. (rain or shine)
• Venue: Hibiya Yagai Ongakudo (Hibiya Outdoor Amphitheater), Hibiya Park
• Information: mandicompany website (Japanese only)

Japanese music was the theme of Anime Expo this year. The con featured a number of standout j-rockers, and TheAnimeBlog.com was lucky enough to attend Anna Tsuchiya’s press panel! Most of the questions focused on Ms. Tsuchiya’s solor music career, but she’s also a model and actress. You might have seen her in the ever-so-awesome Kamikaze Girls film - she’s Ichigo Shirayuri, the ‘yanki’. Ms. Tsuchiya was kind enough to sit down and answer some questions in the middle of the con with a group of fellow journalists.

Since she’s about to launch a new international tour, this is her first involvement with a record label that includes both European and American markets. When asked about how she feels performing in front of so many different people, she believes that music has no borders, so she’s not worried about how people will reactor to her.

One of the journalists asked if she prefers being a model, actress or singer. Ms. Tsuchiya she said that singing is her favorite, because she feels more alive when singing than with anything else. So she really wants to continue singing!

Some of her music inspirations come from western artists, including Queen, Cindi Lauper, Whitney Houston, Bon Jovi, Nirvana and Hole.

Regarding her unique sense of style, she doesn’t see it as being limiting. Even though it may appear that she is very different than many Japanese people, she sees a lot of diversity - everyone is different, not just her. Plus, things are changing in Japan. The male idea of traditional roles is changing. She feels that once you cross a barrier, things become very open everywhere.

Anna doesn’t have any specific favorite brands that she wears - she actually prefers wearing jeans and a t-shirt. She has worn a lot of expensive apparel throughout her career, but she likes to feel comfortable. She might dress very casually during the day, then really dress up at night to go out. She also appreciates seeing lolita and gothic styles.

For fans who are concerned that Ms. Tsuchiya’s new single may sound more ‘pop style’ than her previous work, she assures everyone that her j-rock roots will stick with her. She doesn’t bring high expectations of herself and enjoys human nature, without any excessive fears.

Her experiences with Japanese and American audiences differ - she said it was amazing to see the American audience suddenly begin dancing on the floor. The feeling is very different than in Japan, where she is popular but doesn’t get the same kind of reaction.

Anime Expo 2007: Anna Tsuchiya Press Panel Part I of II

Anime Expo 2007: Anna Tsuchiya Press Panel Part II of II

Special thanks to Anna Tsuchiya, Mad Pray Records and the press staff at Anime Expo 2007!

ORESKABAND performed live at Anime Expo 2007 on July 1, 2007 at the Long Beach Arena.

ORESKABAND is an all-female ska band from Osaka, Japan. They have released one full album, in July 2006, titled Ore. They have performed both in Japan and the United States, including the Fuji Rock Festival. Their songs have been featured as the 14th ending theme for the anime Naruto and the 11th ending theme for the anime Bleach. Their name “ore ska band” literally translates to “I’m (a) ska band.” - via Wikipedia

Here’s the set list from the ORESKABAND show!

1. PANTIME
2. YEAH! Ska Dance
3. THE BOY-S
4. MCooler Society
5. Good Bye Deja vu
6. 20 tips
7. U
8. ALMOND
9. Things I’ve Forgotten
10. Knife & Folk
11. MONKEY MAN
12. PINOCCHIO
13. Chuck
14. ENCORE - Shall we Dance?

Photos by Mayumi Nashida, All Rights Reserved

We weren’t able to make it to the concert, so if you were able to see the show, let us know what you thought!

Also, be sure to check out the ORESKABAND blog:

For J-Rock fans at Anime Expo 2007, the Pop Shock Masquerade was a great event to see your favorite music-related cosplayers up on stage. The costumes were great and there were even a few performances! We have video featuring one the groups that did an excellent job cosplaying as Dir En Grey - they even synced the music!

As the thick curtain of cigarette smoke lifted and the house lights came on, I turn around to survey the aftermath. Beer, cigarette butts, and a few drops cover the floor of Rubber Gloves, a local bar/recording study/live music venue in Denton, TX, just a stone’s throw from the University of North Texas.

Let’s back up to the start of the night:

Denton, a small college town north of Dallas, does not inspire thoughts of Japanese rock. Well, there is no better way to kick off a 3-day weekend than to indulge in a little noise rock. So, I grabbed some friends and we went to see Japan’s premiere champions of thrash: Melt-Banana.

Before we get to their performance, I have to give some serious props to the opening acts. The night started off with self-proclaimed “cowboy/jazz” ensemble, Count Dracula’s Weed Smuggling Jam Engine. The most coherent band of the night, Dracula brought some nice melodies and a little bit of groove. Despite a very shaky start and constant feedback from the monitors, they delivered a solid set.

After that, xBxPx took the stage and began us on our noise rock odyssey. The amount of time that they were not playing is equivalent to the amount of time it took you to read this sentence. The band from Oakland came on like gangbusters and left just a quickly. The quintet came off as a fusion between The Hive, Rage against the Machine, and Melt-Banana…, which might be why they were selected from a pool of 15 bands to tour with the Tokyo troupe.

Onto the main event! Melt-Banana inspired something from me that I never thought possible: pity for the security team. Imagine a room no bigger than the inside of a small corner convenience store. Now cram 300 people and side and let them start moshing and shoving. That was the seen an hour ago. There were ill-conceived stage rushing, crowd surfing face plants, and a very entertaining female fistfight.

The entire time, the band continued to supply a soundtrack to the mayhem. Playing tracks from their old album (mostly tracks from Charlie) and a lot of new songs from their upcoming release Bambi’s Dilemma, the Banana kept the ferocity up all night. Read more

Not very often (translation: never) does an opening act impress me as much as the headliners. By definition, the opening acts are supposed to be a warm-up to the main event. However, at the end of The Pillows “People and Music” show in Shinjuku’s Loft last summer, I found myself shelling out the yen for Waiting For My Food, the first album release from VOLA & THE ORIENTAL MACHINE.

VOLA’s sound pushes the limits of traditional rock and roll. A pulsating, almost funky baseline permeates through most of the songs, infusing the driving rock riffs with a more eclectic sound. Fans of early Incubus albums will instantly feel at home when they crank up the album for the first time. However, this album might cause some dance floor ambiguity. It can be hard to figure out if you want to just sit around waxing existential with your friends and a few drinks or get up and jump around madly. It’s a great choice either way.

The energy that the quartet brings on stage is quite noticeable. During the songs they jump, yell, spin, and generally lead the audience to feel like they are having more fun than we are; which is how a rock concert should feel. In the quiet seconds between songs, when they are dropping the tuning on their guitars or grabbing more picks to fall victim to the relentless thrashing, the dialog with audience members borders on hysterical. Everything from unseasonably warm weather to swimming class as a child was mentioned. Not typical of a rock show, but typical of a band who doesn’t put up a hard front to impress the fans.

As far as the CD; Waiting For My Food carries the same energy as a live show. There are some throw-away tracks, which is sad since the album is relatively short. One track that will make the favorites playlist is “a communication refusal desire”. It was only a few plays before I was wailing along with the infectious hook.

All-in-all, VOLA may not be the most conventional J-rockers out there, but damned if they aren’t some of the hippest and charming. Waiting For My Food is an admirable freshman attempt. However, now that they have made this album, it is time to make an even better one. I predict that if they keep the soul of the music intact and hone in on the sound that breaks the surface a few times in Waiting, they will blow us all away.