#kohta hyugaji

[japanessie]

SWANKY DANK’s rescheduled mini album release

Finally they finalised this. They are releasing it on the same day of their Tour Final at Tsutaya O-West 🤗❤️💕

23 Jan 2019 Release 「WHITE FLAGS」 CTCR-14947 ¥2,000 (incl. tax)

1.White Flag 2.Brainwashed 3.Tell Me 4.Amazing Dreams ~ Black Clover 2 ED 5.Infinity ~ Gundam Diver OP ​6.REVERSAL ~ S-Resist Game theme

SWANKY DANK Official https://www.swankydank.net/

* If I can pick $$$ out of air, I’d be there … haha 😂. I really want to watch these beautiful gentlemen perform Amazing Dreams Live.

[japanessie]

SWANKY DANK Smokes Album Review 『レビュー』

I was absolutely prepared to dislike this album. Hey, that’s a mean and discouraging thing to say for a band I’m supposedly supporting. I watched the trailer and was, “Ehh!”. I guess it was one of those times when a trailer failed* to excite me because it didn’t show the highlights of the real work. 

*I remember saying to my friends how MFS The Puzzle trailer was like a reject song from the ALONE session. But the real song gave me goosebumps. Yup! Sometimes a trailer just fails to do it for me.

I haven’t been particularly enthusiastic over their move to a major label. My low expectation turned out to be a blessing because “Ooh la la!”. I said I was hoping to be surprised by these gentlemen and …. was I in for a BIG BIG SHOCK!

Yes, this is my long overdue review of this album. I owe this to these gentlemen to give my feedback (^^). Sorry for the delay.

Track 1 I Never Gonna Let You Go 

(Words & Music : YUICHI)

Thought my computer accidentally played OOR or something. You know how bands OOR and MFS like to include an “opening intro” at the start of every CD. I was utterly surprised.Despite their Pop leanings, SD never really used piano or keyboard as a big part of their music arrangement. This is a departure from their usual approach. The song starts and ends with gentle piano that complement KOJI’s melodic vocals perfectly. The rest of the song is high energy melodic Pop Punk these guys are known for. I hope to hear this song being performed with only a piano someday. Why not? Their producer DAICHI-san was after all, the brothers’ keyboard player when they were teen pop stars. Would be cool to see him onstage with the brothers again (^^)

Track 2 Colors 

(Words & Music : KOJI)

I reviewed this song at length here. It’s the lead track and it just punches you in the face. It’s speedy, it twists and turns in weird ways. It’s uplifting. It’s ear-grabbing and leaves you wondering afterwards, “What just happened there?”. Love hearing YUICHI sharing the lead vocals again. To me it’s the perfect track to pick as the introduction song to a new audience with a major label.

Track 3 Start Again 

(Words & Music : KOJI)

Probably the strongest song on this album. It’s a big stadium rock kind of song suitable for the current young crowd who are used to bands like OOR. This is true Stadium rock ..... and thankfully minus the unnecessary electronica effects. It showcases KOJI’s melodic vocals with the thundering drums sound as his backdrop. This song deserves to be performed in an arena. A small Livehouse won’t do it justice. My definite favourite from this album.

Go here for lyrics + translation (^^)

Track 4 捧ぐ歌 

(Words & Music : YUICHI)  

This one is Pop Punk but somehow has the feel of Doggy Bag gone all out rock LOL. For those who are new to them, that’s the Pop Idol version of the Matsuo brothers before they decided to ditch that world to do Rock music. Awesome guitar solo.

Track 5 Obedience 

(Words & Music : YUICHI)  

This is the BIGGEST SUPRISE of anything the SWANKY gentlemen had ever done. My jaw literally dropped .... no kidding .... as I listened to this the first time that day. This is legit THRASH METAL with a touch of sophistication done SWANKY style. I spent my tween years listening to a lot of thrash metal, thanks to my brother. So, my ears knew it well XD Ok, SWANKY being SWANKY. Yes, it’s thrash metal at the verses but then they suddenly leap over to punk and pop and back to thrash again. This one is the most exciting and mind-boggling of ALL the songs on this album. A clear winner to me. I wanted to be surprised and Obedience delivers that to me in abundance. It even makes me want to say, “Marry me YUI!”. Yes, I’m grateful to him THAT much for deciding to make this one XD

Track 6 Closer

(Words & Music : KOJI)

Decent song but it suffers the fate of being placed right after a bigger and way stronger song. Can fit comfortably in The Love Is Gone album.

Track 7 The Hot Love Season

(Words & Music : YUICHI)

Starts with reggae-like guitar. Finally YUI has turned his love for The Police and Sting into something XD. This song is also surprisingly multi-dimensional / multi-genre. Overall it’s very ... hmm ... The Jonas Brothers gone punk? It won’t be out of place at all if placed on the soundtrack of Disney’s Camp Rock movies. It tickles me when suddenly it goes into a break that is kind of a cross between Marty Friedman’s Thundermarch & Jerry C’s Canon in D. It’s like The Jonas Brothers suddenly inviting the boy next door who had been practising his guitar with YouTube for too long XD

Confession! 

This was the song in the trailer that made me prepare myself to absolutely hate this album. Ooh ... strong statement there. Yes, I disliked the chorus so much because it stirred up that cringe-y feeling I got from Bad Girl (eewww..) from the previous album. Good news is this song does NOT give me that cringe-y feeling. The more I listen to it, the more it feels like watching Disney’s Camp Rock (which I actually like) all over again. Disney should take notice of the Matsuo brothers to work on their soundtrack. Meanwhile, I just pretend that Bad Girl doesn't exist.

Track 8 Making My Way

(Words & Music : KOJI)

I was told that this is the reworked version of their old song My Story which is available on their 1st full-length album the self-titled SWANKY DANK. Confession, I failed to find the similarities.

Track 9 アイノコエ

(Words : YUICHI, Music : KOJI)

Stadium rock ballad. Kind of Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead Or Alive combined with Motley Crue’s Home Sweet Home minus the piano. More of the latter I must say. Listen to Home Sweet Home and then this one especially the way the drums build up with the guitars towards the end. Then, you’ll understand what I mean. 

Funny thing is years ago, YUICHI indirectly rebelled while shooting the J-Drama  青い経験 / Aoi Keiken by repeatedly playing Bon Jovi and Motley Crue with his guitar when he was supposed to promote Doggy Bag. Ok, YUI, if you’re reading this, you’ll know what I mean. Congrats, you finally got what you wanted XD 

Track 10 Neverland

(Words & Music : YUICHI)

Pop punk rock. Cutesy. Suitable for end of concert in terms of sound but lyrics suit early part of concert. Favourite part is YUI’s digitally harmonized voice.

Track 11 Make A Noise

(Words & Music : YUICHI)

That shortie track which seems to have become a little tradition with SD nowadays. But I just feel this one doesn’t really have the energy and the punch-you-in-the-face effect of Promise from Magna Carta. As weird as I feel Promise is, I think it has a stronger impact for the “What the hell just happened there?” feel compared to this one.

Overall feel

With this album, the Matsuo Brothers took the star power back to them. With the last 3 releases, I felt that KO-TA was the star. He was such a dominant element on it is WHAT it is, One of A Kind and Magna Carta. With Smokes however, you can feel the brothers putting their vision out there with a vengeance. Like they are giving a clear signal that this is a Matsuo-brothers-fronted band. 

My Verdict:

Previously, if I were to recommend a SWANKY CD for a new fan, I would advise to go for the album Circles first and start the collection from there. But with the release of Smokes, I’m starting to think that this can be the one to take over Circles to be the “buy this one first” CD. That’s not an easy thing for me to say because Circles is special to me. It has my favourite SWANKY song ever DESTRUCTION and of course, the special turning point song Sink Like A Stone is on it BUT the reason I recommended Circles was to let new listeners hear the across-genres-songwriting ability that this band has. Smokes has that across-genres quality in HUGE abundance. Also, at this point in time, the SWANKY gentlemen seem to have steered their music more towards arena rock. So, new fans would probably be more familiar with this version of SWANKY. Get this CD then.

[japanessie]

SWANKY DANK Start Again Lyrics translation

One of the best songs on the SMOKES album. Couldn’t imagine this not being picked to be an MV. Ahh …. so happy the MV is finally out. It’s arena rock all the way. Yes, this song deserves to be heard in that kind of places. I hope they play this at Countdown Japan in December. This one marks the 2nd consecutive song by KOJI from this album chosen to promote the album. Oh, he still does sound like a “gaijin" singing Japanese XD

Even though the music arrangement gives the song a “big” sound, the lyrics are a humbling reflection of their past struggles as musicians and that this is them starting again …. with the move to a major label AVEX. How they used to pool the money from their part-time jobs and travel around with a rice cooker to save on food. Also their positivity by saying that the pain would not scar them. Yet still realistic enough not to expect anything by the slightest.

Here are the words. I mostly retouched a bit from Google (^^). Like a lot of SWANKY songs, this one is bilingual too. Words in bracket [ ] are the reading & translation as differentiation from the actual lyrics.

Enjoy it \(^^)/

Start Again

Words & Music : KOJI

Tonight realized 満たされないこの気持ちが [ Mitasa renai kono kimochi ga] [ This feeling that is not satisfied ]    いつか満たされる日がくるのか？ [ itsuka mitasa reru hi ga kuru no ka? ] [ Will the day that it is filled come someday? ]    散らばってしまった記憶が未来に沈んでゆく [Chirabatte shimatta kioku ga mirai ni shizunde yuku ] [ The scattered memories that were gone, will sink in the future ] 手を伸ばして掬い上げた [ te o nobashite sukui ageta ] [ I reached out my hands and scooped up] 乾いた言葉を [kawaita kotoba o] [Dry words]

* You come back Don’t worry any more 誰にも気づかれなくても [ Darenimo kidzuka renakute mo ] [ Even if no one notices it ] 繰り返されてゆく日々の中でもがいて [kurikaesa rete yuku hibi no naka de mogaite ] [ Struggling days to be repeated ] そっと触れた風でさえも [ sotto fureta kaze de sae mo ] [ Even if it’s just by the lightly touching wind ] 期待も無い何もない [kitai mo nai nanimonai ] [ No expectation ….nothing ] Start again oh 

Over here 。 。。

Telling lies 言葉を無くした世界が [ Kotoba o nakushita sekai ga ] [ A world without words ] あても無くいつまで続くのか？ [ ate mo naku itsu made tsudzuku no ka? ] [ How long will it last? ]    エゴも何もいらない形を変える��想達 [ Ego mo nani mo iranai katachi wo kaeru risō-tachi ] [ Dreams that change the shape where nothing or no ego is needed ] 刻み込まれた偽りの傷 [ kizamikomareta itsuwari no kizu ] [ Carved out false wound ] 見栄だけの刃 [mie dake no yaiba] [(by) what only looks like a blade]

I’ll comeback It echoes far away    両手に抱えきれないほどの、 [ Ryōte ni kakae kirenai hodo no, ] [ I can not hold it with both hands, ]    答えを求めようとしても [ kotae o motomeyou to shite mo ] [ Even trying to find an answer ] 閉ざされた意識の中じゃ [ tozasa reta ishiki no naka ja ] [ Within a closed consciousness ] 何も響かない [ nani mo hibikanai ] [ Not even a thing echoes ] Start again oh Over here

Coz you know I don’t know and I say You promise me You can see sacrifice You can stay Here you Nowhere oh anywhere

Repeat *

-SWANKY DANK-

[japanessie]

Dear my SWANKY gentlemen, how long are you planning to torture me waiting for this MV?

My beautiful gentlemen chose one of their strongest songs from Smokes to advertise the album’s Tour Final in January 2018 at Tsutaya O-East. The song Start Again has the word “single material” ringing all over it. 

I actually had been envisioning the video for this song in black & white and had the guys’ close-up shots getting interspersed with one another with KOJI as the main focus of course. I had those visions in my mind for days when they suddenly showcased this. Of course, not quite the same as what I had in mind  but close-up shots and B&W filter are there! Yessssss! 

The visuals. There's something sensual about the way these guys were shot .... hmm. The images of the brothers particularly draw me in.

Now, the video please guys m(_ _)m

[japanessie]

SWANKY DANK Colors MV debut on AVEX

I never hide my mixed feelings about them going on a major label.

The MV debuting on AVEX YouTube Channel automatically alienates the audience they had built up on JMSTV1. The viewing counts are going up relatively slow. Being on AVEX puts them right into the race where they have to compete with the many other acts already on that channel for viewing. So for the first time ever, I saw idol groups like FAKY being recommended to me alongside SWANKY DANK. Deep inside, I’m still worried their creativity will be stifled because after all, major labels are notorious for driving artists to make the kind of sound that THEY think would sell rather than what the artists want. But so far, the exposure to audience outside the usual JMS crowd has been positive.

Enough about my thoughts on those. I’ll talk about the song (^^).

The song

Colors is more uptempo and more ear-grabbing to first time listeners compared to if they had chosen to debut with a song like Made A Mess. So, I think they made the right choice to present this song as their introduction to a new audience with AVEX.

As usual, most of Swanky’s pop punk songs would take awhile to get into my head but this one took it to another level. The way it jumps from one part to another and back again at crazy speed. It was like, “What just happened there??!“. It was confusing but exciting at the same time.

The “what was that?” aspect kind of reminds me of the song Promise from their Magna Carta album. My issue with Promise is the speedy music arrangement makes the vocals especially YUICHI’s gentle voice sound out-of-sync with the music. He’s not out-of-sync but the soft quality of his natural voice contrasts too much with the music. To these days, my ears still can’t take that song in very well. Strangely, that same characteristic is present in Colors and yet it doesn’t render that “out-of-sync" effect on me. I think it is interesting how Colors feels like Promise done right. Yeah! Finally.

KOTA’s guitar solo

I knew I could count on this nimble-fingered man to deliver and he DID! It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of the band or not but one can’t deny that he nailed a good piece of work there. Speedy yet melodic but blends smoothly into the song arrangement. I spent my childhood in the guitar hero era and I know a good guitarist when I see one.

YUICHI sharing lead vocals again

He always has done so on their records but the last time he did so in an MV was for Listen To The Radio a few years ago. True that YUICHI and KOJI sound so similar, I do still sometimes mistake which is which when I’m not looking. People talk about the Moriuchi brothers sounding similar but Taka and Hiro are so distinctive from each other and easy to tell apart. The Matsuo brothers on the other hand, are more challenging to the ears with their subtle differences and almost similar phrasing. I think it would have been far more interesting if the brothers were singing two different melodies within the same bars like they did on Misery and confuse listeners in the process. Like …. “Let’s play our voices against each other" game. It’s a cool thing to hear during Lives too.

* Confession, I initially couldn’t detect that their song Gentlemen of Fortune from Circles album was a duet XD

I’m hoping for them to balance their “sun" and “shadow" aspects which they talked about during Magna Carta in the Smokes album. Personally, I prefer their harder “shadow" side because they shine more as musicians through it. Most importantly, I hope AVEX would let them explore their creative freedom. At the moment, it is still too early to tell.

Looks like YUICHI is pissed off over certain comments on YouTube about their move to AVEX. I think I should talk about that one (^^).

[japanessie]

Indie Band's Life ~ DIY Promo (^^)

That's the reality of Indie artists (^^)

It's KOJI & KOTA walking all around Tokyo recently with the promotional posters of their 10th Anniversary event SWANKY PLAYGROUND CIRCUIT 2017. Onii-chan YUICHI drove them around in a van.

I really really want to support them for this event but I can't go (T_T). It's just not the right timing for me. The bands lineup though ......

♥AIR SWELL, Noisemaker, Crystal Lake, MY FIRST STORY, SWANKY DANK♥

Oh my broken kokoro (T_T)

m(_ _)m

[japanessie]

SWANKY DANK cool picks and Robbie-chan

My beautiful gentlemen especially the 3 stringmen YUICHI, KOJI and KO-TA seemingly had injected their personal touches to their line of merchandise for the it is WHAT it is Tour Final.

Recently, the band members announced their new plectrum / picks which they personally chose representing each of them as individuals. The plectrums / picks are now available at Aikyoku Store on Amazon Japan. All picks photos are from Aikyoku.

YUICHI

YUI chose his wrist tattoo design as the printing which was a motto “Life is full of choices”. Hey ...... they spelled YUICHI wrong! His picks had been specified at a thickness of 1.0mm. Hmm ...... that’s quite thick.

KOJI

KOJI is a man of streamlined simplicity when it comes to designing. Imagine if he had been an interior designer or something, I can imagine his portfolio to be all about uncluttered clean lines, minimalism and masculinity. KOJI prefers thinner picks as his had been specified at 0.8mm. He decided only the word SWANKY to generalize it so that anyone with any band name can use it. Hmm ...... thoughtful (^^)

KO-TA

KO-TA chose his family pet a French bulldog named ロビちゃん / Robbie. I’m not sure if Robbie is his dog or his sister’s dog or his dog but living in his sister’s house or a dog belonging to him and his sister but living at the family home *sigh* My poor Japanese. This print was also chosen to be one of the it is WHAT it is Tour Final T-shirt designs. Just like “onii-chan” YUI, KO-TA set it thick at 1.0mm but chose the tear-drop shape instead.

KO-TA was ecstatic to announce that the Robbie-chan T-shirts sold out immediately in the first Tour Final series in Osaka. It looks like Robbie has garnered some fans too XD

Here is KO-TA with Robbie-chan!

My thoughts

As for me, I think I want the YUI ones and turn them into earrings or something. Cool, huh? XD

[japanessie]

I know it's not 1 Jan anymore but it's still the 1st week of 2017, eh? So this post is legit XD

Well, it's not so much about the New Year but I fell in ♥love♥ when I saw this photo. Oh wow, YUI and KOJI somehow looked like twins. In reality they don't really look alike though (^^).

I would like to share some behind-the-scene shots of this particular photo session. It's from their bonus DVD for those who bought the mini album it is WHAT it is from Village Vanguard.

Photo: Those hanging lights in front of them were not Photoshopped LOL.

Photo: See? YUI & KOJI kinda behaved like twins too during the shoot? Cute cute cute ♡♡♡

Photo: KO-TA looked bored as f**k XD

Photo: What was up with KO-TA? LOL 

So, that was how we ended up with SWANKY DANK New Year 2017 Photo!

ヽ(^o^)丿Woo .... hoo!

[japanessie]

Cuteness overload with KO-TA SWANKY DANK

Aww .... I have to have this one here on my blog. Watch it please 😄!

This particular fan requested the song Misery and described the part she wanted as, " .... de...de...den...de....de....den...." 😂😄😁. 

KOTA enjoys taking guitar riff requests from fans. But this one took it to another level with that onomatopoeic description .... which he actually read out and got the part she wanted SPOT ON 😉!

[japanessie]

SWANKY DANK announced their new song for an Anime!

Yesss …… finally! 😊😁😄 I am so happy to hear this. Been wanting these gentlemen to get this opportunity since the Circles album.

My beautiful gentlemen will have a song as the ending theme for the anime BLACK CLOVER『ブラッククロバー』。

The catch is the band will be debuting the song called "Amazing Dreams" at their Smokes Tour Final at Tsutaya O-East on 19th January 2018. Aww ….. this poor girl won’t be able to hear that … hu..hu. 😭.

[japanessie]

SWANKY DANK Part-time Job experiences!

Yeah! So excited to see this interview with the Swanky gentlemen especially the Matsuo brothers. Despite being on TV and all, they still had the stints as part-timers for extra money. But KOJI was pampered by YUI back in their school days with gifts and all anyway.

Original Japanese text & photos: Gakusei Arukita website

Translation by me & Google-san XD. Text in brackets are generally mine.

Kindly please do not copy and reupload somewhere else. Reblogging and linking and correction are very much welcomed.

2016/11/14 SWANKY DANK ~ Words of Wisdom

若いうちから忍耐を知るって、 後々に役立つんじゃないかな。 Know patience from a young age, it could be useful later.

SWANKY DANK

From left: SHUN (Dr.), KOJI (Vo.&B.), YUICHI (Vo.&G.), KO-TA (G.)

INTRO

良質なメロディーと荒々しいパンク感を武器に、日本国内はもちろんアジア圏の 音楽シーンもにぎわせている「SWANKY DANK（スワンキーダンク）」。メンバー4 人がそれぞれのアルバイト経験談で盛り上がった。 初めて稼いだお金は、やっぱり楽器に使うのだ！ “SWANKY DANK” who employs good quality melodies and rough punk feel as weapons, both domestically in Japan as well as the music scenes in the Asian region. The four members each got excited at the part-time experience talk. The money earned for the first time, after all, was used towards (buying) musical instruments!

INTERVIEW

──初めてのバイト経験は？ ── What was your first part time job experience?

YUICHI:　僕は高校1年生の時に始めたスーパーの品出し。ギ ターとアンプの初心者向けセットを買えるようになるまで働こうと思ってたけ ど、3万円くらいだったから1カ月で貯まっちゃって（笑）。結局、そんなに長く 勤めなかったですね。 YUICHI : I got a supermarket job, stocking shelves which I started when I was in my first year in high school. I was planning to work until I could buy a set of guitar and amp for a beginner, but since it was about 30,000 yen, it accumulated in one month (laugh). In the end, I did not work for such a long time.

KO-TA :　僕も楽器がほしくて、高校1年生から3年間コンビニのバイトを続けまし た。今はギターですが当時はベースを弾いていて、バイト代を貯めてワンランク 上のものを手に入れたんです。高校時代はずっとそのベースを使い続けましたね。 KO-TA: I also wanted musical instruments, I continued my part-time job at a convenience store for 3 years from my first year in high school. It is now a guitar, but I was playing bass at that time, I got something up a notch by saving (the money from) my part time job. I kept using that bass all the time in high school.

SHUN :　みんな長いね〜。僕はスーパーのバイトが初めてだけど、バックヤードが グチャグチャでこの店は大丈夫か？って不安になるし、あまりにもヒマ過ぎて時 間が経つのが遅くて遅くて…3日間で耐えられなくなっちゃいました（苦笑）。 SHUN : Everyone’s time as part-timers had been long! As for me, the supermarket was the first part time job, but the backyard (i.e storage room) was sloppy and (I was like) “Is this store okay?“. It became uneasy, too much (wasted time) and it was too slow for the time to pass and (it was like) really really slow … I could not bear with it by the 3rd day (bitter smile).

──YUICHIさんとKOJIさんは兄弟でバンドを結成したとか。 ── YUICHI and KOJI, did you form the band as brothers?

YUICHI :　洋楽好きな母の影響で音楽にハマりました。弟をこの道に誘ったのは、 何だかヒマそうにしてたから（笑）。今でも忘れられないんだけど、コイツ（ KOJIさん）にバンドをやろうと言ったら「イヤだ」と。じゃあ、他に夢があるの かって聞いたら「ヤンキーになりたい」って宣言するんですよ（笑）。ヤンキー は職業じゃねえんだぞって一生懸命説得して、ようやく結成したんです。 YUICHI : I am addicted to music with the influence of my mother who loves Western music. I invited my younger brother to this road because he was doing something else (laugh). Even now I still can not forget, but when I said that I would like to do a band to this dude (KOJI), he’d say “Nah …. I’m sorry”. Then, (it was) when I heard that (he had) other dreams, declaring “I want to be a Yankee" (laugh). I finally formed (the band after) persuading hard that Yankee is not a professional job.

一同　（爆笑）

All (laughter)

KOJI :　あの…かなり昔の話ですからね（苦笑）。音楽を始めてからはこんなにオ モシロイものはないって、どんどんのめり込むようになりました。 フェスのバイトで胸に抱いた思いが実現！ KOJI : Hmm… that story is from a long ago (strained laugh). From the first time that I did music, it wasn’t such an interesting thing (but) little by little I got absorbed into it. I realized the feeling that I held in my heart through a Festival part-time job!

──思い出深いバイトって？ ──What is (your) memorable part-time job?

KO-TA :　僕は地元が茨城県。毎年、家のそばで大規模な野外ロックフェス「ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL（ロック・イン・ジャパン・フェスティバル）」が開催され るんです。十代のころにその設営のバイトをやってみたんですが、仕事は炎天下 の中で資材を運んで組み上げる重労働。上の人に怒鳴られながらも、“いつか俺 もこのステージに立ってやる”って胸が熱くなったことを覚えてます。 KO-TA : I am a local of Ibaraki Prefecture. Every year, a large outdoor rock festival “ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL" is held near my house. In my teens I tried setting (myself) up with a part-time job, but my work was heavy labour carrying and assembling materials in the scorching sun. While being shouted at by the top person, I remember that my chest was burning saying “I will stand on this stage someday.”

YUICHI　:「ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL」には、2年前に初めて出させてもらったよね。 YUICHI: We got to appear at ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL for the first time two years ago.

KO-TA :　そうそう。ステージに続く階段を上りながら、たくさんのバイトスタッ フの努力と汗、もしかすると涙もこの最高に楽しい場所を作り上げているんだ なって思った途端、こみ上げるものがありました。 KO-TA: Oh yeah. As I climbed the stairs leading to the stage, it was the moment that I was filled with the thought of a lot of the part-time staff’s great efforts and sweat, and possibly tears too, that built up this to be the most fun place.

KOJI :　そんなイイ話を先に出されると困るんだけど（笑）。僕は19歳のころに知 人の紹介からシチュー屋さんで働き始めました。銀座の超高級店だったことも あって、すぐ近くの歌舞伎座に配達に行く機会もチラホラ。有名な歌��伎俳優さ んに会えて、内心ドキドキしてましたね。 KOJI : I’d be troubled if I let out such a good story earlier though (laugh). I started working at a stew shop through the introduction of an acquaintance when I was 19 years old. As it was a high luxury store in Ginza, the opportunity to go to the Kabuki-za in the immediate vicinity was also thrilling. I met a famous Kabuki actor and I was so excited.

──バンドが苦しい時期ってありましたか？ ── Have you had a difficult time with the band?

SHUN　そりゃあもう。2014年にKO-TAが正式加入する前まではキツかったです ね。ライブを開いてもチケットをさばき切れず、メンバーのバイト代でノルマの 費用を割ることもありました。 SHUN: Oh, very! It was HARD before KO-TA officially joined in 2014. Even when we opened the Live, we could not judge the tickets and we divided the quota cost by the members’ part-time job fees.

KOJI :　ツアーは車中泊もザラだったし、なんたって炊飯器を持って各地を回って いましたから（笑）。 バイト先の怒りは、音楽にぶつけよ！ KOJI : Because, as for the tour, sleeping in the van was quite common too and it was why we went around each place with a rice cooker (laugh). Smash the anger of the old part-time job on music!

──バイトが音楽に役立った経験は？ ──What was your experiences of using the part-time job for music?

YUICHI :　歌詞みたいに直接的ではないけれど、バイトで経験した怒りは音楽に反 映されていると思います。例えば先輩に分からないことを聞いた時、自分が出来 るからって「こんな作業も知らないの？」なんて上から目線だったりすると、ど うして人の気持ちを考えた言い方をしないんだろうと反骨精神が湧き上がってき て。それを音楽にぶつけることは多々ありました。 YUICHI : Though not directly like lyrics, but I think that the anger experienced in part-time jobs is reflected in music. For example, when I heard that a senior didn’t know something that I myself could do, “Eh? You don’t even know this work?“, when I felt like looking down on people, not talking in a way that’s thoughtful about how other people feel, when the rebellious spirit was rising. There were often that I hit that on music.

SHUN :　僕は病院や保育園に乳製品を配送する仕事に携わ��ていました。東京では 米軍基地のラジオが入るから、トラックの運転中にアメリカの音楽番組を聞くよ うになったんです。英語は全然分からないけれど、良い曲がかかると耳をそばだて、アーティスト名を片仮名で必死にメモ。今はスマホで何でもすぐに調べられ るけど、音楽とどん欲に向き合う時間が自分のベースを作り上げた気がします。

SHUN : I was involved in a job of delivering dairy products to hospitals and nursery schools. Since the radio of the US military base was contained in Tokyo, I started to listen to American music programs while driving the truck. Though I do not understand English at all, but my ears prick up when there’s a good song clinging to them, and I desperately noted the artists’ names in Katakana. Now anything can be checked quickly with a smartphone, but I feel that the time of facing music greedily built up my own foundation.

──最後に読者へのメッセージをお願いします！  ── Finally, please give a message to the readers!

KO-TA :　僕は一つのバイトを長く続けるタイプ。次の職場を探すのが面倒って理 由もあるけど、上のポジションにステップアップすると責任感も強まるし、その 業界に明るくなるのがメリットだと思いました。自動車保険の事故受付の電話対応を7年続けたので、保険の内容や使い方を学べたのは大きかったですね。

KO-TA: I’m the type who perseveres in one part time job for a long time. There are reasons for looking for the next workplace, but I showed a stronger sense of responsibility when I did step-up in the upper position, and I thought that it would be beneficial to be bright in that industry. Since I continued the telephone correspondence of the accident reception desk of the automobile insurance for seven years, I was able to learn a lot of the contents and usage of  insurance.

KOJI :　この前もスゴかったもんね。機材車がトラブった時、すぐに電話を掛けて 「ロードサービスをお願いします！その移動費用は掛かりますか？」って。 KOJI: It was a great thing last time. When the equipment van got into trouble, he called immediately and said “Please give me a loading service! Does it cost the towing expense?”

YUICHI :　やりたいことに打ち込むためには、苦しさも経験しなければいけないっ て肌で感じた場所がバイトでした。頭にくる上司や馬が合わない先輩もいるけ ど、音楽のためには頑張ろうって思えるというか。それに社会に出てからだって ムカつくことはいっぱいあるはず。でも、バンドマンだからって腹を立てて悪態 をつくようじゃ社会人としてダメでしょう。若いうちに忍耐を知るって、後々に 役立つんじゃないかな。

YUICHI: In order to drive (myself to) what I wanted to do, the place I felt in my skin where I had to experience the pain also was my part-time job. Though there were the bosses getting mad and the seniors whom you did not get along well with, perhaps you can say that I think that I will do my best for the music? And there should be plenty of things that makes you feel sick after coming into the society. But just because you’re a band-man, losing your temper and using abusive language, it is not good as a member of the society, right? Knowing patience while you’re young may help us later.

★SWANKY DANKの思い出バイト★ / SWANKY DANK Part- time job memories

Note: The photo edits are not direct quotes but I made them based on their stories ;-)

SHUNさん/乳製品の配送  / Delivery of Dairy products

お客さんに配達に関する小さな提案をすることで喜んでもらえることがうれし かったです。頑張ろうって思えましたね。

Glad that I had the pleasure by making small suggestions on delivery to customers. I thought that I would do my best.

KOJIさん/シチュー店 / Stew shop

先輩方との関係作りをはじめ、人との接し方を学べました。正直、若かりしころ の自分には難しかったけど…。

I was able to learn how to contact people, including making relationships with seniors. To be honest, it was difficult for me to be young though ….

YUICHIさん/寿司店 / Sushi shop

六本木の高級店だったこともあってまかないがおいしくて。お客さんが残した寿 司もコッソリ食べてました（笑）。

It was delicious because it was a high-class shop in Roppongi. I also ate sushi that customers left behind (lol).

KO-TAさん/自動車保険の電話受付 / Car insurance phone reception

バンドマンは車に乗る機会も多いので、保険の内容やどういう時に使えるのかを 学べたのは今に役立ってます！!

Since a bandman has many opportunities to get in a vehicle, it is now useful to learn what the insurance is and what it can be used for at any time!

SWANKY DANKの思い出バイト求人を検索してみよう！ まかないも期待大！？寿司店で働く。 種類は色々「設営」するシゴト Let’s find job offers (from) SWANKY DANK’s part time jobs’ memories! Staff meal expectation is also great! Right? (By) working at a sushi restaurant. Various kinds of work to “set (yourself) up" (with).

© Hokkaido Arbeit Johosha co.,ltd. All Rights Reserved.

My thoughts

Interesting. Who would have thought KO-TA was a car insurance guy? So, that’s why he had that short hair and kind of business-like aura in his old photos. I still remember being on the train with a bunch of Japanese guys in black business suits heading to Shinkiba Studio Coast only to see those same guys ditching those suits for band t-shirts to watch Bullet For My Valentine & Coldrain there alongside me.

It’s nice to know what YUICHI and KOJI did after leaving the Idol-Pop world. They are so resilient despite all the hardship. Now I’m still trying to imagine being served sushi and stew by the Matsuo brothers. Too cute. Imagine KOJI bringing you hot stew XD

On a more serious note, I understand how hard it is to make ends meet. Reading the struggles of small indie bands like this is the reason I try my best to buy their music and support them any way I can.

[japanessie]

My brother he became

It's all brotherhood and family galore at MFS side but over at SWANKY camp, there's also a similar thing going on albeit at a much humbler scale.

Got to love KOJI's message for KO-TA on the latter's birthday on 20th November.

“When we (first) met, he was my guitar hero! Now he's the most important guitarist who is like family".

I've been referring to KO-TA as YUI's other little brother for quite some time but it looks like YUI's real little brother has acknowledged that too. How sweet (^^)

(c) KO-TA Hyugaji IG

[japanessie]

Happy birthday to this Swanky Wonderboy KO-TA! 

It's 20 November (^^)

He had been posting a series of SD songs' guitar solo demos for the fans. But this one is the one in which his guitar tone is most “metal sounding" to me. If one didn't know the actual song the solo came from, one might think it was from a straightahead metal song.

Thanks KO-TA for bringing your sound and edginess to SWANKY DANK!

[japanessie]

it is WHAT it is .....

Sometimes the name you pick ends up as a prophecy. Been talking a lot about their buddies MY FIRST STORY a lot lately. No, I'm not forgetting my SWANKY gentlemen. Especially after looking at some photos that my Korean IG friend shared at the show she went to.

They SWANKY gentlemen have their own cute stories that caught my attention. These are my favourites so far.

1. KO-TA & The Doppelganger Story

When the band performed with MFS Intact Labelmates ANOTHER STORY, their guitarist Yosuke appeared as KO-TA. With their almost similar body, facial hair and haircut, all Yosuke needed to do was put on a bandana and voila!

I wish I was there for this moment. Wow, even the bands and fans thought the resemblance was uncanny!

2. Oh..... MY VAN Story!

When singer KOJI posted this photo that seemingly looked like the band stranded at a petrol station, I wondered what happened to their vehicle because he only wrote 『車が。。。』and didn't finish the sentence.

Moments later, he posted a video of the poor van being towed away. Aww....but it's better than reading his tweet of their vehicle spinning 180° like he once did! That scared the s**t out of me last time.

KOJI captioned it with 「さようなら。また会う日まで」or  “Sayounara. Till the day we meet again”. Aww......

3. Yeah........ but they SOLD OUT the show that night at Livehouse Kyara!

(c) Photo by Manaty. I love this one so much. All the guys look amazing and wow....KO-TA finally learned how to ooze sexiness.

Anyway, I'm so happy. Thanks to those supportive fans. 

Indie bands becoming the hot-ticket-in-town like MFS is a rarity. The truth is most indie bands struggle to fill up a venue from city to city. That's why they have to do a “taiban"-type of shows by pairing up with guest bands. Even MFS started doing one-band shows fairly recently. Most bands reserve the one-band format for the Tour Final in Tokyo where they can play at least 19 songs and bigger attendance is assured. That's just the way things are :-/

Sometimes stuff happens because it is WHAT it is.

[japanessie]

SWANKY DANK it is WHAT it is Album Review 「レヴィウー」

I received my order of SWANKY DANK’s it is WHAT it is album less than a week after its release. So, this review is so overdue. Since I’m a sucker for Limited Editions, I bought TWO copies via FromJapan. From Tower record for the Munchies Live DVD Pre-Order bonus and from Village Vanguard for the Made A Mess MV Offshot.

I never made it a secret that I am not a big fan of Pop Punk Rock a la Zebrahead, Blink-182, SUM41 and the likes. I just feel the musical style is too limiting for a musician or songwriter. Many songs from this genre sound too similar from one band to another to my ears. SWANKY DANK however is multi-faceted enough to not stick too much to that sound in their works. Thanks Heaven for that.

Having translated quite a bunch of SWANKY DANK’s interviews, all these while, I wondered where on earth were the influences from the two chief songwriters i.e the Matsuo brothers’ favourite band INCUBUS in their works? Having owned nearly all their releases except the 1st Indie single For You, I have pretty much listened to the band’s entire repertoire. I couldn’t find a trace of it. With this album, I’m happy to say that finally, it’s there. Yes!

With 6 songs on offer, SWANKY DANK has stayed loyal to their philosophy of “sunny side’ and “shadow side” which I think is the best way for them. The songs are distinctively divided into the party happy sound (I call it the “bubblegum”) and the darker toned ones which showcase their strong musicianship and versatility more. 

1. MADE A MESS

The first MV from this album and looking at the enthusiastic fans’ comments on YT, I guess they really have tapped into the hearts of that audience well. It’s uplifting and lyrically “clean”. I understand the Matsuo brothers’ stance on wanting positive lyrics which is befitting as their crowds are pretty young. It’s in that “bubblegum” category to me. As usual, best moments to me are how YUICHI would lead the riffs and then pass the solo work to the more aggressive KO-TA in the middle. These two balance each other out with their contrasting styles. Oh, it’s nice that KOJI was not cam-whoring the entire MV like he used to in earlier videos ......... like Listen To The Radio :-P

2. BELIEVE IN MYSELF

Continuing where they left off with MADE A MESS. Uplifting sound with positive lyrics. Clean and safe Pop Punk Rock “bubblegum” but to me it’s not as catchy as the lead track MADE A MESS. I’m not saying much about it because “it is what it is” to me.....oops....no pun intended. I mean, it just goes through my ears but doesn’t really stick because it sits between two far more exciting songs.

3. TIME

Another upbeat Pop Punk Rock number from the band. Of all the songs on this album, I feel that this one is the most repetitive in terms of melodies. Repetitiveness done wrong can render a piece of work as mundane and uninspired. However, when done right, it somehow keeps the song fresh and in this song’s case, it becomes the hook that anchors the song to the listener’s mind. This one is really really good “bubblegum” XD 

Best part is how the drums and bass worked with each other creating the grooves that forms the basis of the song’s arrangement. Also, call me shallow or weird, but there is this certain indescribable “cuteness” about this song that makes me feel that it can only work if the singer has a handsome face (don’t hate me!). 

Sometimes they wrote a simple Pop Punk Rock number that hit me in all the right places like their old song One-Sided. This song is one of those moments. I love this and very happy to listen to that repetition factor. Not to mention, it suits KOJI to a tee (*^^*)

Ah! Listen to the way the brothers bounce their vocals work with each other. I think this one will be interesting to listen to Live just for the brothers’ vocals play (^^). My gentlemen, please include this one in any future Live DVD.

4. WIMP

Finally, finally,SWANKY DANK let themselves walk the talk. At last, a song that truly embodies that “the band that has the most influence on me is INCUBUS”. It started with double guitar attack by KO-TA and YUICHI. The melody didn’t surpress KOJI’s natural way of singing. It rocks but it lets KOJI’s natural melodic vocals shine. 

This song is the strongest track on this album. It has all the things this band can offer ......... double guitar attack, melodic singing, vocal harmonies, energetic drumming from SHUN, a bass break, guitar solo. It’s pretty obvious that KOJI really liked this song just from listening to it. You can feel that. He proved me right when he answered that WIMP is his favourite from this album in an interview on HAJIROCK.

I am grateful that this song had been chosen as the 2nd MV. One of my biggest gripes about SWANKY DANK is how clueless they are about the gems in their songs’ repertoire. This time they got it right! Yes \(^^)/

5. BAD GIRL

SWANKY DANK isn’t SWANKY DANK without that one song that makes me cringe XD. Musically, it’s fine but lyrically, it’s so cringe-worthy like Gentleman of Fortune all over again. Their grammar may not be perfect but no one can deny that the Matsuo brothers’ English pronunciation is near-native and that’s the thing........since you can clearly listen to the words,  you can hear what the song is all about.

Firstly, I don’t like the subject matter. Secondly, the Matsuo brothers are a bit too old for this kind of lyrics. Sorry, my beautiful gentlemen.

Who wrote these words? Was it you, YUI? Ok, I have a question. Why would you bother with a girl who would kiss you only if you had a lot of money? But looking at this, all he sees is how her body looks like. Hmm ..... 

Needless to say. After having ample multiple listening sessions for reviewing purpose, this song ended up as the one I happily skip now. Sorry.

6. IN THE END

This one certainly is in their “shadow side”. Another song worthy of their claim that “my strongest influence is INCUBUS”. This song also showcases KO-TA’s versatility. Listen to his “wah-wah” guitar solo here. Gentlemen, don’t ever let this man go. Keep him no matter what.

(c) Japanessie. It's mine \(^^)/ MAXIM's name was still listed on it. A bit sad to see it.

The band abandoned any form of screaming vocals on this album. So, don’t bother looking for those. 

Despite my personal taste, I don’t want the band to abandon the party happy Pop Punk Rock sound. After all, they do have fans who genuinely love those songs and come to the shows or buy the albums BECAUSE they want to hear such music. Besides, all the band members have always cited bands like Blink-182 and SUM41 as the bands they listened to in their formative years. 

My verdict:

If you love that party happy Pop Punk Rock sound, you won’t be disappointed with this album. The members are all good and versatile musicians after all. Though I did say songs from this genre are too similar but what sets SWANKY DANK apart from their Punk Rock peers is the “refined” quality that the Matsuo brothers bring with their songwriting and performance. There is nothing edgy about these two even if they try. Instead, what they have in abundance is “gentleness”, “refined” and “polished”. For those like me, who likes seeing a band breaking out of their shell and explore their real potential, WIMP and IN THE END will satisfy that, coupled with the Matsuo’s “inner quality” of getting it polished even when they’re pushing things to the edge.

[japanessie]

Japanese word いちゃいちゃ (i-cha i-cha)

I just learned a new word \(^^)/

KO-TA from SWANKY DANK posted this photo on IG and captioned it with this:

『今年もお兄ちゃんといちゃいちゃした夏でした』 “This year was still the Summer of being lovey dovey with big brother" 

I chose the terms “lovey dovey" here. He was basically “bromancing" with Onii-chan YUI onstage at Rock In Japan Festival. Well, these two practically play the “bromance" game at every show (*^_^*)

There are quite a number of meaning for いちゃいちゃ :

making out, flirt, billing and cooing (kissy and cuddly) etc

Whatever it is, the word is about “being affectionate" with each other. In other words, we can use いちゃいちゃ to describe “bromance" too XD