MUCC
is the latest in a line of Japanese rock bands to perform in the U.S.,
looking for new vistas to conquer. Miya, the guitarist, bassist Yukke,
drummer Satochi and singer Tatsuro, had a panel before a pair of Otakon
weekend concerts at a downtown Baltimore club. They chatted with fans
about how they had met in elementary and high school and gradually
formed the band. They noted that Japanese and American audiences
reacted differently, and were looking forward to experiencing that
difference at the Baltimore concert. Japanese bands have a growing
interest in reaching American audiences, they said, and MUCC would like
to lead that cross-Pacific pattern. While their sound may have evolved
in recent years - and they've been releasing albums only for four years
- the idea is the same; to give their audience music they can use to
forget their troubles.
MUCC
was making their U.S. concert debut on Friday of the Otakon weekend,
but some fans couldn't wait, crowding into a convention center ballroom
to see the performers and watch a video of a June concert in Japan.
While the band members followed the Japanese rockers' pattern of saying
they were influenced by Metallica from the west and Buck Tick in Japan,
Yuuke mentioned an artistic influence that was a pleasant surprise: the
late Jaco Pastorius, the American fusion-rock bassist who came to
prominence with the now-defunct Weather Report and may have been the
most influential bass player of the late 20th century. Yukke also said
he was a fan of the Tim Burton stop-motion feature film, The Nightmare
Before Christmas. "It's not just any one scene, it's Tim Burton," he
said.
MUCC
is the latest in a line of Japanese rock bands to perform in the U.S.,
looking for new vistas to conquer. Miya, the guitarist, bassist Yukke,
drummer Satochi and singer Tatsuro, had a panel before a pair of Otakon
weekend concerts at a downtown Baltimore club. They chatted with fans
about how they had met in elementary and high school and gradually
formed the band. They noted that Japanese and American audiences
reacted differently, and were looking forward to experiencing that
difference at the Baltimore concert. Japanese bands have a growing
interest in reaching American audiences, they said, and MUCC would like
to lead that cross-Pacific pattern. While their sound may have evolved
in recent years - and they've been releasing albums only for four years
- the idea is the same; to give their audience music they can use to
forget their troubles.
MUCC
was making their U.S. concert debut on Friday of the Otakon weekend,
but some fans couldn't wait, crowding into a convention center ballroom
to see the performers and watch a video of a June concert in Japan.
While the band members followed the Japanese rockers' pattern of saying
they were influenced by Metallica from the west and Buck Tick in Japan,
Yuuke mentioned an artistic influence that was a pleasant surprise: the
late Jaco Pastorius, the American fusion-rock bassist who came to
prominence with the now-defunct Weather Report and may have been the
most influential bass player of the late 20th century. Yukke also said
he was a fan of the Tim Burton stop-motion feature film, The Nightmare
Before Christmas. "It's not just any one scene, it's Tim Burton," he
said.
