The fuzz, the blood and the beer – an interview with Go Devils, Acid Eater and the Baitones

This is an old interview but a good and fun one and anyway there’s no new content for me to translate (SEND ME STUFF…). Well, as per usual, the shit I love isn’t popular so nobody’s interviewing, reviewing, blogging about, or otherwise obsessing over the coolest bands I’ve ever heard… and so it ever goes. But I have a few “historic” interviews and things like this one lined up. This interview is from around 15 years ago for the release of the comp/3-way split “Demonic Freak Scene,” put out on Timebomb Records. The interview was done by Tsune from Young Parisian. It was originally published in a chopped-up form in Doll magazine but here’s the whole thing. 

Welcome to the Psychedelic Jungle

Time Bomb Records is proud to announce the release of “Demonic Freak Scene,” a compilation with three of the best freak-out bands from Osaka’s psychedelic jungle, the Go-Devils, the Baitones, and Acid Eater. Here’s an interview with the Go-Devils’ Momo (vo/g) and Angie (b), the Baitones’ Dai (vo/g) and Miwa (d), and Acid Eater’s Mazo Yamazaki.

– Let’s start with the Go Devils.

Dai: I first saw them about ten years ago. Go-Devils were the

Dark The Giant gets its ass into gear after 22 years!

Here’s an interview with Dark The Giant, a band that’s toiled and suffered and worked their asses off in every kind of shitty situation for over two decades. Well… to be honest, I think they were busy or doing other things? (sorry, Keisuke!) But last year they got a human infusion of rock and roll called Masaya and now they’ve put out their first single on Stay Free Label. The interview was done by Tsune from Young Parisian and appeared in a Japanese punk rock magazine. 

There’s nothing like punk and power pop based rock and roll that hits you with a blast of power and melody that’s over-the-top catchy and not even trying to hide its love of US and UK rock from the 90s to today. The band I’m talking about is Dark The Giant, a “rookie” band of 22 years that’s now, way too late, putting out its first single. The single features four scorching rock and roll tunes whose production was overseen by Firestarter’s Fifi. It’s a great first release that’s better late than never.

 ―Thanks a lot for sitting down to… (K-suke is slowly pulling a pile of CDs from his bag)… What are you doing?

K-suke – Just in case you asked me about our roots (laughs).

―I’ve interviewed people for a long time and this is a first (laughs). Let me start by asking you, you’re the guitarist of Firestarter, but you’ve also been doing Dark The Giant all along, right?

Jumping in the night – Rock and roll in Fukuoka

This is Nakagami-san’s blog post about a trip to Fukuoka with Ruler. The original Japanese post is here. 

In early January, for probably the first time in like then years, I went to Fukuoka. The last time was probably with Rockbottom. Over the last few years I’d set up some shows with Hirashima in Fukuoka for Raydios, Tweezers and Beat Caravan, but

Dark the Giant releases first single “Diamond”

Dark the Giant’s single is coming out! Original post is here.

Dark the Giant takes 70s punk and power pop and twists them into a whole new sound that’s both powerful and filled with sweet melodies. Their first single “Diamond” (7-inch with download code) came out on March 8 and they’re playing a free release show on Friday, March 16. 

Pushers Forever, Forever Pushers

Here’s a blog post from Target Earth Blog about yet another cool Tokyo band from twenty years ago that you’ve never heard of but should. Their recently reissued CD on Mangrove Label is available here. 

The Pushers were together for about a year around 1994 and they only played about ten shows. Now, their demo cassette, the only thing they ever put out, is getting an official release 23 years later and they played a show to commemorate the occasion.

The members were

Talent Show “3 Tunes” cassette and download out now!

Time for a little shameless self-promotion! You can get my band Talent Show’s “3 Tunes” cassette through Record Shop Base’s online store here, or come see us on 2/24 at Nishi-Ogikubo Pit Bar with Litters, Car Crash, the Savages, and Silver Wigs. THERE AREN’T MANY LEFT (I think…). And I don’t wanna hear yer whining about how you don’t have a tape player. I don’t either! It comes with a free download, so you can get the tunes off that internet thingy and put it on your phone thingy or whatever it is you kids do these days. 

Description from Record Shop Base:

New in stock!!

This is the 3-song cassette from

Sayonara, Shinjuku Jam

At the end of 2017, Shinjuku Jam closed its doors. This was a place many a Tokyo rock freak spent many a night shouting incoherently with their fists in the air while their favorite band played at max volume on the stage.

My personal fave memory there is when the Dogs played and I lost my shoe in the mosh pit. After the song was over, Loren said into the mic, “Anybody lose a shoe?” while holding up my bar floor goo covered Converse, which somehow got passed back to me goo covered but fine. This is Nakagami-san’s post about Jam from the Target Earth blog. 

In the days leading up to Shinjuku Jam closing its doors at the end of 2017, it had a series of shows that devolved into wild parties to send off the iconic Tokyo venue. I organized one of those shows and I want to write here about Jam and my show there.

Jam opened in 1980, originally as a rehearsal studio. Many people know it for that, but for me and my friends, we know it as a rock club where we saw some of our favorite bands play over the years. It closed

Tweezers ”Already” reissue liner notes

Here’s the Tweezers one and only LP “Already,” originally released in 1997 but now remastered on CD with added bonus tracks.

As I recall, the Tweezers were formed around 1995. Wow, already more than twenty years ago. You could call them sort of a

Shaky City!

Tweezers ”Already” remastered and reissued with bonus tracks!!

These guys are friends of mine…

New from Timebomb Records！

A remastered edition of the Tweezers “Already” is set for release on August 18 on CD and LP, along with a new previously unreleased 7″ EP!

Twenty years after the release of the band’s sole full-length, “Already” has been remastered and is hitting stores August 18. The Tweezers