Kome Kome Club/HALCALI -- Roman Hiko (浪漫飛行）

I guess I should say 「ただいま！」 I'm back from my weeklong vacation, and I thought I should start things up on the blog by using this song. I would've done some stuff on the cruise ship but when Internet rates are 65 cents a minute, I thought I could wean myself off the Net for a week.

The first time I came across the eclectic band Kome Kome Club (米米クラブ）was through a TV commercial. They were singing "Funk Fujiyama", and the band struck me as a group of folks who looked as if they had been kidnapped and tortured by the Takarazuka acting troupe. But I gradually became a fan of theirs, and one of my few regrets about my time in Japan is that I never got a chance to see these guys in concert. Apparently, K2C was THE band to catch during the 90s with a showmanship that only Southern All Stars could rival.

Anyways, after "Funk Fujiyama" was Kome Kome Club's 10th single, "Roman Hiko"(Romantic Flight). Released in April 1990, it had that jaunty traveling beat and Tatsuya 'Carl Smokey' Ishii's(石井竜也） fun & mellow vocals. As someone had remarked for the video on YouTube, it sounds like an anticipated trip. The folks at Japan Air Lines at the time must've come to the same conclusion since the song was used as their campaign song for their Okinawa vacations. During my time in the karaoke rooms, "Roman Hiko" was also a favorite for folks behind the mike. The song is also included on the band's third album, "KOMEGUNY", which was actually released back in 1987. Talk about the slow way to become a hit.

"Roman Hiko" became the 2nd-most successful single of the year in 1990, just behind gimmick unit, B.B. Queen's "Odoru Ponpokorin".

Last year, Okinawan dance/singing duo, HALCALI, gave their own ska treatment of the song.. The two ladies are a fun pair to watch as well as hear (although the above video is of two other ladies performing the dance).