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| http://ginbae.info/fan/404 |
Rock’n
Roll
is such a broad term (second only to Jazz) that pretty much anything can be
stuffed into it but there’s no question THE
CRAZY RIDER Yokohama Ginbae (横浜銀蝿) ROLLING SPECIAL are
Rock’n Roll. Founded in 1980, they were
a classic drum (Arashi; 嵐) / guitar (Johnny) / bass (TAKU) /
guitar/vocal (Sho aka Xiang; 翔 ) group that lasted until 1983
(ending by mutual agreement). In 1998 Arashi, Sho, and TAKU revived
the group (Johnny was off doing his
own thing) and shortened their name to Yokohama
Ginbae (Yokohama Silver Fly). In 2002
they formed – for the summer – Shonan
Ginba which was then dissolved and reformed as THE CRAZY RIDER Yokohama Ginbae ROLLING SPECIAL RETURNS. Along the way Arashi survived a stroke, and his younger brother Sho a few busts for
methamphetamines. 2016 saw their 35th
anniversary and they have a series of concerts scheduled for 2018 with
originals Sho, Arashi, and TAKU still
at it (plus a few friends):
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| http://ginbae.info/bio |
Half of popular music is style and Yokohama Ginbae didn’t disappoint, wearing trademark sunglasses,
leather jackets, white pants, and riesent/regent hair. The guitar-driven songs have a definite Chuck-Berry-meets-the-Ramones feel – mostly short, fast, loud, and aggressive. Representative is their third single “Shogun Kaoru ‘Wolf Ryu” (羯徒毘路薫狼琉), a
turn-it-up-to-11 head-banger with a raucous call and response:
Sho likes
sound effects and recorded motorcycles and rain, the latter used to great effect
in his lovely and wistful “Rainy Shonan Street” (雨の湘南通り) from
their third album “仏恥義理蹉䵷怒”:
A surprise was hearing the background falsetto taken from
“Little Darlin’” by Maurice Williams & the Gladiolas (later
a cover-hit by the Diamonds, a group
from – Toronto). Coupled with the mid-song spoken section we’ve moved into doo-wop territory, so Yokohama
Ginbae were certainly not one-chord wonders. (I’ve linked the best quality audio version but if you go to the one posted by TOSI5944
and read the Comments, you’ll find this group and song deeply affected a lot of
people.).
TAKU was
responsible for writing quite a few songs for others, among them Iwai Sayuri (“Dream-Dream-Dream”) and Junko
Mihara (“Love Me Good” and “Suddenly Love” – I believe the only 2
of her songs she meows in). He’s still active in the industry and you
should check out his very entertaining site:
And I have to post their second single
from 1981: “Tsuppari High School Rock’n
Roll” for a new generation:
30 years later, ensuring there will be no yankii shortage !
Hello, T-cat.
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting up Yokohama Ginbae. Since I'm not too knowledgeable about the Japanese rock scene, it's good when someone can bring in some of the "hard liquor".
Indeed, especially after listening to "Rainy Shonan Street", I think Yokohama Ginbae's material is a lovely tribute to the 1950s and a reflection of what Yoyogi Park was providing back in the late 70s and early 80s.
Some of the trials and tribulations that the individual band members were going through as you mentioned above sound perfect for a hard-living rock-and-roll band.:)
Hi J-C: yep, didn't hear a lot of city pop influence in there. This is actually a small excerpt from an article I started writing last month that was turning into a book (7 groups, 17 vids at last count). So as not to abuse your hospitality and patience I've decided to extract abridged bits, with 2 more to come - all musically related but different artists (and not yet covered). Thank you for the opportunity!
ReplyDeleteHi, T-cat. By all means, bring out those abridged bits. Will be happy to read them. And when that book comes out, let me know!
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