Melody KicK -- Steakhouse Master（ステーキハウスマスター）

 

I do love my steak! In fact, I whip up a few of them for my family on the occasional Friday. My father and I prefer medium-rare while my mother will accept nothing rarer than well-done. What has gotten rarer for me these days are any trips to a steakhouse here in Toronto. Price is one factor. When I have to start snarking about how much of a down payment I'm obliged to put down for my tenderloin, then it's time to avoid places like The Keg.

Earlier today, I came across this steak franchise that I'd never heard about called Smith & Wollensky. When the name of a steakhouse sounds like either a Manhattan brokerage firm or a law office, that's when I begin to worry. And according to the founder of this place, Alan Stillman, there is no real-life Smith or Wollensky involved...he just pulled the names out of a phone book. Apparently S&W restaurants can be found all across America and around the world, and perhaps the newest one opened up in Tokyo...naturally Ginza. Good golly...they do pull out all the stops.

Well, seeing it is Hump Day...I got to think about whether there are any steak-related kayo out there, someone who really loves the meat and the music. Noting that Japanese songwriters can and have written about anything under the sun, it certainly is possible. I did find one character who goes by the name of Melody KicK, and perhaps they come up with short instrumental ditties along the lines of Nash Music Library or it's a whole AI thing.

First off, I found their short 2025 EP "Oishii Steak ya-san de Nagareru Kyoku"（おいしいステーキ屋さんで流れる曲...A Song Played at a Good Steak Restaurant） on Apple Music, and up on YouTube, I could come across one of the tracks "Steakhouse Master". It's done in the rip-rousin' American country style as are the rest of the tracks. Having noted that however, the music up in the Smith & Wollensky video is distinctly in the jazz oeuvre; I definitely heard "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck in there. Maybe "Oishii Steak ya-san de Nagareru Kyoku" is more for the Ponderosa or Outback Steakhouse set.