The Molice -- Headphone

 

I haven't written about the Buffalo, New York State-based rock band The Molice since 2021 when we were all swamped with COVID and its consequences. At the time, the band led by vocalist/guitarist Rinko was back in Japan, not being able to return to The Queen City. I'm not sure about now though; hopefully, they have long resumed their activities. The first song I covered by them was "Hello, Hello".

Recently, I encountered their 2008 song "Headphone" which chugs away with their hard rock style and Rinko's rapid-fire patter. The video is interesting as The Molice performs in cramped quarters as if they were trying to impress Marie Kondo or spark joy and the ancient inspiration for NHK's "Tiny Desk Concerts".  There's also something about Rinko's slinkiness in this one which reminds me of Gail from "Letterkenny".

The Molice -- FATEMA

 

I heard last night on CNN that there were going to be a number of elections in the United States today including the mayoral ones in Atlanta, New York City and Buffalo. Well, in the last several months, Buffalo, New York has kept reminding me of this Japanese band, but first in keeping with the tradition when it comes to an article about The Molice, I will provide another memory of a Buffalo-based television show from my childhood.

Looking at this wonderful rewind video of "The Commander Tom Show" through the YouTube channel "Forgotten Buffalo Tour", I hadn't realized that: 1) it started on WKBW-TV in 1965, the year of my birth (I'd thought it was around a whole lot longer), and 2) it was once called "The Superman Show". And sure enough, Commander Tom was how I was first introduced to The Man of Steel via the 1950s show "Adventures of Superman" in both its black-and-white and colour versions with its star being George Reeves.

"The Commander Tom Show" was an afternoon show so I saw it after racing home from school, and it along with the morning "Rocketship 7" made for my Buffalo children's TV tandem. The handsome WKBW weather forecaster Tom Jolls (reminded me of The Professor from "Gilligan's Island") was the host of the show. I never knew about the human characters that had popped up early there; to me, the Commander's buddies were the puppets such as Dustmop the Dog. Of course, being the callow not-so-little boy at the time, I had always wondered why he appeared later in the evening on "Eyewitness News" out of his red uniform and giving out those numbers called temperatures.

And once again, we're back here to introduce another raucous number and accompanying super-trippy music video by rock band The Molice. I'm still unsure whether vocalist Rinko, guitarist Yuzuru Takeda and drummer Hirofumi “Paro” Katsumoto have been able to get back to Buffalo from Japan, but considering that a translating colleague is finally going to be able to make her way back from that country to Toronto very soon, I'm pretty hopeful that the band will also be able to head over to Western New York once more as well.

"FATEMA" is a track from The Molice's 2012 album "Neugravity" and apparently this Fatema is one of the most influential folks around since Rinko sings about wanting to join them on their adventures worldwide. The guys rock out as usual and the melody is fun and easy to follow just like it is with following Fatema. Plus the video is something that is weirdly wacky enough to have its slot in my old "City Limits" late-night show of the musically strange.

The Molice -- Ms. PANIC

 

Almost a year ago, I put up an article about this Buffalo, New York-based Japanese rock band called The Molice. Well, the fact that there was a Japanese rock band just across Lake Ontario in Buffalo was enough to grab my attention but then when I listened to their "Hello, Hello", I received all these memories from The Go-Gos and Heart.

Well, I guess this will begin a tradition whenever I write up an article about The Molice, but as I did for "Hello, Hello", I can start off here by talking about another beloved Buffalo WKBW Channel 7 show that my brother and I used to watch as kids on early morning TV. This would be "Rocketship 7" which lasted in its initial run between 1962 and 1978. It was hosted by weatherman Dave Thomas, and he is the first of three Dave Thomas' I got to know on television before Second City's veteran comedian Dave Thomas and the founder of Wendy's hamburgers Dave Thomas. His son, David Boreanaz, has gone on to even bigger fame as a television actor on "Bones", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "SEAL Team".

It was always nice to wake up to the epic theme song for "Rocketship 7" and then catch Dave bantering with his buddies on board, Biff Beeper, Promo the Robot (who could actually disco in the later years) and the Sweetleys.

Anyways, back to the band at hand. From their debut album "Doctor Ray" (2008) is "Ms. PANIC" which starts off with a catchy and clanging drum-and-guitar riff before we get sultry vocalist Rinko who, despite all of the groovy raucousness around her, is not in any panic mode at all. She's completely in control, and this time, I hear some sexy Blondie and even some Ramones emanating from the song.

The official music video for "Ms. PANIC" enhances things with this monochrome avant-garde intro consisting of a really thin slice of Kobe beef (maybe) and a drain getting doused in dark liquid. Then, it looks like the band is really getting down in an old-style washroom (no dirty thoughts, please). I think that this would have made for an ideal entry on an episode of "City Limits", my favourite late-night show for the unusual music videos, although I would have had to turn down the volume considerably.

From what I've read on their website log, The Molice are still in Japan. But hopefully when things really do recover for everyone on Earth, they will make their way back to Buffalo to perform again in their home away from home. Up until then, may they stay safe and healthy and The Molice.

The Molice -- Hello, Hello

Buffalo, New York is an old companion of mine. Sorry to say, I have never visited the city separated from Toronto by one Great Lake, but it's been with me since I was a baby through television. My connection with the Big Three networks of ABC, NBC and CBS...even before cable...was all through their Buffalo affiliates. I got to know about all of those sitcoms such as "Bewitched", "Green Acres" and "The Odd Couple" along with "Star Trek" and "The Twilight Zone". There were also the local programs from Buffalo such as "Dialing for Dollars", "Rocketship Seven" and all of those bowling shows. And last but not least, I will never forget the legendary anchorman Irv Weinstein on WKBW's (the ABC affiliate) "Eyewitness News". He's the one who taught me about all those places around The Queen City with those amazing names of Batavia, Cheektowaga and Lackawanna.

So, you can just imagine my surprise on finding out that a Japanese rock band is based not across from the Pacific Ocean in Tokyo or Osaka but simply across Lake Ontario in the very city that I was talking about in the first paragraph. Now, just to be transparent about all this, last week, The Molice was kind enough to follow me on Twitter, and so with that name, I was curious what this was all about.

Now, according to their profile on their website, The Molice has been around since 2007 and includes Rinko on vocals/rhythm guitar, guitarist Yuzuru Takeda and drummer Hirofumi “Paro” Katsumoto who joined up in 2015. As for their style, I'll quote directly from their site:

Drawing inspiration from 70’s punk DIY spirit, 80’s new wave stylish power pop, and 90’s unchained indies guitar rock, the band has hammered out their own sound while playing in Tokyo’s numerous rock venues and on tour in North America, Europe and Asia. This East/West hybrid sound has a wide appeal by being both catchy and edgy, incorporating rock n’ roll, classical, dance, shoegaze, alternative, and post-hardcore elements. Rinko sings primarily in Japanese, but in a melodic rock style, in contrast to the more popular idol singing style in Japan. Her lyrics are often romantic, but sometimes venture into sci-fi, inspired by movies such as Blade Runner and Fahrenheit 451.

With all of those influences in there, I was quite intrigued, especially with the genres included from those three different decades as described in the first sentence of that quoted paragraph. Although I never got into the 90s indies scene, I started imagining about those 70s and 80s influences and wondered if there were something Pretenders, early Blondie or something of the members of The Go-Gos before they hit it big with their New Wave/pop hits.

I checked out some of their material including their latest from this year, "The Ray", but I was also drawn to their 2018 "Hello Hello" from their album "Gate". "Hello Hello" is definitely a rolling rodeo across the prairie, and Rinko's singing reminds me of The Go-Gos' Belinda Carlisle when she was singing "We Got The Beat", but the overall arrangement also has me thinking about Heart's 1977 hit "Barracuda" to a certain extent.

Now, as a number of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" veterans probably already know, I'm not a huge rock fan so the above paragraph is about as good a description as I can give on my impressions of "Hello Hello", but if you J-Rock fans out there have more precise impressions, please let me know. The only other observation that I have is that I did pick up the melodic rock described from their profile. There's a nice little pop in the song to help the rock go down for me.

According to their News page, the band has been in Japan since COVID-19 hit and that has been the case with a lot of singers and bands this year. So, unfortunately, they've been sidelined but are hoping to get back up and running as soon as things improve. When they do return to Buffalo, I hope that they will learn about the legend that is Irv!