On the 2000 WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? tour in Japan, we were lucky enough to play with heaps of killer bands. Sharing the stage with CRUCIAL SECTION, LIE, SHIKABANE, 324, FUCK ON THE BEACH, SLIGHT SLAPPERS (and that's just Tokyo!) was somewhere between awesome and intimidating, but as is often the case in the US, it was the more out of the way (or at least off the foreign touring band circuit) that really killed it - even though the shows were smaller, playing in Okayama, Fukuyama, Nagasaki and Fukuoka was worth the whole damn trip. There were some kids at one of those shows that didn't fit the Japanese punk mold...they cooked food before the show and wanted to talk about Ebullition Records and the then current crop of US hardcore bands more concerned with emotion and community as opposed to those focused on fashion and thrashing. And they were as powerful live as they were friendly in person. 1000 TRAVELS OF JAWAHARLAL are certainly emo so the more stringent among you are welcome to move right along (and please come back tomorrow), but these are brilliantly written heartfelt hardcore songs delivered with total honesty. The excellent Owari Wa Konai 12" came out in 2003, has been blogged relentlessly in the new millennium, and I highly recommend it. Don't get me wrong, seeing GAUZE for the first time was still the highlight of that trip, but meeting these kids could not have been more refreshing.
3 comments:
I've always admired 1000 Travels of Jawaharlal's ability to exhale melodic aggression with their strings, tempo and vocals (i.e. passion). Hearing this demo for the 1st time really magnifies what they have accomplished with their aforementioned 12" and split they did with Minority Blues Band. Some can label them emotive hardcore/emo/screamo/melodic punk or what have you, but the end result is something that transcends any of those sub genres of punk and is one of many reasons I get my male panties wet every time a Japanese band arrives within my musical crosshairs. I just adore this band (and just about anything Japan has to offer). I'm sure I'm not alone in that department. Great!
yesyesyes this is so incredibly good.
Some friends of mine who were in the band Light The Fuse And Run did a tour with these guys--in Europe, I believe. When they got back, the singer of LTFAR told me that everyone said 1000 Travels were emo, but he just thought they sounded like Leatherface. Apparently at one point during the tour he asked the singer for 1000 Travels whether he liked Leatherface, and the guy got really excited. So that's definitely a piece of the puzzle as well. Great band, regardless.
Post a Comment