Fifi behind the bar in Poor Cow.

Obvious as this may sound at first, there's never been a shortage of Western influence in Japanese rock 'n' roll...rock 'n' roll is American, after all...but far too often, the music inspired by Western bands never rises above the level of mindless duplication, or wannabe imitation. For some reason, relatively few musicians here see rock music as something to make their own, a launching pad for their own unique perspective. It's mostly fanboy posturing.

A few, however, become a genuine part of the ongoing phenomenon of rock 'n' roll. The deep sense of history remains, but these musicians are peers, not imitators: they are not merely the Japanese Ramones / Radiohead / Beatles / whoever. For two decades, Fifi has been a vital part of what he refers to as "dirty rock 'n' roll" with bands such as Teengenerate, American Soul Spiders, and The Tweezers. Currently, he's the vocalist / guitarist / main songwriter for Firestarter, a hard pop / punk outfit comprised mostly of fellow Teengenerate veterans. He's undeniably a hardcore Western music fanatic...his bar, Poor Cow, is covered with relics of the glory days of punk and power pop...but his music is part of it, not merely derived from it.

Recently, Jrawk visited Poor Cow to discuss the state of Japanese rock, the shame of mindless imitation, and how best to deal with authority...

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JR: OK, just to check: you were in American Soul Spiders, Teengenerate, The Tweezers, Firestarter...
 
Fifi: There's also Scum City.
 
JR: Scum City. Don't know that one.
 
Fifi: I was in that band for two years. We were a three piece, me and two other guys. They were beginners. We put out a CD. The guitarist is a photographer, he's a big fan of Firestarter. He wanted to take our picture all the time, and we ended up becoming friends. He had never played guitar before...I made his brother buy a bass. I was also...I'd never played drums before! Anyway, we just started.
 
JR: Who writes the songs?
 
Fifi: The two brothers, I just play.
 

Firestarter's debut (2000)

JR: Why do this when you have Firestarter?

Fifi: It was easy, I didn't have to write any songs. I just gave them ideas, they'd came up with the songs...easy, so I could do it. I used to be in a band called the Pushers, at the same time as Teengenerate.
 
JR: Many of your bands share members (Firestarter is mostly made of members from Teengenerate.) So why split up? Why make new bands, instead of continuing with the old names?
 
Fifi: The bands are a little different. I'll just get bored with the music we might be doing, and I just want some change.
 
JR: Are you a punk guy, or a pop guy?
 
Fifi: I like punk music, I like pop music, but I like rock n' roll. Dirty rock 'n' roll. That's what I want to do. I'm a dirty rock 'n' roll guy! (laughs) That's what I want to do.
 
JR: You have a strong sense of musical history, but you don't simply imitate. It seems that a lot of Japanese musicians have this fanatical devotion to one genre, but they don't really try to put their personal stamp on their music.
 
Fifi: (nods) Yeah, (Japanese musicians) have that tendency. These people are boring. Boring guys! Maybe they have no actual interest in music. They just want to play in a band, or something like that. They don't have any interest in the actual music.
 
JR: So why do it?
 
Fifi: People think being in a band is cool, so they form these bands. They don't last, they usually quit pretty quickly.
 
JR: When you write, do you try to write a specific type of song? Do you ever think "OK, now I'm going to write a power pop song"?
 
Fifi: (shakes head) No. When I was in The Tweezers, I was also doing Teengenerate with my brother. Teengenerate was dirty, easy, three chord, punk rock 'n' roll. I wanted to do another kind of music. In Teengenerate, my brother (Fink) wrote most of the songs. I only wrote one or two. For me, when I wrote songs, they just came out poppy. I didn't think about it.

The Tweezers' "Already!" (1997)

 
JR: Speaking of writing songs, you write Firestarter's stuff. Firestarter is three of the four Teengenerate guys, but they're poppier, although not as poppy as The Tweezers. Do you consciously try to avoid older styles, just to keep from repeating yourself?
 
Fifi: When I did The Tweezers, I liked writing songs. But when we played live, I was a little ashamed to play pop music. I was really into punk, I was a little ashamed of pop. So when I write for Firestarter, those songs are more punk.
 
JR: Why feel self conscious about The Tweezers?
 
Fifi: Back then, people were into punk, discovering the dirty and raw punk from stuff like Killed By Death. I was into that as well, but also into power pop. But in those days, not so many people liked it. I thought they might not understand our music. We were too early! Now, people like both, but back then, the power pop revival was new, just starting up. People didn't get it. I was a little bit embarrassed to play pop music to punk people. I wasn't ashamed myself, but it felt uncomfortable live.
 
JR: How did the audiences react?
 
Fifi: (thinks) Mixed reactions.
 
JR: Do you think they'd get a better reaction now?
 
Fifi: Yeah, I do.
 
JR: Speaking of older bands, you did some Teengenerate reunion shows in Australia.
 
Fifi: We'd been to the States, we'd been to Europe, but we'd never been to Australia! (laughs) It was a vacation!
 
We're really big fans of Australian punk, Radio Birdman, thinks like that. We also played with (Scientists mainman) Kim Salomon. He opened for us. Incredible.
 

Teengenerate's "Get Action" (1994)

JR: How different is the experience of playing live when you're outside Japan?
 
Fifi: It was almost a culture chock for me, for everyone in the band. Everything was cheap! I saw Sylvain Sylvain play in downtown New York. The show was free! Incredible! Sylvain Sylvain for free! That would never happen in Japan. The beer was very cheap...totally shocking.
 
In America, the shows start so late! In Japan, we'll start at 7, but in New York, 10 O'Clock, 11 O'Clock...totally different. Also, the money. In Japan, when you book a show, you have to sell a certain amount of tickets, otherwise you have to pay the club! That's the usual thing here.
 
JR: It must be really difficult to get a band started up here. Do you ever feel frustrated in getting a band going?
 
Fifi: Actually, I think it's easier to have a band here. Rehearsal spaces, live houses, they always have their own equipment. Drums, amps, anything. All you need to bring is a guitar. In The States, you need everything.
 
JR: Did your first international tour change the way you perform in Japan?
 
Fifi: A little bit, of course, after that culture shock!
 
JR: Your music has a lot of elements from the past, but it's not strict imitation. Do you think of yourself as a power pop band, or an 80s band?
 
Fifi: (thinks) Firestarter isn't a new band, we're not an old band. We're just a band. I don't want to just copy the music I love. When I write songs, I always check myself to make sure I'm not ripping anything off. If the song sounds too familiar, I'll abandon it!
 
JR: That's interesting, since a lot of rock 'n' roll bands just lift whole passages and put them into "new" songs...
 
Fifi: Shame on you! (laughs)
 
JR: What attracts you to this kind of music?
 
Fifi: Good music makes me feel great. Makes my life happier.
 
JR: Why these bands, though? The bands we're talking about have a fairly specific form: three minute pop songs, ten songs to an album...so why, say, Bram Tchaikovsky instead of Genesis?
 
Fifi: I like 45s! They only have a three minute capacity.
 
JR: Is there a tight group of people in Tokyo for this kind of music, power pop? You did The Tweezers with Tomoko from Supersnazz...
 
Fifi: I've been friends with Tomoko for almost 20 years. We met when she was in High School, we had a band...
 
JR: Which band?
 

Firestarter's "Livin' On The Heat" (2003)

Fifi: No name! We only played one show. But we started talking, discovered we had similar tastes. So when she was in Supersnazz, and I was in American Soul Spiders, we were always moving in the same circles, because back then, there were really only those two bands. We were alone.
 
JR: Did you grow up listening to Japanese rock? The vast majority of bands like this were foreign.
 
Fifi: When I was in Junior High School, I was a big fan of RC Succession. My friend turned me on to them. Then I got into the Rolling Stones, and after that, I started skipping the Japanese bands. I thought they were lower quality.
 
JR: Do you think they copy too much?
 
Fifi: That's it sometimes, but the production was usually pretty bad. I didn't think the songs were as good as the British or American stuff.
 
JR: Have you toured outside Japan with Firestarter?
 
Fifi: No. Our records aren't available outside Japan.
 
JR: Have you thought about making it more widely available?
 
Fifi: I did too much of that kind of stuff when I was in Teengenerate. Too many tours, stuff like that. Now, we have lives, things changed with us. We need to stay local.
 
JR: Changing the subject: was punk as confrontational in Japan as it was in the UK and US? Western punks were openly confrontational, getting arrested...
 

Teengenerate's "Smash Hits" (1995)

Fifi: (thinks) For me...I always say "fuck authority." Some bands reflect this also. But for me...fuck authority. Always!
 
JR: Was the music a symbol of rebellion?
 
Fifi: As a teenager, I wasn't that type of guy. But when I started a band, punk symbolized that. Fuck authority! (laughs)
 
JR: Do you think there's more copying in Japan as compared to other cultures?
 
Fifi: Always. In Japan, there are very few bands that make great music...you can count them on one hand. This is after 40 years! I don't have any hope that they'll start.
 
JR: Really? Why?
 
Fifi: Five bands in 40 years!
 
JR: Who?
 
Fifi: Badge, Zuno Keisatsu, Lizard, some of the Tokyo Rockers bands. I'm curious, who do you like?
 
JR: Well, I'm into psych and experimental rock, which isn't really mainstream, big rock 'n' roll. But for straight, Western style rock bands...why do you think it's so difficult for these kinds of bands to be great in Japan?
 
Fifi: (thinks) Joey Ramone said that if you want to make music for the future, you have to learn from the past. But in Japan, people don't explore. Only the Stones, The Clash, only The Ramones, only hardcore...they're too narrow.
 
JR: What would you change?
 
Fifi: I want to destroy all major labels in Japan. All radio stations. All television. I want to get rid of them all. They suck! (laughs) They've been boring from the start. They've always sucked! (laughs)