Interpretation by Nate Shockey

 

Some people are simply born to do what they do. The blues is legendary for this: men and women who find dignity in low places through honesty of expression, and above all, perseverance.

So it shouldn't be much a surprise to discover that Toshiyuki "Kiku" Shibayama, one of Japan's early blues rock vocalists, is still going at the age of 62. He could easily pass for ten years younger, and his most recent band, Zi:LiE-Ya, is made up of similarly tough characters: guitarist Tatsuya Yamashita, ARB/SDR guitarist Koya Naito, and new rhythm section Seiichi Yamamoto (bass) and Shuu Sakai (drums.) They play unpretentious, loud rock 'n' roll, but infuse it with a personality that is as immediate as it is difficult to satisfactorily describe.

Recently, Shibayama-san and crew sat down with Jrawk in Shimokitazawa to discuss honesty in music, their upcoming CD Denki Namaz (Electric Catfish,) and plain old fashioned consistency.

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JR: What was your first exposure to rock music?

TY: AOR, Steely Dan, stuff like that.

KS: I grew up in Fukuoka, and there was a military base close by, which naturally meant there was the requisite military radio. I started listening when I was a little kid...lots of jazz, things that would never have been played on Japanese public radio. There was some pop, hit parade stuff on the military radio, but there would be some rock as well. I started listening to rock seriously right about middle school.

Koya Naito

JR: Is there a song that stands out for you?

KS: Elvis, Little Richard, especially "Lucille." At that time, I had only ever heard Kayou Kyouku (Japanese pops.) Later, there was the Kinks, especially "You Really Got Me." The way the guitar had that repeating melody that became the focal point of the song, instead of focusing on the vocals...that was almost unbelievable.

KN: My Mom was a big Elvis fan. When we were in the car, she'd play her Elvis 8-tracks. I didn't understand too much of it at the time, but I heard it all the time, and it grew on me. My first band was when I was fourteen.

SS: I was a pretty bad kid. I was into metal, but more than music, I loved hitting stuff! Drums were the natural choice, they're the most manly instrument! (laughs)

SY: Really, the only Japanese music I had heard before I got into rock was enka, which I didn't like. Even now, when I hear Japanese music, I hear Enka made into rock.

JR: So, how did the band come together?

SY: Miraculously! (everybody laughs) I'm actually pretty new. We lost our drummer last year, after I had been in the band for about two months. I had played with Shuu, so I recommended him.

KS: It's been seven years! It started when (original Zi: LiE-Ya drummer Haruhiko) Oshima-san asked me to sing for his new band. I wasn't sure at first, but there was some pretty good money, I figured I'd give it a shot. I was a bit reticent, since they were playing Sonhouse covers, but their sound was so different, it drew me in. Eventually, we started in with original material, and it's been seven years.

JR: Do you ever feel pressure to play like your old bands?

Tatsuya Yamashita

KS: Well, I've been in several bands after Sonhouse, and yeah, the fans would want more of the same. I was OK with this for a while, tried to give people what they wanted, but after a while, everybody gets sick of it. I did stuff like this for about 10 years, but it's different now. I'm a bit freer with it now. The audience is coming to see us, not coming to see "the new band from the Sonhouse guy." It's standing on its own, which is great.

JR: (To the rest of the band) What's it like to back a vocalist with as long a history as Shibayama-san?

KN: We definitely don't want to play to that anymore. We want to make our own, new sound. That said, there's no way to completely separate.

JR: How do the songs come together?

KN: We all come in with ideas, then work them out together. Pretty standard, except we start with the lyrics. That's pretty unusual.

JR: That has to present some difficulties.

KN: It can be pretty difficult sometimes. He'll give us a bunch at once, and we'll go through them and pick out the ones we think we can work with.

SY: We'll also go through them individually. Sometimes Koya-san will reject something that I think I can get to work.

JR: What would you do if you weren't in the band?

SS: I'd be dead! (laughs)

The upcoming Denki Namaz (Electric Catfish)

KN: If I had never heard rock, I'd probably just be a civil servant or a school teacher.

TY: (looks at the band's assistant) I Probably would have married her! (everybody laughs)

KN: (laughs) No you wouldn't!

JR: Whoops! Anyway...where did the title Denki Namaz (Electric Catfish) come from?

SY: We have ten songs for the new one, Koya-san wrote one with the title "Denki Namaz," and we agreed it was one of the best songs on the album, so we took it from that.

SS: Really? That's how it happened? (everybody laughs)

JR: What about rock music in Japan now? It doesn't seem to be as central to the music scene as it once was.

SY: In Japan, for some people, it can be hard to say what's what. You've got idols, pop, dance, and then rock. People just go by sound, not attitudes. People of our generation...rock got big as we grew up. The current generation, rock was already established when they grew up, so the lines aren't as clearly drawn. It's more of a fashion.

KN: I love all music: classical, reggae, rock, everything. I'm listening to something all the time. Bob Marley? Rock. Coltrane, Miles Davis...rock. Shu-san said it was a curse...I wouldn't necessarily say that...maybe possession.

Seiichi Yamamoto

KN: Actually, I started playing in bands to get girls! (everybody laughs)

JR: Yeah, that's pretty common everywhere.

KN: But kids today look more rock in terms of fashion, but rock isn't a fashion. It's attitude. John Lydon...he's punk. It's the attitude.

JR: In the West, rock has traditionally been music for rebellion. Was there much of an element here?

SY: I've never been a salaryman, I don't think I ever could be, so I think there's certainly an element of that. In that sense, yeah, I think there is a rebel spirit.

SS: Rock is about smashing things, fighting. If you're too laid back, you really couldn't do it, could you?

JR: There's a very strong eros in the band that goes back to Shibayama-san's work with Sonhouse. Why are there so few bands in Japan with this kind of libido?

KS: People, I think, are worried about how they'd be perceived. I think it's a question of lifestyle. Anybody, from the artist to the salaryman, does what they need to do, with any job. You do what you can, and take responsibility. Some people sing songs to become popular, then they move on. In music, if you have the right knowledge, you can essentially be an idiot and still be successful.

It's another thing entirely to get on stage and exist as yourself, and communicate that to the audience. To think for yourself and be that person on stage. Most bands...most people...are going to take the easy way. This isn't just in Japan, it's everywhere. Look at Mick Jagger. He's still doing what he wants to do.

KN: If it's done as a pose, it's not any good. You can't create anything interesting. If you're too impressed with yourself, it gets dull.

KS: Y'know what? I don't know. Why aren't there more honest people like that? (laughs)

Shu Sakai

With actors, when they play a scene, they want to be seen as real: that's what acting is. With rock, I think you have the opportunity to be more direct, more honest. Thing is, most people want to be seen as normal people. I don't really care about that. The record companies will often try to control their acts in this way, very image conscious. For example, I don't do drugs, so if I was singing about drugs, it would be fake: there's no reality to it. A lot of rock musicians today do this, sing about what they don't know. It shows.

I'm 62, and here I am. What I'd like to see is a young musician to come in and sing about these things.

JR: You've stuck with many of the same themes throughout your career. Do you do this intentionally? Do you ever feel limited by this?

KS: No (laughs) It's the most important thing for me. I'm the only person who can so this in my particular way. Other people can try, but it won't work, it's who I am. I intend to do this until I die.

JR: That's not all you sing about, of course, but I asked about it because there are so few people who take your approach.

KS: In a sense, they're love songs. That's how I think of them! I only sing about things I can take responsibility for. I sing what I know, I sing what I can do, and I do what I can sing about. Some people sing about other concerns: there's a war on, etc. But if you're so concerned, then go to the battlefield and stop the war! If you don't do that, all you're doing is singing the news. Who cares? Don't sing about it for the sake of singing about it. That's why I stick with what I know.

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