‘SCANDAL’ TAKES AMERICA BY STORM
A spunky quartet of Osaka schoolgirls has done something that megagroups AKB48 and Morning Musume have not been able to pull off: Bring a live teen-girl J-pop act on a national tour and wake up the slumbering American pop-music scene as a result.
Granted, these kids called “SCANDAL” are more than a few steps from greatness. But the sophisticated, enthusiastic March 21 crowd at The Independent loved SCANDAL's jackhammer seven-song set that opened the San Francisco stop on the eight-city Japan Nite 2008 tour that ends Sunday [March 23] in L.A.
Yes, they performed “Oh, You Are the Play-Boy!” and six other hard-rock numbers before a packed-out Independent audience – but only after everyone got over the initial shock of seeing the clean-cut, low-key, uniformed teens take the stage, replete with stuffed anime characters and sequined guitars.
SCANDAL has yet to officially release a single, although manager Ohira Taichi insisted that three singles and a full album are in the works. Precious few sample CDs of "Space Ranger," the first such single planned for Japanese release in April, were snapped up by hungry fans Friday.
This tour – which started its lightning 10-day run in Austin, Texas on March 14 and then New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver and Seattle before wrapping up in San Francisco and L.A. – far exceeded expectations in jump-starting SCANDAL’s idol-singing career, Taichi said.
“In all cities the reaction has been very positive,” Taichi said calmly. “This is just what we were hoping for.”
The group’s upbeat blog, in Japanese, is at: http://www.myspace.com/scandal4
OK, now for the hard part. How good are they really, and how does the group break down? The answers are “very good” and “excellent,” respectively. A quick thumbnail of each member, presented by Taichi and from first-hand viewing and hearing of the March 21 show, follows:
*** Haruna Ono, front girl, vocals and rhythm guitar: This 19-year-old is in the middle mainly because of showmanship and motion, not necessarily playing or singing skill. She wears Ami Tokito-style glasses most of the time but sheds them come performances. Otherwise, she would lose them in the balcony somewhere in short order.
*** Mami Sasazaki, lede guitar, some vocals: This 17-year-old, who bears a vague resemblance to Maasa of Berryz Kobo, can stretch and play complex bar chords despite her relative inexperience. She does finger a few ledes, but uses chord bursts with plenty of fuzztone to get the point across. Bombastic, if not a little pitchy on occasion (although, in all fairness, some pitch variations affected the other more experienced bands in this particular show).
*** Tomomi Ogawa, bass and lede vocals: It doesn’t really say she is the lede vocalist, but she is clearly the most dominant singer, and is probably able to do it because electric bass is simply not as intense as regular guitar. A very big voice, strong middle range, somewhat like Yurina of Berryz Kobo. At 17, already a polished musician.
*** Rina Suzuki, percussion: Saved the best for last. Youngest, 16, and the stunning looker of the bunch. Doesn‘t really remind me of anyone in Hello Project, except maybe Airi Suzuki of °C-ute fame (I don’t think they’re related) And don't let those delicate looks fool you. Rina has big-time percussion skills. Big-time..
Overall, quite an impressive package, and look for them to rise in popularity, but maybe not that quickly in Japan because of the preponderance of schoolgirl-idol groups. The main difference with SCANDAL is that they actually play live – and do a darn good job of it.
This is Radicalipton signing off – for now.
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Comments
ANYWAY, I'm disappointed I missed Scandal's Chicago show.
Second of all, my real point for posting here...who is the artist currently playing on your blog? I like what I hear, but I don't see an artist name anywhere on the page.
Thanks!
- Zac
Sounds like a great show indeed! Glad to hear you enjoyed them. How were the other bands? Did Scandal totally steal the show or were there other great ones too? :)
(Also, did you manage to grab me one of those CD's...?)
@Henkka: Yes, the other three bands I was able to see were outstanding. That includes The Emeralds, Ketchup Mania and Detroit7. I had a close encounter with D7 and the famed left-handed, barefooted, amazing guitarist-singer Tomomi (detailed blog at: http://bloggerparty.com/crazy_date_with_j_rock_s_nabana_of_detroit7
However, I ran into a little trouble and missed Petty Booka and The Beaches (Chris stuck around and will likely blog about them).
Concerning Scandal, for high-school kids they played exceptionally well. I was right on top of them and studied their technique. It's solid. The lede guitarist Mami has great potential, being just 17 now. Haruna has the potential to be an Ami Tokito-type of front girl, only she plays guitar and moves very well! The drummer, 16, is off the charts for a kid her age, and in J-rock it's all about the beat.
CDs: Damn they ran out but I am promised some from Hit & Run and will forward one to you asap when I get them. It's just a single, but something.
@Catch: Aoi Teshima is the artist; the song is commonly known as the "Teru Song" and several versions are on YouTube and other places.
Good to hear. I enjoyed reading your report on Detroit7 too. :) So wait, SCANDAL were the "headliners" but they played first on the show? :o That's a bit unusual! It was cool to see what SCANDAL really looks like in real life, too! Like the traditional schoolgirl outfits. :)
Ah, too bad about the CD's. I look forward to hearing from you if you are able to get some!
Ah, I see. Well that kind of makes sense then. :) Might've also been because there were probably many there just to see SCANDAL first and foremost, so it'd make sense to have them perform first and not have all the SCANDAL fans ruin the show for fans of the more "obscure" bands performing. :)
Hmmm... that sounds considerably difficult actually, haha. Any chance the plain, good old PayPal would work for you instead?
And I need to know your PayPal email and the amount you need! :) You can probably get my shipping info through PayPal though when I send the payment, right? If not, I'll just email it to you.