|
Post by tangerinesun on Feb 3, 2017 18:02:37 GMT -5
O.B. by Maruyama-han, after Osamu-senseiAbout how I was already looking at the band anyway http://instagr.am/p/BQBFYDGgGSx Accorinrin, Hiro-chan, Pop, Yoyoyoshie, in their post-2016 UK Tour dresses and mostly shorter hair. Nice! And now, how it came to be... [ Drawing of a pregnant woman with too much free time ] 8th revision, continuing our unbroken advances here and there, girls' band Otoboke Beaver once again in the manner of the master Tezuka ◎samu. Can I just say, I'm glad the girls are at least recognizable. (Maru) Otoboke BeaverYou be the judgeEarlier the same day... I've been drawing pictures all this time, athough now I'm going to sleep. Public release at sunrise. Oh, I want to eat a tempura bowl. Girls are fun to draw. (Maru)Since I slept late today, I'm drawing pictures while my husband's at work. Truly, I think illustrators and manga artists are amazing. It can't be the same thing as me drawing in my spare time. Their speed! But-but-but! The girls are finally good enough to hang. 〜〜〜〜〜 Any friend of Otobi... Maruyamahan is Tomoko Maruyama, who's at home on leave growing a baby and writing "a funny pregnant-woman blog." Cartooning keeps her sane, instead of knitting booties. Tomoko Maruyama's Food Aversions 2 〜You never know, it might be bad to eat after all〜 blog.livedoor.jp/maruyamahan/ When she's on a longer tether, Maru works and sings/plays guitar solo, also for The Maruyamahan and Kamogawa Quartet of Kyoto ("Marukamo Band" for short). The other members of Marukamo have side projects as well, but Maru seems to be the driving wheel. Why Kamogawa?The Kamogawa, Wild Duck River, runs through the middle of Kyoto. Maru says it's her favorite place in summertime. Marukamo Band Self Description: Gal-band that resist calling themselves a girls' band (embarrassing), as a practical solution say "sukeban". Gāruzubando Gyaruban Sukeban
| Girls' Band Gyaru Band, "Gal" Band Boss Girl
| Something you see at J-Pop Fest A band of scary girls from a certain fashion clique '70s slang title for the leader of a quasi-criminal girl-gang |
From suke, literally helper or assistant, but dismissive slang for any female equivalent to "chick", plus bancho, gang leader. To hold her position, the sukeban is expected to be the baddest of the badass delinquents in her squad. Marukamo have a 5-song mini-album for sale. One song, "Tokyo Crow" has a PV on YouTube. トーキョー・カラス — Tokyo Crow2015 MAY 21 by MEETS GARL BOY (04:58) Maruyama and Kamogawa Quartet "Tokyo Crow" BOY MEETS GIRL Vol.4 A project of the musicians x a young film director we met at Moon World Travel Inc. Directed by Yuma Shibata.
[ Organizer ] Find You Digital / Kyoto City [ Co-hosts ] Downtown Kyoto Music and Film Festival / BAR USAGIVo./Gt. Tomoko Maruyama experiences two timelines with a common origin in her cramped Kyoto apartment. 〜〜〜 Marukamo Band Twitter @marukamo_bandThe header is a closeup of raw meat Marukamo Band Jimdo blog marukamoband.jimdo.com/
|
|
|
Post by tangerinesun on Feb 12, 2017 20:06:59 GMT -5
UK dates are all announced
Golden Week is the national Spring Break. Everybody feels they're expected to go away somewhere and have the kind of ambitious good time that would be hard to accomplish without the week off.
This is how Otobi are spending theirs. Yaro-zo—!
|
|
|
Post by tangerinesun on Feb 13, 2017 3:14:10 GMT -5
$200 over goal with 15 days left at Kickstarter
1433 progressive souls averaging ~$45USD per pledge made this solicitation a success.
This is no time to stop. It's billled as travel expenses for SXSW in Austin, but the reality is that it's cash for the travel slush fund and simply makes it less personally draining for the band to travel and play anywhere.
US foreign worker fees I realize now that the most fundamental problem with making any money on a short US tour was never explained properly.
It's a two-way boobytrap. You can come into the country as a performer and do your act, if you can meet certain tests of your international standing and cultural value. If you can't do that, you just need a better lawyer. But it's still a (low) hurdle.
That does not entitle you to open your guitar case outside a train station and start collecting quarters. The performer's visa is issued on the assumption that you're here for one or more official events sponsored by an American company.
That's where the secondary trap is sprung. To pay you, the event promoter has to contract with you. And to contract with you, they have to pay a fee to the Federal government, which fee is calculated to make you more expensive than homegrown talent.
The obvious intent is job protection for US workers. I don't think it functions quite as officially intended.
The fees are not nearly enough to keep software companies from vacuuming up every available info-tech worker from India on an H1-B visa. So the market for many high-paying, high-skill jobs is stuffed with foreign labor.
At the low-end of the scale, companies who employ low-skill labor are discouraged from trying to bring in foreign workers on work visas. So they employ workers who are here on no visa at all, which is even cheaper.
Who gets shut out? The foreign workers who are locked out are the highly visible but not so high-earning ones like our friends in Otoboke Beaver and Shonen Knife. In either case, they'd have to play to a lot of people — a couple thousand or more? — just to cover the fees charged to their US "employer".
On a 6-week tour, a trio like Shonen Knife would be playing the first third of the dates at zero return, merely to cover employment tax and costs of being on the road. Following that, it'd be for profit, after all other expenses associated with the entire trip.
It's only direct merch sales that cast a ray of light on this picture.
Otoboke Beaver's a quartet, with a correspondingly worse tax burden to overcome, and altogether a harder time drawing customers.
So our homeland is safe from unknown foreign bands that want to flood our scruffy venues with their cut-rate punk rock. Except for Kickstarter. What are they trying to do the US music scene? Bad, must investigate.
|
|
|
Post by tangerinesun on Feb 27, 2017 18:28:54 GMT -5
Accorinrin's insecurities
I have a fear of being like this in photographs sometimes
She also thinks her voice sounds too twee on their CDs, and losing 3kg is her most recent tweetable credit. There needs to be some slack in that stage costume for all the tour food they're going to experience.
They were mixing the forthcoming EP release around mid-month. There was a practice-room whiteboard tease of song titles:
Today is Otoboke Beaver practice ☺️👍
1. SHINE 2. Mirror 3. 切 (?) いしつ sorry, haven't a clue 4. 崩壊リカバリー (Houkai RIKABARI, Breakdown Recovery) 5. シロツメクサ (Shiro tsumekusa, White Clover)
That is some average-to-atrocious handwriting. They block-print the English with serifs on the I, and scrawl the kanji like they're drunk.
Kickerstart travel funding: $1,672 pledged of $1,242, $430 over goal 35 backers 〜15 hours to go
|
|
|
Post by tangerinesun on Mar 1, 2017 19:24:15 GMT -5
SXSW media windup begins for real
National Public Radio in the US picked Otobi for their Austin Hot 100 list, complete with a downloadable MP3 of "S'il Vous Plaît". Now everyone can listen to Accorinrin squealing PEEEEEEEEEANUTS for free. If Damnably's been nudging for this to happen, then nice work. 〜〜〜 There's a D/L link for all 100 of NPR's selected tracks on the web page. npr.org/2017/03/01/517751061/the-austin-100OB occur bout halfway down the page, because alphabetical order. NPR's music editor Steven Thompson said, "The poppy-but-blistering equivalent of 15 consecutive exclamation points."Right on, except for the "poppy" part. A 900MB zip file.
|
|
|
Post by thegl0r on Mar 5, 2017 16:12:34 GMT -5
Interesting announcement from Damnably about Otoboke Beaver in US...
Hmm, live streaming of gigs where possible eh. Does that mean we'll all get to see OB in the US while sitting at home in the comfort of a favourite chair?
|
|
|
Post by tangerinesun on Mar 5, 2017 16:51:58 GMT -5
Interesting announcement from Damnably about Otoboke Beaver in US... Hmm, live streaming of gigs where possible eh. Does that mean we'll all get to see OB in the US while sitting at home in the comfort of a favourite chair? Reasons to be cheerful. It's far from a promise. I'm going to charter a plane so all the UK forum members can attend SXSW live, where possible. If they are smart and the stars line up, then non-badgeholders will have some ability to get in after all the VIPs are accommodated. Maybe. Still, that live stream at an hour when you are busy or asleep sounds pretty interesting.
|
|
|
Post by thegl0r on Mar 6, 2017 16:46:20 GMT -5
Interesting announcement from Damnably about Otoboke Beaver in US... Hmm, live streaming of gigs where possible eh. Does that mean we'll all get to see OB in the US while sitting at home in the comfort of a favourite chair? Reasons to be cheerful. It's far from a promise. I'm going to charter a plane so all the UK forum members can attend SXSW live, where possible... I have previously been inside George Damnably's phone. An interesting experience, but no substitute for actually being at the gig. So I'm hoping that the stars line up right.
|
|
|
Post by tangerinesun on Mar 16, 2017 3:26:09 GMT -5
14 March — We premiere 'Love Is Short' from the Kyoto four-piece's second EP, ahead of their U.S. debut at SXSW. With a short, sweet interview in English. otoboke beaver, the all-female japanese punk band named after a love hotel2017 MAR 14 by Ilana Kaplan for i-D Magazine MUSIC i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/otoboke-beaver-the-all-female-japanese-punk-band-named-after-a-love-hotel Combining garage, punk, and pop, the four-piece makes fast-paced tracks fueled with anger that fight against gender norms and the patriarchy. RABU IZU SHŌTO!! The single is up on Damnably's Soundcloud. On the cover art, it looks a little like the band is flipping you off in regular rock fashion, but actually they are showing you the cartoon rocks on their ring fingers, an OtoBi meme. I forget where I got this from, now. It's an Otoboke official illustration, kind of a fine art piece as opposed to graphics for merch. Just one more little thing — a ring. I don't mean on the phone!The blushing beavette is showing QUITE the engagement diamond, as well as a traditional bridal headdress. Her duvet is decorated with a crane, the symbol of longevity and fidelity. The cute turtle is another omen for enduring stability. Japanese wedding decor is dripping with cranes, and maybe a few turtles too. The YES / NO pillows are stolen from the hotel chain's marketing cartoons, as I seem to remember. Those had some real-world currency in the days of twin beds. Here, I would say they symbolize feminine autonomy vis-a-vis the doing of It. This is just like decoding a Renaissance altarpiece. That scrap of blue on the bride's lower lip escapes me, though. WTF that is, just can't say. So, this is one well-situated beaver. She caught her man! Or... other beaver. Either way, she's looking forward to a lifetime of being supported and taken care of, in return for living up to social norms from a previous century. The sound of distant gagging and things crashing against walls is Otoboke Beaver the band. You don't need lots of imagination to guess what they think about this scene, not when it equates matrimony with, um, baser motives like that.
|
|
|
Post by tangerinesun on Mar 16, 2017 3:51:29 GMT -5
More Austin scenery
Arrived at the convention center main hall ☺️
On the brown carpet at glamorous SXSW!
You girls could use some big-league management. Like us. Follow our IG.
|
|
|
Post by tangerinesun on Mar 16, 2017 9:18:25 GMT -5
I have previously been inside George Damnably's phone. An interesting experience, but no substitute for actually being at the gig. So I'm hoping that the stars line up right. As far as streamed gig video goes, they put something out via Periscope already, without warning, when I was asleep, so it's gone and I'll never know. It was a first webcast, so could have just been them examining the mini-bar in their hotel room. Via Bandsintown, they said they were looking to do more than the one show they're already engaged for at SXSW, and to watch their Facebook for recorded clips. facebook.com/Otobokebeaver22The scheduled showcase is at Maggie Mae's Rooftop, 11pm on Thursday the 14th, Central Daylight Time. If there's going to be a videocast... that's when I'll be looking for one. Less than 14 hours from now. Wristbands are just $189 at the door, if you're in town this week. Wristband not a guarantee of admission, so best think of it as a status symbol.
|
|
|
Post by tangerinesun on Mar 16, 2017 9:50:01 GMT -5
This just in: more promises of official video, plus a Golden Week poster and flyer premium on the first 100 orders of the EP on CD at their Bandcamp store. Tonight! Please come to our showSXSW-Maggie Mae's Rooftop - Austin, TXThursday March 16, 2017 - 11:00 PMThere will be some Video from SXSW going online!Also, it may please you to know that we have our new EP 'Love is Short!!' on Pre-Order now at otobokebeaver.bandcamp.com/album/love-is-short-epFirst 100 orders get a free Poster & Flyer. Japan fans — please note this will be onsale in all good record shops on April 22 with the 7" RSD-Japan version. See you soonOB 〜〜〜 It may please you to know. And if you're a record shop in Japan, not carrying the new 7" after the 22nd, this will serve as your notice that you're not good.
|
|
|
Post by thegl0r on Mar 16, 2017 22:53:16 GMT -5
As far as streamed gig video goes, they put something out via Periscope already, without warning, when I was asleep, so it's gone and I'll never know. It was a first webcast, so could have just been them examining the mini-bar in their hotel room. What? I got to miss the live broadcast of OB playing at the mini-bar! Boo-hoo, poor me.
|
|
|
Post by tangerinesun on Mar 16, 2017 23:05:13 GMT -5
It was a first webcast, so could have just been them examining the mini-bar in their hotel room. What? I got to miss the live broadcast of OB playing at the mini-bar! Boo-hoo, poor me. Yes, and even now I am hitting refresh periodically on several pages to see if they're going to make good on that show streaming idea. My guess is, hell no. If you don't have a lot of cooperation from the house, up to and including a solid internet connection to a stream host... that stuff doesn't usually work out so well. Nice idea, though. Hopefully, edited official video later at the usual outlets. Meanwhile, there's this: SXSW Music: Must-See International Acts austinchronicle.com/music/2017-03-17/sxsw-music-must-see-international-acts/Otoboke Beaver Thu. 16, Maggie Mae's Rooftop, 11pm Wild and reckless all-girl J-punk from Kyoto approaches a heavier alternative to TsuShiMaMiRe. Last year, the quartet, named after a Japanese "love hotel," unleashed its debut full-length Okoshiyasu!!, which showcases bouncy punk spiked with garage pop tendencies and colorfully madcap vocals.Heavier alternative to TsuShiMaMiRe... bouncy... pop... madcap... I give up. I don't want to call that idiotic, so I'll just say that people will write whatever comes into their heads when they're on deadline.
|
|
|
Post by tangerinesun on Mar 17, 2017 0:25:48 GMT -5
Yeah, it was no. You get this instead.
Taking a picture of that Oke-boke band having its picture taken.
That spherical array of digicams on the poll shows somebody's on the ball.
Or probably ever will have, ever.
|
|