Can I have that time back please?

I just watched the most recent Star Wars. Christ almighty. One of my 8 year old Japanese students could have written a better script than that. Not that I was expecting Shakespeare but with all that eye candy on show I would have thought that I at least wouldn't have been too distracted by dull men tossing light sabres to Ewan McGreggor saying 'I think you might need this'. I'm not surprised the Emperor looked like he was pissing himself when Darth Vader went 'Nooooooooooo!' at the end. I was. Perhaps he'd just seen himself in the mirror and couldn't understand why he'd been dressed like something off of Blue Peter (can't help thinking encouraging kids to make 'stained glass biscuits' is a bit irresponsible. Still, who am I to question Blue Peter?) whilst being surrounded by some of the most futuristic beings ever seen. George, if you're reading this, you are a fool.
Oh well, perhaps I can negate the effects that Star Wars has had on me by watching some more of the excellent Monkey Dust. I finally managed to get the 2nd and 3rd series from my local, er, retailer. Brilliant stuff. Not for those who like their comedy sugar coated. Infact its probably not even for a lot of people who might have previously thought they liked black humour. Very very dark, sick even. Nothing is sacred. One of my favourite television programmes ever I think. Where have you been Clive.....?

My ears hurt

In about 1983 (a year sung about with great eloquence by Goldie Lookin' Chain - Roller Disco) I was given a walkman at Christmas (topical). I also got a copy of Now THAT'S what I call Music Vol 4. It included Ray Parker Jr's Ghostbusters amongst other classics whose names escape me right now. A lot, lot later on in life I bought an MD recorder. I loved this thing, so solid in your hand and the quality of recording was amazing. Tiny aswell when you look at tape/CD walkmans....BUT, I wouldn't dream of lugging such a weighty item about with me now. Yep, not so long ago I finally joined the queue of sheep and bought an iPod. A shuffle one. About the weight of an empty disposable cigarette lighter. I'd resisted it for ages.....why do I need one of them? I listen to too much music already. My BAD side gently coaxed my SLIGHTLY LESS BAD side into getting one under the pretext of learning Japanese :muchlaughter: Well, I did use it in this way for a bit, still do occasionally but I just couldn't resist for long. Walking without one just seems weird now, and riding a bicycle.... Today was a holiday in Japan and I wandered down Hondori. It was packed, a situation that might usually annoy me but with Massive Attack on it became the ultimate people watch, a video with me as the main star. I got so lost in it I wandered halfway up Hondori with my umbrella still up (Hondori is a covered street for anyone not familiar with Hiroshima....or most Japanese cities for that matter). I felt like a dark and brooding mid nineties trip hop video star.....I looked like a cock.
iPods.....get one

Snowing it's arse off

What is the polite term for heavy snowfall? (apart from heavy snowfall) Chucking it down? Come down in (light) buckets? Whateveeeeeeer, it snowed on saturday night. And it really snowed. I get a whole facefull of snow every New Year when I visit the country but snow like this in the city is pretty unusual (he says with all of 3 years of experience). WC spent the evening at a very nice restaurant in Nagarekawa for the Cross Nihongo school (which I don't mind saying is the BEST language school WC has ever attended) bonenkai. I can't remember the name and I can't make it out in the picture cos of the snow hugging the letters. Something like Ji Ji An. Done up like an old style house, we enjoyed lots of nice oden, soba and some tofu stuff amongst other things. Very pleasant indeed. As we were eating the snow started to fall. Nagarekawa isn't famed for its beauty but with nice places like Cafe Spice opposite it really did start to look lovely. Bit of a slow walk home though.

Oh and I wonder if the Rev Awdry ever imagined that his gentle stories of railway folk would one day be printed on seaweed for young kids to wrap their onigiri in? Luddite.

and relax....

Life has been well hectic of late. Saturday was the GetHiroshima/Koba bonenkai which GHB and myself did a bit of DJing at. I say a bit, GHB had to man the fort for a lot of the night, and even when I was there I wasn't really. Infact I remember very little of the night at all, not because of the drink for once but something else that has been on my mind and consumed my life for the last month or so.....my workplace's Happyokai....
Yep I've been losing sleep over worrying about forgetting to bring a whistle on the day or not having time to make a pair of cardboard decks. In the end I only fucked up once, and hey, it made the kids look stupid not me, so that's fine.
It also represented Windcheater's first outing on the stage. I haven't turned my hand to musicals (yet) but along with SH and the help of the children www.hiphopenglish.com finally saw the light of day. Well, the website is yet to make that leap but we did have 3 songs performed by our little homies and, bless their little cotton socks, they were great. The show finished at about 5 but it was only at about 9 o'clock later on in the evening after many drinks that I felt the weight lift from my shoulders. Now I'm just hungover.
I do remember one thing from Saturday night though and that's that Hifana are coming to Hiroshima on January the 8th. I'm so chuffed about this, can't wait. The Spins, who have featured on this blog a couple of times will be supporting at 4.14. It should be superb. If you're in the vicinity and you don't go, you're a bit thick.

Autumn Schmautumn

The funny thing about Autumn in Japan for WC is that I just won't let it go. Last Sunday was too warm for a jacket and the leaves were clinging on to the last vestiges of their redness as friends inexplicably decided to run around Miyajima rather than enjoy themselves with WC and SH. The week that followed was of typical blue skies and sunshine....and then it got cold...

This was the view that confronted me as I cycled back home tonight. I think at this juncture even WC has to admit that summer/autumn is over. It's snow for fuck's sake. Still, I like snow here. It's clean, it's white, and when I'm in the Inaka it's deep and untouched. I did think tonight though that to be cycling whilst wearing a wooly hat, big hooded jacket and iPod is a tad dangerous. Don't do it kids!

Next week is the GetHiroshima/Koba bonenkai which myself and GHB will be playing at at some point. Should be a great night.....oh to not have Happyokai the next day...

What else?...Bought an album online for the first time ever today. The times, they be a changing. Highly recommended Lotek Hifi - Mixed Blessings - UK hiphop? dub, dance hall stuff? I dunno, very good though.

Marks out of 10?

How long have I had this blog? Don't answer, I'm being rhetorical. It is, as the name suggests, a 'Windcheater' blog. There's been plenty of DJing chat but that's not really what I'm supposed to do. Producing music is what WC does (of a fashion), and finally, this blog can announce the arrival of a new track, dragged kicking and screaming this very fine autumnal day into the digital realm.
Yes, the music page of www.windcheater.co.uk has finally been updated (and what a pain in the arse that was). You can click here and open the track directly, or go and have a gander at the site yourself.
It's called -Mrk 0- and it's available in all it's 128kbps Mp3 glory. Feel free to leave any comments, fair or foul right here on the WCblog.

Do you like cos-play girls?

errrrrr, I mumbled, not wanting to insult the cos-play girl asking me. Luckily before I had to come up with an answer she had thrust a flyer into my hand with a breezy 'here you are' for what I am sure was one of Akihabara's finest tea houses. Didn't go though......couldn't understand the kanji, fnar. I was surprised to read that a lot of the cos-play girls who work in these places do it as part of their hobby. They get paid, the customers love it. Isn't that beautiful?

Tokyo makes everywhere look small. Every time I go there it's size just bowls me over. I've been in Japan 3 years, can speak a bit of Japanese and can read Hiragana and Katakana and have some knowledge of how things like public transport work here. Then I go to Tokyo and stand outside a simple train station and think, 'What the FUCK do I do here?' No big city I have spent any time in, London and Madrid mainly, can come close to how overwhelming the whole experience can be. Infact the first time I didn't really like it....now I love it. Becomes a bit of a cliche the amount of times you say it but just the sense of safety and ease you can walk down a Tokyo street that I never feel even in my home country's capital is fantastic. It's a brilliant place to people watch rather than wallet watch.

My mate has just moved to within a World Champion Strongman's throw of Yoyogi park which is a great place. It's ironic that the little space Japanese people have in their apartments, so that they are forced outside to do things a lot us take for granted such as practising a musical instrument, creates such a fantastic environmnent. Hundreds of people, rehearsing plays, playing games, singing, dancing, even one high school girl practising her Happyokai speech, on her own, on a rock. Bless.

And then there are the Otaku :) One of my favourite spots in Tokyo is next to Yoyogi, at the Shibuya entrance. Along here you can see hundreds of bands/singers/comedy groups plying their trade to anyone who'll listen. Again its a great atmosphere (all that equipment would be gone in minutes back home) and some of the Idol hopeful's attract some really handsome chaps.....

So go. You'll get lost in a station, see some freaks/beautiful people and get really dizzy looking up at/down from some stupidly tall buildings. You can take some photos too....

TLF - Until you get dizzy

About 5 years ago, when WC was first trying to get to grips with the internet and making music, I came across a site called Sample City. There were some good people there....and some idiots. Infact it was probably my first exposure to being annoyed by people I'd never met, BUT, this is about one of the good people, Stephen Braiden, aka Craig Johnston, aka The Tea Leaf Family. I think SC was the first place I ever put up a track for review. I can't remember what it was but I do remember a guy who had the same username as an old Liverpool legend liked it. I had a listen to his stuff and, after my only exposure to music on the internet being the boards on the old Mp3.com I was amazed. Today, through my post box I received TLF's first album - Until you get dizzy, released on Berlin breakbeat label (and one time Hiroshima visitors) Dangerous Drums. Played by the late great John Peel no less, it's hard to pigeon hole TLF. Not that I'd want to but we all do don't we? House, that isn't quite house, breaks, that aren't quite breakbeat, all helped along by the vocal talents of JJ the Detroit diva and Japan's very own Yuko Matsuyama. Yep there's Japanese on there. Can I understand it? Can I fuck. Lovely voice though. There are some classics that I remember from my old SC lurking days such as Flow and Eyeswide (infact I still have the vocal samples to that somewhere, maybe I'll have a stab at that remix again...) and a lot of stuff I haven't heard before, particularly in their entirety. Like Groove Armada TLF can and aren't afraid to mix it up, lovely rolling bass lines are a specialty that I'm quite jealous of. A really, very, very good album.

One small gripe.....where's my Japan only bonus track? ;)

How to get it : iTunes (a measly 99 cents, the European ones, a track, or 9.99Euros for the whole thing), search for TLF. Order it on TLF's news page via Paypal. If you live in Berlin, visit the news page again to see what shops it can be found in.

It also represents the first time the name Windcheater has appeared on a CD jacket.......in the thanks section :)

3k

Thanks to everyone who came down to Edge last night for 3K. It was the most satisying night of 'being a DJ' I've had so far. The place was pretty full, and there were people on the dance floor for most of the night. Another shout out to Messyman from me for his mastering work. Played Dune last night and although it's about 2 years old now, hearing it out that loud was kind of spine tingling....the bass sounded amazing. Enough self regarding though. Daisuke played a funky hip hop opening two hours that kept my head nodding.....even out watching the door. Abu then warmed up the crowd very nicely until he quite literaly ran out of records. Apart from bringing his DJ skills he also brought in a lot of friends/fans who really helped to make the atmosphere on the dance floor. GHB and myself were up next, and apart from a 'metronome' moment things went pretty smoothly. GHB mixed very fluidly and depsite a lull in the middle at the end people were up dancing again. I enjoyed punching the sample pads on my Kaosspad, so much so that I ended up wanting more than two and even went to see how much Akai's MPC costs today. After us came Asuka who really is brilliant. I had no idea she played hip hop too...I should have guessed really from her singing along to Witness.
A fair few people were there and I can't wait for the next one. Can I also recommend to anyone out and about in Nagarekawa after 5 in the morning to visit the 24 hour Udon shop at the end near Chuo Douri. It only costs 350 yen for a bowl of Udon that I SWEAR has saved me from some of the worst hangovers I could have experienced. Oh, and one more big thanks to SH for manning the door while we were on. He's currently in bed with the flu.....can't think why he might have caught that :sorry:
A few photos from the night

Whistle posse

3K is only 4 days away and I've been busy scouring my music for samples to punctuate our set with on Saturday. I've been mostly dipping into the many gigabytes worth of old skool hardcore my friend Chem7 dilligently put together over the past year. I've always hated the way some older people high on nostalgia go on about 'back in the days' whether they are into prog rock, punk or hip hop, it's all bollocks. Music's always evolving and churning out brilliant stuff......that said, ahem, the rave scene in the UK of the early 90s is something I always get slightly misty eyed over. In a way it's what probably led me to start making music (over 10 years later!) and it was most definitely what made me dance for the first time. I'm not going to go on about the history, but in short, 'reserved' Brits took a gay, black, US underground phenomena and turned it into perhaps the largest ever youth culture explosion our country (the world?) has ever seen. One that still reverberates today, albeit with perhaps a little less vigour and originality (I give you trance). That isn't to say that the UK was the only place this was going on, Joey Beltram even made Belgium seem cool back then, but the raves and festivals of the those first few summers of the 90s were something special, were massive, and, at the time, it seemed like EVERYONE was doing it. And if you weren't, you were some kind of dinosaur.
The music sounds pretty dated now next to today's production techniques but it's easy to forget, especially for people who have grown up with a big 'dance' scene, just how completely NEW this sounded. Mad breakbeat loops, driving basslines, sped up vocals urging the dancers on and mad synth sounds which made the punk and hardcore I had been listening to only a month previously sound like music from another generation. Aphex Twin's Diggeridoo made me physically throw up when I first heard it in a friend's car on Kiss FM. Well, maybe it wasn't just the record. T99's Anasthasia was a massive tune at the time. It was one of the fist tunes to really use a biiiig orchestra stab. I remember hearing that for the first time in a club. Everyone stopped for a moment and looked around as if to say 'what the fuuuuck is this????', before going mental.
A couple of my favourites from 'back in the day' (christ) - Compounded - Edge 1, The House Crew - Keep the fire burning, Zero B - Lock up to name but a few of the many many others.
A superb book on the scene is Altered State by Matthew Collin

Right, now I've got that out of my system maybe I can concentrate on making some up to date music.

Kowai

I'm a grumpy git when it comes to halloween, but even I was brought under some kind of charm by it this year. Firstly by the kids and then the grown ups. WC and GHB (aka DJ Paul and Windchaser for one night only) played at various times. I think GHB should get a special mention for making sure the music kept playing during the numerous breaks throughout the night. I put together a few Halloween themed interludes for the night along with some sound effects which I'm not sure anyone noticed to be honest, although how you can't tell a chainsaw revving up whilst a woman screams hysterically isn't part of your normal club record is a mystery to me.
Chinatown seemed pretty packed and Jamie of Nanja events did an excellent job of pulling all the various acts/live shows/DJs together. It's not a position I would wish myself into.
Of the costumes, two special mentions from myself. Charlie Brown and the Mormons were my favourites although the Mormons were a bit too realistic to be honest. Perhaps the scariest sight on show in Chinatown.
One of my biggest worries about DJing at the party was that the type of music that GHB and myself like to play usually wouldn't go down well at all. Fueled by the pioneering spirit of musical boundary pushing (free bar) GHB didn't pull any punches and I was surprised to see the floor respond to lovely big fat breaks. That said we did throw in a few crowd pleasers and apart from a minor dabble in drum and bass we didn't send too many people screaming from the dance floor. The Beastie Boys/Gorillaz mash up I did for the night is available from HERE. Enjoy.

If any of you who were there would like to come and see me and GHB do our thing again you've got the chance to do so in only two weeks time, at Edge, with a whole host of other excellent DJs. Read all about it HERE.

So all in all a great night, rounded up with a couple of very western fights. Well done boys. Everyone is full of a deep sense of respect and awe for you now. Alcohol and testosterone eh?

Plugs

3K is all ready to roll. GHB with WC again. In attendance also will be Daisuke, Abu and Asuka helping us to rock Edge on Saturday Nov 12th for a paltry 1000 yen including a drink. That's only two and half quid/3 and half Euros/9300 Venezuelan Bolivar to get in. More information on GH. What is it with these pasty foreigners with their stupid nicknames? Come down and find out.

Second plug is for a PLUG-in. I really should write headlines for the Sun (You're not getting a link to that shit). Downloaded this the other day and it's fantastic. Its free, it's called PROTOPLASM and you can get it right here . Pad heaven.

Lotus

Lotus was very pleasant last night. It's amazing what a difference a good sound system can do for your music. On a personal tip, many thanks to my friend Messyman for mastering some of my tunes. Last night was the first time I've heard them on speakers that don't belong to me and, mixed in amongst other tracks, for once I wasn't cringing over the sound quality. Just the music quality. Hoho. AKA Kelv, I met Messyman when we both lived in Madrid. It was the first time either of us had met a 'real' person through the internet which was the inspiration for many a joke. We got in touch through the former incarnation of Mp3.com and incredibly, out of the hundreds of thousands of people from all over the globe making appalling music on there, there was this one guy who made shit hot music.....and lived a minute's walk from my front door. Unfotunately Kelv's a bit quiet on the music front these days. Fortunately he is very active with his camera. Go and get one of his prints, his photos are awesome.

Back to Lotus, hopefully we can make it a monthly night. Last night me and GHB did seperate sets. The new Ableton 5 seems to be just a bit too much for my little old laptop to handle. A lot of clipping and distortion which was a shame. Still, I can always go back to 4 which was always solid as a rock. No more automatic beat warping though :sob:

That was interesting wasn't it? :geek:

STUNNING day here in Hiroshima today. God I love autumn. Went for a wander round the Food festival today which was nice although I couldn't be arsed to queue up for something on a stick despite really wanting Okonomiyaki on some hashi. Did see some great Taiko though which I always enjoy.

Tomorrow I'm going to @nima mainly to check out some of friend and WC designer Jun*t's VJing. Check out Green Youth Society's homepage for some of his work and also the newly opened blog as Jun prepares for his world trip next year. It's all in Japanese but even if you don't understand it, it's worth a visit for the graphics/art.

DJ Hype

Yet another holiday weekend here. Not sure my insides can take much more of them. Twas a goody though as Bass Instinct brought in yet another massive name from the world that is drum and bass , DJ Hype. At least then there was someone older than me in Chinatown. Infact, after reading a couple of Hype's biogs its very possible that the last time I saw him play was at The Rocket in London. About 14 years ago. :depressed:

Anyway, last night was excellent. I'm not one for D 'n' B all night long but had a wicked time. A good crowd who were up for it and I managed to refuse the offer of a free Tequilla which could have made the night so very different. It was nice to see Hype dancing after his set too. He obviously just loves the music.

We were also lucky to bump into and secure the services of Asuka for our 12th Nov (now confirmed) date at Edge. One of Hiroshima's legion of female DJs, Asuka is possibly one of the best DJs in town. I shouldn't really have to highlight her sex but then again, in a decade of clubbing and being generally 'into' music back in the UK, I don't remember meeting even one female DJ. In Hiroshima I've met atleast 5. All playing different styles but with one common factor, they're all shit hot. Far less talk and a lot more action.

There are some photos from the night HERE

Out and about in Autumn

The weather's getting beautiful as Autumn arrives. What better way to celebrate than spending lots of time in smoke filled clubs and bars?
After a fairly quiet summer WC and Little Foreigner will be teaming up again at least 3 times in the next month and a bit. First up is at Lotus (which is in the same building as Opium on the 5th floor) for some more relaxed beats than normal. Lotus has an awesome sound system and all though it won't be a night to dance on tables, it's a very pleasant place to chill. Come along pre-club, or stay the night.
We'll be getting spooky for the Halloween party at Chinatown too. Expect a slightly different set for this night.
And last but not by no means least will be a night at Bar Edge, most probably on Saturday the 12th of November. I'll confirm that date and other DJs soon. This will be a night to dance on the tables and I, personally, can't wait to put Edge's awesome sound system to the test.

Advice

Some advice from the WC stables this week...
1. If you have a mobile, write down your important numbers somewhere.
2. Don't cycle when you're drunk.

Guess what I did this weekend :(

Hifana - Channel H

I got a copy of Hifana's new album 'Channel H' yesterday. Lke the last album it's nt really a collection of songs so much as a collection of beats. Infact it's the DVD you get with it that I put on first. Watching them do their thing really is jaw dropping sometimes. The album may not be to everyone's taste (although for the music geeks out there the production is stunning again) but I really can't recommend enough seeing what they do live. This DVD is longer than the last including a lot more animated stuff and is probably as good on its own as many an album you might buy.
You can watch a couple of videos here. Unfotunately neither of the films featured show them performing live but they are still worth checking out.

UK n stuff

Been back a few days now. Always thought jetlag was a bit over rated but went to bed at 10 pm last night. Either that or installing software on my new laptop is just sending me to sleep...

Bit of a hectic trip, Guildford, Haarlem (Holland), Brighton and London were all stops for at least a couple of days. Half the trip seemed to be spent on planes and trains (mmmmm British trains). Good to see family and friends obviously, especially new niece Elodie :) Had lots of nice bread and cheese, drank Stella, watched Nathan Barley. Well bum.

Hiroshima

On Aug 6th this year I will be flying back to the UK from Hiroshima. This year is the 6oth anniversary of the atomic bombing. There are all sorts of events planned in the city and in fact there is one any of you, wherever you are can get involved in - http://www.hiroshima2005.jp/ For the outsider the name Hiroshima probably conjures up only one thing, and I don't mean Okonomiyaki. Apart from the obvious sadness of that awful day its a bit of a shame for modern day Hiroshima (which is lovely) that it's almost only known for being destroyed. It's inevitable I suppose. You can be easily overwhelmed by the sadness of one of the most depressing days in history, the unleashing of such a destructive power onto Hiroshima and into the world at large. At my workplace however there were loads of pictures of tour groups ...mostly kids, cute smiles, peace signs, the A-bomb dome in the background. I started to think they had the right idea rather than me sombrely wandering round on my first visit. Hiroshima styles itself as an International city of Peace and the word is everywhere. It wasn't a word that sat comfortably with my former cynical British outlook, but in a way Hiroshima has reclaimed the word for me. It's people, it's kids, their kindness and the lack of aggression on the streets. Peace in a practical sense. I wonder if the same thing had happened to other countries how other cities and more importantly, how the people would have reacted.
Ironically Hiroshima is known as one of the roughest places in Japan with its Yakuza reputation and Bosozoku gangs and don't get me wrong, you won't find a city full of beautiful shaven headed androgonous beings in flowing robes communicating via sub bass, there are wankers everywhere. There is however a lot Europe could learn from here and the longer I stay away the less I think I could stand to worry about walking down certain streets on a weekend night for fear of 'looking at someone funny'.
So that's my tribute to Hiroshima for this Saturday. Recently I was ignored (not uncommon) by someone quite spectacularly until they left and said 'Peace' to me....reminded me a bit of Main Source's 'Peace is not the word to play'. Although, granted, that song is about people shooting people and then saying peace rather than being a bit unfriendly :)
Anyway give me a kid's big toothy smile and the same word anyday

Peace ('_')V


Sorry about that, this is supposed to be a music site....erm....getting a new computer very soon :geekheaven: Can't wait. Hifana have got a new album out soon too which I might just go and buy....oooooh. Check them out, they are very good, and if they play live near you...GO! They are amazing.

Oh and I'm now Uncle WC. My Sister had a beautiful baby girl, Elodie who I can't wait to meet.

Music 'n' stuff

New track is progressing ok. Shame I'm going back 'home' next week. A 2 week break and a new PC might get in the way of it. Still, musn't grumble...

Currently 'in rotation' (do mp3s rotate?) at the moment in the WC 'Pao' studios are The Perceptionists , 7 Notas 7 Colores , Reflection Eternal , the Herbaliser and some other people...all those links should take you to some (apparently) legal downloads of tracks from these marvelous artistes.

And that my friends is that :)

How low can you go?

WC has been a little unproductive of late. Thankfully last night I came up with a bassline which made me bounce up and down in my cheap office style computer chair. I happily let it loop around and around for ages too which is always a good sign. What I need now is a good bass sound. I like natural sounding basses...spose I should get myself a real bassist.

Saw the Spins again last week. Superb again. Wankers.

Back in the UK soon for a couple of weeks of Amsterdam, Brighton and er, Guildford action. Then it's back to Hiroshima and hopefully a few dates in town including the soon to be resurrected 'Nu Bassix'.

Umi no hi weekend

Been a busy weekend here in Hiroshima. The 3 day weekend saw a number of events kicking off with Felix's 3rd birthday party. Lots of pool action which was good as Tsuyu skulked off with a whimper whilst Summer arrived with all the subtlety of baseball bat. It was hot. And what better place to spend a boiling Sunday than a city centre 'garden' surrounded by concrete? That makes the Amnesty benefit sound horrible, which it wasn't. Pools for the kids, stalls for everyone and an awful lot of bands all (well most anyway) in aid of Amnesty International.

There was an excellent mix of bands throughout the day. Highlights for WC were the Spins, Aki of Akicool's 'other' band (sorry didn't get the name) and as always, Nekomushi. Talk to a lot of foreigners in Japan and they'll very often mock the music produced here. Which is strange when you look at the local scene here and see bands like the Spins wipe the floor with just about everyone. WC is fast becoming drummer Kiyo's number one fan. Add to that Bom's keyboard skills (how does he find the time to have a family, run a bar and be so good on keys and drums?) and the awesome scatching of Shimo and you have one of the best bands I've seen in a long time.

In the evening things moved on to Kembys for the dance party. Whilst the venue doesn't exactly lend itself to dancing, some of the bizarrest moves were on display. All that was missing was a handbag. Quite a lot of people seemed to be there though and what was important was the cause, Amnesty. It's a shame some people decided to avoid the party to drink elsewhere. Perhaps the 500 yen donation to AI was a bit steep or the prospect of not being able to listen to your own music for a night too much to bear. Despite that moan, it was a fun night.

A few photos of the day

Amnesty Party - Hiroshima - July 17th

First up, welcome to the blog. Secondly, it's only days until the next Windcheater night out, once again with GHb of Get Hiroshima fame, now going by the name of Little Foreigner. Check GH for details

It's Umi no hi the next day so we can party late without fear of early starts (or in my case Japanese lessons.....gomen Misa-sensei, WC has been a bad student recently) and as it's my birthday next week there'll be some very special mash ups for anyone at Kembys.