9 thoughts on “What´s New in Tokyo?”

  1. [quote comment=”24829″]I’m not really keen on cover bands… usually. These guys are great![/quote]

    Myself being keen on cover bands, I like those who cover Zappa to actually play their instruments and not cheat by playing actual Zappa albums in the background – listen closely to the beginning of “Easy Meat” (do I not hear the crack and hiss of a needle being set on vinyl?). I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong. I hope so.

    Yes! You should be diggin’ it while it’s happening!

    ‘Cause it just might be a one-shot Samurai…

  2. [quote post=”4737″]I like those who cover Zappa to actually play their instruments and not cheat by playing actual Zappa albums in the background[/quote]

    Sorry Urban, but this was a bit of an unfair comment up there… Here we see a one hour LIVE program of a band, in clearly and seemingly different instrumentation (tempo, etc) than in original albums, and because of a tiny digital (!) debris somewhere you talk about “cheating”?…

    I don’t think we (any of us) should like the very same things, but calling some hard work “cheating”… It doesn’t mean “I don’t like”, but it means “it’s non existent”. Sorry to say it again, but it’s simply unfair.

  3. I love the camerawork, where the cameraman is searching for the musicians in the dark 😉

    But the music is Awesome!

  4. [quote comment=”24859″][quote post=”4737″]I like those who cover Zappa to actually play their instruments and not cheat by playing actual Zappa albums in the background[/quote]

    Sorry Urban, but this was a bit of an unfair comment up there… Here we see a one hour LIVE program of a band, in clearly and seemingly different instrumentation (tempo, etc) than in original albums, and because of a tiny digital (!) debris somewhere you talk about “cheating”?…

    I don’t think we (any of us) should like the very same things, but calling some hard work “cheating”… It doesn’t mean “I don’t like”, but it means “it’s non existent”. Sorry to say it again, but it’s simply unfair.[/quote]

    Lacking any information regarding this band, Balint, I must go with what I hear. And again and again, what I hear behind these covers are the tell tale sounds of Zappa performances I’ve come to know almost by instinct. On each and every song, if one listens closely, are bits and pieces from Zappa’s classic albums. On “Sofa No. 1”, one finds the identical piano parts from One Size Fits All. On “Yo Mama”, parts from Shiek Yerbouti. On “Echidna’s Arf”, parts from Roxy & Elsewhere.

    They might have been able to pull this hoax off if they were better musicians, but anyone who has listened extensively to Zappa can pull out a Zappa guitar on Easy Meat, Chad Wackerman’s drum part on “Let’s Make the Water Turn Black”, Ruth Underwood’s percussion on “Echidna’s Arf” and especially the complex and unique transitions of “Yo Mama” – no matter how many poorly played instruments they attempt to cover the original with, it’s still there to the careful listener.

    Good musicians don’t need to resort to such subterfuge to trick their audience. It does a disservice to all good hardworking cover bands who actually perform Zappa’s music in it’s entirety (that’s all the notes).

    That’s not unfair, that’s the truth!

  5. (calling a bunch of musicians “liars” or “cheaters” once is unfair, twice is just rude. This is the fist time I’ve ever felt really unconfortable being part of KUR. Sorry.)

    [just note that even the tempos and the length of the tunes are diffentent… Never mind – this was my last comment on this topic – sorry.]

  6. [quote comment=”24867″](calling a bunch of musicians “liars” or “cheaters” once is unfair, twice is just rude. This is the fist time I’ve ever felt really unconfortable being part of KUR. Sorry.)

    [just note that even the tempos and the length of the tunes are diffentent… Never mind – this was my last comment on this topic – sorry.][/quote]
    Hey Balint my friend, don’t take it personally! That’s just the way Urban makes his point(s) 😉

    Now as to whether these guys are actually mixing in original tracks with their own playing – it’s hard to tell, based on what little information we have here. One thing that struck me though is how, near the end, “Echidna’s Arf” sounds almost exactly like the Roxy album original (where before that you could more or less tell it was someone else playing the notes). Also, the way it ends abruptly right where (on R&E) the tune segues into “Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?” is a little suspicious to my ears.

    But hey, I could be right, I could be wrong… If it is them playing all the way, well then: kudos.

  7. excellent playing! my favorite is moggio, how detailed and very fast at the same time, the band is pretty much together – needs some rehearsal time for sure. my favorites are the tiny bent notes with the acoustic guitar at the end (still in moggio) – congratulations, guys!

  8. I’d say these theories of them somehow mixing in studio tracks would make things all the more difficult. To pull that off would be an amazing achievement in itself in a live setting.

    The music has too many little errors and temp shifts for them to be playing effectively off a “clicktrack” of the recorded version. They are playing hard tunes, a fraction beyond maybe their current band rehearsal ability so things get a little off at time.

    They have looked very closely at the recordings and are copying licks in great detail, especially the drummer and keyboard player. Keyboard player really gets some of those 82 band sounds too… like the Baltimore keyboard break is dead on for the first two bars and then wanders a bit. But this attention to detail I’d say is just that japanese approach to do doing the job.

    I think they are maybe a little dry and grooveless, but as far as ripping out the notes, which you see their fingers playing, or maybe miming 🙂 , they can be quite exciting.

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