October is Spookey Month!

October, the month of Halloween. It's the creepiest, kookiest, scariest month of the year. You might even say it's the spookiest. And the coolest, grooviest band in Hamamatsu is Spookey, the all-girl punk/pop trio that rocks my musical socks lately.

That's why in conjunction with myself over at my comic book blog, When Comic Books Ruled the Earth, I've decided to declare October "Spookey Month."

Spookey shows you how to rock Halloween:



I'll try to keep all my posts here related either to music or to the paranormal aspects of living in Japan. Let's celebrate Spookey and Halloween together, shall we?

"We Hope This Gets You Lai-"

These guys are awesome. Between this and the Spookey video, my Wednesday is shaping up to be most pleasant. They need their own TV show, including the dog as their sidekick. Now use their advice and go forth and multiply.

Spookey: A Blast of Awesomeness From Right Here in Hamamatsu!

Spookey. An all-girl punk/pop trio with a Go-Go's vibe. Kind of lo-fi, cheeky and fun. Hamamatsu is a very musical city with a lot of bands, but Spookey has to be the coolest of the lot. They get extra points for having a Rickenbacker guitar in the line-up. I love Rickenbacker guitars!

I have yet to see them live, but I ordered their latest CD release, Shakin Pop'n Roll from Amazon.co.jp. It ships "within 1 to 2 months" according to Amazon, so I should have it just in time to put it into a heavy Christmas rotation here in the musical capital of my world. Spookey seems to hit the road lot (especially in Europe), but according to their MySpace blog, their planned October-November tour didn't come off. Well, they'll no doubt be rockin' across the world soon enough.

Once again, this is why I came to Japan.

Shibuya's Krispy Kreme Restaurant

Imagine my surprise to find Krispy Kreme has established yet another outpost in its War of Sweetness. Which could be either a war against sweetness or a war supporting sweetness, I guess. Rest assured, I mean the latter.

This Krispy Kreme restaurant is just a short walk of maybe 4 minutes from Shibuya Station's Hachiko exit. Just keep Shibuya's cylindrical tower of girly-youth fashion, 109, on your right as you walk up a gentle hill. Eventually you'll smell doughnuts.


It's actually underneath a large building. Unlike the Krispy Kreme I usually visit, which is in Shinjuku, just south of the station, this restaurant has a dining area with lots of tables. On this particular Saturday night at the end of a steamy August, young couples occupied most of those tables. I walked right in-- the hot doughnut light was out, unfortunately-- ordered my three doughnuts and sat at a long bar at the window.

This place looks better with people in front, don't you think?


I'm not sure what it's called in Japanese, but in English most people here refer to it as simply "Krispy Doughnuts." I have no idea why the "Kreme" part gets dropped. Maybe there's some assonance with Mister Donut, which is probably Japan's favorite between these two giants of deliciousness. Krispy Doughnuts' fluffy offerings tend to run a bit sweeter than most Japanese enjoy their snack treats. But that hasn't stopped Krispy Kreme's rapid proliferation in Tokyo, not one little bit!

Bear Attacks Are Rare in Japan

But I'm not saying they never happen.

Happy Belated Birthday, Ami!

Actually, her birthday was a few days ago, September 18th. Yes, I'm talking about Onuki Ami, half of the Japanese pop-rock duo Puffy, better known as Puffy AmiYumi in the United States. Seems by the time their music hit America, someone had already taken the name Puffy. Despite my having missed it, I'm sure Ami had a very joyous birthday surrounded by friends and family.

What you may not know about Puffy AmiYumi is Ami personally keeps the fans up-to-date on their various musical projects and her own happenings and feelings in a blog hosted on the band's MySpace page. It's in English, as well. When she's not directly updating everyone on Puffy's latest gigs or TV spots, she's expressing her thankfulness for having loyal, supportive fans and promising to do her best to keep them entertained and happy in the future. Ami also posts interesting little tidbits and anecdotes such as the story behind Yumi's recent cracked rib and how excited she was to buy the Beatles' new re-mastered box set (I'm not sure if she bought the mono edition or the stereo). And also all about her dream job-- working in a book store where she can stock to her heart's content.

I guess it's not surprising Ami would take the time to do this now that we're in the Twitter Age, but few celebrity blogs or Tweets pack as much charm and positive energy as one of Ami's blog entries. They're just so... nice. Niceness is a very underrated quality. The follow-up comments from fans are usually fun, too. When I've had a bad day, an Ami post really perks me up.

From Melt-Banana to Puffy AmiYumi-- my musical tastes really run the board, don't they?

Melt-Banana's Fall 2009 US Tour Itinerary

10/29 Visalia, CA at Cellar Door

10/30 San Francisco, CA at Slims

11/01 San Diego, CA at Casbah

11/03 Tucson, AZ at Plush

11/04 Phoenix, AZ at Hollywood Alley

11/06 Denton, TX at Haileys

11/07 Austin, TX at FFF Fest

11/08 San Antonio, TX at White Rabbit

11/09 Houston, TX at Walters

11/10 New Orleans, LA at Republic

11/11 Pensacola, FL at Sluggos

11/12 Birmigham, AL at Bottle Tree

11/13 Athens, GA at 40 Watt

11/14 Gainesville, FL at Common Grounds

11/15 Tampa, FL at Crowbar

11/16 Orlando, FL at Back Booth

11/18 Columbia, SC at New Brookland Tavern

11/19 Chapel Hill, NC at Local 506

11/20 Washington, DC at R and R

11/21 Baltimore, MD at Ottobar

11/22 Philadelphia, PA at First Unitarian Church

11/23 New York, NY at Bowery Ballroom

11/24 Boston, MA at Middle East

11/25 New Haven, CT at The Space

11/27 Buffalo, NY at Mohawk

11/28 Detroit, MI at CroFoot

11/29 Cleveland, OH at Grog Shop

11/30 Chicago, IL at Bottom Lounge

12/01 Minneapolis, MN at Entry

12/02 Madison, WI at High Noon

12/03 Iowa City, IA at Picadur

12/04 Sioux Falls, SD at Nutty's

12/05 Omaha, NE at Waiting Room

12/07 Denver, CO at Bluebird

12/08 Salt Lake City, UT at Kilby Court

12/10 Missoula, MT at Badlanders

12/11 Seattle, WA at Chop Suey

12/12 Portland, OR at Berbati's

12/14 TBA

12/15 Pomona, CA at Glasshouse

12/16 Los Angeles, CA at Troubadour

Melt-Banana is touring the United States this November and December, playing sets with Melt-Banana Lite. They're really one of the most amazing bands you can ever experience live. And look at all those dates. That's one mammoth tour, and more than likely, they're coming to a spot somewhere within easy driving distance of where you are... right... now. That is, if you're living in America. If you don't go, you’ll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon and for the rest of your life.