NIHON SURF

Fans of Vic Flick, Dick Dale, Man Or Astro-Man, and surf guitar music should cast an eye eastward toward Japan's Takeshi Terauchi. Terauchi (Terry) began his career in a Japanese Country and Western band called Jimmy Tokita and the Mountain Playboys. Catching the modern wave in the 1960s, he achieved success with his bands The Bunnys and the Blue Jeans. He even found his way to the big screen in Campus A-Go-Go in 1965. Takeshi Terauchi and the Blue Jeans are still picking. Their last release was Mr. Legend in 2008. Cover below from a 2011 Big Beat compilation. Full discography here.

Below is a 1960s track by Takeshi Terauchi named after the famous Kabuki play, Kanjincho. The original story tells the tale of Yoshitsune's escape through enemy territory. Disguised as a lowly porter, Yoshitsune allowed his warrior vassal, Benkei, to beat him in order to throw the border guards of the scent. Terauchi does a nice job setting the Kabuki tone with a vocal "Yo!" at the start of the track. The 1960s were an interesting time for reappropriating classic idioms for use in modern forms. We saw this in Pop Art in the West, and musicians like Terauchi, Joji Yuasa, and Toshi Ichiyanagi (Yoko Ono's first husband) were well known in Japan for redefining traditional themes in their various experiments. Terauchi is followed below by the fabulous Ensemble Nipponia's traditional version of Kanjincho. The track is from one of my desert island albums, Kabuki and Other Traditional Music (Nonsuch/1980). Click to watch on YouTube if videos don't play here. Enjoy!

 

Get ready to meet MIKI ZERO, Japanese fashion model and spy! The creator of Spy Vibe has written a novel called Elevator Girl, inspired by his love of Ian Fleming and based on newly declassified intel from the Cold War. More info at Whiton's website here. Recent Spy Vibe posts: Peter Asher, Gerry Marsden tour,Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute, Ian Fleming memorial, Emma Peel Megaset returns

Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address