A circle of friends connected by gut touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On August 22, Tomokazu Suga, who runs the “STYLE BAND TOKYO” event and also manages Tempalay and MONO NO AWARE, was introduced by nico-san, who runs “Mabonen,” “Omukai,” and “Machinaka” pubs in Shimokitazawa. We asked him about “STYLE BAND TOKYO,” which used to invite overseas artists on his own, and about his current work, which was connected through his personal connections.
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Booking overseas artists on Myspace
Takano (MC): nico-san called you a “gentle kitten”.
Suga: I also heard the broadcast yesterday and immediately got on the line, but he himself said he was going to say “a black abandoned cat. But the kind director stopped me because he thought it was a pity that it was an abandoned cat.
Takano: So that’s how it is.
Celeina (MC): Do you have any cat-like ideas?
Suga: I prefer dogs, but from NICO’s point of view, it seems to have the nuance of “can’t be left alone.
Takano: I see. Maybe nico-san feels like a beloved character.
Celeina: I would like to ask you about your work, but I’m a little too curious about your T-shirt.
Takano: Really! Is it a sauna T-shirt?
Suga: Yes, it is. This is a T-shirt made by a friend of mine who I will introduce to you today.
Takano: Let’s save this topic for later. First of all, can you tell us what “STYLE BAND TOKYO” is?
Suga: We are not active now, but we started this club event in 2007. We started it because we wanted to let people know about artists who are cool enough to be active overseas but are not yet well known, and also because we wanted to have a place where these artists could get to know each other.
Celeina: What kind of places were these events held at?
Suga: We started off at Shibuya LUSH, then gradually expanded to clubasia and Daikanyama UNIT, and then we invited overseas artists and toured all over Japan.
Celeina: Isn’t it difficult to book overseas artists?
Suga: We were able to do it. They were indie artists, though.
Celeina : Where did you communicate with the overseas artists?
Suga: We contacted them through Myspace.
Celeina: Myspace!
Takano: It’s been a while since I heard about it.
Celeina: I am from a generation that has just barely been exposed to it, but I have the image that older people were doing it.
Takano: They did. digging on Myspace is great.
Suga: They were using Myspace like crazy.
Takano: Were there any artists who performed at that time who became famous?
Suga: In terms of Japanese artists who are active overseas, it would be Bo Ningen. I was like an agent for them in Japan, organizing their live performances and tours. Also, Lillies and Remains is another band that is expanding their activities overseas, performing at large festivals in China.
Takano: I have talked on the phone with Taigen Kawabe of Bo Ningen on this program. I am glad to have a connection with him.
Celeina: I heard that you were particular about the design for this event, did you mean you were particular about flyers and such?
Suga: In my opinion, the band scene at that time had a lot of Western rock revivals, and I had the impression that it was kind of unattractive. I was able to change the MySpace page as I wanted. At the time, many people were looking at MySpace, so I got a lot of interest.
Celeina: After all, money is tight at first. Do you have any tips on how you kept your motivation up through the whole process?
Suga: I wonder. I also had the feeling that, although it was extremely risky when I thought about it, if I continued with the event, it would be good for me because it was a success. Takano: At the time, I was also working with Mysys.
Takano: At the time, I was also browsing Myspace quite a bit, and I think I may have unknowingly accessed the artist page that you had created.
Celeina: It is possible.
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From the “STYLE BAND TOKYO” connection to Tempalay
Takano: You are currently in charge of artist management at Space Shower, right?
Suga: I’m in charge of management and production for MONO NO AWARE, Tempalay, “Ayato Obara and the Franchise Owners,” whose song was also played on the program yesterday, and another artist called “Emputei,” so this is my main job now rather than events.
Celeina: This is connected to the live events you started in 2007, isn’t it?
Suga: That’s right. I still work with directors and filmmakers I met at those places, and many of them are active behind the scenes, so encounters are significant.
Takano: You were also discovering newcomers at P-VINE, weren’t you?
Suga: That’s right. I wanted to be involved in the fundamental aspects of music, such as production, rather than events, so I started working for the P-VINE label around 2015, discovering newcomers and doing A&R work. I met Tempalay when I was going to live houses at that time.
Takano: How was it when you first met Tempalay?
Suga: When I first met them, there were only about 10 people in the audience at Shinjuku Marz, but the atmosphere on stage was clearly different from the others. So I went to talk to them right after the show, but the band members were drunk as a skunk (laughs). When I was about to leave, I happened to meet Ayato Obara, the vocalist, and gave him my card, and he said, “Let’s go out for sushi because I want to discuss something with you.
Celeina: Was that your first contact?
Suga: It was the first contact (laughs). He said, “I’ll buy you a drink, let’s go to sushi.” But he didn’t look like he had any money, so I turned him down several times.
Celeina: So you turned them down (laughs).
Suga: But we went out for sushi, and the conversation got going, and we decided to release the album.
Celeina: Sushi is a keyword? (laughs)
Takano: That led to the release of Tempalay. Interesting. I would love to hear more, but let’s interrupt for one song. I asked Mr. Suga to choose a song that he would like everyone to listen to together on the radio at this time. What song would it be?
Suga: “Beetlebum” by Blur.
Takano: Here it comes! Why did you choose this song?
Suga: It was the first song I was exposed to, or rather, the song that got me hooked on music. （Of course, I went to “Summer Sonic 2023” (where Blur performed for the first time in 20 years). It was like I was a young boy again.
Takano: Let’s listen to one song and talk about it.
Suga: Yes.
Takano: “Summer Sonic” was great, wasn’t it?
Suga: It was great, I almost cried 5 times.
Takano: I know! Where were you watching from, Mr. Suga?
Suga: I left my friends who had come with me right in front of the PA booth and went in alone.
Celeina: So much love!
Takano: Graham Coxon was great, wasn’t he?
Suga: Well, that was cool. I was about to cry, or rather, I was crying.
Takano: I was also crying the moment Graham started playing the intro of “Beetlebum. I was like, “Wow! Thank you for choosing the song.
Suga: No, no, I’m just saying to Blur, “Thank you for coming to Japan.
