Joe with Flower Travellin' Band during SXSW 2009 (more by Jacob Blickenstaff)

Popular singer Joe Yamanaka died of lung cancer Sunday morning at a hospital in Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture, a music industry source close to him said. He was 64.

Known as the vocalist of the rock band Flower Travellin' Band, Yamanaka also pursued a solo career as a singer and as an actor, appearing in the 1977 movie "Ningen no Shomei" (Proof of the Man) and singing its theme song, which became a hit tune.

Yamanaka made public in March last year that he had been diagnosed as having lung cancer. -[The Mainichi Daily News]

After a couple of stutters in late 2008, Flower Travellin' Band made it to the US in 2009 to do what would be their first and last run of reunion dates in the US, including SXSW and Knitting Factory. RIP Joe Yamanaka, you will be missed.

photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

Flower Travellin' Band @ Smokin' Music, Austin, TX - March 19, 2009

"There was a certain amount of tension before Flower Travellin' Band's set at Smokin' Music. Would people show up for this 30+ year old Japanese psychedelic rock band? Would they be playing to like 30 people, many of whom were there for the free smokes from American Spirit? Would the band be any good? The band's heyday was in the 1970s, when they produced some of the most visionary psych rock around. But that was then and this is 2009 and these guys must be in their 60s at this point. Could they pull it off and would anyone care?

Yes. And yes." [Austin 360]

Flower Travellin' Band also played two shows in NYC before they got to Austin to play SXSW on Thursday. More of Jacob's pictures from that day below...

Continue reading "SXSW 2009 - Day 2 in photos by Jacob"

photos by Lori Baily, words by Andrew Frisicano

Flower Travellin' Band, the Japanese psychedelic rock band with nearly 40 years of history, played its first-ever US show Friday (3/13) at Knitting Factory (with Knyfe Hyts opening).

"Friday night I had the pleasure of heading over to The Knitting Factory (or what's left of it) and seeing Japan's Flower Travellin' Band play their very first US show. The killer opening set by Knyfe Hyts (Oneida, Ex-Models) lent the room a sort of dark, trippy tension that I rarely see anymore outside of metal shows. By the time FTB took the stage, I was ready to have my mind blown.

You see, FTB has been playing since the late '60's, and though they were set to open for The Rolling Stones during their 1973 tour, visa issues prevented them from entering the United Sates until now. Their particular brand of psychedelic rock is delightfully heavy and strange, emphasized by the fact that they have abandoned the electric guitar in favor of the hugely complex, wide-necked sitarla. Vocalist Akira "Joe" Yamanaka's voice is jarring and alien, but somehow suits the band's style quite well. I don't often think of this sound as having thrived across the world in Japan, but FTB's extensive discography says otherwise." [JDub Records blog]

The band's second-ever US show was Saturday (3/14) at the Studio @ Webster Hall - tonight Flower Travellin' Band plays Washington, DC, before heading to SXSW for a March 19th Knitting Factory showcase at Smokin' Music.

More pics from the Knitting Factory show below...

Continue reading "Flower Travellin' Band & Knyfe Hyts @ Knitting Factory - pics "

"In early 1973, they were billed to open for the Rolling Stones, but Mick Jagger's visa was rejected from a previous drug conviction and all concerts were cancelled. Later that year the band broke up, with Yamanaka going on to release various solo albums." [Wikipedia]

The time is finally here, and it looks like it's actually going to happen. the Flower Travellin' Band will play their first-ever US show at the closed-but-temporarily-reopened Knitting Factory in NYC tonight (3/13). Knyfe Hyts open and tickets are still on sale, and it gets better... The Japanese band have added a 2nd NYC show. They are also playing the smaller Studio at Webster Hall in NYC on Saturday (3/14) with Endless Boogie! Tickets for that one are also on sale. From there they head to Philly, Washington DC, and then Austin for SXSW. The tour poster and all dates below...

Continue reading "Flower Travellin' Band - TWO NYC shows & other tour dates "

Flower Travellin' Band - 2009 Tour Dates
March 13 @ the re-opened Knitting Factory in NYC
March 19 @ Smokin' Music in Austin, TX (SXSW)

PREVIOUSLY: Flower Travellin' Band's 1st US/NYC show postponed AGAIN

Knitting Factory (by LarimdaME)

Just when you thought you attended the final show at Knitting Factory's Manhattan location...

THE MASTER MUSICIANS OF JAJOUKA W/ BACHIR ATTAR AND VERY SPECIAL GUESTS - SATURDAY, FEB 28th

FLOWER TRAVELIN' BAND (FIRST EVER US PERFORMANCE) - FRIDAY, MARCH 13th

YA HO WHA 13 (CURATES A FULL CLUB EVENT) - SATURDAY, MARCH 28th

Those three shows are not in Brooklyn, and they're not at the Studio at Webster Hall where KF has been promoting shows since their own space closed on New Years Eve. Those three shows are at 74 Leonard St., the very space that's apparently just been sitting there empty, but still fully functional, since they chose to close on December 31st even though their lease isn't up until July. Knitting Factory's new president Morgan Margolis realized the silliness of that, and has decided to reopen the club on select dates for special shows.

Six shows total are now on sale.

We regret that Flower Travellin' Band's first ever US performance has been postponed to the spring, due to circumstances beyond their control. Refunds issued at point of purchase

That message is in reference Tuesday night's show at Knitting Factory which was the new date (12/9) after the November dates were postponed also. Check out the video for the inappropriately titled, "We Are Here", below...

Continue reading "Flower Travellin' Band's 1st US/NYC show postponed AGAIN"

"It is with great regret that we have postponed Flower Travellin' Band's performance to Tues. Dec. 9th; tickets will be honored at the door on the rescheduled date, or you may obtain a full refund at your point of purchase. The Third Annual Halleluwah Festival will still take place this weekend, and a $10 refund will be issued at the box office night of show for those who would still like to attend ($15 refund Sunday)." - Knitting Factory

bummer. It has to do with visa issues. Tickets for the new date (one show, not two) are on sale. FTB also list a Toronto show on their website.

Knitting Factory's website still lists all the other bands that were set to play the fest this weekend, but at least one, Silver Summit, definitely pulled out of their scheduled Sunday performance.

by Black Bubblegum

Flower Traveling Band @ 2nd World Rock Festival 1974

OK. I literally almost fell out of my chair when I saw this one..... the Knitting Factory NYC booked two nights of the legendary Japanese Psych/Doom/Alloftheabove prog rock of Flower Travelling Band! Their first two US dates EVER. 40 years later. Here's what allmusic had to say about Flower Travellin' Band and their classic LP Satori:

Flower Travelling Band was Japan's answer to Led Zeppelin meeting Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath at the Ash Ra Temple. Simply put, they played grand, spacey, tripped-out hard rock with a riffy base that was only two steps removed from the blues, but their manner of interpreting those steps came from an acid trip... From power chords to Eastern-tinged, North African, six-string freakouts, to crashing tom toms, to basses blasting into the red zone, Satori is a... new sonic universe constructed from cast-off elements of the popular culture of the LSD generation. Forget everything you know about hard rock from the 1970s until you've put this one through your headphones. It's monolithic, expansive, flipped to wig city, and full of a beach blanket bong-out muscularity. In other words, this is a "real" classic and worth any price you happen to pay for it.

Thats an endorsement. Grails have covered Flower Travellin' Band's "Satori" on their Interpretations EP, and will join Silver Apples, Arbouretum, Dinowalrus, Nudge, and others to open the first night (Nov 22nd) of the three floor event entitled "Third Annual Halleluwah Festival of Enthused Arts" at Knitting Factory. The next night, Nov 23rd, look for Hard Bop, Apse, Talk Normal, Nancy Garcia (of Monotract), and others to kick things off.

Tickets are on sale: November 22, November 23.

Flower Travellin' Band reunited in January of this year, playing a handful of shows in Japan, including the Fuji Rock Festival. The band dropped the NEW album We Are Here on Sept 17th via Pony Canyon Records. Featuring eight new tracks, you can stream three of them here.

Flower Travellin' Band was recently profiled in Julian Cope's Japrocksampler, where Cope named their classic LP Satori as his favorite "Japrock" record ever.

Union Pool plays host to Grails on November 21st with recently added guests Psychic Ills.

Apse recently played ATP NY and have another NYC show scheduled at Death By Audio on November 21st.

All tour dates, the festival flyer and a bunch of videos below...

Continue reading "Flower Travelin' Band playing 2-day Halleluwah Festival in NYC (first US show ever) (w/ Grails, Apse, more...)"