IMARi ToNES -The First Christian Heavy Metal from Japan-: March 2010

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

USA East Coast Tour Thank you everyone!

Last month, we attended Millennium Music Conference in Harrisburg PA.

And we played several other gigs, including churches and clubs.

It was just a short tour but it was fun.

And I think we got so many things.

First of all, thank you to Ken-san for our equipments.

And also thank you to Lei-san and Rea-san for Jake's double bass pedals.

And thank you for everyone at MMC14. It was awesome.

Everyone we met at Open Mic night.

Thank you for Groove Session. You guys are awesome and keep in touch. Come to Japan!

http://www.myspace.com/groovesession

Thank you for Brother Anthony.

It was amazing we met when we put one step out of our hotel room.

Such a blessing.

http://www.godchaserz.com/artists/brinson

And Brandon Parsons, Dave Moran, True Witness, and 3Nailz.

It was such a blessing we all Christian bands played together and had fun.

http://www.myspace.com/brandonmusac

http://www.davemoran.net/

http://www.myspace.com/truewitnessband

http://www.myspace.com/3nlz

And also everyone at Capitol Christian Church.

And on Sunday we had a concert at Gloryzone Ministries, long island New York.

And it was difinetely one of the best concert we had.

Such a blessing. Great church.

Thank you to Pastor Richy, and Pastor Cathe, and everyone at Gloryzone Ministries.

And off course, Petrel girls.

http://www.myspace.com/petrelmusic

And thank you for Pastor Nishikori, New Jersey Japanese Christian Church.

And Hamada-san.

It was such a blessing we Japanese Christians meeting in USA.

And Mrs.Nishikori, we will never forget the curry and rice after the show.

Thank you to Otto's Shrunken Head, East Village, NYC.

And thank you to Hardy Street.

http://www.hardystreetmusic.com/

Thank you to The Wonderland Ballroom.

And thank you to Blair Bush for helping us with our drumkit problem.

We will help you when you come to Japan.

http://www.blairbush.net/

Thank you for Mojo13 and thank you to Bleech. Let's keep in touch.

http://www.bleechmusic.com/

And thank you to Atlas. You guys are so cute.

http://www.myspace.com/atlasde

(Sorry it seems like I said something wrong before the show. We are learning how to speak English little by little. Next time I will know better.)

Thank you for Clash Bar.

And thank you to Devilhaus, Torrential Downpower, Nice Daughter.

You guys are really, really awesome.

http://torrentialdownpour.com/

http://www.myspace.com/devilhausxxx (or was it other band....?)

http://www.myspace.com/nicedaughter

And thank you very much to Rich.

It was a great pleasure seeing you again.

I can't believe it's already 2 years since we met in the movie festival.

(And thank you to this great band....http://www.myspace.com/oursmusic)

And secretly I want to say thank you to this great Japanese band.

Because it gives us courage when we play in a foreign country.

http://www.myspace.com/peelanderz

All of the movies you can watch on our YouTube channel.

And you can watch the whole show at Gloryzone Ministries on top page of our website.

http://www.youtube.com/imaritones

http://www.imaritones.net/

Thank you for our friends in Japan, especially our church friends at Victory International Church Yokohama. Pastor Yaw and everyone. Thank you for praying for us.

Thank you for Jun-san and Merry-san.

And Ryo-kun, thank you for sending the email to cheer me up. It gave me so much energy to overcome my weakness.

And most of all, our Lord, Jesus Christ, thank you for every blessing you gave to us, and giving us a mission to spread Gospel in our home country, Japan.

Hope we can go on to even greater journey.

See you guys soon!!

Tak "Tone" Nakamine

IMARi ToNES

The First Christian Heavy Metal from Japan

Bio, Bio, Bio...

IMARITONES BIO

Written by Phil Putnam

Of the long list of factors that make ImariTones stand out from the world around them, it is their drive, their reach that tops it all. An unapologetically Christian heavy metal band out of Japan, Tak, Hassy, and Jake have a passion to reach beyond their culture to make the music they love, and to reach beyond their music to bring Jesus into their culture. While drawing comparisons to legends like Van Halen, Rush, and Stryper with their hybrid of old school metal/glam/Brit/70's prog rock, they are one of very few bands in the world that can claim true originality. How so? They are the first Christian heavy metal band ever to come out of Japan.

"There are very few Japanese bands who say 'Hey, we're a Christian band.' A Christian band from Japan almost sounds like a joke, since most people in Japan are Buddhists, or Atheists," says Tak, founder, guitar/vocalist, and frontman of ImariTones. Things didn't start out Christian for Tak, though. Having started playing electric guitar at age 14 and joining his first band at 15, Tak gained local teen success in his hometown of Toyohashi and won awards for his songwriting. However, he quit the band at 17 to pursue a career as a lawyer. Music stayed with him, though, and while playing an acoustic show in Harajuku Tokyo in December of 2007, Tak was impressed by several Christian performers who were playing as well. Feeling that Jesus may be the larger meaning behind music that he always felt was there, his mind and heart opened to Christianity.

Breaking many written and unwritten rules of Japanese culture, Tak, Hassy on bass/background vocals, and Jake on drums/background vocals, are reaching upward and forward to see changes happen in the world. Currently based in Yokohama, their astonishing 15-album discography includes Hero of the Lights, Color of Hers, fireworks, Japanese Pop produced by metal legend Sascha Paeth (Angra, Edguy, Rhapsody of Fire, Avantasia, Kamelot), Welcome to the School, and their most recent release Victory in Christ. Not content to play the standard soft pop/rock of the major label Christian industry, their music is 100% heavy metal and 100% independently recorded and produced. Victory in Christ hit the street in October 2010 with the single "Faith Rider" leading the charge. Originally written as a parody of the big 80's metal of Judas Priest and Stryper, it quickly became a fan favorite and was put on Victory in Christ.

With both their commitment to making stellar heavy metal music and their driving passion to share Jesus with their native Japan and the rest of the world, ImariTones is always reaching to join these two primary goals together. "Since we are a Christian band, our goal is not business success," says Tak. "We are not chasing glory in this world. We are chasing the glory of God." Staying independent and record label-free is an important part of the process for them. "We don't believe in 'music business', especially in Japan, and have chosen to go independent, looking for our own way. We really want to change something about society and about what people think and believe. That's our ultimate goal."

That ultimate goal, to see their native Japan embrace Christianity, is what they reach for most of all, even while their sights are set on the USA and the rest of the world. Some think they're a joke, or a contradiction, that Christianity, Japan, and heavy metal just don't belong together. Some think they're ahead of their time. But if you ask Tak, Hassy, and Jake, they'll say they're doing exactly what they love at exactly the right time, and they're never going to stop reaching for more.