IMARi ToNES -The First Christian Heavy Metal from Japan-: February 2011

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Newsletter - Tour Plan and Fundraising Project

Hi this is Tak from Imari Tones, Japanese Christian rock band.

How are you doing?

We are very busy working on our recording and touring plan.
Today, I will tell you about our current plan and also, our Fundraising project on Kickstarter.com.

Believe it or not, we have come to a very important point in our music endeavour.

Now we are planning our 3rd USA visit / touring.
We have to make it successful and we have to get some chance to open the next door in our music career. And it looks like we will have some opportunities there.
Those are very rare opportunities for Japanese bands like us.
So I guess we are lucky. We thank God for that:)

Here are things we are planning.

1:Recording
Recording plan is under way between us and our friends in Dallas TX and we are going to record some songs there when we visit Dallas in April. We are going to do it with a notable Christian music producer, which will be a great opportunity for us. Fingers crossed!

2:Presentation/Showcase
We are planning to attend some Christian music seminar/conference in Nashville. An independent Christian tour organizer gave us that opportunity. It will be great if we can get together and connect with some music industry people and fellow Christian musicians there. At this point not sure yet but we may also have a opportunity to play a showcase there. It will also be a great opportunity, if it happens.
It reminds me of the last scene of the movie called Wayne's World, back in early 90s, in which Chinese girl sings at an audition that her boyfriend has set up. Something like that, yeh? (Mmm...maybe I'm wrong.)

3:Fundraising at Kickstarter.com
Actually this is the thing we want to tell you most in this newsletter.
We started a "Crowdfunding" project on website called Kickstarter.com, to raise money for this upcoming tour.

Yes, we need your help, honestly.

Kicsktarter.com is a very interesting, new way to connect musicians and fans through fundraising project. If we reach the goal we recieve the money but if we don't reach the goal then no money transaction happens.
We can give you free downloads, CDs, T-shirts, and we will even write a song for you if the fundraising is successful.

So please check it out here on Kickstarter.com!!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/imaritones/japanese-christian-rock-to-tour-usa

Watch the video and "make a pledge"!!

Honestry, it's a kind of hard decision for us to give a try to this kind of fundraising project. However, whether this fundraising itself would be successful or not is not so important for us. Most important thing for us is to connect with you and reach as many people so that more people will get to know about us and Japanese Christian situation.

So please help us and SPREAD THE WORD, even if you will donate or not.

And if you pledge as little as $1, we really appreciate it. It's a big help for us!

For the detail of Kickstarter and Crowdfunding, please see this page.
http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq

4:Tour schedule

Okay, so here is our exciting tour schedule!
(Though some things need to be confirmed yet.)

(And booking process still under way. If you know some good place for us to play, pleaes let us know!)

April 22 Friday, Headhunters, Austin TX
April 23 Saturday, The Moon, Fort Worth TX
April 26 Tuesday, Super Happy Fun Land, Houston TX
April 29 Friday, Music City Bar, Nashville TN
May 1 Sunday, Hamilton Pointe Church, Hixson TN
May 8 Sunday, Crossroads Church and Ministries, New Castle DE
May 13 Friday, Clash Bar, Clifton NJ
May 14 Saturday, GoodByeBlueMonday, Brooklyn NY
May 15 Sunday, Church concert in Long Island area NY (TBA)

Well, that's all so far.
We are still talking with some other venues.
We have to book some more shows here and there....
(Mmm...I have to work on it next week.)

Life is tough for everybody.
It's even tougher if you are an independent musician by any chance.
Recently I talked with our friends and fellow Japanese Christian musicians about Japanese Christian situation.
Hope we have a chance to share it with you.
Well, if only we can translate it into English....

Thank you very much, keep in touch, and God bless!

Tak "Tone" Nakamine
Imari Tones
"The First Christian Heavy Metal from Japan"
http://www.imaritones.net/

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.