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

Friday, March 18, 2011

We are alright! We don't stop!

Hi this is Tak from Imari Tones, the first Christian heavy metal from Japan.

Thank you for all your messages and concern about the huge earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan. We are okay, our band okay, our family okay. Fortunately we are living in Yokohama region and damage is not so serious here. However, things are very serious in other regions, especially Northeast part of Japan. Japan needs your prayer. And Japan needs your help.

Today, I want to tell you 2 things.

1st thing is our fundraising project on Kickstarter.
Thanks to all the people, we made our goal. ($1200)
We are so thankful and we want to say thank you very much for all the people who made "pledge" on Kickstarter.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/imaritones/japanese-christian-rock-to-tour-usa

It was on March 9th Wednesday we reached that $1200 goal. And I was going to send out a newsletter to say thank you and going to raise even more.

However, the huge earthquake happened on March 11th Friday, and everything changed.

So here is the 2nd thing.

Instead of trying to raise more money for our Kickstarter project, I ask you to donate for the Japan earthquake relief.

And I recommend this organization called CRASH.
http://www.crashjapan.com/

They are an Christian organization in Japan. They have an English website. And some people working there I know of personally.

We are still living in some major aftershocks happening everyday. Nuclear power plant crisis still going on and people are living in fear. People in Tohoku regions are deadly in need for food, water, energy and everything.
Certainly, there is a spiritual battle going on in Japan.

So we really need your prayer.

As being a Christian, I've been thinking about the reason and why all these things happened. The answer God only knows but we still have a faith in Jesus.

And we are trying to figure out what we can do for our nation Japan.

Yes, we will go on to our USA tour in April/May.
We don't stop. We will go on.
At the same time, we feel like the meaning of this tour has totally changed as well.
We are now trying to see what we can do during the tour to help our nation Japan.

Tour Date

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 11 Wednesday, The Wonderland Ballroom, Wahington DC
May 13 Friday, Clash Bar, Clifton NJ
May 14 Saturday, GoodByeBlueMonday, Brooklyn NY
May 15 Sunday, Gloryzone Ministries, Deer Park NY
May 21 Saturday, Blue Moon, Seattle WA
May 23or24, Rocketown, Nashville TN (Showcase gig in front of the music industry people. Wow that's gonna be an important gig. Detail TBA)

I think this is going to be a mission trip to ask help for Japan. If you have any good idea, please let us know.

In Christ,
Tak / Imari Tones
http://www.imaritones.net/

Friday, March 4, 2011

Thank you for supporting our fundraising project!

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

Today, I'm going to make it simple. Very simple.

Please support our fundraising project on Kickstarter.

We are going to tour in USA and we need YOUR help!!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/imaritones/japanese-christian-rock-to-tour-usa

http://kck.st/f8woin

We have raised $750 so far and $450 more to go!

Watch the video and "make a pledge"!!

We will give you free downloads, CDs, T-shirts, and write a song for you!

Hope see you on the tour.

Thank you very much!
Tak / Imari Tones (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.