IMARi ToNES -The First Christian Heavy Metal from Japan-: 3 major announcements!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

3 major announcements!

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

So many things to announce.

And we are not good at public relations, but let me try.

1. New Album "Japan Metal Jesus"

2. "Extreme Tour" USA North West

3. Fundraising on IndieGoGo

1. New Album "Japan Metal Jesus"

Our new album, titled "Japan Metal Jesus" is now available on iTunes, AmazonMP3, and BandCamp!

(Also, physical CD soon will be available on Amazon.com in CD-R format.)

Many people say there is nothing in common between Japan, Christian, and Heavy Metal. So we put those 3 words in the album title!

It includes already fan favorite songs like "Jesus Train", "Living Water", and "You Key". It's the album that defines our band and defines "Christian Rock" as well as Japanese Rock. And this is definitely our most "Catchy" album ever!

So be sure to check it out!

Our BandCamp page

http://imaritones.bandcamp.com/

2. "Extreme Tour" USA North West

We will visit USA again!

We didn't think it was possible, but now it's possible because we join "The Extreme Tour".

http://www.theextremetour.com/

We met those people from "The Extreme Tour" last year. (And we played a showcase gig in Nashville TN with them, that was a great blessing!)

They are a Christian missionary tour throughout USA-Canada, and they are great people, great missionaries. They are not about money or fame but they are doing it for People, Love and God. That's why we decided to tour with them.

As a band from Japan, we are very pround and excited to be a part of this missionary tour.

We gonna join their "West Coast" dates in August and September, mostly North West part of USA. We gonna visit, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.

Most shows take place outside (on the street) and we don't know exact place or venue we play yet, but here is the list of the cities we will visit.

Aug 25-26 Whidbey Island, WA

Aug 27-29 Salem, OR

Aug 30-31 Gold Beach, OR

Sept 1-3 (X-Fest) Stevenson, WA

Sept 4-5 Yakima, WA

Sept 6-7 Moscow, ID

Sept 8-9 Coeur d'Alene, ID

Sept 10-12 Missoula ,MT

Sept 13-14 Butte, MT

We will keep you posted about the detail of the tour as soon as we know it!

3. Fundraising on IndieGoGo

Yes, touring in USA is a tough thing, especially for a Japanese band.

We sacrifice our time and money. We sacrifice our life in Japan.

And most of all, airplane tickets to fly to USA are simply expensive.

So again, this year, we do our fundraising on IndieGoGo website.

(We know we did this on Kickstarter last year. And we want to say THANK YOU for people who helped us!)

http://www.indiegogo.com/imaritones2012

So we need your help.

Every small contribution is a big help for us.

And check out "Heroes EP" which we offer as $10 perk.

It's very special "pre-release" edition, only available there on IndieGoGo.

We are doing this fundraising project not only for tour budget but also to spread the word about our band and the tour.

So please help us spread the word!

We really appreciate if you post this on Facebook and Twitter.

That's all for today.

As you can see, we have so much to come in this summer.

We are practicing hard for The Extreme Tour, doing local gigs in Yokohama, and recording "Heroes EP". (We do bass recording tomorrow!)

We are praying for God's guidance.

We are praying for the cities we visit on the tour and people living there.

We are praying so that God's will be done all over the world.

Lastly, here is what's happening in Japan right now.

(New York Times article)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/17/world/asia/thousands-gather-in-tokyo-to-protest-nuclear-restart.html

We are very small, as a person, as a band, but still we believe we can change the world, we can make a difference.

God please help us all.

In Jesus name.

Tak / Imari Tones

17 July 2012

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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.