Internet Radio April 11 evening

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

We're leaving Japan next week, to tour in USA.
We're still busy preparing and doing rehearsals.


1. Internet Radio tomorrow night
Here is one thing,

Internet Radio Interview: OnlineWithAndrea
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/onlinewithandrea/2011/04/11/imaritones-music

April 11th Monday 7:30pm Eastern Time
(Oh, it's tomorrow night. Sorry if I could have notified earlier.)

You can listen at URL above.
We will play some newly recorded songs as well as our old songs.
Tak also talks about Japan situation update after the earthquake and tsunami.



2. Kickstarter Reward

Again, thank you very much for helping us on Kickstarter.
We can't be thankful enough.

We are now(still) trying to send out the rewards, downloads, CDs, and T-shirt.
Though we will send it out this week for those we already know their mailing address, we have not got reply from some people yet.
We want to know your mailind address, T-shirt selsction / T-shirt size.
We will contact you via kickstarter/email again, but please tell me if you have not been contacted yet.



3. Tour Date

So, again, here is our tour date.

April 22 Friday, Headhunters, Austin TX
April 23 Saturday, The Moon Bar, Fort Worth TX
April 26 Tuesday, Super Happy Fun Land, Houston TX
April 29 Friday, The Music City Bar, Nashville TN
May 1 Sunday, Hamilton Pointe Church, Hixson TN
May 7 Saturday, Mojo13, Wilmington DE
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, Goodbye Blue Monday, 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)


Honestly, we are busy and overwhelmed with preparation and other stuff we have to do.
We have just recorded 4 songs in Yokohama, Japan last month.
We gonna record 2 more songs in Dallas TX.
We have been preparing for the donation project for Japan teamed up with PAZ Japan.
Many things going on in our band, we talk about so many things, there is always a spiritual battle and inner struggle.

But we, Tak, Hassy&Jake, all know this tour is going to be very important for us.
And still we believe in God's guidance.

So we are looking forward to seeing you on tour, on internet, and everywhere else.


I said we are busy but don't hesitate to talk to us on facebook, twitter, YouTube, or Mixi. Those quick communications work very well during busy time. You can also simply reply this email:)


And if you have not checked yet, this is one of the new songs we recorded. This song is already our favorite in live performance.
http://soundcloud.com/imaritones/jesus-train


Thank you and God bless,
YOU are loved by God and YOU are so precious to Him.
Please remember, we are all children of God and He loves us so much.

In Christ,
Tak / Imari Tones
"The first Christian heavy metal from Japan"
http://www.imaritones.net/

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/

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)

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/

"Only One Wish" music video

Hi everybody!
Hope you all are doing fine.
This is Tak "Tone" Nakamine from Imari Tones, Japanese Christian rock band.

Happy new year and hope you have blessed 2011!

For us, 2010 was a good year.
We had a great experience in USA East Coast Tour in February and we grew up as a band, musically and spiritually,
we recorded a album called "Victory In Christ" and released it on iTunes and other outlets,
in the latter half of 2011, we connected to Christian communities around Tokyo and played with several gigs with Eikogo (the very first Christian rock band in Japan).

On Dec 31, new years eve, we had a concert at Misono Baptist Church, Kanagawa, Japan, together with several other Christian acts.

Here is the movie from that concert.



We played with a guest singer Kurojun.
Some of you may know we played with him in 2009, this is the 2nd time we play with him.
He is a great heavy metal singer. Much better than me (I admit).
When we play as a 3-piece band, we are somwhere between heavy metal and garage/indie rock. But when we play with Kurojun, we can play more like real 80s heavy metal band style. So it's fun to play with him in concert.



Today we have a video we want to share with you.


"Only One Wish" Music Video



This is a home-made music video for the song "Only One Wish", which is on the album called "Welcome To The School".

This song "Only One Wish" is one of the 1st worship type song we wrote and we often play it at church concert opportunities.

We made it with our church friends and some fellow Christian musicians and we are all praying for our contry Japan.

It's been a while since we made this kind of "home made" music video.
We did several songs when we were playing at Doctor Manzo's studio (our ex-drummer). Some of them are still on our MySpace, but this time we wanted to do it more Christian way...

Hope you will enjoy it and spread the word.



We are planning USA tour in April-May this year.
Some shows are already booked in several cities and churches, but please allow us some more time to annouce officially.

Hope this year will be a great blessing for everybody and we really thank you for supporting us, an independent band from Japan.


Also don't forget to add us on facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/imaritones


Thank you very much and God bless you mightly this year!

Tak "Tone" Nakamine
Imari Tones
http://www.imaritones.net/

Living Water (new song) movie

Hi this is Tak from IMARi ToNES.

Have you already checked our new album "Victory In Christ"?

It was a album recorded in early this year, but we don't stop.
Actually we are already working on some new songs.


So here is the song titled "Living Water".
We are going to record this song in this coming winter.
(I know it's a very common naming for a Christian song. But I'm sure our Living Water sounds special!)




This is a live performance at Ohkubo Suizokukan, Tokyo, last Wednesday.

Ohkubo Suizokukan is a small venue but it was a special night.

We call ourselves "the first Christian heavy metal from Japan", but do you know who is the first Christian rock from Japan?

It is called "Eikogo", who has been playing Christian rock since 1980's.
http://www.electric-angel.net/

And last Wednesday, we finally shared the stage with them.
It was a fun night, and it was a definitely a special night.
We feel like we are finally recognized in Japanese Christian music community, which is, at this point, not so big community.

So we want to share with you some more of that fun night.
We love small venues, because in small clubs we can rock more intensely and purely.










Thank you and God bless you all!!

Tak
IMARi ToNES

"Victory In Christ" now available!!!

Hi, this is Tak "Tone" Nakamine from Imari Tones, the first Christian heavy metal band from Japan.

Today I'm glad to annouce to you that our new record "Victory In Christ" is now available on iTunes (and other digital retailers).






http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/victory-in-christ/id399151638



Let me tell you a little bit about this album "Victory In Christ".

"Victory In Christ" is, our first 100% Christian rock record.

We became Christians, about 3 years ago.
Before that, we were a normal Japanese hard rock band who is just seeking for the truth of rockn'roll.

After that, we made an album titled "Welcome To The School".
We tried to make it a Christian album.
But we could not do it perfectly.
Because, we thought, in order to really believe God, first we must overcome all the misconceptions and illusions in secular world.
That's why we devided the album in 2 parts, Our Side & His Side.
Our Side was focused on spiritual battle between faith and doubts. And His Side was focused more on Praising God.
"Welcome To The School" was a good rock album, we still believe. And it was a music about spiritual learning. But it was not 100% Christian Praise&Worship album, we admit.


But after that, in this couple of years, we gained more experience.
We toured in USA twice and we played in many churches.
And we learned more about what we are, and what we really should do.
We could express our faith in more straightforward way.

So here is the result.
"Victory In Christ" is definetely the best we can offer.
This is "The first Christian heavy metal from Japan", all songs based on our faith for Jesus Christ. And we rock for Jesus with joy and happiness.


Some of you may know that our strongest song up to this point was the song called "Karma Flower". It was partly because that song was produced & recorded by famous German producer Sascha Paeth. Because of the production quality. (In other words, because of the money.)

But in this album "Victory In Christ", we have even stronger songs like "Faith Rider" and "Love Is To Do Something No One Dares To Do". (We did some research on Jango internet radio and these songs had better reaction than "Karma Flower".)

So we are very excited to release this album and to share this music with you.


Currently "Victory In Christ" is available on iTunes and you can also download it via BandBox and BandCamp on our website and MySpace.

Hope you will check it out and hope you will like it.

(And those who prefer physical CD to digital download, we will try and setup Amazon.com. It will take some more time. Thank you for your patiance.)



We are planning some more things under the table.
We are planning some advertise campaigne,
we are planning a tour next year,
and we are planning recording at least 2 songs in this coming winter.

We are not sure if we are going to release it as an EP or free download tracks, but those 2 songs are called "Living Water" and "Jesus Train".
We can't wait to play those songs in your church.


Also we have several shows booked around Tokyo.
And for those who living near Tokyo, don't forget to check our schedule. Because we have a big show coming on December 2nd Thursday, at Shimokitazawa Garden. It is a biggest venue we have played so far.


That's all for today. (It's already too long, I guess.)

Being Christians in Japan is always not easy.
But in our church VIC Yokohama, we worship Jesus with all our hearts and I feel there is a healing happening.

So I really hope we can share that healing power together.

God bless you all,
Tak "Tone" Nakamine / Imari Tones
http://www.imaritones.net/
http://www.myspace.com/imaritones