Introduction Okubo Naoya, guitarist of the instrumental jazz band jew's-ear, was nice enough to answer some questions that Keikaku threw his way. He answered on behalf of the band, who just released tong pei, their 2nd album. back to features		jew's-ear Q: Please introduce yourselves. Hi, Shawn. I am Naoya Okubo. Let me introduce our members and answer your question. Shinroku Kosaka - soprano sax Hiroki Nojima - flute, keyboard Shunsuke Tsutsumi - bass Junpei Shiohara - drums I play guitar. Q: How did the members of jew's-ear originally meet? Hiroki, Junpei and I met through a music circle at the University in Sakai City Osaka around 2000. Then I met Shinroku at a Sebadoh concert, and finally Shunsuke joined. Q: When did you start playing guitar? When I was a junior high school student, I convinced a relative to give me his folk guitar because I really wanted to play it. Q: Jew's ear is a type of fungus which is known as kikurage in Japan... Why did you decide upon this rather odd name? I just like the taste and the nuance of the word in English. I know it does not have a good image in Western Societies, but there are no ethnic or religious meanings behind it. Q: I imagine writing your compositions can be both challenging and rewarding. What is your songwriting process like? First someone brings the theme, and then we continually practice until we complete it. Sometimes they are left incomplete though, since we only make compositions where all members contribute. Q: "Differential, integral and fine mood" was my favorite release of 2007. What was your goal when making this album? Thank you very much! Our goal with that album was to have as many people listen to it as possible since it was our first release. We recorded it live in the studio to give it the feeling of a live performance. Q: You have a new album coming out in a few weeks called "Tong Pei". What are your thoughts of this release? [Note: It was released on July 18th, 2008.] It's been about a year since we released "differential〜", so we wanted to release our 2nd album in August 2008. Therefore we worked hard on the compositions starting in Fall 2007. Even when it was New Year's, we were in the studio!?! So I feel relieved and happy that we can release the new album at this time. Q: What has been your greatest challenge as a band so far? To perform as the front act in Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden's last tour because we are all big fans of them. Q: What do you think of the jazz music scene in Japan now? It's very difficult for me to comment on the music scene, because I do not know much about it... but I do think it is important to appreciate and broaden the culture and musical tastes of those that enjoy live performances in Japan. Q: What are some of your musical influences? Shinroku is influenced by Miles Davis and Hiroki by Haruomi Hosono. I am influenced by J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., Pat Martino, and Wataru Okuma of CICALA-MVTA. Shunsuke is influenced by video games, Queen, and Kirinji... and Junpei by Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden, The Police, Studio Ghibli soundtracks, and ethnic music. Q: Let's hear a little about your tastes not related to music. Could you name some of your favorite books or movies? Shinroku likes Jim Jarmusch's films and Charles Bukowski's writings. Hiroki likes "Miru Mae ni Tobe" and the film Hula Girls. I like the films Paris, Texas and The Iron Giant and the book Illusions. Shunsuke likes Oishinbo, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Sangokushi, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Back to the Future. Junpei likes Honey and Clover, Weekly Jump, and works by Osamu Tezuka and Okada Aamin. Q: Would you ever consider coming to the US to play some shows? A:We would love to play, of course, if it would be possible. Q: I hope that you guys have continued success and happiness. Thanks for taking part in this interview. The pleasure is mine. Interview from early July 2008. The Keikaku.net staff would like to thank Nayao Okubo and jew's-ear for their participation in this interview. - Shawn Grover
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