Interview with Tokyo Dragons (1/2) By Michelle Dee

(1/2), (2/2).

Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,   Gallery 2.

Tokyo dragons are definitely not like The Smiths, lets just clear that one up. They play a brand of loud ballsy U.S. rock circa 1995, maybe like G.n'R. or Aerosmith with a bit of Kiss thrown in. It's been a while since I checked out the mainstream rock scene. These guys have been going for four years and hail from N.W. London, all except Matthias the bassist who is from Bavaria in East Germany. Boy, do they know how to put on a show, whipping the young crowd into a mad frenzy with guitar thrusts aplenty and ear splitting riffs.

Tokyo dragons, a name that sounds like a tuff street gang, are a close-knit group, they'd have to be, they have been on tour for the last nine months! During the last year, the hardworking band has toured with the likes of Winnebago Deal and The Datsuns. They have just completed a two-week tour with Do Me Bad Things, but tonight at Adelphi it was the second headline gig of the current U.K. tour.

Three single releases to date, which have all fared well reinforce their belief that, they will reap the benefits if they just keep at it. Radio 1 recently had their current single what the hell inside the Top 30 on the Rock Show and they brushed the top of the BBC Download Rock chart last month just behind Green Day. They are currently listening to and liking bands like Termanegro and can't get enough of High on Fire and Three Inches of Blood. Expect to read about the Tokyo dragons -perhaps in the Guardian Emma- crossing the North Sea and landing on Scandinavian shores in the near future.

Then after playing some European dates -there are plenty of large scale Rock Festivals going on out there- looking further a field with a view to breaking Japan and eventually the U.S. If they ever stop touring, the band likes to touch base and chill out with friends and family once in a while.

Tonight's rock n' roll dinner consisted of a pair of posh pot noodles. They made a collective decision to avoid the streets of Hull; there was a full moon and the pavements were filled with crazies. I know exactly what they mean; Beverley Road on a Saturday night is not for the uninitiated. However, the band loved the Adelphi; how can you not? With its mixed crowd welcoming acts from all corners of the globe it's simply the most sought after venue in the city.

The Adelphi loved them back too; a good hundred or more people created a mini mosh pit, which threatened to spill on to the stage at any moment during their blistering set. There was a great moment when some ardent fan stuck his head out and the two guitarists played either side of him, into each of his ears. He looked ecstatic.

It was the bands first trip to Hull but they promised to return much to the crowds delight. Tokyo dragons would much rather play the more intimate venues so they can really connect with the fans. One group of live music devotees said that, they were better than Razorlight. Not quite sure how you compare the two, now if they looked like as they do now, but sounded like The Smiths..? Another said, that it was the best gig he had ever been to.

For a bit of fun I asked the guys to come up with a Super-group, alive or dead, to end all super-groups, this is how the unlikely band took shape.

Continued ...next page

Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,   Gallery 2.

Photographs courtsey and Copyright © Michelle Dee 2005

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