JAWing On – Life on Okinawa

Yesterday Taki and I had a chance to go see a couple of local shopping mall performances. The first was one of two 30 minute Hard Rock Minyo performances that included S.K.p Bonenkai Bash 2004 vocalist, Kenichi, and guitarist, Kaoru. The relatively new form of Minyo combined traditional folk minyo lyrics with “hard rock” electric guitars and synthesized prerecordings. The performance was a very enjoyable look at the possibliites available by remaining opened-minded and possessing a willingness to fuse the talents of seasoned artists of various genres of music in new and innovative ways.

The second was a shopping mall “street” performance by some young local hip-hop artists. I found this to be a refreshing use of youthful energy in a positive and constructive manner. Local success on the national J-pop scene (as with the rock scene) has to date been limited to less than a handful of artists. Unlike the local rock music scene of the ’70s, this will probably change in the next few years. Given the decline of the overall birth rate on mainland Japan, the music industry will be turning its eyes, and pockets, to the more promising and booming youth market of Okinawa. Here they can find a refreshing new generation of local untapped talent (who have had the opportunity to be exposed to the American pop music scene on a one on one basis) waiting to be the next big thing on the national music scene.