New Recollections from L.A. & Stockton, California

It has been a long while since I have posted.  Here are some more memories:

From L.M:
"I remember back in the 70’s going to a bunch of the college dances while I was still in Junior High and High School up in Stockton.

Both Delta College and UOP used the East Wind Band, and they were quite the thing back then for all Asian Alliance dances. I had the most fun back then at those dances, and remember the music as pretty much what you hear Steve Kikuchi do for us now, which is why I’m happiest at dances that he puts on since my music growth is stunted and pretty much stopped way back then.

I remember though running into cousins that were quite a bit older than me, and would totally freak out to see their young cousin at these dances. Of course, quite a bit older now equates to about 5-8 years older, and doesn’t seem so much older anymore, but back then when I was only 15, 20-23 sounded ancient to me.

Gary M. wrote to me in August the following:

"I had been involved in several bands over the years. Starting in the mid 60's a band called the Rising Suns was the first garage band I participated in. It was comprised of friends, Clayton Mizufuka, Wade Hojo, Kenny Takaoka and Davis Akiyama who wanted to play the music of Thee Midnighters, Rolling Stones, Animals and of course, the Beatles. We were still in high school and played for school functions, USC Pharmacy fraternity parties and talent shows in Mar Vista and Crenshaw shopping centers.


Later I was asked to play drums for Thee Prophets. It's members included, David Akiyama, Brian Tanouye, Johnny Sanchez, Tom Sonjeka, Gordon Young, Michael Hotta, Denis Hotta, John Hubbard, David Honjio and a guy whose last name was I think Torigoi."

Hiroshima - a World Community-Minded Musical Talent

The band Hiroshima performed at the "Thousand Hearts" Japan Relief concert on April 23rd at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

I have never seen them in a "real" concert - they were awesome.  Their guest vocalist was the golden voice of Mr. Terry Steele.  The audience comprised primarily of two camps:  the Hiroshima fans, and the young teens & 20-somethings drawn there to see the other feature performers, Quest Crew, an Asian-American dance ensemble who made America's Best Dance Crew in MTV's Season 3.

The über-talented Hiroshima (click on image to zoom)

 

Hiroshima plays throughout the country, and their performance schedule can be tracked at their website.

Quest Crew's amazing moves from this mostly guys and one girl ensemble (click on image to zoom)

Asian Retro

Mitchell Matsumura's Asian Retro, viewable on Facebook, has been up for some time - what took me so long to mention it?  Hi Mitchell!  It's been a long time!  We lost touch.  You've been talking to my brother down in Gardena town?

Asian Retro has really taken shape since I last signed on.  It covers the dances, the cars, the old music, the new music along with profiles on contemporary musicians.  There are discussions, photos and an abundance of comments.

Readers, for those who are not familiar, Asian Retro can be viewed even by those without a Facebook account - however, if you want to submit comments, you will need to set up an account.

Mitchell states on his site that he promoted dances back in the 70's and 80's at places like Lococo's, Jockey Club, Destiny II, Tiffanys, Chez Moi, Max 151, Downunder Saloon, and Lahani's.

The YouTube Generation

Hindsight Wishes

The L.A. Asian American dance scene of the mid-1970s and early 1980s lives in my memory.

I think of the current technology and think back to all that could have been captured on video and camera - the bands playing, the guys and the girls, the dance moves.

Can you imagine holding up the wall (with cell phones in hand, and everyone glued to their hand-helds texting across the room??

Check out this fun music video of Joseph Vincent - wow, what a difference 40 years make!

Tennis Connection's Holiday Party December 11, 2010

Tennis Connection has been hosting a holiday party for at least 20 years.  Once again, this Saturday, our party will be at Andres inside the Doubletree Hotel in Torrance.  High Resolution's DJ Steve Kikuchi will be back at it - maybe for the last time.  Honestly, we're struggling to meet our minimum, the same problem we had last year.  We thought we'd give it another try, but I'm gonna vote against another dance party next year. Those of us who will be in attendance will have loads of fun, but the business end of hosting is a wreck. On top of that, there is another party the same night, down in Gardena town at Cherrystone's, run by no other than Leonard Kim. Music Company's Dane Matsumura's got that gig, looks like it will be a jammin' night over there.

The 70's Street Machine

My friend's Datsun 510, one of many racing and cruising vehicles that turned my head on the streets, parking lots, freeways, and cruise nights in the 1970s.

And Now, Rickie Miyake, Former Band Member of Easy Livin'

Rickie found out my blog through his friend, and he contacted me the other day. It is so nice to meet you, online, Rickie. As a former band member, he contributes a new perspective on the 70s Asian dance scene:


I just wanted to drop a quick note and say that it seems when people mentioned the music from back then, they forgot to mention Jo Mama. “Sailing” was one of my favorite songs.

I was part of one of the lesser garage bands from back then, a group called Easy Livin’. The other members were Teri Kusumoto on vocals (she went on to sing for Hiroshima for a while), Michael Kosaka on bass, Duane Kamei on guitar (his brother Jerry was the keyboard player in the Chosen Few and Free Flight) and Dennis Yokotake (currently with the Music Company). We got together in 1971, around the time when Free Flight, Carry On, Winfield Summit, Long Time Comin’ etc., were popular.

Anyway, just wanted to say hello and that I am looking forward to reading all your blog entries! BTW, I graduated from Dorsey in 1972.. so these posts bring back some good memories!

Rickie Miyake

Later Rickie wrote:

I think that’s a great idea you had about the blog. Back then we never really thought about any cultural implications, it was just something that we did for fun. I always looked forward to these dances and the weekends in which there weren’t any seemed kind of empty. Now, I didn’t dance (still don’t, despite my wife’s attempts to get me to do that) but the reason I liked the dances was to go listen to the bands.

The first dance I ever attended was a pretty memorable one – it was the last appearance of the Chosen Few, which I think was at Roger Young. I remember the very last song they played was a cover of Linda Ronstadt’s “Long Long Time.”

Back in junior high and high school I was constantly listening to music – back then it was KHJ’s Boss Radio and the Boss Jocks, and KRLA. I always wanted to be in a band, too. One day we were at Duane’s house and his brother’s band, Free Flight, had practiced there the day before and left all their equipment set up. Well, you can guess what happened next. That was the very beginning of Easy Livin’. After our first laughable “jam session” I posed the idea, why don’t we start up our own band? Everyone else thought I was kidding but I kept nagging them because it had been so much fun. Gradually, the idea set in.. the final group had only Duane and myself from the group of us buddies who commandeered Free Flight’s instruments and amps that day but we found three others to play with us.

I was never very good but I have to say, those were just about the most fun days of my life. I mean, how much better could it be – doing something that you really love to do. We were blessed having someone like Teri who had such a great voice. She was like the glue that held us together. Playing as a group was great – not once was I ever nervous because it felt like we were all there for each other. If I were to be by myself I know I’d be very nervous. I suppose it was kind of unusual since Asians were supposed to be more sedate.

As for the culture part – back then I did used to wonder if other ethnic groups did the same thing. I always kind of felt like this was a distinctly Asian-American event; even with the bands, it was odd when a non-Asian band would play at a dance. Their music was always different, too.

You have probably seen this video already but just in case you haven’t, here’s something a friend of mine sent me last year. I thought it captured the spirit of those times very well, although they seem to give short shrift to us Westsiders, haha.. here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nukJYZT1SCw

I’ve written a lot about my experiences growing up in my own blog. If you’re interested, you can take a look. A lot of the entries are mundane or goofy or whatever was on my mind, but a number of them do have recollections of things past – the older ones in particular (before I ran out of memories to write about). The blog has an obvious address: http://www.rickiemiyake.com

Thanks, and it’s nice “meeting” you!

Rickie