You could call the Crazy Ken Band a Japanese version of the Bonzo Dog Band, a British group who in the ’60s who excelled at Pythonesque pop parody. Like the Bonzos, the Crazy Ken Band are great musicians with a wacky comedic sensibility. The band’s music is inspired by the kind of sentimental, slightly kitsch pop that dominated the pre-rock Japanese music scene in the ’50s and ’60s. Bandleader Ken Yokoyama’s songs describe an engagingly sleazy, retro-world of seedy nightclubs, dockside intrigue and shifty demi-mondaine characters – like his hometown of Yokohama before it was tarted up. Songs like “GT Gran Turismo” and “Night For V8 Monsters” describe Yokoyama’s passion for cars, while the “The World of Suzy Wong” pays tribute to a Chinese femme fatale. Another song, “Sharimaru” dscribes Yokoyama’s dealings with a Pakistani used-car dealer while working as a customs inspector. In 2002 Yokoyama quit his day job and became a full-time musician, and that risky decision has paid off, as the band have transcended their cult status and have broken into the mainstream with more and more media exposure. Although their CDs make for great listening, the Crazy Ken Band is best appreciated live.
You could call the Crazy Ken Band a Japanese version of the Bonzo Dog Band, a British group who in the ’60s who excelled at Pythonesque pop parody. Like the Bonzos, the Crazy Ken Band are great musicians with a wacky comedic sensibility. The band’s music is inspired by the kind of sentimental, slightly kitsch pop that dominated the pre-rock Japanese music scene in the ’50s and ’60s. Bandleader Ken Yokoyama’s songs describe an engagingly sleazy, retro-world of seedy nightclubs, dockside intrigue and shifty demi-mondaine characters – like his hometown of Yokohama before it was tarted up. Songs like “GT Gran Turismo” and “Night For V8 Monsters” describe Yokoyama’s passion for cars, while the “The World of Suzy Wong” pays tribute to a Chinese femme fatale. Another song, “Sharimaru” dscribes Yokoyama’s dealings with a Pakistani used-car dealer while working as a customs inspector. In 2002 Yokoyama quit his day job and became a full-time musician, and that risky decision has paid off, as the band have transcended their cult status and have broken into the mainstream with more and more media exposure. Although their CDs make for great listening, the Crazy Ken Band is best appreciated live.
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