Half Japanese

:"This article is about the band called Half Japanese, for people of mixed Japanese and non-Japanese descent see: Hafu"

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Half Japanese


Img_capt = Half Japanese at the SXSW Festival, March 2008
Img_size = 200 px
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = Uniontown, Maryland, United States
Genre = Noise rock
Experimental rock
Proto-punk
Years_active = 1975 - present
Label = 50 Skidillion Watts
Safe House
Associated_acts =
URL = http://www.halfjapanese.co.uk/
Current_members = Jad Fair
Past_members = David Fair
John Sluggett
Howard Wuelfing
Don Fleming
Jay Spiegel
Jason Willett
Gilles Reider

Half Japanese is a rock band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair in their Uniontown, Maryland bedroom around 1975. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playing; vocals; and an out of tune (but quite distorted) guitar. Both Fair brothers sang, although over time Jad moved into the frontman role.

Band history

Jad is well-known for playing an untuned electric guitar. After 30 years, he still does not play in any traditional manner; in the documentary "Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King" he states that "the only chord I know is the one that connects the guitar to the amp."

Their lyrics often deal with monsters and the supernatural (especially as influenced by campy "creature feature" and scifi movies), in addition to more conventional themes, such as young love. They have stated that all their songs are either "love songs or monster songs."

The band played and recorded as a duo until the early '80s when they began incorporating additional members into the group: Mark Jickling (guitar and vocals) and brothers Ricky and John Dreyfuss (drums and saxophone). Since that time, dozens of musicians have come and gone under the Half Japanese banner, including Howard Wuelfing, Don Fleming, Jay Spiegel, and many, many others. Jad is the only member who has been with Half Japanese from the beginning. David Fair eventually left the band in the early 1980s to focus on his family. He has continued to make guest appearances with the band from time to time.

The next line-up of Half Japanese came together in the late 1980s. This incarnation featured guitarist/multi-instrumentalist John Sluggett (also a longtime member of Moe Tucker's band), multi-instrumentalist Jason Willett, and drummer Gilles Reider. Since then, the group has worked with Moe Tucker from the Velvet Underground, who produced "Fire In the Sky" (1993), Fred Frith, and John Zorn, among others.

Fans of Half Japanese include Penn Jillette, who helped the band release some of their albums on his label, 50 Skidillion Watts, and Kurt Cobain, who had them open for Nirvana on the group's 1993 tour. According to reports, Cobain was wearing a Half Japanese t-shirt when he died. [http://www.thesmokinggun.com/kurt/kcincident4.html]

The band's history and influence are chronicled in the 1993 documentary [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107071/ "Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King"] by Jeff Feuerzeig.

Discography

* "Half Alive" (1977)
* "Calling All Girls" 7" (1977)
* "Mono/No No" 7" (1978)
* "Half Gentlemen/Not Beasts" (1980)
* "Loud" (1981)
* "Spy/I know how it Feels...Bad/My Knowledge Was Wrong" 7" (1981)
* "Horrible" (1982)
* "50 Skidillion Watts Live" (1984)
* "Our Solar System" (1985)
* "Sing No Evil" (1985)
* "Music To Strip By" (1987) -- (1993) re-release has bonus tracks
* "U.S. Teens Are Spoiled Bums" 7" (1988)
* "Charmed Life" (1988)
* "Real Cool Time/What Can I Do/Monopoly EP" (1989)
* "the Band That Would Be King" (1989)
* "We Are They Who Ache with Amorous Love" (1990)
* "T For Texas/Go Go Go Go" 7" (1990)
* "Everybody Knows, Twang 1 EP" (1991)
* "4 Four Kids EP" (1991)
* "Eye of the Hurricane/Said and Done/U.S. Teens are Spoiled Bums/Daytona Beach EP" (1991)
* "Fire In the Sky" (1993)
* "Postcard EP" (1991)
* "Best Of Half Japanese" (1993)
* "Boo: Live in Europe 1" (1994)
* "Hot" (1995)
* "Greatest Hits" (1995)
* "Best Of Half Japanese Vol. 2" (1995)
* "Bone Head" (1997)
* "Heaven Sent" (1997)
* "Hello" (2001)

External links

* [http://www.halfjapanese.co.uk The Half Japanese Fan Site]
* [http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=half_japanese Half Japanese entry at the Trouser Press website]
* [http://www.alternativetentacles.com/bandinfo.php?band=halfjapanese Half Japanese band page at Alternative Tentacles label website]
* [http://www.jadfair.org Jad Fair's official website]

Listening

* [http://www.epitonic.com/artists/halfjapanese.html Epitonic.com: Half Japanese] featuring tracks from "Hello"
* [http://www.myspace.com/halfjapanesefanpage Myspace Page] featuring tracks from various albums