Supe
Featured Artist:
Supe: A New Taste Of Hard Rock
“We were stuck inside our dreams so much that we couldn’t get out. It was also a time to make a decision, keep playing or quit music…we decided not to give up, push on…” –Kihiro of Supe
Supe–we are a five piece, all Japanese rock bands. Four of us are 26 years old and one is 24-years old. We originally formed the band in Tokyo, Japan. How we met is all-different though our history goes far back. Kihiro, the singer and Ari, on Guitar knew each other since high school, and the other three, Takeshi, Toru and RyoZ knew each other since high school. But our two groups didn’t meet until after high school since we were raised in different parts of Japan. We finally all met at a rehearsal studio called PENTA in Shibuya, Tokyo.
The band was formed in year 2000, after 2 shows, the band was offered to do several opening spots for foreign acts that came to Japan. Some bands included Dee Dee Ramone, Faster Pussy Cats, Factory 81, D.R.I., Dislocated Styles and more. Since we played with some many foreign artists we always had a vision of playing in the U.S., which is like every Japanese band’s dream, I guess.
So in 2002, we had our first taste of playing in the U.S. (Los Angeles and San Diego). The tour was very successful. We felt that we could make something happen. There were many repeaters coming to each show at the Whisky in Hollywood and then again in San Diego. We played in front of 200 kids in San Diego. That triggered it for us, so in 2003, Kihiro(v), Ari(g) and Ryoz(d) moved to Long Beach, California. Because of financial issues, Takeshi(gu) and Toru(ba) had to wait to relocate their homes. Therefore, from 2003 to 2005, Takeshi and Toru came to the U.S. every 3 months, and during that time we wrote and recorded songs and did short tours around the west coast. We did a lot of song writing over the internet, sending mp3’s back and forth over and over again.In 2005 we met up with our current management, RPM Entertainment and we immediately took things to an entirely different level. Professional collateral, higher level shows, more touring and finally, the recording of Grow in the Cold produced by Sylvia Massy Shivy.Our first experience with Sylvia was great, though we all felt after the recording that we have more to offer (not saying anything negative about what Sylvia or her staff did…it was our limited time and funding). We look forward to more sessions with her and next time it’s going to be even better. Sylvia really “got us” and for that, we are grateful. As she often said during recording, “This album rocks!.” All of the sudden, in 2006 with all our band members living in the U.S. the band started touring every weekend to New Mexico, Nevada, Central and Northern California, Arizona and locally in Hollywood.In early 2007 Grow in the Cold was officially released in Japan and the band performed eight sold out shows in and around Japan to coincide with the release. And finally, the band was granted Performance Visas to enter and work full-time in the U.S. Thus the launch of our first-ever 50-city U.S. “Asian Invasion” Tour. This is the first time we’ve even been further than New Mexico and it is awesome–the fans are great and the venues, bands and promoters have been so good to us. We love touring!!After our first National U.S. Tour, we have a Japan Tour coming up in the Summer. It will be a 2 month tour hitting 25 cities this time!! So that will be exciting. When we get back from that, we hope to do more recording with Sylvia, probably a new EP but, who knows it maybe a full length. So after the recording we are going to hit all the places we are touring now with a new CD! Which I think it will help us to build more following thru out the U.S. We are already doing pre-productions in the studio in Texas, called Lucky Run Studio. So far I can only tell you that it is going to be an awesome album!The Album - Grow In the Cold
When we didn’t have our album it was hard. We needed something really solid to prove our ability. After the album came out, things started to catch and now it’s still hard for us to get some promoters to take us seriously – or just to take time to listen to our songs…maybe due to the fact that we are Japanese, I don’t know the reason. However, it’s really easy when they hear it. They all get excited to book us, and after they see our live show it is all they can do to bring us back. Not to be conceited, but our live show is amazing. I sweat off about five pounds a night!It feels awesome to release our own album, now thru the Internet we get comments and messages from Asia, Europe and America. It motivates us to work harder and harder, because we want to reach out to them– go to their city and perform. Even for one single person we would if we had the chance to go out there and play. I just hope that in someway our music is helping them or making them spend a good time when they turn on the stereo. That’s our job.Musically, I think it’s the blend of Japanese music inspiration and the U.S. Rock music that separates us from other bands. We understand the difference of the two musical styles very well. I think I can say the same thing with the lyrics, they’re all in English, but sometimes it starts in Japanese and then translated, which turns out to be very unique. Sometimes it can turn into something weird too..The lyrics come from very personal experiences, and the music delivers the message the way we feel it communicates the lyrics best. We feel all of the messages are very important so it is hard to pick a favorite. One night it might be Shade and another night it could be Rain to Pain to Gain. It varies. But wait until you hear some of our new (unreleased) songs!All five of us have different influences, which helps create our unique sound. Of course there are many U.S. bands that influenced us but what makes our sound different is we also maintain a Japanese influence. It’s in our blood, and it comes out so naturally and blends in with the U.S. taste of rock music that we write. If we did mention some bands, they would be SNOT, Breaking Benjamin, Smashing Pumpkins, Taproot, and Sevendust. I think we have some of each of those in us.The Song The Only One:
The back-story is this: There’s always a time when your friends and people that surround you sort-of go ahead of you. Already pursing their goals and making it happen, whether it’s their job, family, marriage or something. Like other bands, when you’re doing music you can get scared not knowing where you’re going until things start to happen. When we wrote the song, we were in that situation, just struggling not knowing what to do next. What we had to do was to believe in ourselves, we were stuck inside our dreams so much that we couldn’t get out. It was also a time to make a decision, keep playing or quit music. So I asked my self… “Am I ready to be the one?” f*** yeah! Obviously, we decided to not give up, push on and so far it’s been Great!!The Dreams
Simple, we want to tour the world and live like rock stars! Our final goal would be to be exposed throughout the world. We want to be known everywhere in every country, to share our music and entertain them with our live shows.We have been through so many things. But one thing we can say is that we are doing all of this by ourselves. DIY! I believe we are the most dedicated and committed band anywhere in the world. We’ve walked away from our country, family, support and now even our apartments and cars in the U.S. We are focused.If your one person searching for a band, just give it a shot and try listening to us. You’ll get a new taste of hard rock music and still you can relate to it, because we are listening to all the bands that you listen to. Because we are Japanese it makes it unique. Our shows…you have to see. We are totally different than any other band, what’s different is our energy on stage. You’ll feel it when you see it, so come and get it!!! peace .Listen to the awesome music by Supe:
