In a spirit of colorful collaboration, ska popstrels Oreskaband have teamed up with Scott Murphy, the Chicago punk-pop solo artist who has been making waves in Japan recently with his albums of J-pop covers. Since Murphy's regular touring band includes members of Polysics, Ellegarden and B-Dash, Oreskaband's lighter, poppier style will make for an interesting backing on their forthcoming joint tour.
The six young horn-slingers will play an opening set of their own songs each night before joining Murphy as his backing band for a series of covers, most of which are nostalgic pop hits of yesteryear (hence the title of his series of CDs, "Guilty Pleasures"). According to Oreskaband's management, these will include "Love Machine" by Morning Musume, "Donnatokimo" by Noriyuki Makihara and the theme tune from the kids' cartoon "Doraemon," with "Ai Uta," by secretive band GReeeeN, providing a contemporary spin.
The collaboration portion of the show will be recorded for release in June on DVD — so don't forget to wear your best mosh-pit ensemble and smile for the cameras.
Considering the sometimes jealous competition within Japan's money-mad music industry, it's nice to see two artists on rival major labels joining forces. Considering Murphy's knack for picking out cheesy old pop songs and then dialing up the punk, and Oreskaband's tight but fun showmanship, this could well be a pleasurable match — and certainly nothing to feel guilty about.
The "Scott Murphy Meets Oreskaband" tour plays Feb. 24 at Osaka Club Quattro ([06] 6281-8181); Feb. 26 at Nagoya Club Quattro ([052] 264-8211); and Feb. 27 at Shibuya Club Quattro ([03] 3462-6969). Each show starts at 6 p.m., and tickets are ¥3,800 in advance (Tokyo sold out).
