Tales From The Livehouse

We sat down with Takashi (Otus, Loyal To The Grave) to chat about his first time attending and playing Concrete Jungle Fest in Thailand and his 20 years in the Tokyo hardcore scene! Got questions or comments about Japanese hardcore? Shoot them our way!  livehousetales@gmail.com Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/straight-edge-%E3%81%A8%E3%81%84%E3%81%86%E6%80%9D%E6%83%B3-%E6%AD%B4%E5%8F%B...

It’s been a minute! While we were taking the Autumn off , our guest Side to side in Da Kitchen has been hard at work in Toronto. Hailing from Japan, Yoshi has been living in Toronto for the past 6 years and started showcasing his cooking skills online. We chat with him about his origin story and life in Toronto in this episode.  Follow Yoshi @sidetoside_indakitchen Got questions or comments about...

In part 2 of our conversation with Adam from FACT, he takes us through the different eras of FACT, his history with the band prior to joining them, and early days of touring internationally. We also dive into some unique differences in marketing styles for major label bands in Japan vs overseas.  FACT will be playing their final show on October 5th at Makuhari Messe with many friends that they’ve...

We welcome our first guest on the show today! Visiting from LA but hailing from the UK, Adam Graham has played guitar in the legendary post-hardcore band FACT since 2012. In part one, Adam takes us through the early 2000’s scene in Japan, his unique experience with the music industry, and eventually how he ended up as the third guitarist of FACT.  FACT will be playing their final show on October 5...

Today we’re catching up on some great shows we went to over the summer and diving into the Summer Bash 2025 & Bloodaxe lineups. For the newly acquainted, Summer Bash is Osaka’s summer hardcore fest that usually runs a week before Bloodaxe Fest.  Some bands + other stuff discussed today: Geji Fight It Out live at El Puente MUT Divine Right (NC Straight Edge) Point of View Furious Records Summer...

Our summer vacation is almost over but, in the meantime, here's another episode! Join us as we check out the latest announcements for the summer season, discuss bands that might not be on some radars and judge Phill for his pronunciation of a particular word & hangover cures. A few of the bands mentioned: Tive -  https://tive.bandcamp.com/ Horsehead Nebula - https://horseheadnebulahc.band...

This week we sit down and chat about Dan’s recent trip to Bangkok for Concrete Jungle Fest! We discuss some new music from Japan's next biggest band - View From The Soyuz and upcoming shows for the summer/fall in Tokyo.  Got questions or comments about Japanese hardcore? Shoot them our way!   livehousetales@gmail.com Livehouses & future sources for hardcore in Japan: https://docs.google.c...

Today we’re catching up on some recent events around town - Nine Percent news, bands are doing listening parties, and Dan is off to Bangkok.  Got questions or comments about Japanese hardcore? Shoot them our way!   livehousetales@gmail.com Huge shout out to Motty for the artwork! Livehouses & future sources for hardcore in Japan: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jsvI3TCDIM-kdMajLdtZzghU...

CD still rules the land of Japan, but idol CD singles are king. Today we explore how the country that gave us the Walkman didn’t have major artists on Spotify until 2019. We also catch up on some recent shows today and Phill reveals his painful injury suffered at the hands of View From The Soyuz. Then go digging for some rare Japanese hardcore, punk, and more on Den6’s YouTube channel! Dan’s favor...

What makes a good venue? How actually mosh-able are all of these live houses we go to? With well over 1000 live houses in Japan, we dive into the holy trinity of hardcore live houses and our favorites we’ve been to over the years.  Live house map (far from complete but includes live houses discussed in this episode and more) Talk shit to us via email! livehousetales@gmail.com A reminder that if yo...

We sit down to chat about Japan’s largest hardcore festival - Bloodaxe, and look at how this whole thing got started and dive into May’s lineup! Be sure to check out all of the bands playing + surrounding tours below ↓ If you’re coming from abroad and need a ticket, email info@bloodaxefest.jp to reserve your ticket now!  Bloodaxe Fest Lineup Bloodaxe Spotify Playlist   Bloodaxe Spring 2025 Bands:...

Who is Phill with two L’s? Who is Dan? What’s a livehouse and why are we going to them? Find out all of that out and more in Episode 1 of Tales From The Livehouse.  Talk shit to us via email! livehousetales@gmail.com A few of the bands mentioned in today’s episode:  Tive (Osaka) https://open.spotify.com/intl-ja/artist/5F6ol4wCxpsAjVRlwTQVTp?si=egjpfn5JR36557mvn7Wkjw Universe Last A Ward (Fukuoka)...