Domingo 1 Jul 2012, 22h:55

Now that Tokyo Jihen disbanded and Shiina Ringo just released a lame and mostly boring tryout of a rock song for some dorama, I got myself thinking about her last solo release before this one: An instrumental song where she plays piano, in a duo with long time partner violinist Saito Neko. That was cool! And if you watched recently released Tokyo Jihen’s “Last Live” DVD, entitled Bon Voyage, you could see her skills on piano are really good (actually we could already see that in other DVDs, like Tokyo Incidents Vol. 1, Dai Ikkai Ringohan, Ringo Expo 08 and Zazen Extasy). So, what if our Japanese Goddess of Music could unite her piano talents with a hard rocking sound reminiscent of her Shouso Strip days in a band formed only by Japanese awesome female musicians? That’s what I pictured:

- Keyboard/Backing vocals: Shiina Ringo (Solo/Tokyo Jihen)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Ky82Mts5L._SL500_.jpg

Since this is planned to be a rock n’ roll band, Ringo (椎名林檎) would not only play the grand piano but also some neat synthesizers, just like his fellow bandmate Izawa (東京事変). Ringo was trained on piano as a child, and it is probably the instrument she uses to write most of her songs. Here, she would work more like a team leader and songwriter, leaving the main spotlight to the vocalist (to be revealed in the end of this text), but would also present us listeners with her distinct vocals in the shape of background ones, together with the lead guitarist. As for the video above, we could expect intense piano-driven ballads too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9qZpd0nxa8

- Lead Guitar/Backing vocals: Wata (Boris)

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2372/2518249437_313b1f2572_z.jpg

This Asian-doll-faced woman can take the shit out of male shredders anywhere. With her exquisite and heavy guitar tones, she can burst out a frenetic guitar solo while her face looks totally peaceful, as if she is thinking of lakes and trees or something. Plus, she also sings in Boris, with a sweet, almost whispering voice which is also very unfamiliar. And if Shiina Ringo is known for being a music chameleon, Boris is well known for being pretty much that same as a band, so here we could have a lot of possibilities for a creative partnership. And she's into Orange amps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_GgowniQWk

- Bass: Tokie (Losalios/Unkie/AJICO/RIZE/Ace of Spades)

http://livedoor.2.blogimg.jp/clammbon0420/imgs/4/0/4044858e.jpg

To accompany such monsters of music above mentioned, I choose Tokie. She’s got the attitude, the looks, the skills and the experience required. This babe comes from two impressive instrumental bands (Losalios and Unkie), was a founder member of modern rock act RIZE and even accompanied legend Tomoyasu Hotei on tour. She also played on AJICO, a project led by Blankey Jet City’s Kenich Asai and singer UA on vocals, and now she is teaming up with Glay’s Hisashi on his new pop rock band, Ace of Spades.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUCjpEKjX7Y

- Drums: Yoko Fukuda (Boom Boom Satellites)

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2551/4153089521_ba5b56a8c6.jpg

This girl is not really a well-known musician, but is one hell of a drummer. Yoko plays as a support member for electronic rock duo Boom Boom Satellites, and she just got the grip that my dream band needs, especially if we consider the roughness of its vocalist. As if her drumming was not enough, Yoko has a mysterious aura that almost never lets her reveals her face, hidden through her hair and the drum kit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYotpZH9XbQ

- Lead vocals/Rhythm guitar: AYA - (solo)

http://i49.tinypic.com/34sm3vd.jpg

AYA, whose oficial artist name is 亜矢, in kanji, is an obscure rock chick who had some brief popularity in the early 2000’s, presenting somewhat of a Japanese-girl version of grunge. She even had her first album produced in Seattle by Adam Kasper, which produced a couple of Foo Fighters' albums. She eventually recorded an anime theme, the ballad Overnight, and disappeared without a trace since 2006. This chick can write and sing some hard-edged, angst-filled, powerful songs, and can play guitar like she is actually beating someone up. There’s no better place for her comeback than my dream band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM0rocRd9hI

Ok, now I am imagining a version of Shiina Ringo’s Tsumi to Batsu performed by this band, and it totally kicks ass. Someone please e-mail this text to her and make this happen.