Part of what makes Yagami Toll!!
YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT LISTENING TO THIS!!
Translation: Lola
Grand Funk Railroad
-[On Time] released in 1969.
-[Live Album] released in 1970.
-[We're an American Band] released in 1973.
-[HITS] released in 1977.
How did you first get to hear them?
I'm talking about Grand Funk Railroad this time. I've been really missing my brother lately and well, this reminds me of him. I've told a similar story before but I got to hear them for the first time because there was a stereo in our study room and my older brother and his friends were listening to them. So you know, even though I was studying, I was listening to the music too *smiles*. As a hard rock drummer myself, the first thing I noticed was the drummer of the band, Don Brewer. I think the band debuted around 1969 so I was in my second grade of elementary school. They came to Japan in 1971 and the legend says that they played Korakuen Stadium in the middle of a storm. There was like 35000 people out in that thunderstorm! I guess in those days the stadium was the best place for people to take shelter in. It was the first time a live was played there. That's why it's legendary. Both Mark Farner and the drummer sing lead vocals. The lead vocalist was really a wonderful singer on his own but, maybe he felt sad...singing by himself? At first? I'm not sure if it was the drummer or the main vocalist who wrote the song that made it to number one on the billboard singles chart but the song itself was 'We're an American Band'.
What are some memories associated with the music or why is it so close to your heart?
I saw them live when they got back together, in 1977... I think? Unfortunately the bassist sounded like crap, he was playing like he was high or something...and he had been so amazing back in the day! But then again he was the only one to quit the music industry completely to become a businessman. And it showed in his sound when they got back together.
Back in their glory days, their thing was to play the harmonica and they'd always throw it into the audience after! So when they did that during the live after they got back together I couldn't help but laugh you know *smiles*. Since they broke up in 1976, you'd think it'd take them 20 years or something to get back together. But when they reformed the band, they came to Japan and played the Sun Plaza in Nakano. There was such an insane number of people at the show that I couldn't even buy a t-shirt or tour pamphlet! Everything sold out in a flash! So even thought I wanted to buy stuff, I couldn't get anything.
Right so these guys ended up doing a band stand thing with a newcomer on the scene, Jimi Hendrix. The band really praised him. Once he had gone off stage they said something like, "That's good singing and good playing!"(1). Which basically means they were saying both his singing and his performance were great! From then on, Jimi Hendrix was already a legend.
Recommendations?
Of course I'd recommend 'We're an American Band' and the song that was used for the Soft Bank commercial, 'Locomotion'. The original 'Locomotion' song is a bit different, they arranged it in a hard rock style. And as a little bonus info... Don Brewer often used drum fills which basically simplifies the drumming sound by kind of mixing the tam-tam and the snare and I first used it for Buck-Tick's song 'SEXUAL XXXXX' as I was greatly influenced by him *smiles*.
(1) Toll actually quoted that in English, which is why he then explained what it meant after.