UPCOMING! HOUSE of MYSTERY Vol. 2, Rockin' Christmas Eve Party

HOUSE of MYSTERY Vol. 2

Rockin' Frat House on Christmas Eve!

Featuring bands:

STOMPIN' RIFF RAFFS

THE FEMININE

THEEE BAT

BOBBY's BAR

WoWZeRZ! Detroit rock SANTA CLAUS will be there! And he'll get a lap dance from upcoming burlesque starlet MIWAROCK!

Also merry holiday tunes by:

DJ HIROSHI SEKIGUCHI (SWANK)

DJ HARRY the HEMPSTEAD HEATH (HHH-PRO)

The Stately DJ WAYNE MANOR (SWAMP FICTION)

& more surprise guests!

And that's not all folks! We will be doing a Secret Santa gift exchange! Bring a gift and R&R Santa will be there to give you secret gift when we have Secret Santa Tine at 2:30am! Details below:

Secret Santa participation is not obligatory, but if you choose to bring a gift, you will get one in return. When you arrive, please check your present at the door and get a "Secret Santa Ticket" which you can exchange for a gift later in the evening. Be sure to tell the door staff if your present is for a boy, girl or good for both. "Secret Santa Time" will be strictly at 2:00AM, so be ready with your ticket!

WARNING! Your gift should be a NEW item with a retail value of about ¥1000!

サンタからクリスマスプレゼントをもらおう！

イベント当日にクリスマスプレゼントを用意して
来場された方には、『Secret Santa Time』に参加できます！

1,000円ぐらいのプレゼントを当日用意してください。
用意したプレゼントを受付でスタッフに渡してください。
その時にプレゼントが“男の子用”“女の子用”“

男女どちらでも”か伝えてください。
そして、スタッフから『Secret Santa ticket』を受け取ってください。

『Secret Santa Time』はAM2:30開催予定！

【注意】※新品／USED問いません。ただし、“プレゼント”という趣旨に反するようなものは控えてください。誰かに喜んでもらえるもの。それが今回のプレゼントのテーマです。

MYSTERY MONDAYS Vol 4., "No Nov Ember"

Well, seeing as I didn't get any pics from this one, you're gonna have to take my word for it. This party was a fractured celebration of noise, poetry, rock, dissonance and harmony. I started off the night DJing some more classic NY sounds including Patti Smith and James Chance as well as mixing in some Richard Hell and William S. Burroughs spoken word into contemporary post-punk from the east coast US, namely i, fanblades from Delaware, MD and Armedalite Rifles from Pine Bush, NY. Too band a crowd didn't start filling in until a bit later begging the question put to us by the age old Zen koan, "do records make music if no one is in the club?" Too bad, cause Burrough's "Dead Souls" sounded even more apocalyptic against the dub reggae groove of Armedalite Rifle's "Tomorrow Never Comes." Nonetheless, I was very to happy to have a nice crowd file in after I tapped guest DJ Luca Tieri who was manning a merch table with his art at the moment and in town from Italy for the week. He spun a rare blend of vintage Italian punk & power pop and Japanese new wave exotica.

The first band to play was ROCKET JACK VADERS, a Japanese underground group that started out doing surf and garage and is noted for joining the NYC Japunks entourage nearly 10 years ago. More recently they've adopted a no-wave influenced sound with extra percussion and some alto horn sounds while keeping their surfy roots. If this sounds good to you, you can pick up their CD Vector at Pacifiction Records. I don't have any pics of them at Mystery Monday, so here's a video of their song "$ ¥" complete with samples from Blue velvet!



Rocket Jack Vaders

Etching out a name in the Tokyo arts & poetry underground scene over the past couple decades is Yuichiro Azuma and his no-wave inspired group FLIGHT OF IDEA. I met them several years ago after taking a trip to Taiwan's Spring Scream festival. They were also the first band I helped gig around NYC where Azuma met some local poets including the late Tuli Kupferburg. Their CDs "Talk Hard" and "a Day" are also available from Pacifiction Records. FLIGHT OF IDEA were the second Mystery Monday band performing their mixture of saxaphone bursts and rock structure, call-and-response monologues and poetry that converses rather than talks to the audience. In a joke aimed at me, Azuma started off saying he hates Mondays in an improve piece... they ended their set with another improv song called Mystery Mondays! Here is a video for their latest major song, "Beat Boat."



In between the bands, expat Michael Pacheco, formerly of the Asian American new wave rock band THE SLANTS, played a DJ set under his new moniker LAKESHORE DRIVING, really a project that remixes and mimics 80's electro-pop but with a modern dance party vibe. I finished the party with a set geared more towards UK post-punk, ie. Gang of Four, The Flys, and NYC No Wave, artist like Mars, DNA and Lydia Lunch. definitely a fun party for a Monday and special thanks to all the musiciana, DJs, friends and guests that came out!

Upcoming! MYSTERY MONDAYS Vol. 4, "No Nov Ember"

MYSTERY MONDAYS Vol. 4
"No Nov Ember"
Hatagaya Heavy Sick

OPEN: 20:00
TICKET: 1800 +1D

4-hour new wave, no wave, post-punk party people!

Featuring bands:

FLIGHT OF IDEA
ROCKET JACK VADERS

Guest DJs:
LAKESHORE DRIVING (ex-THE SLANTS)

Late addition!

DJ LUCA TIERI (Italy)

Host DJ:
The Stately DJ WAYNE MANOR (SWAMP FICTION)

MYSTERY MONDAYS Vol. 3, Halloween Bash

This past October we had a nice Mystery Monday Halloween party to kick of the week leading up to All Hallow's Eve on the following Sunday. Heavy Sick was well decorated with spider webs, bats and jack-o-lanterns and I offered plenty of trick-or-treat candy and goodies like mini-skeletons and spider rings. And of curse plenty of spooky tunes on the turntables and cool live bands.



The first band to play was PLAY FIGHT, a band of mixed nationalities with each member bringing his own influence and style. The end result is a well-crafted and tight mix of indie rock, funk and lounge with songs in both English and Japanese. They've been making noise in the Tokyo expat scene and have a growing following in the city.



The next band was ANDROID BEACH PARTY, a wired mix of surf-instrumentals and sci-fi themed space-jams led by Canadian musician Chris Farr. His CD "Scientific Flying Machine" is now available at Pacifiction Records and the band has recently been active playing more frequently with Japanese garage bands. Chris and DJ Sachi B were dressed in skeleton suits in real Misfits Halloween fashion making the night truly festive.




In between live sets, the DJ station was creating plenty of noise that goes bump in the night with the help of creepy connoisseur DJ Mr. DEATH and the trashy garage and freak show tunes of BILLY TRASH of the notorious ED WOODS. My DJ set as the Stately Wayne manor invoked typical Halloween spirit with music by the Misfits, The Monsters and the Cramps. Sachi B caught some of our more stooge moments of film!




(DJs BILLY TRASH, WAYNE MANOR & Mr. DEATH goofing at the tables)



(THE STATELY DJ WAYNE MANOR & his skull maraca)



(ANDROID BEACH PARTY jamming on stage)



(BILLY TRASH & MR. DEATH do the MISFITS!)

MYSTERY MONDAYS Vol. 2, Mystery Girls Part 1

(THE HARPY's at Mystery Girls Part 1; Photo by SACHI B)

The last Monday of September was our first installment of Mystery Girls, featuring girl bands and rockin' female DJs. It was also the welcome back gig for THE HARPY's fresh off their US tour with myself acting as tour manager wheeling for them around the NYC/tri-state area. Despite it being rainy and having a light crowd, THE HARPY's proved once again they are an untiring force on the Japanese indie punk scene.


(THE DARLINGS at Mystery Girls Part 1; Photo by SACHI B)

The second featured girl band was THE DARLINGS who combine cutesy 60's fashion with upbeat and occasionally raw powerpop making for a pretty unique sound while fitting into the Tokyo garage scene. In between acts, DJ SACHI B, of the Go Honey Go record hop, and DJ KYOKO of punk band THE LEGS provided rockin' psychobilly & garage tunes. Yours truly, The Stately Wayne Manor and DJ Michael of Head Kicked in provided MC action and opening and closing sets. I'm already planning some surprise guests for Mystery Girls Part 2 which should take place at the end of January or February, so keep your panties on!

UP-COMING: MYSTERY MONDAYS Vol.2, Mystery Girls Part 1

The second Mystery Monday is rockin' at Heavy Sick next week, this time with a femme fatale twist. Mystery Girls Part 1 is gonna be a chick gang showdown between fiery riot grrls THE HARPY's and powerpop wonders THE DARLINGS! And if the estrogen didn't stop flowing there... we have two guest DJs, the rocka queen SACHI B from DJ Bar Chrome's GO HONEY GO! and punk pathetique bootstomper KYOKO who drums for THE LEGS. And of course, standing in the shadows will be yours truly, THE STATELY WAYNE MANOR & his newly appointed side-kick DJ MICHAEL who regularly hosts Head Kicked In at the Dope Music Bar Foggy.

HOUSE of MYSTERY Vol. 1

Last Sunday I hosted the my first event in Tokyo which I hope to make into a regular series. My idea for Wayne Manor's HOUSE of MYSTERY is to not only have a savage line-up of Japanese garage & punk bands, but also include sideshow entertainments during entertainments. So last Sunday we were graced by THE FLY's newest fling, belly-dancing princess SHAULA LEE... there was also an arm-wrestling contest featuring the fierce CHRIS the ARM-CRUSHER and little challenger DJ OKD of the demented duo YUKKUM YUKKUM along with psycho-weirdo DJ Mr. DEATH! At the end of the nite I pulled raffle tickets and awarded the prizes like a bobble-head Rat Fink and Doggy Style: The Dogs Tribute, with illustration by Rockin' Jelly Bean! Despite being quite busy 'n getting frazzled trying to keep all the bands on time, play my DJ sets and host these skits, it was all worthwhile!


(CHRIS the ARM-CRUSHER vs KAYO (ex-FALSIES ON HEAT drummer!) & WAYNE MANOR!)

It was also a Bon Voyage party for THE HARPY's who I will actually be flying to NY with for their US tour which kicks off next weekend! I jumped on stage and had an American beer KANPAI with Budweiser to celebrate. Les VIVIAN BOYS played next and gave a very European chic meets Japanese mystique performance. Next I passed out home-made Batman masks and played the original 60's TV soundtrack for a Bat-craze dance party just in time for THEEE BAT to blast a high-power cover of Blue Cheer's "Summertime Blues!" THE FLY & his one-man garbage played his slick garage blues and invited rockabilly double bass & guitar men for a hot tune. ED WOODS freaked out like never before with a frantic room of trash followers, I think Billy showed us his entire collection of Batman dungarees before slipping around on the floor! And ANISAKIS finished up the night with their darkly hyper post-punk that ended in bloody fingers and fretboards. So despite my nerves on the edge of a hectic night, everything turned out very cool. My turbaned head is receiving vibes and I predict the HOUSE of MYSTERY will open its doors once again!


(KUB SHARP of THEEE BAT)

MYSTERY MONDAY Vol. 1 - Punk Nite

So last week I started up a new regular event titled Mystery Mondays. The idea is to have a mini-live (or 2 band show) with a couple guest DJs every time. The first was more of a punk nite with the '77 punk and skinny tie New Wave style of THE LEGS, a relatively new band on the Tokyo scene that is still gaining ground.



The headliner SEE HER TONITE was a more melodic Japanese punk with a longer history in the Tokyo punk scene alongside bands like The Havenots and Water Closet. Both bands fit well together and I played a DJ set as The Stately Wayne Manor of mostly new gen garage punk, 77 punk and power pop. The guest DJ was Michael, a half-Russian Japanese kid who is a resident at the Dope Music Bar Foggy in Takadanobaba where he does a regular party called Head Kicked In.



The next Mystery Monday, this upcoming September 27th, is sub-titled Myster Girls Part 1 and will feature female-fronted bands THE DARLINGS and THE HARPY's (first show after their return from their US tour!). DJs will include KYOKO, drummer of THE LEGS and SACHI B who hosts a regular party called GO HONEY GO! at DJ BAR CHROME. I will post another blog about this soon!

Mystery Mondays - Coming to Tokyo this August

This is the Stately DJ Wayne Manor speaking to you all about the new Mystery Monday events coming to Heavy Sick in Hatagaya, Tokyo. The last Monday of every month, by paying a pittance of 1,200 yen, you can experience two superbly wild up-and-coming Japanese bands, occasionally you might even see a well-established act or a group who've braved the seven seas. In between these savage live performances you will hear a myriad of sounds provided by myself, the Stately Wayne Manor, alongside a sophisticated selection of obscure tunes by several guest DJs. It's all for your pleasure... and mine, so enjoy!