Filed under: Gear | Tags: doggy hood$, downforlife, fashion, gear, merch, new release
Take a look at these handsome fellas.
So during the time when I wasn’t posting, one of my favorite Japanese bands, Doggy Hood$, got back together with a new singer and started playing some shows around Tokyo. That’s really sweet. It would have made for some good content for this blog. In fact, I thought about writing something about it but I never did.
Doggy Hood$ blends a weird mixture of beatdown hardcore with the attitude of West Coast hip hop. That said, Doggy Hood$ isn’t some rapcore group or anything like that. It’s hard to explain…you should just try giving them a listen to find out what I mean.
Anyways, DOWNFORLIFE, a Japanese street fashion clothing line, just announced a special edition Doggy Hood$ t-shirt with a limited print of 20. I’m trying to figure out how to get one now.
IndieRockStore, the usual place for DOWNFORLIFE gear, doesn’t have it listed for sale yet. I hope I can score one of these, it’s awesome. Check it out.
Don’t believe the hype. Or do believe the hype. I don’t care. DHC.
Maybe I’ll dedicate this weeks ‘Fashion Friday’ to DOWNFORLIFE. Sure, why not. Stay tuned.
Filed under: Concerts | Tags: club asia, concert, nasty, numb, olympik 2012, sand, war hound
One of the many Olympik 2012 flyers
So in the tradition of posting info about upcoming shows in Japan, I’ll take this time to give a quick update about the annual Olympik show that’s coming up on August 19, 2012 at Club Asia in Shibuya.
This show is pretty unique because not only are their bands from Osaka (SAND, NUMB), but also a couple bands from overseas. I believe this may be the first Japan show for the bands Nasty from Germany and War Hound from the USA, but I’m not entirely sure. Anyways, here are the details.
8/19(SUN) “OLYMPIK”@渋谷ASIA (Club Asia, Shibuya, Tokyo)
NASTY (EU)
WAR HOUND (US)
NUMB
SAND
EDGE OF SPIRIT
DOGGY HOODS
FIGHT IT OUT
and MORE
DJ OHNO(FLJ)
DJ KENONE(ETERNAL B)
and MORE
OPEN 15:30～/START 16:30～
ADV. ¥3,500- / DOORS. ¥4,500-
It’s hard to decide where to get started. I guess I’ll start by mentioning the upcoming Olympik 2012 show coming up on August 19 at Club Asia in Shibuya. Some of my favorite bands will be playing, including Edge of Spirit, who will be selling this new t-shirt at their merch table. More about Olympik 2012 coming up soon, including flyer, ticket info, band line up, etc.
Filed under: Site news
What had become a pretty good start to this page ended up taking a turn for the worst when I encountered a shock to my personal life (job loss) which in turn caused me to focus my efforts elsewhere. Recently, I have discovered that doing so has been detrimental to my goals. Thus, I am posting here again and hopefully I can keep up with it this time. I have done this before; enthusiastically beginning a new project only to abandon it soon after. I am not entirely sure why I do this but it needs to stop.
Before moving to Japan, I spent years learning as much as I could about Japanese hardcore and metal. My entire physical CD collection is only Japanese music and every album on my mp3 player is a hardcore band from Japan. Now that I am living in Tokyo, I owe it to myself and the world to provide exposure to the bustling scene that I am fortunate to participate in. So my commitment to this site, the bands, the scene, and myself is set in stone. That being said, Pit Justice begins again today, roughly 2 months since I lost my focus.
I want to thank everyone who has been checking out the site even though there hasn’t been any new content for a while. Some of you are checking it daily. I really appreciate it.
The Afterbase sign outside the shop, taken by yours truly
Afterbase, located in downtown Osaka, is one of the most well known, influential and hardworking street fashion and underground music proprietors in all of Japan. I could seriously write a 10-page report about everything that these dudes have done and it still wouldn’t cover it all.
I guess I can start by linking to their site: Afterbase Online Store
Afterbase Mosh Department
Afterbase has some of the most awesome designs I’ve seen here in Japan for street fashion. It totally caters to the hardcore and hip hop scene here and their branding isn’t simply limited to a few t-shirts or hoodys. You can get a god damn Afterbase coffee mug if you really wanted to. These guys have their label on almost every kind of merchandise you can think of; hats, bags, shirts, pants, keychains, ashtrays, lighters. Don’t take my word for it. Check out their items page which consists of over 890 different things. That’s insane. And really fucking impressive.
This Afterbase t-shirt design has the right idea
Besides their merchandising and branding on textiles and clothing, Afterbase has been supporting the independent hardcore and hip hop scene in Osaka and elsewhere in Japan since they first opened up shop. One of their best known legacies is the on-going Freestyle Outro music festival in Osaka. It showcases the most popular and hard hitting Japanese hardcore bands, hip hop groups, and DJ’s among other things. In fact, the newest Freestyle Outro 8 DVD just dropped and can be found on Afterbase’s site as well as many other shops here in Japan.
The Freestyle Outro 8 trailer:
Anyways, I could go on and on about Afterbase and everything they’ve done and what they are currently doing and so on. But really, just go take a look at their online shop yourself to get a better idea.
If you are into Japanese hardcore, hip hop, underground culture or street fashion and you are not sporting Afterbase gear on the regular, then you’re doing it wrong. Order some shit from these guys. They deserve your money and you deserve to wear some of the most fashionable shit out there right now.
Afterbase online store
Afterbase blog
Afterbase Twitter
Afterbase showcase gallery
Filed under: Shops | Tags: afterbase, clothes, fashion, hardcore, haughty, ruler, shaft store, shops, tokyo
One of my favorite street fashion shops in Tokyo is Shaft Store. What’s awesome about this place is that they carry Afterbase gear that is difficult to find locally. Shaft Store‘s reservation page is a convenient way to get dibs on new gear that’s usually offered in limited quantities. Brands like Japan’s Afterbase, Ruler, and Haughty can be pre-ordered at Shaft Store‘s reservation page. They also offer an existing stock of merchandise from various brand labels including the ones mentioned above.
Check out Shaft Store’s website to see what they have going on and if you’re in Tokyo, check their location page and take some time to make a visit. They’re located near Yoyogi Park in central Tokyo. Drop some coin there, you won’t be disappointed!
Shaft Store Online Shop
Shaft Store Blog
Shaft Store Twitter
Filed under: Websites | Tags: gauge means nothing, hardcore, killie, meatcube, sanitized japan
I’m not exactly sure where to start with this post. I guess I can begin by how I came across the Sanitized Japan (The Absent Trail of an Echo and My Future Plagued by Surrender) website. At the time, I was searching around for websites that covered obscure hardcore bands from Japan when I was on the hunt for Atmosfear’s Demon-Straight 1999 album (which I posted about earlier). In the process, I came across the Sanitized Japan website and was surprised by the amount of content, writing and effort that was put into the site. Ryan, the webmaster of Sanitized Japan, is a Japanese music enthusiast who has lived in Kyoto and also performed in the Japanese band Gauge Mean Nothing. He demonstrates a sincere understanding of the subjects he is covering. In fact, Ryan is my main inspiration behind starting this website.
A gleaming example of his efforts can been seen in his recent post regarding an interview he did with the Japanese band “Killie”. The interview itself is interesting, but what is more striking is learning about the history behind the interview and Ryan’s heartfelt efforts.
Please check out Ryan’s Sanitized Japan website to get a better idea about what I’m talking about here. I’m having troubles expressing in words exactly how I feel about what Ryan is doing with his website, but I can honestly say that it’s one of the strongest websites of its kind and I am excited to watch it grow.
Sanitized Japan (The Absent Trail of an Echo and My Future Plagued by Surrender)
Check out Ryan’s label and distro Meatcube.
Follow Ryan on Twitter.
Filed under: Concerts | Tags: concerts, endzweck, hardcore, live, merch, tours
Japan’s hardcore legends Endzweck have been quite busy lately. Here’s a quick update on what they have going on.
June 2, 2012 (Sat) @ Shimokitazawa Era
MIRROR
Malegoat
ENDZWECK
Doors: 6:00 PM / Music: 6:30 PM
Ticket info: 2000¥ ADV / 2500¥ DOOR, advance tickets available at Lawson’s.
June 24, 2012 (Sat) @ Hatsudai WALL
Fakecount
Fight It Out
Endzweck
Creepout
As We Let Go
A.O.W.
Ticket info: 1500¥ ADV / 1800¥ DOOR (+1 drink)
born_to_be_fun.imok@softbank.ne.jp (mobile)
fakecount_jp@yahoo.co.jp (PC)
Also, let’s not forget the upcoming We Must Stand United As One Vol. 2 show coming up that I posted about earlier.
Another nice surprise is Endzweck has some limited edition merch available for the two shows in June. You gotta email the dudes in Endzweck after you get your ticket and tell them what t-shirt size you want. It’ll be 1000¥. CHEAP! More info about that t-shirt deal here at Endzweck’s blog.
My favorite Endzweck song – Endzweck – Capitalists And Communists:
Filed under: Concerts | Tags: antiknock, endzweck, hardcore, loyal to the grave, nervous light of sunday, numb
The upcoming We Must Be United As One Vol. 2 concert (August 4, 2012, more info and tickets at Anti-Knock’s website here) has a t-shirt design to celebrate the event.
Bands on this bill (some of my all-time favorites):
GAUZE
nervous light of sunday
NUMB
LOYAL TO THE GRAVE
ENDZWECK
Filed under: New Releases | Tags: hardcore, ishizue, loyal to the grave, Osaka, thick as blood
Disregard my last post. It looks like Ishizue Records in Osaka has copies of the Loyal To The Grave / Thick As Blood split CD. If you can’t make it to the shows, make sure you head over to Ishizue’s website and order it there!
It’s only 300 yen, less than a can of beer.
Click here to order.
Loyal To The Grave official site
Pit Justice JP 