Where to begin... last year when Pollo was in Japan, we saw a band called The WHYs. We were immediately impressed. Briefly put, and with no offense to the Pamita and Leslita, The Whys are like the Neptunas, but they can play their asses off. There ya go...
Ruiko (guitar) and Naomi (bass) dress in hula skirts and play garage surf inspired by the Trashmen and Dick Dale. Ruiko has also become a big fan of Shigeo Naka and apes alot of his moves. I guess to complete the Neptunas comparison, Yuta would be the Jeff Utterback skin pounder of the band...
The manager of The Surf Coasters signed them to his label, and produced their new CD. I thought it would be fun to bring them to the US, so I set up a tour for them in NorCal, SoCal and Las Vegas. The tour takes them very much on the same path as The Kilaueas and The Madeira, so I am hoping that anybody close by will come to the shows. I don't expect any one to fly in, but I know you won't be dissappointed if you come to the shows.
I'll be honest, their recorded material does not reflect the band very well. The first CDR "Surf Opera" is poorly recorded, not really warm enough to be called lo-fi, but it does show off The Whys great energy and creative arrangements. The new CD San Jyo, is too slick for a garage band, though the songs are better shown off. Shigeo Naka plays rhythm guitar on a lot of the tracks. Phil Dirt told me he had questions about some of the song writing credits, so check his review whenever Reverb Central comes back online.
Setting up a tour for a completely unkown band has been much more work than putting together the Surf Coasters tour. The Surf Coasters were actually pretty well known and having 15+ CDs released helped their notoriety. The Whys really have nothing except one song on a Sazanami comp, a CDR and a new CD. But, I think they are a great band, and I look forward to seeing every one of their 11 shows. I hope you will be intersted as well!
Here are some links to get you started.
http://www.myspace.com/whysjapan
http://www.poprecords.com/whys
Thanks,
--ferenc

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Last edited: Nov 13, 2010 09:21:48

Hey Not to be a big whinner(sp?)
but could you please post who ( at least surf wise) will be playing with them at each venue.
The Thurs at the Lava is not my favorite but I wll go to support them.
And also the Friday nigt in San Diego.

Thanks for bringing them to us Ferenc.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Whooo Hoooo! 19 Broadway AND Hotel Utah!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Ferenc!

-outsides-
With Vigah!

BTD- At least you didn't put 'wiener' !

But seriously, looking forward to these shows, another fine Japanese surf band brought to you by Ferenc.

-outsides-

image
The Whys tour dates have been updated and are hopefully all totally solid at this point. One change is the the Los Angeles date has been changed from The Lava Lounge to The Purple Orchid in El Segundo. I would describe the Lava Lounge as being no longer "surf friendly". The Purple Orchid is a very cool bar. The Insect Surfers will not be opening this show as they have a gig the next night about 50 feet away in Hermosa Beach.
http://www.poprecords.com/whys
I also uploaded a bunch of pictures and the tour poster, and an MP3 for your enjoyment.
So, enjoy!
thanks,
--Ferenc

Buy Speed of Dark @ Bandcamp
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Phil Dirt reviewed "San Jyo" by The Whys- 4 Stars!
Read the entire review at:
http://reverbcentral.com/reviews/w/whys5488.html

The Why's - Sanjyo

The Why's were characterized to me as a kind of Neptunas, but Japanese cute. I'm not sure that fits. The musicianship on the disc is quite solid, especially the drums.

Tracks 1-6 are reasonably well mixed, and display some interesting melodies, though a couple are lifted from the work of others.

Tracks 7-10 have an aural quality that is completely unlike the first 6, coming clearly from a different source, and were not remastered to overcome that stark difference. These are relatively murky, lacking in perceived dynamics, and sport much less sophisticated writing that is more like frat rock with reverb than surf.

All that said, I know many of you will find the Why's to be just what the doctor ordered, and they are touring the West Coast in November, so you and I can see what they are like live.

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PolloGuitar
Just confirmed as the opener for the Hotel Utah show- the premier of The TomorrowMen (with SG101ers Danny Snyder and Tony Bologna).
--ferenc

can someone pretty please with sugar on top video this

WR

Rules to live by #314:
"When in Italy, if the menu says something's grilled, don't assume it is."

https://www.facebook.com/The-Malbehavers-286429584796173/

PolloGuitar
Opening for The WHYs at the Los Angeles show will be David Arnson, Marty Tippens, Adrien Anthony and myself playing Insect, Pollo and cover tunes...

The 19 Broadway in Fairfax show has a down beat start time of 8:30. So thats kinda cool 'cause it's a work night.

Updates as they happpppppen....
--ferenc

sigh...............so far away.......

www.surfintheeye.com

i'm packing tomorrow

www.surfintheeye.com

I picked up the WHYs at the airport this morning and they are in my garage warming up right now. Here's a little YouTube greeting from the band:Konichiwa!
I hope you can come out to the shows!
Tonight- 19 Broadway in Fairfax. So it's a little rainy... they flew in from Japan for you!
--ferenc

Buy Speed of Dark @ Bandcamp
Buy Spin the Bottle @ Bandcamp
My Blog- Euro Tour Blog
Pool Boys on Spotify
INSTAGRAM
Frankie & The Pool Boys on FB
Pollo Del Mar on FB
DJ Frankie Pool Boy on North Sea Surf Radio