official GF blog

(edit: it was a wild show – I attended the last two dates in LA)

Without dropping any prior hints, Japanese punk icons GING NANG BOYZ (銀杏BOYZ) announced they will be releasing an album with the American indies label Lauren Records this week.

Along with the release, a US tour was announced with six stops along the West coast, marking the official America debut of the influential band.

This announcement came as a huge surprise for US fans, like myself, who prayed to even see them live in their home country of Japan.

Tickets are often sold out. To even get a chance to purchase a ticket, fans like me give have to enter the mandatory ticket lotteries and have some good luck.

After many tries, I was finally able to see them in Osaka this summer.

The US tour announcement was especially surprising considering GING NANG BOYZ doesn’t follow the same formula as other Japanese artists who have announced overseas tours this year.

They don’t sing songs in perfect English like ONE OK ROCK, haven’t created global hype with anime songs like YOASOBI, and they aren’t riding the trend of being a faceless singer like ADO.

And, as their name implies, they aren’t cute girls like ATARASHII GAKKO, either.

But, for people who grew up in Japan, it’s hard to talk about indie rock or punk without mentioning GING NANG BOYZ.

1. WHO IS GING NANG BOYZ?
2. KAZUNOBU MINETA
3. THE “GOING STEADY” ERA
4. THE “GING NANG BOYZ” ERA
5. CONTROVERSY?
6. SOLO ERA
7. AMERICA DEBUT & SONG RECS

WHO IS GING NANG BOYZ?

KAZUNOBU MINETA

You can’t talk about the Boyz without first talking about the key member and icon himself, Kazunobu Mineta.

Born to a modest family in the freezing countryside of Yamagata prefecture, Mineta thought he was going to remain in the small town forever and run his family’s local electronic appliance store.

His world changed one day in high school when Mineta heard the Beatles and Nirvana for the first time. He would go into the forest with his headphones and Walkman and listen to his favorite songs for hours.

THE “GOING STEADY” ERA

Going Steady was eighteen year old Mineta’s (pictured with the afro) first band. The group started out doing concerts in Tokyo and became known for their punk sound, intimate live performances, and insane energy. Their efforts were successful, becoming one of the most prolific bands to start Japan’s youth punk craze of the early 2000s.

But, due to changing members and the nature of being young, crazy, and in a rock band, the group came to a sudden end right before their country-wide tour began in 2003.

Going Steady lasted for a quick and powerful four years, from 1999 to 2003.

Take a look at their energetic performance style and crazed fans in this video. (music starts at 4:00, craziness begins at 6:00)

THE “GING NANG BOYZ” ERA

After Going Steady broke up, Mineta immediately formed a new band called 銀杏BOYZ (stylized in English as “GING NANG BOYZ”).

Gin Nan means gingko nut. It doesn’t have much meaning, other than being fun to say.

(Insider info says that Mineta may have named the band “gingko nut” because they smell nasty, like vomit.)

The previous members from Going Steady followed Mineta to his new band. They replaced the previous guitarist and GING NANG BOYZ was born.

The official members were Kazunobu Mineta on vocal and rhythm, Chin Nakamura on guitar, Murai Mamoru on drums, and Abiko Shinya on bass.

They continued to play Going Steady songs until releasing the first GING NANG albums, both on January 15th, 2005.

The albums are called Kimi to Boku no Dai 3ji Taisen-teki Renai Kakumei (young, alive, in love…) and Door. The first one translates to “Our WW3-esque Love Revolution”.

The cover art does a good job of showing the types of songs on the respective albums – while it’s all punk, the initial album is more about innocent first loves and the latter is about the raw insanity and chaotic feelings of navigating young emotions.

(in my opinion – but, some say they are one unified statement as the albums were dropped on the same day.)

These are the defining GING NANG albums, and they still have a huge impact on Japanese artists even today. You might know some of them, like the famous actor and singer Masaki Suda, chart topping popstar Ano-chan, or the anti-idol Omori Seiko. I also wrote about a great new local band called Super Social Sandals, who is also inspired by Mineta!

CONTROVERSY?

If you search info about the band online in English, you can only find one news article.

Mineta got arrested after a Taipei show, where he took his pants off for a few minutes on stage. The article says “the women in the audience were shocked while the men were thrilled.” There doesn’t seem to be any footage of the concert, so no one knows for sure if the crowd was into it or not. Mineta seemed to get off easy, there wasn’t harm to his career and he didn’t face jail time.

GING NANG came to California to perform in America, too. The footage shows the intimate insanity of their shows.

In 2014, the GING NANG members announced they were no longer apart of the band, leaving only Mineta behind. Only two major albums were released during their career as a band together (the others, BEACH and “Hikari no naka ni tatteite ne” are more like side projects), but GING NANG had already cemented their status as rock icons even before the albums, thanks to their huge personalities and incredible shows.

We don’t know the exact reason they split up, but the members seem to still be friendly with Mineta. Bassist Abiko now runs a punk label called KiliKiliVilla.

SOLO ERA

Since the band’s split, Mineta has continued to perform and write music as GING NANG BOYZ.

He has a support band full of friends that play with him during concerts. His crew typically consists of previous members of another amazing and iconic band, andymori. Still, some of the best moments of the concert are just Mineta on stage with his acoustic guitar.

He was asked to create the OP for the anime “Sonny Boy” by the director who was big Ging Nang fan. Mineta wrote this song, BOY/GIRL, which received good reviews for matching the theme of the story.

Mineta also dabbled a bit in acting, and has a few roles in movies and TV drama.

“Ne, Minna daisuki dayo” (Hey, I love all of you guys) was released as the first GNBz solo act studio album.

It’s amazing that after a long career and no stable band members, Mineta can still churn out bangers the same quality as when he first started 20 years ago.

You would think singing about first loves could only be done so many times, but he keeps it fresh as always. There is no end in sight for his punk spirit.

GING NANG and Mineta have managed to keep a large, dedicated following over the years, garnering new fans who weren’t even alive during the time of the original 4-piece GING NANG BOYZ.

AMERICA DEBUT & SONG RECS

Mineta is well known for his love of overseas artists and movie directors.

He posts a series of album reviews on Instagram a few times a month. Most of the albums he features are from the US and UK. Right now, he is doing a “My Bloody Valentine” review series.

The Beatles, Nirvana, Buzzcocks, and Weezer are some of his favorite bands that inspired his sound as GING NANG BOYZ.

And now, he gets to go abroad where some of his favorite artists were born.

Jeff Rosenstock’s cover of the GNBz song “I Don’t Wanna Die” helped the band reach cult status in the USA, and with further help from his friends Bob of Shinobu and Oliver, Ging Nang Boyz will set out on their USA tour in March 2025.

The young boy Mineta from the countryside – or even the successful artist selling out tours across Japan – never thought he would be doing an America tour at this point in time. Dreams do come true!

If you are new to GING NANG, here are some recs to get you ready for the show.

Classic GING NANG. Fun, crazy, and punk –

GOING STEADY’S most popular song –

And GOING STEADY’S most iconic song, about being proud virgins –

A live version of BABY BABY, GING NANG’s best love song –

And my favorite live performance of “That Girl Likes Ayanami Rei” –

See you guys in LA! Seishuuuun!