One of the most iconic Japanese punk bands of all time, Ging Nang Boyz (銀杏boyz), performed in the USA last month.
GNBz has incredible USA-based friends who helped them reach overseas cult status and accompanied them on their west coast journey.
If you are new to Ging Nang Boyz, check this out first.
I was lucky enough to experience what was (not even trying to be dramatic here) a life-changing experience for everyone involved.
This is my documentation of the GNBz You & I vs. the World tour.
(Mineta has a full report of all the tour stops along with photos on Instagram!)
GROWING UP IS DUMB
The journey starts out with me in the airport at 6am, ready to fly out to LA.
Note for people flying with Frontier – they will not hesitate to sell your seat to the next sorry sucker even if you are one minute late. eeek.
Eventually, I was able to leave a few hours behind schedule.
I was ready for trouble with my handmade ultra nerdy Kandi bracelets.
The first stop was the Echoplex, where GNBz was set to perform in the Growing up is Dumb fest. There were many other local punk bands on the bill.
They were all really great, and I was glad I arrived early enough to see them. 🙂
The show itself was wild. Parts of it were blurry thanks to an early flight and drinking, but I lost my shoe which somehow ended up under the stage, broke my GNBz themed phone strap, and almost got trampled in the mosh pit.
Mineta smashed his beautiful red Rickenbacker that he’d been using for the past 20 years. It broke in half right over his knee. Later, he said it was no big deal – it was Kurt Cobain’s death anniversary that night, so the guitar was saying goodbye, too.
There is allegedly a documentary in the works for the tour which will show more footage of this moment. Stay tuned (:
After the show, I stepped outside to call a friend.
To my surprise I was blocked from going back in. They said there was a strict no re-entry rule, which sounded fake, but I ended up having to wait on the street for my roomie.
When we finally reunited, the other showgoers were slowly filtering out. It was there where we met Sebastian, the wonderful illustrator for the GNBz America tour merch and poster.
We chatted about the show and lost track of time, when suddenly a group walking by caught our eye.
It was none other than the Ging Nang Boyz members taking their gear out of the venue. We congratulated them on the amazing show, and they stayed and warmly chatted with us.
P-chan, the guitarist, is seriously a cool guy. Please check out his other band.
After, we made it back to our room to get ready for the next day.
STORE ACOUSTIC LIVE and the MEET AND GREET
The next day we headed out to Little Tokyo for the GNBz acoustic session. It was an intimate get-together for those who pre-ordered the record, Blew Blue.
my signed copy of Blew Blue!!
Inside Going Underground Records, we sat around Mineta crisscross apple sauce style while he poured his heart out into his songs.
Half of the venue was in tears during Night Rider. There were less than 100 people inside, so emotions were very infectious.
BABY BABY
Here is my recording of Baby Baby. In the beginning, P-chan messes up and Mineta teases him for it, saying its the last song of the tour so he needs to give it his all.
P-chan had some kind of dust stuck in his eye or a minor eye infection that day, which made it hard for him to see his guitar.
There was a Q&A session afterwards. Fans were free to raise their hand and ask any questions they liked.
Some takeaways: Mineta considers his songs to be his children since he doesn’t have any of his own, Blew Blue is named after Weezer’s Blue album, and Suda Masaki looks extremely good naked.
The autograph session lasted nearly two hours. Fans were chatting with Mineta, some offering gifts and bringing rare merch for him to sign. He seemed to be impressed by the passion of US fans.
He spoke in English to the English speaking fans, and attributed his language skill to scribbling Nirvana lyrics on his desk in high school.
THE AFTERMATH
The cooldown was violent. Here is where is gets real.
We went to karaoke among the fan group once it was all over, and that is when I started to realize – while singing with new friends and sharing pics to the GNBz discord – just how much of this was made possible by the fans.
Shinobu, Sebastian, Oliver, and the rest of the crew. So many fans worked to make this happen, from planners to artists to translators to photographers to those who attended the tour from Seattle down to LA, and in the end it was a huge success for everyone involved.
I was but a mere face in the crowd, but getting to spend time with all the talented people inspired me to be a better person somehow. lol.
THE PARTY NEVER STOPS
Bonus: here is the video from San Jose when the live house ended the GNBz set early. Mineta said he still had too much energy, so he went outside with his acoustic guitar and gave an intimate parking lot performance.
Mineta said he would be back soon since he still has a visa.
I hope to see Ging Nang Boyz again in the US,
and hope to see you there too!
official GF blog 
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