Hi Satoru and Yukiko, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
We are doing great! Just like everyone, we had a very rough couple of years due to Covid, but we have been busy playing live shows since last summer. And now our new Album is out, we are working hard to promote it!!

Can you talk to us more about your latest single “Sweet Melody?”
It’s the first Song on our new album, Fearless Heart. Also, the first song that I wrote for this record. I carried the music for several years actually. I had the opening chord progression that I really liked. It reminded me of The Rolling Stones or Black Crows type of sound. And It took me a while to actually write the lyrics to it. I knew it was gonna be a rock’n’roll song by the way it sounds, it sounds tough. This song means a lot to the album – besides the trio, our producer Jim Weider added slide guitar, assistant engineer Shubham Mondel played percussion, this song certainly sums up all the talent, all the energy, and all the fun in the studio at that moment.

Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
(Satoru) Yes. It was Trump Travel ban in 2017. It’s also called Muslim ban. There was a demonstration against that here in Boston, and I joined because it was shocking to us foreigners even though they were targeting the Muslim, I couldn’t sit still, and watch hate threatening love in our community.

The single comes off your new album Fearless Heart – what’s the story behind the title?
“Fearless Heart” is the first line of Young Lion, which is the closing song of this album. It comes full circle with the same theme that we sing in the first song, Sweet melody. That is love. We wanted to send the clear message that all we need is love today and not hate. But in order to show love, it takes action, it takes courage. Lion is called the king of jungle, king must be courageous. So young lion means the next generation of courageous youth that we hope they can stand and bring love back to town.

Your new album was produced by Jim Weider from The Band. How did that relationship come about?
(Satoru) I always loved Jim Weider’s guitar playing. He’s got the tone and taste. After The Band, he played with Levon Helm until he passed away. But I didn’t know what was going on after that until 2021, when I saw the ad on Facebook saying Jim Weider and The Weight Band are coming to play in Boston, carrying the legacy of The Band. I knew Jim was a great player, but I didn’t know anything about The Weight Band. Nobody can replace the three great singers of The Band. I was skeptical at first. But it was the summer during the pandemic when we had a small window that we felt like, maybe it’s ok to go out. So, we took a chance and went to the show. They won us over and we had a great time. During the show, Jim announced that The Weight Band would host a music camp in Catskill Mountain in NY later in August that anyone can join. And I went to the camp hoping to meet Jim and maybe jam with him. To make a long story short, I did play with Jim and the band. And I asked him if he would produce our next record, and he said yes.

How was the writing and recording process working with Jim compared to your previous albums?
Back in 2000, it was our attempt to record songs and release it to the world, just to get started. We didn’t know much then, but we had lots of passion. Each album has its own theme, direction, and sound, as we worked with different drummers and engineers, and our lives changed…..  Fast forward to this latest, 9th album,

Surprisingly Jim didn’t take a part of writing! We recorded demos at home during the lockdown. We sent them to Jim, and he liked them. He helped arrangements here and there, but what he did was basically bringing the best out of TOKYO TRAMPS. It was his idea of recording us live just like we play live because that’s how we sound best. And he also said that’s how The Band recorded. We were totally down with the idea. And comparing to either Long Way From Home or I’m A Tiger, all our previous albums had a long process of pre-production with our own drummers, trying different grooves, changing lyrics, adding another section, and so on. This time, Jim hired a wonderful drummer, Josh Dion, and we showed up at the studio in NY, played just a couple of takes – and that was it!! Absolutely an amazing experience we have never had before!

What role does Boston play in your music?
(Satoru) It was not my intention to stay in Boston so long. I came from New Orleans to go to school here, and then I was planning to go back to New Orleans after that. So, I always looked at Boston as a transition. But I ended up living here longer than any other places in my life. In short, I practiced a lot and I became a better musician here. To put my Boston experience in a word, maybe perseverance.

(Yukiko) When I left Japan twenty-something years ago, my friends thought I was moving to New York, because they knew I loved New York. I don’t know why I settled in Boston either, but I met many musician friends here, who gave me opportunities to explore the depth of music.

Who would you say are some of your biggest influences, and somewhat related, are there any dream collaborators you’d like to work with?
(Satoru) At this point, who I look up to most is The Rolling Stones. I like the way they interpreted the blues and created their brand of rock and roll. I want to write songs like Jagger/Richards.

(Yukiko) I grew up with music from American Top 40 back in 70’s and 80’s. I listened to all kinds of music, I loved all the artists. It is so hard to say who is my biggest influence, and any big names from that era would be my dream collaborator!

What else is happening next in Tokyo Tramps’ world and where can people go to find out more about you?
We will have some shows in Tokyo, Japan in March, for the first time in four years! We will keep on promoting this album, and we will go on some tours to play more shows! You can find our information and show schedule at www.tokyotramps.com, a lot of videos on www.youtube.com/tokyotramps, and we are on www.facebook.com/tokyotramps, www.instagram.com/tokyotramps, www.twitter.com/tokyotramps. Spotify, soundcloud, bandcamp, …… all over the place!!!