Patrick Macias
January 31, 2008 I had no idea that when my friend Coatea invited me to see her band The Feminine play their second-ever show at club Heavy Sick in Tokyo that one day they would be rocking the Western world via an appearance on Jonathan Ross’s Japanorama TV show on BBC-2.
Back then, the band, all its members barely in their 20s, played an awkward, but charming set before a small audience of like-minded misfits. The music, then as now, was ramshackle 60s-inspired garage rock just barely held together by Coatea’s genuinely impressive guitar work and her lifelong friendship with bassist Shimmy (as in “Shimmy Shake”). But just as often as they got things right, the band looked lost and overwhelmed on stage.
The next time I saw The Feminine at Shinjuku Red Cloth in 2006, they’d improved by leaps and bounds. A more confident Coatea had finally found a ragged howling singing voice that suited their dirty, greasy sound. Dressed in matching silk China doll dresses, the band tore through a blistering set that saw the crowd completely won over by their renditions of “Tutti Fruity” and “Don’t You Just Know It.” The Feminine had finally arrived!
A year later, Johnathan Ross (Britain’s top television presenter) decided to include The Feminine on the sixth episode of Season 3 of Japanorama. Suddenly they were on the same playing field as Japanese pop culture icons like Nigo (A Bathing Ape), Sonny Chiba, and HG Ramon.
It seemed like a good time to check in with Coatea (a nickname that comes from Medway Delta girl group Thee Headcoatees) and see if success had gone to her and her band’s head. But seeing as how they’d recently added a keyboard playing gorilla to their live act, it didn’t seem very likely ��
So who are the current members of the band, and how old is everyone?
Our newest member is Mammy, the drummer. Coatea (myself) is on guitar and vocals. Shimmy screams and plays bass. Everyone is 23 years old, except for our keyboardist, The Gorilla, whose age is a secret in public.
Why do you guys play old-fashioned rock and roll? Why don’t you just DJ in a club like everyone else?
How can you ask that question? Hmmm… we simply like rock and roll! We love simple sounds, simple chords, and simple lyrics. When we first started to play as The Feminine, we just wanted to learn and play our favorite songs to satisfy ourselves. But recently, we want to share this satisfaction with others and hopefully they like our music. Also, we simply like to play instruments. In that sense, being in a band helps us to express ourselves better than just DJ-ing.
What is it like being girls on the Japanese garage rock scene?
Actually, I think girl bands have an advantage in the scene. Live music organizers sometimes ask us to play because we are girls who
play garage rock. In that sense, being in a band made up of three girls and a gorilla is suitable to
take advantage of it.
Do you think people treat you different than if you were called “The Masculine”?
Our band name has no relation to real “Feminism” at all. We’re not feminists! We just like the sound of the word “Feminine” and we think it’s cool. Maybe nobody would pay attention to us if we were called “The Masculine” and maybe we’d just stop being a band. But we are conscious about the band name. We have to be because the band members are girls! We also like the gap between our band’s name and our wild style of playing. We want the audience to have the impression, “They sure don’t play feminine!”
How often does the band practice and how often do you have live gigs?
We practice approximately once every two weeks because of all the members’ jobs. We play live about once a month. If they want to see us, we’d love to go abroad to play!
I have no idea how big, or how small, the garage rock scene in Tokyo really is. What’s your impression of its size?
The garage rock scene in Tokyo is the biggest and coolest compared to other regions of Japan. But we have no idea how it compares to other countries. We want to know about the scene in the USA and Europe. Please tell us! (Laughs)
How did The Feminine get started? How have they changed over time?
Coatea and Shimmy went to the same high school and started a band together. At the time, we just copied pro-bands like Thee Michelle Gun Elephant. After graduating high school we started looking for our own style. We copied Guitar Wolf a bit and tried a version of the band that had a guy in it. One or two years later, after playing some gigs and listening to lots of records, we decided that the three-piece girl garage band was the best way for us to go. After changing members a few times, we’ve arrived at the band’s present line-up.
What was the very first Feminine concert like?
Before the gig, Coatea and Shimmy got drunk and didn’t play any songs. They just kept drinking on stage.
What are some old American and UK rock records that you recommend?
We have a lot of favorites like The Sonics (“Psycho”) and The Kingsmen (“Louie Louie”). There are also a lot of compilations we like too, such as The Big Itch, Sin Alley, and Kicksville. Our favorite kind of music is garage and rock and roll, but we like other kinds of music too, including classical.
How about your favorite Japanese rock bands?
It is a very difficult question �� of course, we like rock bands people who want to play rock music, but honestly there aren’t many major Japanese bands we think are really cool. We are not so interested in J-pop and the major music scene. There are a lot of underground Japanese bands we like, though. Underground bands can come up with their own style and can continue to build on it.
In America, a lot of people form bands to become famous and take over the world. How about The Feminine?
I think it is same in Japan. But we are different. We play garage and rock and roll because we enjoy it. So, if people who see our gigs enjoy our music, we are satisfied. But, yeah, it would be fun to have the opportunity to play on a big stage someday. Anyway, we just enjoy playing. That’s it.
Website:
https://www.geocities.jp/femininecats/
[Excerpted from the December 2007 issue of Otaku USA magazine]
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