By Emiri Aoki
Northwest Asian Weekly
From left: MISA, Miku Kobato, Akane Hirose, Saiki Atsumi, and Kanami Touno (Photo provided by BAND-MAID)
During an hour-long break, five tired-looking Japanese girls logged onto Skype because they had a press interview with Northwest Asian Weekly. Despite their fatigue, they answered many questions in Japanese, patiently and sincerely, with smiles. Their soft, kind attitudes during the interview would have made anyone wonder if they are really the members of a hard rock band — one whose members dress as maids.
A unique band of five unique girls
Lead singer Miku Kobato has liked singing since she was little and had wanted to pursue a music career. While she was working in Tokyo at a maid cafe, where waitresses wear maid outfits, she decided to start her own band.
She asked her friend Kanami Touno, who plays the guitar, to join the band. Not only did Touno say yes, but she also found drummer Akane Hirose and bassist MISA (who does not reveal her full name professionally).
The four girls formed BAND-MAID in July 2013 and another vocalist, Saiki Atsumi, joined after about a month because they thought “twin vocals (two vocalists in one band) would be cool,” said Kobato.
In August 2013, the group performed for the first time as an opening act at a concert hosted by the music company they belonged to.
“We were not nervous, but excited and full of adrenaline. It was so much fun,” Kobato said.
Each member has her own persona and role in the group. Kobato is an idol, and she uses the phrase kuruppo, a grammar particle at the end of sentences, which makes her comments sound cute. In Japanese, the particle is an onomatopoeia of the way a pigeon cries, and she uses it because her last name means pigeon. Atsumi’s persona, on the other hand, is cool and aloof.
“We thought that two vocalists who have opposite characteristics would make the group more interesting,” said Kobato.
Drummer Hirose has really energetic and cheerful characteristics. Guitarist Touno is ditzy and clumsy. MISA is a drink-lover, and her stage drink is sometimes alcohol.
BAND-MAID performs in Japan. (Photo by Shingo Tamai)
Why MAID?
“I had already decided to make a band featuring a maid before I started looking for band members,” said Kobato. The members wear pretty maid outfits, which have different designs matching each member’s characteristics. Also, they call their male fans masters, female fans princesses, and their performances as serving.
It may sound really odd, but “we found this really interesting, and this makes us unique from the other bands,” said Atsumi.
Unlike in the United States, it is natural for bands to have their own concepts in Japan. For example, one of the most popular groups, AKB48, has the concept of ‘idols fans can meet,’ and the group actively creates opportunities where they are accessible to fans, which includes autograph and handshake events.
However, even among numerous music groups in Japan, the concept of BAND-MAID is especially unique and differentiates the girls from others.
“We want a big gap between how we look and how we perform in order to be unique,” said Kobato. The band plays hard rock. Their strong vocals and powerful drumming contrast their sweet and cute appearance, which has attracted many fans.
However, this contrast was not set at the beginning.
“At first, we were more like a pop-rock music group,” said Kobato. “But when we recorded the song ‘Thrill’ from our first album, which is more like hard rock, we felt that this style would go best with us. We found a way to be unique.”
Using SNS to get fans around the world
While they are now becoming popular, BAND-MAID started with just a few fans.They were especially discouraged by their first headlining concert in 2013. Because of the heaviest snowfall in years, even the number of fans they had at the time couldn’t make it to the concert hall.
“It was kind of funny that we performed in an almost empty hall,” Kobato said, laughing.
In order to gain fans both inside and outside of Japan, they have been actively using social networking services (SNS), such as Twitter and Facebook, to reach fans around the world. “We have been trying to tweet in English,” said Kobato.
They also post their music videos on YouTube and Facebook as soon as possible, which has helped them get reactions and comments from people from many countries. Last year, after they posted the music video of “Thrill” on Facebook, the video earned more than 2 million plays in a week.
The controversial concept
Although they have enthusiastic fans, their odd concept, unsurprisingly, has been controversial. Some people think that the members are dressed too sexually, that they portray overly sexualized young women. Others think that the members’ servile behaviors, including how they address their fans, are uncomfortable or even unacceptable.
Thomas Fotheringham, an American college student, said, “It makes me think of a strange otaku (a zealous fan of anime or manga, usually male) who has a wall of manga and a wall of posters, who wants to be called a master.”
When asked for more details, Fotheringham said, “It is kind of surprising that they are accepted by people in the U.S. Since we have history of slavery, I don’t think it is appropriate to call someone a master here.”
Another American student, Taylor Allred, is also critical of the band’s concept. “BAND-MAID seems really ‘Japanese.’ I remember someone explaining maid cafes to me and [me] thinking, ‘What?’ It seems like there are a lot of people in Japan who find the whole maid thing to be really cute and attractive. I see why, but it is definitely weird and a little demeaning.”
BAND-MAID’s fans, however, seem to enjoy their monikers. “Many fans become happy when we call them masters on SNS,” said Kobato. Some of the fans have left tweets saying that they are looking forward to hearing the word directly from the BAND-MAID members at Sakura-Con, an anime convention running March 25–27.
The best place to debut?
Sakura-Con is an annual anime convention held in Seattle. It is the oldest and most well- attended anime convention in the Pacific Northwest. More than 23,000 individuals attended last year.
“Last year at Sakura-Con, I ended up meeting many people from different places, including Colorado, Canada, and even Japan,” said Fotheringham.
This year is its 19th year. There are a variety of amusements, including gaming, cosplay, cultural panels, dances, concerts, industry guests, anime theaters, and more than 100,000 square feet of exhibits hall.
Sakura-Con is BAND-MAID’s very first concert outside of Japan. They are also planning to perform a headlining concert in London this May.
They are excited to perform overseas. “We found that comments and tweets from foreign fans are more enthusiastic and high-tension compared to ones from Japanese fans,” said Atsumi. Some of the members are into anime, so they are also excited about booths and panels at the convention.
“Through this concert, we want to be bigger,” said Touno. “Our goal is to conquer the world.” (end)
For more information about Sakura-Con, visit sakuracon.org/ or e-mail info@sakuracon.org. For more information on BAND-MAID, visit bandmaid.tokyo.
Emiri Aoki can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
Band Maid is going to dominate the world with their own sound and unique playing style of melodic heavy metal and punk rock. They are punk rock fused with a powerful Gothic expression in their guitar riffs and vocalist Saiki’s melodic voice. They are original!
You Ladies Rock, I am really hoping that you are planning on coming down to LosAngeles, California.
I am looking forward to hearing you rock the house. I hope Buddha gives you great blessings.
Be safe & enjoy America.
A true friend, Jerry
I have no issue with the maid theme or the personas but to me the band is interesting enough without it. If this band walked onstage in Jeans and T shirts and played as they do in the videos I have watched I would still be a fan. I grew up listening to bands like Montrose, the Scorpions, UFO etc. Melodic heavy metal. This band does that well. They do not need any of the theming. Here’s my issue. If it’s all about presentation, how much of the meaning behind the music is manufactured? Babymetal is fun but it’s obvious they are a product. The girls could beautifully sing any style and enjoy it from what I can tell. They never knew what heavy metal was before Babymetal existed. Band Maid is very talented. Their musicianship is obvious. I hope they really do love heavymetal and that it is not just another affectation like the maid theme. Hard rock came to Japan in the 70s and it has a huge history. These ladies seem to have found away to musically build on that tradition. That is the part of Band Maid I respect
there’s two reason why they dressed as maid : 1) miku formerly worked in a maid cafe 2) as miku have said “We want a big gap between how we look and how we perform (sound) ….”. Contrast! they aimed for the contrast between their look and sound
If you’re lucky enough to visit one of Akihabara’s maid cafes in person, you’ll see the warmth and playfulness as both the customers and staff have fun with their role-playing. It’s a mistake to view anything in Japan’s culture through an America lens, and bands like BAND-MAID and BABYMETAL are purposefully playing with contrasts to add color to their creative work. The fans at Sakura-Con are going to have a blast — they’re going to rock out and smile at the same time!
Who cares what the politically correct police think? Band Maid are Japanese. Yes they are. Get over it. They have taken a concept and flipped it on its head. I don’t find the concept controversial at all. They are doing what they want and if people don’t like it who cares? I love their music, and the girls are very talented. They want to have fun and they work really hard. I cannot wait to meet fellow fans and see this vibrant young group blow the roof off of the Seattle Convention Centre.
I am really happy and excited for this amazing show.
See you all there.
Hrmp. To the guy thinking the maid-cafe concept is weird and demeaning, I have one word for you: Hooters. The ladies in maid cafes dress less provocatively and act less flirtatiously than do the thousands of girls in the USA working at Hooters or any of the Hooters knock-off restaurants. I mean, you don’t see a maid-cafe bikini contest to publish a bikini model calendar like Hooters does, do you?
In any case, the ladies of Band-Maid are excellent musicians who put on a great show. People who get hung up on the image need to look at the history of hard rock and metal music and consider bands like KISS, GWAR, Slipknot, the entirety of the hair-metal scene in the 1980’s, Judas Priest, etc. A specific visual image and/or character adoption has been part and parcel of the musical genre for 40-odd years.
It’s great that Band-Maid is getting the opportunity to perform in the USA and England. I think people will be happily surprised by the quality of their show.
What a very interesting Article! You were able to provide us with more information that wasn’t already completely known. Thank You So much. Band-Maid fans are a special group of people, they are very dedicated and devoted to the success of the girls. We want to see them become one of the most popular Japanese bands around. One thing that is a little disheartening would be the fact that some people think that the outfits the girls wear is demeaning. (I understand that this is not the opinion of the author) The fact that they call us Masters and Princess is a fun, respectful way of addressing their fans. It’s meant to be lighthearted and has no implications other than showing their fans how much they care about us. The outfits while sexy are very conservative compared to a lot of JPop bands as well as western Artists, and not demeaning in anyway. But that doesn’t really matter, fans are drawn to Band-Maid because they are 5 very talented and capable musicians. And the fact that the girls care about their fans as much as the fans care about the girls. It’s not always about the look as it is about the music. If you take away the costumes, the fans would not go anywhere. Thank You for this Awesome interview, it helps us learn more about our favorite band. 😉
So happy to hear Band-Maid will be making their US debut this month in Seattle. Hearing them live will be amazing ! Rock on ladies !
I and all the attending members of BAND-MAID Fans Café fan group are extremely excited to see the girls at Sakura-Con. We are hoping the members of the convention will enjoy what the band has to offer. This will be a show that should not be missed. See you all at the convention.
http://www.bandmaidfanscafe.net/
I don’t take the maid thing too seriously, and I think it is just light-hearted fun. But they are very very good musicians. I love their high-energy music it rocks! To me they are girl power personified. World Domintation!!!
Exactly, the maid costumes are just an image specifically adopted to contrast the cute appearance with the cool sound.
I am delighted to have the opportunity to be at SakuraCon in two weeks to support Band-Maid. Since 2014, when they released “Thrill”, these girls have been an up and coming super group. Their compositions, their mix, and most of all, their talent and the way they play…pretty faces all, to be sure, dangerously cute…but every one of them serious musicians who have created their own “bar” for new Japanese girl metal. I think America is the first stop on their “World Domination” tour, and I know that they will be back in America very, very soon.
Great to see Band-Maid getting some recognition. Can’t wait for US audiences to see what they have to offer.