DCT band

[zberry]

Just finished watching 99 Natsu no Yume DVD, and was surprised to see only the three members. They did a great job (Miwa playing solo piano on Jikan Ryoko is worth the price alone), but I couldn't help thinking that they sound even better with a full band.
Do they usually play with a band? I have two other DVDs "Sing and Die" and "Fuyu no Yume" and both are with a band. I was impressed at how tight they sounded and how the entire band puts total effort into each song. Miwa is one of the great frontpersons in all of music, and it's great to watch her interact with other musicians.
Can jei or anyone else fill in a little history of DCT and how their band formed, and how often they play with/without a band?
Maybe this is a moot question now that Nishikawa is gone, but I'm curious.

[Jei]

They almost always play with a band. Natsu no Yume was just different...more initimate, just DCT and the audience.

As for the history...From the Pollstar article on the DCTJoy site ^_^:


Masa was already an established session musician in Japan when he met Miwa a little more than 10 years ago. "At that time, I already had a 10-year career as a professional," Masa told POLLSTAR. "And one day, I met Miwa at a job in a small club and she was singing there."

Masa said he was surprised by Miwa's vocal ability. "At that time, she was an amateur but already she had a great voice. She was singing classic pop music, pop standards."

Masa asked Miwa if she had a demo tape. She didn't have a demo but informed the musician that she had penned 200 original songs. "I was very surprised," Masa said. "I couldn't believe it, you know."

Miwa sang two songs for Masa and he was floored. "It was so impressive, I was shocked because I have been believing I was No. 1 in Japan," he said while chuckling. "What a stupid guy."

Masa knew a good thing when he heard it and immediately asked Miwa to sing for his band. The two, along with a third bandmate, keyboardist Takahiro Nishikawa, formed DCT and have been a force to be reckoned with since then.


Side Note: Nishikawa and Miwa were old High School friends...

[zberry]

Thanks for the info! What a great story. It's the songs that attracted me to DCT in the first place. That may sound obvious, but what I mean is that Miwa seems to have found her own "voice" as a songwriter very early on. I guess that's not surprising when you pen more than 200 songs before you ever even cut a demo! Wow. I mean, do you have any doubt that whether or not she ever became famous, Miwa would be singing somewhere? She's a singer and a songwriter and now I can see that she knew that right away.
I'm checking out the site, looking for more good background info.

[tachikaze]

Check out the Time cover article on this site:

http://www.dctjoy.com/dreamscometrue/mi ... 101496.php

For a bigger picture of the Time cover:

http://www.the17sproject.com/yoshidalarge.jpg

Also, http://www.japan-zone.com/modern/dct.shtml

Moving down from BFE Hokkaido (Japan's Alaska) to Tokyo was quite a big move to make.

fwiw, as far as I can tell Nishikawa was always 'window dressing' to make the band a trio rather than a duo.

[zberry]

Thanks for the article references. Does anyone have background on how DCT assembled their amazing band of musicians? From watching the concert DVDs, several people really stand out.
Urashima Rin -- She's almost worth the price of admission alone. She really belts out the backing vocals and sings with as much passion as Miwa. I know her and Miwa have this Funk the Peanuts thing going. Is that when she first hooked up with DCT?
Ohtani Koh -- Very smooth on the piano. Someone made the comment that he plays most of the difficult parts.
Dynamites UK -- The horns add so much to the songs. These guys seem to have been playing with DCT from almost the very beginning, and there's a real good chemistry there. Lots of energy and I love the choreographed moves. I would love to see Miwa do more Big Horn type songs, a la "Mountain, Mountain" on Swinging Star.
The drummer -- Sorry, I don't know this guy's name. He looks somewhat older, but can really play. As great as DCT is, I have a problem with the prerecorded drum tracks on some of their early stuff. This dude fills a very important niche. Hope he keeps going strong.
All in all, DCT has surrounded themselves with really talented musicians, which is something the great artists always do.

[tachikaze]

Well, DCT was signed with Sony Music out of the gate, and had Mike Pela for their producer in London, so that helped (Pela's other production credits include Sade and FYC).

http://www.worldsend.com/pela.html

A good site for information on Rin:

http://www.isenokuni.net/act/urashima.html

shows she joined DCT on the 1993 Swinging Star tour.

AFAIK, Funk The Peanuts was initially a side-project enabling DCT to serve as a marketing vehicle for a Suntory brand (Super Hops, a bargain malt). The TV ads had the band singing to the "...wana shikakemasho" song on a bus, ending with Masa shouting the Super Hops trademark "Happy!". DCT didn't sell out, per se...