ZOOBOMBS
June 21st – The sun is shining brightly on a beautiful Sunday morning in Toronto. It’s fast approaching 11 o’clock. I’m on the Spadina streetcar heading for Kensington Market. I have an interview arranged with Tokyo, Japan’s funk-rock masters, the Zoobombs (www.thezoobombs.com). I’m running late.
My phone rings. It’s Don Matsuo, lead singer and guitarist of the band. He asks if our interview is still on for 11 o’clock. I’m about to apologize for being tardy, but he beats me to the punch and asks if they can have a bit more time to get ready. No problem.
I wait in front of the meeting place – their hostel – and go over some of the questions I’ve prepared. I check my camera. Everything’s good to go. My mind drifts off to a few weeks prior, to the time I read that the Zoobombs would be coming to Toronto. I had heard the name often over the years, but didn’t really know their music or what they were all about. With a killer name like “Zoobombs”, I figured they had to be pretty awesome.
After doing a bit of research (Zoobombs formed in 1994; are known for their energy-filled live shows; have a long-standing relationship with Toronto) I decided this was a band I had to meet. I fired off an email to the group, requesting an interview. It was Don that replied, saying an interview would be cool, and that they’d have some time after their Toronto shows were done.
Fast-forward a few days later to June 19th. They’re playing a free outdoor show at the University of Toronto – their second of four scheduled gigs in three days. Not a big crowd, but they live up to their reputation as a great live band. They rip it up. I’m hooked. I approach Don after the show. He remembers my email. We chat for a bit and he suggests 11am on the 21st for the interview. We shake hands and I go home happy…
I’m suddenly brought back to reality as the hostel door swings open and out pops Moostop, the mop-haired bass player. He’s sporting jeans, a purple shirt, and a pair of blue Converse All-stars.
Next out is Pit, the drummer and newest member of the band. He’s got on a bright green jacket, cargo pants, a camouflage bag, and a pair of grey Adidas.
Don, the tall, slim leader of the group emerges. He’s rocking a green zip-up hoodie, red sunglasses, skinny jeans, and a pair of silver Nikes.
Last to arrive is Matta, the petite keyboard player with the short-cropped hair. She’s got on bell-bottom jeans, a green t-shirt with the word “STRAHL” on it — layered over a blue-striped, long-sleeved top — and yellow Pumas.
PIT
With the introductions out of the way, we head off — they’re hungry for some brunch. As we pass the many cafes, vintage shops, and graffiti-filled buildings that make up Kensington Market, Matta and I talk about food and photography.
We come across a store with loads of sunglasses and hats on display. Pit and Don are quite interested in the offerings. They try on various things. Matta joins in as well. Moostop is the least interested of the bunch, but he eventually tries on a hat. I snap some pictures and enjoy the scene.
Don leads us into a tiny café. They order some food, I grab a pop, and we settle in on the outdoor back patio.
I start the interview, of course, by asking about their tastes in fashion and clothing.
Fashion is not really a high priority, according to pretty much the whole band.
Don says he doesn’t care much for the latest trends or “hit” items, and his look isn’t necessarily based on a particular theme, like vintage or modern. “I don’t choose some kind of really splashy fashion. I just want to be myself. It’s a pretty natural thing.” His biggest worry is finding the right sizes. “I’m skinny and my arms are too long, so it’s hard to find good stuff that fits.”
He doesn’t frequent any particular clothing stores, or seek out the “good shops.” If he likes something and it fits, he’ll get it. He says it’s not uncommon for him to wear t-shirts that he’s had for more than five years. “Sometimes Matta says, ‘You don’t have to wear that. Change it! Change into a new one!’”
When playing a show, the important thing for Don is being able to move freely. His flashy performing style, and need to physically communicate with the other band members, requires that he wear something that allows him to move his arms, hands, and whole body easily and comfortably.
Matta’s main clothing issue is also about size. Because of her petite build, she wears pants that are made for kids. She likes whatever is “funky”, and she’s into bell-bottoms. She doesn’t have much free time in Japan, so she’s been doing a lot of her shopping online recently. Her favourite recent purchase is her camera.
I ask Moostop about his personal style. The others laugh. “He’s not really interested in fashion,” says Don. Moostop confirms this, saying he usually just wears what the other band members recommend. “It’s okay,” he says. When asked what the coolest thing is that he’s bought lately, he says it’s his shoes.
Pit says he wore large-sized clothing and sported a hip-hop style before he joined the band, but that’s since changed. Like Moostop, his favourite recent purchase is his shoes. In fact, the two of them bought them from the same store in Shimokitazawa — the area in Tokyo where Pit lives — before a show.
Don points out that this is Pit’s first time playing overseas. I’m curious to know what his impressions of Canada are.
“Just waking down street,” Pit says, “we can find many kinds of pictures, graphics arts, signs and billboards. They’re very colourful. Even foods, like breads in bakeries, are more vivid than what we can find in Japan. So, I’ve been stimulated because there’s a wide variety of colours and things here.”
The others have been to Canada many times, and they each have their own reasons for why they like it. Don says his mind feels free and he has a sense of familiarity when he’s here. Furthermore, he says it has a “good influence” on the music.
Matta says there’s a lot of art here that inspires her. She especially likes seeing the “rock posters.”
Moostop likes that the people are friendly. He says his “mind is happy” when he’s here, and he feels no stress. “It’s a good situation.”
Contrarily, Don talks of how busy life is in the Zoobombs’ home city of Tokyo. “Sometimes, the living is too hard for me.” The major focus there, he says, is on the economy, rather than on art and music.
DON
It’s hard for Don to get music off his mind. He says he thinks about it always, even when he’s sleeping. I ask about his interests outside of music. “Nothing,” he says. No? Nothing at all? “No. Playing music is our life.”
“But he’s good at cooking,” Matta reminds him. So, you like to cook? “Well, yeah,” he admits. “Reading, too. Reading books. When I’m reading books or cooking, I just stop thinking about music. Otherwise, I’m always thinking about music. So, sometimes I go crazy.”
Don is a firm believer in using books to expand one’s imagination. He has strongly encouraged Pit to read as much as he can, so he can develop his own thoughts and vision, and apply it to the music. “He’s pretty young, compared with us. And his generation is not reading many books. They’re just reading manga or (watching) TV.”
So, Don likes to cook. Pit keeps busy reading books. How about Matta?
“I’m very crazy about printing,” she says. “Screening. I always do t-shirts and CD covers, and sell them at the (concert) venue. Also, I like drawing. Almost every day, I draw something.”
One of Moostop’s pleasures is driving the band vehicle, which he says is in really poor condition.
Not to be outdone, Don mentions his Japanese car from the 70’s that’s manual, slow to start, and always has some kind of problem. “It’s pretty fun to drive,” he says. “Yeah, I love that. And my son loves that, too.”
Another thing Don is crazy about is eating. More specifically, sweets. “I’m kind of a sweets monster,” he says. “I’m always eating some sweets, muffins, cookies, chocolate, cake and donuts.”
I can believe it, because he’s been slowly stealing pieces of Moostop’s muffin while we’ve been talking. “Delicious!” says Don, as he grabs another chunk. Moostop doesn’t seem to mind having his muffin snatched, though.
So, what does the future hold for the Zoobombs? Where do they envision themselves?
Don says he’s not sure. He can’t say for certain what the Zoobombs of the future will be like, only that the music will be outside of what he can currently imagine. In the meantime, he just wants to play music, and concentrate on making it better.
“(Maybe) it’s pretty hard for you to understand, because our music is kind of loud and noisy, but I want to make the music beautiful,” he says. “I want to get some kind of real human feeling.”
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