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Japanese Tour Diary (updated 2/15/00)



Toshi recently got back from his three month, 25 city, 40 show Japanese Tour. Nothing But As One, as the show was called, sold out every concert date. For the most part, the concerts were in huge arenas around Japan. For three hours the band and dancers were on stage giving 110%. Toshi selected songs from his last two albums, Nothing But Your Love and As One. He also played some of his classics and crowd favorites.

The response from the crowd was overwhelming. Toshi and the rest of the band felt as if people really understood what they were feeling as they played the music. The vibe was incredible. Even the music critics understood the natural mystic the music emanated. The overall vibe was cool and it came out on stage. Many of the fans who followed Toshi around Japan said that as each date passed, the band got tighter and tighter. Their performances got funkier and funkier.

While touring the band and the dancers became really close. They rolled as one family unit on stage and off. For the first time Toshi wanted to hang out after shows with the band members. Even after the tour they still keep in touch with each other. Tours like this one reminded Ralph of the reason why he became a musician-to communicate with people, regardless of nationality and language.

After the last show everyone cried. Ralph, the band leader, delivered a heartwarming speech at the last night's party. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. The band and dancers presented Toshi with a plaque to commemorate the tour. Overall it was a huge success!

Toshi Tour Diary

Finally, another Diary entry. For all of you who couldn't make the live showcases, here's a run down of what you missed. We'll give you the insider's view of life on tour with soul sensation Toshi Kubota.

Thursday, September 28th
Washington, D.C.
The first stop on Toshi's Live Showcase Tour of the U.S. was the nation's Capitol. After a long four and half hour bus ride the band checked in the hotel. Everyone except Kaz & Toshi, who came down superstar style on the airplane. It was all logistical though-Toshi had an early interview and everyone else didn't want to get up at the crack of dawn to get down to D.C. Regardless, we met up around 5:30 for sound check at the 9:30 Club. Don't get it confused- that's 5:30 at the 9:30 Club-right.

The venue was pretty good, but the neighborhood? Black Rob said it best, whoa! I want to put a new word into your vocabulary: gentrification. Around the capitol building and the immediate surrounding area (where the hotel was located) everything was great. Buildings were well maintained, streets were clean, and it was all good. As we drove to the venue, things started to change for the worse. Nevertheless, the 9:30 Club was a great spot.
After the sound check everyone went to get something to eat at one of the neighborhood spots. Shout to the Jamaican spot that definitely hooked it up! Everytin' cook & curry! I am surprised everyone ate as much as they did. It was the first major show of the tour and the whole band was amped up. The energy was great. Unfortunately, Dennis Chambers' cigars were messing up Toshi's vibe. That's kinda odd considering Toshi smokes cigarettes. Nevertheless, Toshi and crew definitely made some new fans out of the people who came to see Maceo Parker funk it up. Shout out to the Okayplayers Black Boy Brown and Sojourner Turner for holding it down on the promotion tip.

After the gig everyone got their stuff together and we prepared to break out. Although we had planned on staying overnight, a band member vote determined otherwise. We all prayed that the bus driver wouldn't fall asleep at the wheel.

Friday, September 29th
New York
After a long but rewarding trip, it was good to be home- but, it was time to go to work and represent. Each show date basically followed the same agenda. Get to the venue early, soundcheck, get something to eat, come back and rock it. NYC was no different except for the fact that Bobby Douglas (the keyboard player) wasn't able to make soundcheck because he was stuck in traffic for almost two hours. Luckily he made it in time for the show. Toshi packed the world famous SOB's with a wide variety of fabulous people. N'Dea Davenport formerly of the Brand New Heavies was inside the house along with Hak from Channel Live. All different races and ethnicity's were represented at the show; industry heads, tourists, trendy people, backpackers, the whole nine.
After a couple of DJ sets, Molanda from BET introduced Toshi on stage. Ralph Rolle (the drummer) set it off announcing Steve D (the DJ). One by one the rest of the band chimed in -Mark Jones on the guitar, Carlos Henderson on bass, Bobby Douglas on keyboards, and then the three back up singers: Joi Cardwell, Felicia Graham, and Ty Stephens. Toshi made his entrance like the smooth MF he is sporting sunglasses and a funky fro. Check the flics. Shorties were throwing flowers, panties, and thongs-truly some celebrity type of stuff that you only see in the movies.
Once Toshi finished singing a few joints he stopped to make his Groovitational Theory clear to the audience. The whole spot erupted with cheers as they noticed the validity of diversity and how it was exemplified in the crowd at SOBs. I love New York!!
Monday, October 2nd
San Francisco, CA
My job was to make sure that everyone was on time and got to each destination in one piece. From the moment we stepped into the airport I realized that it wasn't going to be easy. Everyone got there relatively on time, except for Steve. I almost had to stay in NYC because of him so as to insure he eventually got on a plane to the west side. Luckily, he reached the airport and made the plane just in time. House, on the other hand, did not get on the same plane as the rest of us, even though he was the first person (besides me) to get to the airport. Go figure? The crazy thing is I didn't notice it until we were over Idaho. Oops!

When we landed we followed the same routine as before: check in, relax, soundcheck, then eat. That's when I realized that Toshi eats a whole lot of Chinese food. Each and every joint that he played so far (DC, NYC, and San Fran) there was some new dish that he was munchin' on. Don't get me wrong, I love Chinese food, but not every night. His excuse was that Chinese food is different where ever you go, especially if you compare the dishes they make on the West coast and the East coast. On top of that, we were staying right by the gateway to China town. Temptation, temptation!
On the plane to San Fran I remember thinking "how could the West coast shows even compare to the one in NYC?" My question was answered that very night over at Bimbo's. The club was definitely a hot venue. The sound was a lot better than the other two performances. Big up to Mike and House (who finally showed up a few hours later) for making it happen. Mark's guitar solo during Pu Pu was off the hook. I even saw people air-guitaring in the audience. Wish I had caught that on camera!
After the band finished Never Turn Back the crowd kept screaming for more. I think Toshi was in shock because it took him a little while to get back on stage. When he went to grab the mic it was off. The stage crew was already packing up the gear. As a result Toshi & the Funky MFs were unable to do an encore. Some of the fans were pissed, but what can you do? Rewind your albums and start from the top!

Tuesday, October 3rd
Los Angeles, CA
The next morning we had to bounce to LA LA big city of dreams. You may or may not know the rest of that song. But, for those that do know, it is most definitely true. I have never seen so much plastic surgery in my life. Enough about that. Toshi and crew checked into this hotel that had some beautiful woman chillin' in a glass box behind the front desk while a dj played tracks on some decks in the lobby. That made check in a bit more pleasant.
The venue was right down the block so we really didn't get to see much of LA. When I found out the name of the club (the Roxy) I had to ask myself whether or not I was stuck in some time warp. There has to be a club Roxy in every major city across the world. Can we get just a bit original. Nevertheless, the spot was high class. The band was feeling it. The sound was on point and the crowd was into the groove. I could have sworn I was going to see people swaying back and forth and flashing their lighters in the air when Toshi covered the Stevie song Visions.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the night was listening to Ralph do the guest MC part of Never Turn Back. Whoa! Dude got jokes! Prior to the show it was agreed that Steve D would scratch for those eight bars. He did that, then Toshi called Ralph out. He (Ralph) wasn't ready to rhyme. He spit one of the funniest 8 bars I have ever heard. I almost dropped the camera. OK you got me. I almost spilled my drink because I was laughing so hard. Don't worry, he won't be on the remix!

Shout to HYPE Williams the famed video director, who was in the crowd feeling the Funk vibes! And extra big shout to the jawn that works with him.

Wednesday, October 4th
We're up early to catch a flight back to the Big Apple. This is the first time that everyone actually made the lobby call on time. I guess stranger things have happened, but I was definitely psyched that they made my job a little easier. Actually, we forgot Mark at the hotel. The bus pulled off without him. We saw him from across the street as he stood in the hotel entrance looking like a lost kid. That was another missed photo opportunity. The only reason why we missed his presence was due to the fact that he played DJ each time we got on the bus. He had funk tapes for days. Rare joints, classics, whatever!
On the way to the airport we were grooving to one his compilations. Everyone just started singing along with the songs. I felt so young. Trust me, I know my music, but if it's from the early 70s (before I was born) I am not gonna know every single one of the words. These cats were singing along, bopping there heads, closing their eyes and feeling it. Even the people who couldn't sing (I won't mention any names) we trying to get down to Sly Stone and Marvin Gaye. It was a cool way to wrap up Toshi's mini tour of the U.S.

Diary Entry 4/10/00

Dave and JohnThis week, Toshi reflects on Dave O'Donnell, his longtime recording and mixing engineer. Dave has worked with a diverse array of artists and fellow producers, including Russ Titelman, Eric Clapton, Milton Nascimiento, Rod Stewart, Lloyd Cole, and Ray Charles. Find out why Toshi calls Dave "the perfect engineer."

"Dave O'Donnell is the recording engineer who I've worked with for my past few albums. I met Dave about seven years ago, when I was doing Japanese language recording sessions, maybe around the time of the "Baddest II" (greatest hits) album. Back then, I worked with a recording coordinator named Shizuko, and at that point she was the top in her field. When people like Prince or Michael Jackson would tour Japan, she was the first choice as an interpreter. She was talented, well-respected, and very close to me and my production staff. It makes me feel very sad, but unfortunately, she passed away a couple of years ago.

Shizuko was the one who introduced me to Dave. She used to work at the Power Station, which is where Dave started his engineering career. She saw how he worked, and thought he was really talented and efficient. He could keep track of all the details of recording and mixing at once. And attitude-wise, she thought Dave would fit right in. So when I was looking for an engineer, she recommended him to me.

Her impression of Dave was 100% correct. That's why I've been working with him for so long now. I feel very comfortable with him. Whatever I'm trying to do, he gets it. And as an engineer, Dave has old school skills. That's very important. He knows how to mic live instruments and drums and get very good sounds. That kind of thing is hard to find these days. Dave really is the perfect engineer for me and my music."



Diary Entry 4/3/00

Toshi photoshoot"Today we're doing the photo shoot for the English album, and I'm really excited about it! For one thing, I'm very happy with the looks we established. I didn't want to use a hip hop or high fashion kind of look. For one of my favorite shots, we went for something that had a slightly retro, classic late 70's vibe, with this cool leather jacket. I don't know if it will be used for the album cover or not, but will definitely use it somewhere.

But I'm also excited about the people I'm going to be working with today. The photographer is Jamil GS. I've seen his work in Trace magazine, and thought it was fantastic. He listens to my opinion, tries to anticipate the little details. Toshi photoshootHe's very sensitive to his subject. And the stylist, Lisa Cooper, instinctively has the same taste as me. The clothes she brought have a sexy vibe, but at the same time have earthy, natural tones. The makeup artist is Yusuke, an old friend, and he's the best. Everyone involved today understands my inner style, and I feel lucky about that. They are each doing their best to bring it out on film.

Toshi photoshootWhat's really nice about today is that everyone came from different backgrounds and we got the chance to come together and produce something as a whole. And we had a good time doing it! This is one of the guiding themes I return to in my music, and it's nice to see it happen here today."

TK