Crazy Ken Band's Ken Yokoyama's View of Yokohama - Part 1
Crazy Ken Band (hereinafter referred to as CKB), known as "the greatest sound machine in the Orient," delivers a wide range of sounds. Now celebrating their 25th anniversary, they continue to evolve and are currently in the midst of their nationwide tour, "CRAZY KEN BAND TOUR Jūei 2022-2023," in support of their 22nd album, "Jūei." When discussing Ken Yokoyama, the man who leads CKB and creates such diverse music, the city of Yokohama is inseparable. How does this city appear to Yokoyama, who has spent three eras—Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa—in Yokohama? How has the spirit of Yokohama been blended into the music he creates? In the first half of the interview, he talks about his impressions of the ever-changing city of Yokohama, the influence Yokohama has had on CKB's music, and the stories behind the creation of some of their famous songs.
◆Honmoku and Yokohama have changed in a "gradual" way from the Showa era to the Reiwa era.
──First of all, congratulations on your 25th anniversary. Could you tell us how you feel now that you've reached this milestone of 25 years?
Yokoyama : Thank you. Usually something happens to a band every three or four years. They break up or something, so they don't really last that long. This is the first time one has lasted 25 years, so even I'm surprised (laughs).
-- Mr. Yokoyama, you've lived in Yokohama through three eras: Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa. Could you tell us about your impressions of Yokohama in each of those eras? First, what were your impressions of Yokohama when you were a child?
Yokoyama : Until I was about five years old, I lived in Hongō-chō and Honmoku, along Honmoku Street where there used to be a US military base. It was around the time of the Yamate Police Station that the base was established, with Area 1 on the left and Area 2 on the right, and a vast area of land was requisitioned. I vaguely remember those scenes. When I was five, I moved to Hiyoshi in Kōhoku Ward, and I thought it was a completely different landscape even though it was still Yokohama. Generally, when people think of Yokohama, they think of the port. But in reality, there are mountains, forests, and the sea, and there is a lot of nature, which I found interesting.
--Let's fast forward a bit. CKB "suddenly emerged" in Honmoku in 1997 (quoted from the CKB official website). What were your impressions of Yokohama at that time? How did it appear compared to your childhood?
Yokoyama : Yes, we formed the band. By that time, the bases were gone, but there were still some shops related to the US military bases that remained. There's a shop called "Golden Cup" that's still there, but there were even older ones... like "Italian Garden" and "VENICE," which were there since the 1950s. All of these shops were demolished in 1997 to be turned into apartment buildings, probably due to land development. There was a canteen for US military veterans called VFW, and "Italian Garden," which was in the basement of it, became our base. We would play live shows and hold parties at both "Italian Garden" and VFW above it. We also hung out there even when there wasn't anything going on, so we became accustomed to that environment that still had the atmosphere of the 50s and 60s. Several bands were performing there, and the members of those bands, as well as members I've been playing with for a long time, were all gathered there, so I thought, "Ah, let's form a band with these members," and that's how CKB was formed.
—The fact that it continued for 25 years from then is truly amazing.
Yokoyama : That's right. At first, I didn't intend to do it permanently, I just had a few job offers. I had about two offers, and I intended to finish after doing just those two, but it ended up continuing for 25 years.
──I see! Next, please tell me about Yokohama today. I'm originally from Honmoku, and I'm always surprised by how much has changed when I come back home from Tokyo. I get the impression that areas like Honmoku and Minato Mirai have been changing recently, but what are your impressions of Yokohama now, Yokoyama-san?
Yokoyama : For me, it changed gradually, so I don't really have the impression that it changed abruptly, and I don't feel any discomfort at all (laughs). There are a lot of people who have been away for a while and then suddenly come back, or who have been abroad and come back, and they are all surprised and say, "This is gone, and that is gone too." When I was a kid, there were streetcars running on Honmoku Street. There are no streetcars, and there is no US military base. And it's not even Mycal Honmoku anymore. There is no subway. Well, some people feel a lot of gaps, but if you've been here for a long time, you don't really notice them.
──So, you're saying that you gradually noticed something disappearing and something new increasing in its place?
Yokoyama : That's right. I was in Tokyo for only two years... let's see, from 1978 to 1980, just two years. I lived in Jingumae for one year, and then in Yoga, Setagaya for another year. So I was in Tokyo for only two years. While I was in Tokyo, I heard George Yanagi's song "America Beyond the Fence," which was about Area 1 and Area 2. And that made me want to go back to Yokohama. I got homesick after only two years (laughs).
—So that's why you came back to Yokohama from Tokyo. If you had to pick one favorite spot in Yokohama now, which has changed in a gradual way, what would it be?
Yokoyama : My favorite place right now is the Symbol Tower, a lighthouse at the tip of Honmoku Pier. When you climb the hill there, you feel like you're closest to the sea. You can see Negishi Bay and all around, it's amazing. There's also a sea fishing facility next to it. I really love that area. It's great for walking the dog, and it's perfect for sunbathing.
—That's wonderful. The sea breeze in Yokohama is so refreshing, isn't it?
Yokoyama : Sea breeze, yes. Hamakaze. Lots of people bring their lunches there. It's a really nice place to relax. We even had the opportunity to hold a concert there in 2009.
--While being blown by the sea breeze?
Yokoyama : We were being blown around by the sea breeze, just like that. It even rained, though (laughs).
◆The story behind the birth of a famous phrase, "pushed out by the magnetic field" of Kanagawa Prefecture
—There are many places in Kanagawa Prefecture that are related to CKB's lyrics. For example, there are references to "Union shopping bags" (from "37℃"), which are sure to bring a smile to the faces of locals.
Yokoyama : That's right, there are also pharmacy names.
—There's a pharmacy included too! How do you come up with ideas like that? Do they just pop into your head when you're actually there, or do you think of them afterward?
Yokoyama : When I pass through there, I don't necessarily think about turning it into lyrics, but something just pops into my head, like, if it's Motomachi, then Motomachi... it comes to mind from the melody. And at that moment, I think of a symbolic point in that place. Like the Motomachi pool or the pharmacy. A pharmacy that deals in imported goods, or as they used to say, foreign goods. Girls from Ferris University or international schools would come there to shop. Buying things like Estée Lauder. I used to think, "Wow, those kids are really sophisticated," when I was a teenager (laughs). And then there's Union. I liked their cloth bags more than their paper bags. It was kind of fashionable to always carry one around. There used to be a PR corner between the first and second floors of that Union, where they'd advertise for bands. Or I'd write something like, "Please sell me such-and-such a keyboard," because I really wanted one. Or the English conversation classes. There was the advantage of being able to enter the housing on the US military base, so I'd go in because I wanted to. My English conversation skills didn't improve at all, though (lol).
—When you were talking about Motomachi, you mentioned that the melody came to you first. So, are you influenced by Kanagawa Prefecture not only in the lyrics but also in the sound?
Yokoyama : That's right. When I'm driving or walking, melodies come to mind, and those melodies already have a certain meaning or atmosphere to them. I might think, "Ah, this is about Motomachi," and I translate the melody into words. It's like I'm translating the melody.
──So, first, an image comes to you as a melody, and then you translate it into words, is that right?
Yokoyama : Sometimes the melody comes first, but on the other hand, "Tiger & Dragon" is like, "Listen to what I'm saying." I was actually driving at the time. I was on National Route 16, and there are several tunnels in a row from around Oppama. And after going through one of the tunnels... when I came out of the last tunnel, I could see the sea and the port of Yokosuka. I was driving like that, and the lyrics and melody came to me at the same time. Up until the instrumental break, it all came to me at the same time, and I just drove straight to Mikasa Park. It was exactly as it happened, exactly as the lyrics said.
──Is it unusual for lyrics and melodies to come to you at the same time?
Yokoyama : That's unusual. It's not like I drew the whole thing in one continuous line. But the places that are catchy often come to mind when we're all ready. And Kanagawa Prefecture is like... it's like it's being pushed out by some kind of magnetic field. It's a mysterious place, like a hot spring, "gurgling, gurgling, gurgling" (laughs). It has a feeling of bubbling up.
—So, the urge to say, "Listen to what I have to say!" just welled up inside you (laughs).
Yokoyama : I don't know why that one is called "Listen to what I have to say" (laughs). The song just ended up being finished before we even decided on a concept for it.
—That phrase became very popular among my friends at the time.
Yokoyama : If it weren't for that song, CKB wouldn't be where it is today, so it's a very symbolic and important song for us. And it's about Yokosuka. Geographically, Yokosuka has so many tunnels that it's said to have the most tunnels in Japan, so I was thinking that there aren't many songs about Yokosuka that mention tunnels... But in Momoe Yamaguchi's "Yokosuka Story," there's a line about "steep slopes." Having lots of slopes is also a characteristic of Yokosuka and Yokohama, isn't it? The sea and slopes.
Ken Yokoyama spoke about Yokohama in different eras, occasionally interjecting with laughter. As I listened, the streetcars running through Honmoku, the Italian Garden bustling with band members, and the schoolgirls stopping by the pharmacy all came vividly to mind. This is surely the work of the CKB leader, who has produced so many hit songs with his rich expressiveness. In the first half of this interview, we looked back on the charm and memories of Yokohama from Yokoyama's perspective, along with CKB's 25-year history. In the second half of the interview, we will focus on CKB's present and future, including their community-based activities, their thoughts on their new album "Jūei," and their enthusiasm for the upcoming tour.
Ken Yokoyama
Born in July 1960 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, he is the representative director of the music agency "Double Joy Records." In 1997, he formed the Crazy Ken Band at "Italian Garden" in Honmoku and has been the band's lead vocalist ever since. While releasing a wide variety of hit songs, he also provides songs to many other artists. This year, marking his 25th anniversary since his debut, he is currently on the "CRAZY KEN BAND TOUR Jūei 2022-2023" nationwide, promoting his 22nd album, "Jūei," which was released on August 3rd.
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