I first came across Ikkokukan by accident on YouTube. It proved to be a very serendipidous accident because I feel that I have uncovered a hidden gem. At the moment they only have 27 people following them but I feel that they deserve far more and so I am adding this extra post to my regular daily blog in the hope of providing them with some extra publicity and a review of their work.
This is a an extract from their website “Thank you for visiting our website we are Music Band 刻館 Ikkokukan Our hometown is Mito city IBARAKI prefecture in Japan.” Mito is the capital of Japan’s Ibaraki Prefecture. Cutting through the city, the Sakuragawa River is lined with cherry trees. Near Senba Lake, Kairakuen Garden has thousands of plum trees and azaleas. Mito’s old town is home to the Kodokan, a restored 19th-century school, and the ruins of the 12th-century Mito Castle. Art Tower Mito is a striking cultural center with a concert hall, theater and art gallery.
The website gives the following details as to the band membership:
Vocals & Flute： 響子 Kyoko
Electric Guitar： 大明神 Daimyojin
Electric Bass： ネッチ (since June 2022) Necchi
Drums： 匠 Takumi
Support Dancer: 英斗（エイト）(since March 2019) EITO
They also have another version of the band which plays occasionally and adds the following members:
BX: 卒業 member
Electric Bass : Otoya
Dancer： CHOUCHOU（シュシュ）
Their repertoire is of almost entirely well known English/US hit songs and they make no attempt to be other than a cover band. They have a distinct sound and the lead guitar player is excellent and Kyoko use of the flute adds greatly to the sound. Her vocals are also delightful. The performances are often enhanced by the addition of two dancers EITO and CHOUCHOU. They seem to have a lot of fun playing their music.
Ikkokukan usually play in a venue called Papermoon, which describes itself as a ‘Hideaway LIVE BAR in a 10-minute walk from Mito Station. Enjoy food and drinks with live music. There are 45 counter seats and table seats arranged around the stage. You can also enjoy a conversation with the staff at the counter! Of course, you can also enjoy LIVE slowly alone. We also offer rentals and all-you-can-drink at reasonable prices. Please use it according to your preference, such as LIVE on weekends and relaxing BAR TIME on weekdays.‘
Having found them, I began to watch their archive of their performances on YouTube and I became aware that they received very few comments on these videos. So I began to make the occasional comment about how much I was enjoying listening to them perform. this resulted in Kyoko and EITO responding to my comments. I one of the comments I mentioned in passing how much I liked the Ikkokukan t-shirt that the band members wore at most performance, only to be sent one by EITO as a gift. I felt that this was a tremendous act of generosity for a small band to undertake and I am now the proud possessor of probably the only Ikkokukan t-shirt in the UK (and possible the Western Hemisphere).
