"Aah... really thirty years? Yes, even with a ten-year break in the middle we've still been playing some twenty years! To celebrate, a special concert... Hope to see you there!" ...and it turned out to be a gteat night, thanks to all the people who came!

So now what? Well, actually no gigs coming right up, but we're working on it... Watch this space!!

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Daihachi Ryodan news and we'll let you know about our next concert.

Daihachi Ryodan's first CD is out!
We recorded it at a concert at Tokuzo in Imaike and it seems to have turned out OK.
More about Daihachi Ryodan's CD here...
Now on sale at Live Houses like Tokuzo or K.D Japon, bars and restaurants like Raffles', Kitemiteya or Zero...

We're also selling it over the internet. Check out our Sax player Daion Kobayashi's site here...
price:¥1,500 + ¥200 postage and packing

P.S. So you can get to know our band members a bit better, we're working on a series of interviews which will appear on this site soon. (Look for a link to "members" or something.)
Complete with cool photos, and Coming Soon...

Some Daihachi Ryodan lyrics to be found here. (mostly in Japanese though.)
"At last! That's what that song was about!"

Some posters from the last few years' concerts.

What's Daihachi Ryodan?

●We're often asked what kind of band Daihachi are, but it's pretty difficult to answer. Most of our stuff is original but we play songs by all kinds of other people too. Genre? Rock, really, but with Middle East, African, Rap, Reggae and other things mixed in. (Bit of Enka?) We're up for anything really.

●The name? It goes back to the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. At that time there was a democratically elected Socialist government in power, which General Franco's fascist army was trying to overthrow. The International Brigade which gathered from all over the world to support the Socialist government, including such writers as George Orwell, was named the 8th Brigade, or "Daihachi Ryodan" in Japanese.
(With help from Hitler, Franco won anyway, and was in power till he died in 1975!)

●Members? Tero on guitar and vocals, John also guitar and vocals, Ojika on bass, Ishimaru on drums, Maruichi on drums and percussion and Daion on saxophones. Twin drums and (nothing to do with music) front line all over 180cm. It's not all that long since this line-up took shape but you could say we're at some kind of peak.

Daihachi Ryodan Profile

Formed in 1980; at that time played in university festivals, events etc., with mostly original material with a strong "message" element, often about environmental or social problems, together with songs by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley etc.
With a lot of improvisation, the band had a special "Daihachi" sound. However, in 1986, for members' various personal reasons, the band broke up resulting in a 10-year gap till Dec. 1996.

While incorporating new elements, the distinctive, loose sound remains.
Now a fairly leisurely schedule results in concerts two or three times a year, often at Tokuzo in Imaike, Nagoya.

Band Members

• Oki Teruo: vocals,guitar
• John Crawley: guitar,vocals
• Maruichi: drums,percussion
• Kyu Ishimaru: drums
• Makoto Ojika: bass
• Daion Kobayashi: sax