Wild Untamed Rock N Roll
Get ready for the Stompin Riff Raffs! A band that plays a throw back to a different era in music but is infused with high powered jet fuel of the future creating maximum garage rock mayhem that will have you dancing in the streets and howling at the moon.
“Stompin’ Riffraffs are made up of a man, Nao (guitar & vox), and three chicks: Rie (bass), Miku (keyboard & theremin), and Saori (drums). We play wild Rock’n’Roll with a hefty dose of punk rock attitude. We draw a lot from the ’50s and ’60s, but want to show people who come to see us that Rock’n’Roll isn’t something from the past. It’s the music of the future!” They are from Tokyo, Japan and have been delivering maximum garage filled untamed rock n roll since 2006!
The band plays plenty of twisted and wild music and get their inspiration from the depths of American B Movie and 50s rock n roll culture. Saori said, “Anything weird and cool. For example, Nao got the idea of using a Theremin from old horror and Sci-Fi B-movies. Also, we all love punk rock, so that makes our sound more frenetic and energetic than what one might call more “traditional” Rock’n’Roll. We’re influenced by many cool bands so that’s kinda difficult to say, but while recording our most recent album, Burning, we referred to the sounds of The Sonics and other Rock’n’Roll musicians in the ‘60s. We don’t really want to label that because, in our minds, we just play our music without thinking anything! Maybe, ‘Be primitive’ is the best way to describe what we’re doing.”
The Stompin’ Riffraffs were started by siblings Nao (vocals, guitar) and Miku (piano, theremin, scream) and Saori (drums, scream) in 2006, and soon joined by Rie (bass, scream) In addition to the standard rock setting, The Riffraffs make good use of the Theremin, the space-age instrument that sounds like something in between a woman singing and a wild animal screeching – in outer space!
Just as the Stompin Riff Raffs deliver nonstop energy in their shows and live performances they all came across the garage style they play in their own way and together deliver a powerful and unique sound that is their own with a driving energy that needs to be experienced first hand to get the full feel. “We don’t do anything special to get ready, we just get on stage and do the damn thing with all we’ve got.”
“We each came across that kind of music in our own separate ways, but at the same time, we’re not terribly attached to it. Still, in terms of how we first found out about that era of music, maybe we should just share our own stories. Nao and Miku knew about it from a young age since some of their family — they’re brother and sister — are big fans of roots music like Rock’n’Roll and the Blues. Saori started listening to it when she was a teenager. She dug that kind of music and started hanging out in her local garage scene and that had a big impact on her. However, Rie used to think Rock’n’Roll was kinda boring, you know, “Oldies” and all that when she was young. But then she heard some garage rock revival bands and that turned her on to the scene. After that she started listening to Blues, R&B, R’n’R and other mid-century stuff around the time when she turned 20. So, we’ve all got our own connections to that sound, but we’re not dogmatic when it comes to the style of music we play either.” “I mean, like we said before, anything weird and cool inspires us, but probably what inspires us most is cold beer. Hahaha.”
‘Nao and Miku’s parents gave them some inspiration, but Saori and Rie found the music by themselves. For that reason, Nao and Miku’s parents — especially their father — admire and apparently even feel a little jealous toward the band while Saori and Rie’s parents don’t really feel one way or the other about it, though Rie’s mom sometimes tells her off for wearing such short dresses.”
“Yes, we’ve been playing together for 16 years. Though, we don’t do anything special, just do things our way. Maybe that’s the reason we’ve been together for so long. We hope we can go and play Ohio sometime in the near future! Any of you organizers out there, feel free to contact us if you are interested in booking us!”
The band signed with Wild Records in 2015 out of the United States and released A Man and Three Chicks which helped spread their sounds world wide and establish them with a solid label. “We have experienced so many great things so it’s difficult to decide what was the best! That said, joining WILD Records is one of our biggest turning points because that lets us connect with other young, wild artists from all around the world. We’d like to keep on rockin’ and meet as many cool bands and fans as we can!”
The Stompin Riff Raffs plan to continue to pour their hearts and souls out to their audiences with regular shows in Japan and work on overseas shows as well and plan on writing new material. You need to get a look at their videos on Youtube and their music is a must have. They have had tours to the United States and will hopefully return again soon or to where ever you are living in the world. Tune in and check the Stompin Riff Raffs out. I absolutely love this band and their music. You will also once you get an earful of their untamed sounds. They are fantastic garage fueled punk rock that not only has the right vibe but all the elements you need for a rock n roll party–all night long!!
