♪2 PUNK ROCK LIFE

Youthful High School × Music

Dropped Out of High School to Wander America

—So, let's take a little trip back through your life, Shimazu-san...

Yoshiyuki ShimazuI was in a band through high school. A rock band in the vein of Jimi Hendrix and Cream. We had guitar, bass, drums, and a separate vocalist, and I played bass. We entered the Yamaha Popcon and won the rock division for the Kyushu region, but the trophy went to the vocalist because they said the win was thanks to him. He was only a temporary participant, after all (laughs).

—But that's amazing!

ShimazuMy older sister made it all the way to Tsumamoi. The pop division reached the finals at Tsumamoi, and she debuted as a female duo called 'Akazukin' with a song called 'Anta to Atai.' It was a minor hit. My sister liked Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Carly Simon, and Yuming.

—Even more amazing (laughs).

ShimazuMy older brother, who is seven years my senior, played in cover bands, so music and instruments were always around. The first album I bought myself was 'BEATLES'65,' which included songs like 'Mr. Moonlight' and 'She's A Woman.' I was seven years old (laughs). It's more accurate to say my brother made me buy it (laughs). I owned almost all of The Beatles' singles. My cousin's family ran a disco called Mugen in Kumamoto City, and we could practice our band there. I was in 5th or 6th grade when I heard The Doors, and they really blew me away.

—So you were in a good musical environment.

ShimazuWe decided to have a mini-concert on Sundays in the junior high school judo hall. We'd load all our instruments onto a flatbed cart and play, but the gym teacher chased us, and the judo hall backed onto the pool, so I ended up jumping in. It was more like Group Sounds than rock (laughs), that era.

—It sounds like you were having fun, though (laughs).

ShimazuActually, I went to America alone when I was 16. I quit high school, worked part-time, and saved up money. I first arrived in San Francisco, then traveled through LA and Mexico, then to New York, and finally returned from Hawaii. I saved about 1.5 million yen at the time and wandered for about three months. 'Popeye' hadn't even been launched yet, nobody knew about Adidas, and it was still the era of 365 yen to the dollar. The only flight tickets available were economy, and they were very expensive. I lied about my age to do strawberry picking and dishwashing.

Let's Go with "Wasa-mon"!

—Did you re-enroll in high school?

ShimazuI went back on my own while working as a bartender at night. Thanks to that, I was able to go to America again. Back then, students wore Men's Bigi pants, Clarks Desert Boots or Converse, and military shirts.

—There couldn't have been many students like you.

ShimazuI want you to write this down (laughs). There was a teacher at my high school who was an Ivy League enthusiast. He loved brands like 'VAN' and 'KENT.' So, he became interested in my fashion. What was amazing about that teacher was that he cut the heel off his 'Regal' slip-ons himself to make school slippers. He was eccentric, but in a new way (laughs). He really wanted to wear Regals, you see (laughs). I owe a lot to that teacher.

—Was your clothing influenced by your brother too?

ShimazuI had a lot of hand-me-down 'VAN' clothes. At the time, I liked 'Mr. VAN.' It was cool, with a bit of a European flair. However, I couldn't wear London boots (laughs).

—Kumamoto is a city where fashion trends arrive early, isn't it?

ShimazuIn the Kumamoto dialect, we call it 'wasa-mon.' It means someone who is obsessive or likes to stand out, and is always drawn to the latest things. My interest in fashion began before Mr. Arita's famous shop 'Blaze' in our area, back when it was an outdoor shop. In '74 or '75, a man named Higashiyama returned from Tokyo and opened a store called 'Our House' that sourced vintage West Coast clothing.
Mr. Arita, in particular, formed the 'IVY SPIRITS FAN CLUB' during his time at Kyushu Gakuin, where there were many stylish Ivy League boys. It was featured in 'Men's Club' around 1970. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I was featured in Machiai twice (laughs). Then, we moved from TAKE IVY to PREPPIE, and Kumamoto developed its own unique trends. I still wear the Levi's bush pants I bought back then.

—There are many people from Kumamoto in the fashion industry. So, after graduating high school...

ShimazuOn the night of my graduation ceremony, I boarded the slow train Sakurajima-go bound for Tokyo. It took 26 hours back then (laughs).

to be continue……♪3