Hanatarash
Encyclopedia
Hanatarashi meaning "sniveler" or "snot-nosed" in Japanese, was a noise
band created by later Boredoms frontman Yamantaka Eye
and featured Zeni Geva
guitarist Mitsuru Tabata. The outfit was formed in Osaka
, Japan
in 1984 after Eye and Tabata met as stage hands at an Einstürzende Neubauten
show. After the release of the first album, the "I" was dropped and the name became Hanatarash.
They used a variety of unusual noise-making objects, including power tools, drills, and heavy machinery.
, strapping a circular saw
to his back and almost cutting his leg off, and destroying part of a venue with a backhoe
bulldozer
by driving it through the back wall and onto the stage.
At a 1985 show in Tokyo's Superloft, the audience was required to fill out waivers due to the possibility of harm caused by the show. The show was stopped due to Eye preparing to throw a lit molotov cocktail
onto the stage. The performance cost ¥600,000 (approximately $6,000 US) in repairs.
After several years of the intense live shows, Hanatarash was forbidden from performing at most venues, and were only allowed to return to live performances in the 1990s without the trademark danger.
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
band created by later Boredoms frontman Yamantaka Eye
Yamantaka Eye
, real name , born February 13, 1964 in Kobe, is a Japanese vocalist and visual artist, best known as a member of Boredoms. He has changed his name three times, from Yamatsuka Eye, to Yamantaka Eye, to Yamataka Eye, and sometimes calls himself eYe or EYヨ...
and featured Zeni Geva
Zeni Geva
Zeni Geva is a Japanese heavy metal group led by singer and guitarist KK. Null, together with guitarist Mitsuru Tabata and drummer Tatsuya Yoshida...
guitarist Mitsuru Tabata. The outfit was formed in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1984 after Eye and Tabata met as stage hands at an Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
show. After the release of the first album, the "I" was dropped and the name became Hanatarash.
They used a variety of unusual noise-making objects, including power tools, drills, and heavy machinery.
Live shows
Hanatarash was notorious for its dangerous live shows. Some of the band's most infamous shows included Eye cutting a dead cat in half with a macheteMachete
The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
, strapping a circular saw
Circular saw
The circular saw is a machine using a toothed metal cutting disc or blade. The term is also loosely used for the blade itself. The blade is a tool for cutting wood or other materials and may be hand-held or table-mounted. It can also be used to make narrow slots...
to his back and almost cutting his leg off, and destroying part of a venue with a backhoe
Backhoe
A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader...
bulldozer
Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
by driving it through the back wall and onto the stage.
At a 1985 show in Tokyo's Superloft, the audience was required to fill out waivers due to the possibility of harm caused by the show. The show was stopped due to Eye preparing to throw a lit molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
onto the stage. The performance cost ¥600,000 (approximately $6,000 US) in repairs.
After several years of the intense live shows, Hanatarash was forbidden from performing at most venues, and were only allowed to return to live performances in the 1990s without the trademark danger.
Selected discography
- Take Back Your Penis! Cassette (Condome Cassex, 1984)
- Hanatarashi LP (Alchemy, 1985)
- 2 LP (Alchemy, 1988)
- 3 LP (RRRecords, 1989) CD (RRRecords, 1992)
- The Hanatarash and His eYe 7" (Public Bath, 1992)
- 4: AIDS-a-Delic CD (Public Bath, 1994)
- 5: We Are 0:00 CD (Shock City, Trattoria, 1996)
- Live!! 84 Dec. 16 Zabo-Kyoto CD (MoM'n'DaD Productions, 1993)
- Live!! 88 Feb. 21 Antiknock / Tokyo CD (MoM'n'DaD Productions, 1992)
- Live!! 82 Apr. 12 Studio Ahiru / Osaka CD (MoM'n'DaD Productions, 1993)