SA (Samurai Attack)
Encyclopedia
SA is a Japanese punk rock
band. Their style of music has been described (in the liner notes
of their own releases) as Oi!
Punk.
SA was originally formed by vocalist Taisei Mabuchi in Gifu
. Their first release was the five-song EP I Get Position (1985) from the independent label Club the Star. This limited-run (2000 copies) release quickly sold out, and the punk rock magazine Doll placed it at the top of its list of "brightest-hope domestic releases of 1985." They also contributed two tracks to the album Oi of Japan (1986), which was compiled by Yosu-ko of Cobra
and released from the independent AA Records (founded by the punk band Laughin' Nose). In 1987, having decided to move to Tokyo, Taisei brought SA to an end, with their last show (in Nagoya) breaking the attendance record for the venue. In Tokyo, Taisei formed a band called Bad Messiah, which released four albums and 10 singles from Epic Sony before dissolving in 1996.
SA was reunited in 1999, and in 2000 released the album You Must Stand Up My Comrades, consisting of remastered versions of the tracks on I Get Position and newly recorded songs. At the reunited SA's first show, Taisei met guitarist Naoki from Cobra, which was appearing as a guest. When eventually asked by Taisei to join SA, Naoki agreed on the condition that the rest of the band's lineup also be changed. This led to the current lineup of the band, including bassist Ken (who had played with Naoki in the band Dog Fight) and drummer Shohei (who had once auditioned for Cobra).
The first album with this new lineup was Great Operation, self-released on the band's own label, Pineapple Records, in July 2002. This album led off with what would become the band's signature song, the hyper-energetic "Don't Deny, Give It A Try!!"; other notable tracks included "Die With Honor," "Drawing Your Flag," and "For Who, For What." A CD single
, Who's The Next Upstart?, was released later the same year, which aside from the title track featured a cover of the classic Sham 69
song "Borstal Breakout" as well as an extended-electronica
remix of "Don't Deny, Give It A Try!!". A mini-LP entitled Stiff Upper Lip was released in March 2003, followed by the band's third full-length, Matchless Attack, in June 2004. Later that same year, the British label Anagram Records
licensed a selection of songs from all of the band's Pineapple Records releases to date and compiled them onto a 20-track CD, entitled simply S.A. "Samurai Attack!". This was the first (and, as of mid-2009, only) of the band's recordings to be distributed widely outside of Japan.
A fourth full-length LP, Primal Yell, was released in 2006. In 2007, SA opened up for the platinum-selling
American punk band Rancid
during their tour of Japan. A mini-LP, Beyond I, was released on Pineapple in 2007, followed by another full-length album, Vandals Bop, in 2008. SA joined several other Japanese artists and bands for the 2009 edition of the Japan Nite tour (dubbed the "Attack From Japan" tour by SA), which started at the SXSW music festival in Austin and visited seven other major cities throughout the United States
. A documentary about this tour, which originally aired on a satellite TV channel in Japan, was later released in expanded form as the DVD Make More Noize. SA opened for Rancid again during a portion of their Japan tour in fall 2009. Austin
-based punk band Lower Class Brats
opened for them during their Revolt'n' Roll Tour of February 2010.
SA's music, though clearly rooted in Oi! and late-70's/early-80's punk rock, is characterized by often-breakneck tempos that are often fast enough to be considered hardcore
, as well as a musical adventurousness that is rather unusual for the genre; abrupt timing changes are quite frequent, several of their songs have utilized instruments such as horns
, accordions, and banjos, and they have even recorded a few ballads. As is typical for Japanese rock artists outside of the pop genre, SA's songs typically mix both Japanese
- and English-language lyrics, often with partly Japanese verses
and primarily or entirely English choruses
.
The artwork of the band's releases is notable both for its garishness and for its frequent use of fascistic imagery
—particularly on the cover of Matchless Attack, which appears to depict a Nuremberg-style rally
with the four members of the band as its focal point. The band's logo is quite similar, though not identical, to the official logo of Nazi Germany's Sturmabteilung
(commonly abbreviated to "SA"), the paramilitary organization that helped to put Hitler's Third Reich into power and that was later purged by Hitler in the Night of the Long Knives
. (In the FAQ section of the band's former official website, Taisei stated that when he came up with the name "SA" he did not intend for it to stand for anything in particular, and that he was not aware of the association between the name and Nazi Germany.) However, a fascistic outlook is not at all evident in the lyrics of SA. These are characterized by a pro-action, pro-unity, positivist outlook not unlike that espoused by American hardcore bands such as Minor Threat
or 7 Seconds. Here's an example from "Don't Deny, Give It A Try!!":
(second verse) "We've been seeing the 'depths of misery'/We already know what 'hurt' is/The time we spend was not wasted./That's is all, I can say now! (chorus) Steppin' out! (x2) /I don't want to stay such a limited place./No fight! It's rule!/Why don't you go out with us?/Don't deny, give it a try! (x2)
Great Operation (Pineapple, 2002)
Stiff Upper Lip (Pineapple, 2003)
Matchless Attack! (Pineapple, 2004)
Primal Yell (Pineapple, 2005)
Beyond I (Pineapple, 2007)
Vandals Bop (Pineapple, 2008)
REVOLT'n'ROLL (Pineapple, 2010)
21 Songs Album Attack From Japan (exclusive CD from Japan Nite 2009 tour)
The Blue Hearts 2002 Tribute (Universal Music, 2002)
BPR 5000-Burst Tracks (Warner Music Japan, 2003)
Smellz Like . . . (Universal Music, 2003)
The Blue Hearts Tribute 2005 Edition (Universal J, 2005)
The Mods Tribute So What!! Vol.2 (Sony, 2006)
Japan Nite Sound Sampler 2009 (exclusive CD from Japan Nite 2009 tour) (SXSW Music ASIA, 2009)
The Specter On My Trail (Pineapple, 2006)
An original film CALLIN' YOU (Pineapple, 2008)
Make More Noize (Pineapple, 2009)
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band. Their style of music has been described (in the liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
of their own releases) as Oi!
Oi!
Oi! is a working class subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads and other working-class youths ....
Punk.
SA was originally formed by vocalist Taisei Mabuchi in Gifu
Gifu Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō...
. Their first release was the five-song EP I Get Position (1985) from the independent label Club the Star. This limited-run (2000 copies) release quickly sold out, and the punk rock magazine Doll placed it at the top of its list of "brightest-hope domestic releases of 1985." They also contributed two tracks to the album Oi of Japan (1986), which was compiled by Yosu-ko of Cobra
Cobra (Japanese punk band)
Cobra is a Japanese Oi!/punk band based in the Osaka area. They were one of the first bands in Japan to incorporate the style of Oi! in their sound and appearance. They have cited as their influences early British Oi! bands such as Cockney Rejects and Business...
and released from the independent AA Records (founded by the punk band Laughin' Nose). In 1987, having decided to move to Tokyo, Taisei brought SA to an end, with their last show (in Nagoya) breaking the attendance record for the venue. In Tokyo, Taisei formed a band called Bad Messiah, which released four albums and 10 singles from Epic Sony before dissolving in 1996.
SA was reunited in 1999, and in 2000 released the album You Must Stand Up My Comrades, consisting of remastered versions of the tracks on I Get Position and newly recorded songs. At the reunited SA's first show, Taisei met guitarist Naoki from Cobra, which was appearing as a guest. When eventually asked by Taisei to join SA, Naoki agreed on the condition that the rest of the band's lineup also be changed. This led to the current lineup of the band, including bassist Ken (who had played with Naoki in the band Dog Fight) and drummer Shohei (who had once auditioned for Cobra).
The first album with this new lineup was Great Operation, self-released on the band's own label, Pineapple Records, in July 2002. This album led off with what would become the band's signature song, the hyper-energetic "Don't Deny, Give It A Try!!"; other notable tracks included "Die With Honor," "Drawing Your Flag," and "For Who, For What." A CD single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
, Who's The Next Upstart?, was released later the same year, which aside from the title track featured a cover of the classic Sham 69
Sham 69
Sham 69 is an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1976.Although not as commercially successful as many of their contemporaries, albeit with a greater number of chart entries, Sham 69 has been a huge musical and lyrical influence on the Oi! and streetpunk genres. The band allegedly derived...
song "Borstal Breakout" as well as an extended-electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
remix of "Don't Deny, Give It A Try!!". A mini-LP entitled Stiff Upper Lip was released in March 2003, followed by the band's third full-length, Matchless Attack, in June 2004. Later that same year, the British label Anagram Records
Cherry Red
Cherry Red is a London-based independent record label formed in 1978.-History:Cherry Red grew from the rock promotion company founded in 1971 to promote rock concerts at the Malvern Winter Gardens...
licensed a selection of songs from all of the band's Pineapple Records releases to date and compiled them onto a 20-track CD, entitled simply S.A. "Samurai Attack!". This was the first (and, as of mid-2009, only) of the band's recordings to be distributed widely outside of Japan.
A fourth full-length LP, Primal Yell, was released in 2006. In 2007, SA opened up for the platinum-selling
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
American punk band Rancid
Rancid (band)
Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, both of whom previously played in the ska punk band Operation Ivy, Rancid is credited—along with Green Day and The Offspring—for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the...
during their tour of Japan. A mini-LP, Beyond I, was released on Pineapple in 2007, followed by another full-length album, Vandals Bop, in 2008. SA joined several other Japanese artists and bands for the 2009 edition of the Japan Nite tour (dubbed the "Attack From Japan" tour by SA), which started at the SXSW music festival in Austin and visited seven other major cities throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. A documentary about this tour, which originally aired on a satellite TV channel in Japan, was later released in expanded form as the DVD Make More Noize. SA opened for Rancid again during a portion of their Japan tour in fall 2009. Austin
Austin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
-based punk band Lower Class Brats
Lower Class Brats
Lower Class Brats are a punk rock band founded in Austin, Texas in January 1995. They describe their sound as high energy "Rock and Roll Street Noize." They have released a number of recordings including twelve 7" singles, two 12" singles, four full-length albums and one live album...
opened for them during their Revolt'n' Roll Tour of February 2010.
SA's music, though clearly rooted in Oi! and late-70's/early-80's punk rock, is characterized by often-breakneck tempos that are often fast enough to be considered hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
, as well as a musical adventurousness that is rather unusual for the genre; abrupt timing changes are quite frequent, several of their songs have utilized instruments such as horns
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, accordions, and banjos, and they have even recorded a few ballads. As is typical for Japanese rock artists outside of the pop genre, SA's songs typically mix both Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
- and English-language lyrics, often with partly Japanese verses
Verse-chorus form
Verse-chorus form is a musical form common in popular music and predominant in rock since the 1960s. In contrast to AABA form, which is focused on the verse , in verse-chorus form the chorus is highlighted...
and primarily or entirely English choruses
Verse-chorus form
Verse-chorus form is a musical form common in popular music and predominant in rock since the 1960s. In contrast to AABA form, which is focused on the verse , in verse-chorus form the chorus is highlighted...
.
The artwork of the band's releases is notable both for its garishness and for its frequent use of fascistic imagery
Fascist symbolism
As there were many different manifestations of fascism, especially during the interwar years, there were also many different symbols of Fascist movements...
—particularly on the cover of Matchless Attack, which appears to depict a Nuremberg-style rally
Nuremberg Rally
The Nuremberg Rally was the annual rally of the NSDAP in Germany, held from 1923 to 1938. Especially after Hitler's rise to power in 1933, they were large Nazi propaganda events...
with the four members of the band as its focal point. The band's logo is quite similar, though not identical, to the official logo of Nazi Germany's Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
(commonly abbreviated to "SA"), the paramilitary organization that helped to put Hitler's Third Reich into power and that was later purged by Hitler in the Night of the Long Knives
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives , sometimes called "Operation Hummingbird " or in Germany the "Röhm-Putsch," was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political murders...
. (In the FAQ section of the band's former official website, Taisei stated that when he came up with the name "SA" he did not intend for it to stand for anything in particular, and that he was not aware of the association between the name and Nazi Germany.) However, a fascistic outlook is not at all evident in the lyrics of SA. These are characterized by a pro-action, pro-unity, positivist outlook not unlike that espoused by American hardcore bands such as Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
or 7 Seconds. Here's an example from "Don't Deny, Give It A Try!!":
(second verse) "We've been seeing the 'depths of misery'/We already know what 'hurt' is/The time we spend was not wasted./That's is all, I can say now! (chorus) Steppin' out! (x2) /I don't want to stay such a limited place./No fight! It's rule!/Why don't you go out with us?/Don't deny, give it a try! (x2)
Albums
You Must Stand Up My Comrades (Music Mine, 2000)Great Operation (Pineapple, 2002)
Stiff Upper Lip (Pineapple, 2003)
Matchless Attack! (Pineapple, 2004)
Primal Yell (Pineapple, 2005)
Beyond I (Pineapple, 2007)
Vandals Bop (Pineapple, 2008)
REVOLT'n'ROLL (Pineapple, 2010)
Best-of Collections
S.A. "Samurai Attack!" (Anagram, 2004)21 Songs Album Attack From Japan (exclusive CD from Japan Nite 2009 tour)
Compilation Albums
Oi of Japan (AA Records, 1986)The Blue Hearts 2002 Tribute (Universal Music, 2002)
BPR 5000-Burst Tracks (Warner Music Japan, 2003)
Smellz Like . . . (Universal Music, 2003)
The Blue Hearts Tribute 2005 Edition (Universal J, 2005)
The Mods Tribute So What!! Vol.2 (Sony, 2006)
Japan Nite Sound Sampler 2009 (exclusive CD from Japan Nite 2009 tour) (SXSW Music ASIA, 2009)
DVDs
Walls and Red Lights (Pineapple, 2004)The Specter On My Trail (Pineapple, 2006)
An original film CALLIN' YOU (Pineapple, 2008)
Make More Noize (Pineapple, 2009)