Private Scandal Party Vol.4 (Seduction, Stagnation, Sexurge, Chaos Channel, Chaos, the C&C)

Once again, I was back in Japan and organising another Private Scandal Party gig.

Flyer by me.

After the last gig where The MARGAReTS broke up, Kichi, long-time bassist of the C&C announced that he was leaving the band. I was gutted as I wanted to book them again for the next Private Scandal gig, but I wasn’t sure if they were able to play. I started booking the gig in Summer 2017 and it took place in October.

I wanted to invite some bands that didn’t play in Tokyo often, so I asked Chaos from Oita. Chaos is a band who aren’t particularly popular outside of Japan but their Revolution 7” was a bit of a minor hit among some Japanese punk fans. You might also be aware of their tracks on the legendary Follow No Leaders comp and the Oita City Hardcore comp on MCR, which if you haven’t heard it is one of the best “…City Hardcore” comps you can buy, and I think it’s still quite cheap.

Chaos had released 4 CDs but they suffered from poor distribution both inside Japan and overseas, all of their CDs were released on a small local label called Bedroom Records and I very rarely saw any of their CDs for sale in Tokyo.

The last time they played Tokyo was in 2008 at a Conflict For Freedom gig (which was immortalised on DVD!) and given they’d never been back I assumed they wouldn’t want the trouble of flying to Tokyo for my gig but thankfully, they agreed!

Chikara (Chaos) before the gig.

Following on from The MARGAReTS break up and the fact the C&C wasn’t playing due to Kichi leaving, Uda and Machi from The MARGAReTS quickly formed a new band with Hidde (C&C guitarist) and Kotax (ex.Expose 82 drummer) called Sexurge. Weird name, I know. Sexurge was kind of a mish-mash of the typical Chiba Punk sound you would expect from the guys involved but at Dropdead speed.

The other bands I asked were Stagnation and Seduction. By this point, Stagnation was fully leaning into their leftfield influences and it’s an influence that only grew as they now have a bloke who seems to play bits of metal. Seduction was ex. members of the Oi! Punk band Rough Stuff, plus Passy from Confuse and my friend Shun, they played Sex Pistols-inspired punk rock.

With Passy before the gig.

I also asked Chaos Channel who hadn’t played in a while, and I asked if the C&C would like to play with their new line-up.

The turnout at the gig was the best yet. Punters were waiting to get in from the moment the doors opened which was quite a departure from the 2^nd Private Scandal gig where it was empty for the first hour or so.

Seduction opened and their set was great fun, a load of recycled Pistols riffs and snarling from the vocalist and they were much better than when I had seen them opening for No Cut a few years prior. Shortly before this gig they released a tape called ‘The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit Of Capitalism’ – catchy name, I know but it’s a great tape and well worth tracking down if you fancy a bit of Pistols-pastiche.

Passy Vicious!

Stagnation next, and Shun their drummer was also the drummer for Seduction, so he was knackered. In hindsight, I should’ve put them on later, but they were good, nonetheless. Azusa had a metal hub cap or something from a car and he kept whacking that during their set (he had gotten into Einstürzende Neubauten).

Sexurge next, being a sort of Chiba Punk All-Stars group I was very excited to see them, and I loved them. I think their weird snare sound put people off a bit, but I loved it. As I said earlier, it was The MARGAReTS at Dropdead speed. Sadly, the band didn’t last long and broke up shortly after this but vocalist, Uda, went on to form Used Damaged Asshole, and drummer, Kotax, went on to form Planaria.

Ryoching (Todestrieb/C) with Uda (Sexurge/U.D.A/ex.The MARGAReTS)

The ’S’ bands were out of the way, and it was time for the ‘C’ bands. That wasn’t intentional, I swear.

Chaos Channel had travelled from Nagoya and there was a typhoon, they drove back the same night and were worried about less-than-ideal driving conditions. I was touched that they’d gone out of their way to travel to the gig when they could’ve pulled out. Their set was great, I thought they were on fire that night, sometimes the weird combination of a traditional band with programmed drums and an improvisational drummer doesn’t work so well, but they blew me away.

Chaos was up next and they were great. I love them!

Chaos live at Shibuya Zher The Zoo (I didn't get any good photos at my gig).

The headliner was the C&C, this was the first gig with their new bassist after Kichi left and they didn’t disappoint. They played a load of really early songs that they don’t usually play and everybody left happy.

This was the last Private Scandal gig for now but I think it was a good one to end on. I’ve often thought about what bands I’d book if I organised another….133ANDSPEX….U.D.A….the C&C again?

Gawa (ex.Aostrapos/Lasting Noise Attack) and Yossy (ex.Getter Robo/Reconsideration) after the gig.