Straight From Land Of The Rising Sun- Catch Otonana Trio Live In Houston
Japanese Party/Funk Band Otonana Trio Plays Houston June 14th at New Venue Spruce Goose:
June 14th, 2018 @ 8PM– Party/Funk band Otonana Trio hits the city of Houston once again on tour, this time in support of their new EP set to release on the 15th. The trio are no strangers to touring the US as they have circled our way many times before. With shows set for Texas, Arizona, and California, it doesn’t take long to realize what audiences around the US are coming out to see. Otonana Trio are a very eccentric band with a unique infusion of Asian and American cultural influences. Their live performance exhibits this as well as their huge personalities. The “Jump Up In The Air Tour” touches Houston for a night of excitement that your are welcome to be a part of. They will be playing at one of Houston’s newer venues, Spruce Goose, June 14th at 8pm. Come ready to participate, as crowd interaction has been hailed by audiences as one of the high points of an Otonana Trio show. For more information on tickets, times, and venue visit the event page.
About the Band:
Otonana Trio hails from Tokyo, Japan, but you’re more likely to find the zany party funk band playing in the U.S.A. Founder/Guitarist/Vocalist Kentaro Saito, Bassist Kazuhisa Maekawa, and drummer Hikari Kuroda cite their adoring audiences as being their biggest influence. Otonana has played over 400 shows in the U.S. in the past six years, and found that wherever they go, the crowds wanted to dance. This influenced the band’s evolution from jazzy roots to a lively, high-energy funk sound.
Kentaro studied jazz performance at The Musician Institute in Hollywood, where he graduated with honors. He continued at The New School in Manhattan, where he formed a band with fellow students. Since none of them were singers, they opted for avant garde punk as a genre. They cracked the college music charts and even got booked to play a festival in Taiwan, where Kentaro was described as “playing guitar like Hendrix, and performing stage kung-fu like Bruce Lee.”
Kentaro moved back to Japan, where he formed Otonana Trio. He tapped Kaz, a Japanese slap funk master, widely considered to be the best bassist in the country, who brought in Hikari, the funkiest female drummer in the land. Otonana Trio have recorded five studio albums, all self-produced in Tokyo.