Something Funny About the Yoshida Brothers
Ready for Ultimate Deathmatch with the kid from Deliverance
"Japanese banjos and Star Trek flutes" only sounds horrible on paper, trust us!
By Thom Wong
Published: May 14, 2009
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TheTyee.ca
Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Lady Gaga -- what do these three musical artists have to do with Japan's Yoshida Brothers? Absolutely nothing, which is reason enough to catch them when they roll into town next week with their shamisens (a three-stringed instrument not unlike a banjo). The brothers let their strings do all the talking, forsaking words for syncopated rhythms and lightning-fast finger-picking. Considering most songs give us endless couplets with "love" and "thinking of", this can only be seen as a good thing.
If you've seen a commercial for the Nintendo Wii then you've heard the Yoshida Brothers, their ridiculously catchy melodies sending the salary men off in the little car. Five albums in, including a somewhat premature Best Of, and they now command a worldwide audience -- the video for “Rising” has over a million views on YouTube (and the opening notes from the former Hockey Night in Canada theme song). And while they could easily fill an entire show simply plumbing their back catalogue, here's hoping they will lean heavily on their latest album, Prism, which could see them break into the mainstream.
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