Hanatarash

Hanatarashi (ハナタラシ), meaning The Snot Nose(d) in Japanese, were a noise music band created by later Boredoms frontman Yamatsuka 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. They were notorious for their dangerous live shows. Some of the band's most scandalous shows included Eye cutting a dead cat in half with a machete, Eye destroying part of a venue with a backhoe, and prior to one show the band got the attendees to fill out forms dismissing the band of responsibility for any possible injuries caused by the performance. The show stopped just as Eye was about to throw a lit molotov cocktail onto the stage, which was drenched in gasoline from a nearby barrel. It was said that the performance cost the venue ¥600,000 (approximately $6,000 US) in repairs. But it turns out the venue was going to be demolished anyway, so the management allowed Hanatarash to destroy it as a "performance". No repair costs had to be paid.

Selected discography

• 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)

External links

• All Music Guide entry
• entry at discogs.com
• Backhoe Slideshow