teenagersintokyo - lowercase, one word, not from Japan
They're not from Tokyo but Teenagers from Tokyo, or more accurately teenagersintokyo, are from Sydney. "We just wanted to sound exotic", they explained recently when they spoke with The Dwarf. Like the band's music, the answers were delivered heaped with attitude so it was not always apparent where the line is. Maybe it's all true.
The formed at the Sydney community radio station FBi where some of the band members were DJs. To break the conception they only played other people's music teenagersintokyo made t-shirts with proclaiming boldly that 'WE ARE NOT A DJ SET'. "We spent so long DJing that people started thinking we were DJs rather than a band, so we thought a big fat fucking slogan was the best way to advertise our return to the stage." Already long time friends they hooked up with their drummer Rudy last year and "things fell into a giant ball of goodness." Drawing comparisons the Brazilian indie-pop band Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS) and constant airplay of the single “End it Tonight” they seem to be (one of) the next big things in Sydney music scene.
Their rise has been assisted by Jono Ma, the guitarist from The Valentinos, who they hooked up with "in the back of a ute". He produced their first set of songs and now is working with them on a mini-album. They plan to release this in Australia and Japan.
It doesn't take much to make this band happy. "Anytime we walk backstage and there are little sandwiches cut up into triangles, our hearts flutter a little." Recently, a bunch of homemade t-shirts were stolen at a gig. They posted a request on their Myspace page for the merchandise to be returned. It wasn't. But they've resolved stay positive and to trust in the universal balance. "We firmly believe those bogans have stepped in gum at least 5 times so far. Yeah. Karma's definitely a bitch."
And moving on they are. They gig around Sydney regularly and recently played the Essential Festival; a showcase for local acts. One of the members, bassist Linda Marigliano has also left FBi to host the lunch time slot on the nationwide station Triple J.
With an album in the wings and the attention that has been received the future could hold a lot for this band. "I think the moment we're all looking forward to as a band is walking into a record store and seeing our CD on the shelf somewhere. That would almost be better than little sandwiches."
