Half Japanese

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Biography

Half Japanese is a band formed by brothers Jad Fair and David Fair in their Uniontown, Maryland bedroom around 1975.

Their quirky song lyrics often deal with monsters and the supernatural (especially as influenced by campy “creature feature” and scifi movies), in addition to more conventional themes, such as the visceral thrills of crushes and infatuations. They have stated that all their songs are either “love songs or monster songs.”

Fans of Half Japanese include Penn Jillette, who helped the band release some of their albums on his ad hoc 50 Skidillion Watts label, and the late Kurt Cobain, who had them open for Nirvana’s 1993 tour. Over time David Fair became less involved, ultimately quitting the band in favor of married life, and Jad brought in more outside musicians who have contributed to an increasingly coherent and organized sound.

They have worked with the Orthotonics, Moe Tucker, Teenage Fanclub, Daniel Johnston and John Zorn, among others.

The band’s history and influence was chronicled in the 1993 fan documentary Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King by Jeff Feuerzeig.
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  • novels

    One of the most underrated bands ever

    28 Apr 5:30pm Reply

  • matt_white

    wow Kurt very edgy

    26 Apr 11:51am Reply

  • owlies

    don fleming's voice is tits.

    20 Apr 3:53am Reply

  • trtb

    if you're a fan of the band, there's 4 LP vinyl boxset of "not gentlemen, not beasts" coming out on record store day that includes a jad far poster, 32 page booklet, and a download card for the album. (http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/6122) keep an eye out for it!

    12 Apr 7:46pm Reply

  • Kurt_Cobain-

    I like to listen to Jad Fair and Half Japanese with headphones on, walking around shopping malls - in the heart of the American culture. I just think that, if people could hear this music right now, they'd melt, they wouldn't know what to do, they'd start bouncing off the walls and hyperventilating. So I turn up the music really loud and pretend it's blasting through the speakers in the mall.

    24 Mar 9:59pm Reply

  • zmuel

    love and hate this !!!!!

    23 Mar 12:27am Reply

  • woodear

    Masmolante

    25 Jan 10:47am Reply

  • Punching_joe

    Fucking terrible [7] Best band ever [7] [5]

    24 Jan 1:27pm Reply

  • criji

    i need hello album, someone?

    21 Jan 5:33pm Reply

  • SPITfire35

    Hi! How are you! If you like Half Japanese maybe you like my band Dumb Dish too! I have just uploaded the first studio track of Dumb Dish which is a cover of Scratch Acid's Cannibal. Please give it a listen and let us know what you think about it! Oh, and if you like it, please make sure to subscribe and to share! Namasté! http://youtu.be/m-F4OvQQPjI

    23 Dec 2012 Reply

  • owlies

    anyone who listens to this band is invited to my house to eat fruit loops and watch full house marathons

    8 Dec 2012 Reply

  • TeenageRiot-

    Yeah, the bazooka thing can be arranged.

    7 Nov 2012 Reply

  • da1212914

    http://karensmells.bandcamp.com/

    1 Nov 2012 Reply

  • keirasplace

    I'd prefer being shot with a bazooka than listening to them, and I like punk!

    16 Oct 2012 Reply

  • owlies

    lol @ raygun

    3 Aug 2012 Reply

  • megajosh2

    Hearing previews of these songs and the noisier albums sound pretty sweet. Need to just pick one of these damn things...

    9 Jul 2012 Reply

  • mrshankly_

    Patty sounds just like Summer Babe.

    6 Jul 2012 Reply

  • Nakkinak

    Fucking terrible [6] Best band ever [6] [4]

    1 Jul 2012 Reply

  • RaygunShaun

    I have no idea how this happened, but somehow, this band very slowly grew on me until I was convinced that they were the greatest thing ever. Then my love for them slowly diminished until I decided they were absolutely unlistenable. "Roman Candles" and "Eye of the Hurricane" are still gems though.

    28 Jun 2012 Reply

  • Octaviobanake

    Fucking terrible [5] Best band ever [5] [3]

    22 Apr 2012 Reply
    • All 187 shouts

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