Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome back. Porch Fest Quincy is coming up on June 27 this year, 3 to 8pm at the usual spots in Wollaston, Merrymount and out in Squantum. And today we're so pleased to welcome organizer Walter Hubley and two special guests. The Tokyo Tramps are here in the studio live. They'll be performing at Porch Chest again this year. So we're pleased to welcome Walter and also the Tokyo Tramps. Hey, welcome everybody. Happy Porchfest.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: Yeah, thanks for having us.
[00:00:27] Speaker A: Yeah, great to meet the Tokyo Tramps. And Walter, good to see you again as always.
[00:00:31] Speaker B: Same to you.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: You've got this year's portrait teal colored shirt on this year.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: Yes, I do.
They went on sale, I want to say back around St. Patrick's Day. And they've filled up my dining room so it'd be wonderful if people can order theirs soon.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:00:46] Speaker B: They're $20 each. You can order them on the website. They'll also be available for sale at the event at a few locations that'll be on the map. And yeah, it helps us selling these shirts really helps us fund the event. It's one of our funding sources.
[00:00:57] Speaker A: I think it's the ninth one this year. Is that right?
[00:00:59] Speaker B: I think you're right. I think it's the ninth one over 10 years because we had the COVID
[00:01:03] Speaker A: SK there was 2020, obviously. So it would have been your 10 year anniversary.
[00:01:08] Speaker B: 10th annual, I guess you'd say.
[00:01:10] Speaker A: Wow, okay. Hard to believe. Hard to believe, right? Yeah. Let's talk about the logistics real quick about what it is, where it happens, how folks participate in it.
[00:01:18] Speaker B: Yeah. So on Saturday, June 27, it's from 3 to 8pm and we're doing it in three neighborhoods, Walliston Hill and Squannum in Marymount.
There'll be approximately 110 bands spread across those three neighborhoods.
[00:01:35] Speaker A: Is that about average for the year?
[00:01:36] Speaker B: It's about average, yeah. We usually get anywhere between 110 to 120 bands per year. And yeah, there'll be food available. We're still nailing down the logistics on that, but I know the assembly restaurant will be selling food and beverages, beer and wine as well up on Wollaston Hill. And then in Marymount we'll have Blacks Creek barbecue. They'll also be selling food, beer and wine.
It'll also feature the Porchfest beer, which don't let me forget to talk a little bit about that.
[00:02:03] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:02:05] Speaker B: And then the other areas, we're still kind of working out the food vendors and so forth, but usually something within walking distance. To, you know, if you want to have a bite to eat, keep walking and listening to the music.
[00:02:14] Speaker A: And that's the key, really, to Porchfest, right? It's a walkable, live, free music festival.
[00:02:20] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. And it seems like a very simple thing at the surface for the person who hasn't run it before.
But we do try to keep bands performing near each other, but not so close that they drown each other out at the same time. So it's a bit of a Jenga puzzle to figure out, well, you don't
[00:02:39] Speaker A: want to put, you know, a classical music performance next to, like, a blues performance or.
[00:02:44] Speaker B: Which is what we did in the first year.
[00:02:45] Speaker A: Right. Yeah.
[00:02:46] Speaker B: So we had the Quincy Symphony Orchestra playing at, what, George Trigger Burke's house. And then right around the corner, we had a punk band about five bands, five doors down. And so I had to do a quick scramble to reschedule at the two different audiences. Yeah, exactly.
[00:03:00] Speaker A: Although I'm sure the musicians can appreciate each other's musical songs.
[00:03:02] Speaker B: Oh, they for sure do. But you just can't hear the orchestra.
[00:03:04] Speaker A: It's a problem. Yeah.
[00:03:05] Speaker B: You know, I said, can you turn down the amplifiers? Yeah, we can't turn down the drums. We're kind of stuck with what we are. So it was.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: You get enough members of the orchestra, they can blow the punk band right out of the water. Exactly.
[00:03:15] Speaker B: So it's a balance. It's a balance of wanting to make the event walkable so that you can. You don't have to drive around town to see all the bands. We actually want people to either use public transportation or walk as much as possible.
[00:03:26] Speaker A: Or bicycle, maybe.
[00:03:27] Speaker B: Exactly. So it's an enjoyable event for the person attending, but we also want to make sure the bands.
Excuse me. Have a good audience in front of them. And in past years, we did try to distribute the festival in different neighborhoods, but we got feedback from both the bands and the hosts that in some of the neighborhoods, there were more people on the porch than watching.
[00:03:47] Speaker A: Too spread out.
[00:03:48] Speaker B: Yeah. And so for that reason, and also to be respectful of the city's resources, like police and T PAL and all that kind of stuff, we've tried to centralize it in a few neighborhoods. And the neighborhoods we chose, quite frankly, we didn't really choose them. They chose us.
We put the word out, and we picked the three neighborhoods where we got the most responses. And it was overwhelming that Squantum had a very big desire to do this. They don't have too many events on the peninsula.
Wollaston Hill doesn't have any events until this one. And then Marymount was the next runner up for the highest demand.
[00:04:20] Speaker A: That's been the same since the start, right?
[00:04:22] Speaker B: Yeah. We did do it in a few other neighborhoods, as I said, and it just didn't work out. When we tried to do it again, people said, well, if you put me in that neighborhood, it takes me an hour to get there. Takes me 20 minutes to get set up, and I play for five people, you know what I mean? So it wasn't really a good.
[00:04:38] Speaker A: A lot of effort, little reward. Right?
[00:04:39] Speaker B: Yeah. We want to be respectful. All the bands that perform are doing so on using their talent and their own treasure and their own time.
So we want to be respectful of their investment in spending time with us. So we want to make sure they get a good audience and. And likewise, we want to make sure the spectators get a good ability to see multiple bands.
[00:04:57] Speaker A: Yeah. And we are so pleased. Thank you for bringing the Tokyo Tramps with you today.
This is a great opportunity to get a real life perspective as to what it is to participate in Porchfest and also a unique story to come from the land of the rising sun right to the United States to perform.
So we're going to introduce to you Yukiko Fuji and Satoru Nakagawa from the Tokyo Tramps. Thank you both for coming over.
[00:05:24] Speaker C: Thank you for having us.
[00:05:25] Speaker A: A really interesting story. Maybe, Satoru, if you could tell us a bit about how the Tokyo Tramps came to be.
[00:05:32] Speaker D: All right.
So we were. We met when we were studying at the Berkeley College of Music in the late 90s.
And then first I met the drummer who's not here. I mean, he went back to Japan, and then I had the bass player as well. So we were like a sort of a trio starting, you know, kind of Japanese kids.
Yeah, yeah. And then the bass player had decided to go back to Japan, and we were. We were dating at that time.
And she was a voice major in school. I didn't know she played bass, but I asked her, do you know any bass players?
[00:06:21] Speaker A: She said, I do, as a matter of fact.
[00:06:25] Speaker D: Yeah.
The rest is Easter.
[00:06:27] Speaker A: Also at Berkeley? You bet.
[00:06:28] Speaker B: At Berkeley, Yes.
[00:06:30] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. And the rest is history.
Sokia Tramps were born.
[00:06:36] Speaker D: Yeah, Basically that's how we started.
Right.
[00:06:40] Speaker A: But I mean, since then you have had very illustrious musical careers. Reading a little bit about your backgrounds, and you've performed at festivals all over the country, received accolades from numerous publications and reviews and critics and what have you.
So, Yukiko, how would you kind of classify the Tokyo Tramp's Music, if you will, its style or its repertoire.
[00:07:03] Speaker C: So people think that we are kind of blues band, but so we try to emphasize some blues side, but we play original music, so we write our own music.
[00:07:22] Speaker A: So you're composers as well?
[00:07:24] Speaker C: Yeah, he's the main songwriter. Yeah.
[00:07:27] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:07:27] Speaker C: Yeah. Based on real daily life experience, sadness, happiness, all that stuff.
So we tried to find a place we can play our original music here and there.
[00:07:41] Speaker A: And how did you find Porchfest Quincy? Tell me about that story.
[00:07:46] Speaker C: So it go back to 2009 or tennis.
We found the gig on the Cottage street, the Granite Rail.
[00:08:02] Speaker D: Oh, Granite Rail, yeah.
[00:08:03] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:08:04] Speaker C: So that was a kind of show
[00:08:10] Speaker D: put together by our good friend.
[00:08:11] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. So we play like every month or some year we played twice a month or something, so.
And then we had a lot of friends and fans in this area and the plates had to close because the development of this area.
But a couple years later, somehow, I don't remember. I don't remember I found you. But yeah, there's a poach fest going on in Quincy, so. Okay. Yeah, we try that.
And the first couple years, it was so amazing.
The Quincy Porch Fest must have been one of our first.
I mean, the Porch Fest experience.
So we go to the porch and then, you know, all the families, friends get together and enjoying the music, enjoying the food, enjoy everything. So. Oh, my God, that poach fest is so good.
[00:09:16] Speaker A: So it really clicked. Yeah, it's something that you enjoy doing.
[00:09:20] Speaker C: So. And then, you know, somehow we joined every single year.
[00:09:25] Speaker A: I was going to say you were one of the original band members of Porch Fest Quincy. Right? Yeah. So it's obviously it's something that you enjoy.
[00:09:33] Speaker C: Yep, definitely.
[00:09:35] Speaker A: And do you feel you're. Do you see repeat fans over the years, too?
[00:09:39] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:09:40] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:09:40] Speaker C: Yeah. So even some people come up to us and say, we saw you at the Granite Rail.
And then nowadays, you know, we saw you at the Porch Fest a couple years ago or that in the park last year or something.
[00:09:56] Speaker A: Oh, it's after Bruce.
[00:09:58] Speaker C: We feel the connections with the people in Quincy.
[00:10:02] Speaker A: Sure, sure. I'm curious to hear your story, Satoru. Maybe start with you, but why you left Japan and came to America.
[00:10:10] Speaker D: Well, music.
[00:10:12] Speaker A: Music.
[00:10:13] Speaker D: Yeah, we started. I mean, I started listening to American music when I was a kid.
[00:10:19] Speaker A: Like what?
[00:10:21] Speaker D: Bruce Springsteen was my first hero.
So where that, you know, is that with the name? Yes. Tramps like us, we were born to run.
[00:10:29] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:10:30] Speaker D: My. My way of treat, you know, I see paying a tribute to my hero.
And then, yes, I had this dream of, you know, Someday I'm gonna go to America and, you know, learn how to play music, you know, American music. I want to write my music, you know, just like Springsteen.
And that's how I came here.
Yes.
[00:10:54] Speaker A: Yukiko, your same story.
[00:10:57] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:10:58] Speaker A: The music for you.
[00:11:00] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:11:00] Speaker A: Really?
What would be your American music influences?
[00:11:04] Speaker C: So I was born in Tokyo, grew up in Tokyo. There was a radio station for the American military people, base people in Tokyo. And it was like a 247 playing music or some talk shows from the US and I was like, oh, my God, I love American music.
So, yeah, that was my junior high, high school days. And then I had a dream, you know, to play music.
But in Japan, you know, we have to study a lot, we have to work hard, and not much opportunities for playing music or something.
And then.
Yeah.
[00:11:48] Speaker A: So you were both a couple of rebels.
We want to bust out of here and go play our music. Right.
[00:11:54] Speaker D: It's just a father heart.
[00:11:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:58] Speaker D: I think that's what we did.
[00:11:59] Speaker A: And has it been what you'd hoped it would be?
[00:12:02] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, it has been. Absolutely. Yes.
[00:12:06] Speaker A: Walter, it must be music to your ears to hear this story, because Porchfest really gives musicians like this a venue.
[00:12:13] Speaker B: Yeah. And it's of all ranges. I mean, they're tremendously talented and professionally trained. But then we have folks who learned on their own, and it's a wide range, and that's what I like about it. And we can have anything from classical music to jazz to R B to original, maybe their own genre. Who knows? Right. But it's great. That's what we really like, is to have a wide range of talent of different genres.
[00:12:37] Speaker A: Right.
[00:12:37] Speaker B: And that you never really know what you have in common with your neighbor until that opportunity presents itself. Right. And that's how you get to know different people. And the feedback that I get. So one of our sets of one of our volunteers, the husband and wife that volunteers with us each year, they explained that they moved into the neighborhood, and it wasn't until porchfest they met more people on porchfest than they did in the entire two years. First movie.
[00:13:02] Speaker A: I believe it. Yeah, sure.
[00:13:03] Speaker B: And that's because you find commonality and music is one of those things that kind of transcends all different types of demographic and socioeconomic.
[00:13:10] Speaker A: It's a humid experience. Music and food.
[00:13:13] Speaker B: It's funny how you add those ingredients together and you usually get a good outcome.
[00:13:18] Speaker A: Absolutely.
Speaking of, you want me to remind you about the Porch Press beer? Oh, yes.
Music, food, and beverages.
[00:13:25] Speaker B: Yeah. So there's maybe two things I want to talk about briefly. And that is so with Saturdays in the park through the Wollaston Home Habit Association. One thing my wife and I do at Porsche Fest is we walk around and we listen to the bands and we think, hey, let's invite them to come to our September, ah, little rehearsal. Yeah. And so the volunteer performance turns into a paying gig in September. And it's kind of our way of saying thank you for contributing to the Porch Festival and giving them another opportunity in another venue. So we've had the Tokyo Tramps down at Saturdays in the park and a big hit. And so when Jay Southwood at Break Rock Brewing reached out to me for our usual porchfest beer that we do. So each year, Breakrock Brewing brews a special beer for porchfest, and a portion of the proceeds go towards helping the festival. So paying for Porta Potties, website, things like that.
[00:14:15] Speaker A: No costs.
[00:14:16] Speaker B: Yeah, Just like what these. We're doing with these shirts.
And so Jay's been a great partner at Breakrock for several years, since they opened. Really.
And so this year he reached out to me and said, well, we're going to be. I'd like to do the beer announcement beer party release party at Kilroy Square at the Beer Garden. And he said, can you find a good Porch Fest band? And I immediately said, I think I know who I'm calling. And so I reached out to step right up. Yeah. What better. Better than a band that's been with us pretty much almost from the beginning, certainly. And yeah, so it was a great combination. So we had a fun night a couple of weeks ago.
[00:14:50] Speaker D: Oh, yes.
[00:14:51] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:14:52] Speaker B: And the beer's great. It's a. It's a watermelon lager, which I wasn't expecting to like, honestly.
Fruity lager drinker. But I did enjoy it and we did. They did sell out at the. At the event that night.
[00:15:02] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:15:03] Speaker B: And just a little plug. It's available at the Tap Room at Break Rock. It's also available at Wally Wine, I believe, and a few other liquor stores around.
And it helps the festival, so.
[00:15:13] Speaker A: Excellent. Great. This year, year, Tokyo Tramps on Winthrop Avenue up on Wollaston Hill.
[00:15:18] Speaker D: Is that right?
[00:15:18] Speaker C: Yes, 19 Winthrop.
[00:15:21] Speaker A: Okay, excellent. And could you give us a little hint as to what you'll be performing with? Some original pieces? Some.
[00:15:27] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:15:28] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:15:29] Speaker D: Yeah, we normally mix them up, you know, originals and some good covers.
[00:15:33] Speaker A: Okay, excellent.
If folks stop by and see you, we hope that they'll tell you that they saw you here on Camp tv.
[00:15:42] Speaker B: That'd be great.
[00:15:44] Speaker A: Walter, We've been putting the website up for you. I know social media as well.
[00:15:48] Speaker B: Great.
[00:15:49] Speaker A: Anything else we should let folks know about?
[00:15:50] Speaker B: Yeah, just a few things I wanted to acknowledge. So Savannah and Stephen Baucom who help us out on Wollaston Hill. And Savannah is in charge of the website and social media she was on with us last year. Thank you to them. Tim and Carol Wood help out over in the Teresa Road area.
And then Bill and Laura Lebo help out in Marymount to get things organized. And then I have to give a huge shout out to my wife Kathy because she helps me manage both the Wallace and Hill and the Squantum neighborhoods, which is a lot of.
And you know, when the husband and wife team is not driving each other crazy, we're a pretty good team. So I appreciate all the work that she does.
[00:16:27] Speaker A: Certainly.
[00:16:27] Speaker B: And then a quick shout out, a quick thank you to Quincy Police Department, Natural Resources Department, so many other city departments that contribute in different ways. And then Mayor Koch for being supportive of the event.
[00:16:38] Speaker A: Excellent.
[00:16:39] Speaker B: It's really been a. It's been a great experience over the past 10 years.
[00:16:41] Speaker A: June 27, again, 3 to 8pm Wollaston Hill, Marymount and Squantum portfresquincy.org website to go to. Thank you all for coming in. Have a wonderful performance again this year. And Walter, good luck.
[00:16:54] Speaker B: Thanks.
[00:16:55] Speaker A: Hopefully the weather will cooperate. It's rain or shine.
Cooperation.
