KYOJI YAMAMOTO - Bow Wow, Vow Wow, and Wild Flag mastermind reflects on the early days of his career, the last four decades, and the future: "I just want to make music as I like, and as long as there are enough people interested so I can make my living an (2024)

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Kyoji Yamamoto is a renowned Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the leader of the hard rock and heavy metal bands Bow Wow, Vow Wow, and Wild Flag, but he has also had a long, successful career as a solo artist and worked as a guest musician in various projects, including Phenomena and Carmine Appice’s Guitar Zeus. Yamamoto is known for his impressive guitar skills and was one of the first to use the tapping technique. He has been influential in the Japanese rock scene since the mid-1970s. In early July, Yamamoto appeared with Bow Wow at this year’s edition of the Time to Rock Festival in Sweden, and there, I had the honor to meet this Japanese legend. Check out our interesting chat below.

RETURN TO EUROPE

Well, Kyoji, first of all, I want to extend a warm welcome to you in Sweden. If I’m right, this is the first time you have ever been here with any band, right?

Kyoji Yamamoto: Yeah! We are now playing in Scandinavia for the first time. I lived in London for three and a half years in the late 1980s, but I never had the chance to come to Scandinavia. So, it was fantastic that Michael Ivarsson invited Bow Wow and Murasaki to this amazing festival. I was truly honored. Michael contacted me through an email link on my homepage, and it was quite sudden when he asked, ‘Do you want to play in Sweden?’ I was like, ‘What?’ It was such a pleasant surprise. Not only me but also many of my Bow Wow fans were really surprised to see us playing in Sweden. If this had happened in the 1980s, it wouldn’t have been so surprising since we played at the Reading Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. So, it’s not strange, but it’s surprising now. [Laughter] We are very excited, especially seeing the audience’s reaction during the show. At my age, it’s quite thrilling. Do you know my age?

I don’t, to be honest. “Laughs”

Kyoji Yamamoto: I’m 68, nearly 70. At my age, it’s rare for Swedish people to want us to play in Sweden, so it usually never happens. So, it was a nice surprise. So anyway, on stage, we did our best despite the technical problems, which were due to a cabinet issue. We gave it our all, and a lot of people loved our performance. I was really glad to hear from many fans how much they enjoyed seeing us live and how happy they were.

For most people, this was their first time seeing Bow Wow live. However, did you meet anyone at the festival who had seen the band perform in Europe during the ’80s?

Kyoji Yamamoto: Yeah, at the signing session, I met some people who had seen us at the Reading Festival in 1982 or at the Marquee in 1983. A lot of people came to see us play at the Marquee in London back then. It was amazing that some people brought old Bow Wow and Vow Wow vinyl records with them. In total, I signed more than 100 vinyl records today. That was another nice surprise because it’s very expensive to import the albums from Japan to here and to the record shops.

THE STATE OF BOW WOW

Bow Wow essentially split in 1983 when you changed the band’s name to Vow Wow and brought in all new members. In 1995, Bow Wow made a brief return, but the actual reunion began in 1998. Since then, the band has been more or less active, playing shows from time to time. So, what is the current status of the band?

Kyoji Yamamoto: The 1995 reunion wasn’t a real reunion; it was a new version of Bow Wow with new members. In 1998, the original Bow Wow members, except for the bassist, got together for a concert. The drummer, Toshihiro Niimi, sadly died last year. Our original bass player has totally retired as a musician. But some time ago, the original bass player joined Bow Wow, but only for an encore. Yeah, it happened last year, last summer. And, of course, the audience went crazy because the three of us got together, and the bass player was one of the best performers in the band like Gene Simmons is in KISS. So, anyway, we had to get new support members for bass and drums. We actually call the band Bow Wow G2 now, and it’s because now we have two guitarists, the two original members of the band. Me and Mitsuhiro (Saito) are the last two men in the line now. “Laughs”

But you now have a stable line-up in Bow Wow G2 with the support members in the band?

Kyoji Yamamoto: It’s a stable band. So now I’m acting Bow Wow. And last week, we started Vow Wow again. We decided to do it again for the first time in fourteen years. We did some shows in 2010 but haven’t done anything since that. So, now I have Bow Wow, Vow Wow and Wild Flag—three rock bands. So, I have three bands now, and then there’s my solo stuff. Also, I’m doing some sessions for many people when I have the time.

You just mentioned Gene Simmons. Could you briefly comment on how it was to support KISS in Japan in the 1970s?

Kyoji Yamamoto: We opened for KISS in ’77 and ’78, and they were fantastic. Honestly, before playing with them, I didn’t think they were that good. But their performance on the first night blew me away! They were always perfect live, and they were always kind to us and let us use their P.A. system at full volume. They enjoyed everything to the fullest but never lost their power on stage. It was amazing.

Actually, Gene Simmons is coming to tour in Europe soon with his solo band.

Kyoji Yamamoto: Oh yeah? What kind of music do they play?

He plays his own KISS songs, some solo songs and covers. I don’t know for sure because the tour hasn’t started yet.

Kyoji Yamamoto: I see. When I saw Paul Stanley with his band four or six years ago in Japan, I was very surprised to find that most of the songs he played were R&B-type songs.

NEW MUSIC IN THE HORIZON?

The latest Bow Wow album, “Era,” was released in 2005. So, it has been close to 20 years since you released new music with this band. So, what’s the reason for that?

Kyoji Yamamoto: The reason is that most of the fans have grown up with us. So, they got older and older, of course. And they love the old songs. [laughter] So maybe, so you know, just imagine that if we play all new songs, then what the crowd reaction would be [laughter] Exactly. And apart from that, I’m doing my solo career, so every year I release new songs, new albums, Kyoji Yamamoto solo albums. So, I think I must be creative. So, for my solo career, I’m doing my creativity in that way. But for Bow Wow or Vow Wow, the people love old songs, and we have enough good songs to play. And it’s often like that we don’t have enough time to play all the songs we would want to. We always have to choose, “Oh, I want to do it, but I can’t do it for that limit of time.” So, I don’t think we need to make any new albums with Bow Wov or Vow Wow.

You don’t want to make new albums with your bands, but new Kyoji Yamamoto solo albums come out almost every year.

Kyoji Yamamoto: I’ve been releasing a new album every year for five years in a row. Working on solo albums is very different from making an album with a band, and I already told you the reason why I’m not doing that. Also, doing a band album and a solo album are totally different things for me. When you’re making a band album, I must consider the other players’ characters and abilities when I’m writing songs for the band. For my solo album, I just focus on what I want to express and use all of my imagination without any genre or limitations. On the solo albums, I play all the instruments. I also write, arrange, mix, and even do the mastering myself.

THE BEST ALBUMS

I counted that you’ve released around 60 albums over the course of your career so far.

Kyoji Yamamoto: Really? That’s a lot. I haven’t kept a count myself, so I can’t say if it’s 60, 70, or even more. I’m not sure.

What if you had to pick a few albums from your entire catalog? Which ones are your favorites?

Kyoji Yamamoto: They’re all so different that it’s difficult to choose. The songs or albums I’ve made are like my children, so I can’t say, “Oh, you are the best kid.” Each year brings a new album, so I can’t pick just one. However, there are some albums I particularly like. For solo albums, I always think the newest one is the best—the latest one is always my favorite. I keep doing it that way. “Laughs.” As for Bow Wow, I would say the second album, “Signal Fire,” and “Asian Volcano” are my favorites. I really like “Asian Volcano.” For Vow Wow, I would choose “Cyclone,” the second album, and “Mountain Top,” which is also very good—the last album.

That was the album with Mark Gould on bass if I remember correctly.

Kyoji Yamamoto: Yes, Mark Gould played bass on that album, and it was produced by Bob Ezrin. I’ve always admired Bob’s production work and have wanted to collaborate with him for a long time. In 1990, Vow Wow moved to L.A., where I was introduced to Bob. I went to his house and played him some Vow Wow music, and he liked the band. We got along well, and he agreed to produce us. We created a great album, “Mountain Top,” but our timing was unfortunate because the music scene had changed significantly. The hard rock scene was declining, and we were unable to secure a U.S. record deal. This left us feeling disheartened, leading to frustrations and, ultimately, the breakdown of our relationships. It was a tough time for hard rock and metal bands. Vow Wow disbanded later that same year, and the following year, I formed a new band, Wild Flag

PHENOMENA AND NEIL MURRAY

Speaking about sessions, one session I want to ask you about is Phenomena II.

Kyoji Yamamoto: Oh yeah. Phenomena II. That’s a good album. I love that record.

Can you tell me about that session and how did you come to play on the album?

Kyoji Yamamoto: How did I get involved with Phenomena? That was in 1987 after Vow Wow had relocated to London, where it was our home for more than 3 years. Somebody called my management office in London, so actually, I didn’t know why or how they decided to choose us. They chose me and the drummer Toshihiro Niimi, two people from Vow Wow, to play on the record. Before going into the studio, I didn’t know anything about the songs at all. But anyway, it was a great experience and it worked very well. Initially, I was going to play only two songs. I remember that all the band members were in the studio at the same time, so I had to play in front of their eyes. After finishing two songs, the producer Tom Galley and his brother Mel Galley asked me, ‘Why don’t you also play the solo on this song?’ It was a song that I had never heard before, and I was like, ‘Okay, let me hear it once first.’ They said, ‘Okay,’ so I decided to try. Then it went like, ‘Why don’t you try another song?’ In the end, I played five or six songs on the album or something, and they loved it. And that’s how I met Neil Murray.

How did you end up inviting Neil Murray to join Vow Wow?

Kyoji Yamamoto: When the Japanese bass player Kenji (Sano) left Vow Wow for personal reasons, we auditioned another Japanese player and flew him to London for an audition, but it didn’t work out. One of the members asked me, ‘Why don’t you call Neil Murray to join the band?” I knew that Neil was a great bass player. At that time, after he left from Whitesnake following the ‘1987’ album, we knew he was available. So, my bandmates asked me, ‘Why don’t you call Neil?’ I thought it wouldn’t happen and that he would never join Vow Wow. But I called him and suggested we have a jam session at John Henry’s studio. To my surprise, he agreed because he knew me and Toshi from the Phenomena sessions. We played well on that album, so he wanted to give it a try. We jammed, and it worked very well. It was an exciting experience. I still remember the first song we played together was ‘Crossroads’ by The Cream. I had never heard such grooving bass playing; he was amazing. He also loved the way Vow Wow members sang and played. After the jam session, I asked him, ‘We have to record our new album in Ibiza, Spain, but we don’t have a bass player. Are you interested in playing bass for Vow Wow’s new album?’ He said, ‘Yeah,’ and then played bass for the ‘V’ album.

The album with a black cover with a large yellow “V” in the middle?

Kyoji Yamamoto: Yeah, black, yellow V, circles. And after the recording… Anyway, after all the recordings were finished, I asked Neil, ‘We have to do a Japan tour after releasing this record. Are you interested in playing bass for the Japan tour?’ And he said, ‘Yeah,’ because he had nothing to do at the time. Also, he loved our playing on the songs. If he didn’t like us or the music, of course, he wouldn’t have said yes. But anyway, he said yes. So, that happened.

The first time I heard about Vow Wow was when I saw the video for “Don’t Leave Me Now” on TV. It was frequently played on MTV, and as a big fan of Whitesnake and Neil Murray, I was pleasantly surprised to see him performing in that video.

Kyoji Yamamoto: Yeah, yeah. And you know, for the “Don’t Leave Me Now” single, do you know who played bass and who sang all the backing vocals on it?

Can’t remember it right now. Help me out?

Kyoji Yamamoto: It was John Wetton from Asia, King Crimson, and Uriah Heep. John Wetton also produced “Don’t Leave Me Now.” I met John Wetton in the “Phenomena” sessions. “Phenomena” connected a lot of good players. So, he played bass and handled all the backing vocals on that song. There was a very thick harmony, and it sounded a lot like Asia [laughter], but we loved it. Yeah, we loved it. And John was very happy about the song.

Neil Murray played on three Vow Wow albums: “V,” “Vibe,” and “Helter Skelter” before he decided to leave the band and join Black Sabbath in 1990. How did that come about, and how did you find out that Neil was leaving?

THE EARLY DAYS OF BOW WOW AND JAPAN MUSIC SCENE

It’s been said that Bow Wow was the first heavy metal band to come out of Japan. However, when I interviewed Loudness guitarist Akira Takasaki a few years ago, he said that they were the first. So, in your opinion, who was the first metal band to come out of Japan?

Kyoji Yamamoto: As a heavy metal band? I think that Loudness was the first heavy metal band in Japan because Bow Wow never said we were heavy metal. We are a hard rock band. So, as for heavy metal, I think Loudness was the first. In Japan, we are regarded as the first hard rock band. That’s how they think there.

Bow Wow was formed a few years before Loudness, but by the early ’80s, you were definitely competing for the same market and listeners. How much of a rivalry was there between you, and how well did you get along with each other?

Kyoji Yamamoto: A lot of fans think that we are rivals, but we get along well. And Akira is a brilliant guitarist, and I love his sound. He’s a very good guitar player technically, but he’s very different from me. We are totally different players. As I said, Loudness is more of a heavy metal band, but Bow Wow and Vow Wow never thought of ourselves as a heavy metal band. We are more musical, and we also have some progressive rock elements in our music. So, I don’t think we are heavy metal. That’s a big difference. We walk different paths.

If I’m right, out of all Japanese metal/rock bands, only Loudness and Bow Wow had international careers outside of Japan in the early 80’s?

Kyoji Yamamoto: Of course, we have other bands like Earthshaker, 44 Magnum and X-Ray. I thought they were quite heavy metal but also a bit poppier. Those bands were quite successful for the Japanese market but not for the Western market. For the Western world, it was Loudness and Bow Wow; only these two were global metal/rock bands at that time. Later on, EZO did a great job in the US, and X-Japan became a world-known band, as you know.

MOVING TO LONDON AND THE HANOI ROCKS EXPERIENCE

Let’s go back to 1983 when you and the band moved from Japan to England. How difficult was it then to adapt to a completely new country and culture?

Kyoji Yamamoto: Oh, I think it wasn’t difficult because we moved there to play music. You know, music is a very global thing. When we play, we can understand each other even though we speak different languages, like here. If we hadn’t played music and had moved to England to do something else, it might have been very difficult. But for me, music says everything, and we could understand each other. So, it was not a difficult thing for me to do.

Maybe it wasn’t difficult for you, but it might have been too different for some of the band members at the time.

Kyoji Yamamoto: Oh, yeah. Our bass player had left his wife in Japan, which was one of the main reasons he left the band and moved back to Japan. But I had brought my wife to England, so for me, not much changed.

If you think about it now, what was the biggest difference between Japanese and Western European people and cultures? It must have been a big change for you back then.

Kyoji Yamamoto: Oh yeah, there’s a big difference. See, in Japan, audiences or fans are really into big, well-known artists. So, let’s say that if a well-known band or singer did a very bad show, a bad performance, the fans are still like, “Yeah! That was great!” And for an unknown band, even if they played very well, there’s no reaction at all. They have a lot of prejudice or something. You know, “They are good because they are a big band. That’s why they never do a bad performance.” Just think of that. And as for an unknown band, “Oh, they’re just newcomers, and they must not be good.”

But when I moved to England, or even earlier in 1982, when we played at the Reading Festival as a second act, just the opening act, we played at half-past midnight or something. Before we started, people were just lying on the grass, drinking, etc. But when we started to play, people woke up, and some stood up. And at the end of the show, 50,000 people gave us a standing ovation and cheered for us, even though they didn’t know Bow Wow at all, because it was the first time we played in England. So that’s a very big difference. And I always say this in interviews with Japanese magazines: “Western people give us self-confidence.” Because, as long as we play great, they say, “Yes, it was a very good performance,” and they react like that. But in Japan, as I told you, if they don’t know Bow Wow, then even if we play very well, it’s like, “Oh. Okay.” So that’s a very big difference. That’s why I really like Western audiences, especially in the ’80s. However, it’s getting better and better these days. Japanese fans have got a good ear now.

Because I come from Finland, I almost forgot to ask about one important thing. In 1983, you played a show with a Finnish band, Hanoi Rocks. Do you have any memories from that show?

Kyoji Yamamoto: Hanoi Rocks, yeah. We played with them in Sheffield. I have a story to tell from that show. I mean, I really liked Hanoi Rocks, but maybe they were so tired because of their crazy schedule. I saw their show dates from the back of their T-shirts and there were so many dates listed. When they came to Sheffield, I thought they didn’t have a lot of energy to entertain people. And when I went to say “Hello” backstage, there was a big mirror with white lines on it. You know what I mean?

I think I know what you mean.

Kyoji Yamamoto: So, you know, that was their attitude. We were the opening act for Hanoi Rocks for that show. We did just one show with Hanoi Rocks, and the crowd reaction was very good for Bow Wow. But when Hanoi Rocks started to play, two-thirds of the audience left the building. I know they are a very good band, but I thought they didn’t have the energy. I think they did too many shows. Yeah, they are a good band, but it was sad. It was sad but true.

THE MUSIC SCENE IN JAPAN

How do you see the state of the metal scene in Japan today?

Kyoji Yamamoto: It’s growing bigger and bigger again. During the Covid-19 pandemic, all the bands suffered because all the concerts got canceled. But now, the heavy metal scene is becoming popular again.

Are there some new up-and-coming names in the Japanese metal scene that you want to mention?

Kyoji Yamamoto: Galneryus, you know them, right? They’re doing great in Japan now. But other than them, I don’t know. I don’t go to heavy metal concerts.

How about Babymetal? What do you think about them?

Kyoji Yamamoto: Ah, Babymetal. The band members are very skilled musicians, but the three main performers, the girls, are just idols. They are very popular. As long as lots of people like them, I have no complaints. However, we live in completely different worlds, [laughter] but they are cute. They are really cute.

Did you know that they recorded a song with KISS?

Kyoji Yamamoto: I saw it in the news. I watched a report about them recording with KISS.

Are there any other newer Japanese bands you want to mention?

Kyoji Yamamoto: Oh, I can’t remember their names. The only one I recall is Babymetal. I’ll have to Google; that’s the easiest way since I don’t go to concerts much anymore.

What was the last concert you went to see?

Kyoji Yamamoto: What was the last one? Wow, that must have been a long time ago. Maybe it was Queen, yeah, and that was quite a while back. For me, one of the most impressive concerts I’ve seen was David Lee Roth with Steve Vai in 1988. That was really good. Also, Extreme at Budokan was excellent. I think that was in the 1990s. Nuno is an amazing guitar player, and the band itself was very good before the singer joined Van Halen. “laughter”

Did you go to see Van Halen with Gary Cherone on vocals back in the day?

Kyoji Yamamoto: I only saw Van Halen’s first Japan tour in the 1970s. It was very good, and David Lee Roth was amazing. They weren’t very big at that time because they had only released their first album. They were very nice and polite guys. Good memories.

THE GOALS

What kind of goals do you have with your musician career still?

Kyoji Yamamoto: You know, I don’t want to do things like playing in Budokan again. I just want to make music as I like, and as long as there is a certain number of people—not even a million, I’m not saying a million or ten thousand—maybe one thousand people is enough for me to make my living and to make myself happy.

Now you’re here in Sweden with Bow Wow, and I’m sure it makes you very happy. It’s another goal reached.

Kyoji Yamamoto: Yeah, yeah. So, it was a really nice surprise. I never imagined that I would someday play in Sweden. Why? You know, at my age, I think I’ve reached my goal, but my goal with my music is infinite. I’m never completely satisfied because, while I’m happy with what I’ve done—each album or concert—the goal is always far away. It’s never, you know, the goal is never reached.

That was a great answer, Kyoji. I think we’re out of time now. Thank you very much for your time, and I hope to see you again sometime.

Kyoji Yamamoto: Thank you, thank you.

BOW WOV LIVE PICTURES FROM TIME TO ROCK FESTIVAL BY MARKO SYRJALA