Rare live footage !!!!

Scroll down to check out a clip of us performing the Avengers classic 'Second to None' at Lucky Bar back in November. More to come...

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....Or Not.

The show at Logan’s was cancelled due to the club’s liquor licence being suspended-losers.Meanwhile, Sgt. Kurt Bloch has extended an invite to head south(Seattle, to be precise) so hopefully Budokan will have her U.S. "coming out party" some time this spring/summer ! We’ll keep you postered. Planning a trip up island (as they say ’round here) as well to play Graham’s own Nanaimo town...to be finalized shortly.

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New Songs, Gig in March

Finally got into the studio in January with the fantastic Tolan McNeil twiddling knobs and playing a bit 'o' pedal steel. Here's the almost-final, not-quite mastered mixes...couldn't wait any longer to replace those way-old jams, and we'll replace these with the final thang when it's ready but for now, here are...

Also, hitting the stage of Logan's again at th'end of March with Vancouver's mighty Vancougar, as well as Cablevision, featuring ex-Budokan bassist, all-around straight-up dude, Kent Bendall. Graham's unable to do the gig so Ken Kempster will be filling in on traps for us. Should be be a blast.

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Gigs and recording

Finally back on track, folks. We'll be recording in October with local producer extraordinaire Tolan McNeil and have lined up a gig at Lucky Bar on November 9th with two fine bands from Nelson, B.C.: Ravenhead (wicked stoner rock) and Random Device(cool, Joy Div-ish duo). Demos are being sent up to Graham Watson as we speak(so to speak) and rehearsals commence shortly for the sesh. Looking at laying down five tunes:
Hey Wheels, Don't You Think It's Sad ?, For Badge Holders Only, All We Know Is Rock and Roll and The Queen's English. Stoked.

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Photos ! Photos ! Photos !

Lots more gig photos can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/95661909@N00/

Redd Kross tribute is now on hold but plans to record have not changed-hopefully in May we'll be laying down some sides.

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Nanaimo was a blast !

Hey Folks, Happy New Year etc. We had a really great time at the Papillomas 12th annual Rawk-a-thon. The Paps played a mindblowing set, the Sheds and the Bash Brothers ruled as well. Graham Watson stepped up big time for us on the traps and was amazing after only two practices. We will have some photos from the gig posted here shortly. Next up will hopefully be some recording-we've got a deadline of May 31st for our contribution to the Redd Kross tribute cd and we'll lay a few of our tunes down as well I'm sure. In the mean time, check out the new (old ) song here. It's an "outtake" from the Doll Hospital 7" sessions of a couple years ago(yeah, we really gotta get in the studio again !) called ' Saint Joan ' and is an homage to the wonderful Ms. Jett.

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Gig cancellations and Redd Kross tribute cd

It pains us very much to have to cancel our two upcoming shows on the 14th ( Pink Mountaintops ) and 21st ( Cadaver Dogs/ Rod Iron Haulers ). Poor John is hobbling around after tearing a ligament at work ( shipbuilding ). If it had happened a week or so sooner we would have tried to whip together a set with an interim drummer but this just doesn't leave us enough time

On the bright side, it looks like we'll be appearing on a Redd Kross tribute cd in the near future ( see top 8 friends below ) on Sweden's Groover Records. More details to come...

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Review of the single in Vancouver's Discorder Mag

http://discorder.ca/2006/09/riff-raff-5/

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Budokan feature from Monday Mag

Whenever anyone asks me what my all-time  favourite Victoria band is, I promptly reply with one word: Bum. A wonderfully perfect pop band, Bum were a huge part of the soundtrack to my teen years, and their sweet songs are burned into my noggin for evermore. So it was with great excitement that I found out local popsters Budokan include Bum alumnus Andrew Molloy amongst their ranks. (And for those who keep score, Budokan also includes members of other such local big-name acts as Jerk Ward, Mission of Christ, Pigment Vehicle, the Astro-Zombies and the Show Business Giants).

So does the rather large legacy of the quite successful Bumor, as they thought it pronounced in Spain, Boomstill loom overhead? As more time passes, it doesnt seem that way to me, admits guitarist-vocalist Molloy. I dont know how many people really remember it, and the people that do just dont go to shows much anymore. I think once youve played a few times, its easy to overdo it, and people just think, Oh yeah, those guys again. That probably was the case with Bum. But its nice to know people still remember. And yeah, I remember it fondly as well.

As for now, Budokan carry on the Bum tradition of picture-perfect pop songs just fine-so much so that they stick out in a music scene dominated by current trends instead of an adherence to the song. Im well aware that were just straight-ahead rock or pop, and I guess thats kind of old fashioned nowwhich is kind of a drag, says Molloy with a bit of a laugh. Its funny, people will say, Man, you guys are just like a rock and roll bandas if its this really bizarre concept. It just seems weird to them.

Another thing that might seem a tad weird for the non-rock connoisseur is the bands name. Its an arena in  Tokyo where Cheap Trick recorded their live album, where the Beatles played, and so on, Molloy explains. It just seemed like this iconic rock reference. Although Im surprised how many people dont know what it means. I wonder . . . if we were fortunate enough to put something out over in Japan, would it seem odd that there was a band called Budokan? And is there a copyright on the name? Such rhetorical musings will have to wait until Budokan hits it slightly bigger than Mile Zero, however. Meanwhile, its clear that Molloy feels a tad more comfortable in an outfit named for an arena than with one named after, well, a bum.

Having played in a band called Bum, anythings better than that, he chuckles. I mean, Im very happy with the legacy of that band, but every time I have to say that word it just makes me cringe. I dont know what we were thinking. I really dont.

Greg Pratt

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Hot Damn ! Budokan's debut 7" is here.

It's finally done-on bubblegum pink vinyl no less-Magic Teeth Records' latest 7" masterpiece.Order from their website-www.magicteeth.ca or ours-www.budokanrocks.com and dig the tight jams !

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