"SO AM I" REVIEWED AROUND THE WORLD

6 PAGE FEATURE INTERVIEW IN BLUES MATTERS! UK - Jan/05

SUPPORTING THE YARDBIRDS - Dec/04
LIVE ON AIR - RESONANCE FM LONDON and FM WEST TOKYO - Dec/04
2ND JAPAN TOUR WITH PETE BROWN AS SPECIAL GUEST- Dec/04

SAIICHI SUGIYAMA BAND UNPLUGGED GIG Oct/04
ON STAGE WITH STAN WEBB'S CHICKEN SHACK - Sep/04
COLOUR FEATURE IN JAPANESE RECORD COLLECTORS MAGAZINE - Sep/04

INTERVIEW FEATURE IN STRAT COLLECTORS NEWS - Sep/04


see below....

23 January 2005 – Boom Boom Club, Sutton, Surrey

photos: Alan Ford

It was a great night! Saiichi 's extend band for the night boasted his producer and co-writer , the former Cream lyricist, Pete Brown on percussion and the legend of British R&B, Zoot Money, who guested on his 2004 album as well as his 1994 album (!), on keyboards, the both singing four numbers each. They were joined by Saiichi regular band, David Hadley-Ray on bass, Paddy Milner on keyboards and Helder Pack on drums. Sutton's Boom Boom Club was packed and from the funky opening number, Dave Mason's "Feelin' Alright" to the last number, Zoot's "Bear Footin'", and for the encore, the inevitable "Sunshine Of Your Love" sang by the writer himself, the audience seemed to hang on to every note played by the "super" band, in the words of Pete "they are all stars, stars in their own right!". The most poignant moment of the show probably was when Pete sang "The Theme for an Imaginary Western" dedicated to the late Dick Heckstall-Smith who passed away in December. He wrote the song with Jack Bruce, which was originally intended for Cream and the reference was to the late great Graham Bond and his men on tour. The show's promoters, Pete Feenstra and George McFall, have been receiving appreciating calls from the audience, one describing the show as "the best gig of the year so far". Well, thank you... it is only January, though!

Songs played: Feelin' Alright; Big Leg Woman; All Along The Watchtower; Middle Of the Night; Waiting For The Call (Pete); Roll With My Baby (Zoot); Enough; There For Me; Politician (Pete); Captain America (Zoot); You Don't Have To Go; Theme For An Imaginary Western (Pete); Somewhere Down The Road; Magic Wand; I Never Turn; White Room; Bear Footin' - Walkin' The Dog (Zoot); Sunshine Of Your Love (encore) (Pete).

"So Am I" played and reviewed around the world

Saiichi's current album "So Am I" is supposedly a Japan only release - but it is getting around the world! It has been on playlists of independent radio stations from Macedonia to Atlanta and many countries in between.

Blues Matters! magazine issue 23 (Dec/Jan 05)

A 6 page feature of Saiichi interview by Pete Sargeant has appeared in the current issue of the respected UK blues publication Blues Matters! Pete discusses with Saiichi the making of "So Am I" in it.

images courtesy of Blues Matters!

Supporting The Yardbirds - 12 December 2004

Having flown back in from Tokyo on the night before, Saiichi took to stage at Sutton's Boom Boom Club to support the blues wailing Yardbirds, featuring the original members Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty as well as the Detroit-born John Idan, for their Christmas Party and won over many new friends.

The numbers played were: Feelin' Alright, Big Leg Woman, All Along the Watchtower, Middle Of The Night, Enough, There For Me, Rock Me Baby, I Can't Quit You Baby.

Live On Air - Tokyo/London - December 04

 Saiichi played live acoustic numbers before Christmas both in Tokyo and London with a space of one week! During the Japan tour, Saiichi and Pete were the special guests for Japan's FM West Tokyo's music program, History of Rock. Saiichi was interviewed by DJ Daisuke Sasagawa and also acted as an interpreter for Pete during the 2 hour program. They played acoustic versions of the Cream classic "Dance The Night Away", "Student Susan" complete with Pete's anecdote of the song as translated by Saiichi, "I Never Turn" and "Theme For An ImaginaryWestern" .

7 days later and less than 24 hours after his arrival back from Tokyo, Saiichi was a guest on the popular Pete Sargeant show on London's Resonance FM. The show is quite special due to Pete’s eclectic choice of music. Saiichi played live to the air a solo acoustic version of "Student Susan", "I Never Turn", "Crossroads" with Pete playing harmonica/mandolin beside him.

Saiichi Sugiyama with Pete Brown - Japan Tour

Hiroshima/Yokohama/Tokyo - 4-10 Dec 04

4 December 2004 - Hiroshima (photographer unknown)

The first night of the tour in Hiroshima in particular was a tremendous night.  Some of the crowd traveled hundreds of miles to get to the totally sold-out gig, the only one in Western Japan, and a party from Hakata, who drove five hours to the gig without tickets, were unable to get in. (They were invited to the after gig party to make up for it!)  A typically orderly queue was formed after the gig to get Pete and Saiichi to autograph CDs which lasted over half and hour. 

In Yokohama, the crowd was very keen and a member of the audience said he preferred Pete/Saiichi’s version of Cream numbers to the originals!  Kenji Sato, the well known Japanese bass player, joined the band for encore.  A great time was had by all!