Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many shops and facilities have been affected.
Among them, live houses are in a very difficult situation.
Live houses have provided a stage for musicians to perform and offered audiences the joy of encountering music and listening to live performances, supporting music culture.
The author loves live music to the extent that it can be called a "reason to live."
The exhilaration unique to live performances, which cannot be experienced through CDs or DVDs, is exceptional.
One of the few authentic live houses in Kurashiki City is "Kurashiki REDBOX."
While facing many challenges, they are working hard to not be defeated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
I want to support live houses!
On June 9, 2020, I spoke with "Ueno Jun," the representative director of Stageperson Co., Ltd., the manager of Kurashiki REDBOX.
What is Kurashiki REDBOX
Kurashiki REDBOX is a live house and studio located about 1 kilometer west of JR Kurashiki Station.
It opened in 2004.
The capacity of the large hall where live performances can be held is the largest in Okayama Prefecture, accommodating 400 people.
With professional-grade sound and lighting equipment, and a stage height of 70 centimeters, it is a venue that is easy to see from the back.
They host a wide range of live performances, mainly featuring indie bands.
It seems that there are many high school students who use the venue.
The well-stocked drink counter is also popular.
There are four rooms in the studio where bands can practice, allowing them to choose according to their needs and arrangements.
The largest studio is 25 tatami mats in size.
It can be used for practice before live performances and is suitable for a full jazz band.
The break area is spacious enough to take a breather after practice.
Interview with Ueno Jun
Searching for a form that customers can agree with
What is the current situation like?
Ueno
Most events have been canceled, and we are facing a crisis of survival.
We have been trying to continue operations while taking measures such as disinfection, but the situation is that customers are not coming.
One student said they were told by their school, "If you engage in activities at a live house, you will be punished."
Working adults are also criticized for just playing guitar at home, with comments like "Are you still doing that?" even if they are not in a crowded situation.
Additionally, REDBOX has received several calls from nearby residents saying, "Are you still operating? What are you thinking at this time?"
Even when recording a live stream without an audience using YouTube, if the sound is heard, it is judged as "holding an event," leading to reports and police visits.
That sounds tough.
Ueno
We are also working on live video streaming, but direct interaction between people is important, not just music. You can see expressions and so on.
For example, even if a system is created where revenue can be generated by shooting and streaming without an audience, many people feel that "this is not right."
There are things that can only be experienced in live performances. As a live music lover, I understand that well. The synergy between the stage and the audience in that space cannot be replaced.
Ueno
That's right.
The person in charge of lighting will also have their income drop to zero if events are canceled.
We want to hold live performances, and bands are also saying they want to perform, but we need to create a form where "customers come after agreeing."
To ensure that customers can maintain distance from each other, we arranged the chairs.
Considering pillars and ensuring that it is "clearly visible," even with a capacity of 400 people in an all-standing arrangement, we can only create 34 seats.
Still, I think we will try to proceed in this way starting from July 2020.
We will limit the number of people, ask them to stay in their seats, and implement thorough infection control measures such as disinfection.
However, even if the same 30 people enter, the energy is different between having 30 people gathered in front of the audience and watching from their seats.
There is also a proposal to put up vinyl curtains. However, it creates a wall between the stage and the audience.
We are thinking of new forms.
What genres of live performances and events are common?
Ueno
In terms of proportion, there are many bands, but the absolute number has decreased.
There has been an increase in idol performances. Dance performances have also fluctuated.
At one point, there were club events, but they have not taken root in Kurashiki.
In Kurashiki, even if an event ends at 3 or 4 AM, there is no place to wait until the first train.
If it were near a station where the shinkansen stops, there would have been professional demand, but that is not the case in Kurashiki.
Valuing high school students as the entry point of activities
Are there many high school students?
Ueno
High school students in Kurashiki City often come to REDBOX since their only means of transportation is by bicycle.
Teachers from schools also reach out for events like cultural festivals.
The owner's philosophy is "I want to prioritize the entry point."
Students receive a discount of 1,000 yen per hour on studio rental fees for band practice, making it more affordable for them.
That must be great for students.
Ueno
In the past, there were children who didn't go to school and had no place to stay, spending all their time at REDBOX.
While that itself is not a good thing.
Of course, we never allow students to smoke or drink alcohol.
We don't say, "If you want to skip school, you can come here."
We also suggest, "Why don't you go to school?" and if parents call, we inform them, "They are here."
In this way, we established minimum rules and became a place for children who had nowhere to go.
It was a valuable place, like a third place.
Ueno
I think it has come this far because it was that kind of place.
However, even if in the future the government says, "You can go to live houses more and more," I don't think things will return to "normal" as they were.
There is a "flow of a year."
The "flow" that has been built up has been reset
What do you mean by "the flow of a year"?
Ueno
For example, for high school students, REDBOX has held spring, summer, and winter events aimed at them.
In the spring welcome live for new students, both the drink fee and admission fee are free for new students.
They get to experience the live house there.
In the summer vacation event "Battle High School," staff and high school students are paired through a lottery to form about 10 bands, and they practice together for about two months and compete.
This greatly shortens the distance between high school students and staff.
It also makes it easier to consult and introduce those looking for band members to each other.
Traditionally, during the welcome live for new students, we have to announce, "There will be such events in the summer." Since we couldn't hold the welcome live for new students, we can't have summer events either.
In January, there is an event called "Akabako Matsuri," where high school students perform live from morning until night. The nickname for REDBOX is "Akabako," hence "Akabako Matsuri."
The performers for Akabako Matsuri are invited from the high school students who come to REDBOX.
Because they want to perform at Akabako Matsuri, more students come to REDBOX.
The spring and summer events are very important, and since we couldn't hold them, we can't create connections, so it won't be the same as usual.
Since 2018, university students have been doing similar things, and while it has been increasing, it still doesn't feel like it has the history that high school students have.
It's precisely because we have built up something over many years for high school students.
Ueno
Because we couldn't hold events this year, the pattern of "first-year students who came to see their seniors will start a band" is also gone.
It gets interrupted once.
For cultural festivals and other events, the mobile sound PA (providing sound equipment and adjusting venue audio) and graduation live events have been introduced by seniors to the next generation, but that has disappeared.
We also don't know who to invite, and the students don't know who their seniors used to call.
It's not just "the damage from the months we couldn't operate."
Ueno
We work through human relationships.
What we sell is also invisible, and there may be an image that "live houses are scary."
To dispel that, we have been active for many years.
So, it's tough to reset human relationships.
The timing of when events couldn't be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the time when the school year changes, which was the worst timing.
In such a situation, crowdfunding is being conducted until June 26, 2020. Kurashiki REDBOX Continuation Support Project – CAMPFIRE
Ueno
Honestly, I didn't expect to receive this much support.
I realized that we are still needed to some extent, and that there are people who support us.
There may be more people who will use it, and I also had new realizations.
The part-time staff at REDBOX also gather voluntarily without pay once a week, saying, "We want to protect this place," and come to meetings.
While there is a shock from the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than just deflating, we need to turn this into an opportunity to work on new forms.
Do you have a message for people who are not familiar with live houses?
Ueno
About ten years ago, at live houses, it was common for staff to smoke at the reception and speak casually to customers.
However, I wanted to change that, and other live houses have also reconsidered, leading to the closure of those that cannot provide good service.
In fact, today's live houses are very safe compared to other places.
If someone is drunk and passed out, the staff will definitely take care of them, and if necessary, take them to the hospital.
Although it rarely happens, if there is a fight, we stop it immediately. It's very healthy.
Some people have a negative image of live houses, so we are particularly careful about customer service.
At REDBOX, it's fine to have a mohawk hairstyle, and piercings are allowed.
However, I tell the staff to "please act more properly than an average person."
Exploring Future Directions
What are your thoughts on future prospects?
Ueno
Until now, we have uniformly considered "how much is the usage fee for this place."
However, for example, if it's a yoga class that doesn't use the stage, then just the air conditioning and electricity costs should be sufficient.
If we can use it for a wide range of purposes, those users might use the stage for new events.
Live houses are not just for band members.
Comedians and entertainers also use live houses for their performances.
If people can use it with the mindset of a multipurpose hall, I plan to consider flexible pricing and services according to the needs.
In the future, we will explore live events with social distancing and new business formats.
Ueno
While assessing the public's perception of live houses.
It's fine if we become the bad guys, but I want to avoid the performers becoming the bad guys.
Live houses are changing into places that can be used casually.
If you come once and experience it, you'll feel it.
The way to use it is up to everyone.
There are lights, and a flat floor.
Not just for live performances, but it would be great if it could be used for karaoke, for example.
With this level of sound equipment, karaoke under the lights would feel great.
Ueno
I sometimes help with karaoke events as sound support, but the equipment that can be taken to external events is limited.
If possible, I would love for people to come here and sing on stage.
We have also held BMX bike events and fashion shows.
I think there are ways to have fun even outside of live performances, so I hope people will use it casually.
Crowdfunding Until June 26
Kurashiki REDBOX is seeking support through crowdfunding for rent, maintenance costs, and equipment investment such as streaming equipment.
The period is until June 26, 2020.
There are also returns such as T-shirts and sake.
A Place to Nurture Music
The only authentic live house in Kurashiki is REDBOX.
The reality is that the opportunities for band members to perform are limited.
To protect the space for music activities, professional bands that used REDBOX during the indie era and the mayor of Soja City, Okayama Prefecture, have also sent support messages for the crowdfunding.
For example, Masanobu Izawa, President of KURABUN Co., Ltd. (nickname: George Izawa), has sent the following message.
Culture is the way of life of humans and its transmission. Music is a culture that has continued since the emergence of humanity.
That flame must not be extinguished in Kurashiki.
"The live experience that can only be tasted at that moment and place enriches life." That's what I believe.
In fact, I have been saved by live performances many times during difficult times.
The reason we can enjoy live performances is that there are people who create music, places to perform, and those who manage and set up those places.
REDBOX has supported the music culture of Kurashiki.
May the live house that has been used as a venue for bands, solo artists, idols, dance, and various expressions continue in Kurashiki.
Kurashiki REDBOX Data
| Name | Kurashiki REDBOX |
|---|---|
| Location | 5-1-15 2F, Oimatsu-cho, Kurashiki City |
| Contact | 086-421-3929 |
| Parking | Available If the common parking under the store is full, please use nearby coin parking. A discount of 100 yen per hour of studio use will be applied with the parking ticket. |
| Opening Hours | Weekdays: 5 PM – 12 AM Weekends and Holidays: 10 AM – 12 AM *If there are no reservations by 9 PM on the day, it will close at 10 PM |
| Closed | None |
| Admission Fee (including tax) | [Rental Studio] General: 2,100 yen/1 hour and up Individual Practice: 600 yen/1 hour and up [Stage Use] 6-hour pack: 105,000 yen and up Hourly rental for 4 hours or more: 20,000 yen/1 hour and up *Operator fee included |
| Payment Methods |
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| Reservations | Available |
| Smoking | Non-smoking (smoking allowed only in designated areas) |
| Restroom | Western-style toilet |
| Website | Okayama's Live House & Studio Kurashiki REDBOX |
