In summer 2007, we toured Japan for the first time with two fantastic bands, Lymbyc Systym and 4 Bonjour Parties (who are both our labelmates on Japanese label & Records). Our touring bassist Mike Rubenstein (one of the most reliable, awesomest dudes I know), made this little video compilation. (The soundtrack is a demo of a new Boy in Static song.) Watch it at Youtube or below the cut. I also pasted a couple answers Kenji gave recently to a Japanese magazine Cookie Scene with his thoughts on the tour.
How was the Japan tour in 2007?

Kenji: It was wonderful. Japan is a big scary busy place, but it’s fascinating in a way no other country can match. Half my family is Japanese - my mother lived in Yokohama until she was 14 - so every time I visit, I feel like I understand more about myself. It’s odd, but its’ true. In nightclubs at 3am, eating unagi in Osaka, drinking all night in Tokyo, i see a lot of people with the same values I have. It’s reassuring. It helps me make a little more sense of the world. You never know what kind of people you’re going to end up with on tour, but the bands that we played with (Lymbyc Systym and 4 Bonjour’s Parties) turned out to be fantastic touring mates. They were great people, sure, but man they make some nice music. The 4 Bonjour’s Parties album was definitely one of my top ten records of 2007.

What was the most impressive thing in that tour?

Kenji: I watched Mike from Lymbyc Systym break his bass drum pedal in the middle of a song. A staff member from the club - I think this was at O-Nest, in Tokyo - rushed onstage, removed the faulty pedal, and replaced it with a working one. We were astounded - this sort of thing simply doesn’t happen touring in the USA. People would just laugh at you, and you’d be out of a bass drum for a night. Also, I drank shochu for the first time! That was a pretty great discovery too. When I got back home to Boston I convinced my local liquor store to start selling it.