An in-depth feature on NOT WONK’s Shuhei Kato (Gt./Vocals), “Hokkaido Special: Rock Flows in the Smoky City,” will be broadcast on NHK General and Hokkaido on Friday, June 28th.
NOT WONK is a rock band from Tomakomai that will also be performing at one of Japan’s most popular festivals, RISING SUN ROCK FESTIVAL. All members are from Tomakomai and continue to be based in Tomakomai. Shuhei Kato, the band’s leader, said, “‘Music’ and the ‘music industry’ are different. We’re not doing music to make it a business.”
Instead of going to Tokyo or Sapporo, he lives in Tomakomai, a city with a huge paper mill at its center, and searches for expression with his friends. Kato calls this simple attempt an “experiment” and refuses to let it go. In an era where resistance to existing authority and order is ridiculed, where is the “support” to continue rock? In addition to documenting Kato’s life in Tomakomai, the film also includes interviews with his close friend Masafumi Goto of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, singer-songwriter Ayano Kaneko, and music writer Eriko Ishii, illuminating the intersection of expression and life, music and society.
[Program information]
“Hokkaido Special: Rock flows through the smoky city”
Date and time: Friday, June 28, 2024, 22:30-23:15 NHK General TV/Hokkaido TV*
Cast:
Shuhei Kato (NOT WONK)
Takahashi Takamitsu (NOT WONK)
Masafumi Goto (ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION)
Kaneko Ayano (singer-songwriter)
Eriko Ishii (music writer)
others
*The program will be available for one week on NHK Plus. You can watch it from anywhere in Japan.
