It took me a while but here is our official thank you report for The Extreme Tour 2022. (West Coast USA)
We, Imari Tones, have toured in the West Coast USA in September.
Together with the tour team and fellow Christian musicians, we toured for 3 weeks, visited many places, and played 9 shows.
(We stayed one more week in Portland OR and Los Angeles CA, but this time we didn’t book shows there. Maybe next time;)
Here is the list of the cities/towns we played.
September 3rd
Stevenson WA – Fire Fest – first night
September 4th
Stevenson WA – Fire Fest – second night (The Extreme Tour show)
September 7th
Bingen WA – Bingen Skatepark
September 9th
Battle Ground WA – Kiwanis Park
September 11th
Gig Harbor WA – Uptown Pavilion
September 16th
Dallas OR – Rotary Stage
September 18th
Salem OR – Riverfront Park Amphitheater
(2 sets)
September 21st
Harrisburg OR – Harrisburg Skatepark
The tour movies are coming and the first show video is here.
We toured in Washington state and Oregon state. Yes it’s true we love Pacific North West USA, although we are wanting to tour the South very much.
It had been 10 years since we visited the USA last time.
It’s amazing how fast time flies.
We are a Christian metal band from Japan. Things are hard for us in Japan. It’s true we have to go overseas to really get heard.
If you look at the past,
we toured in the USA 4 years in a row between 2009 and 2012.
That was with our long time lineup [Tone, Hassy, Jake].
It was a great experience for us as a band.
We learned so much and we could make a lot of music based on those tour experiences.
In 2011, we played an event called “The Objective” in Nashville TN.
We played a showcase there and it was super awesome.
That was when we met people from The Extreme Tour.
In 2012, we actually joined The Extreme Tour. West Coast team. We toured in Washington state, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. It was a life changing experience, both musically and spiritually.
The Extreme Tour is a grass roots, street style Christian missionary music tour.
They don’t play big cities. They go to small towns and communicate with people and local kids.
They usually play outside stages, parks and open air places, because their shows are open to the public.
They communicate with God’s Love. They bring the Gospel, the message of hope, to local communities and unreached places.
They use extreme music (rock, metal, hiphop, pretty much any style) and extreme sports (skateboarding, BMX, etc) to communicate and reach people who are outsiders and outcasts.
The success of the events is not based on numbers, profits, nor turnouts. It was solely based on “Obedience”. Obedience to God. That is the most important thing for this missionary tour.
We met so many fellow Christian musicians who have the same passion for music and God. We learned so much and I can’t really say how big an impact it made on us, both as musicians and as believers.
After that, our next mission was Japan.
We did (hosted, planned, organized, led) The Extreme Tour Japan for the next 4 years in a row, between 2013 and 2016.
We toured with Christian musicians from USA, Canada, Russia, and Chile. Of course we played events with Gospel musicians from Japan, too.
Things were hard because Christian situation in Japan was very different from the USA. (Churches are much fewer and smaller.)
But nonetheless it was a blessing.
Because we focused on our “Mission in Japan”, we could make “Jesus Wind” which is a concept album about Japanese Christian history, and “Nabeshima” which is a Japanese Traditional Christian Metal album.
However that meant the end for our beloved long-time lineup [Tone, Hassy, Jake]. Because being a rock band is tough. (But we played music together for 10 years!)
In 2021, we became a functional band with solid team work, with Shinryu – the Samurai Drummer – and Marie – the real founder of Imari Tones.
One of our first goals was to tour overseas again.
However the world was in the midst of the pandemic. We had to wait.
We considered touring in Europe, especially Eastern Europe, because we are working with a record label based in Latvia.
But in 2022, as you can see, a war has happened in the region.
That was sometime in March 2022. I heard God say “Go to the USA”. At least that’s how I felt.
So we decided to join The Extreme Tour again in the USA.
One of the reasons.
Maybe we wanted to learn more.
But one thing.
The worship.
They play worship songs after every event on The Extreme Tour.
In the night, middle of nowhere, with local people.
That was one of the most beautiful moments in life.
Because people become one.
Because you can feel God’s Love.
You can find faith in Music and God.
Maybe we wanted to experience that again.
It was 10 years since we visited the USA last time.
During that time, we made so much music. We have become so much better as a band and musicians.
It’s amazing that these songs – Repent, Jee-You, Unlimit, God Anthem and more – we play for the first time outside of Japan.
And for some reasons, with God’s help, and with your help, the tour became possible.
It was amazing how much help we have got from you.
Our fans, friends, all the people.
All of you.
And YOU.
It was amazing we had so much support and help from you on this tour.
It was amazing and we will never forget it.
We are very thankful.
My English vocabulary is not good enough to express our gratitude.
The world has changed during the last 10 years.
Disasters, wars, politics, division, economy, social media, technology, and not to mention the pandemic.
The world has changed.
Japan has changed a lot.
The United States has changed a lot.
And the music scene has changed a lot, too.
It is not the same anymore.
But we still rock.
Because this is what we believe in.
This tour – about music and mission – Faith mission – we learned so much from this experience.
We met so many awesome people.
We played awesome shows in every town. (You bet!)
Once again it was life changing.
Now we are Christian Samurai metal band.
We are Samurais with Faith, rocking in the world.
We thank God. We thank Jesus.
For His guidance. For His Love. For His mercy. For His kingdom.
We will keep on rocking for Him.
It may take time, it may take a while.
But we are wanting to tour more places.
When we are ready we will let you know.
And when we need we will ask for your help.
But we are rocking harder than ever.
Again,
we really say THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your support.
YOUR support!!!
God bless you!!!
Tak / Imari Tones (Japan)
p.s.
Tomorrow we play a show in Kichijoji, Tokyo. Venue: Black and Blue, Time 6pm, Oct 29 Sat