Bari Bari 13

“OK, we are Bari Bari 13! Japanese-style Rock n’ Roll band! Rock n’ roll!”
-Tommy, lead singer of Bari Bari 13

That catch phrase is the first thing the audience heard when Bari Bari 13 made their debut at Sand Island R&B on August 8, 2007. To this day, those words and Bari Bari’s high-energy stage show and theatrical antics are what continue to make young and old alike fall in love with this Japanese rock and roll band from Honolulu.

The band first met at lead singer, Tommy’s motorcycle shop two months earlier through their love for custom-built motorcycles. After only a month, the quartet discovered that they all had backgrounds in music as well and decided to start the kind of band that Honolulu had never heard or seen before.

Their love of motorcycles influenced the move to dress in leather jackets, sunglasses, white scarves, billowing white pants and greased back hair mimicking the “Kaminari-Zoku,” style that Japanese bikers from the 1960s used to wear. The bands style is influenced by a cool eclectic range of musical styles, from Mozart to Elvis, Chuck Berry and The Stray Cats, to Slayer to The Parliament Funkadelic and Jimmy Hendrix. The name Bari Bari 13 literally translates to “Cool 13.”

Bari Bari 13 got their push into the underground music scene by performing alongside Honolulu rockabilly band, The Hell Caminos and local burlesque troupe, Cherry Blossom Cabaret. In 2008, comedian Andy Bumatai liked them so much he had Bari Bari on his evening talk show Night Time with Andy Bumatai twice within a three month period, introducing them to an even wider audience.

Although most of Bari Bari’s set is in Japanese, that doesn’t deter people from singing along. During a show you will often hear audiences singing along on the chorus to Bari Bari’s songs even if they don’t speak a word of Japanese and are hearing the songs for the first time. Tommy’s continuing search for higher drum risers to do jump-kicks off of, Shingo’s ever-changing skyscraper pompadours, Takeshi’s fire-starting guitar riffs, Kenji’s heart-thumping drumming and the band’s sporadic theatrical skits and costumes continue to wow show-goers and claim fans wherever the band goes.

In 2009 Bari Bari 13 is looking to make their official debut on the music world and one day hopes to be the first Japanese band in history to receive a Grammy. Bari Bari 13 is Tommy on lead vocals and guitar, Shingo on bass, Takeshi on rhythm guitar and Kenji on drums.

"J-rock blending classic '50s-style rock with '70s punk bravado and Japanese lyrics."
- Derek Paiva, Honolulu Advertiser 10/26/07

“… Seeing [Bari Bari 13] live leaves one with the feeling of being initiated into a motorcycle gang with a 1950's am radio soundtrack.”
- http://shakazine.blogspot.com 02/27/08

Check out our friends Cherry Blossom Cabaret and The Hell Caminos!