Tony Handsome - Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Keyboards, Production.
Moses Moncola - Bass, Vocals, Keyboards, Taishokoto, Propaganda.
C.D. Liscious - Keyboards, Vocals, Harmonica, Design and Advertising.
Abe Ajinomoto - Drums, Guitar, Strength.
Boney Jim - Dancing, Vibes, Sex Appeal.
Influences
Ghana chocolate, Hokka Hokkatei, Mister Kakashi yakiniku tabehodai, New Order, Bo Diddley, Boney M, Shift, The Breakfast Club, Happy Mondays, Electric Six, Junior Senior, LCD soundsystem, The Sons of Cuba, Ska Cubano, Stephen Malkmus, Don Matsuo.
When veteran documentary film maker Moses Moncola arrived in northern Japan in the early 90s little did he know of the musical direction that his career would come to take. He first gained acclaim with the award winning (Telvision Kwik magazine best documentary 1987) "Gothenburg - all for one, one for all", a film documenting rural farming communities around Gothenburg that' "defied the viewer not to shed tears at it scenes of rustic ambience" (K.Macaskill, Vantage magazine). Following the success of this his next project "Obanazawa - this one's on you!" was to document daikon and renkon farming around the Obanazawa region of Yamagata prefecture, northern Japan. After taking residence in Yamagata Moncola found himself drawn to exploring the diverse local culture, in particular, the vibrant karaoke scene. It was here that he met Tony Handsome, recent winner, with karaoke partner Corey Badwill, of the Tohoku karaoke championship, for their rendition of the Tag Team's "Whoomp there it is!". Having blown much of the budget of "Obanazawa - this one's on you!" at karaoke parlours Moncola realised he had to downscale his documentary ambitions. Deciding to abandon the "Obanazawa" project temporarily, Moncola commenced shooting "Whoomp there it was", a film intended to document the karaoke success of Handsome and Badwill. After 18 months of filming initial footage, Handsome, himself a talented budding guitarist, convinced Moncola to try his hand at bass guitar for a musical project he was starting. Instantly the playing styles of the pair clicked, and the loss to the documentary and karaoke industries became the gain of the music industry. Spending 6 months in a mountaintop buddhist monastry cultivating their musical talents they emerged as the funk-punk-blues version of Lennon and McCartney. Taking the name Slag Team, in honour of the still pending documentary concerning Handsome's karaoke exploits covering Tag team, the pair tentatively emerged as a musical force. The line was not complete however. A chance meeting with Canadian author, playwright and soul singer C.D. Liscious, who at the time was touring her play "The cornfields don't have eyes" around Japanese arthouses added a further member to the ensemble. Liscious's range of soulful vocal expression and instrumental adaptability perfectly complemented the raw power of Handsome and Moncola. Still this did not complete the line-up. Yamagata imports and exports entrepeneur and local musical legend Abe Ajinomoto completed the line up. With an unearthly visionary command of any instrument Abe provided the final piece of the jigsaw, broadening the scope and horizon of the music. now the line up was complete, readly to revolutionize the ears of all who listen. After gaining success in the 2005 Vodafone "Lock on Rock" campaign with crowd favourite "Dare ha sexy?", the Slag Team are here to illuminate you. V. Smitherson-Mubs, 2006 (weeping into his laptop).
Hey,
Just to let you know the digital download of Magazine has finally gone up on VirginDigital.co.uk, Napster.com, TescoDownloads.com & WoolworthsDownloads.com! If you have 79p and a working set of ears, *please* download it!! WSF xxxx
Hey man, just hope the gift helps you out in some way. Wishing the both of you the best in future to come. Just keep living it up like the 'Rock Star' that you are!
thank u for adding!
dare wa sexy desu ka~~, so funny.
syoukai shimashitayo!TOON TOWN label ni!
kono label wa SHIFT wo release shite imasu.
yamagata wa avantgarde nandesu-ne!
YxOxRxOxKxOxBxI!!
YESSS!!! thanks for being down with us. . . if we ever make it to japan, hopefully you will let us grace a stage with you. matane!! (did i spell that right?)
Wassup my friends? Thanks for adding us, you kick ass!!! So, hopefully you already have our first album, but if not, it's FREE for download in a blog. Tell you friends to come get it too. It is one of the coollest CDs to listen to while relaxing after a good party. We hope you enjoy it!!!
Keep rawkin....
-Danny and Dillin aka TnM
