When legendary Japanese rockers Guitar Wolf played in Ōtautahi Christchurch earlier this year, one young band left them very impressed.
HOMESICKK?, a local four-piece band, got the chance to open for Guitar Wolf at Space Academy on the latter’s Aotearoa New Zealand visit. HOMESICKK? went all out, so much so that Guitar Wolf frontman Seji expressed his admiration for their “musicianship, energy, and live performance” backstage after the show.
HOMESICKK? — made up of four teenagers, Grace Wakefield, Kash Perry, Luci Willmott-Dalton, and Asay Ujihara — probably thought that would be as good as it got, but better was still to come.
After remaining in contact with Guitar Wolf, HOMESICKK? received an unexpected invitation to travel to Japan to perform at Shimane JETT FEST, the festival afterparty, as well as a series of additional shows across Tokyo and Osaka.
A life-changing opportunity, in other words.
But a life-changing opportunity like that doesn’t often come cheap, particularly when you’re a fledgling independent band from New Zealand.
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That’s why HOMESICKK? are trying to raise the necessary funds for the tour via a Boosted campaign, which has raised almost $3,000 already.
The target is lofty — $10,000 — but the campaign still has 15 days remaining.
If they meet that total, HOMESICKK? will perform at the annual Shimane JETT Rock ‘n’ Roll Festival on the weekend of October 10th-11th, alongside the aforementioned mini-tour of Tokyo and Osaka. If completed, HOMESICKK? would become just the second New Zealand band to perform at the festival, following The D4 in 2024.
“Instead of giving up, I spent days researching every possible way to make the trip happen, even contacting The D4 for advice after their own Japan tour. After presenting a detailed plan to our families, we committed to making it a reality,” explains Wakefield.
“Hopefully I can speak Japanese by the time I leave considering I’m half Japanese,” Ujihara says. “I can’t wait to see my family over there and meet heaps of new people!”
@homesickk.official FIRST GIG THRILLS!💥 We played an awesome gig last night at Wunderbar, however if you wanna see us play again you’ll have to wait a bit… We’re playing on the 27th of Feb @ Space Academy, ALL AGES! We’ve sold out though, so there won’t be any more tickets available for the night. We’re so excited to play alongside some kickass bands! Thank you to Live Fast, Die Young for this opportunity! We have more gigs to announce later on, so stay tuned! VIDEOGRAPHER: Neato Productions EDITOR: @Jettson Jones #fyp #newzealand #band #musicians #punksnotdead
The tour will take place between October 3rd-12th, during the New Zealand school holidays and the first week of Term 4, convenient for the young musicians.
“This project will see HOMESICKK? represent Christchurch’s DIY music scene,” the Boosted campaign states. “More than just a series of shows, it is an opportunity for four young musicians to build lasting connections through music, gain valuable international experience, and showcase local New Zealand talent to audiences in Japan.”
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“Fundraising has been very stressful, but it will be worth it in the end,” Perry admits. “It feels like a dream come true, to play in another country with such influential and talented bands.”
“Fundraising has been hard, but we’re very grateful to our parents who have been putting even more effort than we have in for us to achieve our dream,” Willmott-Dalton agrees.
“[…] when we found out that we would be playing additional gigs in Tokyo and Osaka, as well as the Shimane Jett Festival and afterparty, we realised we just couldn’t say no — I think it may have been a bit scary for our parents to think about their kids going across the world for music though haha,” they add.
Donate to the campaign — if you can — here.
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Once the campaign ends, HOMESICKK? have another opportunity to raise funds for the tour. They’re returning to the scene of their Guitar Wolf support slot, Space Academy, on Saturday, August 1st, hosting an all-ages show in the afternoon and an 18+ show in the evening. A bunch of great local bands will support them on the day, including Tealskie and Face First.
Ticket information is available here.
Credit: Supplied
If HOMESICKK? make it to Japan, they’ll follow some great Kiwi bands who have had great success taking their music to the Asian continent.
As well as The D4, Ōtepoti Dunedin bands Dale Kerrigan and Night Lunch have toured there, as have Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland punks Cindy.
