September 18–25, 1997

critic pick|rock/pop

Pizzicato Five's Konishi Yasuhara says he likes to tour in the United States because he sells more records that way. Sure, he may sound like a brazen pop star, but he's having a laugh playing the part.

"Success in America is not important," explains the 38-year-old DJ/composer through an interpreter, calling from Toronto. "You know why? CDs cost three times as much in Japan."

Yasuhara started sampling buts of Esquivel and Burt Bacharach long before the lounge craze hit America. Pizzicato Five released their first album, Audry Hepburn Complex, in 1985 and has released over 25 albums since. Their music — a mix of '60s-style jazz, breezy lounge and '90s danceclub fare — is pop for pop's sake: their lyrics don't mean a thing, the band doesn't pretend to be original, and singer NomiyaMakieven admitted in print that the only artist she'd like to collaborate with is Jon Bon Jovi.

But the band doesn't borrow lounge sounds just to be hip. "I really respect those musicians of the '50s and '60s," he says. He's especially fond of Mel Torme. "He's the smoothest."

Their third U.S. release, Happy End of the World (Matador), might not feature any Torme covers ("I want him to cover one of our songs," says Yasuhara), but it does include old-style TV show jingles, Toni Basil-esque cheerleading rants, and plenty of electronic bleeps.

With pop's short shelf life, how has P5 managed to produce catchy, infectious music for over a decade while staying just one step ahead?

"I look at a poster of the Rolling Stones every morning when I wake up," quips Yasuhara, keeping perfectly in step with P5's meaningless pop image.

Pizzicato Five, Fri., Sept. 19, 9 p.m., Five Spot, 5 S. Bank St., 574-0070.

— Jennifer Darr