Born to Rock and Roll
How the Tokyo Tramps carry on a blues-rock American musical tradition
When Satoru Nakagawa and Yukiko Fujii first met at Berklee College of Music, they found themselves to be outliers. At the time, Berklee was dominated by a jazz scene, and Nakagawa and Fujii were rock-and-roll rebels.
“I couldn’t find my place in Berklee,” Nakagawa tells Sampan recently. “I always felt out of place… It was difficult, for me. Music was always my love, my dream. It’s a fun thing. I play music because I want to play. But going through Berklee, it was as if the fun part was taken away. It was difficult for me. It was very headstrong.”
But then he befriended Fujii.
“To me, the most important part is the heart and soul. I had a hard time finding my place. (Fujii) was one of a few people who I met who shared the same vision.”
The two musicians, who met decades ago and are now married, formed the Boston band Tokyo Tramps, a blues band that draws heavily from roots music.
Nakagawa plays guitar and sings, while Fujii performs on the bass and vocals. Both artists, originally from Japan, connected over their desire to channel the spirit of American rock and roll, as newcomers exploring music in a country far away from home.
Nakagawa had spent some time learning about the blues genre in Louisiana before coming to Berklee, and Fujii left behind a fulfilling job in Tokyo, in the marketing department for information magazines that assisted companies in recruiting recent high school and college graduates. When they formed Tokyo Tramps, they took inspiration from the Bruce Springsteen song “Born to Run,” which features the lyric, “Tramps like us, baby, we were born to run.”
From there, their musical style evolved.
When writing songs, much of the basis for the music and lyrics come from Nakagawa, who invents a story, before Fujii collaborates. His influence comes strongly from blues, and while in Louisiana, he spent time searching for a deeper understanding of the genre. He was looking to musical pioneers like American Delta blues songwriter Robert Johnson and blues icon B.B. King. He often felt that he wasn’t entitled to sing blues, conscious of its history and the fact that it is steeped in the African American experience of slavery, which he acknowledges is not part of his own past. Yet Nakagawa connected deeply to the sounds and themes of the genre.
“There’s lots of emotions and passion, truth about human beings,” says Nakagawa. “Even though blues is a foreign country to me, I think we share the same feelings about longing for home, sadness, and joy, as well.”
Fujii explains the way that she contributes to the songwriting process, adding, “I add my ideas, my feelings, whatever I have in my head, my body, or my blood, to the original music. Even if it’s a blues-based, blues-influenced music genre, still, it’s the songwriter side that’s more important.”
Tokyo Tramps released their most recent album, “Fearless Heart,” in 2023. The first song on that record is “Sweet Melody,” a track with an energizing drive and groove. The number is about gathering in Copley Square to spread a message of harmony. The singers assert a call for peace, offering the lyric, “No place for hate, love is the answer.”
The final tune on “Fearless Heart” is “Young Lion,” a spirited anthem, infectiously catchy, that evokes a sense of freedom. The inspiration was the courage of young people, says Nakagawa, who the musicians call upon to “walk proud” and bring hope back to the city. Both songs come from a similar mindset, Nakagawa says.
For both Nakagawa and Fujii, finding their identities as artists in the American music scene has been complicated, a hardship, even. Nakagawa often felt self-conscious about being received as a foreigner, while Fujii said that being an Asian woman has also been fraught with challenges.
“There was a lot of discrimination at the clubs and bars we played,” says Fujii, adding that even the name of their band originally sounded outlandish to audiences. “I’m a female bass player. I’ve (experienced) a lot of discrimination. Being Asian, female, and playing American music, it’s a struggle. (But) we dare to follow our dreams to play American music. In the beginning, I was kind of naïve about it, but nowadays, I don’t care about it.”
Fujii notes that the majority of the band’s songs are in English, that the “system” for their writing and performing is grounded in American culture, even though their Japanese identity is not going away.
The group currently has plans to develop a new record. As they’ve navigated how to define themselves and their body of work, Nakagawa said that over the years, they never saw themselves as recreating or reimagining themselves in a different country.
“Whether it’s reinventing or revealing the true self, as we go, we’re forming characters,” said Nakagawa. “As we go, we’re building self… We’re a work in progress.”
This story was funded in part by Boston 250, a public-private partnership between the City of Boston and private sector partners, including Meet Boston, State Street, The Boston Foundation, John Hancock, Eastern Bank, Liberty Mutual, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and PNC Bank. Learn more at boston250.org.
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