About Us: Uncle Tadashi & Da Boyz was formed 2013.
The Uncle T Sound
Uncle Tadashi & Da Boyz prides itself in presenting a fresh and catchy sound. Tongue in cheek, cruising, acoustic ballad, upbeat, duet, love song, etc. No two songs are alike.
Synopsis of Uncle Tadashi & Da Boyz songs by yours truly.
Back in 2013, I posted a partial, innocent “lyric” for “Da Yoisho Song” on Facebook. Someone mentioned I should do a song on it. I’ve never had any intentions of doing a song or getting into the music industry. Then one day, I met fellow FBer Cliff Kimura, a photographer and into video. So the thought of doing a live skit on Da Yoisho Song came to mind and fruition. We have 2 videos of Da Yoisho Song on Youtube, the live version and studio version. We then decided to do an actual recording. Found Pierre Grill of Rendez-Vous Recording in the phone book. The rest is history
Da Yoisho Song 2013. This was merely a lark, a supposedly one time project. A tongue in cheek song of older local men and their attempt to share their lifestyle hip hop style. I thought it was a funny idea of old men trying to be hip hop artists. Talk about basic, bare minimum, it’s just a Taiko drummer Nolan Miyahira, along with a lead vocal Wade Kaneshiro as Uncle Tadashi. Btw, Uncle Tadashi is a pseudonym, I just thought it was a cool name and a few backup vocal (Da Boyz).
Back in Da Day (Da Jan Ken Po Song) 2014. A continuation of Da Yoisho Song, but is more of a cruising, singalong type of tune. After recording Da Yoisho Song, found out lead vocal, Wade, plays ukulele, as well. So here, we’re expanding our instrumentation. Lol Taiko Drum, Uke, Lead Vocal and Backup Vocal. Uncle Tadashi & Da Boyz going through a mid-life crisis, yearn for the younger, carefree days of their youth.
My Old Stompin’ Ground 2015. This is my first attempt in doing an acoustic ballad. For this project, being a softer, mellow sound, we replaced Taiko Drum for Cajon (percussion in a speaker box where you tap the front of the box). We added an acoustic guitar & bass guitar to go with Wade’s uke and lead vocal. Funny, Pierre jokingly says, Hey, we actually have a real band. Lol This song is inspired by a drive I took back to my old childhood neighborhood. A bittersweet journey through the neighborhood brought about old fond memories “Days like this, makes me smile & cry”. The ending chorus is camp fire like.
Happiness, Laughter & Joy 2016. An upbeat and carefree romp, represents a person’s coming home after being away for awhile. How he missed being home & in this case, the islands, feeling giddy with joy. A fun song to perform and record, culminates to an end which includes whistling, whooping, hollering and laughing.
Love Will See Us Through 2017. My 1st attempt and on my bucket list of doing a duet. Enter the debut of our future female lead vocal, songbird Sandy Ordonez Tsujimura. A relationship feeling a little strained, due to a lack of give and take and the woman feeling slighted and all alone. But they still have emotional feelings for each other and this love brings hope they can work it out. This song also introduces our current alto saxophonist Chris Yeh. Always wanted to end a song with a “Round Chorus”, where both singers sing their chorus interplay style.
Stay For Awhile 2017. With Sandy in the mix with the Boyz, I felt it was a good time to showcase a female driven ballad. This is a song where someone is struggling to get by in her daily life. She longs to reunite with a former friend and lover. Chris’s sax interludes accentuate and emphasizes the loneliness and almost dire situation for her.
The Tribute Song 2018. Out of all of the songs, this song has a special place in my heart. The most satisfying end product. This project has been in the making for years. Conceptually speaking, the sticking point was trying to incorporate different genres to flow smoothly, without coming across as haphazard and disjointed. Once I found the right rhythm, it was finally a go. This tune pays tribute to some of the genres that I love to listen to and has inspired me. This song covers R&B/Hip Hop, Punk, Reggae, Alternative, Pop and even Jazz (mid song bridge with Chris’s sax solo). This song introduces my Jazz comrade, Michael Monroe “Rapping” the Lead Vocal. I felt he fit the part best, even if he’s not really a singer. I truly am pleased with the results of this long awaited song.
Aloha & Mahalo 2019. Hmmm looking back to our 1st song, Da Yoisho Song, just Taiko Drum and vocal to Aloha & Mahalo, is like night and day. A & M has almost a full orchestra, strings, piano, guitar, sax, duet vocal and a tenor (Pavarotti & Bocelli type). I’ve always wanted to do a somber and melancholy type of song. This is a duet between a living and passed loved one. Everyone has lost someone special in their life. I’ve also had on my bucket list, having a tenor singing in the bridge of a song. Am so blessed it turned out to be A & M. Sandy’s the female lead vocal, RJ Strayhorn, male lead vocal and tenor, Reverend Takamasa Yamamura.
Clap Beat 2020. This song kills two birds with one song. I’ve always wanted to do a song just full of hooks. Everything including the kitchen sink. This is an upbeat, dance, arena type. Full of handclap (regular & double time), stomping, finger snap, whistling, Hey’s, Ooohs. The 2nd bird was recording a “live” performance. Also, by default, this is the first and only foray into singing the lead. This is the only song with no rehearsals. Everyone just came into the studio on the recording date.
As far as a future song, not sure where else I can explore, direction and theme-wise. As you can see, I like having a diverse sound. Stay tuned.
Aloha,
Mikey Ige
Where to find our music
You can find our songs individually or on our “Story” cd. Also, on I-Tunes, Amazon Music, CD Baby and many other download links. You can also order a hard copy of our cd “Uncle Tadashi & Da Boyz EP”, by emailing Mike at mikeyige@gmail.com
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