Long-time Austin resident singer-songwriter Nathan Hamilton is well-known for his Americana-styled folk, country, and rock acoustic guitar and lyrics. He’s played around more times than I’ve been around the block. Taking a new twist in his career, Hamilton
teamed up with a Japanese guitarist, lyricist, and musician from Osaka named Shotaru Miyamoto.
The backstory, according to Hamilton, goes like this.
“Shuichi Iwami, a Japanese musician with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Austin music scene dating back to the 1970s and who knows everyone in the scene, started taking Austin musicians to Japan.
“The first time I went to Japan was in 2010 when I met a musician named Kita. In 2012, he curated a music festival. That’s when I met Shotaru and his band Nayuta, which means ‘before infinity’. His band blew me away and I played backup to his band.”
They talked about collaborating, and one thing led to another, but as we know, life happens. They lost touch until around 2022 when Shotaru put out a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU7d4pdBK1U&list=OLAK5uy_lgwo7XhVhFJw3ouJYezb9dBx_Qxgxn9rk. Somehow, Hamilton found it on social media, which he admired. It inspired him to write an email to remind Shotaru of their potential collaboration. He sent him a song and gave Shotaru artistic freedom to do whatever he wanted with it: chord changes, scales, lyrics, instruments, tempo, arrangement, etc.
A few weeks later, he sent Hamilton an entirely produced track, which, again, he loved. It was unlike anything he would have written, sonically so different from what Hamilton had played. A long-distance music love affair blossomed, resulting in a CD called Not One Among Us, https://nathanhamilton.hearnow.com/not-one-among-us available on all streaming media.
He says, “I didn’t want the same sounds or patterns, and that’s why it took me so long to make a record. It was because of the same places I go sonically. When Shotaru sent me his recording, I was lit up.”
He wound up sending him more songs and did the vocals in Austin, recorded it and mixed the harmony vocals.
Hamilton invited Shotaru to Texas for the album release for about five days to perform together, first in Ft. Worth and then in Austin at the Continental Club, a private house concert, and an improvised gig at the Moontower Saloon in south Austin. The band lineup included Hamilton on acoustic and vocals, Mark Williams on cello and bass, Jeremy Minkin on guitar, Matthew Williams on drums, and special guest Shotaru on guitar.
At the Moontower Saloon, Shotaru gigged with Hamilton and two Japanese musicians (Keta and Masa) from Hiroshima. Shotaru is from Osaka, home of the savory pancake okonomiyaki. It was Shotaru’s first trip to Texas, and he was impressed by its “hugeness” and the fact that anyone would drive three and a half hours one way to play a gig and return the same night!
Fortunately, I met him and attempted to speak in my halting Japanese with him as his English was limited.
“When Nathan sent me his material, I used my imagination to create the music. The first song he sent, Water Runs Clear, was a watery emotion. Water is the keyword, and it reminded me of a bubbly river, so I wrote a riverside story. I created a pattern of pitter-patter bubbles faster and faster on guitar on a short loop.”
There are several musical contingents in Japan, like anywhere else, that are totally into one specific genre, be it country & western, folk, punk, blues, etc. You’ll find every type of musical genre performed and perfected. Seeing these guys onstage jamming with the Austin legend Leeann Atherton, whose raspy voice is still in top shape after more than four decades, was wild. She’s known for her mix of rockabilly, honky-tonk, and roots music and is a shoo-in for Janis Joplin.
Shotaru absolutely loved the music vibe in Austin and is looking forward to returning as soon as there’s an opportunity. Could they be planning SXSW? Let’s see what they come up with, and hopefully, we’ll be able to catch a show next year.