About

Welcome

Dramatickers dot com is an unofficial English-language fan site for the Japanese band Clammbon. We aim to act as a resource for fans who don’t speak Japanese natively, and to evangelize the band around this little planet.

Founder: William

How did you discover Clammbon? Saw a TV commercial for “Kimi wo Boku no Mono” on my first trip to Japan.
Top three tracks: “Vital Sign”, “Chiisana Futari no Kakurenbo”, “Re-Ame”

Contributor: endote

How did you discover Clammbon? My friend introduced me to them in 2009 and the obsession blossomed from there. I am the very shy, but very happy English guy on the Ryōgoku Kokugikan DVD.
Top three tracks: “Tiny Pride”, “Epilogue”, “Ai no hibiki”

History

The site began as “Clamm-bon Eigo-ban” in 2003, when I had returned from a year in Tokyo and wanted a way to keep in touch with the music I loved so much. With the gracious permission of Clammbon staff, I began a labor of love — translating song lyrics, documenting releases, sharing news, and even subtitling films. Anything to help spread the word about this uniquely creative trio. In the process I’ve learned so much about building sites and about Japanese language, and I’ve made so many friends from around the world. The site has been built and rebuilt on several platforms: hand-coded HTML and CSS, Movable Type, and WordPress. In 2015, to celebrate the band’s 20th anniversary, the site was relaunched once again, this time with its new name and address.

Why Dramatickers

In 2002 I had the rare opportunity to see Clammbon play live at Liquid Room in Shinjuku. A freak water leak at home almost prevented me from getting to attend, but I made it and caught half of the set. At the merchandise table, they were selling shirts from the previous year’s Dramatickers Tour. It took some courage to talk to the sales staff, but I got me one of those shirts and it became one of my most prized possessions. It seemed so cool that this Clammbon shirt didn’t even say “Clammbon” on it. Just “Dramatickers”. Like a label for us fans, who live by the dramatic sounds of this group. For a few years I thought I’d lost the shirt, but it turned up in my friend’s attic. The shirt itself came to symbolize the fleeting minutes I’d gotten to spend at a Clammbon show, and the hope that I would be back for a proper full show someday. I wore it only on the most special of occasions. In 2013 I finally did time a trip back to Tokyo specifically to see Clammbon, and of course I wore it to those shows. I don’t know if the word was ever really meant to be a label for fans to identify with, or just a fun play on the album title Dramatic. But I have always liked the idea that a Clammbon fan is a Dramaticker. Someone who looks for the heart and the drama and the joy in the world.

Contact

Email correspondence to dramatickers@1651.org.

1651.org — This site lives at 1651.org. Let’s see what else goes on there.