The Secret

The Secret hail from Hiroshima, Japan. They have a Canadian connection, former Plumtree bassist Catriona Sturton. Here's the story:

Can you share the story behind the formation of The Secret? What with two continents involved, I'm sure it's pretty freakin' intriguing. Catriona Sturton: I moved to a small city in Japan in 2000. At first it was hard to find live music because I didn't speak or read Japanese. Slowly I was able to find out about shows, and later that year played bass in a rock band and a punk band (covering classic Japanese punk rock with a bunch of 17 year old boys) and harmonica in a rockabilly band. It was all a lot of fun, but communication was difficult and I didn't feel like I was being very creative. I met Sonnet (originally from Arizona and living in the next town over from mine) the next year and saw her playing with a band called Kiku no Koro. I was so impressed with her band that it really inspired me to try to do something with the songs I had written. We met Rey (our drummer) through her husband. They manage a "live house" (music venue) in East Fukuyama. I had to leave Japan at the end of that year, and luckily Sonnet got Lena to move to town so that the Secret could carry on. Sonnet Bingham: Catriona's reputation preceded her by a year. When I arrived in Japan in August 2001, I was dead set on learning the guitar and starting a band. Every music store I went into, everyone asked me, "Have you heard of Catriona?" It wasn't until almost a year later that I met this famed punk rock, bass-playing, shamisen-stuying Canadian. Much to my surprise and elation, she asked me if I would be interested in listening to some stuff she had been working on. She came to my apartment, and played me a lo-fi tape of her songs. I played some of my songs, and our collaboration evolved quite naturally.

You are the first Japanese band to play Wavelength in the five-year history of our series and zine. That's pretty freakin' cool. How did your Canadian tour come together? CS:
I'm from Canada (grew up in Ottawa and lived in Halifax), and always said that it would be fun to tour Canada with The Secret. Sonnet and Lena seem to have a "thing" for Canada and always talked about how they would like to live here. I'm excited to tour in Canada again because I got really used to how things work in Japan. Shows are expensive, but you are spoiled by generally having amazing sound and light systems, even at small clubs. I will definitely miss the healthier food that you can buy at convenience stores in Japan. On the other hand, I'm looking forward to everyone seeing Canada for the first time, especially Halifax.

I just saw Audition by Takeshi Miike, and it was only the most disturbing thing I've ever watched. Pretty freakin' awesome though. What are some of your favourite films from Japan? SB: NOT Battle Royale. CS: My favorite Japanese movie is called After Life (in English) - Wandafuru raifu ("Wonderful Life" in Japanese) by Hirokazu Koreeda. I'm watching it this weekend to try and remember some Japanese before the rest of the band arrives!!

In one song, you sing, "I hate playing games/ Especially this one." Can you tell us what it is? Or is that a freakin' secret? CS: Someone is totally acting like they have a crush on you, but you are not sure if they really do. Add another language and culture into the mix, and it becomes even more frustrating. It's even better if the two people involved are ridiculously shy, live in cities far from each other, and only communicate with cryptic text-messages in a language that is not their mother tongue. These messages should be received and read late at night, on emotionally fragile days. Perfect. Crushes. I think that's why most of our initial songs got written. Now all my songs are about death. SB: If you really like someone, you should say it. (Fab, if you are reading this, I really like you.)

BY JONNY DOVERCOURT