Kayo leaving Polysics after USA tour

Music News | Jan 20th, 2010

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Kayo, longtime keyboard/voice/guitar/vocoder mastermind for Japanese cult favorites, POLYSICS, has announced that she will be leaving after the band’s March 14th show in Budokan. POLYSICS’ upcoming U.S. tour will be the final chance for American audiences to see Kayo perform with the band that has recently earned raves in print from the likes of Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne and Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh.

The remaining members of POLYSICS, Hiro (voice /guitar/programming) Fumi (bass /voice /synthesizer) and Yano (drums), have also announced that they will be going on hiatus following the tour (see statement from band below).

The U.S. tour kicks off January 28th in San Francisco and winds down February 16th in Washington, DC.

Kayo has issued the following statement regarding her departure:

A word from Kayo: (synthesizer/voice/guitar/vocoder)

I, Kayo will be graduating from POLYSICS following the 2010, March 14 concert. My sincere apologies for surprising you with this sudden announcement.

Having joined the group in March ’98, it’s hard to believe it will be 12 years come this March. Such a long time, yet it also feels like a short and intense period as well.

I became a member of POLYSICS when my high school classmate Hayashi asked me to join, even though I’d never touched a synth before. Apart from playing a little piano I was absolutely clueless and had never even heard of Devo.

So you can understand why I never imagined I’d pursue the path of a musician for more than 10 years. Shows, recordings, festivals, and even international tours were all a first and though there were some hardships it was all fresh and fun for me. My life was incredibly fulfilling, but a thought had been growing inside of me for a few years now. Who would I be outside of POLYSICS? Who would I be if I weren’t a musician? My curiosity about who I’d be as an individual, as one woman started to grow larger by the day. Much time was spent talking things over with the members of the band and our staff.

After spending much time worrying and thinking over the matter, I made my decision to graduate from POLYSICS this spring. Naturally I realize the seriousness of this decision. That’s why I’m determined to continue leading a life of no regrets.

I will forever treasure my days with POLYSICS. I really had a great time. I think that’s why I was able to continue for so long. I was given the opportunity to try things that wouldn’t have been possible had I been leading a regular life. And I’ve met many people I never would have met had I not been a part of POLYSICS.

I am so glad to have met Hayashi, Fumi and Yano. And Sako and Sugai and Ishimaru as well. POLYSICS has always been and always will be the most precious thing to me. I spent most of my twenties on POLYSICS.

I’d like to spend my thirties and onwards going back to becoming a regular girl doing regular things. I want to try my hand at so many different things.

But even though I’ll be graduating, I’ll still remain Kayo of POLYSICS. I intend to have immense fun as Kayo of POLYSICS up to the show at the Budokan. I really look forward to the Budokan, both personally and as a member of the band. I hope you’ll come out to catch our show. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I want to thank everybody who has supported POLYSICS and Kayo of POLYSICS.

After the Budokan, I’d like to support POLYSICS from the audience with the rest of you. It has always been a dream of mine to watch POLYSICS from the audience. I hope you’ll continue to support POLYSICS in the future.

I love POLYSICS!!!!
Kayo

The remaining members Hiro (voice /guitar/programming) Fumi (bass /voice /synthesizer) and Yano (drums) have also released a statement announcing Kayo’s departure and the band’s future:
Announcing Kayo’s graduation from POLYSICS :

As announced by previous notice, Kayo will be graduating from POLYSICS following the show at the Budokan to take place on March 14, 2010.

Countless discussions regarding the matter were held before coming to this conclusion.
Everybody from fellow band mates to the POLYSICS staff regard Kayo as an integral part of the band, but in the end the decision was made to respect Kayo’s wishes to experience life outside the band.

Though she will be graduating from the band, Kayo made it a basic policy to not leave the band haphazardly. Even after the decision to graduate was made, she still participated in the recording of two albums as well as many live performances, some which took place abroad. Though Kayo amicable graduation from the band was inevitable, she probably did not feel the need to part immediately from this place which she holds dear and close to her heart

With the approach of POLYSIC’S 10th anniversary since their debut, we felt that this was probably the most appropriate timing for Kayo’s big send off into the next phase of her life. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Kayo by making the March show at the Budokan the best ever.

We apologize to the fans for taking so long in this announcement. As you the fans know so well, there is no place for gloom at a POLYSICS concert. We deferred to the wishes of Kayo and the band and decided not to make this announcement during the tour, but to wait until they were able to conclude the tour on a happy, fun and passionate note.

POLYSICS will be going on hiatus following their concert at the Budokan. This is a first for the band, who have been on a crazy schedule that have flabbergasted both Japanese and foreign artists alike. They will use this time to recharge their batteries for the next phase of POLYSICS. But then again, being who they are, there is the greatest possibility that this hiatus might prove to be an extremely short one.

The March Budokan concert will serve as Kayo’s graduation but will also be the biggest concert in the history of POLYSICS’ career. We strongly urge you to experience this show put on by what the leader of the group Hayashi often calls, “the present killer lineup of four”. The band members and staff are bursting with anticipation at the thought of putting on an extremely happy and extremely out of sorts and unpredictable show.
Let’s make this graduation one of happiness and laughter!!!! That’s what the 4 members of the band including Kayo hope for.

There is still some time left before March, but we would like to express our gratitude to everybody and anybody that has ever supported Kayo. Thank you so much. And to all of you supporting POLYSICS, we believe POLYSICS will radically continue to pursue what it is to be POLYSICS. We hope you will continue to support them.

Here are the Polysics tour dates:

Jan 28 2010 8:00P Bottom of the Hill San Francisco, California
Jan 29 2010 8:00P The Roxy Los Angeles, California
Jan 30 2010 8:00P The Casbah San Diego, California
Feb 2 2010 8:00P Plush Tuscon, Arizona
Feb 3 2010 8:00P The Rhythm Room Pheonix, Arizona
Feb 6 2010 8:00P The Independent Austin, Texas
Feb 7 2010 8:00P The Loft Dallas, Texas
Feb 9 2010 8:00P The Firebird St. Louis, Missouri
Feb 10 2010 8:00P Double Door Chicago, Illinois
Feb 11 2010 8:00P Magic Stick Detroit, Michigan
Feb 12 2010 8:00P Musica Akron, Ohio
Feb 13 2010 8:00P The Gramercy Theatre New York, New York
Feb 14 2010 8:00P The Middle East Cambridge, Massachusetts
Feb 16 2010 8:00P The Rock and Roll Hotel Washington, Washington DC

Check out their MySpace page for more info and all that jazz.

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