As nostalgic music plays in the background, fans wait in anticipation. Finally the time comes and the band appears, to the tune of the well-known Kamata Koushinkyoku (interestingly, a Japanese version of a Western song.) On a flower-adorned stage, dressed in gakuran (old Japanese schoolboy uniforms), Guruguru Eigakan perform a set peppered with elegant, often hilarious skits. Their melodies take one's thoughts back to a much earlier time. A bit like watching a movie, you feel the past, yet there is no mistaking the 21st century. Led by Mr. Amano Tonbimaru, the band masters romanticism.

Welcome to my corner of the Internet dedicated to the Japanese "indies" band Guruguru Eigakan. They are not very big over in Japan (well, being indie) and by no means international (aside from those of us who have already been introduced to their music), but their concept is very intriguing - especially I'd imagine, to foreigners with an interest in Japanese culture and Shouwa era avant-garde.

The name of the band, Guruguru Eigakan, means "revolving movie theatre" - an appropriate label indeed. They go beyond their role as mere musicians by incorporating little skits into their performance, entertaining the audience visually as well as aurally. Yet, this is far from the conventional visual kei bands that you are used to seeing on the scene. They have an interesting ideology - visible not only in the content of their lyrics, but also in the band's costumes, plays, flyers, and cover art.

Guruguru Eigakan's notion of Shouwa eroguro innocence reflects their concept very well. First, taken from the Japanese artistic/literary eroguro nonsense movement of the 1920's, we have the erotic-grotesque aspect and its decadent roots. Japan's Shouwa era (1926-1988; a very wide range, yet the best description) is the time period the band draws on, playing with the feel of its early stages as well as the post-war culture that we are more familiar with. Lastly, a touch of innocence is added to the mix, a portrayal of adolescence. Songs deal with young love, emotions, teenage years - until the image shatters and heartbreak and melancholy come into play. Understanding the meaning behind these works is something not easily accomplished, even by those fluent in the language.

Save for one member, the entire band's replacement is a change bound to reflect in the overall being of a band. There is not much I can say about the effects of this member change, not having fully experienced old Guruguru, but it seems that after that 2002 summer they went in a direction that screams "more rock, less theatre". Though some of their sets still focus more on plays, the band is more serious about songs these days, not to mention more experimental. The new lineup's first mini-album "Sono mama de ii yo" was already enough to show this difference. "Drops" is a striking contrast to anything Guruguru Eigakan have ever done. "Ara, carte." is a collection of songs by four "different" groups (all of them Guruguru, of course.)

Despite all these changes and the daring releases that were the result, nothing was lost. The 2005 "Yoi koto..." mini-album features charming album art: a schoolgirl, a schoolboy, simple red flowers. As always, the lyrics are full of elegance. All the pieces remain in place. Though Yoshikawa Masatoshi is no longer in the band (probably the most outstanding aspect of old Guruguru), their essence has not changed. Plus, Yoshikawa's new band Taiheiyou Belt is not that far from the things we love about Guruguru, and the two bands playing a show together is not out of the question.

If you are already familiar with the band, you have probably seen the terms GEtIST or GEtIS floating around. Literally, GEtIS stands for "Guruguru Eigakan to Iu Sonzai" (the being called Guruguru Eigakan) and GEtIST is "Guruguru Eigakan to Iu Sonzai Taikei" (taikei = "organisation"). It represents the ideology of Guruguru Eigakan. A little black-and-white symbol, a spinning top, is the "mark of the GEtIS". Done in the style of a school badge, GEtIS pins used to be sold as goods, advertised as an essential for all GEtIST. This was also the name of a label Guruguru had before the member change.