"...We've had fireworks going off indoors...stage diving where people get wicked hurt...You leave your house and then you know there really not insurance in the World... & I'm ready to die. I'm ready to die" - Ian Vanek on NPR's Souncheck
"Japanther is one of the hardest fucking bands in Brooklyn right now. They sound like Iron Maiden, Throbbing Gristle, and Lightning Bolt gave birth to a squealing little baby with flaming guitars for arms. Their shows are chaotic and danger-charged lovefests and they are frighteningly dedicated to keeping it underground" - VICE
"Japanther remains one the New York City's most under rated acts...". - Pitchfork Media
"Performance Galaxy" - Vanity Fair
"The Perfect Act" - PLAYGIRL
"They are untouchable. Highly, highly recommended." - Razor Cake
"The ever-divisive" - The Fader
"Super hard, incredibly fast, and overall inspiring" – Thrasher
"spazz gods… a mother fucker of an album… Japanther is a lean slam boogie machine with no time for boredom" - Thurston Moore For Arthur Magazine
It's not like they haven't the feigned art-world legitimacy of the "experimental" tag—they once composed a live puppet opera that later ended up as the basis of a video piece in last year's Whitney Biennial—but they also have a sense of humor. As in: their fist-pumping singalong, "River Phoenix." As in: they once bashed out this Young Indy ode while synchronized swimmers calling themselves Aquadoom splash-kicked in time with the beat. - Village Voice
"Japanther's ultra-low-fi, gritty and raw approach somehow ends up eminently danceable. And how could you not take a shine to a band that named an album Dump The Body In Rikki Lake?" - KQED
"Lo-Fi soul, High-Fi bite…Ian Vanek and Matt Reilly just call themselves Japanther and they have come to destroy… The sound manufactured en masse by drum sticks, a guitar and MPC2000 sampler is flat-out gifted. Oh yeah and then there are two musical rock puppet shows: 'Don't trust anyone under Thirty' featuring a collaboration with 60s American installation artist, Dan Graham and 'Dump the Body in Rikki Lake', with human size puppetry fusing the albums tunes… Essentially Japanther makes the kind of music that dares to stay still" - Soma
"Punk rock meets water ballet at NYU"- Time Out
"They've restored my faith in live shows with their loopy beats and tweaked-out art school guitar. And the phone mikes are a nice touch" - Jane
"Japanther is summoning all the lo-fi heroes to their aid in bringing this anti-pop music to life once again" - Dusted
"Asian Wildcat. Pretty good name for a band, but Japanther? Totally killer. And if the name reflects the sound (which it does) the you know you're into something good. It really is about time two people got together and had fun using an old trap kit, some recorded samples and dubbed tape and a bass guitar with only three strings. Oh and did I mention telephones for microphones?" - Slap
" But what I love about Japanther is their mix of influences: early punk, new wave and industrial. If the Minutemen and Joy Division fucked one night after drinks, the offspring would be the instrumental track "Supertap." - Prefix Mag
"The virile and powerful Poseidon is no match for the pairing of energetic Brooklyn band Japanther" - Brooklyn Vegan
‘Skuffed Up My Huffy’ and it’s mad LOLz. And good! Perhaps their best yet? - Missing Toof
Discography:
Wing And A Prayer demo tape (2001)
The Last Of The Living Land Pirates Live CD-R (2001)
South Of Northport EP (2002)
Leather Wings (2003)
Japanther/Panthers Split 7" (2003)
Dump The Body In Rikki Lake (2003)
The Operating Manual For Life On Earth EP (2004)
Japanther/Sneeze Split 7" (2004)
Japanther/Viking Club Split CD (2004)
Master of Pigeons (2005)
Wolfenswan (2005)
Yer Living Grave EP (2005)
Don't Trust Anyone Over Thirty (2006)
Japanther/Juiceboxxx Split 7" (2007)
Skuffed Up My Huffy (2007)
Japanther "Challenge" 7" (2007)
www.japanther.com
www.tapesrecords.com
www.menloparkrecordings.com
MYSPACE:
www.myspace.com/officialjapanther
YOUTUBE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRfF7A1whvw
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPE89Nf19wk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PiFeIqDJlY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ageADIlxeM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW2Dqxf1axc
http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=5437915
http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=4734611
BOOKINGS:
Ian Vanek p82a@yahoo.com