Relay Column: Wearing Band Merchandise – What's Going On in the Merch Corner at Live Music Venues? (Taiga Niiyama)

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PROFILE

Taiga Niiyama

Originally from Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture. Enrolled in the Integrated Doctoral Program at the Graduate School of Advanced Global Studies, Ritsumeikan University. Specializes in sociology and cultural studies. Debuted as the bassist of the rock band "Shout it Out" in 2016 under Pony Canyon. After leaving the band, graduated from the Faculty of Contemporary Sociology, College of Social Science at Ritsumeikan University. His research theme centers on music practice as a lifelong work and its relation to daily life. He conducts research through fieldwork at live houses and interviews with band members.

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1. Wearing Band Merchandise

In Kawaramachi, Kyoto, I was having a meal at a family restaurant with research colleagues after graduate school. After a while, I could hear a conversation like, "What’s the order of songs for the next live show?" Guitars, bass, snare drums, effect boards. Surrounded by a lot of equipment, the band members sitting next to me were having a meeting, looking a bit uncomfortable. As I got up to grab a drink, I glanced at a bass case and noticed that a button from a band I used to be part of was side by side with a button from my admired band.

Although I’ve stopped making music, if there’s something I’ve left behind that continues in some form, it brings me immense joy. Both buttons were from around 2015. Seven years ago, I must have shared the same time somewhere in a live house with the bassist of the band having the meeting. Thinking about this made me feel as if the band members talking about it were like nostalgic old friends, even if I have no real connection with them.

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