Hanatarash

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Noise unit from Osaka, founded in 1983 by Yamatsuka Eye. ハナタラシ (洟垂らし) literally means "sniveler", ie a person with a snotty or runny nose. Others translate it at "Snot-nosed".

Hanatarash are infamous for their extremely dangerous live shows consisting entirely of on-stage destruction and utter disregard for anyone's safety. The most notorious incident involved Yamatsuka throwing junk around with a backhoe inside a venue. On another occasion, he inflicted a deep wound on his leg with an electrical saw, but carried on with the show. A dead cat is also known to have been cut in half during a show. The band once caused so much damage to a live house in Kyoto that it was forced to close.

At a 1985 gig in Tokyo's Superloft, Hanatarash had the audience fill out forms relieving the band of responsibility for any possible bodily harm caused by the performance. The show stopped just as Yamatsuka was about to throw a lit molotov cocktail onto the stage, which was gasoline-drenched from a barrel. The performance cost the venue ¥600,000 ($6000) in repair costs.

Soon unable to be allowed to play anywhere, Yamatsuka went on to form Ultra Freak Out Or Die and Boredoms, among countless other projects. The 1990s saw Hanatarash resurface with some releases and performances, sans on-stage mayhem.

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