By Sylvia W. Chan

MEET KURTIS KATO , 23, and Tani T, 25, founders and full-time proprietors of Bay Area-based Kamikaze Records. The label's main act is a vocal group made up of five talented teenage Filipino women: Voice V (or One Voice, depending on where you live – more on that later), whose R&B-flavored synth-pop single "When U Think about Me" has received airplay across the nation. Recently, in a typical display of major-label bullshit, Voice V was signed then dropped without explanation or warning by MCA.

But it's business as usual at Kamikaze headquarters, located in an office on South San Francisco's Grand Avenue, right across the street from the gleaming City Hall building. The label has released two albums, Voice V's Just the Beginning and a compilation of local acts titled Project Kamikaze, and it will put out a single from its latest artist, April, this summer. Kato and T, who are Japanese American and Chinese American respectively, sat down to talk to the Bay Guardian about Voice V (whom they affectionately refer to as "the girls"), dealing with the majors, and what it's like to run an independent "Asian American" record label. Note: they often finish each other's sentences.

Bay Guardian: When did the label get started?

Kurtis Kato: In '97. I'd already worked in the industry for a while, in retail and at another label, but I wanted to book acts. I'd always been interested in Asian American acts, and I wasn't seeing any. So I thought I'd do something about it.

Tani T: I'd been working at the California Music Channel as promotions manager, and I knew this guy that'd been working with [Kurtis]. The opportunity arose where [Kurtis and I] could do something together. He needed help with managing the girls, and I saw this as the perfect opportunity for me to get into the management realm, which is something that I'd wanted to explore.

BG: How did you hook up with One Voice, or Voice V – what are they called?

TT: Right now they're mainly known as One Voice around the Bay Area, but around the country they're known as Voice V, because when they got signed to MCA they had to go through that name change for trademark reasons. As an independent label, we're not really worried about that. Wait, so what were we talking about?

KK: About how I found the girls. They were performing at a talent show in Davis, and I just thought there was something about them. I had to convince them to pursue their music – it was a low priority for them at the time. They wanted to play volleyball, do high school stuff. [The phone rings.]

TT: [Answering phone] Kamikaze Records. Yeah, we're kinda doing an interview right now. Yeah, OK, bye. [To Kurtis] Dude, it's your mom. [To Bay Guardian] She always calls me to check on him.

BG: Has the MCA drama affected you?

TT: Thing is, we were working just as hard when they had [Voice V] on [the label]. Actually it's easier to get things done as an independent, because when you get to the majors, you have to go through all these different clearances and loopholes. I mean, it was cool – we saw sales jump on a national scale. But we were still making calls to the stores in Chicago and New York and making sure product was there and stuff. And the way it went down, one day we were signed, and the next, we weren't.

BG: As far as being an "Asian American" label, what kind of shit do you encounter?

KK: It really just comes down to good music. I put out music that I feel is for the masses. It's not like I'm just looking for Asian artists.

TT: Yeah, like we already get put into that little, stereotypical corner. People say, "They're Asian, so they're an Asian label." I mean, we're Asian-run, and the girls are Filipina, and because we know the Asian American market best, that's the center of where we're going to start. But the music that we put out, like Kurtis said, is for the masses.

BG: Is there an Asian American sound?

TT: I don't think so. We get categorized as hi-NRG, freestyle kinda stuff. But that's what a lot of Asians, and Latinos as well, enjoy. You can go towards trying to get a more soulful, R&B sound, but then you're gonna get, like –

BG: Coco Lee. [Laughs all around.] Is it a struggle to run the label?

TT: Yeah, everyday's still a struggle. I mean, being an independent label –

KK: It's like you want to do big things, but you can't –

TT: Because you're stuck. You're stuck within your budget constraints. We started out with basically nothing. And we [thought], "We'll build just enough so that we can put out a single, [then] we'll borrow here and there so we can go record an album." And we were fortunate that [the releases] sold.

BG: What do you guys want to see happen with this label?

KK: My goal is to be on the Grammys. Like I always say to the girls – when you guys get on the MTV Music Awards, at least get us in.

TT: That's all we want. We want to get our names mentioned by one of our groups at the MTV Music Awards. [More laughs]

BG: What do you guys listen to?

KK: I listen to everything, except classical. I know it's supposed to be good for you, but it's just too boring.

TT: You listen to country?

KK: I listen to country, man.

BG: Does Kamikaze Records have a mission statement?

TT: Not really. We're just a label like any other label. We're trying to put out good music that people are going to want to buy and listen to.

BG: Why did you decide on Kamikaze as a name?

KK: I guess it just means, go for it, conquer it, and you will achieve. For more information on Kamikaze Records, check out www.kamikazerecords.com.

PHOTO: JUSTIN STEPHENS

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