Yoshi Haraguchi is one of the funniest and most awesome people in the city. On top of that, she is one of the most knowledgeable people I know. During the day, she manages Western Canada Sales for the lines The Hundreds, Alife, Huf, Addict and Keep Shoes at Takefive Trading. During the evening, she is a music entertainment consultant/agent. Yoshi was heavily involved in cultivating the Vancouver nightlife and music scene since the early 90's. She spent much of the decade wrangling the hottest musical acts from around the globe, at some of the city's most pioneering nightclubs. Acting as one of the original members to hold down the booking offices at Gastown's late institution, Sonar, she was part of a Supervenue that was solely built by true music lovers alike. At the city's grand central for underground music, she came up alongside local legends including labelowners, Luke McKeehan, and Tyler "T-Bone" Stadius, and of course, Canada's top urban promoters, GMAN&Rizk. With over 12 years of classical music training under her belt, her honed ears are non-judgemental, yet constructively critical, a skill she now uses to scour new talent, bringing hot up and comers to the limelight.
The Proof
1. "Welcome to the Terrordome" ~ Public Enemy on Backspin Sirius Satellite.
2. Raspberry Rhubarb Pie and Earl Grey Tea (a.k.a. Breakfast).
3. Boys in the hood.
4. Will Rap for Food Dude, at MAGIC (Las Vegas). Homemade classic blockletter Jiffy signage around his neck, spits on queue, ALL BIZ!! His bag of non-perishables included an airline pretzel snackpack. This pic always makes me hungry.
5. Everyday heroes.
6. Take Five (Showroom)...where magic happens.
7. Snapping while holding my breath through Lincoln Tunnel (Jersey --> Midtown). Mission accomplished.
8. Crane Zen. View from my downtown balcony at sundown. Price-ness.
The Questions
What do you do and where?
AM: Overseeing Western Canada sales for The Hundreds, Alife, Huf, Addict and Keep at Take Five.
PM: Music entertainment consultant/agent, directing work visa applications for foreign talent.
What neighborhood do you live in?
I live in a neighborhood where it's going to be a freakin' traffic nightmare in 2010...hello.
What are you working on?
Wrapping up Hol/09 prebooks, and mentally preparing for Spring/10 season.
Listening to demos and sourcing new talent.
Cutting the fat and injecting the jus.
Where can we find your work?
AM: Under a stack of papers, somewhere on my Macbook, inside select men's boutiques, distinguished walk-ins, and shoe closets alike.
PM: Under a stack of papers, somewhere on my iPhone, behind the scenes, backstage, inside of green rooms, around craft services.
Thanks Yoshi!
