[9:6] IQU used to be called ICU. I saw their first show with Michiko in Seattle, and thought their blend of hip-hop, jazz, and indie rock was so amazing that I followed them to Olympia the next day! Actually, I was going to visit Tae in Oly anyway, but the point is that I've seen IQU go from playing tiny dives to opening for touring bands to playing in huge festivals. On each of these tours, they'd crash at my place and we'd watch Hong Kong flicks, read manga, eat Taiwanese slush, and just hang out. These are true GR people. When Kento isn't playing the Theremin, guitar, beat machine, and turntable in IQU, he works at the Yo-Yo-a-Go-Go recording studio in Oly and pitches in at K Records, too. That's the headquarters of the international pop underground, started by Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening, Halo Benders, and Dub Narcotic Sound System fame. IMAGE