Koji: An Emo-Punk Proponent of Positivity.

Text by Beth Ann Downey. Images by Abigail Reimold.

About a dozen kids wait outside The Barbary at 4 p.m. in 90 degree heat.

They wait to enter the only Philly date on rhythmic-acoustic punk artist Koji’s summer tour with Turnover, supporting the release of his first full-length album, Crooked in My Mind, which came out in April. A few carry cans of food, which Koji put out a call for earlier in the week to counteract the growing problem of food insecurity in Philadelphia. The first 10 to bring cans win a free copy of his 7-inch record.

Koji has become known for more than just his music. His activism and awareness of social issues, for everything from child soldiering in Uganda to Pennsylvania’s problems with hydraulic fracking, have labeled him as some sort of punk scene Gandhi – a proponent of selflessness and positivity.

But selflessness doesn’t always ensure that things will go your way. More than 40 minutes after the doors are supposed to open, Koji emerges from the venue and informs the crowd of now 20 or more that the show will have to be moved to a house in West Philly due to a booking error. With the knowledge that everyone might not be able to make the trek across town, Koji straps up to play an acoustic version of his new single “Chasing a Ghost” as a videographer for Philly-based blog PropertyofZack records the session.

“This is just making the best of a challenge,” Koji says before teaching the chorus of the song to the crowd so they can sing along in the video.

Being a DIY touring musician – and doing it full-time for the past three years – Koji has become accustomed to remaining positive in the face of adversity.

“After that much DIY touring, you’re just used to everything going wrong,” he says reflectively a few weeks later over iced coffee at Mugshots in Fairmount. “You can handle it well or not well. I’ve seen it done both ways to the extreme. So, I just try to be a good example and not get flustered because at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how happy I am. My job isn’t to make myself happy. It’s to, I guess at a minimum, entertain but at best to uplift people, so I can’t be upset.”

Despite the venue switch, Philly showgoers brought out about 100 pounds of food, which was then donated to a local food bank. Koji said he thinks it’s important for his late high school- to young professional-aged fan base to not only be aware of the issues that affect their local communities but to become engaged with making a difference.

“I think that’s the most egotistical time after, like, being 2 or 3,” Koji says. “Developmentally, I feel like young adults are going through a second preening. It’s a crazy, hormonal, egotistical time when you’re trying to figure out what your life means and having direction. To get people talking about that and also give context to a person’s experience in a city is really important to kind of help ground ourselves, but also kind of have a better sense of unity with the rest of the community. When you participate, that’s such an important thing because you can read about it and care about it. But if we don’t marry those nice thoughts and words with action, it doesn’t really mean a lot.”

Koji, 26, whose real name is actually Andrew Shiraki, grew up in Harrisburg, and wrote his first petition when he was in fourth grade in order to get his school’s dress code changed so that girls couldn’t wear hats, since boys weren’t allowed to. He started playing in bands a year or two later. Inspired by Green Day, Rancid, Refused and H2O, he realized that music could be used as an outlet for change.

“My favorite bands were bands that had a social message and they always had benefit shows so I thought that was what I was supposed to do,” Koji says. “I’ve been doing pretty much the same thing since – 13 years of benefit shows.”

Koji’s call to activism is apparent but his dedication to social justice isn’t always apparent in his music. He still writes of his own life experiences – his own feelings of doubt, loss and fear – but believes his loosely-drawn narratives make it easier for people to relate to and project their own meaning. This is apparent on Crooked in My Mind, Koji’s first full-length album, having only released a series of EPs and splits on Run For Cover Records since 2010.

“When I’m writing, I go to the most vulnerable place,” Koji says. “This record, Crooked, was a really important work. How it fits into my life is it’s really just saying that I’m here, I’m still here after what I’ve gone through. To come of age, you think that you arrive at the other point of that part of your adulthood and just have a plan. I kind of got through those really tumultuous years and I realized it just keeps going. To kind of reconcile the weight of life and really take ownership and have a sense of personal autonomy, having a sense of freedom, being in a really centered and grounded place, that’s a daily process. I guess Crooked in My Mind is me working through that and recognizing that I will continue to.”

Koji has had what he calls his own “lifelong battle with depression” but never realized how impactful his record could be for “a lot of kids in crisis.” At many of his shows, fans share stories of how his music has helped them through everything from depression or self-harming to being oppressed or bullied based on race, gender or sexual orientation.

“To be able to reach those kids is something I’m still formulating words for,” Koji says. “It wasn’t really a consciously intended thing. It’s just people keep connecting with it. I guess to make an impact, there is healing in a way, for me, and again a reminder for my own self that I’m not alone. It’s really special that music can reinforce the good parts of our humanity and give us strength.”

Willie Rose, drummer and band leader for Koji’s touring band, says Koji retains a certain intimacy with the audience by getting off the mic and talking directly to the audience. Even after the show, he’ll spend time talking to fans with no agenda besides connecting with people who connect to his music.

“I’ve never seen someone have such a close relationship with all of his fans,” Rose says. “A lot of kids will come up and they might have issues they’re dealing with in their lives. They’ll hear something that he says on stage and they’ll talk about it afterwards, which is really crazy. I’ve never seen something like that. He’s there to help people. That’s his whole message.”

When not on tour, Koji has called Philly homebase for the past eight years. He enjoys the fact that there are so many creative people working in this city and it’s just as easy to find a folk show as a metal show on any given night.

“It takes a lot of moving parts to make a music scene happen,” Koji says. “I feel like there’s  a lot of really good energy here, real enthusiasm and real engagement with one another. I think things come in waves, and we caught a really good one in the last few years.”