IN: Kanjani Eight (Guan ziyani[?](eito), Kanjani Eito, stylized as Kanjani[?]) is a seven-member Japanese boy band from Japan's Kansai region. They are managed by the multimedia talent agency, Johnny & Associates, and signed to Imperial Records. The group was formed in 2002 and made their CD debut in 2004 as "Johnny's modern enka group", though after the year 2006, their sound and style has become a mix of pop and rock. Like the rest of the acts managed under Johnny & Associates, Kanjani Eight also perform in various other areas of the Japanese entertainment industry such as variety show hosting, television, movie, and stage acting, and radio talk show hosting.

Although Nishikido and Uchi were already members of NEWS, they went on to also debut as members of Kanjani Eight when the group released their debut single titled "Naniwa Iroha Bushi" in the Kansai area on August 25, 2004. The single became a local hit, capturing the traditional feel of their hometown region through the pop-enka tune. Shibutani had said, in regards to the feel of the song, " The song has a Kawachi Workman's bass, so it's entirely something new. It'd make me happy to see others dancing when they hear it." Despite the release of the CD, their debut was lackluster, leaving many to question if the debut actually was real. The members themselves had found out of the debut through a newspaper article; Shibutani had said that he was "very surprised" when he found out. Even though there was questions about the group's debut, "Naniwa Iroha Bushi" had risen to the number-one spot on the Oricon's Enka charts and reaching number-eight on the Oricon's generic music charts. When the single made its nationwide debut on September 22, it had hit number-one on both the Oricon Enka and General Music charts. Much of 2004 activities were Kansai region focused in comparison their fellow acts who had the luxuries of nationwide exposure. Kanjani Eight had become hometown idols with majority of their popularity within the region but outside the area they were almost unknown. The release of their second single, "Osaka Rainy Blues", further exemplified the fact with the CD single debuting number-nine on the Oricon. To this date, "Osaka Rainy Blues" is the group's lowest single in sales. 2005 had marked the launch of Kanjani Eight's popularity even though it had opened up with the lackluster sales of their second single, "Osaka Rainy Blues". The group had been starring in three regular programs, now being aired nationwide, and were starting to get recognition as a debut Johnny's act. But with growing success came a scandal and in 2005 Hiroki Uchi was arrested for disorderly conduct and underage drinking, being 18 at the time. The scandal had a significant impact on Kanjani Eight as well as NEWS, the other group he was active in. Johnny's & Associates removed Uchi from both units and put him under an indefinite hiatus from all activities. Also, the drama special about the World War II Kamikaze pilots starring the group, Yakusoku, was canceled. Kanjani Eight continued on that year to do their first Osaka-jo Hall performance with one member less in the summer of 2005.
QUESTION: When was the first concert?
IN: Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 - April 19, 2012) was an American musician and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the vocalists for The Band. Helm was known for his deeply soulful, country-accented voice, multi-instrumental ability, and creative drumming style, highlighted on many of the Band's recordings, such as "The Weight", "Up on Cripple Creek", and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". Helm also had a successful career as a film actor, appearing as Loretta Lynn's father in Coal Miner's Daughter, as Chuck Yeager's friend and colleague Captain Jack Ridley in The Right Stuff, and as a Tennessee firearms expert in Shooter. In 1998, Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer, which caused him to lose his singing voice.

Born in Elaine, Arkansas, Helm grew up in Turkey Scratch, a hamlet of Marvell, Arkansas. His parents, Nell and Diamond Helm, were cotton farmers and great lovers of music. They encouraged their children to play and sing at a young age. Young Lavon (as he was christened) began playing the guitar at the age of eight and also played drums during his formative years. He saw Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys at the age of six and decided then to become a musician. Arkansas in the 1940s and 50s stood at the confluence of a variety of musical styles--blues, country and R&B--that, when merged, later became known as rock and roll. Helm was influenced by all these styles, which he heard on the Grand Ole Opry on radio station WSM and R&B on radio station WLAC in Nashville, Tennessee. He also saw traveling shows such as F.S. Walcott's Rabbit's Foot Minstrels that featured top African-American artists of the time. Another early influence on Helm was the work of the harmonica player, guitarist and singer Sonny Boy Williamson II, who played blues and early rhythm and blues on the King Biscuit Time radio show on KFFA in Helena and performed regularly in Marvell with blues guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr. In his 1993 autobiography, This Wheel's on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band, Helm describes watching Williamson's drummer, James "Peck" Curtis, intently during a live performance in the early 1950s and later imitating this R&B drumming style. Helm established his first band, the Jungle Bush Beaters, while in high school. Helm also witnessed some of the earliest performances by southern country music, blues and rockabilly artists such as Elvis Presley, Conway Twitty, Bo Diddley and fellow Arkansan Ronnie Hawkins. At age 17, Helm began playing in clubs and bars around Helena.
QUESTION:
What styles influenced Helm?