, performing with their band,
Southern All Stars Kuwata plays guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. For one album,
Suteki Na Mirai Wo Mite Hoshii (素敵な未来を見て欲しい), Kuwata played every musical instrument and recorded the entire album himself. Kuwata's Western musical influences are varied. Along with his wife, the band's keyboardist and backing vocalist, Yuko Hara, the couple have long been inspired by American
folk music, where preferences run from
Bob Dylan,
the Band,
Blues, and
Southern rock music, to British and American influences that are arguably pure
rock and Roll; with a flattering number of songs covered from the work of
Eric Clapton. Aside from Dylan, Kuwata's work has shown emphasis on music of the American South, including that of
Creedence Clearwater Revival and
Little Feat. Along with the Southern All Stars, Kuwata has performed with Little Feat on several occasions, and recorded
cover songs from the band. He was a participant and performer in a
tribute concert to the late
Lowell George, (Little Feat's original frontman), recording a medley on video that contained his version of "
Dixie Chicken". In 1990, American musician
Ray Charles released an English-language version of "Ellie My Love", a song whose music and original Japanese lyrics were written by Kuwata, on Charles's album
Would You Believe? The song was already successful in Japan prior to the album's release, having been used in a Japanese television commercial. In 1991, Kuwata began a series of concerts, similar to
MTV Unplugged performances, called the "Acoustic Revolution", featuring Hirokazu Ogura on guitar, and Yoshiyuki Sahashi on
mandolin, along with other musicians using acoustic instruments. Here again, Dylan's influence shone through their work choosing standards including "
Like a Rolling Stone". Kuwata also developed a love for rock music. The influence from
Eric Clapton is strong and can be heard even when Kuwata performs songs in same manner and style as those that Clapton himself covered, and did not write. In addition, other artists covered have been
Jimi Hendrix,
Bob Marley, and
Sam Cooke. In 1994, the "On Air Music Fair", "
I Shot the Sheriff" by
Bob Marley was performed by Kuwata and
Ann Lewis. == Philanthropy ==