Well, Sunday was the big day. My international debut, so to speak.
Yes, Sunday was the big rock show at which I was to be the guest drummer for the band, Good Morning Sox. This was a collection of 8, count 'em 8, local rock bands all playing together in a small club/bar/lounge/rest (the sign actually said Star Light Disco and Rest in English, no idea what that means). Went over well and I was complimented quite a lot, but I figure that had more to do with me being a foreigner than talent. I didn't screw up, but as mentioned before my drum muscles have atrophied horribly and, I'm ashamed to say this, I was reduced to playing quarter notes instead of eighth notes on the hi-hat. Oh the shame of it. (I'm assuming at least three people know what I'm talking about here. Maybe it's better that the rest of you don't. You know, for my ego.)
I found the whole thing pretty interesting. A little long (over six hours) but I figure I learned more about the local rock scene in this one night than all of my teachers combined know. Maybe not saying much there, but...
First shocker, everybody uses the same stuff. Back in the states when we had a show we switched out all of the equipment in between every band. The drum set, the amps, usually even the microphones. The PA was usually the venue's system so that stayed the same, but overall the name of the game was speed. Being able to break down everything and set it all up quickly was important. Here, the amps and drum set are used by every band and are provided by whoever puts on the show. There is a short period of individualization where the levels are set where the guitar players want them and the drummer puts everything in the most comfortable spot, but it moves pretty quickly. Sumiko, the actual drummer for Good Morning Sox, was flabbergasted when I told her how we do it.
Second, all bands do an encore. Every single one of them. The pretend like their done, and then everyone starts a sort of mechanical chant ("on-ko-ru"), and then they play another song. Like it's scripted or something.
Third, Japan's local rock scene is just as alive and vibrant as America's. Sadly, America's sucks. Most of the original music I heard was pretty much like the pop-punk stuff you hear on the radio and think,"Yech, this again." Most of the kids here really like American music, more than Japanese music and of course we don't export the less popular stuff. We export the big hits, which 99% of the time are garbage. They don't know that here, they just know it's "cool American music." Here's an example, everyone here knows who Avril Lavigne is, Radiohead rings a bell with most people but they don't know them, no one has ever heard of Tool. My mission is to bring the sound of true rock and roll across the ocean I think.
Fourth, be careful when you say 'cover.' As far as I know, a cover song is a song someone else did first and a cover band is a band that only does cover songs. But here, there is a distinction between a cover song and a copy song. A copy is when you get the sheet music (which is a big thing here) and play the song the same way as the original band. A cover song is when you change it a bit and give it your own flavor. In other words, a copy song is what I would call "a lazy, unoriginal cover song." But since they're doing it in English here it's still impressive.
Fifth, that's right, they do it in English. I saw two cover, errrr, copy bands on Sunday. One did nothing but Green Day covers, errr, copies. Everything in English and people sang along. I mean, they sort of hummed and mumbled along and then sang the chorus. Now, to be fair, this is what a lot of people do in America and it's the language they speak everyday.
The second band was a Mr. Big cover band. Most of you are probably thinking, "Do what now?" Yeah, Mr. Big. An 80s one hit wonder hair band that came along right as hair bands were on their way out. They had a bit of a pan flash with "The One to Be With You" which is still the only song anyone I know has ever heard by them. Not here though. Somehow they live on, and these guys played an entire set of Mr. Big tunes I had never heard before. People sang along, in English, to American songs, and knew more words than I did. The guitar player was really good. I mean, he played that 80s metal guitar to a T. You wanna know the real kicker? These guys were the headliners.
Sixth, Japanese musicians are pretty talented. I have trouble remembering how old everyone is. If you had these bands play alongside the bands I used to play with in Gainesville no one would see a problem. Yet 90% of the members are too young to drink. They are still in high school. Mostly they are music school students who study guitar or bass or whatever on a regular basis in a structured atmosphere which makes a big difference. Still, it was impressive.
Those are the big points. Otherwise it was what you would expect from a rock show. One band wasn't very good. One band really impressed me. I liked all of the others. The beer was overpriced and not that great. Some people came to watch everyone. Some people came to see one band and then left. It was 1000 Yen ($10) to get in and you got one drink with that. No big surprises.
Except for that white guy playing drums. What was that all about?
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
The Enkai
Well, it's time for another Japanese culture lesson.
This time we will talk about the 'enkai' or office party. On a basic level all the enkai is, is a chance for people who work together to relax and have a good time. However there are some important aspects that make it quite different from what we might expect in the states.
First of all, Japanese people have absolutely no problem having an enkai on a weeknight. I had one tonight, Wednesday, and everyone had to work tomorrow. Whereas I am used to having parties on Friday or Saturday (or, in college, on Thursday since Friday is the new Saturday) they see nothing wrong with staying up late drinking on a Wednesday night and then getting up early and going to work the next day. So, we had an enkai tonight.
The reason we had one tonight was because Saturday (yeah, I had to work on Saturday) was the 'jugyou sankan'. 'Jugyou' means lecture, and 'sankan' means observation. So, this is the day that parents come to the school to watch what happens when they aren't there, and it's also the day that the teachers put a lot of work into their lectures to make it look good, as well as the day the students are really on their toes so their parents think they always pay attention. I only had one class that was observed but the kids were really on top of things that day. I have never seen more hands being raised in that class before. Of course, since one of the student's mothers is also a student of mine in my adult English class I was able to find out that the parents were well aware that the kids were acting unusual that day. Still, it went well.
Anyhow, this is a big deal which the faculty and the PTA work hard to pull off so they have an enkai to celebrate its success, which was tonight. So, some of the PTA and some of the teachers met at a local restaurant to have a good time. In America a party usually means having people over to your house, but in Japan it simply means everyone goes to a restaurant together. We would call this "going out to eat together" but here it's a full blown party. Fortunately for me I live in town (which many of the teachers don't) so I was able to drink (the legal blood alcohol level here is 0.00%).
One of the cool things about tonight was that three of the PTA members who came are parents of students. Sure, this should have been obvious (hello, P stands for PARENT) but I actually knew who their students were. All three students are some of the better kids (one of them is a star student) which makes one wonder. Are the parents involved because their kids are good students? Or are the kids good students because their parents are involved? The question is applicable everywhere. I remember my father being pretty involved and I like to think I was a good student, so which came first? The chicken or the egg? Hmmm... (In all likelihood I should be saying "Thanks, Dad!", so, "Thanks, Dad!")
What is the point of all of this? I have no idea. I had a party tonight with parents and teachers and I had a great time. Maybe that's the point. Maybe the point is that I drank a pretty decent amount of beer and I have to get up early tomorrow. Maybe the point is that I have to face students whose fathers got drunk with me. Maybe the point is that Japanese people like to have a party at the drop of a hat. Who knows. To me, the point is that I enjoyed myself.
This time we will talk about the 'enkai' or office party. On a basic level all the enkai is, is a chance for people who work together to relax and have a good time. However there are some important aspects that make it quite different from what we might expect in the states.
First of all, Japanese people have absolutely no problem having an enkai on a weeknight. I had one tonight, Wednesday, and everyone had to work tomorrow. Whereas I am used to having parties on Friday or Saturday (or, in college, on Thursday since Friday is the new Saturday) they see nothing wrong with staying up late drinking on a Wednesday night and then getting up early and going to work the next day. So, we had an enkai tonight.
The reason we had one tonight was because Saturday (yeah, I had to work on Saturday) was the 'jugyou sankan'. 'Jugyou' means lecture, and 'sankan' means observation. So, this is the day that parents come to the school to watch what happens when they aren't there, and it's also the day that the teachers put a lot of work into their lectures to make it look good, as well as the day the students are really on their toes so their parents think they always pay attention. I only had one class that was observed but the kids were really on top of things that day. I have never seen more hands being raised in that class before. Of course, since one of the student's mothers is also a student of mine in my adult English class I was able to find out that the parents were well aware that the kids were acting unusual that day. Still, it went well.
Anyhow, this is a big deal which the faculty and the PTA work hard to pull off so they have an enkai to celebrate its success, which was tonight. So, some of the PTA and some of the teachers met at a local restaurant to have a good time. In America a party usually means having people over to your house, but in Japan it simply means everyone goes to a restaurant together. We would call this "going out to eat together" but here it's a full blown party. Fortunately for me I live in town (which many of the teachers don't) so I was able to drink (the legal blood alcohol level here is 0.00%).
One of the cool things about tonight was that three of the PTA members who came are parents of students. Sure, this should have been obvious (hello, P stands for PARENT) but I actually knew who their students were. All three students are some of the better kids (one of them is a star student) which makes one wonder. Are the parents involved because their kids are good students? Or are the kids good students because their parents are involved? The question is applicable everywhere. I remember my father being pretty involved and I like to think I was a good student, so which came first? The chicken or the egg? Hmmm... (In all likelihood I should be saying "Thanks, Dad!", so, "Thanks, Dad!")
What is the point of all of this? I have no idea. I had a party tonight with parents and teachers and I had a great time. Maybe that's the point. Maybe the point is that I drank a pretty decent amount of beer and I have to get up early tomorrow. Maybe the point is that I have to face students whose fathers got drunk with me. Maybe the point is that Japanese people like to have a party at the drop of a hat. Who knows. To me, the point is that I enjoyed myself.
Sunday, December 05, 2004
Godzilla
Let me begin with a short history of what Godzilla means to me, otherwise this whole thing won't have any impact.
I have always loved Godzilla, but that love has certainly grown with me. As a young child they movies were simply fun. As I got older they became interesting as well as fun. Some time around high school I began to realize that there was actually something deeper at work with the character despite all of the ridiculousness that had been piled upon it. By the time I entered college it had become a full-fledged obsession and I actually began philosophizing upon Godzilla. I became plugged into the American Godzilla community and started realizing that I wasn't the only one taking this seriously. In November 1997 I made the decision to permanently remind myself of the importance this character had to me and got him tattooed on my left arm. I have (and I know this worries some people) never regretted this. Near the end of my next-to-last year of college my undergraduate advisor, because my GPA was pretty good, suggested I do a senior's thesis. I decided to go all out and asked if it would be possible to do it on Godzilla and to my surprise he was all about it. He told me to spend the summer reading Emanuel Kant's Critique of Judgment as preparation and, to my surprise and the shock of nearly everyone I mention this to, it was right on topic. I ended up writing a 42 page paper on Godzilla and his position as a necessary image in the nuclear age. For my work I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Florida. It was now official. I was a Godzilla Fan.
Now, allow me to shift gears for a moment and discuss something totally different. I am also a big fan of martial arts movies. I love a great film as much as the next movie buff but when it's time to unwind and simply enjoy something nothing gets me as excited as a great martial arts flick. I also love movies about monsters, which should come as no surprise considering everything written above. So, when I was informed about a little movie called Versus I had to see it. It is an action/comedy samurai/martial arts/yakuza(Japanese mafia)/zombie movie which sounded like it would be right up my alley. Well, it was and the director, Ryuhei Kitamura quickly became one of my absolute favorites. Those of us who loved Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson's early work were elated to hear that they had been given the directorial positions for Spider-Man and Lord of the Rings respectively. These were great, somewhat unknown, directors who had been allowed to really enter the mainstream with major characters and major movies. So, when I found out that Ryuhei Kitamura would be directing Godzilla: Final Wars I couldn't have been more excited.
So now we reach the point of this whole post. Godzilla: Final Wars is the 28th Godzilla movie, making it the longest running film series ever. It is also ostensibly the final film, although when this was announced by Toho (the studio who makes the movies) they were sure to say that it was possible they might change their mind later. Still, it may very well be the last one ever and is certainly the last one in the current series and the last for some time to come.
It was released in Japan yesterday, Saturday December 4th. I headed into Sendai today to see it with four other people. I think my desire to see it during opening weekend is understandable and I am very happy that others were willing to come with me. One of those four people was an English teacher from my Junior High, a Japanese person. So, obviously he understood the whole thing. I followed nearly everything and actually understood about 50% of the dialogue. My other three friends know absolutely no Japanese so I kept them updated on what I was understanding. It really says something that they were willing to see the 28th movie in a series of which they had collectively seen 3 in a language they didn't understand at all. It says something even bigger that they all thoroughly enjoyed it. I on the other hand, had to remind myself to stop grinning. I know it's silly, but when I was officially accepted into the JET program one of the first things I was excited about was today. I would, for the first time ever, get to see a Godzilla movie, in the theater, in Japan, on opening weekend, in Japanese, and likely would be able to follow it. Honestly, I'm still sort of buzzing from the experience.
Although there are many reasons I decided to devote myself to the study of Japanese the one that got me started was the desire to watch Godzilla movies in their original language and be able to understand them. Today, that was realized. Sure, it's not over. I have a long way to go and I am fully enamored with the language and the culture here. But the simple and childish dream which got me to start down the road I find myself was realized in a small (and boy were we surprised when we saw it) theater watching the best Godzilla movie in 50 years, occasionally turning to the people sitting next to me to let them know what was being said.
I know that on some level this all seems ludicrous. I watched a movie where a guy in a rubber suit wrestles other guys in rubber suits today and I'm making a big deal out of it. But as I sit here typing what is quite honestly a rather emotional post for me, trying not to tear up, it doesn't seem ludicrous to me. Whether or not my love for Godzilla carries on for the rest of my life, I am having an absolutely extraordinary experience here in Japan, and Godzilla is what got me here. I have met some of the greatest people since I got on this program and the fact that a few of them were not only willing but excited to join me in this venture today only proved it further. What can I say? I'm a true fan.
And the movie itself? For me, the word awesome (in its truest sense) has never seemed quite so weak.
I have always loved Godzilla, but that love has certainly grown with me. As a young child they movies were simply fun. As I got older they became interesting as well as fun. Some time around high school I began to realize that there was actually something deeper at work with the character despite all of the ridiculousness that had been piled upon it. By the time I entered college it had become a full-fledged obsession and I actually began philosophizing upon Godzilla. I became plugged into the American Godzilla community and started realizing that I wasn't the only one taking this seriously. In November 1997 I made the decision to permanently remind myself of the importance this character had to me and got him tattooed on my left arm. I have (and I know this worries some people) never regretted this. Near the end of my next-to-last year of college my undergraduate advisor, because my GPA was pretty good, suggested I do a senior's thesis. I decided to go all out and asked if it would be possible to do it on Godzilla and to my surprise he was all about it. He told me to spend the summer reading Emanuel Kant's Critique of Judgment as preparation and, to my surprise and the shock of nearly everyone I mention this to, it was right on topic. I ended up writing a 42 page paper on Godzilla and his position as a necessary image in the nuclear age. For my work I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Florida. It was now official. I was a Godzilla Fan.
Now, allow me to shift gears for a moment and discuss something totally different. I am also a big fan of martial arts movies. I love a great film as much as the next movie buff but when it's time to unwind and simply enjoy something nothing gets me as excited as a great martial arts flick. I also love movies about monsters, which should come as no surprise considering everything written above. So, when I was informed about a little movie called Versus I had to see it. It is an action/comedy samurai/martial arts/yakuza(Japanese mafia)/zombie movie which sounded like it would be right up my alley. Well, it was and the director, Ryuhei Kitamura quickly became one of my absolute favorites. Those of us who loved Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson's early work were elated to hear that they had been given the directorial positions for Spider-Man and Lord of the Rings respectively. These were great, somewhat unknown, directors who had been allowed to really enter the mainstream with major characters and major movies. So, when I found out that Ryuhei Kitamura would be directing Godzilla: Final Wars I couldn't have been more excited.
So now we reach the point of this whole post. Godzilla: Final Wars is the 28th Godzilla movie, making it the longest running film series ever. It is also ostensibly the final film, although when this was announced by Toho (the studio who makes the movies) they were sure to say that it was possible they might change their mind later. Still, it may very well be the last one ever and is certainly the last one in the current series and the last for some time to come.
It was released in Japan yesterday, Saturday December 4th. I headed into Sendai today to see it with four other people. I think my desire to see it during opening weekend is understandable and I am very happy that others were willing to come with me. One of those four people was an English teacher from my Junior High, a Japanese person. So, obviously he understood the whole thing. I followed nearly everything and actually understood about 50% of the dialogue. My other three friends know absolutely no Japanese so I kept them updated on what I was understanding. It really says something that they were willing to see the 28th movie in a series of which they had collectively seen 3 in a language they didn't understand at all. It says something even bigger that they all thoroughly enjoyed it. I on the other hand, had to remind myself to stop grinning. I know it's silly, but when I was officially accepted into the JET program one of the first things I was excited about was today. I would, for the first time ever, get to see a Godzilla movie, in the theater, in Japan, on opening weekend, in Japanese, and likely would be able to follow it. Honestly, I'm still sort of buzzing from the experience.
Although there are many reasons I decided to devote myself to the study of Japanese the one that got me started was the desire to watch Godzilla movies in their original language and be able to understand them. Today, that was realized. Sure, it's not over. I have a long way to go and I am fully enamored with the language and the culture here. But the simple and childish dream which got me to start down the road I find myself was realized in a small (and boy were we surprised when we saw it) theater watching the best Godzilla movie in 50 years, occasionally turning to the people sitting next to me to let them know what was being said.
I know that on some level this all seems ludicrous. I watched a movie where a guy in a rubber suit wrestles other guys in rubber suits today and I'm making a big deal out of it. But as I sit here typing what is quite honestly a rather emotional post for me, trying not to tear up, it doesn't seem ludicrous to me. Whether or not my love for Godzilla carries on for the rest of my life, I am having an absolutely extraordinary experience here in Japan, and Godzilla is what got me here. I have met some of the greatest people since I got on this program and the fact that a few of them were not only willing but excited to join me in this venture today only proved it further. What can I say? I'm a true fan.
And the movie itself? For me, the word awesome (in its truest sense) has never seemed quite so weak.
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