New Audiogram: オルタナティヴミュージック ウェブマガジン

pop around eight bells and see eleven dudes bedecked and blankied around me... I maneuver carefully w/the tsue to avoid and am successful but sliding open the hatch makes sound causing raul to holler "alarm clock!" like a perfect gentleman. there's a japan style steel tub that's about three feet by four and three feet deep that takes 'pert-near an hour to fill but it's worth it - great soak and real hot one, even if I can't stretch my legs out. whoa, I'm grateful but my fucked-up knee even more. I'm in there 'til I start to prune, then get out and make our konk party an even dozen that are bedecked and blankied. we bail at one pm after masa makes up some coff (they say cohi here) and as we roll out, I see his ma and we both say matane at the same time (matane = "see you later") - man, did she make me a righteous breakfast back in february 2008 when I was the only one who popped early, a total traditional asagohan w/soft mochi in the miso and everything else. a stop at a convenience store gives me a chance for plum-in-the-riceball onigiri.

bassman nathan from tera melos is riding w/us, again lucky pierre style between tom and raul but unlike last ride, he fills the couple of hours we gotta drive to toyama (another prefecture capital of the same name, a million people though - biggest town since we've played since tokyo) w/tales of how tera melos evolved and in particular, how john their drum arrived and some of his music past - for example, his tenure in harry and the potters. there's also a hella connection w/the tera cats - guitarman nick yesterday gave me a collab he did w/hella drummieman zack. it's a little hard for me to follow nathan's trail but then I'm also chimping diary at the same time. he's cool people. oh, tom asks him about bass players he likes, asks if he likes jaco and that stuff and he says it's hard for him to focus on what bass players as opposed to someone like john who could tell you all kinds of his drum heroes. of course we then talk about how great brother jun is on bass for lite. actually that bass talk got cut short to get into what I just chimped - see, now I'm confusing myself! I'll tell you one trippy thing: it's hard to believe he doesn't know about pere ubu! then you gotta realize he's only twentyeight! he wants to know though, wants to know about pop group too.

mairo is the venue and it's on the fifth floor of a building w/a pachinko parlor on the first - damn, is that fucking place loud when its hatch slides open, crimony! pachinko is a gambling thing like slot machines. now this pad ain't really a live house, it's like a u.s. club, pretty big. we got a local band called interior palette toeshoes who are very nice cats, they're offering up the konk pad for after the gig. we're informed only thirtyfive minute sets so maybe a brief second of though and I decide it's crazy to play the third opera in any other form than the whole thing so tonight we'll be songs we played before we did my piece. now I think the last time we played those tune was four and a half months ago. so be it. like tom was saying as we arrived here, "truth be told" and then proceeded to enlighten me to the actual origins of lou barlow + the missingmen... it wasn't just lou barlow asking me like I had thought this past year and told everyone who asked me what was up w/that - tom explains it was first him letting lou barlow know he was available and then later suggesting raul on drums. it was after this solicitation lou barlow had asked me. now I got it right! anyway, we're going on second. I go find a package of squid at the convenience store and chow that for dinner. it's good and I feel stronger. katzuto-san says it's a specialty for this area which makes sense cuz we're near the sea of japan. it's been a big medicine-making town since the 1600s. I'm sure glad he's feeling better, so glad - he's not perfect but feeling better.

the interior palette toeshoe cats go at eight and play maybe two long tunes, kind of moody instrumentals w/sometimes one of them hollering off-mic. I like them, watching their gig while sitting next to brother jun at the merch table - yeah, there's a lot of merch we're slinging - like thirty different kinds of items from shirts to cds to buttons. anyway, our turn next and we open w/the urinals' "surfin' w/the shah" - our version... I remember doing that tune w/the actual urinals (two of the three original members still left) last year at harold's place in my pedro town and telling bassman john, "sorry for our way" but he told me, "hey, that's what it's for" - much respect to him. actually, it's a tune d. boon would play at minutemen gigs by himself if I broke a string and need to string on a new one. we're doing pretty good for a few tunes 'til "one reporter's opinion" and the bass amp just cuts out, maybe overheating and thermal protection shutting it down? I switch the speaker cable to the other side (these eden amps have two amps - oh we're using brother jun's wt-800 through the house svt 8x10 cab) and am back in the race (tom was spacing on this one anyway - he warned me might happen... it's why we cut "the big bang theory" from the set) but time and time again it keeps going out, aaaarrrrgggghhhh. there's a direct box so the folks keep getting bass but it's a little tough for raul though he's doing really good (the set the drummies are using tonight a white ludwig kit). you know tom has the most consistent sound every gig cuz he's always using nobuyuki's fender bassman tweed reissue but you know what? I don't think it's a big deal at all - as long as we can play these gigs over, using anything is VERY OK w/me, truly. I have to admit what's kind of sad is tera melos leaving us after tonight and I call nick and nathan out when I see them watching us stage port in the "ex-lion tamer" chorus. I'm gonna really miss these guys. I get very sweaty going off tonight (nick had played me the hardcore duet he's got w/hella's drummieman zack right before w/went on and I got lit). understand I wanna get the third opera to the point where I know these tunes and I can deliver it so much fucking better. this is what I'm aiming at. clams are clams but having a certain verve that comes from knowing what you're playing in the muscle memory and not having to scramble for brain search/retrieve fucking shit is so much where I wanna be w/this "hyphenated-man" piece. after five times and then going back these tunes we did tonight makes that so much fucking the real deal to me, I swear. we do thirtyfive minutes 'pert-near on the nose cuz I watched the watch strapped on my fucking wrist. tera melos has a six hour hellride to get to a eight am flight out of narita for south korea right when they get done. we talk while the lite brothers set up and deliver they're amazing way of making music, righteous set from them tonight. I flow over some elvin jones and john coltrane to melos-men nick, men and helperman evan - evan says he might have a proj for me to fit in, yeah! he flows me music from his worker bee band. thank you so much, brother evan. there last set in front of us for this trip and whoa, do they knock it out w/a blast. brother jun blew up his amp (it wasn't just the speaker cord which was a far-off guess I gave him) so bassman nathan's on the house svt-III but that's ok cuz that's what he uses at home. it's the most physical I've seen nick go and man, does he GO GO GO!!! they do really really wild, what a send-off for us.

we pack up as quick as we can which is kind of tough cuz one minivan has to take kazuto-san, tera melos and all there gear (mostly tons of pedals in cymbal-case sized wooden boxes) which ain't too bad but the other minivan has to take everything else plus us and the lite brothers. akinori is the packboss this time and does a great job though - fuck, we fit in everything somehow, incredible! big hugs and "safe seas" to our departing buddies after taking one last shot together...

the konk pad is only a little ways away, at koichi (one of the opener's guitarists) and sachi's - such VERY kind cats, really. the rest of their bandmates come by w/beers and some boiled beef and rice chow and we have a good time, it keeps my mind off of worrying about our compadre's hellride. the other guitarist for interior palette toeshoe, brother hirosawa is very intense to know "what's iggy-san like?" and I try my best what a righteous and intense thing it is to be on stage and work a gig w/him. I say it feels like bottom line is "let's do this!" and go all the way, nothing less. it is a feeling I love and respect. I try my hardest cuz I am most inspired.

and w/that, I am tuckered and it is time for konk. that I do.