I spent the evening of day 38 hanging out with my buddy Saito-san and his band Gate is Dope. Got to preview the workings of some of the sounds for the new record. I had fun and took a bunch of pics of them rehearsing in the studio. I posted them on photobucket here.
Here's a pic of Saito-san jamming on his bass. In case you are wondering, they play some really great doom sludge metal.
Afterwards, on our walk back to the train station, Saito-san explained to me how difficult it is to be a musician in Japan. The music industry is so highly regulated and controlled by huge corporations, trying to be an indie band just doesn't pay. You lose money touring, if you want to be featured in a magazine, you have to pay them in order to get something written about you, etc. etc. It's sad. But it also makes me really admire and appreciate those who try to keep it on the D.I.Y. Saito-san works full time (and in Japan, that usually means way more than what we in the U.S. consider full time) so the fact that he still pursues his musical passion is such a beautiful thing. Being around people like him forces me to reevaluate my life and what I choose to devote my time to. And whenever I get into that kind of introspective mood, I usually end up depressed about the choices I've made and the time and energy I've spent on things that, at the end of the day, really aren't that important to me. My therapist would say that getting depressed about it is counterproductive, that I should reflect on it and make changes accordingly. But y'know how that goes, easier said than done....
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