Whilst not as cool and revered as the Peel Sessions, no doubt that the first of many recordings of Jonaka at the Junior High Music Room sessions will turn out to be as equally successful and groundbreaking.
Though for that to all happen I first need to have the stomach to listen back to my voice slowly die a painful death on the CD; honey and lemon please?
Sometime last week:
It's 5 minutes before my next class begins and I'm about to head off. Right then Nonaka-sensei pops out of nowhere. My next class wasn't with Nonaka-sensei but his appearance threw me off and led me to think he wanted me to do something for him right at the last minute (which, to his credit, he has never done before).
"Uh John-sensei...can I ask you what you are doing next Tuesday?"
The paranoid in me wasn't sure if this was a trap: Tuesday was a day off for Culture Day. Clearly there was something he wanted me to do on Culture Day but what was it? Would it be something good or bad? Would it involved living or dying? Or would it involve mud or jelly wrestling?
Turns out that it was something good, no dying was involved but sadly there would be no wrestling happening, mud or jelly.
Nonaka-sensei had wanted to see if I could help out with a performance on Culture Day. He had been roped in to help an old friend who was performing with her acapella group and wanted Nonaka-sensei to play backing for a song or two. In turn, he wanted me to go as well, partly to play rhythm guitar but mainly, as he puts it, to keep him company. I don't know which of my skills are valued more.
So despite the disappointment of the lack of mud or jelly wrestling involved, I agreed to go. As we settled the details, Nonaka-sensei makes a joke:
“This could be the debut of ジョナカ (Jonaka)!”
Sometime earlier this year:
So as we waited for the last stragglers to show up for music practice, the teachers that were there already mingled around and made chit chat of the usual stuff: how we're going to do a Hendrix during the solo. How this student smells. How John-sensei is a seriously handsome teacher. The usual.
The teachers that belonged to the teachers all dancing, all singing ensemble were here to practice for an upcoming performance. Our performance was part of one of the many proceedings to farewell the teachers that were leaving at the end of the school year.
I don't know about the other teachers but I was nervous about that particular performance. Since coming to Japan, I've played the guitar for the ensemble two or three times and this was by far the most serious performance of them all; it was so serious that we had a total of two practices. Yes, two. That was how serious things were.
I guess I wasn't the only one who was nervous, since Nonaka-sensei and I were blowing the water quite a bit and making some shit jokes and bum notes. As per usual, we talked about quitting our jobs, starting our own bands and living a life of drunken rock 'n roll debauchery. This time we were one step closer to our dream as out of nowhere the name for our band was found: Jonaka.
Like a bad joke, we had a good laugh at first. After a while, it produced a chuckle. But after sometime the novelty wore off and we had no idea what produced the laugh at first.
Sometime this week
What began with keeping Nonaka-sensei on a mid-week public turned into me playing "Change the World" on guitar with Nonaka-sensei and a 5 member choir. On a street. In the cold. With light snow falling. I could hear what I was playing but I couldn't tell you if I was playing an Eb or an Ebdim7add11. If that even exists.
Throughout the day, the old joke came back to haunt us like the Ghost of Christmas Past - Jonaka This! Jonaka That! - as we were being referred to. It seems that the bad joke was gaining life and momentum. As we retreated for a drink or two to warm ourselves up, the choir group was talking about their next performance.
"Oh you should come", one of them said to me.
"Of course," I said. It's not like I have much to do these days except for planning for days that seem like an eternity away. "Yeah, I'll come and see you guys perform".
"No, I mean you should come. As Jonaka. And play again. And open for us".
Coda:
So what began as a bad joke many moons ago recently gained a life of its own and left the nest to dominate the world. It seems that come Saturday 12th of December, Jonaka will be opening for and peforming with Bree's (the choir group) at a rather cool cafe that does a mean selection of desserts. Considering the focused approach of Bree's (checking out the venue, drawing diagrams to plan the layout and running through a song to check the acoustics), Nonaka-sensei and I know that we have to lift our game; even more than our previous "2 practice sessions" level which I thought was pretty full on to begin with. As such, Friday consisted of our first band meeting to figure out songs we want to play, a 2 and half hour long lunch, and a practice session which shot my voices to pieces: the joys of being in a band.
Still it's interesting to see how things will turn out. As a bad joke, Jonaka has so far delivered more than expected. Let's see how good the punch line is.
Music In My Head: Fountains of Wayne - Utopia Park
I,Welcome Novemeber, my favourite month of the year.
I always believed in futures.
I hope for better in November.
"Futures" by Jimmy Eat World.
The other day I suggested to a mate about introducing his girlfriend to Oasis.
"I already brainwashed her on Oasis don't worry. Our first time was induced by 'Who Feels Love'. Seriously. Nothing gets girls in the mood like Noel's psychedelic guitar playing".
So it's not Rammstein's "Pussy" that does the tricks for the ladies, ey? I don't think I can ever listen to "Who Feels Love" ever again without thinking of my mate and his girlfriend going at it; the song is ruined.
Still, I better load "Who Feels Love" onto my playlist, just in case.
This will be my third post for the month regarding Japanese bands: consider October to be Japanese music month around these neck of the woods.
My new favourite band Civic have released a music video for "Tensai", easily my favourite song of Civic's and one of the best songs I've heard all year.
I'm guessing the music video's being used to help promote the upcoming release of their album (sharing CD space with another band). Like always, the video's different from how the failed music video director in me would imagine it to be. But it works and I can't get the song out of my head or my life.
With Halloween and my Odyssey to Fukuoka in November not having even happened, it's safe to assume that I would not have the time nor the energy to think about anything beyond it. But somehow I've been busy preparing for Christmas (already!) and my winter break in a way which would have impressed those who prepared and planned to not build Rome in a day. Or something like that.
Part of the reason why I am already looking forward to my winter break is that Nonaka sensei is getting his old band, Love Love Straw, back together again for a one-off gig. They've been on hiatus for a while whilst trying to do their bit to keep their real lives going but I guess real life is put on hold when school's out (I think they're all teachers).
The whole idea of getting the band together for a one-off gig and finding that everything feels the same as if nothing has changed during the hiatus, helps fuel the rock 'n roll mythology that I devote myself to. But yet somethings do change, like the ability to "shout" this song again; Nonaka-sensei said he hasn't got the energy anymore to perform "Hawaii".
"Baby let's go to Hawaii!"
Yes please.
When you think of McDonalds, you think of hamburgers.
When you think of Christmas, you think of Santa Claus.
When you think of George Clooney, you think of a man that could make you go gay. Ahem.
And when you think of Japan, you think of modern technology, technology that's so advanced that whilst it's part of everyday life in Japan, in other parts of the world it's just breaking new ground. My mobile phone is an example of this: all mobile phones in Japan have been using i-mode , the network that phones get connected to the internet or sends packets of data (as per say, using wi-fi), for most part of the decade. And yet, i-mode was just being launched in Australia when I left it half a life time ago.
You can drown yourself in all that's technologically new and fancy in Japan. I'd hate to be one of those people that always have to have the latest gadgets or the newest model of something. It would be like paddling up the proverbial creek without a paddle. Or with an outdated paddle.
But there's always something nearby which serves as the antithesis to our modern wonders. I'm not too familiar with the process of growing rice but I'm sure there are far modern methods than the seemingly archaic ways that is still being used around all the rice paddies that are around me. Such ways are figuratively and literally back breaking and may or may not unfortunately explain all the little old ladies hobbling around with the hunched backs.
Or go here to get a better idea of things.
I'm not here to say what it says about Japan that certain ways of thinking or doing something still exists when often better or more advanced forms of it are being used in other places. But yet it offers a nice contrast to things a gives you a sense that things are always slightly deeper than they are.
Or maybe not. Because at the end of the day, I just care that my locally grown rice is cheap. Well at least I care enough that the rice I buy is locally grown. Because George Clooney cares about supporting the local economy. Ah, George...
Music In My Head: くるり - ばらの花
For a long time, I had my heart set on seeing my new favourite band, Civic, play in November in Tokyo. Conveniently, they are playing on a long weekend which makes the logistics of things even easier. I thought I was all set!
But like all good plans, things happen and they come and change the once set in stone plans. On the same weekend as Civic are due to play in Tokyo, a small window of opportunity has opened to allow me to go to Fukuoka (for those playing at home, approximately 1,263kms away from where I am now) and try to figure out what I want to do for the coming year and a bit.
Hmmm...
Seeing my new favourite band play live.
Figuring out my life for the coming year and a bit.
Tough call.
I decided to be responsible for a change and head down to Fukuoka instead of seeing Civic, a decision which hurts me immensely. Until their next gig I guess I'll just have to make do with these 3 promotional videos of the band and the upcoming release of their CD.
Civic - Soda
Civic - Hitori no yoru (A Night Alone)
Civic - Rosouku (Candle)
Fukuoka better be worth it.
Oh who am I kidding, I already know it will be worth it. And then some.
Sorry, Civic.
Music In My Head: Civic - Soda
It happened last year and it happened again this year.
Whilst I was caught up with my Silver Week shenanigans, this humble little blog turned 5. Five!
Again, I had to be reminded about the blog's "birthday" by another blog, this time by Justin as he remembered his departed friend. Strangely, Justin started his just days before I started mine.
If the blog was a real person, it would be time to send it to school. Considering the things it has seen in its 5 years, it would be a tad world weary for its tender age but at the same time hopefully be wise enough to not make some silly mistakes. But don't we all say that about ourselves?
Of late, the blog posts have slowed a bit compared to years before. It's not for the lack of trying nor for a decline in ideas or material. Somehow the Muse has been M.I.A but I have a sneaking suspicion that that might change in the second half of this year. Let's see if I can crack at least 100 posts for 2009 (this will be #65 for the year).
But I'll still be around and so will be the blog. Morbidly, I'm looking forward to the day that my dear trusted friend in Australia opens the little black book I left for him and logs in to my Blogger account to write the post announcing my passing away (in a sexy fashion, no less).
Until then, come along to wherever I take you. But judging by the coming month's schedule, it seems most activity (i.e., none) will be focused around my bedspace.
Sexy.
Music In My Head: New Order - Temptation
I remember when I was teaching in Sydney around two lifetimes ago, a fellow teacher came into the staffroom during a break and dropped the following bomb:
D: I've just had the best class, ever.
Me: Eh? Stop talking that crazy talk.
D: No, I'm serious. It was the best class ever and when you know how good it was you would agree with me.
Me: I highly doubt that. But whip it out.
D: Haha. Well I had no students in my class. None. Zero. No one came. For 90 minutes I sat there waiting for people to show up. I thought people were simply late for 5, 10 minutes but no one ended up showing up. So I just say there listening to music, doing my own stuff and boom, class done.
Me: [thinking she has a fair claim but did not want to give her the satisfaction to think that she just had the best class ever]Whatever.
The other day I had a class whereby I could too lay claim to be the best class ever. I was teaching with Nonaka-sensei. Generally classes with him are usually pretty easy going with nothing really fixed. We usually have a warm up where he makes me talk to the students about some topic. This would go for 10 or 15 minutes and then the boring bits of learning English would begin. This is a rough transcript of what happened the other day:
* Greetings
* Talk about what I did during Silver Week (minus the bit about falling in love)
* Mention that I went to Kiyomizu-dera and how jealous that I am that the students are going there in their upcoming school trip.
* Nonaka-sensei introduces the phrase "I"m jealous" to highlight how jealous I am.
* Talk about the last week's town festival and it's lack of horse crap from the parading horses (which is...uh crap). Get teased for caring about such a thing.
* Mention that I also went to the Tsukiji Fish Markets in Tokyo. Get students to guess how long I waited to eat sushi (90 minutes).
* Point out that whilst the sushi was good, I would struggle to tell the difference between the sushi eaten at the eateries at Tsukiji and your normal conveyor belt sushi shop.
* Get asked by Nonaka-sensei if I frequent said normal conveyor belt shops.
* Get asked by Nonaka-sensei how many plates of sushi do I usually eat at. I respond by saying 7.
* Humiliation begins. Nonaka-sensei introduces the second new English phrase for the day: "Are you kidding?!" (with emphasis on the "?!" part).
* Male students are asked how many plates they average. Answers range from 10 to 20 plates. At this point any remaining hope of me dominating the male students die with a pathetic whimper.
* Nonaka-sensei busts out a story from his youth: He went to a sushi place whereby if you could eat 50 plates in an hour then it would be free. But if you failed to reach 50 plates, then you would have to pay for everything. He realised the near-impossible nature of such a task when he reached his 25th plate and all they served him were squid sushi; not the lightest ingredient you could have with sushi.
* Ask students if they have any questions to ask me. Remind students if there are no questions then we will have to begin some work.
* Miracles happen when a student does ask a question. She asks if I have ever been to the Hiroshima Peace Park. I tell her no but I would like to since I studied World War II for history in high school and I am interested in seeing a primary Japanese source of the event.
* Demand Ask students to buy me some souvenirs.
* Mention that I bought a lucky charm for Miyagi-sensei at Kiyomizu-dera. Nonaka-sensei points out that Miyagi-sensei is my BFF.
* Explain the concept of "Best Friends FOREVER!!" (with the emphasis being on "FOREVER!!"
* A student responds in a disgusted manner. Ask her if the concept of BFF disgusts her or the fact that Miyagi-sensei and I are tight. She says both disgust her.
* Point out that maybe the fact that the student does not have a BFF makes her jealous to my blessing in having a BFF. Everyone laughs. Score check: John 1 - Students 210
* Bell rings meaning 50 minutes have passed without any work being done. Nonaka-sensei half-heartedly goes over the phrases "I'm jealous" and "Are you kidding?!" to try to add some credibility to the class that we just had.
I shouldn't be surprised that such a class happened since apparently Nonaka-sensei had once given out an impromptu lesson about The Beatles for a whole lesson. And whilst learning about relative clauses (my kryptonite) is important, being able to really communicate with the students is equally important as well. And in English, no less.
I slept well that night. Then coughed my lungs out. But I slept well nonetheless.
Music In My Head: Blur - Charmless Man
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