Ok guys, here it goes. It's taken me a long long long while to absorb, portray and finally write about all the wildness that occurred on our West Japan Pucci Tour. Now I think I'm ready to tell it how it is, or how it was.
The tour dates were June 19th Nagoya "Steps", 20th Osaka "Tribe" and 21st Kyoto "Waondo". We were very fortunate to have our great friend and Manager Gengo Inoue to arrange, promote and finance this incredible rockin journey.
INITIAL DRAMA
I was in touch with Wotlie Thursday evening and he told me that he felt like, I believe the words were "complete dog shit" and hadn't felt that bad in years. I told him to pump up full of meds and try to ride it out.
We met on Friday afternoon at Tokyo station to catch the bullet train west to Nagoya. He looked as he said, like dog shit. Almost to the point that we might not have gone, but the rock must roll. We sorted out our tickets to take the fastest train we could down to Nagoya, the bullet train or in Japanese "Nozomi shinkansen".
I always love taking the bullet train. It's fast as hell, comfortable, and a great place to get your snack and your buzz on. Which is exactly what we did. Come on. It was after lunch and we were setting off on our first Japan rock tour. We stocked up on beers at the platform, got in our seats, and unleashed the sound of freedom.
NAGOYA
We blasted into Nagoya station around 6pm. Nagoya is a mid-sized city about 2 hours from Tokyo by Shinkansen. The existence is mostly due to Toyota and its related auto industries with a significant Brazilian population. It's easy to navigate and the food there rocks. Our taxi to the venue was cheap. the driver was coolishly freaky, and he was friendly.
We had to rush because we were scheduled for a sound check at 6:30.
Exiting the taxi, I was out of the spaceship and focused on bird watching, which ticked Wotlie off more than usual. I was thinking "what a prick", but in retrospect, he was basically on his death bed from the flu and we were very buzzed plus had carried a lot of gear around all day.
Wotlie found the club, and there we met Danny Ostrander of "the Obvious Circus" who organized the event and was a real stand up dude. He worked hard to make sure we were all set-up for the show. To my surprise, Tom Fallon, a long time facebook friend of mine was also on the bill. It was cool to finally meet him. I took a look around the venue and found it a little inconsistent . It looked like a cross between a darts bar, hip hop club and a live music bar. All this would all become apparent later.
I started to get excited when I took a look at the drum kit I was to be playing for the evening. A really nice classic set of DWs was donated to the event by Mike Bagley who runs a printing company in Nagoya. He was also a really cool guy and very generous for letting me use, and setting up for me, his amazing drum kit. Cheers Mike! Hope our paths cross again.
As the sun set, the evening got underway.
Up before the T's were all acoustic acts. I started to sweat because we're the loudest band in the world.
First up was "Secret Ocean" who were really impressive. They had a great vibe and had one hell of a percussionist. The only problem was that there were few people there to enjoy it. It seems Nagoya has a dwindling live music scene. Most of the locals are club goers, mostly hip hop. And the social scene, from what I noticed, was Brazilian guys with J-girls. I bet it's nice to be a Brazilian guy in Nagoya. For me, not a very comfortable environment, mostly due to the fact I was an out-of-place stranger to these parts. I'm sure the city has it's charm in many ways, somewhere.
Anyhow, I digress. Back to the gig.
Next on stage was Tom Fallon and his buddy rockin up some casual tunes on the guitar and mandolin and having a good time doing it. They sang some good ole Irish fare and the audience like them a lot. Good times were had.
And then it was Dirty T time. I'm not gonna hold any punches here, so here it goes.
First of all, and most relevant, Wotlie was deathly ill and we had been drinking since our train ride some 5 hours earlier. We also didn't sound check, which was detrimental. This was a very difficult situation for us once we began. We started off the set and couldn't hear each other at all. There was also some crazy feedback going on and we were never able to pinpoint it's origin, so it continued through every song and in between songs. Wotlie began to get hornary, not only due to the sound problems, but also the to fact that the place was fairly empty. Just one hot chic in the audience with her man. This is just about when, "the faux pas" occurred. Let's just say, there was a huge miscommunication between Wotlie and I and it resulted in bad taste. On that note, we felt we should end the show as abruptly as possible. Wotlie was about to collapse with fever and could barely function. Later we would find out that he unplugged, walked straight to the hotel, and fainted on the floor.
After the show, everyone was very supportive and said we rocked, rather than running us out of town, as I thought they might. But I felt we had let them down. We really wanted to put on a great show for the folks in Nagoya, but I have to say, a record low, even for the Dirty T's. And man, that's low. Tomo and I packed up and hung out for a bit until the club morphed into a hip hop club to catch the late night latino R&B crowd letting out of the huge dance club across the street . About that time, Tomo and I hit the town looking for some action, but never really found anything to sink our teeth into. We just walked the streets looking at the freak show. Finally, we retired frustrated, scared, and drunk.
I must say that the people we met in Nagoya were extremely friendly, helpful, and cool. I really look forward to meeting them under better conditions. If I can ever get Wotlie to go back there, I would love to rock out there again and put on a proper show. Cheers to all involved in the show and sincere thanks to Danny.
OSAKA
We got kicked out of the Nagoya business hotel at 10 am, which was good since, we were to meet our manager Gengo in Osaka by lunchtime. The bullet train ride down to Osaka was rather somber with no beers and our seats were separate. An hour and a half later we arrived in Osaka. And to our delight, Gengo was on the same train. Talk about perfect timing. That rocked. Our good friend and promoter brought with him a nice entourage to support the tour, which was nice. We headed straight for the hotel to drop off our gear, and then out to lunch for some Osaka delights. We ended up in a cool historical district at a kushi-age (deep fried stuff on a stick) shop. Our sound check wasn't until 3:30, so we had some good drinking time to take advantage of. We had a great lunch and a great laugh. Osaka has a really unique funky vibe.
Around 3 pm we crept up to Tribe, one of many Osaka live houses. Not a particularly big venue, but it has great equipment and a fat fat sound system. After a little bit of confusion, we learned that we were on stage second out of five bands. The last 2 bands were local Osaka bands. An earlier stage slot meant that our sound check was bumped to a later time. For a long time, Wotlie has gotten on my case about not playing full power for sound check, so this time I was going to unleash the beast. And I did. On stage at a show, I have unbelievably never broken a stick. But this time, I broke a stick at sound check. The onlookers were shocked. I was Godzilla!
Since we got bumped to an earlier slot, we took the positive angle and decided it was good, because we could get our party on earlier.
Our set at Tribe was very important to us. Not only in the fact that our promotor arranged it all, we needed to save face amongst ourselves from the terrible tragedy known to us as "Nagoya".
The show at Tribe had a really interesting mix of bands. It was really cool to play with Dar Dar band, which is a Japanese rock group out of Fukuoka that Gengo rocks with on guitar when they play around Japan.
After sound check, we all had a band introduction meeting and got our passes for the night. It was a real "Japanese" thing to do. You have to have a shit load of meetings in this country to get anything done.
Finally, the show kicked off. The first band wasn't very memorable for me personally. Maybe I was thinking about being up next.
And so it was to be. We were hot and on stage in Osaka Japan. This held significant meaning to me from my earlier years in Osaka watching a complete wanker American Bon Joviesquie guy playing to hot J-girls and saying to myself "Man, I can do that." Now I was doing it.
I was so excited that I screwed up the first song immediately. We sounded amazing anyway and my screw up actually fit the tune, so Wotlie and T-Bone just laughed at me and I recovered and got back into the spaceship. Even though there were not that many people at the gig, the vibe was amazing. I could tell that the people were totally into where we were coming from. It was quite a big wave and we rode it all the way to the last tune. Happy finish and all. It felt great. The Dirty T's had done what they came to do. Get Osaka as dirty as possible. When we were done, that place was filthy.
We quickly got off stage, had a quick wardrobe change, and grabbed some beers for the rest of the show.
Dar Dar band was on after us. Every time I hear these guys, they go from early UK punk all the way to TV commercial jingles. Wild mix of characters as well. They had the crowds support and got the place rocking, too. Right about when my buzz was kicking in good came, "Chicken or Die", I totally kick ass local thrash metal band. To everyone in the place that appreciated the genre, they blew the door of the joint. They were a lot of fun to watch. Great stage presence, showmanship and power. Their buddies in the audience were crazy crazy cats as well. We had a good laugh with them, too.
At the ending of the show, we were informed that we were invited by the live house to join in an event "after party". It was to be all-you-can-eat and drink for 2500 yen, about 25 bucks. Of course we agreed and thought it might be a good deal. We then waited around the live house for what seemed like hours for them to interview each band and collect their cash before the big party got on.
By the time they let us in, we were starving and very thirsty. We quickly ordered some beers and they busted out the "happo shu". (in the States, it would be like Colt 45) Cheap n' nasty. Ok, so we at least get some food, right? The nights menu would be "nabe" (boiled veggies and meats in hot water at your table, of which everyone shares). Note, the temperature outside was around 30 degrees C. That's hot. After more waiting the veggies and almost no meat came out. We were basically having boiled bean sprouts and chicken skin for 25 bucks. And we couldn't even drink. Wotlie and the Chicken or Die boys started in on club owner and by the end of it all, the whole place was calling him a cheap bastard. Osaka IS famous for being good at ways to earn money. We got schooled.
KYOTO
Slightly euphoric after 2 days straight of rocking and binge drinking we rolled into Kyoto. Kyoto is a very special city in Japan, and even more special to me. Kyoto was the first city I fell in love with in Japan. My memories of this amazing town go back more than a decade.
Anyhow, it was around 11:30 when our crew boss Gengo decides we should try some famous Kyoto Kaiseki Ryouri. It's basically small dishes like pickles and miso soup and rice, all presented very elegantly to you in a posh modern Japanese setting overlooking the Kamogawa river that runs peacefully through the city. So to recap, the Dirty T's, heavily into their 3 day bender are now in a high class Japanese restaurant in the most sacred city in Japan. I'd say it was kinda like sticking bulls in a china shop. Full stupidity quickly got underway. Right off the bat, we are waiting and waiting for our beer order, so we started in on the service. The whole situation reminded me of a Japanese TV tour show. I took it upon myself to get into my overly Japanized foreign TV host character. I had the whole restaurant busting and freaking out. They actually closed the entire section we were in, which was half the restaurant. Tommy T-Bone almost had a heart attack. It was ridiculous, but I was in a good mood. After all, I was in Kyoto about to play a rock show. A goal of mine since I first set foot in this country.
After the ridiculous lunch, we checked in the hotel. This was the best hotel room of the trip. For me, the hotel is a very important part of my journey. We actually had some good chill time in the room before sound check. I love that quiet time before the storm. Also, Kyoto is one of the hottest places in Japan. Getting back to the hotel for a shower and refuge is important for the psyche.
Around 5 pm we were scheduled to sound check. Waondo is a cool little live bar located right in the middle of one of my favorite areas in Kyoto. It is a small venue, but the people are genuinely cool. Once we got into the bar we learned that we would be the headline act for the evening. Dar Dar band with Gengo was opening the show and a local Kyoto band were set to go on before us. Of course we felt really good about the line up. We rocked out a sound check and had a little bit of free time before the show started.
As I mentioned earlier, Kyoto and I go way back. In University, I shared a house with my good friend and his girlfriend Maiko. Throughout the years, I have visited Kyoto periodically and always have hung out with Maiko and her friends which I affectionately call my Japanese sisters. They are really deep and dirty Kyoto chics that talk hard and play hard when in the zone. During our break after sound check I copied some low rent flyers that I wanted to pass out in the streets before the gig to get some people off the street and into the dirt. Right at that time, Maiko, Yuri and Rika rocked up to me. I knew they were coming to the show, but the timing was funny. Immediately, Yuri gives me shit about my salesmanship and manner of attracting customers. I had been out on the street for about 20 minutes and had handed out 2 flyers. Yuri grabbed the flyers and passed out about fifteen in 2 minutes. She taught me an important skill and I learned my lesson, as I always do with my sisters. Thank you Yuri.
The show wasn't for about an hour, so Tomo, Wotlie and I decided to join the sisters for a few beers at a local bar. We sat down, and I felt completely at home as if nothing had changed in ten years. But I noticed that Tomo was unusually quiet and reserved. He is usually joking around and very talkative. I asked him what was wrong. He turned to me and said "These girls are crazy. I'm scared". I quickly told Maiko and the girls about it. They didn't hesitate to give him a hard time about being too timid. We all soon warmed up to each other and the pre-gig party took off. We were all laughing and cutting up like we had all be friends for years.
I took a glance at my watch and noticed we were late for the gig. Dar Dar band was already on stage when we arrived. They were having a good time and producing some nice energy. Another amazing thing was that there was actually a crowd watching. That always motivates the T's. We were feeling good and offered our full support to all the bands.
Second on stage was a local band. They are a really fun instrumental band that has a good time on stage, and are fun to watch and get down with. Their attitude was great and they were a pleasure to play with.
Finally, it was Dirty T time once again. Before even hitting the stage, I knew this was going to be an incredible show. The crowd was there, there was a great vibe in the air. I even had my sisters in the audience. The entire atmosphere was conducive to rock. We opened with our flagship song "She just wants to call me an asshole" and the place exploded. Immediately Maiko was front row and head banging like a champ. The other bands were in a frenzy. Gengo was up in the air more than he was on the ground. I have to say, it was one of the greatest feelings I've ever had. A complete success. The whole set went off without any problems at all. T-Bone even gave it to me like I like it when we played "Flush". Up until now, it has been the greatest show the Dirty T's have ever played. At the end of the show, I was the highest drummer in Japan. It was an unbelievable experience and we can't wait to get back to Waondo in the near future.
We didn't stick around Waondo long, because the after party was going to be a Johnny Sexdrive special. Since I first heard that we were going to be in Kyoto, I had wanted to spend an evening by the Kamo river. The waondo after party was my chance. I gathered as many people as I could and headed for the river. The Kamo river, as I said before, is a quiet little river running through the center of Kyoto. At night, there are many small groups and couples sitting by the banks drinking and just relaxing. Our party was bigger, so we walked a little away from the main area and set up camp. Chris Cooling, our great friend, who had been with us on the trip since Osaka, brought a travel guitar to the party. We were soon singing and drinking the night away. We even got some of the other groups to join us. It was fantastic night. At about 3 am the bottom fell out of the sky and a huge rain storm hit us. The party was officially over. I could have gone on all night.
The last morning of our tour was our day off in Kyoto. It was just the T's. We decided to hit the Kiyomizu temple before getting on the train back home. We didn't really know exactly where it was. We just wandered the streets in the basic direction. That day in Kyoto was scorching hot. It must have been over 35 C. The kiyomizu temple is located on a hill top overlooking the city. We finally made it there and did the tourist thing. Still not sure if it was worth the pain.
On the way down, the heat broke and we soon found ourselves having a sober lunch. It was time to head back to Tokyo.
Though it was only a 3 day journey, our little tour was full of excitement. We had our ups and downs, but all and all, it was successful. This tour was the first of many to come. Our manager believes that we will be touring all over Japan by this winter.
Our next journey will be in September when we play Osaka and Fukuoka. I can't wait to see how dirty that one is going to be.
Johnny Sexdrive