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Category: Blogging
Nisei Festival gig was kinda interesting for us. Not only because it was in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles but getting invited to play a show was a fortuitous event for us as a band. Nonetheless it definitely makes sense..Makenai playing JRock and people watching = 95% japanese = case and point (cue turning japanese theme song...HAI) actually this was the first crowd who really understands what we really are playing. Well let's not forget the hardcore anime cosplayers rocking out front row screaming their hearts out to the song Ready Steady Go! You Guys Rocked!
Ok so details...at noon I loaded in my drum kit and then picked up the bass player aka Kiko-kun aka Mr Spoonman ( I like this one better ;->) load up his bass rig and with guitarist Brathzo aka El Calientito's request we headed out to Northridge to see if there is still room in my car to put other stuff...you gotta love japanese engineering man with my honda element I could fit 4 fat cows in there with ease...i call it my rolling apartment vehicle aka R.A.V. ...I actually slept overnight in it the first time I got the car! It's like camping indoors! Anyhoo, after done loading all the equipment we rolled out and got confirmation that the girls Pam & Evelyn are on their way to JTown...Kiko and I were still on the road southbound on 405 and got into this predicament if we should take the 101 or the 10 going downtown.
Wish I had my fairy godmother telling me to take the 101 instead...Experimentation is not a bad thing, not when your pressed for time and in a hurry to get to the point of destination! Yes we were caught in a little bit of a snag when we were on Santa Monica I mean at the pace that we were going even my grandma could outrun us any time of day! Oh! Come .. it buddy! Road Rage! We were stucked. So I panicked a little bit but mah buddy said it's gonna clear out after we pass Santa Monica...He was right! NOT (I wish I could do that Borat Impression in this blog) 3:00pm we were still sailing through traffic and I was like yeah we got plenty of time soundcheck doesn't start @ 3:30pm! Go figure! And to top it off I got a text message from producer Ray advising the stage was ready and our whereabouts...then I thought we are royally screwed. I had to ask Kiko to call him since my bluetooth was nowhere to be found and I was on the wheel stirring through traffic like a disgruntled old man...fortunately Ray said no worries and no hurries...that just made my pulse rate go back to normal!
I gotta be honest but I get panic attacks if I show up late I mean I have this OCB about being on time for everything luckily we arrived in J-Town just in the nick of time. That was ok though the fact that we didn't have to go through all the trouble of finding parking made it easy. We pulled in at the loading area where head honcho Ray was waiting for us and it was such a big relief to find out that the loading area was not that far off from the stage as I've imagine it would be...It was perfect.
Setting up the equipment was not that bad...we just had one teenie weenie bit of a problem...forgetting the stage monitors. The stage was set up at the fountain right in the middle of the plaza an open door venue if you will and with that said I was like Great! I wouldn't be able to hear anything but myself...so with the Peruvian ingenuity of Brathzo "El Calientito" Karanovich he made his backup fender amp as the drummer's monitor...Sweet! Problem solved!
We didn't had the chance to do a soundcheck after setting up. For some reason we were eager to play. On the mic was Ray's greetings & salutations after that we just headed off making noise! Again this same old thing called nerves came to play me like a wild beast rattling my cage as if trying to get out of my body...at first stroke of my drumstick the beast just had to get out.I was posessed. Then I realized that we didn't do much for rehearsals this week but I tell you after playing with a bunch of guys who you know you can trust... This did not matter at all! We played like we've known each other since we were kids...Fate is true to it's word indeed. We were just rocking out and more importantly having fun!
And I also want to give a special thank you and appreciation to the person who for the most part in my drumming career has been the critique and supporter with all my musical endeavors...the guy i'm talking about is my own flesh and blood mah little brother Jef aka "Digital Evil" aka "Insane Platypus" this fool is the band photographer/roadie/soundcheck guy/assistant and part time screamer for the band and that day he proved himself and to the crowd that he is definitely a force to be reckon with..you made freaking Tom Arraya crap his pant's out dude! Good Job Bro! I'm proud of you.
Everything went well throughout the set and we ended with a bang! Again like I've mentioned at the beginning of this blog...to all the anime cosplayers that showed up and was rocking out with us all throughtout the show THANKS A LOT GUYS! APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH! GOOD TIMES! Hope to do it again with you! Thanks for the support! And none the least to our new found friend and best buddy at Ani Jam who apparently runs Anime Festival on Nisei Week Ray aka "Masta Ray" Nagar thank you so much for inviting us to play at Nisei Festival wish we had a round of sake to celebrate! Hopefully we can do it again soon! Appreciate it a lot and KUDOS to you and your crew!
But the highlight of the weekend was nothing that I've ever expected even the guys didn't know about this but after the show a very nice timid old lady came up to me and said GOOD JOB! I was like wow that was so random that I couldn't even make sense out of it! Dammit I was expecting a younger and hotter chick coming up to me and giving me props for doing a great job pounding dem skins...and I'll be like "I would love to pound you sometime if you like baby!" even Angel aka "Mah Man" Miranda got a random note with a comment "Ur so smashable" with a phone number at the bottom signed by a mysterious person who only goes by the moniker "L" Death Note? TALK ABOUT HIT AND RUN! Just kidding! I got carried away dude.Then me and my bro got loaded with beer and sake. Kids don't try this at home...As I was driving home that night I was thinkin' back about the little old lady then it hit me...I realized that it was the same lady I saw at the show who was right behind me at the fountain ROCKIN' OUT while I was playing the kit and yes of course she is 100% JAPANESE!!
ARIGATO GOZAIMASU!
And as always I end this blog with words of wisdom from my good friend Friedrick aka "the Fist" Nietzsche...
"The overman...Who has organized the chaos of his passions, given style to his character, and become creative. Aware of life's terrors, he affirms life without resentment."
Til the next Makenai adventure! AnimeVegas here we come!
Horns Up and Rock Hard!
Peace Out
the Mighty kid
2:27 AM
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