Arrived

Touchdown! Sydney. Now for the "reverse culture shock." Denise and Jonathan have been kind enough to let us ease into the day through their house.

I cried on the plane as we took off from Osaka. It has been such an eventful, hectic two years, I would never take it back. Osaka has been so good to us, and if we were in slightly different circumstances, I would never want to leave. But as it stands, I can never have the job I would want to have in Japan without being a totally different person. So back to Australia, hopefully to find a better balance.

5 days in Sydney, then off we go to Hobart to try and amass the collection of crap that we own, then head on to Melbourne. Will it be one month or six, I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's definite.

More news soon...

Simulacra

Since ancient times philosophy has been preoccupied with the nature of, and the interpretation of, the "real." No where does this seem more pertinent than a place like Japan. The Japanese have a wonderful way of mythologising their nation, the characters of their cities, and their sense of insider and outsider.

Always an outsider... it's not such a bad thing, you know.

Travelling through Japan for the last two years, I have sometimes felt the experience of "Japanese-ness" must be quite restrictive. Many of the people I have met do not seem to feel or react to the societal expectations I have observed here. However, others seem hyper-aware of the imposition of being Japanese. Strict roles produce excellent rebels. As rare as they are, the Japanese misfit is one of my favourite beings to encounter. That said, many traditionalist elements sometimes surface in those who would seem to be out-and-out rebels, and even in those who appear to conform to their basic societal roles often have the misfit lurking just below the surface.



Part of the mythological "Japan" lies in the dichotomy of the traditional and the hyper-modern. These images are seductive and delicious. Camera lenses are always hungry for the sea of neon, or the gentle tilt of a temple roofline. For an outsider it is easy to enjoy this veneer, gliding over and past "Japan-land" in a glazed, sight-hungry tourist manner (see Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation). The closer you come, the more you hear the din: the pachinko parlours, the racket of competing stereos, the footfall of the march of the corporate commuter, the shrieks of children - the human experiences within the aesthetic exterior.

Is this the "real" Japan?



We finished recording the drums for Thrall 2 on the 7th of April, and went for a day trip to Yoshino on the 9th. Yoshino-yama is namesake of the Japanese floral emblem, the Yoshino cherry blossom, and has over 30,000 cherry trees in and around the village. The effect of the the masses of pink blossoms in different stages of opening, from the bottom of the mountain to the top was a lovely sight to behold. The sleepy little mountainside village was bustling with tourists, and is famously busy at this time of year, but for the rest of the year, Yoshino remains a quiet, authentic feeling town. The feeling of unity with the seasons, deep appreciation for nature... it is a truly beautiful country.

Japan's nature seems bounteous, inexhaustible and vigorous. Rainfall is high and one of the predicted effects of global warming is that Japan will receive a higher rainfall than it currently does. When I have explained the idea of Australia being a barren place that can barely sustain human life, timing showers, and water management, I have been met with vacant stares. The whole concept that something might be finite seems incomprehensible. Particularly something like water. People use strings of unfilled vegetable plastic bags to cushion their shopping over here, and "eco" bags are often only used as covers for plastic bags. The wastefulness of many people I've observed over here is quite boggling.

On the 11th we went to enjoy dinner with my ex-student, Eishi. He and his lovely wife Hanae put on a delicious spread of "do-it-yourself" maki-zushi. It was a very fun meal, and Eishi, being in one of his cheeky moods, teased Glenn, our friend who was also there for being American and terribly into red meat. It was a very tender moment, and I will miss Eishi. He is a scientist working on the human genome project. His English is pretty hot when he bothers to study, but recently he hasn't been coming to his lessons... naughty Eishi! I've always found Eishi to be self-effacing, intelligent, observant, and engaged with the world. I hope he comes to visit us in Australia.

Prior to dinner we went to Daigo-ji, one of the many UNESCO world treasures throughout Kyoto prefecture. Unfortunately it was too late in the day for us to see the top of the hill. The cherry blossoms were fading, and in comparison to the mountain-top beauty of Yoshino, something desperately inauthentic pangs me about Kyoto whenever I visit. Here, in the heavily touristed swarms of the ancient capital, we are in a carefully mediated experience, much like a theme park, a Disneyland dream-world. In Kyoto, the myth of Japan is presented to us in an imperfect fantasy, drab ugly city fringes blurring into temple grounds. But we are definitely in "Japanland" more-so than we are in Japan.

Is there a "real" Japan?

After a couple more days of sorting out boxes, sending guitars and LPs through the mail, we went for a brief sojourn to Tokyo. We were going to make a pilgrimage to Aokigahara-jukai, but on the day that we were planning to leave for Fuji-go-ko, we got some terrible news. The master CD for our upcoming album, Away from the Haunts of Men, has gone missing somewhere in the Bulgarian postal system. After news of such gravity we were paralysed with shock. We are still waiting for it to turn up. The $1000 master has gone missing... I really hope it turns up. We don't have $1000 to loose!

We arrived in Tokyo on the 15th and went to the Natural History Museum in Ueno. That was quite diverting. Our hotel was in Shiodome, just south of Ginza. It is one of those places in Tokyo that just feels like dust never falls on it. Huge cavernous, modern spaces, gleaming tiled expanses, scurrying salary-men and women, the other glittering fantasy world Japan, the hyper-modern, neon dripping glitz. The next day we ate a 6 course degustation menu at Kaishoku Michiba, rounding out our aim to eat at three Iron Chef restaurants before leaving Japan. It was truly delicious, delicate, and unmistakably Japanese. Wonderful that we chose Michiba's to do last, as it was a lot more affordable than Sakai's, but more satisfying than Chen's. We then missioned to the top of Roppongi Hills once more to take in an exhibition of emerging Japanese artists titled "Can there be art?" There were some ordinary pieces and some extraordinary pieces. My favourite was Aikawa Masaru's work, where he painstakingly creates oil painted replica's of CD covers, and then makes vocal tributes to his favourite music. The view from the Mori is always beautiful, and it gives the feeling of endless city, and endless possibilities that a place like Tokyo presents. Psychologically, it's either crushing or freeing, given one's own state of mind when taking in that view.



The next day we went to Koenji, in search of some record stores and a legendary punk scene. But apparently since the 20000V Club burnt down (four people died) the punk scene has shrivelled. We found a few clothes shops, but no record stores. Very disappointing. But perhaps that's part of the vulnerability of a place like Tokyo. A specialised scene can pop up around one club, but without integration, the scene is susceptible to a calamity like a fire to actually take out the whole scene, not just a venue. In that regard, the Punk/D-Beat scene in Osaka is safer than the Koenji scene was, and now, the Koenji scene will seek a new home. Earthdom is the temporary home, but Earthdom has it's own centre of gravity. We'll see. I hope next time I come to Tokyo, I'll be able to find some of the heart and soul of punk that I can access so easily here in Osaka. We then hooked up in the evening with Luke Ray for our final yearly visit. Luke was in good form, and was very sweet to us. I think maybe he'll miss our yearly visits... we ate out at the fierce, firey Szechuan place in Ikebukuro that he had introduced us to two years ago, and soon after I had to go home with a crook tummy. That said, if I had my time again, I'd do it all the same. That food's worth a crook tummy. It's that good. We went for a stroll around Harajuku/Aoyama before jumping on the train home again. It was Sunday, and I remember 5 years ago coming to Harajuku and seeing the cos-play zoku in all their finery. Now there are more tourists than there are cos-players. Change in Tokyo is so complete, so fast, so uncompromising, every time I come, there is a different city awaiting me...



By the time you understand it, it's already changed.

And so, that brings us up to now. We met up with Andy last night, had a drink or two. We'll miss him. Tonight we're playing our last Japan show in Kyoto. I'm feeling pretty tired but relaxed at the same time. So glad to have made the inroads that we have while we've been over here. It's been hard, bridging the language gap, and trying to make a name for ourselves, but I think we've done pretty well, all in all. We'll be going back to Australia with nothing. No savings. But we got lots of nice things whilst we were over here, so I suppose we'll be able to enjoy them for many years to come. At the end of the day, at the end of one journey, the next journey beacons.

Wild Zero Drinking Game

Wild Zero.

Guitar Wolf.

Bass Wolf.

Drum Wolf.

Zombies.

Ace face.

Aliens.

Transvestites.

Katanaguitar.

What's there not to love?

You must drink when:

- someone on screen drinks.

- someone combs their quiff.

- someone says "ROCK AND ROLL!"

- flames shoot out of something.

- a zombie's head pops.

At least 2L of non-happoshu beer recommended for consumption during game.

Thank you to Helen "Rock'n Reilly" for introducing us to this novel form of inebriation.

Musing on Music

We finished working! The cherry blossom came out to co-incide with our last day, and we've been enjoying a few days of basking in the sun and drinking in the park. Of course, we've been mega busy as well, but it's a really lovely atmosphere in Japan at this time of year. The winter slowly breaks, the spring emerges in a riot of fluffy cloud like cherry blossom, that drifts into the humid muck that is summer.

I love rehearsing in Japan. It's great. For years in Australia we were unable to make a racket without risking pissing off the neighbours, but here, we just roll down the street, there's a drum-kit and guitar amps already set up. It's all just there for you to use. We've been able to take Thrall from a frustrated bedroom black metal project into a full fledged band (admittedly only two piece, but Trent will be joining us on bass if all goes well), and it's largely due to the fact that we moved house to a place where we are 5 minutes bike ride away from a fully equipped rehearsal space. Subrock: thank you.

However, we couldn't record at Subrock because it's under a train line, and I just don't believe that we'd be able to get a recording that isn't riddled with outside noises. So that's why we asked Chew where Corrupted record, and he put us on to LM Studios and more importantly, Ippei Suda.

Suda-san is just one of those people who puts you at ease. He laughs at your jokes, encourages you when you're nervous, and generally just engenders a good atmosphere. And he knows his recording studio inside out. He has some amazing equipment, which I might take a photo or two of, but I'm afraid Suda-san won't be appearing because he's really not into his photo being taken.

So, anyway, today we're starting day two of recording the drums for Thrall II: Vermin to the Earth. The first day was awesome. There are two takes that are just so good, I doubt I could ever top them, and two takes that sound good enough to keep. Now we've just got three songs that need to be sorted. From 1pm today, that's what I'm going to do. Kick some ARSE.

Wish me luck everyone... or to break a leg or whatever you're supposed to do. This is the clincher.

See you all on the other side!