Nagoya: Club Quattro & Tokyo: Shibuya-AX

I took the bullet train (Shinkansen) into Nagoya, which is my favorite way to travel in Japan. I wish the US had something like it, maybe even if it was just along the east coast, following I-95. I doubt that will ever happen. Car and oil industry are in bed with the politicos that would be able to make it happen. We have so much to learn from the Japanese. Anyway, It was a short trip from Osaka to Nagoya but very enjoyable. The sights are wonderful and it's something amazing to travel a such high speeds along the ground. It almost feels like you're not moving because it's so smooth. Bullet train: goes down smooth, every time...

Again, the show in Nagoya was my personal favorite. The audience was insane, and I think we played better that night than the other two in Osaka and Tokyo, which I think were both very good but we had less technical problems in Nagoya and I think everyone's game was a bit more on point. Thank you Nagoya!!!
Here are some photos from the Nagoya show: http://www.smashingmag.com/en/archives/6877

Tokyo: I've been told that Osaka is what California is to America (culturally speaking), and Tokyo is like New York in that same sense. And I find this to be true... And I really love NYC! The funniest thing happened at this show that was probably one of the most Spinal Tap things that has ever occurred to MM. As we were marching in for our intro, our stage manager kept running into these rails that separate the audience general seating area, as one can see in one of the pictures below. It was like we walked into a maze, and everywhere we turned we'd hit a wall. We couldn't get to the stage until a local crew guy showed us the way. It was so comical! I was laughing about it three songs into the set. Despite the surmounting technical issues we had at this show, it was very enjoyable and people were beautifully energetic! Arigato gozaimasu Tokyo! I can't wait to come back to Japan!

Japan Fall 2011: Osaka-Big Cat

Osaka: Club Big Cat... it was a special night kicking off the Japanese tour here. I thoroughly enjoy the energy and joy brought on by our fans here as we marched through the crowd onto the stage. As soon as "Prytania" kicked in, everyone was full throttle for the whole set of 1.5 hours! The excitement wouldn't stop!! For the encore, we played a special, impromptu version of "Goodbye" as per the audience's request. It came together nicely...

Arigato gozaimashita Osaka!!!

Trying out mobile blogger... Leno performance

Hello everyone! Happy Fall! I'm going to try this mobile blogger app to stay up on my blog. Let's see how it goes...

Well, I just finished playing The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night for the second time. We played our current single "Blood Pressure," and overall, I think it looked and sounded good. I was especially stoked to play Glen Campbell's Gretch White Falcon bass (equipped with flatwound strings of course), thanks to owner Julian Raymond. I've been using a combo of amps lately: a bass amp (Ampeg SVT for fly dates) with a guitar amp (Fender Twin for fly dates). Also, I've using JHS' Morning Glory pedal a lot for gain boost and a bit of grit.

By the way, I hope to post some videos of bass AND guitar lessons from our latest album ODD SOUL. I think it's amusing that some hardcore bass fans freak out a bit that I've been playing guitar more lately. I understand the concern, I guess. However, I think a lot of people don't realize that I played guitar first for many years, and it's a natural thing for me. Even though I have a profound love for the bass (no pun intended) I have always considered myself a multi-instrumentalist, not just a bassist. I had a blast taking over the majority of guitar duties on this last album, but it wasn't something entirely new. I wrote and played the "Spotlight" riff, and I'm always working on complete ideas for songs.

Immediately after Leno, we went right around the corner to Warners to play a house party kind of thing. We played our broken-down set with Todd ripping up the Hammond organ, DK on drums, Paul on vocals, and me on guitar (played my Italian Galanti). We did this set up on VH1 not long ago, and we've been having fun with it. It's a great alternative to when we can't do a full set up, and I think it's way more hype than just the two acoustic guitars set.

In other news, I've been getting into Spotify, making playlist and discovering new music. I've been listening to lots of old stuff that my dad turned me onto as a kid, like Rolling Stones, Kinks, Ventures, Hendrix, etc. Also, I really love an Australian band called Tame Impala. Their album InnerSpeaker is brilliant.

Now, off to Japan!!! Amazing/beautiful people, bullet trains, interesting food, trinkets and toys galore, best shows, (just to name a few things) all wrapped with a carefully thought out aesthetic. Got to love it...

Hasta la proxima, until next time...