So long, farewell, and remember the olamo!

We had a lot of fun playing our last concert for the summer at Billy's Beer Bar in Aoyama on Saturday night. The crowd was full of energy - or was it alcohol? - and the manager of the bar graced us with a few excellent jazzy solos on his guitar. Thanks to all our friends who joined us.

It was also the last engagement for me with Ali-Mo, as your humble bassist is moving on from Nippon. I've been playing with the band for about a year now, and I must say it's been a fantastic experience and lots of fun. Ali-Mo is made up of some extremely talented and wonderful people, and it was a great privilege for me to play with them (the keyboardist, however, is an incorrigible rogue).

And for the record, Ali-Mo is also the only gaijin rock band in Japan with a Lamborghini.

Since we had a mid-afternoon sound check a full four hours before our gig on Saturday, we spent quite a bit of time in the neighborhood. We handed out flyers for the concert, had steak in a restaurant that seemed stuck in the year 1962, discussed make-believe marsupials and counseled one of our members on matters of love. It brought home to me the fact that being in a band isn't just about playing music, it's about friendship. And I will miss these friends very much.

Before I am overcome with tears, let me say thank you to all in the band. I hope we'll have the chance to play together again. But for now - so long, farewell, and remember the olamo!