Another day at the office

Yesterday, as part of my daily life as a salary man I went to the virtual reality expo tenjikai (expo) at Tokyo Big Site. On the way back to the station this girl was screaming that you could catch a ferry instead of being on a crowded train and go straight to Hamamatsucho station, so I decided to give it a go.

Apart from the thousands of jelly fish in the water and the fact they didn't sell any beer on the ferry, it was a good alternative to the monorail and broke the monotony of the day. The only problem is they don't tell you it's another 10-15 minute to Hamamatsucho station once you get off the boat!

Anyway, looking forward to our unscheduled gig this Friday at What the Dickens!

July 4th & 12th

Last night was great. We visited a new venue in Aoyama where we will be playing -- really close to Omotesando station -- called Billy Barew's Beer Bar.
We're set to play there on July 12, Saturday.
But wait, before that there's July 4th at What the Dickens.
Come see both!

pleasantly UNexpected ALi-MO fan

while strolling through breezy shinjuku last night, i felt a sudden tap on my shoulder. a young man with close-cropped hair grinned up at me. he was wearing a suit and bearing a backpack.
"hey, man," he said.
i squinted. he was grinning with recognition.
"hey," he repeated.
we stared at one another. the masses flowed past us.
the filofax in my head was flipping madly. who was he?
"ali-mo," he finally said. "i've been to your gigs."
ah. very cool.

next one: SATURDAY, JULY 12th, billy barew's in shibuya. info here.

ALIMO .....BANZAIIIIIIIIIIIII.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steely Dan's Japan

There were a few unexpected guests on stage with our band last week when we played in Ebisu. I'm not talking about the cockroaches, but flautist Shin and sax player Michiko, two extraordinarily gifted musicians. I was not surprised to learn that Michiko likes Steely Dan, one of my favorite bands, and began thinking about them in the context of Japan.

Turns out there are quite a few links between SD and Japan. Jazz-rock geniuses and all-around hip cats Walter Becker and Donald Fagen named their addictive brand of alchemy after a fictional sex device called Steely Dan III from Yokohama in William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch. Ironically, said "marital appliance" (as Becker once described it) is made of rubber, not steel. Steely Dan I and II were destroyed in unmentionable circumstances.

SD tunes like "Bodhisattva" reference Japan, and the group's 1977 masterpiece album Aja features the late Japanese supermodel Sayako Yamaguchi on its minimalist cover; the title track contains some jaw-dropping drumming by the great Steve Gadd and a superb Wayne Shorter solo. Fagen's 1993 solo album Kamakiriad mentions Tokyo in the otherworldly "Snowbound." SD has a huge following in Japan, with rare CDs issued only for the domestic market and the 2007 Heavy Rollers dates in Tokyo selling out easily.

I, for one, would love to do an Ali-Mo version of Dan's great ode to outlaw LSD chemist Owsley Stanley III, "Kid Charlemagne." Long may it reign.

Tired on a Sunday night

Well, it's pretty late on a Sunday night after our Amnesty International gig so too tired to write much. Overall, a pretty good gig and the crowd was great!

I have some great Jap-lish photos somewhere to add to Kent's contributions.
Anyway, gotta go to bed and join the land of the working slaves early tomorrow morning.

Below is one of the funniest 'how to speak English' videos I've ever seen! Check out how the camera does close ups of their shoulders!!

Amnesty and ALi-MO by Numbers

Roughly two years ago, ALi-MO played an Amnesty Benefit concert in Ebisu.

We dug it; they dug us.

We're back on Sunday night. No promises. But ... promises.

See you there.
--GK