Speaking of Atypical…

June 25, 2008

I’m a pretty unique individual.  But yesterday’s post made me think about how I still don’t know how to use my assets.

It’s like owning great tools that you don’t have the manuals for.

One such asset I have is the fact that I am Japanese.  I am completely bilingual, both linguistically and culturely.

There aren’t many successful Japanese rock musicians in US.  There are some Japanese-Americans, a few.  Like Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park and James Iha, formerly of Smashing Pumpkins.  But neither are the “face” of the bands they’re in.

At first, I thought that my Japanese-ness is a detriment to my rock music, not an asset.  It just seems easier, to be a regular Caucasian rock guy.  Being more of what people expect.

I got rid of that idea, but I still don’t know how to use my Japanese-ness to my advantage.  There is a subculture forming, not just US but all over the world, of people appreciating J-Rock.  But typically, they’re focused on a sub-genre within Japanese rock scene — it’s caled “Vis-kei,” or “visual kei.”  It’s referring to bands that are heavily into made-up look, sporting artificial and androgynous surface.  X Japan is considered the godfather of this sub-genre, and they looked like this:

Looks like a take-off on gram rock, doesn’t it?

Well, that’s definitely not me.  I tried approaching sites like J-Rock Revolution, and some J-Rock fans on MySpace — but it’s ultimately a stretch.  At this point, I am more like a Japanese-American than a Japanese.  I was born in Japan, but now I am not from Japan.  I don’t know much about current Japan and its music.  And to be honest, I can’t stomach most Japanese rock. 

A while back, I discovered a band called Heavens Dust.  They were very exciting to me for a short while — because of their brilliant mix of traditional Japanese music into the modern rock architecture.  Unfortunately, their music didn’t grow on me personally, but I still think it was an inspired idea, incorporating our unique cultural heritage into a more universal form.

I relate to their visual image better, too.

That seems more authentically Japanese to me, though still too much influence of typical western rock/punk look.

The problem is that I am Japanese, but I am not Japanese enough to make typical Japanese-born concepts my own.  Like Zen or Karaoke or Anime.

Someone once told me “you’re too wholesome.”  And that’s another asset I’m not sure what to do with.  I eat organic food and humanely raised meat, I don’t smoke and have never done drugs.  I’m more at home at a church than in bars.  I’m a devoted father, but domesticity doesn’t mix well with rock n roll, unless I’m making children’s music.  My wife says I’m bookish, but I don’t relate to the whole nerd or geek outlook — like Weezer (which is a band I do love).

If I were a jazz, classical or even folk musician, I think many of those things make more sense.  It’s easier to make the whole package.  But I am a rock musician.  I make dangerous music.  But I am not a dangerous person, nor do I live a dangerous life style.

In the end, I’m proud of who I am and how atypical I am.  But at the same time, I’m not sure how to incorporate all that into my music, my artistry, my presentation.  I feel rather inarticulate, and that’s frustrating.

But — what can I do?  Derek Sivers says to be “an extreme version of who I am.”  That, I am doing, I think.

I’m a wholesome Japanese rocker.  There, that should be my dot com name.  WholesomeJapaneseRock.com.

What do you think?

Filed under: Existential Angst, Reflections | Comments (2)