Finally got on the plane to Japan. Fought a furious battle for sound to
the movie "Along Came a Spider" in my flight headset. Again, nobody was
sitting next to me and I had four seats at my disposal. None of the connections
worked. Exhausted I fell asleep while Morgan Freeman "took it away" on the
silver screen.
At Narita Airport I was happy to see Itaru again! Talked and listened to Jeff Healey while
driving for my hotel and the music fair in Ikebukoru, a large neighborhood in central Tokyo.
Steeping out of the elevator I was greeted by the Caparison staff and the funny man Nobu.
Went for a short visit in the Kyowa Shokai booth and was welcomed by a lot of familiar faces,
including Mr. Kuji Sakurai, boss of the company.
The one and only Nobu
Later I was introduced to Mr. Lyndon Laney and Mr. Alan Attwood of Laney amplification. Despite
having played their powerful, amazing amps for more than five years I never met neither one of
them before. This was obviously a great honor to me. Later in the afternoon the three of us
were going to do a Laney sound clinic so we spoke briefly about that.
There are not words enough...
Excited to the bone the time had come to check out the new model: The Apple Horn Sand Stone. I
tell you, I wasn't far from spontaneous combustion out of pure joy when Itaru opened the case.
Never seen anything like it! Totally fantastic! Super! Arrghh! (And it's got my name on it too,
hehe! A perfect way to boost your ego… ergh).
Since I use different tunings Itaru and company didn't make one but two of these beauties for
me! What can I say? I am so very, very grateful.
Had lunch with Itaru and Nobu and provided them with Uchi-necklaces ("Uchi" is cow in Japanese).
Itaru gave me a handwritten note from a giant, bearded, fella who visited their stand earlier
in the week and saw the signs for my various performances. It turned out to be Swedish blues
demon and respected guitar player Claes Yngström. The scribbled note read: "Beware of rotten
fish! Regards Claes". Apparently he was in Japan with his band Sky High. Unfortunately there
wasn't time to see their Tokyo gig. Next time, Claes.
In a state of bliss I checked in at the Sunshine City Prince Hotel. Travelling through plenty
of time zones can really mess you up so took a nap for an hour.
