November...

It's been some months since I last updated my blog. So many things happened. The biggest thing is that my beloved grandmother Matsue passed away on October 1 at age of 93. It was the first day of my 3 day work with Joe Sample. I didn't tell anyone about it before all the interviews were done. But my grandma seemed to choose the best day to leave us because I could get to my hometown 30 minutes before her funeral after finishing all my work and arrangements that had to be done to have some days off. What a great grandma she was!

She wasn't really sick... just got senile and quickly became weak a few weeks before her death. She really lived out her natural life. So her funeral was more like celebrating her life rather than wailing in sorrow. I hope she was smiling when we talked both good and bad things about her at my mom's house. She also gave my sister a chance to introduce her husband to our relatives for the first time and they all loved him.

I was going to see my buddy Ernie on October 4 in Tokyo but it was my grandma's funeral and I had to cancel it. Thanks for your understanding and kind words, Ernie! I'm glad you made some new friends while you were exploring Shibuya alone. Do you still learn Japanese from them and teach them English via emails?

Now, working with Joe Sample was great. It was only 3 days but I learned a lot from him. It's always wonderful to work with elder people and I just love it! They know so much about life - good and bad, ups and downs - and their words are very inspiring. Especially Joe, he just knows what other people will go next. This sense of capturing people's thoughts and feelings certainly helps him communicate well both in performance and conversation. Which indeed helped me a lot when interpreting between him and Japanese journalists. Plus he has a great sense of humor. He made my work fun and I really hope to see him again soon when he comes to Tokyo for concerts.

There is an awesome French restaurant in Hiroo called "Le Sample." Joe's friends, Koh and Aki, run it. 

http://le-sample.com

http://lesample.blogspot.com

Wonderful food, excellent wines and beautiful people! If you have a chance to come to Tokyo, you should go there to enjoy one of your evenings. Really! I thank Joe for giving me an opportunity to meet Koh and Aki. Thanks, Joe!!! And thanks Koh and Aki for your wonderful food and great hospitality!!! I got to go see you again soon.

One late night in September, I happened to see a Japanese high school rock band on TV. They are Kobayashi Taro & Masakari-katsuidaaz. They are not professional but really good. Their singer Taro just blew my mind. He can sing and has a wonderful voice.

I don't usually get into Japanese rock/pop bands but they are different. I eventually decided to get a copy of their first mini CD. I got it yesterday and listened to it right away. There are 7 songs on it and the first 3 songs sound almost professional. Amazing! The funny thing is the last 4 songs show they are high school students. They play their instruments really well and the rhythm section is tight, which is the key for a good band, but the lyrics are... you know, they just muck around. Typical 18 year old boys. Which makes me smile. You can listen to 2 of their songs on Japanese iTunes. Type 小林太郎とマサカリカツイダーズ to search their songs. You will definitely fall in love with them!

There is another Japanese band I kinda liked in September - Oceanlane. They are professional and covered some popular songs that influenced them. One of them is Sade's Smooth Operator. Take a look at this. It's sorta nice.

So much for now!