Matsuyama Live, "ヤバい夜になるゼー！"

Leeway's second show was once again, speechlessly fun. I don't think I've laughed so much in one day in awhile. <3 The four of us got to hang out in Matsuyama, wandering the streets, drinking beer, taking purikura, and talking about Tanuki (Tokushima is apparently famous for Tanuki! We learned about the Tanuki war and the top three Tanuki in Tokushima!!). The day started out wonderfully when we drove from rainy-depressing Kochi into sun-shiny Matsuyama to meet up with Speed Red and Gyoza Face for some lunch. Noontime beer~

We went second out of the seven bands playing that night. Sanhose was really good and I loved that the guitarist and bassist's instruments were the colors of Christmas (BRIGHT red and BRIGHT green). The Miscasts were also really really good and I'm sooo happy I finally got to see them live (since I had only heard their seven-inch up until this point). Turncoat went last and played a bunch of their really good new songs (Mall said they are trying to make a full-length soon! Can't wait~). It was also nice having the after party at the venue (GREAT tempura <3), being able to hang out with everyone freely without being constrained to seats in a restaurant, and being able to play music from an ipod.

NO PEEING! 恥ずかしくないの？！

Purikura <3

Even Obama approves of noontime beer!

Sanhose and their Christmas-colored instruments.

The Miscasts!

After party in Hoshizora Jett with loads of tempura

Aren't we adorable?

"Frustration Never Disapear"

３月は１７日(土)にマイペースながらの自主企画、今年一発目やります。今回のゲストは先ず「TheMiscasts」。数枚のレコードシングル (DRIFTAGEとのSPLITも含む)とテープリリースが中心で音の知名度は低いかもしれないが、吐き出す激ヴォイスとポップセンスと見事なドラム捌 きは圧巻。ビート感抜群のベースと、replacementsばりのギターメロディが絡まって、最高なサウンドを奏でる。最近配布中のデモCDRではまた 新しい境地へと向かっていっている。更に今回はそのMISCASTS権氏がサポートドラムを務めるSANHOSEも初来松決定。UNDERGROUND GOVERNMENT/RECESS JAPANからアルバムもリリースされている彼らのその音はまさにドタバタPOP PUNK。初期LOOK OUT,RECESS,Plan It X等のレーベルファンからHARD CORE,オルタナファンまで必見。そして四国勢は要注目のニューカマーLEEWAY。シカゴ出身高知県在住のマット（ベース）とインディ（ギター・ ボーカル）、そして徳島のメロディックパンク若頭Thirsty Chordsのアツシ氏（ドラム・ボーカル）、サポートギターにHAMKの荒瀬を迎えた豪華BAND期待大のその中身やいかに！？

Busy weekend complete with seeing "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" (ものすごくうるさくて、ありえないほど近い) with some friends, an art exhibition opening (Sea's landlord's paintings from the past 40-ish years), once again proctoring for the Eiken interview segment (ugh, kill me), and band practice in Tokushima. Also, this poster for my band's (Leeway) next show just came out on a (locally) popular blog called "FND" that two of my friends write on. If the nihongo is okay with you, the little segment about my band is at the end. :) I'm pretty excited for this show, because we get to play with my friend Mall's band "Turncoat," as well as a band I'm rather found of called "The Miscasts" from Kyoto. I've never heard of any of the other bands.... but I'm looking forward to it all since Hoshizora Jett usually puts together some pretty excellent shows~

Flu Season and Singing Songs

Instant camera picture. I love developing these things and being surprised at what I find!~

 I feel like I've been really busy these last two weeks, but really don't have a lot of interesting things that I want to talk about. My weekends have been booked practicing/learning new songs/lyrics for the album we are starting to record at the end of February/beginning of March, so I've been back and forth from Kochi to Tokushima a lot. My wrist feels like it's going to fall off from all of our three-hour long practice sessions, but I'm excited about what we've come up with and accomplished so far. We had to turn down a show at the beginning of March in order to record... so I hope it all goes smoothly and is done by our Matsuyama show.

With the coming of February (usually the coldest month in Japan), I find that more and more of my children get sick and more and more of my classes are cancelled due to "influenza" (which is seriously over-exaggerated here). This always worries me, because I'm the type of person who picks up colds and flus from the people around me really really easily, and up until today I've been fine.... but then yesterday morning my throat started to hurt and I was struck with a stuffy nose. :x I blame it less on this "influenza" craze and more on the crazy weather that's been going on. It was in the negative numbers on Sunday, only to switch rapidly to rainy and warm yesterday/today. My system has never liked rapid changes in the weather, and with the horrid condition of my house (I live in the most run-down piece of crap apartment.... I'm convinced there is black mold growing in all the walls because one of my walls sweats when I put the heater on...), I feel like my allergies have probably just been super-revved. :P That, and Japanese schools seem to think that leaving the windows open (even when it snows) "exchanges the bad air with the good air" which is BS and they are only making their own children sicker.

Taken after I won "Best Speaker" at a Japanese speech contest and was gifted with wayyy too many oranges. I have crazy eyes.... and everyone says me and Matto look like middle schoolers :P