Rockin’ Tsuyama

2009年 4月 28日
作者: Adam Demby
カテゴリー:

この記事は、岡山県北タウン情報誌「JAKEN」に掲載されました。アダム先生は 津山での生活を満喫しているようです。 この記事の翻訳は「JAKEN」5月号の「ふしぎの國ジパング」のコーナーで紹介されました。

I have always had a passion for playing the drums. Before I came to Japan, I was playing in an alternative rock band in the New York Tri-State area. I knew that I would miss playing the drums when I came to the countryside of Japan to teach English.

To my surprise, I was able to continue playing music when I moved to Tsuyama. Soon after arriving, I have been lucky enough to meet some great musicians, play in three different bands, and even perform in some shows. In addition, I was able to see Akira Jimbo, the drummer of the instrumental rock band Casiopea and drumming hero of mine, perform live.

I first saw Akira Jimbo when I was sixteen years old and immediately became a huge fan of his. I then began practicing very hard with the hopes of one day becoming a great drummer. I never thought that I would one day, in the small city of Tsuyama, be able to see his dynamic performance right in front my eyes, let alone eat dinner with him. It changed my outlook on the instrument and I have been inspired to become the best that I could.

It is my dream to continue playing shows wherever, and whenever possible. In America, promoters and friends would contact us to perform. It is also possible to post your music on the internet through a website called MySpace. If you are not contacted by anybody, you can go directly to a venue and request to play a show. Most likely, you will be asked to hand in a demo CD so they can hear if you are good enough.

In Japan, however, my band has had to pay the venue to play. This completely shocked me when I heard this. The way it worked was that we would sell the tickets for the show and then give the money to the venue. This practice in Japan can be seen as good because it gives everyone a chance to perform in front of people. This is an invaluable experience for any musician. Also, anybody at any skill level can perform live, good or bad. Unfortunately, this means there is some added financial pressure.

In America, the musicians do not have to worry about the money. On the flip side, the competition is raised to a higher level because not just anybody can perform. You have to be good, which might be more difficult to achieve.

Thankfully, I have been fortunate enough to be able to continue pursuing music here in Tsuyama. This has encouraged me to improve my skills as a drummer and musician. I will take advantage of these opportunities to keep learning and growing.