and for the oldies...(hee)

[kinki]

How did everyone get into Japan? What sparked your obsess....SORRY! interest in the first place?

[sonic_chronicler]

http://www.japansylvian.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25

Mine's in there.

Old? Ha!

Sonic

[proggrl]

I think what she MEANT to say was, for the WISER.... Mine's in that thread he listed too. Along with many others'.

[sonic_chronicler]

Wiser? Ooooops, I'm in the wrong place then

Sonic

PS Get some work done

[kinki]

Of COURSE I mean wiser..hehe...there has to be SOMETHING good about getting older....

Good to read your stories of how you got into Japan - it's funny how, if you're the right person, they just GRAB you, hit a nerve, and just suck you in....

It's so long ago now I cant remember EXACTLY how I got into them, but I think I probably saw David on the telly at some point and *bang* that was it...instant infatuation (well I was 15!) and then I discovered the music.

I think at the time I probably felt quite superior to everyone else who liked Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet because Japan exuded sophistication and not as many people 'got' them...

[nine polaroids]

a guy in my class would always talk about japan and argue with the durannies about who was better. it always stuck in my mind about japan`s music and then i heard `ghosts` and thought some more about them. then heard `quiet life` then `life in tokyo` and eventually `bamboo music`...but it wasn`t until 1988 when sitting at home board and flicking through the 4 channels we had in the uk at the time that i caught `open university` on bbc 2 talking about synths and electronic music.

a brief cilp about prophet 5`s, and a mention and clip of japan playing `ghosts` on the OGWT and the rest is history.

i bought all albums up to that point and have never stopped.

[John Trevethan]

Apologies in advance - sorry for the length but it's (hopefully) an interesting story and I wanted to get all of the details in:

I discovered Japan in the early 80's - I suspect that I'm one of the oldest members on this forum (forty-eight). I'm originally from the northwestern Pennsylvania area and at the time I was primarily a keyboard player. I used to hang out with Trent Reznor, sometimes recording him in my little home studio. (This was several years before NIN was conceived).

A little later Trent moved to Cleveland and began working in the premier keyboard shop in town - Pi Keyboards. I would drive over there regularly (usually with the drummer in my band: Chris Vrenna) and we would check out the latest keyboards, sounds, etc. Trent had recently joined the top new wave band in Cleveland at the time - the Exotic Birds.

The Birds' main man was Andy Kubiszewski and he was into Japan. He had given a cassette containing songs from Gentlemen Take Polaroids and Tin Drum to Trent and on one of my visits to Pi Keyboards Trent passed the tape along to me. (An interesting side note is that Chris Vrenna eventually ended up playing for the Exotic Birds and continued to admire David Sylvian, eventually inviting him to sing on two of Vrenna's Tweaker songs.)

OK, jumping back to the 80's: I popped the Japan cassette that Trent gave me into my car player on my drive back to Pennsylvania. Being a keyboard player the first songs that caught my ear were The Experience of Swimming and The Width Of A Room. The synth sounds were subtle and excellent, unlike many of the "we've got synthesizers and we're going to shove them down your throat" type of bands - which now sound quite dated. Also, I noticed that these two pieces were not flashy but rather carefully constructed arrangements... and very moody.

Of course it didn't take long for me to be blown away by Mick Karn's playing... it was Mick's bass lines that really pulled me into Japan. I have also been into King Crimson since the early 70's and loved Bill Bruford's drumming. So, for most of the mid-80's I was constantly trying to make my own music sound like I had Karn and Bruford as a rhythm section. (Of course the results were less than expected, however I had fun trying!) A friend of mine actually saw the Karn/Bruford team in action in NYC at one of David Torn's "Cloud About Mercury" shows. Tony Levin had appeared on the CAM album, but couldn't do the tour so Karn stepped into the position. I only wish that I could have heard that combination of musicians.

Moving along, I didn't get into the Sylvian solo stuff until I picked up Gone To Earth in 1987. (At Stiff Records in Cleveland, which coincidentally is where Robert Fripp performed one of his solo Frippertronics shows in the late 70's.) As I type this I am realizing that all of these musicians I'm mentioning are related to David in some way or another.

Fast forwarding to the present I must admit that I'm now totally hooked, I love everything that David Sylvian has done. The man is blessed with talent, looks, and a one-of-a-kind voice which he appears to use effortlessly. Trey Gunn once mentioned that David is the only person he has ever come across that doesn't have to push to get his vocal sound.

Beyond all that what I really admire about David Sylvian is his uncompromising approach to his art. Every time his label wanted to push him into a box or make him write a "hit" he has usually done a 180 degree turn. I respect him for refusing to use the name Japan in order to get the money to finish what became the Rain Tree Crow album. He said that he felt it would have been dishonest and proceeded to put up his own money to finish the record without the Japan name. Even though this put him at serious odds with the rest of the band, including his brother, he continued to stick to his guns. David turned down Robert Fripp's initial invitation to join a reformed King Crimson, which ended up morphing into Sylvian/Fripp. Then, although Robert would have liked it to continue David declined to do another Sylvian/Fripp record and went on to pursue his own interests. I suspect that he may be the only musician on the planet to have said "No" to Robert Fripp... and that's saying something!

[krausy]

Thanks John for sharing---I loved reading that!!!!

[John Trevethan]

Thanks Krausy,

I was a little embarrassed about posting that - I didn't want to come off as some pompous name-dropper. I just happened to be in that place at that time before all of those people went off and became known.

[sonic_chronicler]

It wouldn't surprise me to see Sylvian and Fripp get together again at some point. Although what form it would take I don't know, because I believe they both have differing ideas of where they wanted to go with their collaborations (witness Sylvian's reworking of the Damage live set)

I don't think Sylvian completely ruled out doing King Crimson shows, the time just wasn't right when the opportunity arose

Sonic

[krausy]

Thanks Krausy,

I was a little embarrassed about posting that - I didn't want to come off as some pompous name-dropper. I just happened to be in that place at that time before all of those people went off and became known.

Oh no, don't be--that is not what I thought at all. The way I see it is you were fortunate to have known Trent at that time when he was still developing as an artist. It was kinda an inside connection but you witnessed history in the making, which is really cool.

[Some Kind Of Fool]

There was always a rivalry between the Duran Duran fans and the Japan fans at school.

I remember having a heated discussion with a classmate called Tara Lynch who said that Nick Rhodes was more creative than David Sylvian. Of course, I launched into an attack and slagged off Nick's 'Interference' book of polaroids, claiming he'd ripped off Sylvian.

Looking back it all seems so childish.

It was actually a cousin of mine who had seen Japan on tour and told me how good their new single 'Gentlemen Take Polaroids' was. I went and bought the album when it came out and was hooked thereafter. I can still recall freaking out a little when I picked up Obscure Alternatives expecting it to be like Quiet Life and Polaroids.

Still loving the band after all this time.

[kinki]

Great story John...the fact you knew Trent Reznor is cool enough...but I loved reading about how you got into Japan...

Thinking back it was probably Mick's bass and Richard's synths which also initially made me sit up and take notice of the music...

....and when you think back (not wishing to sound snobby) Duran Duran were really only a 'pop' group, whereas Japan was a 'serious' band, all the members of which have pronounced individual musical talents...

The very fact they've all gone on to produce so much of their own stuff for the best part of 25 years proves that...

(sorry Durannies )

[krausy]

Great story John...the fact you knew Trent Reznor is cool enough...but I loved reading about how you got into Japan...

Thinking back it was probably Mick's bass and Richard's synths which also initially made me sit up and take notice of the music...

....and when you think back (not wishing to sound snobby) Duran Duran were really only a 'pop' group, whereas Japan was a 'serious' band, all the members of which have pronounced individual musical talents...

The very fact they've all gone on to produce so much of their own stuff for the best part of 25 years proves that...

(sorry Durannies )

No offense taken at all. In Fact, I am almost sure DD would totally agree with that. After all, Japan were on well on their way in 1978 and the boys of DD were just getting started, and one of the reasons they were was because of Japan's influence, as well as others like Roxy Music and Bowie and the New York Dolls. I think DD has always been honest about their roots and the origins of their sound.

[kinki]

The more time goes on the more you realise just how talented Japan were...when you think of Steve's drumming ability at the tender age of 17/18!... , and the fact the songs themselves were well constructed and intelligent.