Today we had to get up a lot earlier than normal, this was especially unfortunate because we were all up late working on the CD, especially Masahiro, who only got a few hours sleep.
Our early rise is not in vain however, because the Monsters are going to the local radio station and getting an interview about the group and playing a song.
The guys hop into their formal clothes ( I don't ), and put the Shamisens in the van.
The drive through town is an easy one, and it only takes about five minutes to get to station.
We go up to the front desk; they are expecting us. We are handed four guest passes and are told to go up in the elevator and get ready.
We are greeted by a friendly fellow holding a few papers in his hand. He motions towards a table where we can set our things down and prepare. He says we have about twenty minutes.
Kevin and Mike warm up down the hallway, while Masahiro discusses the game plan with our pal. Myself, I just kick back and take in the sights; various posters of solo artists and bands, all of them signed and annotated with adoring messages about the radio station. I guess these guys must be legit.
Eventually the time comes. I am allowed to hang out in the mixing room and watch the interview through a glass panel with the rest of the staff.It isn't a very wild radio station, so the there aren't buzzers or naked women dancing around (probably for the best).
The host talks to Masahiro about the band and how they all met. Also, Kevin and Mike play a couple licks to demonstrate their western influence. Once they plug the band and tour enough, the time for talk is over! And they head straight into Mozart's Turkish March. Once the song ends, that about wraps up our time there at the radio.
We all got straight out of bed to go to the station, so we all have food on our minds. Masahiro takes us to a place he really likes, it specializes in "Soup Curry", which, if you haven't guessed it, is spicy soup.
The restaurant looks unassumung enough from the street, but it turns out once inside, the whole place is themed after a log cabin, and is very cozy.
The food tastes great, and is quite potent. Still not too much for me, which I have been finding is fairly standard out here. Now back in the states however, if something says "spicy" on it, I probably don't want to eat it.
Inside the store they had all sorts of themed decorations, the most interesting however, was a spice rack full of super spicy hot sauces from around the world. I recognized a few of them from a special on the Food Network I saw once.
Going ahead further with the day's plan, the guys drove me downtown and left me off there to go shopping.
It was a pretty cool mall that went parellel with the city's busiest street. It was set up in a style that I had only seen previously in Tokyo; Masahiro said that it was the "old style" shopping center.
The most interesting store of all that I came across, was a used clothing store (naturally), that sold American stuff. Usually this wouldn't constitute anything super amazing, but all of the previous "used" clothing places I have been to in Japan so so far consist of a basket of old sports tees, and then the rest of the place has nothing even remotely used. Imagine a Gap, with a dollar shirt bin in the front.
I also visited this tower. I'm not really sure why it's there though.
A lot of walking, trinkets, and engrish later (more details than there are worth mentioni
ng), I call up the guys. Unfortunately they are super busy working on the album, have someone engineering the tracks and can't leave. So they commission a taxi for me to take home.
I come through the door, shopping bag in hand, greeted by the smell of some strange, foreign food. Upon further investigation, I unconver that it's spaghetti with red sauce. I wasn't expecting that one.
As the CD tracks are being mastered, Mike, Kevin, and I form an assembly line, and begin putting the inserts and CD jackets together into the jewel cases.
That happens pretty much until we pass out, one hundred and twenty of those later.
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