Many bands, like Cheap Trick, experienced breakout success in the Land of the Rising Sun. Here’s my take on what to expect when touring there.
In 6th grade, my progressive parents agreed to let me go see KISS, despite a local church picketing the venue with signs that read “Satan’s Favorite Band” and “K.I.S.S. = Kings in Satan’s Sanctuary.” The opening act was then-unknown Cheap Trick. At the time, their two-nerd/two-cool-guy lineup seemed lame next to the Starchild, Catman, Spaceman, and Demon.
Amazingly, this nearly anonymous opening act was already big in Japan. When Cheap Trick at Budokan came out a year later, it proved they had enough juice to stuff the Nippon Budokan arena with 12,000 screaming fans. The Japanese recognized Cheap Trick was great, then the rest of the world followed. A success story like that makes every struggling musician want to tour in Japan. Now that I’ve done it a few times, I can confirm that it’s nearly as cool as I thought it would be. Here’s some tips for touring in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Getting there:
It’s about 14 hours in the air from NYC to Tokyo and about 12 from L.A. I’ve taken both routes, and each trip took roughly 24 hours from the time I left my home in Nashville until I was through customs. Depending on where you live, Japan is 15 hours ahead of the U.S., but if you hit the ground running, the jet lag isn’t bad.
Amazingly, the promoter met us as soon as we landed in Osaka, which is 450 miles away from Kumamoto, where we were playing. After an introduction, he handed every band member a big envelope with cash, our per diem, then personally walked us to the next flight and traveled with us to Kumamoto. That would be like a Nashville promoter flying to Charlotte, North Carolina, to meet an act and holding their hand to the gig. It’s just not done here. But the Japanese leave nothing to chance.
Gear:
Per usual, I checked one guitar and crammed a small pedalboard into my suitcase. Backline amps are often a bit of a gamble, but not in Japan. All the backline gear was exactly what we asked for, in perfect shape, and they had backup options. Our front-of-house engineer had sent a photo of his mixing board to the promoter, which included some taped labels on channels. In the photo, the engineer happened to have a pack of Marlboro Reds and a green lighter in the upper-right-hand corner. When we arrived at the gig, not only was his board already labeled like his home board, but there was a fresh pack of Marlboro Reds and a green lighter in the upper right-hand corner. The Japanese care about every detail.
A jet-lagged bandmate twice left her envelope of cash at the counter of a restaurant. Both times an employee chased us down the street to return the cash.
Tattoos:
There are some cultural differences. In 720 A.D., tattoos were used as punishment in Japan, where criminals’ foreheads were tattooed for civilians to witness the severity of their crime. Rulers during the Edo period (around 1600) banned tattoos altogether. The ban was not lifted until 1948. To this day, many businesses and institutions ban tattoos. To be a good guest, hide your tats.
No crime:
I’ve been in more than 50 countries but never any place safer and cleaner than Japan. You can walk their pristine streets anytime without fear of being robbed or harmed. A jet-lagged bandmate twice left her envelope of cash at the counter of a restaurant. Both times an employee chased us down the street to return the cash.
Nightlife:
If you like booze, Japan could be a good fit for you. Japanese men seem to drink on a competitive level. It’s odd because everything is so orderly and clean in Japan, but you’ll see well-dressed businessmen in a state of fubar, stumbling down the street late at night.
If you smoke cigarettes, you’re going to be pleasantly surprised. There were no smoking restrictions until 2018. Even with current restrictions, you can still smoke cigs in many bars and restaurants. That’s not the case with smoking weed. Although the practice is legal in parts of the U.S., if caught with pot in Japan you could face a penalty of five years in prison. A road manager I toured with for years did a Japanese tour with a big American rock band who demanded they have weed in Tokyo. He said it was the scariest thing he’s ever done. Not only was he afraid of the law, but he was also terrified of the Yakuza who sold him the pot for nearly $1,000 per ounce. Don’t do drugs in Japan.
Lodging:
Japan is not as expensive as you may think. Although promoters usually cover travel, rooms, and per diem, you can find Airbnb apartments for $75 per night. A capsule hotel (a private sleeping pod with public bathroom) or a hostel is about $30 per night. General expenses felt comparable to New York City prices.
Plus, you will never play for a more polite crowd than in Japan. They listen attentively, applaud politely, and revere musicians.
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Revv Amplification's limited-edition G-Series V2 pedals offer three fresh flavors of boutique Canadian tone, with V2 circuit revisions.
Celebrating 10 years of Revv & 5 years since the release of the G2, Revv is debuting V2 circuit revisions of the G2, G3, & G4, implementing new designs for more tone in 3 little pedals, in a limited edition colorway.
The Revv Amplification 5th Anniversary G-Series V2 Lineup features:
- 3 Fresh Flavors of Boutique Canadian Tone - G-Series pedals are sonic recreations of 3 of Revv’s boutique amp channels used by Nashville session stars & metal touring artists alike.
- The Standard, Redefined - V2 circuit revisions are based on the Generator 120 MK3 Rev. B & incorporate new design elements for the most tube-like response & tone ever.
- Limited Edition - Exclusive new colorway featuring a black enclosure w/ custom graphics, embossed Revv badge, & color-coded knobs.
- Find Your Sound - The G2 is a powerful & versatile overdrive capable of everything from touch-sensitive boost to organic vintage stack tones, taken from Revv’s Green Channel.
- High Gain Clarity - The G3 utilizes Revv’s legendary Purple Channel, a tight & responsive high gain tone perfect for drop tuning & cutting through any mix.
- Fat Solo Tones - The G4 is based on Revv’s thick & saturated Red Channel, the ideal sound for chewy crunch, modern rock wall of sound, & liquid sustaining solos.
- Made in Canada - 100% analog circuit w/ top jacks, true bypass, & 2 year warranty.
Revv’s G-Series pedals have a street price of $229 & can be ordered immediately through many fine dealers worldwide.
For more information, please visit revvamplification.com.
Revv G3 Purple Channel Preamp/Overdrive/Distortion Pedal - Anniversary Edition
G3 Purple Ch Preamp/Hi-Gain Pedal - AnniversaryGuest picker Carmen Vandenberg of Bones UK joins reader Samuel Cosmo Schiff and PG staff in divulging their favorite ways to learn music.
Question: What is your favorite method of teaching or learning how to play the guitar?
Guest Picker - Carmen Vandenberg, Bones UK
The cover of Soft, Bones UK’s new album, due in mid-September.
A: My favorite method these days (and to be honest, from when I started playing) is to put on my favorite blues records, listen with my eyes closed, and, at the end, see what my brain compartmentalizes and keeps stored away. Then, I try and play back what I heard and what my fingers or brain decided they liked!
Bone UK’s labelmade, Des Rocks.
Obsession: Right now, I am into anyone trying to create sounds that haven’t been made before—bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Jack White, and our labelmate, Des Rocs! There’s a Colombian band called Diamanté Electrico who I’ve been really into recently. Really anyone who’s trying to create innovative and inspiring sounds.
Reader of the Month - Sam C. Schiff.
Sam spent endless hours trying to learn the solo Leslie West played on “Long Red,” off of The Road Goes Ever On.
A: The best way to learn guitar is to listen to some good guitar playing! Put on a record, hear something tasty, and play on repeat until it comes out of your fingers. For me, it was Leslie West playing “Long Red” on the Mountain album, The Road Goes Ever On. I stayed up all night listening to that track until I could match Leslie’s phrasing. I still can’t, no one can, but I learned a lot!
Smith’s own low-wattage amp build.
Obsession: My latest musical obsession is low-wattage tube amps like the 5-watt Fender Champ heard on the Laylaalbum. Crank it up all the way for great tube distortion and sustain, and it’s still not loud enough to wake up the neighbors!
Gear Editor - Charles Saufley
Charles Saufley takes to gear like a duck to water!
A: Learning by ear and feel is most fun for me. I write and free-form jam more than I learn other people’s licks. When I do want to learn something specific, I’ll poke around on YouTube for a demo or a lesson or watch films of a player I like, and then typically mangle that in my own “special” way that yields something else. But I rarely have patience for tabs or notation.
The Grateful Dead’s 1967 debut album.
Obsession: Distorted and overdriven sounds with very little sustain—Keith Richards’ Between the Buttons tones, for example. Jerry Garcia’s plonky tones on the first Grateful Dead LP are another cool, less-fuzzy version of that texture.
Publisher - Jon Levy
A: I’m a primitive beast: The only way I can learn new music is by ear, so it’s a good thing I find that method enjoyable. I’m entirely illiterate with staff notation. Put sheet music in front of me and I’ll stare at it with twitchy, fearful incomprehension like an ape gaping at the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey. I’m almost as clueless with tab, but I can follow along with chord charts if I’m under duress.
The two-hit wonders behind the early ’70s soft-rock hits, “Fallin’ in Love” and “Don't Pull Your Love.”
Obsession: Revisiting and learning AM-radio pop hits circa 1966–1972. The Grass Roots, Edison Lighthouse, the Association, the Archies, and Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds—nothing is too cheesy for me to dissect and savor. Yes, I admit I have a serious problem.
Diamond Pedals introduces the Dark Cloud delay pedal, featuring innovative hybrid analog-digital design.
At the heart of the Dark Cloud is Diamond’s Digital Bucket Brigade Delay (dBBD) technology, which seamlessly blends the organic warmth of analog companding with the precise control of an embedded digital system. This unique architecture allows the Dark Cloud to deliver three distinct and creative delay modes—Tape, Harmonic, and Reverse—each meticulously crafted to provide a wide range of sonic possibilities.
Three Distinct Delay Modes:
- Tape Delay: Inspired by Diamond’s Counter Point, this mode offers warm, saturated delays with tape-like modulation and up to 1000ms of delay time.
- Harmonic Delay: Borrowed from the Quantum Leap, this mode introduces delayedoctaves or fifths, creating rich, harmonic textures that swirl through the mix.
- Reverse Delay: A brand-new feature, this mode plays delays backward, producing asmooth, LoFi effect with alternating forward and reverse playback—a truly innovativeaddition to the Diamond lineup.
In addition to these versatile modes, the Dark Cloud includes tap tempo functionality with three distinct divisions—quarter note, eighth note, and dotted eighth—ensuring perfect synchronization with any performance.
The Dark Cloud holds special significance as the final project conceived by the original Diamondteam before their closure. What began as a modest attempt to repurpose older designs evolved into a masterful blend of the company's most beloved delay algorithms, combined with an entirely new Reverse Delay setting.
The result is a “greatest hits” of Diamond's delay technology, refined into one powerful pedal that pushes the boundaries of what delay effects can achieve.
Pricing: $249
For more information, please visit diamondpedals.com.
Main Features:
- dBBD’s hybrid architecture Analog dry signal New reverse delay setting
- Three distinct, creative delay modes: Tape, Harmonic, Reverse
- Combines the sound and feel of analog Companding and Anti-Aliasing with an embedded system delay line
- Offering 3 distinct tap divisions with quarter note, eighth note and dotted eighth settings for each of the delay modes
- Pedalboard-friendly enclosure with top jacks
- Buffered bypass switching with trails
- Standardized negative-center 9VDC input with polarity protection
Dark Cloud Multi-Mode Delay Pedal - YouTube
Curious about building your own pedal? Join PG's Nick Millevoi as he walks us through the StewMac Two Kings Boost kit, shares his experience, and demos its sound.