Japan-related Email interviews I've conducted....
| Click on a name to read the interview: |
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BOB GRUEN
Bob Gruen is a famous rock photographer.
Since the 1970s he has taken photos of John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, The Sex Pistols, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and KISS.
He took the photo of KISS in business suits that was used for their "Dressed To KIll" album covers.
Bob Gruen honored me with an interview on 10 December 2009:
- Could you please give us a short self-introduction?
I live in New York City where I was born and I've been taking photos for rock bands all my life.
Living with a rock band in the late 1960's I got involved in the music scene when they got a record contract. I worked first for Ike and Tina Turner, then met John Lennon and Yoko Ono and Led Zeppelin. I developed a friendship with the New York Dolls which led me to get involved with the NY punk rock scene. I visited England in 1976 and met the Clash and Sex Pistols and my career has continued to grow since then.
- Your photos are great! How did you learn your craft?
I learned photography from my mother who developed and printed her own photos as a hobby. When I was growing up I took photos for the local newspaper and at the town dances and parties.
- I heard that you and John Lennon were friends. I'm a fan of his work.
Do you have any interesting stories about him?
I have many interesting stories about John Lennon, too many to write here but you can read them in my book "John Lennon, the New York Years" which is published in a Japanese edition.
- Has the Internet and digital photography made your work easier? And does digital equipment produce the same quality photos as film?
The digital process is different from film but I was never too concerned about the quality of the photo, I am interested in capturing the feeling and passions of the moment.
- How did you get started in your career taking photos of so many celebrities?
My life has been a series of one thing leading to another in a natural progression. I didn't set out to meet celebrities but that's what happened because I tried to meet everyone I could.
- You took the photo of KISS that is used on their 1975 album "Dressed To Kill". Was the idea of the band wearing suits yours?
The idea behind the photo was a photo comic story for Creem magazine. The idea of them wearing suits was from Creem but two of the suits are mine because the band members didn't have their own suits.
- You took another famous photo of KISS. The image of the band in Kimono standing in front of the Ryozen Kannon statue in Kyoto, Japan.
Have you been to Japan any other times as well?
I first came to Japan with Yoko Ono in 1974 for the One Step festival, then I was on trips with the New York Dolls, Bay City Rollers and KISS. On those tours I had such a good time that in 1980 I rented an apartment in Harajuku and spent most of a year there. I have been back many times since then.
- What was your impression of Japan?
I like life in Japan very much. I think it is much more civilized than most of the world and I enjoy that Japanese have respect for artists, unlike the US. I feel very safe walking around in Japan and I love the food too.
- What types of photographs do you enjoy taking the most?
I like to take photos of exciting things and capturing the excitement in the photo.
- Do you have any comments for rock fans / Bob Gruen fans in Japan?
I think people should be free to express what they feel, and have fun doing it.
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- Could you please give us a short self-introduction?
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VICTOR STABIN
Victor Stabin is the artist who designed album cover for 1980 KISS release titled "Unmasked".
He has also done work for big names such as the Heavy Metal magazine and the Japanese fishing gear company Shimano.
Victor Stabin honored me with an interview on 12 November 2009:
- Could you please give us a short self-introduction?
I do the work I do because it is hard, I need to be challenged by my efforts. I reference my work with deference to the 500 years of eastern and western art history that preceded me. The older I get the more personal the imagery, my next piece will always be my best. I like the Michaelangelo Buonarroti quote "I hope that I may always desire more than I can accomplish".
- Your artwork is really amazing. From the comic book style (of the KISS album cover) to a kind of surrealistic to very realistic portraits (like photographs!)
How would you describe your art style?
I would describe my art style as "western with a dash of eastern design".
- In 1980, you designed the KISS album cover for their "Unmasked" album.
How did the offer to paint a KISS album cover come about?
I was approached my the agency representing KISS and asked to do an initial sketch. The sketch was well received and than proceeded to do the cover.
- How did the idea for that cover come about?
The idea was given to me my the band , my job was to create the imagery.
- After the "Unmasked" album was released, did it lead to an increase in popularity in your work?
The cover gave me recognition but did not lead to new work. At the time I was working as an illustrator, KISS is such it's own identity that the imagery did not attract other clients.
It was surprising to find this out first hand.
- Where, besides the KISS album cover, might I have seen your work and not known it?
I recently created nine stamps for the US Postal Service and you can always go to victorstabin.com.
- Have you ever had an exhibition of your work in Japan? Have you visited Japan at all?
I would love to have my work exhibited in Japan, I have never been there and would absolutely love to go. I am hoping that next years marketing will lead to international travel.
- Do you receive alot of fan mail from Japan?
I think this is my first fan mail from Japan, hopefully not the last.
- Have you listened to the KISS "Unmasked" album? What's your opinion? (That album, unfortunately, is one of KISS's least popular (except in Australia)).
I have not listened to KISS "Unmasked" since Jesus was in diapers.
- Do you have a message for the KISS fans / Victor Stabin fans in Japan?
I have original posters from the album (KISS "Unmasked"). These posters are NOT folded the way they came in the album originally , I picked them up from the printer myself , way back when.
There are a few left - less than ten , they are signed by me and they sell for US$300 plus shipping. This price will increase as the number of prints I have lessens - get them while you can.
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- Could you please give us a short self-introduction?
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MICHAEL DORET
Michael Doret designed the album cover for the 1976 KISS album "Rock And Roll Over", and he's just designed his second KISS album cover...the soon-to-be-released "Sonic Boom" album.
Michael Doret honored me with a second interview on August 18, 2009 (the first one he did with me is here):
- In 1976, you designed the very popular cover for the KISS album "Rock And Roll Over". It's consider a legendary album cover, not only by KISS fans, but by rock music fans in general.
Now, 32 years since "Rock And Roll Over", and 11 years since KISS' most recent studio album, KISS has recorded a new studio album of all new songs and you were asked to design the cover for this new KISS album.
How were you contacted again, after so many years, to do another KISS album?
Well, it was very simple.
Paul Stanley was producing the new album and KISS was on tour in South America in April. Paul wanted the sound of the new album to be reminiscent of the raw power that was evident in their early albums of the '70s, and felt that the cover of "Rock and Roll Over" was iconic, and represented that time and that sound. So he telephoned me while they were on tour to ask if I'd be interested in trying to design another cover for them that might help to recapture that energy.
- What was your initial reaction to being requested to design another KISS album cover?
#1: Happy and pleased that he remembered me, and had the confidence that I could do it again.
#2: Very apprehensive that whatever I came up with would be compared (by everyone) to "Rock and Roll Over". It would be very difficult for me to create another cover that could live up to a previous piece of art I had done that had become such a part of popular culture.
- Besides the KISS album covers and the New York Knicks logo that you designed, is there anywhere else that people might see your work in their everyday life and not realize you designed it?
That's not an easy question to answer.
Certainly if you live in New York the Knicks logo is something you'd see everywhere, but elsewhere in the world, it wouldn't be a part of your everyday life. I've done many covers for TIME Magazine and recently did a logo for Bette Midler's Las Vegas show which has been very visible.
But my most visible work, now seen globally, is the font design work which I do under the name "Alphabet Soup". And the font that is being distributed and purchased more than any other is "Metroscript". It's quite likely that more people have seen typography set in Metroscript than any other work I've done. I've just released a new set of fonts called "Deliscript" which I think has the potential to be even more popular than Metroscript.
If you're looking for one example of my work that best encapsulates my vision, Deliscript may be it!
- After KISS' "Rock And Roll Over" album was released in 1976, did it lead to a big surge in work for you?
No, not at all. It wasn't really acknowledged as being an iconic cover until many years later.
- Do you own a copy of the "Rock And Roll Over" album? Do you listen to it? What's your impression of the music?
My turntable stopped working years ago, but I do have a CD copy of "RaRO" that was remastered about a dozen years ago. "Rock and Roll Over" was the epitome of the raw power and energy that KISS became known for, and in my opinion was the high point of their music from that time.
I do have the Gold Record that KISS gave me...but that's framed and under glass.
By the way, did you know that most gold record awards were hardly ever made using the actual recording being awarded?
(Tokyo Five: No, I didn't.)
- When you design an album cover, do you listen to the music to get an idea what the cover should look like?
No. Usually when I'm approached about doing a cover it's either before, or while, a group is still in the recording studio. If I understand what a group wants to say with the cover, and have heard some of their previous recordings, I really don't need to hear the new music.
- What can you tell us about the upcoming KISS album? The title? The sound? And the album cover artwork?
By the time you receive this from me you will already know that the title is "Sonic Boom". I cannot tell you anything about the sound because I haven't heard one note from the album. As far as the album cover art is concerned you've probably already seen that, but just in case, here it is.
I hope people don't try and compare it too much to "RaRO". It was a very different problem designing the art for "Sonic Boom".
For one thing I had to design inside a 4 ¾" square as opposed to a 12" square, which means I had to pack the same wallop into a much smaller container.
For another, this is a different time, the world is a different place, and I'm a different person. Hopefully my design sensibilities have progressed and developed beyond where they were when I did "RaRO". I think the new cover is a strong statement that tells the story the way the earlier one did.
I would describe my design for "Sonic Boom" as "Rock and Roll Over" turned inside out.
- In these days of music downloads, today's young people don't buy albums like we used to when we were younger.
Did you have any hesitations of putting your work on an album jacket where people might not even see it?
I really don't think that will be the case with this album. I think this will sell quite well...after all it's KISS! It's going to be a really great package containing two CDs and a DVD.
The opportunity to work with these guys again was something I just couldn't turn down.
Lack of high visibility has never prevented me from working on anything...that's not one of the criteria I use to evaluate a project. I don't work on projects like this for the "glory" or the exposure. I'm a professional...I work on all kinds of projects, and I'm always up for a challenge.
- Did you use computer software to design the new album cover, or was it done "old-school" like the cover in 1976?
This was done entirely on a Mac.
In fact the images of the four group members could not have been achieved any other way. In 1976 I might have attempted to do those faces like that, but I would not have been able to achieve the look I created for them in this new cover.
That was the result of putting the photographs through many different processes in both Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop (very complicated), until they looked exactly as I intended them.
- When can the fans in Japan expect another Michael Doret exhibit here in Japan? And have you heard if KISS is planning to tour the world for their new album?
I'm not a spokesperson for KISS and I don't know what their plans are. I'm sure if you watch their website, you'll see when they announce their tour.
As far as my work and a show in Japan are concerned, if someone there wanted to sponsor an exhibit, I'd be there in a heartbeat!
We were there in '86 as part of the American Pop Culture exhibit at La Foret Gallery in Tokyo, and loved every minute of it!
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- In 1976, you designed the very popular cover for the KISS album "Rock And Roll Over". It's consider a legendary album cover, not only by KISS fans, but by rock music fans in general.
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MICHAEL DORET
Michael Doret is an American artist who has done alot of famous work...including the New York Knicks basketball team's logo and the 1976 "Rock And Roll Over" album cover for the band KISS.
(The 'Rock And Roll Over' album cover artwork).
Here's an excellent interview Michael Doret did with me (via email) on April 22, 2009:
- Could you give a self-introduction?
I’m a letterforms artist who works completely solo...always have, probably always will. My work almost exclusively revolves around lettering, and limited illustration with lettering integrated into the imagery. My work has run the gamut from record jackets (obviously) to posters to signage to advertising to postage stamps and everything in between. Now I do my work digitally, but I didn’t always. I only started doing work digitally 14 years ago. I recently expanded the scope of my work to include font design.
- In the mid-1970's, you designed the cover for KISS's "Rock And Roll Over" album. How did you come up with that cool design?
Just prior to getting this assignment a Japanese graphics magazine named 「アイデア」 ("Idea") did a feature on my work. They had asked me to design a cover for the issue my article was to appear in, so I designed a very graphic cover that (to me!) was reminiscent of both Japanese art and very graphic American tin litho target games. To me it had the look of what I would describe as a Japanese shooting gallery. I really loved that piece, and Seibundo Shinkosa Publishing did a wonderful job printing it. When I got the assignment to do the RARO cover, my Idea cover was fresh in my mind, and I wanted to do something similar. It seemed appropriate that Kiss, with its “Kabuki”-style makeup should get a “Japanesey” looking cover. The form that the design took evolved from the words “...Roll Over”. It seemed obvious to me that it should be a rotating design. So it ended up being a kind of mandala (I guess that’s not very Japanese). Anyway I felt it should be very bold, simple in style, and graphic. Fortunately for me the band agreed.
(The 「アイデア」 ('Idea') magazine cover artwork).
- Have you ever attended a KISS convention as a special guest?
Nope.
- Have you seen any of the numerous tributes to your art on that album (including other bands copying the design for their albums, tattoos inspired by that album cover (the drummer of KISS, Peter Criss, himself has one), etc)?
I’ve only seen a few crappy photos of a few tattoos. The only other thing like that I’ve seen was that recently some guy sent me some photos of a large three dimensional construction of the cover he made out of wood. It was actually extremely well done.
If you’ve got some good photos could you send them to me?
(Tokyo Five:I found a photo of one of the KISS-Online website...here).
- How were you chosen to design the KISS album cover?
I had been working for Howard Marks Advertising with an Art Director named Dennis Woloch. The projects I had been working on with him had nothing to do with Kiss. Then I guess Howard Marks Adv. got Aucoin Management as a client, and the assignment to do many of the subsequent covers for Kiss. Dennis and I got along quite well (we are actually still in contact), so he called me in to discuss this cover and meet with the band. I told them I had a good idea what I’d do, and they gave me the assignment.
- Are you a fan of KISS's music? Have you seen their live show?
I did attend one live show in New York at the time.
Your question about whether or not I’m a fan of Kiss’ music is really not relevant to the story of this cover. I’m a professional designer. I work for many different clients in many different walks of life from old to young, from conservative to those who are way “out there”. I pride myself on my ability to solve design problems in a way that excites the client but also in a way that I can be proud of. To be able to do both successfully is not an easy task. Whether or not I was a Kiss fan would not have affected the outcome of this art?either way it would have come out looking the way it does.
- Was the art that is on the album cover your first design for the album or were there different versions? Did the artwork have to be approved by the band personally?
This was the one and only design I did for this cover. When I know what I want to do for any given project I usually go full steam ahead. I was very excited about what I came up with, and I think that the band felt the same way. This was before computers, so my sketch or “comp” was a small simulation of what I wanted the cover to look like, and was done with colored pencils. There were only a few minor changes that Gene and Paul asked for both involving details in their faces. So the actual cover was approved by the band and the small changes on the faces notwithstanding was virtually unchanged from my sketch.
- Do you have any amusing KISS-related stories?
Sorry, no. They didn’t hang out with me.
- Is there anywhere else that your artwork can be seen?
Well not knowing where you did see my work, I’ll have to list a few places? Here goes:
My blog
My main website
My font design work
Here's where I sell posters and stuff
Another portfolio site
Another portfolio site
An interview w/ me
My rep in Germany
- Have you ever been to Japan? Do you have a message for KISS fans / Michael Doret fans in Japan?
Yes, I visited Japan in 1986 with a group of artists. We were having an exhibition in Tokyo at La Foret gallery called “American Pop Culture” or something like that. I’m not aware of having any fans in Japan. I do remember that after Rock And Roll Over was released a group of Japanese came by my studio in NYC with covers for me to sign. It was quite unexpected and hilarious. I’m in Hollywood now...a lot closer to Japan than I was before, so if there are any fans out there who want to come by the studio to get their covers signed, they’re more than welcome!
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- Could you give a self-introduction?
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JERRY YELLIN
Jerry Yellin fought against Japan during World War 2. From the war until the mid-1980's, he had a deep hatred for Japan.
A business trip to Japan and then his son's emigration to Japan and marriage to a Japanese woman changed his attitude towards Japan, the Japanese people and war in general.
(Here's a picture of Jerry Yellin during WW2).
Here's an excellent interview Jerry Yellin did with me (via email) on September 9, 2008:
- Could you give a self-introduction?
My name is Jerry Yellin, I am nearly 85 years old, married for 59 years, father of 4 sons and have 6 grandchildren.
I was in the real estate/banking/consulting world until I was 70 at which time I helped found an Internet provider and telephone company in rural Iowa. I live in Vero Beach Florida with my wife Helene.
- When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, where were you and what was your reaction when you heard the news?
I was walking into a corner store to purchase the Sunday paper in Hillside, New Jersey. Everyone was crowded around a small radio listening to the description of the bombing of Peal Harbor by the Japanese. I was only 2 months from my 18th birthday and was aware of the negotiations between Japan and America and never had any thoughts about going to war.
This was a complete surprise and was viewed as an outrage by everyone I knew.
How could any civilized people attack another country without provocation?
- When you joined the Army Air Corps, did you ask to fight in the Pacific War against Japan?
I enlisted in the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet in waiting on my 18th birthday (Feb. 15, 1942) only wanting to fight the Japanese.
They had attacked my country.
Even though Hitler declared war against America eight days after Pearl Harbor, I saw Japan as my enemy.
Being in the military does not give you any options about where you will serve, you go where ordered.
I got my wish though and was sent to the Pacific theater.
- What was your feelings about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
I watched hundreds of B-29’s drop hundreds of thousands of pounds of bombs on Japanese cities killing hundreds of thousands of Japanese people.
It never bothered me.
I was over Tokyo on August 6, 1945 and heard about the atomic bomb when I returned to Iwo Jima. It was nearing the end of the war and we all wanted to go home, alive. So the dropping of one bomb from one bomber and doing the same amount of damage as thousands of bombs from hundreds of bombers was just a better way of fighting the war and was then and still is now, OK.
It saved my life, the lives of many of my fellow flyers, stopped us from invading Japan in October at a tremendous cost of American lives.
It also created a tremendous feeling of anti-war sentiments in my life. The pure purpose of war, in my opinion, is to kill. The Pure Purpose of Life is, also in my opinion, to connect to all Humanity.
- What caused you to stop feeling hatred toward Japan?
I went to Japan in 1983, reluctantly, on business. While there I discovered that the Japanese that I saw were not the Japanese I fought against or was told about. I liked the people, the customs, the food and I realized that we are all the same.
Read my book, "Of War and Weddings", available at Amazon.com. (Available here: in English or 日本語.)
- Why did your son, Robert, move to Japan? And what was your initial reaction?
My wife thought Robert would like Japan so we gave him a trip for his college graduation present in the spring of 1984.
We were visiting him in 1987 and met his future wife. When he said he was going to get married I was shocked, it had never occurred to me. I saw the faces of the sixteen young fighter pilots I flew with who were killed and wondered what they died for, how they would feel.
But I also realized that it was my war, not Robert’s and that he had a life to live on his own so I accepted his decision with difficulty but in totality.
- Your son has a Japanese wife and three children (just as I do). Do you visit them in Japan often? Do they visit America?
We have been to Japan more than 20 times since Robert and Takako got married. They have been to America with their three children once, on our 50th wedding anniversary in 1999.
- Your son's Japanese father-in-law was also a soldier in WW2, and had a hatred for America. Was it difficult for you and him to reconcile?
We met just a day or two before the wedding after exchanging a few letters. He and his wife had accepted his daughter's marriage, very reluctantly at first and so did my wife and I.
The meetings have been meaningful but frustrating ever since because of the language restraints. But the feeling of kinship, respect and family are there deeply and from the heart in both directions.
- What are your impression of today's Japan versus the Japan of sixty years ago?
I have seen incredible negative changes in Japan since I went there for the first time in 1983, 25 years ago. I see a change in the respect younger people seem to have for customs and authority. It seems the worst influence comes from the adaptation of American fast food chains and leaning towards our culture. I think America is out of control and Japan is not far behind.
- Could you tell us about your books and any other projects that you have going on?
I wrote a book "Of War and Weddings" in 1988 about my life changes brought about by Robert’s wedding.
It led me to a deeper understanding of myself, my country and our place in the world. Because I was a “writer” I have been invited to speak to schools across America and in several cities in Japan including Kanazawa, Hiroshima, Mishima and Numazu. Those experiences have broadened my life tremendously.
In 2006, I participated in a Japanese Memorial ceremony for 23 American B-29 crewmen who were killed over Shizuoka on June 20, 1945.
The ceremony was first conducted by the Japanese man, Fukumatsu Itoh who buried the Americans and has been carried on since 1972 by Dr. Hiroya Sugano. I was overwhelmed by the significance of this event and saddened that it is a ceremony that is not well known.
I have just completed a book written as fiction but based on fact called "The Blackened Canteen". It will be available at the end of September from Amazon.com.
Facts and a three-minute video can be seen on my website jerryyellin.com on or about September 15 (2008).
Hopefully the book ("The Blackened Canteen") will be translated and published in Japan just as my first book ("Of War and Weddings") was.
(Here's a picture of Jerry Yellin in 2006 at the memorial ceremony in Japan honoring the American pilots killed over Japan during WW2).
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- Could you give a self-introduction?
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KEN ALLEY
Ken Alley recently acquired over 1000 pages of letters written by Elizabeth Ryan to her family in America while she was in post-WW2 Japan.
She was an American who worked for the Inspector General of the U.S. Occupation in 神戸 (Kobe, Japan) for just over a year in the late 1940's.
(Here's a picture of one of Elizabeth Ryan's handwritten letters).
Here's a short interview he did with me (via email) on September 7, 2008:
- Could you give a short self-introduction?
I am a 57-yr-old semi retired chiropractor/writer/bookseller.
- How did you come upon the letters by Elizabeth Ryan?
I advertise in regional newspapers for old books and a woman who lives about 60 miles (96 km) from here called and said her brother-in-law (Lt Col Judson Smith of Lincoln, Nebraska) had died and they wanted to clean out his house and sell it.
She wanted to "donate" his books to me and anything else I wanted of his military years.
Lt Smith's wife (Mary) and Elizabeth were the best of friends in Chicago and in 1946 applied for jobs with the U.S. Army in Occupied Japan and got them.
They were "roomies" in Kobe and befriended Lt Smith while there. He could get them in anywhere they wanted to go and he liked having two American ladies on his arm.
When Elizabeth died in 1975 her family gave the letters (and photo album and scrapbook) to Mary.
Then everybody else died and they ended up with me when all of Lt Smith's things were being dispersed of.
- From what year until what year was she in Japan?
Jan 1947 - July 1948.
- Will these letters be published in book form? (If so, what will the title and release date be?)
I am presently looking for a publisher but that is the hard part.
(CALL ME IF YOU'RE INTERESTED! ((US country code - 1) 402-362-1244).
Elizabeth went by "Betty", and signed all her letters, "Love, Betts". And that's the title. (Sub title: "Letters Home From Occupied Japan."
- To whom were her letters addressed?
To family back home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA).
- From her letters, what would you say her impression of post-WW2 Japan was?
Devastation mixed with eagerness to please people.
- Do you know whether or not Elizabeth Ryan had ever returned to Japan to see it after it was rebuilt from the war damage?
Elizabeth did not return. Lt & Mrs. Smith did another tour in Japan.
- Could you share an interesting quote from one of her letters?
"It's really windy in Kobe today, and not from anything I eat, either!"
- Have you ever been to Japan?
No, I have not. But, if I ever get the chance, by golly, I'm going.
- Any comments for the visitors to my site?
I have high hopes of publishing these letters. They're a whole new look at Occupied Japan from a young, female civilian from the States.
By the way, there should be a total of five articles regarding these letters in the Japan Times (newspaper). Three are already on-line (as of 2008/9/7). (here, here and here.)
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- Could you give a short self-introduction?
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BRUCE KULICK
Bruce Kulick was the guitarist for the American rock band KISS from 1984 - 1996. He was with the band for most of their no make-up period, so he's one of the two people who have been in the KISS line-up but never wore the signature KISS kabuki-style make-up.
Since 1996, after getting out of KISS, he has played in Union the Eric Singer Project (ESP) (with KISS drummer, Eric Singer), and Grand Funk Railroad.
(Here's a picture that I took of Bruce Kulick with Union at the KISS Expo in Tokyo a couple years ago. Pictured (left to right) are James Hunting, John Corabi, Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer (filling in for Brent Fitz)).
(Here's KISS circa 1990. Pictured (left to right) Paul Stanley, the late Eric Carr, Bruce Kulick, Gene Simmons).
Here's a short interview he did with me (via email) on September 1, 2008:
- When was the first time you came to Japan? When was the most recent? How many times have you been here?
First time would of been with KISS. I can't remember what year. But I went a few times with KISS, went with for work with ESP guitars a few times without KISS, and I went with UNION, and ESP (Eric Singer Project) a few times most recently early this year.
- What are your impressions of Tokyo? What are your favorite places to visit / things to do in this city?
I really love Japan and Tokyo is very fascinating. The lights, the energy, the people, the food, and how much electricity is in the air. I love shopping and eating the food and meeting the people of Japan.
- Anything you weren't impressed with in Tokyo?
Traffic...but we have that in LA of course.. and the Narita Airport is too far from the city!
- Are there's any particular Japanese food and / or restaurants that you like?
I love the Udon places, the ¥140 Sushi shops, and even the shops that sell American style food. The restaurants are all perfection.
- I have seen you and Eric Singer at "KISS Expos" in Tokyo. It was a pleasure to speak with you. Are these types of events much different in Japan compared with other countries?
Well, they are very well organized. I really enjoy doing those events.
- I have the "ESP: Live In Japan (来日記念)" CD (as well as other ESP, Union, and KISS CDs). Is that CD a Japan-only release?
No, it is not. It can be ordered from Kissshop.com
- What is the "Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp"? Are you still involved with that?
I have done quite a few of them, but this summer I was busy with Grand Funk so I couldn't do the one day camp tour. I have done some corporate events for them as well. They are great ways to meet people who love music and to jam and network with other counselors and celebrities.
- Any plans to bring the "Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp" to Japan?
Not at this time.
- Do you know when you'll be in Tokyo again next?
No real plans yet.
- Any comments for the visitors to my site?
I hope they can read my website.. even though it is in English. I don't think I have it translated... or properly. But I want to thank all my fans in Japan, they are very good to me! I hope they can check out the merch on site. I only get a few orders to Japan, but it is not difficult to send products there.
www.kulick.net
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- When was the first time you came to Japan? When was the most recent? How many times have you been here?
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FRED BENSI
Fred Bensi plays Gene Simmons in the KISS tribute band, "Dynasty" that used to be based in Japan.
Here's a short interview he did with me (via email) on July 20, 2008:
- Could you give a short self-introduction?
Fred 45 YO,Pro bassist since '83 .
- When did you come to Japan? Why?
1991, I was performing in a band in Hokkaido for a 1 year contract .
- Where's are you currently residing?
Tahiti in French Polynesia.
- I saw on your website that you've worked with many Japanese musicans? Who was you favorite?
Hide from (the Japanese band) "X Japan".
- Is your KISS copy band, DYNASTY, still together touring?
few times a year,we're less active than back in the 90's but still around.
- How did you become the "only official Mercury Records Kiss tribute band in Japan"?
I asked them and they said yes.
- How well can you speak / read Japanese? How did you learn?
I speak fluently and read most of it but I'm limited still with Kanjis.
My wife taught me everything,she's from Osaka.
- What do you like most about Japan?
The peacefull atmosphere's and the clean public areas.
- Least?
The old fashion Japanese salary-man spirit.
- Any comments for the visitors to my site?
Japan is the coolest place on earth if you use your differences accordingly, don't try to enter the system,if you do you'll miss all the fun.Be the obvious,your gaijinness* is your best asset.
(* Gaijin, written 「外人」, (short for 外国人 (gaikokujin)) means "foreigner").
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- Could you give a short self-introduction?