Full Moon

It's another hot day on the coast of Fukushima and it's late summer. I'm in a car and driving deep into a jungle that I thought I could not drive into. Mark has told me about a music festival that happens in the summer in the mountains of Fukushima. I don't know what to expect. An already skinny paved road gradually grows more thin threatening to disappear under the foliage and we turn left onto an old dusty dirt road that creeps its way further into the jungle. Mark and I have been meeting and rehearsing on and off for a couple months now and he has invited me and so I am there with him. He has been introducing me to the music scene in Japan and for that I feel very grateful. The dirt road winds up the mountainside and then curves around sharp turns for the next 45 minutes and then I hear music. I don't expect to hear music but I hear music. It seems to be coming from the leaves of the trees. In fact it could be doing so, but I know it's not. At that moment, I am reminded by my mothers story of how she had told me about a friend who had been hiking in the Swiss Alps. They had been in the middle of nowhere and had rounded a bend to see a green field with a helicopter landed and with the band "Yes" practicing in the middle of the field. I felt I was in a similar experience. Soon the trees opened up to a thousand people camped in the middle of a field with numerous stages set up in the background. There were artists selling their wares and different DJs lighting up dancing in different spots. Our car found a place among the bodies and undergrowth and we filed out of the van. Mark would be playing his own DJ set later that evening and I heard that I would be able to play some music as well.

The realization would soon hit me that life had plopped me feet first into one of Japan's "満月祭" or "Full Moon Festival's" The movement of the series of musical happenstances would slide slowly like a snake up the coast of Japan and this festival found its mark in the high mountains of the forests of Fukushima. Mostly I was an observer and soon Mark's set would come. He had a following and people would and gather and listen to his sound vibrate into the forest trees and people would dance. When night came neon lights and candles lit up the world from below, while white stars blanketed the music from above. Food was served, music was shared, and Japan continued to amaze me with the different flavors that seeped out of its small often hidden cracks. Quite the international crew was there as well and Mark told me that some big bands secretly shared the stage. I'd meet foreigners from France and Germany and Australia as well. They were traveling with the snake as it would move constantly upwards eventually into Hokkaido. I became aware of how unaware I was of the Japanese music scene.

The morning later came to the land slowly and happened when the music dimmed with the night. My favorite structure was "The Dome." It was a special structure that had been built by the creator and founder of the property. It was designed with acoustics in mind. The founder had been so inspired by the music that he had used his architectural skills to build the stage and lived at the property year around, longing for every year when music would float into the forest once again. I found a perfect spot early in the morning and played a morning tune in the dome. I'll never forget that moment and sound and feeling. It was the time when dust seems to notice that it too is in the world. Breakfast came when the sun grew to be higher and hotter and everything turned to be about the temperature of the Miso Soup that was served. All in all, it was a magical experience. Music continued into the next day and also was complemented with Tai Chi teachers as well who were showing their art along with everybody else. Some might say it was a creator's dream.

Mark is now in the middle of a tour in Japan with his friend Tim Gerwing. You can check out his art and followings at this link.

Here are the places they are playing in August. It's in Japanese and in Japan. If you're in the area you can check them out:

おはようございます。

8月にlive tourはじまります。

8月4日 北塩原 Welcome Party。

8月6日 会津若松 長光寺

8月10 東京新宿 Motion

8月11日東京六本木Bul-lets

8月12日神戸SpaceEauu

8月14日京都 Nano

8月15日大阪Environment 0g.

8月17日仙台 club shaft.

よろしくお願いします。

That is all for now!