I know I am already biting off way more than I can chew between work and music and more music, but the more things unfold, the more I want to do.
The goal this year is to record music and play a few shows outside of Tokyo. I still don’t know if I will be able to release the album by my August deadline, but I don’t want to give up on leveling up my live performances.
I need to play more.
This summer I’ve already planned out a “Tokyo Tour”. I have 5 venues I want to play and 5 bands I want to play with and I plan to do all of it by September in between recording.
Afterwards I plan on organizing a Kansai tour before the end of the year: Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto, Shiga (and maybe Nara or Kobe)
But the more Australians I meet, the more I yearn to get out and explore again. I doubt I will be able to earn a profit but I think maybe I could sustain a 6 week long trip with 6-8 shows if I plan it right.
I may have free places to stay in Australia and I’ve wanted to visit Indonesia and Malaysia for years now and there are cheaper Airbnb’s there.
So I made a list of places I know people or places I am curious about and if I could spend 3-5 days in each and play a show or two it would be ideal :
1 Sydney AU
2 Melbourne AU
3 Perth AU
4 Jakarta IN
5 Jogjakarta IN
6 Bali IN
7 Kuala Lumpur ML
8 Ipoh ML
The Kansai tour is because I know it well enough and have some idea where I can play, and because 5 cities are all very close to each other with very different vibes.
The Australian stops are because I keep meeting Australians who play music and tour in Japan and they all live on these three cities.
The Indonesian stops are because I dreamed of spending a few months in Indonesia before the pandemic which stifled my plans. I’ve loved absolutely everything I hear about the art scene and atmosphere of Jogja, I have many friends from Jakarta and Bali is this mythical place that some people say I’ve already missed the boat on as it’s become more and more touristic.
Malaysia stops are because I did a lot of research when I planned on going to Hive fest and found my friend can set me up well for venues in KL and Ipoh is the home of an artist I really respect named Space Gambus Experiment and I imagine it’s a nice scene where he lives.
I would love to rent a place in Jogja for 3 weeks and another in Bali for 3 weeks and play multiple times and make friends and finally get conversational in Indonesian!
I’d love to build up enough of a following to come back often and tour more cities next time!
I hope I can meet Space Gambus Experiment and see what he is doing over in Ipoh and spend time in his amazing space. I wonder if it is open to guests. God I would love to play music with him! 😮
I don’t think I’ll be able to do this in the immediate future but sometime in 2027 is realistic!
There’s also other places I’d like to play and have reason to go, Chenmai in Thailand, lots of other places in Japan (Okinawa, Yamanashi, Hiroshima, Oita, Fukuoka….and other places further away that I don’t dare think about yet because I am not ready. Basically wherever I have friends I want to play!
Even listing out these places now feels a bit overwhelming but if I can play half the cities with at least one overseas I already feel like it’s a success. So 7 cities outside Tokyo including one overseas, by the end of 2027. We will call that a mild success and that is very realistic.
In the meantime, I am gearing up to print 300 cds so I have more ways to gather funds and get my name out there to the right people.
The most important thing is practice and making sure I am energized enough to handle this balancing act.
Let’s see where we are at the end of the summer. I hope I will be able to say my album is out by then!
For now, I have live recordings up on all streaming platforms, just search for “Resonance Experiments 1-2” by I+everything or click here For Apple Spotify or YouTube links.
https://open.spotify.com/album/3Dp1ww8eQsfpZ94t4ommwH?si=anszxXbHR-ynYGYHSofLoQ